Aswan, Felucca

Beth woke up yesterday morning and asked me, "I got bit by something last night. Is my eye swollen?"

I looked over and her right eye was puffy Quasimoto style, "a little," I said trying to sound casual, wondering if anyone might have an epi kit available.

Beth had been having a tough 24 hours. We had come from Abu Simbel temple and boarded a boat in Aswan. 48 hours on a boat, no showers, sleeping bags. For me the fun and chance to see the Nile outweighed the discomfort of cold nights and no washing facilities; for Beth, who thinks "roughing it" means a shared jacuzzi, it was a bit more difficult. She read the beginning of her journal entry to the rest of us that day. It began, "Last night was hell. . . " However, I think she is getting in the swing of things. As we disembarked from the boat this morning she said, "If the hotel has hot water and no rats, I'll be in heaven."

We have convered a lot of ground in the last few days. We visited the pyramids just outside of Cairo. They were every bit as amazing as I thought. I went inside (under) one. The passage was about three feet wide and maybe three feet tall, 60 feet long, angling down, leading another small passage. As I went in, I had to control the feeling of claustorphobia that threatened to overtake me. The air got thicker as I decended to a small passage where I could stand upright. Tourists coming back up the same narrow passage way jostled me on their way back to fresh air. After about three minutes, I arrived in a big room that once held treasures but now is cavernously empty.

After the pyramids, we ate Kosheray, a great Egyptian dish of lentils, garlic, onions, pasta, pepper, tomato. . . and who knows what else. We left Cairo by overnight train and arrived in Aswan. We took a boat ride to the Sahara side of the Nile and unboarded amidst the Saharan sand and camels.

One camel was complaining loudly about his lot in life, mouth open, angrily. I made a mental note to give that camel a wide berth. Of course, this was my camel; I got on and leaned forward (I had been warned to do so or risk coming off as the camel going from sitting to standing can be a bit abrupt) My camel became much happier after his keeper got him up and handed me the reins. My camel strode to the front of the group where we led the procession to the Nubian village.

At the Nubian village we ate Nubian food and danced with the children afterwards, and proceeded home to rest up for the early wake up to fly to Abu Simbel the next morning. Abu Simbel was built by Ramses, one very prolific builder. He even took a bunch of temples in Thebes (present day Luxor) and stuck his statues in front, claiming them for his own. Pretty crafty.

The felucca (traditional sailboat) was a relaxing way to to enjoy the Nile. Our crew cooked great food for us, and we had some time to get to know our fellow travelers. Three Aussies, two Canadians, Beth, me, and our fearless leader, Mohammed (pictured sleeping on the deck).

We arrived in Luxor where we took a tour of the town and viewed the temple from afar. It has been cold, so three of us ducked into a store to look for sweaters and found the nicest strangers working in the store. The women there giggled and made us tea as we tried on the clothes. It was a welcome relief from the men who work the street stalls constantly clamoring for tourist attention, for us to come in to their stores, "just look". Although I understand that it is an obvious outcome of the mixing of relatively rich tourists in a poor country, it is still exhausting to have to brave the onslaught of people trying to sell us something day after day.

Tomorrow we ride donkeys to the west bank of Luxor where we visit the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Our leader has promised that the views will be fabulous. The next day we will visit the animal sanctuary and then take an overnight train back to Cairo. I know the sanctuary will be difficult; they don't have the luxury to treat animals the way we do, and the state of the animals here makes my heart ache.

Public Service Announcement

Beth and I met up at the hotel on Friday night, and we have been exploring the different sections of Cairo (Islamic, Christian, Jewish). It has been amazing - but too much to see in a lifetime!

We went to a Sufi music and dance performance last night. The Whirling Dervishes, as they are more popularly known, put on an amazing, colorful production. We have visited the Khan (big market) and many mosques. Yesterday as we were leaving the Al Azhar mosque, one of the gatekeeprers invited us to climb to the top of the only double minaret in Cairo. The conversation was in Arabic mostly, but I understood that we would be paying for it "baksheesh". It was steep and pitch black at times and we circled round and round the tiny spiral stairway, but the view from the top was gorgeous and worth every sore muscle today.

Today my friend/colleague Amr met us to show us another neighborhood in Cairo. As the subway train pulled up, he cautioned us to wait for the next train as the current one was packed. Somehow, Beth didn't hear and piled on, so we had no choice but to follow her. The doors were closing with no room left; she was in; we were out, and we yelled to meet up at the next station. Luckily some people saw that we were being separated and pried the doors open and after bouncing off the crowd a few times, shoved our way in. I have never been so packed in public transport before. We literally could not move.

Unfortunately, most of the travelers were men, and in this country where sexes are still so segregated, being so close can cause problems (Amr later told us that two subway cars are reserved for women only). Soon after we got on Beth yells out a public service announcement, "Ok, whoever has their hand on my breast, take it off!" I join in the protest, yell and give dirty looks to the men behind her, some of whom raise their hands up in the air to show it wasn't them. After we got off, it was more funny than anything. Neither Beth nor I are willing put up with any of that kind of funny business, and when people realize that, they leave you alone. We don't feel unsafe here, just annoyed.

This is probably one place where it would be really exhausting to travel alone. I am really glad we booked a trip, so we won't have to worry about logistics. We meet up with our group tonight. Still having fun (Don't worry, Mom)