Luxor revisited

Tuesday

For our last trip within Egypt we returned to Luxor for a second visit. We had several reasons: First of all we really enjoyed Luxor last year. Also Paula missed that trip as she was on a school outing to Kenya, and you certainly can't leave Egypt without visiting some of these famous sights. And there is so much to see that one trip is just not enough.

After a morning spent organising some house-buying paperwork at the Dutch Embassy in downtown Cairo, we took a late afternoon flight to Luxor. After some haggling (this starts as soon as you leave the plane and only stops when you have returned to the airport), we took a taxi to the Iberotel, where we had stayed before. It is a bit run down, but ideally located on the Nile, close to Luxor Temple. It has a sloping garden with a view of the West Bank and a pool on a floating pontoon in the river. After a meal in the Italian restaurant it was lights out quickly, to be ready for a busy day seeing the sights.

View from the hotel: felucca's at sunset

View from the hotel: the West Bank at sunrise

Wednesday

After breakfast we walked to the public ferry, dodging several hasslers (need taxi, motor boat, "my uncle has good bikes, very cheap") and crossed over to the West Bank. We rented bikes (made in China and maintained in Egypt!) and cycled towards the monuments. The first stop was "the Colossi of Memnon", two giant statues at the entrance of the temple of Amenhotep III. This temple has completely disappeared due to the yearly flooding of the Nile, and is now painstakingly being reconstructed by an enormous archeological team. We decided to visit the Valley of the Kings next. This is a small, narrow canyon, which contains some 60 tombs of the pharao's, and 15 of these are open to public. It turned out to be a pretty long, hot ride, on an uphill road. At the site we let the girls decide which tombs to visit; you are allowed to enter three on your entry ticket. Based on the 3D model in the entrance hall they chose the largest and deepest ones. So we saw the tombs of Tutmosis IV and Siptah, which were indeed deep, and modestly decorated. As third choice Ramses II had a long line of tourist waiting to enter we redirected to Tutmosis III, which we had seen last year. This tomb is beautifully decorated with cartoon-like paintings of some 700 gods and demi-gods. It is located in an almost unreachable crack, in a remote corner of the Valley, and it really makes you wonder how this was all constructed some 3500 years ago (considering that the pyramids are even 1000 years older!). Cameras are not allowed in the Valley, to preserve the delicate paintings.

Cycling up to the Valley of the Kings

We cycled back and had an Egyptian lunch (with beer) at the Ramesseum Restaurant, next to the

temple with the same name. Paula wanted to see Hatshepsut's temple, and she and Piet cycled there, while Mary and Dorien returned to the hotel for a swim, as they had already seen it last year. We walked around the blazing heat amidst busloads of Russian tourists, appreciating again the size and spectacular location of this monument. Then it was swimming time as well, and after a Chinese meal we again had an early night.

Thursday

After breakfast we went across to the West Bank and rented bikes again, with now our best friends. Having bikes gives us a lot of freedom and also keeps us relatively free from hasslers. We cycled to the ticket office and got tickets for Deir al Medina and some of the Tombs of the Nobles. Deir al Medina, a short, steep ride from that office, contains the workers village, where important craftsmen and artists, who worked in the Valley of the Kings, used to live. The village has been excavated and partly reconstructed, but the highlights were the two tombs we visited. Sennedjem was an artist who lived during the reign of Seti I and Ramses II, and his small tomb is stunningly decorated and extremely well preserved, matching some of the finest tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Next door is Inherkhau's tomb, who was a foreman during Ramses III and IV, and managed to get himself a beautifully painted burial site as well.

Making our pick at the West Bank ticket office

Deir al Medina, the workers village, with a Ptolemaic temple ruin in the background

Another short cycle ride brought us to the area of the "Tombs of the Nobles", which is a large hill full of holes, with some "modern" dilapidated houses of the village of Gurna on top of it. The Gurnawis were (are?) the infamous tomb robbers of the past, but now live in poverty and squalor. There are more than 100 tombs and we visited the ones of Rekhmire (a governor during Tutmosis III and Amenhotep II), and Sennofer (a garden supervisor for Amenhotep II); especially the last one was again beautifully painted, and very well preserved.

We cycled back to the Nile on some back roads through the fields, and had lunch at Ali Baba's Restaurant, at the edge of the river. We had excellent fresh fruit juice and some simple Egyptian food of local bread, tahina, tomatoes and cucumbers. The clouds started to come in and, before we knew it a gusty dust storm ("chamsien") had started; it is the season for it. Still Mary and Dorien wanted to go ahead with a donkey ride and our friends from the bikeshop quickly hustled up two animals. They went for a ride along the Nile and back through the fields, while Piet and Paula returned to the hotel for a swim and some reading. On return of the donkey riders we had some snacks, played card games and had another short swim, followed by a meal in the Italian restaurant and our third early night.

Mary and Dorien are getting ready for the donkey ride

Friday

Today was Paula's choice: either go to Karnak at the other end of Luxor or have a Luxor Temple-Brooke Hospital combi. She chose the latter and we were off to Luxor Temple. This is a large complex build by several pharaoh's (mainly Ramses II and Amenhotep III), with large columns, statues, many hieroglyphs and reliefs, depicting the pharaoh's deeds. There are even Christian paintings and a 14th century mosque within the complex; it has been used by everyone. We were obviously too early for the tour operators as we had a leisurely wander around, without too many other people. When we left the busses were emptied and the complex was flooded by tour group after tour group. Unfortunately the weather was still suffering from the dust storm: windy, quite cool, and very, very hazy due to all the dust in the air.

Piet and Dorien on the Avenue of Sphinxes, connecting Luxor Temple and Karnak

The sweepers of Luxor temple

We left and searched for Brooke Hospital, which was supposed to be close-by. However, that area is now totally razed for (apparently) excavations. Then we made the mistake to ask one of the caleche (horse cart) drivers what happened to Brooke. "Very far, no walking, difficult finding", and on our 4th day in Luxor we obviously mistrusted the old fellow. In the end he was right and took us in his caleche to the outskirts of Luxor, to a place we would never have found ourselves. Brooke Hospital for Animals is an organisation that provides care to horses and donkeys that have to work in poor conditions, with clinics all over the 3rd world. In The Netherlands they are famous due to a reality television show, where three young, female vet students were sent to Egypt to help with the Brooke doctors. The way some of the animals are treated, especially in Cairo, is shocking, and this is obviously an organisation close to the heart of Mary and the girls. The duty vet explained what they were doing: acting as a first aid station and using three mobile clinics to go around the villages to offer free care and advise. The place was very clean and organised, and there was just one resident donkey recovery from a traffic accident. The doctor explained that in the busy (tourist) season owners are less likely to turn up, as this could mean some loss of income.

With our caleche at the Brooke hospital

We returned to the hotel with the caleche and had a piss poor lunch in one of the "fancy" waterfront restaurants, and went back to the hotel for a last dive in the pool. Late in the afternoon we had one more hassle taxi ride back to the airport and a short flight back to Cairo. On arrival it turned out that it had been raining heavily in Cairo, and traffic was a complete chaos. Our regular driver Ashraf was stuck on the Ring Road near Maadi, and quickly organised his Italian-speaking friend Tarek to pick us up. This also proved difficult, as a number of the underpasses were flooded due to poor drainage. In the end it all worked out and we arrived home at 20.30, ready for some food and the winter Olympics!

Another long horse riding trip

It's school holiday, so that means horse riding and more .... horse riding. Mary planned a last long ride through the desert, with Paula, Dorien and Els, who will look after Mirinda after we leave. Last week they have been preparing the horses by making long rides in the desert and fields (and using this as an excuse to go to Saqqara twice a day!). Early this morning they were picked up by Els and drove to the stable where Reda was waiting already. Unfortunately one of the horses, Nour, had a small injury and couldn't go. In the end Mirinda (with Els), Adham (Paula), Humphrey (Dorien), Mr Small (Mary) and Batuta (Reda) went on the trip.

They went into the desert first, the Adham/Paula team leading the way. They passed the Abu Sir and Saqqara pyramids, and after a few uncontrolled canters ended up at the Cairo-Bahariya railway, the furthest point. Last time (read the post of 19 December 2009) they continued to the Dahshur Black Pyramid, but today there was no back-up team (with water and food for the horses) and also it was Els' first long desert ride. They stopped at the edge of the desert between some palm trees for a small snack of carrots and fruit bars. Then they turned towards the fields and followed the December route back to the stable. In the first village large numbers of obnoxious kids made the horses restless, Mr Small panicked a bit and Batuta reacted with a high kick, right on Mary's hand. It's a bit blue and swollen, but she claims it doesn't bother her (yet). After 5 hours on the road the horses got a deserved shower and loads of carrots and bersim, and it looked like some of the riders were more tired than their mounts. Now a day of rest and off to Luxor.

Mirinda and Els in the desert, with the Abu Sir pyramids in the background

Adham and Paula resting at the edge of the desert

Riding back through the fields

Dorien's Kenya trip

Last night Dorien returned from her school trip to Kenya. The school organised an expedition week, same as last year, with trips to Kenya, Uganda, London and a skiing holiday in Switzerland. As Paula was very enthusiastic about her Kenya Adventure trip last year, Dorien was very keen to sign up for the "Surf and Safari", organised by the same company. They set out with a group of 30 pupils and four teachers (Dorien being the only girl from her year), and flew with Ethiopian Airlines via Karthoum and Addis Abeba to Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast. There they took a bus to the northern coastal town of Malindi, where Rift Valley Adventures have their coastal camp. The camp was made up of some simple huts, with beds, covered by mosquito netting. Two of the girls were sleeping in tents, but unfortunately their bags got stolen the first night and they moved into the girls hut, so they were ending up sleeping 3 in a small double bed and 2 in a single bed. But spirits remained high!

The first days were spend learning to surf (ride a wave, no sail!), and on sea canoes to explore the marine surroundings. They visited a local primary school and spend time to help them to set up teaching material for letters, words and shapes. There was also a combined mountain bike - canoe trip, which proved to be quite a challenge due to the hot weather and the soft sand. Then the group moved south to the Tsavo area. Tsavo is the largest National Park of Kenya, in the southeast corner on the border with Tanzania. There they did a few safari rides, and saw lot's of wild animals, especially large numbers of elephants. They also spotted giraffes, lions, buffalos, zebras, baboons, antilopes and an ostrich, and this really was a very rewarding experience. Dorien happily clicked away with her camera, and got loads of animal pictures. The unavoidable stomach trouble caught a few of the kids on the last day, but they all returned, exhausted, but full off stories of a once in a lifetime experience! Luckily for Dorien there is a week of holiday now, but there is some serious horse riding planned, and a last trip to Luxor.

An elephant is getting close to the bus

Ezra with the kids from Malindi Primary School

Curious zebra's, with a giraffe and an elephant in the background

Bye bye Pajero....

Today we took our faithful Pajero to its new owner, a German expat who works for another oil company here in Cairo. This day marks the official end of our Pajero era, which started in 1991, when Piet bought his first, shortwheel-based Pajero in Oman. This was quickly followed by another one, when Mary appeared on the scene. Both were thoroughly tested in the desert and the Oman mountains. We took both of them in a container to Norway, where they served us again, in snowy and rainy conditions. In the end we sold them in Norway, for a price comparable to what we paid for them new! Taxes are different from country to country......

In Malaysia we bought a secondhand longwheel-base one. There was little off-road driving in Borneo, but we made a number of long trips, and also it proved useful to get to the Hash or to transport mountain bikes. In the end we sold it to one of the local Shell employees. Here in Egypt there is an excellent deal for people working in the oil industry; one tax-free vehicle per family. Again we got a Pajero, we made a few very nice desert and Sinai trips, but it was mainly used to drive up and down to the stable in Saqqara, quickly estimated for 40-50% of the mileage(!).

The disadvantage with the system here is that you either have to sell the car to someone else in the oil sector, or export it to your next destination. In The Netherlands this is not an economic proposition due to road taxes and especially petrol prices. So as soon as we heard we were moving we put an advertisement out. The advantage of leaving in the middle of the year was clear quickly: the same day we were phoned by two people who wanted the car, and on the "first come, first serve" principle we sold it. That the paperwork still took another 3 weeks is something you get used to here. Anyway, the end of an era: bye bye Pajero, the Toyota Corolla of 4WD's: a bit boring, but very reliable. And talking about boring (and reliable) cars: who wants to buy a Daihatsu Sirion?

Our faithful Pajero is summiting a sand dune in the Western Desert

Wadi Hof by bike

It's Friday again! As time is running out for Piet he proposed to do the last MTB loop in the area which he hasn't done yet: Wadi Digla to Wadi Hof, "the long way round". As it looked like a pretty long trip on paper only Paul and Marcel signed up. We met at our house and took the fastest route to Wadi Digla, shortcutting the rubbish dump, down on "the steep climb out to the New Ain Sukna Road", up to "the jump" and "the waterfall", where we had a short stop. It was the first day of spring, so pretty warm already (high 20-ies), but we had plenty of breath left to discuss the latest developments at our offices.

From that point on we were on single tracks, past Paul's Point (named after our first casualty in 4 years of mountain biking; minor broken bones in finger and hand), and onto unknown territory. It proved to be a stunning track, through wadi's, up steep slopes (walking!), and the highlight: a breathtaking trail with a magnificient view over Wadi Hof. It really felt like cycling along the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately it was quite hazy, otherwise we could have seen the row of pyramids on the other side of the Nile valley, all the way from Dahshur to Giza. We descended into the Wadi Hof area, followed the wadi bed for a while, and had a long, steep and hot climb out, where we ended up on known territory again: a northern branch of Wadi Hof, close to our alternative meeting point "the house". As it was getting close to midday we upped the speed and cycled back on our home trails, we even had energy left for the uphill sprint finish. After 3 hours 15 minutes on the bike a coke and a chocolade bar tasted pretty good. It is obvious now where we will take Maarten on his farewell ride!

Marcel and Paul having a rest at "the waterfall"

Descending into Wadi Hof

Marcel is enjoying the view of Wadi Hof, "the Grand Canyon of Cairo"

Friday mass - part 3

This Friday afternoon Piet and Dorien attended a third mass, of what many people refer to as an alternative faith: the Hash. The Hash is "a running club with a drinking problem" or "a drinking club with a running problem". It originated in Malaysia in the 30-ies, when a number of British colonials found themselves drinking too much, and decided they needed exercise. The concept is that a group of runners, Harriers, are chasing a paper trail, set by a Hare. At the end of the run all members thank the hares and a social "Circle" is held to reward or (verbally) abuse some of the participants, while enjoying a drink and singing silly songs. The Hash House Harriers (HHH) has now grown to a worldwide phenomenon, with "chapters" in every major city, especially where there are a lot of expats living.

In Miri, Malaysia, where we used to live before Egypt, we often went, especially Piet was a fanatic hasher. In Miri the hashes were mostly held in the jungle, with spectacular trails, and many special events. The Borneo Ballbreaker was the toughest of them all, a gruelling marathon through hilly, hot and humid jungle; Piet managed to finish three of these, but the last one did his knee in. Longer distance running has been at a very low level since.

When we arrived in Cairo we found the Cairo Hash on the web, and normally go once or twice a month. The runs / walks are in desert terrain, which was a big step back from the Borneo jungle. Trails here are set in flour (for runners) or orange lentils (walkers). It is a very sociable affair, with mainly foreigners from many different backgrounds, and the basics are the same as they were in Miri.

This Friday the runsite was at the sandpit, a small excavation in the desert close to our house. We took the little car, and had to drive quite a few kilometers off-road with it to get there. It was, for Egyptian standards, quite cold, cloudy, with a bit of rain, and a nippy wind. As usual we did the walk. The hares were obviously not very experienced, as halfway through the walk we passed closely by the sandpit, and half of the crowd decided they were thirsty and descended to the cars to quench their thirst with a first beer. We continued, but the hare hadn't paid much attention while laying the trail so we were searching for lentils in a wide, flat gravel plain. In the end we managed to find the trail back to the sandpit, and opened our respective cans of beer and coke after a 90 minute walk. The Circle started quickly, led by the Grandmaster (committee chairman) Wesley, an ex-marine with a very load voice and a good sense of humour. Normally he is assisted by a Religious Advisor, a sort of Hash Master of Ceremony, who claims to maintain religious standards. There has been a large turnover with these RA's lately, so we have lost track who the real one is. Near the end of the Circle we decided to split early as we were getting very, very cold. Even in Egypt there is a winter!

Dorien is trying to find the trail

The Circle: Grandmaster Wesley is discussing the trail with the Hares

Friday mass - part 2

Friday mornings at the Lambregts household is like a religion (see also the post of the 15th of January). Get up, get dressed for bike and horse and attend the respective mass. This morning Mary and the girls were picked up by Els, also a horse riding addict, and a relatively new convert. This is convenient, as we can't use the Pajero anymore, because it is sold and awaiting the final paperwork. The four of them drove to the stable near Saqqara, where the ever faithful Reda was already waiting. A short discussion on who is riding who (Els, as future caretaker, has veto rights on Mirinda), and saddles are put on Adham, Mirinda, Humphrey, Nour and Mr Small. Today they went for a long ride in the fields, which went surprisingly smooth. Normally there are buffalo's, camels (Adham's fobia) and waterpumps to add some spice to an outing. After two hours riding they arrived back at the stable, where the horses are washed, groomed and fed with yummy carrots (and peppermints!). Sayed normally comes home for lunch, he works in the nearby Saqqara Country Club, but on Fridays he has to attend prayers in the mosque. This mosque was build by Sayed and is attached to the stable. The loudspeakers have to reach the whole village, so one can image the noise. After a brief chat to Sayed the ladies said bye to Reda, loaded up the car and drove back to Katameya to have lunch with Piet.

Dorien and her favourite Humphrey ready for take-off

Farewell tour: Sharkeya

As part of our farewell tour Mary went to Sharkeya, the fertile district in the Delta to the northeast of Cairo. In a small village in that area Mary’s friend Helga is living. She is an elderly German lady who married an Egyptian a long time ago. He passed away and she continued living on their farm with one of her daughters. Helga’s farm is also the place were our horses Adham and Mirinda came from, and stable manager Sayed regularly visits to look for (read: rescue) new horses in the area. Helga used to run her house as a guesthouse, but now only receives friends. It is all a bit run down; Helga struggles to make a living and to take good care of her horses; they are well fed with mediocre food, and generally tied to a rope, with little exercise or grooming. And this is still one of the bettter places!

Monday morning Mary picked up Sayed somewhere along the Ring Road (the Egyptian way) and drove with our little car to Helga’s, a three-hour trip. On arrival Mary and Sayed did their regular horse maintenance: deworming, washing and brushing. This was followed by a meal, a bottle of wine and an overnight stay. As there is very little happening a visit generally means that the whole family turns up as well (attracted by the sound of a cork popping from a bottle!). The following day Helga came back with Mary and Sayed to the stable at Saqqara, a place she never visited before! Here 4 of her former horses are housed, trained and ridden regularly and cared for by Sayed and Reda, and they are in excellent shape. It was difficult for Helga to recognise some of her horses. In the mean time also Paula, Dorien and Els had turned up for their regular Tuesday afternoon lesson. After dinner at Sayed's Helga stayed overnight at our house. The next morning they returned to the Saqqara stable, where she was picked up by her driver and daughters with her Peugeot 504. In the end this was a major excursion for them, as it had been several years since Helga had been in Cairo, but this might have been her last chance to see the stable.

Helga getting out of her car

Helga's granddaughter Dudi with one of their buffalo's

Sayed and Mary in Sharkeya