Petra

 

  We follow Ibrihim into The Siq, a narrow slot canyon that twists through the sandstone bedrock to the hidden city of Petra. It is early enough that there are sections of the walk that are without other visitors and we are alone from time to time in the canyon that is sometimes twenty feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. The hidden entry protected the area which was inhbited from about 400 bc. There are some fameous structures here; toumbs carved into the rock faces - think Indiana Jones. All in all it is a fun day  - the weather is rotten, cold and windy, but we enjoy meeting all the people that Ibrihim greets along the way. "She is from this tribe, he is so-and-so's brother in law, this is my cousin" Everyone is friendly and if they have something to offer - jewlery, a camel ride, some tea - well, that goes with the terratory. We meet Captain Jack Sparrow, not really, but he does look a lot like Johnny Depp. We meet a weathered old gentleman selling ancient coins, discovered after a recent flash flood. Lisa and Barbara meet the author of a book they had read - Married to a Bedioun. She is from New Zealand but met a man when touring the area when she was young, and never left. She was filling in at her son's gift shop while he is away. Lisa buys some earings from her. As we return at the end of the day, the weather has worsened, dust and sand flying. Back in the hotel, I look in the mirror and my face is red from windburn in spite of the bandana I wore most of the day.

 

On the Road

Long drive from Amman to Petra, sharing the Desert Highway with long haul truckers. Dust storm is putting a brown haze over everything. I keep myself occupied by trying to post this from my phone as our van  rocks with the wind. Might snow tonight

Snafu

Today we transfer from Egypt to Jordan and the day is filled with small snafus. Most are common travel glitches, but what makes them standout, I realize, is that the whole trip has been hassle free up until now. Royal Jordanian Air has us go through a convoluted check-in that includes issuing boarding passes, then chasing us down before we go through security to call us back to re issue them and to ok our credit card, then chasing us down again to take back the bag check stubs and re issue THEM. Arrival in Amman is held up by a security concern for the binoculars in my luggage and Lisa's (foreign spys carry binoculars in their luggage). After much back and forth, we are finally marched to the security office to see the head of airport security. In the office are the big man and two others, many half empty cups of tea, and a blue haze of cigarette smoke. We are asked to sit and are ignored while one of the men makes copies of our passports before the binoculars are finally released. Our guide, Ibrihim, hustles us out of there before they change their mind. As we tour the city, Ibrrihim tells us that he is a "bad Bedoiun" who grew up in the nomadic Bedioun culture but now  knows city ways. He is stocky but full of energy, has a sly wit, and is known as "The Beast" from his days as a welterweight boxer.  He constantly chats on his cell phone and greets friends everywhere as we move through the city. When we check in at The Grand Hyatt, we have been assigned smoking rooms, and it takes 40 minutes to get us reassigned to non smoking. Coming down with a cough that has gone through all of the Egypt travelers, I am too exhausted to eat dinner and am in bed by 8:00.

Under the Awning

We eat our "mish-mish" with delight, and sip our coffee with a relish ; and, while the crew tug and strain to get us over some ugly sand-bar, their ever recurring song of "Al-lah-ha-le-sah!" is sweet music in our ears, and the crack of the rifle from the quarter-deck only startles, but does not break, our golden reveries.

On the Camels

Our last day in Egypt and we get the big event - Pyramids of Giza. Camel ride included.

Uncle Gus had this take on the experience:

"There are three motions which take place before the African dromedary actually stands " high and dry " on his legs. For a better understanding of these motions, let us suppose the animal to be lying down, chewing his cud, opening his ugly mouth, snarling, and showing his wicked eye and brown fangs, as the timid traveler approaches to mount. After getting astride of the saddle, comes motion No. i, which is caused by the animal raising his hind quarters from the ground; this throws you forward, and you lose both your hat and your balance : then comes motion No. 2, which- corresponds to motion No. 1, but with the front quarters; this motion throws the traveler as far backward as he was thrown forward before. These two motions leave the animal and the traveler neither fairly up nor altogether down ; and it requires another motion, No. 3, to bring fore and hind quarters, together with the hump and other adjacent portions, to a "perpendicular;" which act, when accomplished, leaves the rider on the animal's hump, provided he has clung to the saddle with sufficient tenacity. After the first mount the whole matter is simplified."

Slow Day

Wednesday

I wake up and there are cows outside my cabin window. This is a mild surprise because we were not near fields when we moored last night. The crew had changed our mooring earlier in the morning and the boat rides so smoothly that I didn't feel it. The day proceeds in a relaxed manner with nothing planned until noon. For long stretches this morning there is no traffic visible upstream or down and we have the Nile to ourselves. The banks are arid with sandstone bluffs behind a narrow belt of palms. No good farming land in this stretch and so there are few villages.

One stop later in the day is a visit to a Nubian village. Nubians are the darker skinned ethnic group of the southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Huge numbers of them were relocated when their villages were flooded by the building of the Aswan Hugh Dam in the 1960's. The villagers are farmers who live a life mostly neglected by the government, and we tour the town with a cluster of young boys trying to sell us camel bone necklaces to bring in extra money for their families. As we walk I like to photograph doors that have character and this village is a treasure trove of doors with soul.

The evening is a radical departure from the tranquil Nile of the morning due to the many huge Nile cruse boats that lumber by - maybe a hundred or so, all on their way to Aswan, where we will be tomorrow. As I lie in bed at night, they are rocking us gently with their wakes.

Only Photos

 

Some images from the last few days

Night on the Beach

Tonight we are treated to a barbaque on a small beach as the boat is tied up next to an island in the Nile. Good food, singing and drumming by the crew and dancing by all in good cheer. Later we are joined by two migrant farmers, Ibrihim and Mohammed, who are camped nearby in the fields where they are planting melons  and are drawn to our fire. They share some desert and Ahmed translates some of their thoughts about their life and their thoughts about the revolution. They are hopeful, thinking that anything is better than the past under Mubarik and they have voted in the recent elections. I am surprised that these guys - one old and one young, who led an extremely simple life of hard work are able to participate in the new politics. They have both voted for a religious party candidate, but their reasons are practical, not religious.  They feel the future of the country is uncertain and the religious parties have gained the trust of the people initially, but now they will have to produce. Ibrihm is the older and has a a weathered face that lights up with a great smile. He squats near the fire great with his palms towards the heat. Mohammed sits to his right and tends our fire by adding palm branches from time to time. They both wish us all a warm goodnight as we return returnto the boat.

Now back on-board and the still of the evening is being disrupted by a religious rally on the opposite shore. Much music over on that side too, but they also have microphones to blare their message. The speaker across the river sounds like he is preaching fire and brimstone. I wait for them to quiet down and go home, and they eventually do.

All in all, this evening is giving me much to think about. The genuine good nature of the crew as we share their entertainment. The future of our two visitors, and the direction that their country will take. And the role that religion and faith takes in all aspects of people's lives -

Colossi on the Plains of Thebes

We are on the Nile, sailing South for the next five days on a classic two masted dahabia. Six cabins and a crew of maybe six. This morning was busy with visits to the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. Standing in King Tut's tomb I am surprised how small it is, compared to the others we see. Near the tombs are the ancient Colossi of Memnon, where Uncle Gus waxed poetic nearly 140 years ago.

 

Oldest Things

It is  probably fitting that our first visit to the edge of the desert should be just in time for a sandstorm. The Step Pyramid is thought to be the oldest stone structure in the world, built nearly five thousand years ago. Is this the begining of architecture? The pyramid, and others nearby are greatly eroded by the sand and wind and we are treated to a cold wind and fine sand that gets into eyes, nose and mouth. Bandana keeps it away form all but the eyes and they bother me. It is a relief to descend into the Pyramid of Teti nearby. We go down a narrow, steep corridor - stooping below the low stone ceiling. The burial chamber is simple, with stars cut into the roof slabs - quite nice, buried deep into the bedrock below the pyramid. The conditions back above ground are pretty rotten, and Ahmed cancels the afternoon visit to the Great Pyramid in favor to a visit back to the old part of Cairo - this time to the traditional Christian sector. Cairo was a center of early Christianity and much of the heritage is preserved in church architecture and a wonderful museum of Coptic Christian art. We visit a sight where tradition holds that was visited by Mary, Joseph and young Jesus after they fled the Holy Land. The Coptic church survives today, having split from other Christian faiths with a belief system that they feel maintains the original beliefs of the faith. It's a bit complicated.

Around Cairo

It is just as well that cameras are not permitted in the Cairo Museum. We spend the better part of the morning here but I would be here for a week if cameras were allowed. Fantastic. Our guide, Ahmed, has is favorite things to see, and we see them all but barely scratch the surface. I had known of the King Tut treasures, but seeing the thousands of items in the exhibit is remarkable. The familiar gold mask is adorned with thousands of intricate inlays when seen up close, and it is rightfully the centerpiece of the exhibit. Later I look into the face of Rameses the Great and other rulers who are preserved in the Mummy Room. He has red hair. 

After lunch we walk the streets of old Islamic Cairo and try to absorb more recent history from Cairo around 1100 ad. Not too many tourists, but the richness of the busy street life catches my attention more than the architecture.