American Family Spring Vacation in Egypt 2005

All the names have been changed. This is MY VIEW - MY EXPERIENCE - MY OPINION. I write to friends and family back home on a monthly basis. After seeing someone else post their trip experience out here, I thought this might be of interest to someone who was curious about a trip to Egypt.

First, I must say that as I'm sitting down to write this, I decided for the first time in my writing to change names and hide some details (but you'll be reading a lot of details anyway because these are for us to remember too when we get really really old). You all know that the world is getting smaller, especially with the power of the Internet. The knowledge that my letter may be shared with people beyond those receiving it directly, has decide to make me careful. Ouuhhh! That just sounds so impressive but honestly, I'm thinking of a very nice woman working in a Muslim country married to a lovable(?) Muslim loser that I would never want identified and harmed in any way. You'll understand as you read the epic tale of Harvey, Wanda, and Harvey Junior in Egypt. Also, please be clear, these are OUR impressions of Egypt, I believe our experience was somewhat different from the usual tourist but you'll be the judge.

Hurghada and Luxor Egypt March 2005

As I told you in the official March letter, every year for Spring Break we head for a warm beach somewhere. Over here, those places are the Canary Islands, Egypt, and the Tsunami countries. Since we were late booking our trip, we took what we could find (I couldn't find anything - once again Harvey stepped in and arranged the trip - I am SOOO spoiled), and we went to an older resort in Hurghada Egypt on the Red Sea. It was a charter flight, directly there, about 5 hours long. But I'm skipping ahead. Lets talk about the prep work for flying to Egypt.

First you need to get a visa. All the travel agents, all the books, and anyone who's gone there will tell you that and you have two choices. Go to the Embassy here or get it at the airport when you arrive. Being the lady of leisure I've become, of course I went to the embassy here to apply in advance so there would be no ugly surprises when we got to Egypt. (I could see it now - "We thought you were Swedish but you're Americans and we don't want you here - take the next plane back.") That didn't turn out to be the case but the really weird thing was that we were never charged for the visas. They are recorded in our passports with a roughly $40 charge each but neither the embassy, or entering, or leaving Egypt did anyone collect the fee. I don't know if people getting the visa at the airport were charged and how much - an Egyptian Mystery.

We picked up a travel book on Egypt here in Sweden to cram for the trip. On sale it cost about $60. On Amazon it was about $25. (Note to self - hit bookstores during summer trip home.) This little detail is important later on. Anyhow I see the book as just another souvenir and Harvey and I took turns reading it. It was particularly interesting talking about the killing of 71 tourists, locals, and terrorists at the Temple of Hatshepsut in 1997 which was one of the places Harvey wanted to see. This prompted me to visit our US State Department web site and register our trip to Egypt so I could get any current travel warning. It said the usual - if you see people with big guns, run and hide, you know - act French. (I couldn't resist.) The other item of special interest was the warnings about the food and the water. You think Mexico has problems? Mexico is nothing compared to Egypt! Everybody, and I mean everybody Harvey talked to that has gone to Egypt has gotten sick. (Nothing like "runny-poopies" to spoil a vacation.) You are not to eat anything that hasn't been cooked (no salads for Harvey Junior) and drink nothing unless its out of a sealed bottle or can. (Remember this for later too.) We had heard that if you take Pepto-Bismol regularly it will protect you. Minor problem, they've never heard of it in the pharmacies here in Sweden. However, we mentioned Egypt and the assistant just smiled and directed us to these all natural capsules and explained how we needed to take them; starting two days before the trip, through the trip, and two days after returning, three times per day. Now these are capsules that you just swallow, no big deal, however when they hit your tongue the closest flavor I can think of is really old and stale potato chips. I read the package, they contain four different types of bacteria - yummy. The assistant just kept saying they were "all natural" just like yogurt. Okkaaayyyy.....

Now, what to pack and this was pretty amusing. The guide book says that the country is very conservative and shorts and tops leaving your shoulders bare are inappropriate outside the resort. However, almost every picture in the book showing tourists at the different sites, had women in shorts and tank tops. Hummmm..... But, it did say that you got better service and treatment if you dressed conservatively. Remember this for later too. You'll see from the pictures that I was VERY good regarding this but I'll admit I was also a little lazy because I didn't want to be doing the sunscreen thing every morning and possibly missing a spot. As it was, the country is a lot of dust and sand and when I washed my face free of sunscreen each night, half the desert showed up on the towel.

I'll note here that having American passports and living in Sweden, then flying to someplace like Egypt seems to require a little closer inspection of the passports and stamps than normal. Coming back into the country, you go up to the window one at a time and the lady actually interrogated Harvey a little and ran his passport under a black light. After he passed, he explained that his wife and child were behind him. (They track us traveling family terrorist groups very carefully.)

As for the flight, regardless of the language, when the pilot makes an announcement and everybody starts looking out one side of the plane, you know there's something to see. Harvey did want to see pyramids but where we were going there are only tombs and temples. On the bright side he did see them from about 20,000 feet as we flew up the Nile.

Going through passport control gave Harvey his first tiny inkling of unease. He told me later, the last guy to check our passports at the door coming out of passport control looked at him with something like shock, that we were Americans visiting Egypt. In advance, I had told Harvey Junior that we should be low key that we were from America given everything going on in the Middle East. Not lying, when people asked where we were from, we said we were living in Sweden. During the week, only a few realized we had American accents and they were all cool about it - probably after our money but who knows. "Democracy!" was their favorite phrase but we just couldn't figure the angle other than the obvious.

The resort was rated at 4 stars but it really was only 3 in our opinion. It needed a face lift. It had all kinds of amenities but they were pretty well worn. See picture labeled Resort. At checkin we wanted to immediately arrange a tour to Luxor. I had tried twice, a month earlier, to book one over the phone but the receptionist, "Betty" said to just come see her when we got there and she'd take care of us. Well it turns out we were talking to "Betty" at checkin. She told us to go and relax and come back later in the evening and we'd have drinks and she'd get us set up. Okkkaaayyyyy....

So, we come back later in the evening and she leaves the counter and takes us into the bar for drinks. She tells us that she has a neighbor that will take us to Luxor on a private tour for two days for about $650 cash. Hotel, food, entry fees included. What besides "neighbor", "private tour", and "cash" makes you think twice? Harvey is naturally cautious and told her that, that's a lot of money to give someone we don't know. She was probably slightly offended but come on, we really didn't know her from Eve. So, she says we can pay after we take the trip. WHAT!?!?! So we get past that and I ask her if the resort has a nail salon because mine were a mess. (The artificial nails I had for two years have now all fallen off and my hands are a mess. We'll talk about Swedish manicures and pedicures in later newsletters.) "Betty" says she will take me the following afternoon to another friend's salon off-site to get them done. Okkkkaaayyyyyy....

Obviously, the following day, Harvey and I are lying by the pool and thoroughly chewing on this. Its under the table (or so it seems) and it's really requiring a leap of faith on our part. Hell, I'll admit I was very hesitant about taking off out of the resort with someone I didn't know, into a country I didn't know, for a destination I didn't know, without a male escort (warning in all the travel literature). However, I trusted my gut instincts and went. "Betty" picked me up with a male driver and took me to a salon in a downtown Hurghada shopping mall. The owner was in the middle of a pedicure so we went out onto the sidewalk to a cafe and had some Egyptian beers - "Stella". (They only have two - Stella and Sakara.) That's where "Betty" and I started to talk. Actually, I gently and carefully started to draw out her story, looking for anything that would raise warning bells. She looked Egyptian but was actually from an Eastern European country. She had been married for 3 years now to an Egyptian and this was a classic case (In My Opinion) of a good woman making really bad mistakes but being smart enough to know not to compound them. Through the course of the next week, I got to know "Betty" better and even met her husband, AKA the lovable(?) Muslim loser. The only reason I point out his religion is that it is not her's and her father absolutely hates Muslims (along with our Turkish dry cleaner here in Sweden but that's yet ANOTHER story). "Betty" is this guy's "sugar mama". She said he lied to her about his age and only after the fact (marriage) she realized he's quite a few years younger than she is. She said she doesn't know why she loves him... Harvey had a few ideas but I'll try keep it clean for now... As for not compounding mistakes, she will lose him if she doesn't have a baby but she knows having a child and raising him in Egypt as a Muslim is a dead end. The schools are very poor. Plus this lovable loser sleeps all day and runs around all night. (Harvey may be on to something.) BTW sections of this letter are not for anybody under 16... there's a couple of sections on boobs and bare bodies coming up.

Anyway, "Betty" and I drink beer and I learn about life for a foreign woman in a Muslim country. In three years, she knows only one Egyptian woman, her husband's sister, and that's only because the sister has had some kind of education and so is not like the traditional Egyptian woman. MY observation is that Egyptian women are little better than slaves. As for the men, one third work, one third are police, and one third sit around all day drinking and smoking. But, you decide as you read.

After the beers, we were waiting for the salon to call us when "Betty" decides to take me to another friend's salon on the other side of town. In the second salon, the owner immediately starts to do my nails just as the first salon calls. Too late. I want to point out that both nail salons were run by Scandinavian women and the second one had an Egyptian husband too I think. There was an Egyptian looking guy hanging outside the shop the whole time I was there who would occasionally come in and hold and play with her baby. Anyway, she did my nails and they talked me into plucking and dyeing darker my eyebrows (never did that before). Damn! Plucking hurts! The nails and eyebrows cost me about $17. Test number one passed - I wasn't overcharged - actually I thought it was so cheap (compared to Sweden) I gave her a $5 tip (that caused shock). During this, time was stretching out and knowing Harvey, I had "Betty" call the hotel to let him know everything was fine but we were running a little late. (I was gone about 4 1/2 hours so Harvey was having his 2nd tiny inkling of unease.) I can see it now "Terrorists kidnap tourist" followed later by "Terrorists surrender to police and request police protection".

On the way back to the hotel, "Betty" takes me to meet "Halil", her next door neighbor, running the private Luxor trip. Come to see, Betty runs her own souvenir shop in town. "Halil" has the dive shop next door and also runs private tours. Talk about some miscommunication. "Halil" shows me pictures and answers all my questions about what we will do and see and gives me business cards for his web site. Needless to say, Harvey and I go ahead and pay for the trip up front. Our comfort level had risen 100%.

Quick note here, the sun shone the entire time we were in Egypt but the wind also blew the entire time in Hurghada. The tree growth shows that the wind blows constantly. And they have flies - black flies - that are so tough that the breeze doesn't blow them away. And they keep trying to land on your mouth and eyes. The temperatures steadily rose while we were there but we did not go swimming or snorkeling in the Red Sea. It was just too cold.

OK now - boobs and bare bottoms. Regarding modesty, as Americans, we are between the Egyptians and the Europeans. The Egyptian woman shows only her face, hands, and if at the beach - ankles and feet, trust me we'll get there. As for the Europeans, oh boy. We go down to the beach on the first day and a large blonde Norwegian woman is lying there topless. I think Harvey Junior's exact words were "Apparently you don't have to wear your bathing suit." There were a few women along the beach doing the same, however, as Harvey would later complain, all needed a Weight Watchers program and one he pointed out to me had no business being in a two piece bathing suit (I still can't believe he said she was also lying topless.) The only time I've ever seen a woman that large wear a two piece bathing suit is on one of those cheezy postcards you get as a gag gift. As for bare bottoms, around the pools, kids as old as 4 and 5 were occasionally naked. On our first day to the pool, there was another Nordic blond, calmly putting on her bathing suit top, repositioning it, and tucking large amounts of flesh back into it. She was built like a brick house. Everybody there who bothered to look got both eyes full. But, as Harvey put it, how come there are no 18-22 year olds doing that? All the women entertaining the voyeurs were either too young or too old to care. In case you're wondering, no I didn't, if Harvey Junior had not been with us I would have (since I'm in the TOO YOUNG to care category), but since he was, I decided no. Believe me we'll revisit this more later, I haven't gotten to the men yet.

Anyway, lets move on to the Luxor tour because that was the highlight of the trip. Before I forget, "Betty" called "Halil" periodically while we were with him over the two days to speak to us and ask us how we were enjoying the trip so far.

Where to begin...remember I mentioned earlier that one third of the men are police? Well everywhere you go, airport, hotel, town, alongside the roads, are men in uniform with automatic weapons. I am not exaggerating when I say everywhere. I have never been in a country with a greater police presence. Obviously tourists are Egypt's life blood and any threat to them is dealt with immediately and with deadly force. So, to go from Hurghada to Luxor you must go in a police escorted convoy and have a special permit from the government. Every day, three convoys go to Luxor and three convoys come back. There were easily 50 buses and mini vans in our convoy. All vehicles drive to a meeting place where the convoy forms. That's the first pit stop. Then there's a semi-midway pit stop, then next stop Luxor. The drive takes about 4 1/2 hours with only the midway pit stop. There is an empty bus in the convoy in case anyone breaks down.

The drive. The first half of the trip out of Hurghada is desert and big piles of small rocks. At one point you're weaving through canyons. Remember seeing the pictures from Mars on TV? If someone put a picture of the landscape here next to one from Mars, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference - right down to the pinky/red color. See attached picture labeled Martian Landscape. As you get closer to Luxor, you drive along a canal that siphons water from the Nile for crops and irrigation. They grow lots of stuff including sugar cane. I'm telling you this because when we returned to Hurghada the following evening, it was in the dark and we passed burning sugar cane fields. (It was slightly freaky.) Now the ultimate in freaky is how the police close the roads and side streets as the convoy flies through the towns along the way. Every side street is blocked and each one has an official policeman with an automatic weapon or a local in traditional robes holding a rifle. On the road itself, most of the local traffic is pulled off to the side waiting for the convoy to pass. This goes on for miles. Its hard to believe it happens a total of 6 times per day. (Ever listen to people bitch about a funeral procession or official motorcade? This would make them ballistic.) On the other hand "Halil" said that the locals didn't mind because as you get closer to Luxor, 110% of the population work in the tourist trade ; ) .

OK, so we get into Luxor and the convoy disbands and "Halil" is taking us to see and check into our hotel. He reassured me when I first met him, if we didn't like it, he'd arrange other accommodations. Anyway, we're driving along and next thing you know, we are in the "Hood". As we're coming down the street, we pass tourists taking rides on camels but it is SO local and off the beaten path, you start to wonder. We get to the end of the street where there's a small parking area and our driver drives out of it, onto this dirt street where one side is the Nile and the other is the local shops. We're dodging donkeys and people as we turn into a tiny side alley. Harvey and I are giving each other the "What have we gotten into?" looks. We pull further up this tiny dirt alley and stop on a cobblestone area in front of a walled compound. We walked in the doors and found ourselves in a beautiful (but old) tiled reception area. 10 feet straight ahead took us back outside into a beautiful, lush courtyard with tables and a small swimming pool with bar. The room "Halil" got us had two bedrooms that opened onto a recessed circular balcony with table and chairs. These accommodations were better than what we had back at the resort. The hotel was the "El Gezira Gardens" and located across the Nile from Luxor Temple. It had a roof top restaurant and beautiful roof top sitting areas that any hotel guest could enjoy. We noticed from the top that a lot of buildings in the immediate vicinity were undergoing renovations. This was the first time we ever paid for two hotel rooms at the same time (Hurghada and Luxor).

Back to the tour. We drop our bags and "Halil" takes us off to the Valley of the Kings. Along the way you can see local houses built on the hillsides where you also see openings to other tombs. "Halil" said the government is now relocating these people so they stop looting the tombs. On an interesting side note, these little mud brick huts had satellite dishes mounted on a surprising number of them, yet they were hauling water home on donkeys from a community well.

We get to the Valley and "Halil" gets us the tickets for the tombs. One ticket allows you to visit 3 different tombs. King Tut's tomb is an extra fee. "Halil" takes us to three tombs he thinks we should see to get the best flavor of them. The first is from the 18th dynasty and had an elaborate sarcophagus in it. A discreet bribe allowed us to take pictures in it. See picture labeled 18th Dyn Tomb. The second tomb was of the 19th dynasty and had a mummy. A discreet bribe allowed us to take pictures of it. The final tomb had too many people coming in and out but if I had thought fast, I bet I could have bribed the attendant to let me take a picture of the magnificent murals on the walls. This was from the 20th dynasty. You're not allowed to take pictures in the tombs because it will make the paint fade over time.

Special note: after I sent out the letter with the pictures, a friend pointed out that I had "orbs" in my tomb shots. I went back and checked all the photos and sure enough, only those pictures taken in the final rooms where the sarcophagus lie, had the orbs. Not the pictures in the passageways or anywhere else. She said that orbs are the spirits of dead people. If that's so, those two tombs were PACKED with spirits. Cooolllll......

About the tombs themselves, I was fascinated at the colors and the details of all the writings and pictures. One tomb was only partially completed and that's when we realized that there were multiple steps in the artwork. First you paint your symbols on. Then you carve them out. Then you apply color. We thought that the 2nd tomb was still undergoing restoration when "Halil" explained that the pharaoh never got to finish it. And, did you know that some pharaohs hijacked other tombs by craving their names deeper on top of the previous owner's name? Also, I find it amazing that the work in these tombs was done by oil lamps and strategically placed mirrors. I slowly took my time and examined everything from ceiling to floor. (Even the ceilings were incredible.) "Halil" was the sole of patience answering all my questions and teaching me about hieroglyphics. Harvey and Harvey Junior would have preferred to move faster. By the way, "Halil" also said he had a degree in Egyptology. Either way, he was a font of knowledge.

Now for the fun people-part. These tomb attendants must make peanuts because they were delighted to take our bribes which were the equivalent of $1-3 US. They kept telling Harvey how many "babies" they had at home to feed. They were our "Best American Friend" - you try figure that one out. The funniest had to be the old guy who was telling Harvey how many steps he had to climb to go up and down in the tomb, but when we were leaving, he flew up the stairs like a gazelle.

On a really funny note, The Valley of the Kings is on the other side of the mountain from the Temple of Hatshepsut. Some enterprising (or really stupid) people climbed over the mountain and into the Valley, bypassing the ticket office to tour the tombs. Well you can't go in a tomb without a ticket. That and the fact that the climb up and down would challenge a mountain goat AND it was a hot day, makes me think they were pretty stupid. However, running the souvenir gauntlet made ME think of leaving the Valley the way they came in. Look at the Mountain Goats picture. This is a local neighborhood with temples of Nobles above it and if you look closely you'll see the white lines going up and over the mountain. That is an example of the paths and terrain.

At every temple and tomb, there was a souvenir gauntlet that the tourists had to run. It really was pretty sad because if the merchants didn't attack like sharks smelling blood, I would have loved to stroll and look at their wares (and probably buy). At one site, Harvey Junior was lagging behind and got pounced on. He was so desperate to get away from the guy, he started pulling money out of his pocket before Harvey intervened. Going in and out of them, we found ourselves shadowing "Halil" and picking up our pace.

Next we drove over to the Temple of Hatshepsut. The construction of these places just takes your breath away and I can't tell you just how cool it is to be watching the Discovery Channel now and see these places and remember what they are like for real. On a human interest note, "Halil" was giving a tour the day the massacre there took place. One member of his tour wanted to come to the Temple first but "Halil" steered them to the tombs first. (I've got to tell you that "Halil" timed our visits to these sites so we missed the main crush of tourist buses. It worked out fabulous.) Anyway, while at the tombs, word of the "accident" spread among the guides, so "Halil" took his group to a different temple after the tombs. At the end of the day, he told his group what happened. Everybody fled the country and he was out of work for a whole year. See why there are police everywhere? Even at the tombs, there are rock walls piled up above the paths to the tombs that police man with automatic weapons. I almost forgot, walking into the Valley of the Kings, you had to go through a metal detector. "Halil" asked us in advance to make sure we left anything that could be construed as a weapon in the van. Since my Swiss Army knife was back in the luggage, we were good.

We made a short stop at the Colossi of Memnon (see Memnon picture with Harvey Junior) before heading to lunch.

Lunch was an experience in itself. "Halil" took us home to his house for lunch. Yes, some experiences money just can't buy and it was great. We pull up to his house and there's a skinny donkey outside. His dad, in long traditional robes greets us on his way out. "Halil" motions to us to follow him in, where he takes a silver cup and scoops water from a bucket to pour over our hands into another bucket so we can wash before lunch. The first room in the dwelling has a big wooden table with bench seats all around. It has chicken, bread, rice, cold spinach-like soup, and a chopped squash vegetable dish. We were given individual plates which is obviously a Western custom because we eventually learned that Egyptians eat community style with everybody eating out of the same big bowl and double dipping. The food was very good and afterwards we went next door to see the new house he's building. The house we ate in was a huge mud and straw building with walls over a foot thick. It was cool and dark and very nice after touring temples in the hot Egyptian sun.

The house "Halil" is building is all masonry construction. And as he gets the money, he builds more of it. If you can get a bank loan for construction, the interest rate is about 25% he said, so he's doing it as he gets the money. He plans for it to be maybe 5 stories and house his family, have 3 apartments for rent, two storefronts for shops, and a small health club. "Halil" would like to marry and have a family but he said he needs "stability". That was his favorite word. I think he means a steady source of income. He came across to me as a hardworking Muslim that was only interested in improving his life and that of his family. He made two or three comments over the two days to the effect that he wasn't interested in politics and the world situation, he just wanted "stability".

Back to Egyptian construction for a moment, as we passed houses on our way to Luxor, many had concrete pillars and rebar sticking out of the tops - like they were unfinished. "Halil" said that once a house is finished, the government comes in and taxes you for it. So, people leave them unfinished and when the tax man comes by, they tell him that they're still under construction. "Halil" was funny. He said something to the effect that "The government comes up with rules and we find our way around them". Also, I'll mention here, the amount of construction taking place in Hurghada was nothing like I've ever seen in my life. Literally half the buildings in your view were under construction. If it was any place other than Egypt, I'd want to buy property there. Curiously though, some weren't actively under construction. According to "Halil" some Egyptians have gone to the bank to get money to build hotels there, but after getting part way through the construction, they decide to leave the country with the remaining money instead of finishing the work. I don't know how true that is, but that's what he said. I got the impression that most of the hotels and resorts that were under active construction or up and running were owned by Europeans.

Back to lunch. We go back into his house, the meal has been cleared from the table and we're served hot Egyptian tea. It was very good and I'm disappointed I didn't manage to buy some to bring home. And you guys who think I put a lot of sugar in MY tea - Egyptians have tea with their sugar. Anyway, you could hear sounds from the room adjacent to the dining area, maybe the kitchen?, but we didn't ask and weren't shown any more of the interior of the old house. Never saw his mom. At one point during that day "Halil" asked me if I wanted to stay in Egypt. I said I'd love to stay longer, so he said he'd offer Harvey some outrageous number of camels for me. I just laughed and said after 20 years of marriage, Harvey might offer him camels to keep me there. On a serious note, any European or American woman thinking of marrying an Egyptian man should undergo a mental competency exam followed by crisis intervention. Or better yet, have them live confined in a hotel room for one year with one or two other girlfriends and no outside communication because that's my impression of their lives. “Betty” was free probably because she would never allow herself to be locked up like that. European women married to Egyptians seem to be the bread winners of the family. Along those lines, I kept asking "Halil" about the black burka that the Egyptian women were all wearing. He said it was very light weight and they could be wearing anything they wanted under it - basically implying that it wasn't as hot and uncomfortable as it looked. I rolled my eyes a few times at him during the remainder of the trip implying that I just didn't quite believe him. Maybe if the burkas were white? But I guess then they might be see through.

After lunch (which was really more like an early dinner) we headed back to the hotel. "Halil" suggested that if we wanted to do more that evening, we might want to see the Karnak Temple light show, which was just across and up the river from the hotel. Since we wanted to cram in as much as possible, we asked him to get us the time of the show in English. (They did it in 5 different languages.) Meanwhile, Harvey Junior went for a swim and we relaxed watching him and drinking some Sakaras. That evening, "Halil" walked us down to the Nile and we took one of the water taxis across to Karnak. Being on a boat at night on the Nile was really nice and made us miss ours on Lanier.

The light show was extra so we paid for it. BTW - food, drinks, and the tours in Egypt are cheaper than anything we've experienced in the past anyplace else. So, we're standing in front of Karnak Temple as the crowd builds for the show to start. Another people note - large tourist groups move like wildebeest herds. As soon as one or two people do something, the rest follow suit. At one point, a few people moved up to the very beginning of the entrance area. Suddenly everybody is moving up and dragging us with the flow. Then, Harvey Junior goes over to sit on the ledge of the walkway and suddenly everybody who can get a spot is doing the same thing. Harvey and I were royally entertained just watching the crowd dynamics. Adding to this amusement, at sunset, loudspeakers from the local mosque start chanting Muslim prayers. The echo off the temple walls made you think there were multiple broadcasts that were all out of sync.

Then the light show starts. We are really spoiled by Disney and Spielberg productions. It was dramatic lighting of the temple while different voices recounted its history. It was very educational and informative and I was surprised that Harvey liked it more than I did. Again though, lets talk about the people aspect. I still don't get flash photography at a light show. I was hoping these people were wasting real film, not just snapping digital. (I was getting pretty tired and cranky.) And talk about lousy planning, around the middle of the show, you have about 2000 or more people being directed (in the dark) through a doorway about 5 feet wide. To top it off, you have attendants asking you to hurry. That's about the time I started thinking I had enough of Egypt for one night and wanted my bed. As soon as it was over, we met up with “Halil", took the same water taxi back (they were sleeping on the boat where they dropped us off), and turned in for the night - totally exhausted.

The next morning we awoke at daybreak to the sound of loudspeakers from the local community chanting Muslim prayers again and a chorus of donkeys braying. It really was comical.

We took the very same water taxi from the previous evening to a place called "Banana Island". The water taxi let Harvey Junior drive a little. See the picture "Nile Taxi". Its just a big tropical plantation where we tried our first green bananas ever. It was like walking through the jungle. "Halil" must have mentioned we were American because the owner asked Harvey if he'd change Egyptian pounds for two dollars he had. "Halil" says that Russian tourists come with American money all the time. For some reason, these people really don't like Russian tourists - they say they are terrible liars.

Again, the same water taxi took us back to Luxor where we met up with the van and driver. Now I got to see Karnak Temple during the day and its breathtaking. We did discover how the Egyptians built these temples, I don't understand why it was such a mystery. See the picture labeled Temple Construction. Ha Ha.

I won't bore you with temple details except that I was slowly trying to absorb everything while Harvey and Harvey Junior (and maybe after a while "Halil") were trying to make me move just a wee bit faster. I didn't know that all these temples we saw are still under restoration and 5-10 years from now, there will be more to see. As the government gets more money, more work is done. Now, more fun people stuff. At Karnak, we stopped for a drink at the tourist stand and "Halil" shows me a book with more details on ancient construction. I look at the price and its the equivalent of $12 and I say out loud, "Is that all?" Harvey just rolled his eyes because he knew he could haggle the price even lower. I was just caught by surprise because of the $60 we spent on the Egypt book in Sweden. As I read the book later I found it was very interesting because it was translated and published in Italy and the translation was a little rough. (Terminated = completed). The other people interest item at Karnak was the school group we bumped into. The boys were all about Harvey Junior's age and the teacher asked "Halil" to ask us, if we would allow him to take a picture of us with his group. ???? Other than being caught totally by surprise with the request, we saw no reason to say no. Then the boys literally mobbed Harvey Junior to get next to him. Later, we asked "Halil" to explain and he just shrugged and said it was something for the boys to brag about in school - they went on a field trip and made a friend from another country. Okkaaaayyyyy..... See picture School Mob.

Then we headed over to Luxor Temple. "Halil" asked if we wanted to do lunch first but I requested we go to Luxor and then lunch because after that, it would be getting close to the time to hook up with the convoy returning to Hurghada. During the tour of Luxor, "Halil" got a few phone calls that made him pretty upset. I heard him say "shit" a few times. Harvey figured out later that it was because he was having his friend keep his restaurant and buffet open for us even though he never let on. One of the wildest things about Luxor was the graffiti from the late 1800s. Some guys actually chiseled their names into the temple. One spot had spray paint (but not spray paint) writing over a big section of hieroglyphics. It was bizarre to see graffiti that was over a hundred years old on top of hieroglyphics that were thousands of years old. See the graffiti picture. Also, there were a lot of hieroglyphics regarding the pharoah's fertility that Harvey Junior originally thought were showing a mis-shapened leg. Glad he only picked up on those pictures towards the end of our tour.

Finally we went to lunch at his friend's restaurant which was pretty decent. Then we went to the papyrus museum/tourist trap before we met up with the convoy to return. "Halil" really had the timing down. We got to this museum just as a busload of tourists were leaving which meant we had a lot of individual attention. Honestly, it got a little annoying because every time I got close to examining the detail on one of the papyrus, the sales guy assisting us would rush up and start explaining its story. To tell you the truth, I couldn't have cared less about the story, I was more interested in the details and workmanship of the picture. Finally Harvey and I settled on a large picture that is actually history’s first recorded wedding card from a tomb. I just took it to be matted and framed. (That cost compares with the states... ugh!)

Now the people part. The sales guy said that we could pick four other smaller papyrus as gifts for our large purchase (it wasn't THAT large). We found 4 others that we liked and then he wanted to have our names written in hieroglyphics on one. Well we didn't, so we said we were giving them as gifts (and there was no way it was going on the big one). So he insisted we pick yet another to have our names written on. OK, fine, we picked yet another and Harvey tipped the young lady who wrote our names along the edges. I figure its going to take some clever matting to hide it. ; ) We finished up just in time to drive to the convoy spot and get in line. Not a moment to spare. On the drive home I think one of the mini-vans hit something because we had ambulances heading back to Luxor and I caught a glimpse of a van pulled over with the front end smashed in.

I have to add comments about the way Egyptians drive. First of all, in a convoy, think, you can only go as fast as the lead police vehicle. Well that didn't stop the drivers of these buses and passenger vans (ours included) of driving like they were in a race. They'd be passing each other on turns and back and forth like they were driving in the Indy 500 jockeying for the pole position. Most of the time, we were so close to the vehicle in front of us that if we were stopped, I would be able to walk between the buses with my arms outstretched and easily touch them both. It was nuts especially since they only drive with parking lights (not low beams) at night so as not to blind the other drivers. Harvey was sitting in the seat behind but between the driver and "Halil" and while they had and were using seat belts, the rest of the van did not. Yeah.... And you would not believe the number of little white donkeys all over the place both day and night hauling sugar cane, pulling carts, or carrying passengers. "Halil" said the police at the intersections had guns because sometimes the donkeys failed to stop. Interpret that any way you want. Harvey and I made a game out of trying to decipher the light flashing and honking between drivers but it was too cryptic. Sometimes it would mean its OK to pass, other times it meant - hold up - traffic coming. Oh, and if you are a pedestrian, in the street, you are fair game. (In Sweden if you even look like you think you are going to cross the street, traffic stops.)

Now for the European guys around the resort pool. But first, I KNOW the human body is a beautiful thing in all its shapes and sizes but I guess deep down I'm a bit of a prude. That said, Attention male population!, unless you can give Michelangelo's David a run for his money, you should NOT wear a speedo. But, if you are one of the rare guys who can wear a speedo, under NO circumstance should you EVER wear it with a t-shirt that hangs at the wrong length (use your imagination here) and NEVER EVER add a pair of tennis shoes to the afore mentioned outfit. The ridiculousness of said outfit made me snort my beer the wrong way and almost choke on the pent-up laughter. The guy would have looked better off naked. And, I'm sorry and I know the human body is beautiful but, if you have a belly hanging over your waistband, please cover up. I really have to wonder what the Egyptian staff at the resort (all male) thinks of what they see on a daily basis. The staff was always in long sleeves and slacks.

On a side note, the regular staff at the resort makes about $25 per month and has a place to sleep and get all their meals there. However, they are not allowed to have a family with them because I think they stay in dormitory type conditions. "Betty" filled me in on these details. She said that there is an Egyptian woman working in the laundry area in a fairly important position, otherwise the staff is all male. "Betty" had to get special government permission to work at the resort. I think the women's bathroom attendant at the airport was also Egyptian. Otherwise, all shops and businesses we encountered were either run by Egyptian men or European men and women.

On the way back from Luxor we had mentioned to "Halil" that we'd like to go fishing. He said to call him and he'd take care of us. With two full days left, we asked "Betty" about it and she said no because it would be too expensive for us because "Halil" would have to hire a boat. She set up arrangements with someone else to take us out. At the last minute, she said she went to check out the boat (she wanted it to be clean for us) and it wasn't ready so she turned us over to "Halil" again. He hired a boat and took us out for two hours, which was not what we planned. However, lunch was an unexpected and educational surprise that made it all worth while.

To begin with, we are with "Halil" at the "locals" beach. Maybe you've seen this on other beaches before. They run divider/privacy walls down almost to the water's edge and if you are hanging on the beach, you hang in your section. The "local" section was about 50 feet wide with a resort on one side and a resort dock on the other side. Now picture this, we're sitting back under cover slightly apart from the regular locals, of which the women are total covered except for their hands, faces, and feet lounging on wooden beach chairs. The men were a mix of traditional and western clothing but you didn't see any bathing suits here either. Next door on the resort pier, you have large European men and women getting on and off boats in speedos and two piece bathing suits that left nothing to the imagination. The culture clash was just so bizarre as to be almost surreal. I had on long baggy shorts that left my knees and below bare and received some disapproving looks from the local women but it could have been too because I was on "their" turf.

"Halil" had lunch delivered from a local restaurant and its was fabulous. We had fresh baked fish, calamari, brown rice, and pita-type bread. We all ate community style out of the pans. (See local lunch picture.) We literally stuffed ourselves. Now on a not-so-great note, I'm afraid the alcohol content of Egyptian beer is not enough to kill germs. While we were waiting for the food to arrive, "Halil" and Harvey Junior had sodas to drink (from a can) and Harvey and I had some beers that they brought and poured into mugs. Honest, when the bartender sat the mug down in front of me, I could swear it had been rinsed in brownish water. If I could have, I would have poured the first little bit of beer out of my glass and refilled it from the bottle. I convinced myself it was my imagination. Later that night Harvey and I got hit. Fortunately, with the medicines we were OK in less than an hour. So, everybody who goes to Egypt gets sick regardless.

Being our last night, "Betty" made us promise to come over to her apartment for dinner. We stopped by her store to buy souvenirs and she overwhelmed us with gifts to the point it was getting uncomfortable. She really took a shine to Harvey Junior. I think he made her miss the son she has in college in California. Plus, she refunded 20% of the money we paid to go on the fishing trip because of its duration. We were shocked and awed. Anyway she had purchased 3 freshly killed chickens and made us a lavish Eastern European dinner. Her husband was there when we arrived but took off right before the meal was served. (And she loves him why?) After dinner we had tea and fresh fruits before returning to the hotel. Between this and lunch, we were rolling, not walking back to the room. But, I know the beer mugs made us sick because Harvey Junior ate everything we did and never got sick. He was our control subject, so to speak. Which begs a point, Harvey Junior never got sick in Egypt.

I want to mention that “Betty” ‘s apartment was quite different from “Halil” ‘s home. It was decorated rather vibrantly in rich colors and fabrics - very Eastern European. But I guess that makes sense.

Oh, we also found the worst airport for departures on the planet. Hurghada. All flights are "On Time" regardless of the time. There is no such thing as a line. And every place you need to be requires squeezing through a small door with lots of other people. I'd be afraid to take a child through those mobs younger than Harvey Junior. Atlanta-Hartsfield on its worst day is still better than Hurghada.

I can't believe I have anything more to add to this epic tale except that, In My Opinion, Egypt is about 100 years behind the US in education and social services. It somehow doesn't seem right that a country that once had a culture that surpassed anything else on the planet should now be so far behind. And most of the population in Egypt seems to smoke. The resorts used credit cards but everybody else dealt in cash. I saw a woman washing her laundry in the Nile in Luxor.

This really was the trip of a lifetime and gave me a glimpse of a Muslim country that was quite eye-opening. It was so strange and different that Harvey and I were happy to be returning to Sweden but would have been happier still, if we had been returning to the US and everything that was mind-numbingly familiar and comfy-cozy. Yes, even I wanted to be "home-home". In my tiny glimpse of this country, I think their problem with the US and the West may stem from jealousy to some degree. Think about it, with satellite TV you see images from all over the world yet you're still living in a dirt hut, going out daily for water, and looking for a job to support your family. If you don't make money, you don't eat. I think "Halil" was supporting about 7 other family members. If nothing else, this trip only reinforced to me how lucky I was to be born out of all the places on this planet, in the US. You never realize how good you have it until you taste another person's life.

Anyway, I hope my story wasn't a snooze-fest for you and yours. As an additional note, the week after we got back, Egypt, specifically Cairo, had its first attack on tourists since 1997. One young American was among the bombing victims in an outdoor market. Whew.

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