Alexandria

Alexandria is Egypt’s second largest city, founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, located on the north coast on the Mediterranean Sea and Etienne’s birthplace and her home until she was 9. So our visit to this port city was a “going home” experience for Etienne and a time to catch up with her relatives. And for us this was a time to see how a true Egyptian family lives in this country and as Etienne’s mother had gone before us we also reconnected with her.

View of Alexandria

The city of Alexandria is beautifully located along the coastline, and the prosperity it experienced in the 1950s is still evident in the wonderful architecture along the Corniche (road along the sea). However since its peak in the 1950s this city has been on a decline and what was once an amazing cosmopolitan city now suffers from neglect and lack of funds. But there is still a city to explore and great things to see, if you can just get across the road, the traffic here is absolute mayhem. Driving in this city is the most chaotic scene I have ever witnessed, as they create lanes, do not use signal lights and drive with their horns always a blaring.

New Bibliotheca Alexandria  Library

We visited the New Bibliotheca Alexandria a striking new building that contains a library, Planetarium and many museums. The circular design of the main structure is made of grey granite engraved with hieroglyphics and is angled toward the sea containing a 7 tier 2000 seat reading room, a truly remarkable building. Inside there are many museums with ancient Egyptian ruins, Greek statues and an amazing rare book collection.

The Roman Theatre

We also toured the semi-circular Roman Amphitheatre, the National Museum of Alexandria, the Royal Jewellery Museum and discovered the Citadel, located at the site of the original Pharaohs Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The Citadel

Inside the Citadel

But the highlight of our visit to Alexandria without a doubt was the wonderful family Bishara that welcomed us with open arms. As Etienne has several uncles, aunt and cousins still living in Alexandria we had lots of company and truly got to hang out with the locals. They were most gracious with us all and were constantly trying to feed us with the great Egyptian food. We had “molekhia”(slimy green soup), “teenshoky” (cactus fruit), “foul medames” ( beans with eggs for breakfast), “belila” (warm milk with grains), “basbosa” (cake with real cream) and “fayrouz” (malt pineapple drink)”. And the food just kept on coming, the Egyptian tradition of constantly eating was hard to keep up with. We also explored a bit if Etienne’s past visiting her old school, church and graveyard of her Grandmother.

Angel at Graveyard

We spent several evenings surrounded with family and listening to them reminisce about Etienne as a little girl, or as they all call her “titi”. The strong bond of this family was felt instantly as both Laurence and I were made to feel like family members immediately. We had the pleasure of a night on the town with the family at a restaurant called “The Jungle” where we drank, ate too much, laughed and of course enjoyed some great sheesha. And on our final evening it seemed like half of the city came to say goodbye as we all crammed into the small non-air-conditioned apartment to enjoy the love of a wonderful family.

A huge toast to the “FAMILY" .

I want to thank the Bishara family for such a warm and welcoming time in Alexandria, we will always remember the food, the laughs and the love. To all the aunts who were constantly preparing great Egyptian cuisine and the uncles who made sure our needs were always met. And I want to particularly thank Nader (or as his family call him doodoo) and Nancy who took on the role of tour guide and chauffeur and gave us insight to their life as Coptic Christians living in an Islamic country. They are a wonderful couple and thankyou for everything.

How Many Egyptian's can u squeeze in one room?

PS. Also a thank you to Yahyia the bellboy at the apartment we were staying at, who would get anything you need and helped us with everything. Everyone needs a Yahia (prounced YaggghhhYaaaa).

Henry, Mom Bishara, Etienne, and Laurence would like to say

Thank you to the Family

Egypt has been a great adventure the amazing ancient civilization, the unique food, the breath taking Nile, the shear chaos that is everything Egyptian and the warmth of the Bisharas are with us for a life time.

Dahab

As part of our tour of Egypt we had booked some beach time on the Red Sea on the Sinai Peninsula in a small resort town called Dahab. In order to get us from Luxor in central Egypt to our resort accommodation we took an 18 hour bus ride through the desert and across the Suez Canal. This long bus ride was a test of our patience but the scenery along the way and the ultimate destination made it all worthwhile.

The word Dahab means gold in Arabic and the name comes from its golden beaches along the Red Sea. Here we stayed in a massive Mercure resort complex with a large pool, amazing views of the sea and a private beach. It was here we got to unwind and enjoy the sun and the company of our new friends or as our tour guide called it the “family”, our travel companions. There is nothing like laying on the beach while watching a small camel family walk only feet from your sun chair.

Every night we headed into the small town of Dahab and toured the countless shops and enjoyed wonderful meals at seaside restaurants. Here we were treated to sheesha pipes, dancing by the waiters and of course great Bedouin style meals.

One of the great assets of this desert area is of course the magnificent Red Sea with its brightly colored coral reefs teaming with a wide variety of tropical fish. It was here we took some jeeps through a camel track to a famous diving area called the Blue Hole. The snorkelling in this area was amazing with brightly colored fish and, a very unique coral reef surrounded by a deep clear blue ocean. And between dives we rested in a very unique Bedouin style restaurant overlooking the Red Sea.

The Blue Hole

But the highlight of our journey to the peninsula was without a doubt the night we climbed Mount Sinai. Rising to a height of over 7500 feet Mount Sinai is thought to be the mountain where Moses spent 40 days and nights before receiving the Ten Commandments. So there is a nightly pilgrimage to climb the mountain to the peak starting at 1:00 AM to catch the sunrise. So after a 2 hour bus ride in the middle of the night through countless Egyptian check stops we arrived at the base of Mount Sinai. And Laurence and I took on the challenge and climbed the famed Camel Path to the crest of the mountain where we rented a mattress and slept for one hour while awaiting the sunrise with over 700 other climbers. The views at day break were amazing as you could see sheer cliffs and the distant mountain ranges of the Sinai Peninsula. The hike down was actually harder as it was done in the heat of the early morning sun, which is about 35 degrees Celsius, on its way to hitting the average temperature in this part of the world which is 40 degrees every day and it never rains.

Maphew on Mount Sinai

Church on top of Mount Sinai

Sunrise at Mount Sinai

Our Group making our way down the mountian

At the base of the mountain sits St. Catherine’s Monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery, thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited Christian Monastery in the world, built in 527 AD. It is believed the chapel is built on the site that Moses saw the Burning Bush. Here we toured in silence the Basilica of Transfiguration with its gold icons and gilded chandeliers, and visited the Burning Bush evergreen, which is said to be from the same stock as the bush from which God instructed Moses to lead his people out of Egypt and to the promised land.

St. Catherine’s Monastery

The Burning Bush

Our days in Dahab will be remembered by good friends (our tour family), Bedouin meals, climbing the mountain and just enjoying this amazing area of Egypt.

Maphew gets friendly with Bedouin Guide

   

Luxor

If there was ever a place in all of Egypt where the ancient civilization comes to life it is in Luxor, with its countless temples, ancient monuments and the Valley of the Kings. This city on the Nile was the capital of Egypt’s ancient rulers for over five hundred years starting in 1550 BC and home of many wonders of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Maphew at Valley of the Kings

Our discovery of Luxor began with a journey to the famed Valley of the Kings, a barren wasteland located in an enclosed valley in the Theban Hills. Here the ancient rulers Egypt built massive hidden underground tombs in an attempt to stop robbers from stealing their possessions that they needed to take to the other world. Here we visited the tombs of Queen Tawert/Sethnakt, Siptah and Ramses I, each uniquely built into the sandstone mountain with intricate (still in color) paintings and carvings on all the surfaces depicting the lives of these great leaders. The highlight was visiting the tomb of King Tut (Tutankhamum) where the famous King Tut treasures where found intact. To Laurence’s dismay however pictures were not allowed in the tombs or even in the valley, so it’s only our memories of this place we take with us and share.

Natural Pyramid in Valley of Kings

Howard Carter House, man that found King Tut

Next we visited the amazing Hatshepsut Temple dedicated to the Queen Hatshepsut (pronounced Hat-Cheap-Suit) built in 18th Dynasty. This stunning temple with its unique designs of three layers and ramps sits at the foot of a sheer limestone cliff. Here you find large imposing statures of Hatshepsut guarding the entrance to the temple with wonderful carvings and paintings on the sandstone walls.

Amazing Hatshepsut Temple dedicated to the Queen Hatshepsut

 

Queen Hatshepsut

If someone calls u a cow your consider very beautiful notice the cow ears

Our Group at Queen Hatshepsut Temple

Only miles from the Valley of the Kings also sits two imposing large statues called the Colossi of Memnon, sitting almost 60 feet tall they look onto the Great Nile and once guarded the temple of Amenhotep.

Colossi of Memnon

In evening we explored the large Temple of Luxor, located on the banks of the river Nile in the centre of the modern city. Viewing a temple at nights brings on new images and sights, even adding an air of mystique to the huge monuments. At the entrance to the temple is the incredible avenue of Sphinxes, a street connecting Luxor to the much larger Temple of Karnak with countless sphinx sculptures facing the two kilometre long walk way. The main temple of Luxor was under sand silt until 1881 and therefore is in great condition. Guarding the entrance are two colossi of Ramses seated as well of one of the remaining two obelisks made out of a single piece of pink granite. In fact the second obelisk is now in Paris in the Place de la Concorde, a gift to France in the early 1900s. Behind the pylon entrance you found several temples and courtyards with massive pillars and wonderful renderings on the walls.

Then early the next morning Etienne and Laurence rose before sunset and went for a balloon ride over the Nile and the lush green valley of Luxor. They both were a bit intimated at first but enjoyed the wonderful landscape of the valley and temples from the air. The contrast from the dessert landscape meeting the lush green valley and the blue of the Nile all within only miles is a sight to see.

No trip to the Luxor area would be complete without visiting the largest of all the temples that of Karnak. This immense temple complex actually consists of several temples with its countless courts, halls, sculptures and pillars. At one point in its construction over 80,000 men laboured to build the massive complex, which lay buried under the sand for over 1000 years. At the entrance is the row of ram inspired sphinxes that lead to the large pylon style entrances. But most impressive is the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 gigantic columns, each intricately carved with scenes of the gods. The site also has two large obelisks intact, wonderful painted scenes in full colour and the sacred Lake. The ancient Egyptians built with great style and scale.

Entrance at Karnak Temple

It was here that our tour guide took us out for an evening to enjoy local life in the city of Luxor his home. So we took a local bus, which is a small van filled with people to the market the locals attend not the tourist market. Here we strolled by countless small shops, butcher shops, cafes down a dirt road filled with people, children, horse carts and motorcycles. He we had a sheesha at a local bar and relaxed while watching the goats play only feet away from us and watched daily life in Egypt go on before us.

Luxor truly is an amazing city, the temples, the Nile and the people will always bring us great memories of this journey.