Egypt 2005

I had a lovely 7 weeks in Egypt in the Summer of 2005, courtesy of Uncle Sam. Everyone needs a rich Uncle to send them travelling!!



See my striped tan? That's what 13 days on the beach does to you, when the sun comes through the bars of the balcony.



The Egyptians loved me so much, they presented me with my own fez.



I started out on the coast of the Med, up near Al Alamain where "there is also a Commonwealth war cemetery with graves of soldiers from various countries who fought on the British side. This has monuments commemorating Greek, New Zealand, Australian and South African forces. The Commonwealth cemetery, as is common at many such cemeteries in the world, consists of parallel rows of gravestones, each one bearing an engraving of the deceased soldier's unit emblem, his name and an epitaph from his family. Rows upon rows of gravestones stand witness to the battles' human cost." (thanks wikipedia).


Besides the Great Pyramids of Giza... I was able to get down the Nile Valley to Bani Suawayf for a day. On the way back, we saw a few "step pyramids'. Our driver said there are over 120 pyramids in Egypt. We only saw 12 that day, and we weren't even looking for them. We just stopped along side the highway to get this pic.








Egypt is known for it's fantastic crystal, made from the silica in all the sand there. It comes from a particular region and the pieces are fantastic!



This is the showroom of one crystal factory in Cairo. Talk about sensory overload!! There were mirrors on all the walls with reflected the lights of the room and display cases. Sunglasses were almost needed to save your eyes!



Besides lounging on the beach for a few days, I actually got to the Giza pyramids, the Egypt Museum ( no cameras allowed inside, grrrr), took a nice dinner cruise on the Nile, and had a late night personal tour of the ancient section of Cairo on the first night of Ramadan. What an experience!!



I do hope to get back eventually and see the Luxor area of the Nile Valley.