There was a cold wind blowing when I got up to take some photos. We got away pretty early, stopping at an ATM before reaching Petra at 9:30. It took us about it 1.5hrs to walk down through the gorge to the famous Treasury building which is actually a royal mausoleum. In fact the whole place is full of tombs of the Nabataeans from C3 BC. Our guide left us to wander on our own which we did. As it is Friday schools are closed and there were lots of pint-sized peddlers, some who looked only about 3 or 4. We made our way slowly down to the temple before we decided that this was far enough and we headed back. Since David has a cold and is feeling miserable, and I'm never one for walking up, we had decided to pay for a ride back to the gate. The bus took off for Amman at 14:45 Middle East summer time.
Most of us had a bit of a snooze then we stopped at a road house /gift shop along the way and got to the hotel at 18:15.
At 19:00 we went to a local restaurant them all came home to bed.
Today we had a mini-bus, so were too squashed to take many photos. We drove north of Eliat to Timba Park where we saw interesting geological features, sites of ancient significance and an authentic model of the Exodus Tabernacle, which was explained very well. Back in town we visited a stone/crystal jewelry maker, then went to the mall (bags checked before entering) to buy SIM cards and McD's for lunch.
Then it was through the border crossing and into Jordan where our new guide and a nice big bus were waiting.
It took about 2 hours to get to our accommodation at Taybet Zaman near Petra. This is a whole village which has been converted to guest accommodation, with each house becoming a suite. It is beautiful, and dinner in the restaurant was great.
Today's wake-up call was early - 1:00. By 1:30 we were walking through the monastery grounds to the camel compound and by 1:45 we were on our way up Mt Sinai. The camel ride took us 2/3 of the way in 1.5hrs. Then there were 750+ steps to climb. A Bedouin guide was assigned to help me, and with his support and my mountain climbing stick we reached the last rest house just as the sky was lightening. We all waited for 45 mins and made the final assault on the summit in time for sunrise at 5:48.
The climb down was very hard, the path rutted, rocky and gravelly that we hadn't seen in the dark. The stragglers took more than an hour on top of the others and were thoroughly exhausted. We had just enough time for a quick shower, get our bags to the bus and stuff a bit of cold breakfast before we were off at 10:15 to meet the police escorted convoy to Taba, at the top of the Gulf of Aquaba. It was very quiet trip as most people slept. So we said a sad farewell to Gigi and Hashem, who had been fantastic, and crossed over the border into Israel.
Our new guide met us and took us to the hotel. We went to the beach but it was rocky and cold water, so we came back to the pool for a quick swim before dinner and an early night.
I missed sunrise by 10mins, then we slowly got ourselves organised and went down to the beach where 6 were having an early morning swim. After breakfast we went too. The wster was so clear, a real turquoise, and reef fishes swimming by. We headed off at about 11:00, with a brief stop at a road house to buy junk snacks for lunch. The road through the Sth Sinai mountains winds and climbs and we passed through several road blocks. It rained briefly and later we were told that there had been a real downpour which flooded the road. At the main intersection our police escort vehicle didn't come and Gigi talked them into letting us go on anyway. We reached St Catherine's at 15:50, just in time for our planned tour around the monastery. We stayed at the monastery accommodation, and all went to bed very early.
We packed our bags and said goodbye to the Marriott, then headed to old Cairo, the Coptic area. These people are descendants of the ancient Egyptians and are mostly Christian. We visited St Mary's hanging church, C4, and Sts Sergius and Bacchus church, the 2nd and oldest churches in Egypt. The latter was built over a cave said to have been inhabited by the Holy Family when they fled from Herod. We also went to a no-longer-used synagogue. We headed to Giza by way of a papyrus making shop.
The pyramids are the great tourist attraction you would expect- people, peddlers, animals- but they are huge and solid and ancient.
We climbed on the big one, patted the third and admired the second from a distance. We went to the sphinx and temple and it was time to go. Stopped at an Egyptian cotton shop on the way out.
We had been booked on a plane at 17:45, but it was cancelled, so we changed to 19:15. We loaded up, bussed for miles around the tarmac, started out to the runway and stopped. There was a problem with the plane, so they bussed us back, we waited, they bussed us out again and we took off at 20:30. Sharm el Sheik is a tourist diving resort popular with Brits, Russians and Italians. Its a hard life.
We started the day with another felucca ride -a bit cooler than the last time. Then we spent nearly 5 hours at the Egyptian museum, an extensive collection of 7000 years of history of one nation. No photos. But it's set out in a very old style, lots of relics in glass cases with small or no labels. They are building a new one, and I hope they'll put in more chairs.
We ate in the bus, then drove through town to 'garbage city', a section of the city whose residents - mostly Coptic Christians - sort rubbish. They have excavated a huge church (10, 000 capacity) out of the sandstone mountain.
Now we are back and getting ready for another boat dinner, this time with belly dancing. Tomorrow morning we will leave the Marriott, do Giza, and in the evening fly to Sharm el Sheik on the Gulf of Aquaba, to prepare for our assault on Mt Sinai. Don't know when I'll be back.
Today was our Islam day. We started at the Citadel, which was built by Saladin in C12. It was the seat of government until C19. The adjoining mosques were built about C19, one in Egyptian style the other Italian. We visited another 2 mosques. We had about an hour on our own exploring one of the market places, being constantly greeted - " where you from? Ozzie ozzie! "or pressured " How can I take your money? "
We often drive past the City of the dead. The bones in the mausoleums are collected and put aside and people move in. It's better than no home at all.
We had a rest back at the hotel, and then went to Giza to the sound and light show at the pyramids. I'm told it was pretty good but I missed a bit. Zzzz Then we had seafood dinner, 5 courses, from the Red Sea, then went home.
We had to get up early, say goodbye to our crew and get to Aswan airport for the 9:30 flight to Abu Simbel, about 300km south almost to Sudan. It took only 30min, then we got an Egyptian Air bus to our last 2 ancient temples. This is another site saved from the dam by UNESCO. There are some really big statues and lots of interesting carvings.
Back on the plane and I discovered that there was wifi at the airport. But we got back to the Marriott and found that they have free wifi in the lobby so now we're set for a few days. On the way back we stopped for a 4 course Italian meal on a floating restaurant on the Nile. It was very crowded because it was Mothers' Day. It reminded us of another Italian meal on a boat.
We left the boat fairly early and for our first stop went to the Unfinished Obelisk. Then via the old dam, built early 1900s by the British, to the High Dam, built by Russians in 1960s. 42 villages and about 17 temples were moved to make way for Lake Nasser. On the way back we caught a boat to the island called Philae where UNESCO moved the temple about 500m. On the way back to town we stopped at a perfumery where we all had a mini massage with their oil essences.
We had a rest after lunch and some people dressed up again. We then climbed onto a feluka and sailed up the river to the Old Cataract hotel where we had another low High Tea and a bit of a look around where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile.
After dinner we were entertained by a group of Nubian dancers which was great fun.
I was already awake when the mosque across the road started at 4:30am. The engines started at 5:20, and I got up to see the sunrise.
At 9:15 we headed off by horse and carriage to Edfu temple, through the market place and the crazy traffic. Already we are feeling a bit ABT. We got back to the boat for lunch and a loaf, and then were at Kom Ombo for another temple, some mummified crocodiles and sunset.
This evening we all dressed for dinner in our Egyptian gear, then had a party afterwards. Spain v Oz in silly games. By bedtime we were at Aswan.
We were allowed to sleep in for a bit, then went by bus to the Karnak temples complex, which dates from the Middle Kingdom and covers 2 sq kms. Pillars, obelisks, hieroglyphics all huge and amazing. We came home and were having lunch when the boat started to move.
We sat on deck watching the world go by until a small boat came along side and peddlers started to throw their towels and tablecloths up to us to buy. They got a bit cross when I wouldn't buy and when someone threw stuff back and it landed in the water. These peddlers are extremely persistent and they are at every tourist site. They get right in your face and pester and pester, dropping their prices bit by bit. They really spoil the shopping experience because they won't take NO. Anyway I had to go because it was time for our massages.
We got to Esna lock and peddlers came from everywhere. They yelled and threw things. Some were cross and made rude gestures but others had a bit of fun. Then we stopped for the night. There was a small cocktail party in the bar before tea, and after we had a bit of a disco.
