Saturday, 12 July 2025

Egypt - Wednesday 21st May - Aswan


 
Today many of our fellow passengers had a very early start to take a flight to Abu Simbel. This was a temple complex that was carefully moved, otherwise it would have been flooded by the Aswan Dam which is pictured (with dingo dog type accessory) above.
 
We didn't take this tour as it was an optional and a very expensive tour. The great thing about Viking is that most of their shore excursions are included in the price. (As is alcohol with meals). We took two paid extra tours, the night markets in Cairo that I've previously discussed and the GEM which is yet to come!
 
So the approx 25 passengers left onboard had a sleep in  and then went off on a coach trip with Program director Fatma.
 

 Built in the 1960's to control the Nile floods and provide hydro electricity it is one of the largest dams in the world. I guess it also provided employment for thousands of people during its construction. Same as great cathedrals and pyramids, build a whole community around a project. The workers, their families, the shops needed to provide daily essentials and so on...
 

 And it remains hugely controversial. They had to relocate a hundred thousand people, it changed the fishing industry and stopped the Nile crocodile from inhabiting it further north.
However it does mean that the Nile is now deep enough to support tor ships.
 
 
 There is also some sort of water war, this is a river that spans several countries and the the Ethiopians also have built a dam which is having effects on everyone downstream. 
 

 The Nile supports this little strip of green in the middle of a huge desert.
 
And this is where I need to speak about the dogs.
Wild dogs are everywhere in Egypt. Big dogs, often in packs. Labrador, German Shepard, cross breeds black, white, red, yellow - Go, Dog Go! (channeling P.D. Eastman). 
 
No little dogs like Teddy and Miss Liz - because the big dogs would probably eat them. It reminds me of Athens where there was a similar dog issue.
 
Because there was a road closed we had to take a detour, and I'm sure it was through the middle of Aswan's tip. But the dog packs! Scavenging. But we also saw them just wandering the streets, particularly in Cairo.  Do some de-sexing please!
 
Don't start me on about the skinny horses and donkeys. 
 

 
This is a different dog from my initial photo. I joked that it asked for 1 dolla!
 

 Then we stopped at the Lotus tower which was built as a symble of Arab-Soviet Friendship... Really, I can think of better ways they could spend the money.
 
And this is where I'll speak about the foliage. Yes the trees.
Lots of palms of course, but they have masses of purple bougainvillea.  There is also a beautiful red tree in bloom,  it reminded me so much of a flame tree, same little leaves like a cassia. I asked Fatima what they are called, she said it was called a Flamboyance tree or flame tree. I think it is the same flame tree that we have in Australia that 'blinds a weary driver'. 
 

 -----------------
 
Moving on..
 
Our next stop was Aswan market
 

 
 It was a beautiful market.
The  'vultures' were nicer and didn't hassle us as much. 
 
BUT, after yesterday buying the galabeyas, we did not have a cent! Only plastic $ which they can't take.
 

  
It was a huge and lovely market, and the spices were amazing. I wish I could have brought some home, only they wouldn't get through customs and we didn't have any money anyway.
 

Above- There is our tourist policeman sneaking around in the background. (in the suit). You don't think they are there watching you but then they just pop up out of nowhere. Keeping an eye out.




 Above- Dried hibiscus flowers, dates, ginger, vanilla, peanuts. The smell was amazing.
 
Our friend Ed bought some delicious peanuts and shared them with the poor broke Aussies!
 
"Come and have your photo taken with us Ed"!
 


 That nice policeman took this! 
 
Its amazing how many people cannot work a proper old school camera.. 
I'm sure  my trusty Cannon should come back into fashion one day.
 
All those nice things to buy for the grand kids and have I said before we have no money!
----------- 
 
Anyway, moving on! On the water.
 
A beautiful felucca sail ride...
 

 And we are floating on the amazing Nile in a sailing boat.
 
With 10 year old on kids paddle boards on the water beside us asking for 1 dolla and singing a very badly translated version of you'll be coming round the mountain! 
 


 But they did ask us to wear life jackets.
Below is Graham and Betsy. 
 
 

Then back to the ship, where it is lovely and quiet as most people are off on their expensive excursion. 
 
The good news is that when we got back to the ship there was an ATM on the dock, right next to a police box. Yes it sounds a bit whovian, but the police seem to sit around in all sorts of strange places. The Viking docks  are also like gated communities, once you are inside the docks are fenced off and the gate are shut.
We are now cashed up!! 
 

 However, While the ship was quiet,  I went to the ships shop.
 
After much discussion with the shop keeper (insert bargaining and salesmanship here) I bought a very pretty but expensive piece of jewellery. 
 
I had a budget, and the first pendant I admired at which I thought would be  in my  the budget was $9000.00 (once Graham worked out the exchange rate). Yikes! But I thought about it and went back and bought a silver & gold piece which is beautiful and I love it. 
BUT, 
we could have both done the Abu Simbel trip for the price little trinket this cost me. 
 

 This is a cup, a feather and an owl. My name in hieroglyphs.  
Plus a lotus for love, I think that was the selling point. Silver with gold on the initials.
 
And the, back , ankh, scarab beetle, eye of Horus.
 

 It cost $1500.00, not including the chain,  so grand kids please don't throw it away. Please.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

Thursday, 10 July 2025

Egypt - Tuesday 20th May - Esna


Today, on a walking tour, we visited the village of Esna and the market. This was a short walk from where the ship was berthed. The above photo was suppose to be of the sad donkey when this young man jumped in with his cats. Then he followed us around for the next 10 minutes asking for 1 dolla. I wasn't going to pay him I didn't ask to take his photo  and we didn't have any change. But it turned out to be a great photo so sorry cat boy.

 

Above:- he is foot ironing, yes that is a thing!


 



 

Lots of textiles in this market and lots of 'vultures'.

You can't let your eyes drift to any of the wares on show as you will be pounced on by the sellers . No window shopping, no pointing and something or admiring an item, no comparing two items. 

 

Above- This is Fatma the guide for this tour.

Then after the mayhem of the dirty dusty market we visited the Coptic Christian Church.



Jesus has a chandelier coning out of his head.. really.?

 There is a shopping story to tell from this market experience, 

but I'll leave that until the end of this post...

Then we were back on the ship by 10am, and set sail for Aswan.

Today's onboard activities started with an Egyptian Hieroglyphic class.

This is my effort, in a cartouche.


 

 

 I'm a cup,  K,

a feather I/Y, 

and an owl M. 

This is my witchy interpretation,  a cup is a vessel that holds water/fluid/chardonnay, all essential for life, a feather flies on a bird above, looks down on the world and can see things from a different perspective,  and the owl is wisdom. 

 Ooooh, I like that, and because I liked it,  it's going to cost me dearly in the next day or so. More of that to come in a future post.

Then there was a falafel cooking demonstration (very tasty) and a talk on medicine in ancient Egypt,  some of the instruments we use now were first invented then and here.

 Then it was the wheelhouse tour with Captain Harby.


A bit choppy out on the Nile today.



 The galabeya story

----------------------------

We decided to don the traditional Egyptian dress for the galabeya night  party. Most of our fellow passengers  also dressed up and all the crew and program directors were dressed to the nines.

We needed to buy galabeyas at the Esna markets. We only had Egyptian pounds left that were equal to about 35 Australian dollars. We were told that they should be about $10.00 each.

I saw a dress I liked, it was not the traditional galabeya white, it was red, and I foolishly pointed it out to Graham. Then I was in the tiny shop (smaller than our bathroom), no idea how I got in there, do they just suck you in? Then I saw the same dress on display in turquoise, oh I like that one better. He looked me up and down, you'll be an extra large.. okay sadly I agree extra large. He then materialised this turquoise XL dress out of nowhere, then took it out of the plastic bag and put it in my hands.

While this was going on, Graham was out the front of the shop having a discussion about his galabeya with my mates cousin/uncle/father. 

Then we started to discuss rates for the two galabeya's and their price was more money than we had. We tried to bring the price down with bargaining. we are hopeless at bargaining..

Then I tried to give it back to him. 

He wouldn't take it.

So I threw the turquoise dress on the floor of his shop! 

(Back in the plastic bag of course).

 We left the shop. 

Then he chased us down the street.

We gave him every bit of money we had.. (about $35.00 Australian).

But have 2 beautiful galayas, and if anyone would like to dress up as Lawrence of Arabia or Queen Cleopatra please get in touch... 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Egypt - Monday 19th May - Part 2 - Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut and Cruise Activites



Its not even lunch time and we are back on the bus for our next stop which was Howard Carters house which I didn't take many photos so leaving it out of this post altogether.
 

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

----------------- 

معبد حتشبسوت

I mentioned the Pharaoh Hatshepsut when we were at the Museum on day one.  She was the most important female Pharaoh, who wore a mans ceremonial beard. After her death her predecessors tried to wipe her out of existence by destroying her statues and defacing her portraits on the walls.
 
 

 




Then after avoiding the avenue of Vultures, (one dolla American lady, 3 shirts five dolla, nice scarf suits your pretty eyes, one dolla), it was back on the bus and back to the ship by 1:30 for lunch. Everyone is very hot and tired.

The ship sailed for Esna as soon as we were all back onboard. That is our cabin circled in blue.

 


 At 3:30 Graham went to a backgammon lesson. I tried to update my blog.

At 4:30 we had Arabic language lessons. 

Here is Grahams worksheet, can't find mine, may have tossed it out.


Kim is easy to translate. Although the i becomes a y.

 ÙƒÙŠÙ…

 Graham's name is soft and was some thing like 

 Ø¬Ø±Ø§Ù‡Ø§Ù…

Caroline tried to teach the class to count 1 -10 with a children's song which the bar people thought was hilarious. Americans and Egyptians can't pronounce Graham, they say Grey-Ham. Some people can't run all those soft sounds together.

Arabic is a very pretty written language.  

Then that night there was entertainment. Whirling Dervishes. 

 

 

Who then lit up with LEDs!