Safaga, Egypt

April 4^th and 5th

Safaga, Egypt

We made it across the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden in record time. 5 days at sea instead of the scheduled 6. We did not see anything unusual, but they were not free with the information either. Some of the passengers swear that they did see some pirates. I am sure that the onboard security crews walking the deck were tired of all the “help” they were getting. I guess scanning the sea for pirates is a good way to pass the time at sea. We had dinner with the First Engineer one night and we did ask him what the risk factor was for any chance of an encounter. He said that a cruise ship is the perfect target. Not for any kidnappings, but if pirates could secure the ship, they would be accessible to all the money and jewelry that the ship had in its safe. And all the passenger loot that they brought with them. Not what I wanted to hear, but I really was not very concerned. It is a good story though. We arrived in the port of Safaga a day early, so we signed up for the overnight excursion into Luxor and the Valley of Kings which is about a 4 hr drive from the port. We left the ship at 5 pm for the drive into Luxor. We had to drive in a convoy, so there were 3 buses and security. The sun was going down, so we really did not get to see much. Much of it was desert and reminded me of Arizona. It took us about 5 hrs due to the many check points. There seemed to be one every 10 miles, and at one point we had to wait 20 minutes for the police escort to show up. We thought it was for security reasons, but it is just a way for police to get money. The government and police are still in charge of districts and bribery is the norm. Our guide did not even think about taking off, since they would chase you down and probably jail time would be in your future. Every checkpoint had at least 10 guards with machine guns and they were not shy to point. We arrived at our hotel at about 10pm, had a very nice dinner sitting outside on the patio, and a show. It was a beautiful hotel right on the Nile River in downtown Luxor. Listed as a 5 star hotel, it was very plush. When the toilet is smarter than I was, I am convinced. A tush wash and blow dry…..just push a button. Same with the shower. Way too many buttons for me, but it was nice to get off the ship for one night. 5am wakeup call in the morning which was not a problem since we were woken up by the call to prayer at 4:15 am. Egypt is 80% Muslim and they pray 5 times a day. There are many Mosques in the city and the minarets are about 5 stories high with loud speakers about the mid-level where they speak from. They are all lit up with colored lights at night. It was kind of haunting and eerie to hear the chanting reverberating all over the city in the dark of the early morning. After a nice breakfast, and dressing for 95 degree weather, it was on to the Valley of Kings-a 45 min. drive from the hotel. Luxor is located on the Nile River, with farming the major source of income in the area. Irrigated by the Nile, most of the crops are alfalfa, wheat, and sugar cane. They were burning the cane fields while we were there, so it was very smoggy and hazy. The Valley of Kings, the city of the dead, is a series of tombs carved into the Theban Hills. It contains at least 63 tombs with the latest one found in 2006. We visited the 3 main tombs of Ramses III, Sethos I, and Amenophis II. We walked through an opening in the hillside and entered a tunnel sloping downward. The ceilings were about 25 ft high and the passage about 15 ft across. Most were about 50ft long ending in a big room where the sarcophagus was kept. The walls are covered in carvings that tell a story and the ceilings are painted. Even after 3000 yrs, the colors are still vivid in some places. It was a goose-pimple kind of amazing. We were not allowed to take any pictures at this place…we could not even take our cameras off the bus. A little disappointing but, they are trying to preserve it…..or just making money on the pictures that they have to sell. It was fantastic just thinking about walking where Pharaoh’s once walked…..next stop was Temple of Hatshepsut, both a woman and a Pharaoh. She dressed like a man and wore a false beard, due to the bias against ruling females in 1500BC. We then saw the Colossi of Memnon. Two 64 ft statues of Amenhotep III are all that remain of the temple. Back to Luxor and the Karnac Temple, and Luxor Temple which are within the city limits. Both temples are connected by a mile long avenue of human headed sphinxes that the city is just starting to renovate and uncover. The Karnac Temple entrance features 134 immense and richly decorated columns which took over 1000 yrs to build. It includes an enormous statue of Ramses II, obelisks, sanctuaries, and courts. The Luxor Temple was begun by Amenhotep and added to by other Pharaohs, including Ramses II. Every wall and column is covered in symbols and we even saw graffiti carved into some of the columns from the 1800’s. Humans always have to leave something behind, no matter what the century is. This was a terrific, hot, long, inspiring day. The history is overwhelming and interesting. At every stop the hounding venders were exhausting. The bargaining dance was more persistent here than anywhere we have been to so far. With a population of over 85 million, and over half earning just $2 a day, you can’t blame them. They were having a fuel shortage when we were there, so cars and people were lined up for miles at all of the gas stations. They couldn’t tell us why, but they seemed to have enough gas for the tourist buses…. Most of them live from day to day. It was a little different traveling through a mostly Muslim country. The women were covered from head to toe and not out in the streets. The men were everywhere, but mostly not working. According to our guide there are very few jobs, and Egypt is over-populated. The children are put to work at a young age to help feed the family and education is not a priority. Our guide was young and very proud of his heritage. He talked about the corruption in the government and always “The revolution of 25, Jan. 2011.” Very, very interesting. The upcoming elections in Egypt are soon, and I will be thinking about our young Egyptian rebel guide. He is hopeful for the future and gave us the tour of a lifetime in Luxor. More power to the younglings of Egypt. Back to the ship at 8 pm totally exhausted, mentally and physically. Another early day tomorrow.

Nile River, LuxorKarnac