So Much So

Tuesday, March 13
3:50 am CST
11:50 am Egypt, Delta

Wow. This day has been pretty amazing, and it’s not even lunchtime. Working backwards… We just left Samannud, where we visited a Coptic church, the Church of St. Abanoub, that is about 200 years old, with older relics within. When we disembarked, we didn’t know we were going here, however. And to get to our destination, we had to pass through a busy marketplace. Finally! I get to walk through a suq! Total sensory overload. Sights, smells, sounds. We were hustled through by our armed escorts, drawing even more attention to us Americans.



The church warranted a stop for several reasons. There is a well where it is said the holy family stopped on their way. The well still has water, so I bought a bottle for one Egyptian pound for Gramma. Also, the relics within the church were “pieces” of St. Abanoub and St. George.



Leaving the church was even more of a scene. We all stopped to take photos, and the people in the market happily agreed to be photographed. I think we created quite the spectacle, as people gathered around our bus and convoy, watching us watching them. I think I got some really great shots of vendors and people walking. Even posed with a lovely young girl selling bananas. She looked so happy, had a great big smile. Then an old woman and a child passed and smiled, so I took their photo, too. I’m a little overwhelmed right now. Those people were so kind and warm and curious, living such a simple life. Amazing.



Before that, we visited a temple site, Behbeit el-Hagar, that, like Bubastis, was a giant rockpile, though this one was purposely destroyed and you can see how the blocks sort of fit together. The Greek name was Isiopolis, The City of Isis. I loved it, perhaps solely for the fact that I got to climb all over a giant bunch of boulders. Love it! Crawling across rocks, finding new routes, reaching the top. My favorite. I will hurt tomorrow.

Before that, we were at the Sonesta Hotel Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Hisham, somehow, got me into one of the suites. I had a wide entry foyer with a side table and a counter with cabinets and bar. That led to the living room, with a dining table and minibar & TVs number one. The huge balcony looked out over the canal and the Mediterranean. Separate bedroom had minibar & TVs number two. Bathroom had two sinks, a toilet and bidet, bathrobe, slippers, shower tub with a mirror inside. However, if I had paid the $350 a night for that, I’d be super pissed. I bet it was nice twenty years ago. This night, it was more than a little dingy. The complimentary fruit bowl was full of near-rotting fruit attracting, duh, fruit flies. The tub was filthy, like literally dirty and full of, I think, dead fruit flies. Stains and what looked like burn marks on the drapes and headboard. Peeling woodwork. Rusty chairs on the balcony. But whatever, we were there for about 12 hours.



The hotel also had internet, woo! Checked my email for the first time in a few days. Nothing of note, surprise surprise. I did manage to send an email letting some folks know what was up with me. However, I’m realizing how silly I was not to bring a jump drive or CD to burn, because there is no way to transfer all of this to another computer. (Really doubt I’ll be able to directy plug in my computer anywhere…) Oh well! It’ll have to wait until I get home.

Hmm… we’re pulling over. Wonder what’s up. Nothing! Just letting some cars pass. Still en route to Alexandria. Going to a monastery founded by a female now before the hotel. Our convoy today consists of a police car in front (that likes to blare the siren) and three trucks of openly armed men following close behind. Two years of military service is required of all Egyptians, and this is the type of duty they’re assigned.

Gentleman and his machine gun, part of our convoy:



We’re staying in Alexandria for three nights, which will be nice. There’s a lot of moving about coming up real soon.

Through the Delta

Monday, March 13
8:31 am CST
4:31 pm Egypt, Nile Delta

np: Four Tet, Rounds

Something about being on a bus, in a car, on a plane makes me want to eat all the time. Just to pass the time I suppose.

Left Tanis a little bit ago, our last touring stop. Really cool site, complete with some feral dogs. Took all I had to keep from petting them. Sand dunes sat in every direction, with a sentry-type perched at each apex. Colossal statues, mostly in tact this time, scattered for yards and yards. The stone was pilfered from other tombs, hauled up here from the stone-rich south in Thebes, Luxor.



Just peeked out the window. Sand in every direction. I think we’re passing by a military zone. Actually, I know we are. A sign reads, “Military Area, No Entry, No Photo.” The area is greener now, so I suspect we’re out of the military’s way.

Cows tied to trees near a highway still strikes me as… different. Now there’re a bunch ambling down the road. Hit another Checkpoint Charlie. Time to exchange convoys. We’re trading out security detail at each “county” or jurisdiction. I would love to take a photo right now, but I believe that would be frowned upon. Breaks that whole “do not photograph anything military in nature” rule. The purpose of these frequent stops is also to make sure we are not lost. Can’t fault the Egyptians for that. A bus full of American tourists gone missing is really not great for any nation, Middle Eastern or not.

Hungry!

Bus culture really does not change from elementary school to adulthood. The rabble rousing troublemakers (i.e. the “cool” kids) still sit in the back, while the teacher’s pets and do-gooders tend towards the front. I stride the line. The cool kids ask me to come sit in the back, while I carry on conversations with those in front of me just the same. I feel just as self-conscious in the back as I did when I was in middle school. Always falling for the same tricks.

np: The Joggers, Solid Guild

Egypt has this odd system of roundabouts for turning across traffic. Rather than create “turning lanes” or ramps off the highway, you continue straight until you reach a U-Turn point, and then simply go back the way you came until you reach your turn-off. No one obeys lights here anyway, so it’s probably not a bad system.

Naptime? Perhaps. We’ve less than two hours to our destination.

Moving On

Monday, March 13
5:19 am CST
1:19 pm Egypt

This morning we left Cairo heading north through the delta. Our first stop was Bubastis in the modern city of Zagazig. The precise history escapes me at the moment, but it’s most striking feature is a block yard of broken boulders, which together comprise a celebratory hall. It’s as if a giant literally came by and kicked the thing down, as bits, large and small, of the inscribed structure are strewn everywhere. I had fun bouncing through the field, peering at each block to see what lie on the sides. We were lucky to run into an excavation in progress. A German team is working to catalog and perhaps reassemble and restore a good portion of the blocks into their original form. This is difficult, as several of the major pieces (i.e. the most highly decorated) have been given to museums around the world.



The Oberoi sent us off with a box lunch, which we ate on the bus. We’re now en route to Tanis, a city I know little about save for it was where Indiana Jones found the ark. The majority of the goods are at the Egyptian Museum. I saw them, lovely pieces, lots of gold and jewelry. This stop is for the die-hards who like to see where everything CAME from.

We are expected to arrive in Port Said late. I didn’t realize that we weren’t spending much time there at all, sadly. I think there is more to see and do in Alexandria.