Beginning the 16th of December we no longer had internet or cell phone access for the remainder of the trip. We returned home Christmas Eve around mid-night, spent Christmas Day with family and since then have been dealing with an unexpected death in the family. Post of the adventure will continue with our notes and photos over the next few days.
Happy New Year
All the Best,
Wayne &Dianne
Thursday December 15th – Cairo
We started our touring today with a visit to the Citadel of Cairo built by Saladin in 1167. Inside the walls of the Citadel is the beautiful Alibaster Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha. This promanent mosque was built between 1830 and 1848 and with the Citadel is one of the landmarks and major tourist attractions of Cairo. After our tour of the mosque, we drove through the city to the Egyptian Museum. We spent a couple of hours touring the museum with the assistance of our guide Mohamed. His knowledge of Egyptology, history and antiquities brought the exhibits to life. It would take days or even weeks to see all the exhibits. Our afternoon is free, but we’ll need to spend time getting our stuff ready for an early flight tomorrow. Depending upon the internet connection, our next post should be from Luxor.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
Cameras are not allowed in the museum. Here’s a few photos of the Citadel, Mosque and Cairo:
December 14th from Cairo, Egypt
This morning, we met the other 5 people in our group. Everyone hit it off great. It’s like we were ment to be together. Our guide, Mohamed, gave us an orientation of our activities and tours for the next three days. The drive to Saqqara has us crossing the Nile into Giza then following a canal several miles. The Step Pyramid came into view through the haze when we were still several miles away. This pyramid was built by King TiTi of the third dynasty of the Old Kingdom. We were able to go inside the tomb of a minister located near the pyramid. Then we toured a nearby rug weaving school. The silk rugs were the most beautiful and durable. Lunch was followed by the Great Pyramid. We went inside the Great Pyramid. Unlike the ministers tomb, there were no carvings or paintings on the inner walls. Then we got a close-up view of the other two pyramids and the Spinx. We followed up the great photoopportunities with a camel ride on the site. We ended the day with a group dinner.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
Here’s a few of today’s photos.
Tuesday December 13th
Today was a day in transit. Flying time from Tel Aviv to Cairo by way of Amman, Jordon was only about 2 hours. The trip from Jerusalem to our hotel in Cairo took over 10, an hour on each end driving, the rest sitting in airports. The drive from the Cairo Airport to our hotel was an adventure in itself. It reminded us of the roads and traffic in Niarobi. Picture this, a road with lines painted for three lanes covered in moving vehicles five abreast as far aas you can see. Of course these vehicles dart in and out between each other. It gives a whole new meaning to tense. The hotel Semiramis InterContinental is fabulous. Our room has a balcony overlooking the Nile. We’re the first of our group to arrive. We’re told there will only be 7 in our group. We’ve really lucked out on the personalized attention. We meet the group at 8am for a short orientation before our first tour. No photos to post today.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
Monday December 12th – Jerusalem
Today Nachum added a extra treat for us. We visited a National Cemetery for VIP’s and military. It was beautifully arranged among the trees on a hill. We saw the grave of Golda Meir. Afterward, he took us to the area where John the Baptist was born and preached. After we saw Mary’s well, he continued with the planned tour. We stopped by the Hadassah Medical Center, where in the chapel we observed the 12 stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall depicting the twelve tribes of Israel. The Israel Museum included a huge outdoor scale model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The Dead Sea Scrolls are depicted in a building shaped like the lid of an earthen jar. We said goodbye to Nachum at the Jafa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked around the old city spending most of our time in the Armenian Quarter. Walking back to the hotel, we took a detour through Liberty Bell Park. This is our last night in Israel. We’ll get up at 3am to fly to Cairo by way of Amman Jordon.
We’ve taken over 600 photos in our short time in Israel.
Here’s a few of ’ photos:
Sunday December 11th – Jerusalem
Another beautiful day in the Holy Lands. We started by touring David’s Tower on the Old City Wall. It has nothing to do with David. It was built in the 1800′s and is a great vantage point to see a panoramic view of East Jerusalem. It’s just inside the Jafa Gate and from there we walked to the Wailing Wall or Western Wall of Temple Mount. We saw what is believed by many to be the tomb of Jesus. After a traditional Israeli falafel lunch, we followed the Via Dolorosa (stations of the cross) up to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where it is believed to be the place of the Crucifixion. The entire day was spent walking within the Old City of Jerusalem. We got back to the hotel around 4pm and were too tired to do anything else.
Here’s a few pictures from todays sites:
Saturday december 10th – Jerusalem & Bethlehem
Today started with a healthy traditional breakfast buffet consisting of fresh fruits and salads. Note, don’t look for bacon or sausage. Out guide met us at 8:45am and explained our good luck. Normaly, there are several people signed up for the Jerusalem pre-tour rather than the private tour we were going to experience.
We started our tour with a view of Mount Olive from the south of the city. Our tour guide, Nachum, has been in the business over 35 years. We were treated to a cronological history of the city while viewing it from all the points of the compass. During our visit to the Garden of Gethsemane, we had an unexpected treat. An elderly priest unlocked the gate surrounding the ancient olive trees to let in a group of visiting priest. As he was locking the gate, our guide talked him into letting the 3 of us in. The 4 of us walked quietly through the 2000+ year old trees. This was a first even for Nachum! We visited many other sites including the Church of Peter in Gallicantu and the Upper Room (location of the Last Supper). Jewish Nachum handed us off to a George, a Palestinian Christian, who was allowed to take us through the check-point into Bethlehem. George took us to a really nice restaraunt for a buffet lunch where we met Abdul, our guide in Bethlehem. We visited the Church of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus. We were able to visit a really nice shop to see handcarved olive wood and jewelry before being taken back to our hotel by 3:30pm. We decided to take off our shoes and rest a few minutes before walking around the area. We both dozed off. The walk will have to be put off.
Here’s a few photos from todays tours:
Friday – December 9th 2011
Jerusalem
It’s been over 28 hours since we got out of bed yesterday morning and we’re settled into our hotel in Jerusalem. We’re at the Inbal Hotel. From what I’ve read in magazines and on the internet this hotel is ranked #4 out of the top 10 hotels in the entire middle east. I believe it, this place is beautiful, the staff are friendly and efficient. We’re looking forward to dinner here at the hotel (it’s part of the package).
The drive from the airport in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was great. We saw farms and vinyards throught the rolling hills. The approach to Jerusalem was a real eye opener. Coming out of a steep sided ravine you see thousands of hill side stone buildings. Our driver, Soly told us that all buildings in Jerusalem were made from ‘Jerusalem Stone’. You can see the Old City from our hotel, unfortunately not from our room. We have 3 full days of tours here taking in a lot of the most famous sites. Tomorrow part of our tour will be going to Betheleham. Our flights were uneventful, which is a good thing. We were fortunate enough to have seats with extra legroom but even then it was difficult to sleep. We both dozed off a couple of times but it wasn’t restful. Dianne’s taking a nap while I update this travel blog. We’ll go down to dinner in about 2 and a half hours. I was going to include the few photos I took out of the car window on the drive to Jerusalem, however, I seem to have forgotten the download cable for the Olympus SP-565UZ digital camera. I had a check list and checked things off, including ‘cables’. I just didn’t double check to see if I had all the cables. See even seasoned travelers forget things when they don’t use check list and go over them carefully. I thought I could get around it by taking the memory card out and using the card reader on the laptop. Didn’t work, the card is one the laptop doesn’t have a compatable slot. Oh well, if we get by a electronics store I’ll pick up a new USB all-in-one card reader. I’ve got one at home but didn’t bring it either. Fortunately I have the cable for the Canon EOS7D and the video camera. Look for photos in tomorrow evenings post.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
Less than 32 hours before we’re off on our next adventure. We’ll be flying all day Thursday and part of Friday. We’ll arrive in Jerusalem Friday afternoon. With a good internet connection we’ll post that evening. We’re looking forward to a great trip, bringing back lots of photos and memories. You can see our tour on the Viking River Cruises website. Look at Pathway of the Pharoahs under the Egypt packages. We have the Jerusalem pre-tour also.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
Thanksgiving was enjoyable with family and friends. Now we’re getting things prepared for our Nile River Cruise. Only 12 days before we depart on our next adventure. We’ll spend 3 days in Jerusalem before joining the Viking River Cruises “Pathways of the Pharaohs” cruise/tour. All our travel documents are in order and we’re preparing our final check lists. All our hotels advertise Internet access so the only sketchy connections may be on the Nile cruise portion. We’ll be home late Christmas Eve.
All the Best,
Wayne & Dianne
