Crete and Egypt

Crete 80’s

Lovely island….many parts look like California with brownish hills, olive trees, oleander—just more rocky. We shared a cab with a charming couple from South Africa via Germany—an hour drive to Knossos (you pronounce the “k” and the “o” is long. We were in a group of 7 with an English speaking guide as we toured. It was packed with tourists from all over especially Germany and Italy. We had a pushy guide, which turned out great for us. She went around “shushing” people and moving them out of areas if they stayed too long.
The line to view the palace room had a gadzillion people waiting; she went up to the front, told them we had a plane to catch, and we got right in. Most of the groups were huge! The grounds are quite extensive. Although the Minoan civilization is over 4000 years old, it had toilets and a plumbing system, skylights, and an aquaduct and water filters. They had gigantic (taller than a human) pots/vases, used as storage containers. Evidently they had potting wheels. The palace is known for its frescos, which use 4 colors: yellow, blue (lapuz lazuli), red (sea snail) and black. Women were portrayed in white and men in a rust/reddish color. They were similar to Egyptian paintings as humans were shown in profile.

Unfortunately we had limited time on Crete 8 Am-1:30 and we were unable to get to the museum, which is supposed to be outstanding.

Alexandria—80’s, humid, nice breeze

Alexandria is a very cosmopolitan city with a population of 5 million people.
Most of the women wear head coverings; many wear a burka with their faces exposed. A few wear the complete covering with only an eye slit. One of the funniest sights was a woman in a complete burka with sun glasses over her eye slits. Unlike many Muslim countries, women have the choice as to what they wear. Many of the men had on the long kaftan—I’m sure it has a special name, but I don’t know what it is.

Alexandria has a very long seashore. Today was Friday, which is like our Sunday. The beaches were packed. There are public beaches where both men and women wear clothes rather than swimsuits. We saw women in burkas in the water. On private beaches, swimsuits are worn. There is even a nude beach!

We visited the oldest mosque in Alexandria, an amazing experience. The outside is filled with men, women and children and GARBAGE. There is a men’s entrance and a women’s entrance. Of course, I was able to visit only the women’s side. After taking off our shoes, (I need to disinfect my feet)we walked inside on a carpet to see a chaotic site. Some women were praying with their heads bowed to the floor; others were sitting in chairs just talking to each other. On one side, a family sat on the ground eating a picnic. Throughout children were running around and playing. I was careful not to interrupt the group of women at prayer, but kids were running in front of them and all around. Two groups gestured that they wanted to take a picture of us with them so we 3 American women will end up on some Eyptian’s photo album or computer. I was wondering how they would feel about us in their place of prayer, but they were friendly and enjoyed watching us as we watched them. There was a wood divider with decorative slits separating the men’s side from the women’s. The men’s chanting sounded like davening (Jewish praying).

Our guide tried very hard to get us into the synagogue, but was unsuccessful. We did see it from the outside. There is a large, beautiful garden in front behind a gate. It looked as if someone took excellent care of it. The synagogue looked quite large and was very attractive, which is surprising since there are only 20 Jews in Alexandria. We were not allowed to take a picture of it.

The biggest tourist attraction In Alexandria is the Great Library, which opened about 8 years ago. It won the award for the best building (architecture) in the world, and I can understand why. Across the front is a large façade with 20 samples of ancient writing. One side faces the sea and consists of a partial globe to represent the sun and learning. It is incomplete to represent that knowledge/learning is incomplete. A huge, shallow turquoise pool lies in front—not filled with water but with some chemical solution to protect the library from the wind and sea. Inside, the library houses 8 million books—the largest library in the world surpassing the Library of Congress.

We also visited a beautiful garden with brightly colored red flame trees. We drove by a section of many little houses consisting of a single room maybe 10 ft x 10 ft. These were used to house King Farouk’s dogs. He also built a small palace just so that he could go and drink tea overlooking the water. Madame Sadat lives on the grounds and we were right outside her house. Our guide said she is often out on the balcony—but not today!

We went to the site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria,whose remains can be viewed by tourists if they dive under the sea. Nearby we went to a restaurant that had a panoramic view of Alexandria. One of the waiters was a friend of our guide. This waiter had served coffee to Begin and Sadat when they worked out/signed the peace treaty. He showed us a coin with the portraits of Cleopatra and Mark Antony—a gift to him. Our guide, who majored in archaeology, thought it was authentic and believe the only other one was in the Alexandria museum.

I cannot afford to download pictures to show you until I get to free internet probably in Turkey, but Dan has been taking a lot!

Cairo 90’s (it was 102 the day before we arrived!)

Well, I’ve seen the pyramids along the Nile (except they’re not along the Nile. I don’t need to go to Mumbai because I think Cairo (at least the part we were in) has more garbage! We were a van of 7 on a 3 hr 40 min. drive to Memphis. For a third of the way we were in a caravan of buses and other vans with armed guards. I’m not sure why as I never felt in any danger. However, as we went thru different checkpoints after leaving the caravan, I heard our guide tell the guards we were English. When I asked, “why,’” he said they would put an armed guard in our van if we were Americans Outside of Pt Said, there were groves of mango trees, many fruit stands selling mangos and watermelon artfully arranged-mangos in vertical boxes and watermelons (small round) in pyramids. We could see the ships passing thru the Suez Canal altho’ we couldn’t see the canal itself. Raising pigeons is a popular hobby. They live in very tall conical shaped concrete structures with holes in them
As we got closer to Cairo, we entered a third world country. There was much more traffic, no traffic lights or signs. We saw many people on donkeys or driving donkeys pulling carts. Most of the men were in the long dress (I think it’s called galibayah) and most of the women were in burkas altho’ their faces were uncovered. We crossed the Nile and then drove along a canal from the Nile. I have never seen so much disgusting garbage in my life! Many egrets were standing in it picking out morsels. There is also a very large section with homes that are left in disrepair with large parts missing. Our guide told us that taxes were based on the façade of the houses so they kept them that way.

Memphis had many statues found in situ. It was the least interesting of the 4 places we visited. We went to the step pyramid, which was the first pyramid in the world. There was a picture of it in the sixth grade text I used when teaching so it was thrilling to see. The pyramids ARE amazing. We climbed up a short distance. Dan and I went on a camel ride compliments of the tour company owner, my boyfriend, Geroge. It was on my “bucket” list and was lots of fun. Our camels names were Charlie Brown and Moses. On our camel ride we went to an overlook from which you could see all of Cairo. Behind us was a wonderful view of all 3 pyramids. It was hot, dusty, dirty, sandy, but a wonderful experience. Finally we visited the Sphynx, which was smaller than I thought but very lovely. There’s so much more to tell, but it’s been along day. Tomorrow is a full day in Jerusalem so Iwill see if the satellite Is up to send this, and then I’m going to go to sleep for the next big day.