On the road again !!

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  • Alan thank you for al the beautiful pictures and the excellent background descriptions, that's a lot of knowledge about Egypt that you have accumulated. wishing you the best for your next 2 trips.

  • fantastic!!!!! great pictures

  • AlanS - Did you actually ride on the camel (with your history) or just do a photo op sitting on it?

  • I thought it was a photo op for the camel 🐪

  • Just a photo op (poor photo quality - photo of a photo.) However, I must say the issue I had for the past 7 years from horseback riding during K&T in 2015 has finally mostly healed and I haven't had a recurrence of back issues, so I could have actually ridden the camel! :D Sure getting older, but seems a draw in the fight with ageing and falling apart! :D

  • edited April 2022

    Ok, let's see if I can wrap this up.

    Day 12 Old Cairo / Islamic & Coptic Quarters (and private excursion to Meidom)

    This was a short day for Tauck activities- morning visit to the Coptic Quarter to see the Church of St. Serius & St. Bacchus, the "Hanging Church, and the Sultan Hassan Mosque, then return to the hotel, be tested for COVID, lunch, free afternoon, and farewell dinner.

    I did not take many photos in the morning.

    Upon arrival, we descended below today's street level to and walked along a very narrow street (more like an alley) lined with book, tourist brochure, and religious souvenir sellers, to the 4th Century Coptic Church, traditionally believed to have been built on the spot where the Holy Family rested after their journey to Egypt. It was burned in 750 but rebuilt several times over the years. The crypt is 30 feet deep and, when Nile levels are high, it is often flooded. It was too hard to photograph due to the plexiglass cover.

    We made a brief visit to Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the "Hanging Church," because of its location above a gatehouse of the Roman Babylon Fortress. Its nave is suspended over a passage. The land surface has risen by some 18 feet since the Roman period, so the Roman tower is mostly buried below ground. It is one of the oldest churches in Egypt. The history of a church on this site dates to the third century.

    Next we headed to the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan. I understand some tours visit the Al-Rifa'i Mosque which is across the street. Both mosques are under the gaze of the massive hilltop fortress and Mosque of Muhammad Ali. While impressive, I've heard the Hassan Mosque doesn't hold a candle to the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul.

    Al-Rifa'i Mosque

    Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan

    Mosque cat:

    The Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or the Alabaster Mosque. It was commissioned by the Pasha between 1830 and 1848. Situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo.

    Does anyone know what this is? Hint: It has been 98+% finished for the past three years!! Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!! :#:'(

    Traffic was typical for Cairo, but the bus made decent time and on arrival everyone went to the Spa to be tested. We made an appointment to be tested the next morning. We got some stuff from our room before meeting our private guide and van at reception parking. We skipped the hotel lunch so we could get on the road, instead stopped at an "On the Run" on the street behind the hotel. It is a very nice gas and convenience store chain with locations throughout Cairo. While not as good as a Sheetz MTO in the US or Pret A Manger in the UK, or similar places, it was nice, clean, accepted plastic, and had tasty sandwiches and soft drinks. True to its name, we were in and out in a flash.

    We had an hour drive to our destination, the Meidom Pyramid (named after the nearby modern-day town), but the start of the Faiyum Desert Highway was not far from the Mena House. It is new, smooth, and fast, at least when compared to the highways in and around Cairo and no speed bumps, plus it was nearly devoid of traffic.

    Not far from the start of the route we passed huge apartment complexes that made up the 6th of October City. There were mile + long rows and rows of identical, new, large apartment buildings (no pics). We also passed a very large brick making facility with numerous smokestacks, but mostly we saw empty desert. Before long, the seemingly endless desert sand gave way to more and more vegetation as we approached the massive Faiyum Oasis.

    Even from a distance, the pyramid is impressive. Due to its steep, but stepped sides, many who see it think it is an ancient watch tower. It is a pyramid, the first one built after the Step Pyramid of Djoser. This one was started at the beginning of the 4th Dynasty by King Sneferu father of a line of pyramid builders. As the sign says, it is possible it was started by his father Huni, but most of the work is credited to Sneferu who went on to build two more pyramids, both in Dahshur, south of Saqqara- the famous Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, the first true pyramid.

    The Meidom pyramid started out as a step pyramid, but somewhere along the way the decision was made to build up the exterior and transform it into a true pyramid shape. Theories abound, but I do not know why the lower portion appears to lack steps, they may have been filled and faired with the general slope of the pyramid before building up the exterior, but in any case the sides are steep. When transforming the exterior, poor design, soft ground, poor base preparation or seismic activity caused the exterior, not just the sheathing, to fall off and down into the pile you see. The large rubble pile around the pyramid is the material that fell off. Like the pyramids in Dahshur, Saqqara, and Giza to the north, it was also going to be fully sheathed in white limestone. A portion of the lowest course of white limestone sheath was exposed during excavations and is visible just left of center in my second photo below. And, of course, like with the other pyramids, over the years much of the limestone was hauled away for other projects, but in this case, not until it was excavated from the rubble pile! It has been speculated that the collapse is the reason Sneferu changed the angle of the Bent Pyramid. To get an idea of scale, the two black dots at the lower edge of the spoil pile to the left, are people! :o

    Our plan was to enter and see the burial chamber, too. We climbed to the top of a high timber scaffold where we were met by a caretaker who had the door open and was ready for us. Unlike the next pyramid I entered, the ramp stairway here was not too steep and the entry shaft headroom was much higher. It was also fairly well lighted making entry relatively easy, even for someone who might be slightly claustrophobic! :D

    There was no decoration on the walls- no hieroglyphic "pyramid texts" nor painted reliefs. Just rock cut corridors and a small burial chamber with corbelled ceiling, but no sarcophagus (just a few bats :D ) The ceiling appeared have been braced- with a piece of 19th or 20th century iron and what may be a 4000 year old timber.

    I was prepared for poor lighting so I put on the powerful LED headlamp I brought on tour.

    Once rubble was cleared from the east side, a typical mortuary temple with two stelae was found. There were no inscriptions on the stelae and there were no signs of a Valley Temple which makes many think the pyramid was never finished.

    There are a number of mastaba tombs nearby. Closest was this large one called, Mastaba 17. It posed a difficult problem for early archaeologists who could not find the entrance. They attempted to cut it in half, but eventually found the entrance, low on one side. Even today you must crawl on your stomach to gain access- not for us!!!! A little further north is the mastaba tomb of Nefermaat, the eldest son of Sneferu. It was here they found the famous Meidom Geese wall art. It was discovered in 1871 by Frenchman Auguste Mariette the founder and first Director of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities (the forerunner of the Supreme Council of Antiquities) and first Director of the precursor of the Cairo Museum. The scene was executed in painted plaster. The painting was removed from the wall in order to be reassembled inside the Bulaq Museum. I photographed it in the Cairo Museum two days earlier.

    The final chapter tomorrow- A full day at Dahshur- the Bent Pyramid (all the way in!) and Black Pyramid + Saqqarra- the Tomb of Ty, the Serapeum, misc. tombs, a valley temple causeway, and a surprise- a boat pit. This has been fun posting pics and writing about and reliving the experience. I hope it hasn't been too boring.

  • More great pictures

  • Alan,

    Your travelog for this trip has been wonderful, especially for those of us doing it soon. One detail that may not be of general interest but is quite important to us would be to describe the timeline for the last evening. We were able to get great flight arrangements on the non-stop flight from Cairo home to Washington, but only if we leave that last evening. Our flight departs Cairo at 11:20 PM so we expect that we'll miss the dinner, but not perhaps the reception? So, if you could list the time and duration of the reception (realizing that it probably segues right into dinner), dinner and also how much time before your flight Tauck arranged the transfer to the airport. That will give us an idea of what to expect. We will, of course, hammer out the details with the TD when we are on the trip.

    Again, thanks! We'll be studying your travelog in detail between now and October.

    Scott

  • Thanks so much, Alan for this terrific report. J&E has certainly moved up a notch or two on my bucket list.

  • In Cairo on the way back home Tauck took us to the airport 3 to 3.5 hours prior to the flight.(Feb 2nd) For us that was at 10pm. You might leave a bit earlier since there is more traffic and perhaps the airport business it picking up.

  • Sorry if I missed it, but could you share the name and contact info for your guide at the end. Thanks so much for the amazing photos. We will be there the last 2 weeks in November and I can hardly wait.

  • wao! the inside of the Pyramid is incredible. I would have never gotten inside, claustrophobia for sure. :))
    Nice pictures.
    Look what I found- How cool is this.
    https://youtu.be/uKIck2SJnzQ

  • You are quite the adventurer Alan, it must have been really exciting going inside that pyramid. So happy for you. Great pictures.

  • edited April 2022

    Portolan
    8:43AM
    . . . Our flight departs Cairo at 11:20 PM so we expect that we'll miss the dinner, but not perhaps the reception? So, if you could list the time and duration of the reception (realizing that it probably segues right into dinner), dinner and also how much time before your flight Tauck arranged the transfer to the airport. That will give us an idea of what to expect. We will, of course, hammer out the details with the TD when we are on the trip.

    Our J&E go sheet listed the farewell reception and dinner starting at 6:00 pm. To accommodate a couple who had to leave for the airport at 7:30 our TD moved the reception up to 5:45 pm. I don't remember when they commenced serving- yes a segue. I believe we made our meal choices either earlier that day or the day prior.

    As I posted, our flight was scheduled to depart a day and a half later at 2:45 am. Tauck scheduled our transfer for 1045 pm- 4 hours prior- +/- 1 hour to get thru traffic to the airport and +/- 3 hours for check-in. So, for an 1120 pm flight your transfer time would be 7:20 pm. That would allow you to attend the reception and maybe have an appetizer, and part/most of dinner?? You can probably refine this with your TD once you get on tour. You probably should plan to have your bags at reception before the farewell reception/dinner.

    There were 19 of us. I don't know what the effects of a larger group would be on meal/serving times.

  • OBXnana
    12:08PM
    Sorry if I missed it, but could you share the name and contact info for your guide at the end. Thanks so much for the amazing photos. We will be there the last 2 weeks in November and I can hardly wait.

    Will send PM.

  • Thanks, Alan! Very helpful. While we'd rather attend the dinner and spend the night, a return the next day was more than twice the miles. Even on a "dry" airline, the attraction of flying straight home was undeniable. We're taking the GOT on the front end and hope to go to the Wadi Mujib Gorge.

  • Portolan
    4:06PM
    We're taking the GOT on the front end and hope to go to the Wadi Mujib Gorge.

    Are you going to do the "wet" trek of the siq? I don't know if there is a dry version. Have you checked the calendar- I looked into that as well and it was not open when we were in Jordan? Its season runs from 1 April to 31 October but depends on the weather.

    "Please note customers must be at least 18 years old, know how to swim, and be in good physical condition. This tour is not recommended for clients with health problems. During rainy days Wadi Mujib closes and the tour is not operational. It can close without further notice."

    https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g2625854-d319447-r818105715-Wadi_al_Mujib-Amman_Governorate.html

  • We'll be on the tour in October. At least some of what I've read indicates that you can go/ get wet just to the extent you want. Plan on doing this through the hotel, and only as far as we enjoy it. Didn't seem to be other opportunities which appealed. Or just rest up from the trip. I was fast on the trigger and scored award flights in business on the new United non-stop from Dulles to Amman, so travel will be as good as it gets.

  • edited April 2022

    That is exactly what I discovered. mil and her mom took an excursion to a few sites in and around Amman, but none of those really appealed to me, so I booked a flight that arrived the night before the welcome dinner. We just slept in and did the float, but that was about it. I wish we could have applied a few of those hours to our first excursion to Jerash on Day 2, which I felt was too short (same goes for the light drizzle weather), which for the remainder of the tour was just perfect!!

  • Mil, your video is really cool.

  • franlovestravel Hi, yes it's interesting.

  • Alan - Amazing pix !!! Thx for sharing. We are on the Nov 20,2022 Jordan & Egypt adventure.

  • cuzin GJ
    10:24AM
    Alan - Amazing pix !!! Thx for sharing. We are on the Nov 20,2022 Jordan & Egypt adventure.

    Thanks. If all goes as predicted, you might be lucky enough to see the new Grand Egyptian Museum, so be prepared for a slight schedule change in Cairo.

  • Alan - I heard third hand of a couple that were recently able to tour the new museum and took them a full day to do just a portion. Everything I've read indicates it's not open until at least November. Did you hear anything when you were in Cairo that would indicate that what they said could be true? Thanks!

  • I've read and heard that some press and other 'special people' have been given unprecedented access to the GEM, but nothing approaching the limited tours they were offering in the restoration labs and mainly empty main halls, in the fall of 2019.

    I have seen nothing new in the Egyptian press about the opening of the GEM- yes, I continue to check periodically. It is still forecast to happen in November 2022. Inshallah.

    I just wish we had been given more time in the old museum and that more of the displays had been properly labeled. I'm sure a number of the things we saw on our own after the guided portion of the visit were of great significance- but we had no idea.

  • For some fascinating background information, BBC has a radio documentary this month on GEM & here's another from 2020 on the New Cairo capital project to attempt to cope with congestion. Enjoy.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0c4mkhb
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000nl7d

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