The road home (Last Post)

(Hovan) With the vacation completed, we had only one activity left, to get ourselves home in time for the holidays. We were scheduled to leave on Monday morning at 4:10 am Cairo time. We went to bed early to try and get at least 4 or 5 hours of sleep, but it was a bit like the night before Christmas and we were both excited about going home, so sleep did not come quickly. After about 2 hours of sleep the alarm woke us up at 12:15 in the morning. Bleary eyed we rolled out of bed and met our driver in the lobby.

Once at the airport we learned that our flight was delayed due to difficulty getting out of Europe on route to Cairo. Naturally we were a little annoyed at getting up so very very early only to be delayed in Cairo. We were lined up to take a flight to Amsterdam, have a 9 hour lay-over and then a direct flight to Vancouver. This meant we had a pretty good buffer for delayed flights. After sitting around the airport for about 4 hours or so they notified us that our flight was cancelled and that we would have to meet with an agent to get rebooked. Immediately the desk was swamped with people, most quite upset, wanting to have the issue fixed immediately.

While people were asking questions I went to try and find a phone to call our Egypt travel agent to see if they could call the airline and help us with a rebooking. He was unable to help and by the time I returned Christine had gotten a number for us - 58. The number Christine got was pretty good considering all the pushing and shoving that was going on. Interestingly all the locals and others from the region were aggressive and right at the front of the line, and all of the westerners were in this polite ring behind them. I may have been able to push myself a bit further ahead in line if I had been around, but Christine did marvelous when you think about how vicious things could have gotten.

At this point we were a bit depressed and trying to keep our spirits up. We knew that problems around Christmas tend to get worse and worse. We were using phones, the internet, any sources we could find to try and get a way home. Our worry was that being number 58 might have meant that we would get bumped a couple of days later, and that would not have been cool. Christine was talking to her mom through the computer and her mom was on the phone to KLM HQ in Amsterdam to get something booked. After two hours on the phone her mom got through and did a partial rebooking for the next day when the line went dead. At this point our number was up so we had to go and speak to the ticketing agent.

When we arrived at the desk the agents were frazzled, the customers were aggresive and the environment was quite charged. We started off being polite to our agent and asked him about our flight. Having spoken to a couple also going to Vancouver, they told us they had been rebooked on the exact same scehdule for the next day. The ticket agent could see that a rebooking for the next day had already been done by Christine's mom that jumped us through a couple of countries but got us seats. We asked if he could make the same arrangements for Monday instead of waiting until the next day (Tuesday). While he was working I told him we would consider him a hero if he could get us home that day.

In the end he came up with a solution, a flight through Egyptair from Cairo to New York in economy class and then New York to Vancouver in business class. We thought that if we could get to New York at least, there would be more options for getting home. We agreed to the flight and then had to be rushed to catch the flight. We made it with less than 10 minutes to spare. The flight to New York was unpleasant as we were tired, they had issues with temperature control and we were seated in the last place anyone chooses, right at the back next to the toilets. But we agreed that we were so fortunate to get out that we would not complain at all about the flights.

When we arrived in New York we checked in for our next flight and confirmed that we had indeed been bumped to business class. The flight was overbooked so he offered us a hotel, food, an upgrade to first class and $400 if we delayed for 24 hours and caught a flight the next day. Any other trip and we would have taken the offer, but we didn't want to get caught in another major east coast snow storm and miss Christmas, so we took a pass.

As business class fliers we had access to the special lounge, and it was so nice. The food was good and free, the chairs and couches comfy. Satellite TV, computers and internet access, booze, and other manners of goodies were available. Definitely a big step up from our last flight. After about 5 hours we were off to our flight on Cathay Pacific.

When we boarded the plane we started walking down the rows being jealous once again of the first class seats. Suddenly I realized that the seats we saw were actually for us and they were the most amazing flight seats I have ever seen. The seats stretched out into a full size bed that even I could lay flat out in. The seats were fully adjustable to whatever position we wanted and they even included a back massager. The TV we had was adjustable so you could lie down and enjoy it, there was a special section to put away shoes, a foot rest, nice thick blanket and excellent pillow. The head sets were Bose full cover ones and the entertainment selection superb, along with my own remote for the TV. (Left - Hovan in the business class seats on the way to Vancouver)

Before we took off the stewardesses came around and brought champagne or other choices of beverage. Also a bowl of hot roasted almonds to snack on, a bottle of water and a package with some sundry items. Once in the air the dinner service was 5 star, with linen on my dinner tray, real cutlery and porcelain plates. The meal was 3 course and included a tasty prawn salad as an appetizer. Both Christine and I chose the beef tenderloin for the main and it really was tender. For dessert there were cheese plates, fresh fruit and scrumptious cheese cake. After dinner there was a selection of snacks that we could request at any time if we wanted something else to eat. The service was fabulous the seats incredibly comfortable and the journey was the most pleasant flight we've ever experienced. It will be hard to go back to flying coach. (Right - the business class seats on the plane).

Surprisingly when we arrived in Vancouver we got through customs in 2 minutes, grabbed our bags and went through security without getting pulled in for the extra special interview. I normally get hauled in for that "random" interview when I fly and sporting the beard I am, I thought for sure we would get special attention. We managed to leave the airport at about 2:30 am and found a hotel for the night. In the morning we managed to catch the 11:00 ferry and Christine's dad and sister were there to pick us up. After 4+ months traveling through 21 different countries, we were finally home!! (Left - Hovan sleeping on the plane).

(Christine) As we struggle to get over jet lag from our long journey back to Canada, we look back and reflect on the past 4 months. We have seen an incredible amount in the time we’ve been away.

My favorite part of the trip was trekking the Himalayas in Nepal, followed by the train journey through Siberia, Mongolia & China. Hovan’s favorite part was watching the wildlife on the safari in Africa and the charm of the beautiful city of Venice.

After four months of constant traveling, here are some of our musings about the world.

Some things we take for granted back in Canada:

• Being able to drink and brush our teeth with clean tap water
• Reliable hot water and electricity
• Not always wondering if eating the food will make you sick
• Not being hassled constantly to buy a really crummy statue of the local monument at an extremely inflated price
• Not having to barter over the price of anything, from bananas, to taxis, to internet café, to crummy souvenirs
• Not being always on guard for thieves, carjackers (in particular Kenya), those trying to trick you or get money out of you through intimidation.
• Knowing English as a first language (This is huge. In most countries, with the exception of Russia, it is usually easy to find someone who speaks English).
• Not having to pay for the use of bathrooms that are usually dirty
  

Things we are looking forward to back home:

• Family and friends
• Our own bed
• Sleeping in the same location for more then 4 nights in a row
  
• Homemade Pie
• Going to the movie theatre
• Slurpees (okay just Hovan)
• Everyone being able to understand exactly what we are saying
• The fact that smokers are not allowed to smoke in restaurants, workplaces or near buildings

Children are the same the world throughout, no matter their skin colour, language or country they live in. They still love to tease their siblings, play games, smile, laugh and wave at people.

The people who speak the best English are not those working at tourist attractions or hotels or tourist centres. Those who are trying to sell goods to foreigners have the best grasp of the more subtle nuances of the language and can articulate themselves very well. Also, you will have much better luck asking a younger person if they speak English than an older person.

For each country we visited, here are the things that stood out the most for us:

France
Had the best cheese, great food and beautiful chateau's

Spain
Staying in a castle perched high upon a hill and watching a rodeo and bull running.


Portugal
Getting lost on country roads and enjoying the amazing beaches on the southern tip.


Gibraltar
Driving the crazy winding roads up cliff faces and discovering the only apes in Europe

Andorra
Backpacking in the Pyrenees and meeting some of the kindest hunters we'd ever met.

Monaco
Seeing the vast wealth and the incredibly expensive boats

Switzerland

Hiking in the Schilthorn in the Swiss Alps, riding the gondola and eating the local cheese fondue.

Leichtenstien

The fact that the prince of Liechtenstein invites the entire country over for fireworks once a year

Italy

The narrow winding canals and the charm of Venice.

Slovenia

Woops… didn’t know we needed a permit to drive through that country, it looked very similar to interior BC.

Austria

Enjoying the wonderful music and opera in Vienna

Czech Republic

The amazing tour William gave us of Prague, and Dasha’s fantastic pumpkin pie.

Germany
Hiking in the Black Forest and drinking with the locals in the Haufbrauhaus.

Russia

The Trans-Siberia train ride and visiting the Kremlin.

Mongolia

Seeing a wild camel for the first time in the Gobi desert

China

Hiking 12 km along the Great Wall and bargaining like you’ve never bargained before

India

Encountering wild elephants in the jungle.

Nepal
Following a Buddhist monk down a mountainside, enjoying the incredibly majesty of the Himlayas and meeting the wonderful people on the hike

Qatar

We didn’t really stay here for more than an hour as a layover, but they had Lamborghinis in the airport alongside a mosque.

Kenya

The amazing wildlife on the safari and the hospitality of Tim, Lisa, Chris & Sherene.

Egypt
Stooping low to go into the burial chambers inside the pyramids and seeing some of the oldest buildings in the world.

Finally, Canada really is the best country in the world.

We’d like to thank everyone who followed our blog all the way along our trip. We appreciated knowing you were reading! A special mention has to go out to our superstars who made frequent comments on the blog: my Mom, Michelle, Jeff, Jason & Scott. Also, thanks to all those that were following quietly along and those who kept in touch with us through e-mail. It has been a lot of fun for us to keep a record of our journey and we have enjoyed sharing so much. Thank you all sincerely for taking the time to share this trip with us.

Thanks so much for reading, that’s all for now!

We’ll see you back in Canada.

Best to you all,

Hovan & Christine

Russians in the Egyptian Red Sea

Having been in Egypt for 2 weeks Christine and I have learned something interesting about the naming of males either here or in Muslim countries, we aren’t sure which. There are 4 dominant names that seem to come up again and again. Two names that seem to be popular are Ahmed and Mustafa, and probably about ¼ of the men we meet have these names. Perhaps another 2/3’s of the names are either Islam or Mohammed, with Mohammed being far and away the most popular name. The names are so popular that we have started to guess the names of people as we go, usually sticking with Mohammed and often being correct. These names are in addition to the names that vendors usually call me to try and get my attention, which are usually either “Mr. Moustache” or “Mr. Ali Babba”.

After enjoying our river cruise and seeing the sites down the Nile we went off to what is ostensibly our last real destination before heading home. We flew from Aswan to Cairo, where we were stuck for about 5 hours due to a massive sandstorm where visibility was similar to a whiteout. We finally managed to fly out to Sharm El Sheikh, which is a major resort town on the Red Sea. When we were picked up we of course guessed that our guides name was Mohammed, but alas we were incorrect when he told us it was Ahmed. However, it turns out that the driver with him was named Mohammed, so we were close.

We were dropped off at this really nice, brand new luxury resort right on the water for a few days of fun in the sun to end the trip. The resort was very large and had more than 5 major pools, including one with slides and games for children. The main pool right on the ocean was heated to a very comfortable temperature and had a swim up bar. The resort was great and the only thing that didn’t stand out was the food, probably because they had to crank out so much to feed everyone. The hotel also had the requisite Celine Dion music playing. Celine is everywhere over here in hotels, airports, malls, cars, I mean everywhere. There are no posters or promotions, she just seems to be the only music of choice for public places. I’m not sure how this love affair of Celine started, but she is huge in Egypt. (Left - Our resort)

Interestingly Sharm El Sheikh seems to be a major playground for Russians and almost everyone in the resort was Russian. The staff in general had pretty poor English but almost all of them spoke excellent Russian. It was weird when I went to get my omelet and the cooks default assumption was to speak in Russian, not Arabic and certainly not English. This is the only place we have experienced this phenomenon. (Right - the resort beach)

Part way through our stay we noticed something interesting taking place with more than half the Russian tables. The people seemed to bring huge piles of fruit and dessert to their tables in addition to the meal. For some reason the table that had piles of fresh uncut fruit also had huge mounds of tomatoes. I am not talking about people with simply hearty appetites, but mounds of fruit and dessert. One couple had 7 oranges, 4 pears and 3 banana’s in addition to their meals. They would also take 10 or 12 tomatoes to one table along with the fruit. One night we decided to keep an eye on these plates to see what would happen. At first I noticed that the fruit seemed to be disappearing without anyone eating it, so we watched as the women sneakily put them in their purse. Then one women went and picked up about 6 pieces of dessert, in addition to the plate of 8 pieces on her table it was just a ridiculous amount. When a band came in and started playing everyone looked towards the door and she started shoveling 14 pieces of dessert into her purse. The quantities we are talking about is not just evening snacks, so we can’t figure out if they all have small fruit import businesses to Russia or I they just let things go rotten and stale in their rooms. Very bizarre, but entertaining to watch.

We pretty much spent 2 ½ days lying on the beach, lying on the pool, lying in the water, and eating. The only serious activity we undertook was a daily snorkeling trip and they were fantastic. I think living on the Pacific Ocean there is this natural conditioning that the water is going to be cold. When we first jumped into the Red Sea we were surprised at how warm it was, about the same temperature as the heated pool. The water also has a high salt content, so neither of us had to do anything to float along the top of the water. The water is so clear you can see very deep and the coral reefs have so many beautiful fish it was an incredible show of sea life in large numbers. There were fish of all shapes, sizes and colours.

On our last day in Sharm we took a trip on a glass bottom boat and went snorkeling on a more distant coral reef where there were some other types of fish. Even though we knew the water was warm there was still that sensation of preparation for the cold when I jumped off the boat. We were fortunate to spot a manta ray at this location, and that was the most unique sea creature we saw. Christine was hoping to see a giant sea tortoise swimming through the water, but no such luck. (Left - the glass bottomed boat)

Our trip back to Cairo was pretty uneventful and a quiet evening in the hotel room. Our last day was spent repacking, visiting the marketplace to see if there was anything we wanted to pick up before heading home. We have a fairly lengthy journey home that includes us waking up at 1:00 am and traveling for about 30-35 hours including stops. We are hoping to head into Amsterdam when we have our lay-over there.

We have been hearing Christmas music these last few days and those of you who know me, know it’s my favourite season. We are very excited about coming home, seeing our families and enjoying the celebrations of the season.

Stay tuned for the stunning final conclusion to Hovan & Christine’s Travels outlining the adventures of our trip home and some general musings about our trip in general.

All the best,

Christine and Hovan

De Nile is just a river in Egypt

On Saturday morning after flying from Cairo to Luxor we were picked up and taken to our Nile cruise. There are apparently more than 350 large ships making the trek back and forth between Luxor and Aswan. At the height of tourist season the river can be pretty packed.

Our ships name was the Jasmin, like in the flower and not Aladdin’s girlfriend. The boat is quite large and designed to carry more than 80 passengers, plus a large complement of staff. Christine and I have managed thus far on our vacation to avoid doing any tours with large groups. In Cairo we thought we were going to be on a bus tour and were happy to have only the two of us with a van, driver and guide. On the large ship we thought that our luck had finally run out. However, when we arrived on the ship we found out that there were only 6 passengers, us and 2 Egyptian couples. One of the couples was not very interested in sight seeing and just the cruise, so often it was just Christine, myself, one Egyptian couple and our guide on the tours. (Left - our boat the Jasmin)

The ship is so large and with so few people on it, it almost feels like a ghost ship. The staff to customer ratio is about 4 to 1 and at meals we have at least 2 personal attendants just staring at us, waiting to take our plate or get us something to drink. We made the mistake of tipping a few people early on before our guide told us to give one tip at the end to be distributed. This resulted in pretty much every employee on the ship trying to give us special service for a tip. At some points we had 4 personal waiters serving us and the barman keeps trying to get us to hang out at the bar. It was definitely a unique cruise experience.

Our first day in Luxor took us to Karnak Temple, which is an absolutely amazing complex. It was built more than 3000 years ago and after it was completed each new pharaoh tried to add something spectacular to try and leave their mark on it. The structure is incredible in size and the carvings cover the surface of everything. Giant pillars spill out in all directions and multiple temples have been built on the one site. Following this we visited the Luxor temple, which is less grand in scale, but still amazingly ornate. A double line of sphinx mark an ancient roadway for approximately 3 kilometres between the two temples. (Right - Sphinxes at the entrance of Luxor Temple)

On Sunday we took a tour of the Valley of the Kings. This is the location of what appears to be more than 50 burials tombs for pharaohs. Apparently there are other valleys for Queens, scribes, priests and so on, but obviously the pharaoh’s is the most spectacular. It’s here that Tutankhamen and Ramses II are buried. The burial sites were a design of the New Kingdom which was still over 3000 years ago and was in response to all the pyramid grave robbings. They were supposed to be a new, more secure design.

We managed to visit three tombs, each bigger and better than the last. The last tomb belonged to Ramses III who was considered the final great Pharaoh of Egypt. There were many that came after him, but each presided over an increasingly shrinking and weaker kingdom. Ramses tomb was beautifully carved, with the paintings on the wall still in full colour and fairly bright. The tomb leads fairly deep into the earth and has quite a nice wide passageway down to his final resting place. The builders used giant mirrors made of silver to reflect the sunlight down the chamber as they did their chiseling and painting. Unfortunately they don't allow photos in the tombs, so we don't have any to show you.

Something both fascinating and quite funny is the development of the first graffiti in Egypt. Back before the Roman empire adopted Christianity they were seriously into persecuting and killing Christians. Early Christians in Egypt took refuge in the pharaohs tombs to escape death. While down there they did drawings of Jesus, apostles and other Christian writings. So we are talking about graffiti that is almost 2000 years old.

Following the Valley, we moved on to see the temple of Hatshepsut, a great and powerful Queen of Egypt. When the pharaoh died, she managed to hold power from her step son who was nine years old, the next pharaoh in line to the throne. She built a great many things, including a massive temple that had an underground cave leading to her burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings. She tried to pass her self off as the child of a god and made imagery that had her appear as a man. She engaged a lot of tricks and manipulation to stay in power and ruled to the end of her life. When her step son came to power he damaged and removed a lot of the work she built in her image to get even with her for withholding the throne from him. (Left - Temple of Hatshepsut).

That afternoon we set sail further down the river and Christine and I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon reclining on the deck chairs pool side. The view was very pleasant cruising down the river with the scenery slowly rolling by. The Nile is amazing as the life blood of Egypt and it is clear to see how dependant the country is on it. All along it’s banks are irrigation pipes and the land is green and fertile along the shore. Often though, to look 30 feet beyond the river bank and the landscape shifts instantly from fertile green to sandy desert. The width of the greenery is dependant on the farmers and their irrigation, but it never seemed to stretch very far from the river. (Right - Relaxing on the boat).

We never seemed to lack activities on the boat between the tours, lazing about and eating. There were pool tables, ping pong tables, board games, books, TV, a swimming pool, nghtly activities and much more. They tried to get some cocktail parties and dance parties going, but it’s difficult when Christine and I show up and we are the only party guests. I guess that is one downside to having such an empty boat. (Left - The River Nile)

On Monday we stopped in Edfu to visit a temple dedicated to the god Horace, who is the son of Isis and Osiris. The spectacular temples continued, but we were starting to get used to the style. It seems that every pharaoh who builds a temple spends most of the wall space sucking up to the gods. They carve images of giving offerings to the gods, bringing their enemies before them, bowing before them, dancing and so on. Even though a temple may be dedicated to one god, they still throw in images of most of the other big ones, probably trying not to offend any of them. (Right - Carvings etched in the temple. The figure on the left is Horace).

After Edfu we sailed further down the Nile to Kom-Ombo to visit another temple dedicated to other gods. By now the temples are starting to be from the Ptolemaic era and are after Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. The new rulers still maintained strong links to the Egyptian gods and started mixing it with their own religion. (Left - Sun setting over the river).

At one point along our journey we had to pass through a lock. The lock was just the right size for our ship, so I guess they are built to the specs of the lock, as a bigger ship would not be able to get through. The system was remarkable and we rose about 30-40 feet in only a few minutes and were steaming our way up the Nile once more. A very cool and efficient system.

On Tuesday we arrived at Aswan, the final destination in our boat trip. Our first tour took us to the High Dam, which is a very large superstructure providing much of the power to Egypt. The Dam is very large and has created a lake over 6000 square kilometers in size. The lake is 500 kilometres long and about 150 of that stretches past the Egyptian border into Sudan. I wonder if the Egyptians asked the Sudanese for permission before creating a huge lake in their country. The dam was built with major Soviet assistance and was to bring the USSR and Egypt closer together. Apparently if it were to break, most of Egypt would be washed away and after seeing the size of the lake and the fact that the majority of the population lives in a long stretch down the Nile River, it seems believable. (Right - Hovan at the Aswan Dam).

After the high dam we visited the temple of Phillae. The temple itself is really nice, but what makes it unique is that it was completely relocated to an island in the dam made lake after it was flooded over. Divers dredged the whole site from the bottom of a lake and relocated to an adjacent new island. This is an incredible project and took 10 years to complete. Christine and I thought it would be funny if some of the massive stones were mislabeled. It may have led to the discovery of “new gods” with different heads on different bodies. (Left - Hovan at the temple of Phillae).

Following the temple we visited the site where granite was carved into stone statues and then shipped down the river to different temples. The last obelisk is left standing there and it is 40 metres in length, weighing 1000 tons. To this day they still have no idea how the ancient Egyptians managed to get the stones down to the river, into the temple and then erected. (Right - the unfinished obelisk).

In the afternoon we enjoyed a tranquil falouka ride down the Nile. The boats are a transportation vessel and could carry up to 10 or 12 people comfortably, and they had a unique shaped sail. The ride was a pleasant couple of hours as we traveled downwind to visit a couple of islands, see a few sites and just relax. We were joined on the trip by our 2 fellow Egyptian couples. On our way back the wind died and so the captain of the boat had to get out the oars and row casually for about a half an hour to get us back to shore. (Left - A Felucca sailing down the river).

Our next stop is to spend 2 and 1/2 days relaxing in the sun at Sharm El-Sheik which is apparently some kind of beach resort for locals and foreigners. After that we start to make our way back to Canada via Cairo and Amsterdam and the trip home will take a couple of days.

The best of the season,

Christine and Hovan

Armeni Jewelers

Just a reminder that Hovan's family store Armeni Jewelers in Victoria has great Christmas gifts! Also, if you haven't already, there is a great article in the TC about them:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Jewelry+shop+proud+history/2297521/story.html

Cheers,

Hovan & Christine

The great Alexandria

On Wednesday morning we were picked up at the hotel to be taken to Alexandria. On our way out of Cairo we went past the Giza pyramids once again, and they really do stand out against the sky-line. From a number of directions the first two (father and son) are really prominent. The Grandsons is almost as big as the other two, but because it is in a bit of a dip in the landscape, it’s usually pretty hard to spot.

Above - the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria

One of the interesting things that we noticed about Egypt is the driving system. They have these legal u-turns every couple of kilometers and the driver needs to go down, do a u-turn, drive back, turn right, do another u-turn and so to eventually get to the destination. There are no turns allowed at intersections. Egyptians also seem to have a strong aversion to seat belts, and they only seem to buckle up when passing police, before unclipping. When Christine asked about this they don’t seem fond and one person actually explained that it was unsafe to wear a seat belt. They of course cited nothing scientific, but merely the “Egyptian mindset”.

The country is also almost entirely Muslim and I believe that I read somewhere approximately 95% of the population is Muslim. Interestingly our drivers name is Islam and our guide/caretaker is Mohamed. I don’t think you could find any names more Muslim than that. Everywhere we go almost every single woman has her head covered, with the clear exception of my darling fair haired wife. Interestingly no one seems to care or even give a second glance at us. This city gets way too many tourists for anyone to be interested in us. Also, my beard and modest tan make me look like I could be a fair Egyptian so some think I am local. This is challenging when I say hello in Arabic and they start chatting with me rapidly in the language and I haven’t a clue what they are saying.

Five times a day we hear the call to prayer from the minarets which are all over the city and country. We have even seen mosques in the middle of nowhere with a minaret to call people to prayer, but there is no one around. I guess they are available for the occasional traveler on the road when prayer time happens.

One of the biggest challenges that Christine is experiencing here is that she is often ignored in conversations and men will focus on me almost to her exclusion. She has been frustrated a number of times when she feels like they don’t even acknowledge that she is there. We try to get her to pay as often and express our decisions so they get a sense that we have an equal relationship, but it is difficult none the less.

The drive to Alexandria was only a couple of hours since the highway was clear and traffic is light when it is not the summer time. Alexandria itself is the second largest city in Egypt with about 5 million people and is home to the largest port in the country. Alexandria was built in about 332 BC by Alexander the Great after he somewhat peacefully took over Egypt from the Persian Empire. The Egyptians apparently were very happy about his defeat of the Persians and take over of Egypt as he was known to be supportive of local religions. When Alexander discovered the spot that would Alexandria there was only a small island and insignificant fishing village. He determined to make the city the seat of his Eastern empire. The city is famous for the ancient Library of Alexandria which is one of the ancient 7 Wonders of the World. Unfortunately the library was destroyed during the lengthy Roman occupation of Egypt. (Right - the city of Alexandria).

After arriving in the city in the afternoon we were dropped off at our hotel, in what turned out to be a very large complex. The complex has almost 400 shops, a large 24 hour grocery store and a 10 screen movie theatre. After spending a relaxing afternoon wandering around, we decided to take in a film. Now anyone who knows me knows how much I love movies and particularly movie theatres (which I get from my dad). This was the first time we went to the movies in almost 4 months, which is probably the longest stretch I have ever gone since I was a teenager. We saw the show 2012, which was a lot of fun and entertaining, on the edge of your seat, thrill a moment scenes.

Thursday morning we were picked up by Mohammed, Islam and our tour guide Mara. The day was interesting because she did not really address me directly and rarely would she look at me unless I was asking her a direct question. Her focus was almost exclusively on Christine, which was a bit of a role reversal to what has usually happened. It was nice for Christine not to be completely ignored.

Mara took us on a tour of some of the city’s famous sites and our first stop was at some catacombs that were built during the Roman times. They were chiseled out of the rock about 100 feet underground and originally designed to house the family of a rich merchant. The design and architecture was an incredible mixture of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek and they were all interwoven seamlessly throughout the structure. At one point in time the building was made public and spaces were carved for an additional 400 tombs, which greatly expanded the space, but did not add much additional artistry.

The tomb was apparently covered over and forgotten about until the early 1900’s when a French archaeologist was passing by and his donkeys hoof fell through the ground. After he extricated the hoof he went on to discover the catacombs. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures down here, so Christine doesn’t have any shots that she can share with all of you.

Following the catacombs we visited Pompey’s Pillar. As some of you may know Pompey was one of the three members of the ruling triumvirate of Rome. One of the other members on this panel was a man called Julius Caesar (perhaps you’ve heard of him). Of course old Jules couldn’t add the title Caesar to his name until he took care of his pesky compatriots and Pompey managed to escape to Egypt before he was hunted down and killed. (Left - Pompey's Pillar)

Incidentally the pillar was not built by Pompey or where he died and I am not quite sure why it was name after him. The pillar is magnificent at 27 metres high and built on the highest point of Alexandria. It is once the site of an Egyptian temple that was demolished and where a Roman temple was then built and demolished and finally a Christian church was built until an earthquake knocked it down. In the end only the pillar and couple of sphinx statues remain. The pillar was actually one of a hundred, but the others were all broken off and cast into the sea as ancient mines or a barricade against the Roman naval fleet. The governor of the city couldn’t bring himself to take down the largest and most magnificent pillar, and so there it stands all alone. (Right - Pompey's Pillar)

Following the pillar we visited an old Roman amphitheatre. The acoustics in the 800 seat theatre was amazing and that without the roof. The architecture around the theatre is simple but beautiful and they engaged white marble, green marble and granite in it’s construction. Apparently the theatre was once buried under garbage and it was until recently that the garbage was moved out of the city centre and it was discovered. Today, modern singers give performances in the summer at the same location. (Left - Roman amphitheatre)

Our final stop of the day was at a large green space that was once the gardens for the king and spanned 372 acres. There were two castles built, one that is now a hotel and the other that is a presidential palace. The castle was built in the 1930’s and has a very new and modern feel to it that isn’t experienced by the castles in Europe. The castle is built right on the Mediterranean Sea and has a magnificent view. (Right - Presidential Palace)

Today was a pretty low key day as we drove back into the city. We spent the afternoon doing a bit of shopping, browsing and relaxing. Tomorrow we are being picked up early for our flight to Luxor, which is where the Valley of Kings is. From there we start a 4 day boat trip down the Nile and will be out of contact for that time. We end our trip down the Nile at the Aswan dam and hopefully we will be in touch after that. (Left - Kings Gardens).

Best Wishes,

Christine and Hovan

The Land of the Pharoahs

We returned to Nairobi after an amazing week on safari, and enjoyed a couple of days in relaxation and the luxury of Tim and Lisa’s place. We quickly settled in to our regular routine of relaxing on the porch, eating everyone’s delicious food and enjoying Kenyan hospitality. Right- Hovan, myself, Sherene, Chris and their daughter Amaya. Photo courtesy of Chris.)

On Friday we decided to head to the Maasai Market that happens once a week to check out all the artisan goods. We spent a good deal of time wandering through the space until I found some great ebony carvings. After purchasing them and a few other goods we had to haul everything down to the car, in doing so we realized just how heavy ebony is. When we had a chance to weigh it, it came in at 58 pounds worth of carvings. Thankfully the entire Rosslyn Academy seemed to pull together to help get them home for us since shipping would have run about $600+. (Left - Tim & Lisa's house)

We were also treated to a Christmas choral performance at the academy that was done really well. There were mixtures of hand bell performances, primary school children, secondary and even and adult choir. The performance was for Christmas and it reminded us of the upcoming season, maybe even making us a little homesick.

On Saturday we enjoyed a great day on campus and spent a lot of it playing with Max and Simon and Chris and Sherene. I spent the morning getting run ragged by a couple of young men, but I managed to hold my own in basketball, tennis, ping pong and water sports. Christine was instrumental in winning the water sports, but Max and Simon may disagree. (Right - Hovan getting whopped at ping pong).

That evening we went out on the town with Chris and Sherene and Tim and Lisa to enjoy a delicious Japanese meal. Japanese food is one of Christine and my favourites and this restaurant was particularly good. The restaurant belonged to one of the parents of Chris’s students and they treated us to a massive plate of complimentary salmon sushi and sashimi; the fish was melt in your mouth. The entire dinner was fabulous and I think we counted about 9 different meats through the meal. Everyone rolled out of the restaurant feeling stuffed and completely satisfied with the meal. (Left - The plate of sashimi).

After 2 fabulous weeks in Kenya it was time to move on, though it was very difficult given the warm treatment and wonderful time we had. Unfortunately our flight out was at 4:30 in the morning, so we had to get picked up at 1:30 to make the airport in time. Tim even got up to make sure the cab arrived and that we got off okay. Christine managed about 2 hours of sleep, while I decided to stay up until we were on the flight.

A short 5 hours after flying out and we arrived in the land of the Pharaoh’s. We were met at the airport by a driver and taken to a nice hotel that feels like it should be in the centre of the tourist section, but actually is in an area that is mostly locals.

After enjoying a rest day on Sunday in Cairo and doing a bit of wandering around the hotel, we spent Saturday hitting the tour circuit. Our expectation was that our tour would be in a large bus with hordes and hordes of people. As it turns out, we had a van all to ourselves and a tour guide for just the two of us.

Our first stop was the site of the old capital of Egypt at Memphis, which is just outside of Cairo. The site has a bunch of statues and artifacts that date back thousands of years and included several large statues of Ramses II, who is one of the most prolific in their long history. He is also most likely the biblical ruler at the time that Moses led the Jews from Egypt. (Right - Christine and a large statue of Ramses II).

Following this we visited the site of the most ancient pyramid in Egypt at Sakkara. This is the step based pyramid of King Zoser and is before they started building pyramids with flat surfaces. The pyramid is surrounded by temples, party sites and the home of other pyramids for family and other important people. This particular pyramid dates back to approximately 2700 BC, so that puts it at almost 5000 years old, amazing! (Left - The pyramids at Sakkara).

Our last stop of the day was the most famous of all the pyramids, the ones at Giza. There are 3 pyramids located here, belonging to a father, son and grandson. There are also a number of small pyramids around them for their mothers, wives and daughters. The biggest period belongs to the father and it was originally over 146 metres high and is known as the great pyramid. This one has over 2 million stones in it weighing from 3.5 to 19 tonnes, which is an incredible amount of weight. The sons pyramid is slightly smaller but placed on the apex of the hill, so it looks bigger. The grandson has the smallest of the three. All of these pyramids are in the middle of the city, with a small dessert on the backside and a KFC not more than a 5 minute walk down the hill. (Right - Christine and pyramid #2)

We visited the inside of one pyramid and walked down a deep shaft into the burial chamber of the pharaoh. It is a long way down and the shaft was small so I was bent way over and still scraping my back as we went down. After hiking out we traveled down to the base of the hill and right across from the KFC is the sphinx. This monument has a long and storied history and was believed to grant peoples dreams. One very disillusioned dreamer went and knocked the nose off the sphinx when things didn’t work out. Over the years it was buried up to it’s chin in sand until another pharaoh dreamed beneath it and then unearthed it once more. Later on when Napoleon was around, he decided to spirit off the broken nose. (Left - Hovan at the great pyramids).

Above - Christine at the great pyramids

Today we visited the Egyptian museum, and it is stuffed with some of the oldest most amazing artifacts around. The museum also holds almost a complete collection of King Tutankhamen. Apparently he was a short lived and somewhat useless king, but was made famous by the fact that his is one of (if not the only) tomb that was left intact without having most things stolen from it. The artifacts covered more than half of a huge floor and included chariots, massive boxes of gold, thrones, and the most famous sarcophagus and golden mask. My question is, if this is the amount of stuff that comes out of just one pyramid, what happened to the stuff from the hundreds and hundreds of others? We are talking about warehouses and warehouses worth of stuff, how could robbers and buyers hide that much stuff?

Following the museum we took a trip to the Citadel, which is where Saladin built defenses when Egypt was conquered by the Muslims. Inside the Citadel is the Alabaster Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. The mosque was built in the early 1800’s and is very large and ornate, but it is currently undergoing some cleaning in order to bring back some of the luster of it’s original sheen.

After the mosque we visited the Old Bazaar of Khan el Khalili where it is a maze of shops, stalls and merchants. They are pretty aggressive in their sales tactics, but we managed to navigate our way through it without getting cornered into buying anything we didn’t want, or anything at all for that matter.

After a tiring day we enjoyed getting some pizza delivery to the hotel and a quiet evening in. Tomorrow we are heading off to the coastal city of Alexandria to see the sights and enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean.

Best Wishes,

Christine and Hovan