Home again, home again, jiggety jig

Arrived home Saturday night, later than we had hoped.  There was a lightning storm at SFO after we landed and the baggage handlers had to wait for it to end before they could go out to the plane - two hours later we got our bags.  Poor Don, circling, circling, waiting to pick us up.

Sunday we got ready for our onslaught of family staying with us for thanksgiving.  With our guest house and a neighbor's, we housed 15.  Our niece and her husband wisely stayed at the Boonville Hotel - much spiffier accommodations.  On Wednesday, everyone took themselves off on various activities.  The weather only cooperated in that it didn't rain, but was miserably cold. Warm enough in the sun Wednesday and Thursday, but nights were well into the 20's.  We put little Christmas lights on our citrus trees, and hoping they survive.

With friends and family, we were 30 for dinner.  We've been doing this for years, though 30 was definitely more than usual.  Our friends bring side dishes or starters, Mark bbqed two turkeys, I made stuffing, scalloped potatoes with chanterelles, scalloped sweet potatoes with chipotles and cream, and Lily and Kam made the mashed potatoes still demanded by the younger members of our families.  It's our favorite holiday, despite the work.  What could be wrong with a holiday centered around family, friends, and food?

Looking at the pile of laundry on Sunday was a little daunting, but was quickly sorted in a few days, and I was back to my normal routine - computer, gardening cleanup, my Bird Brain seeing group and getting ready for our next trip.  Yep.  We're headed to NY Friday morning.  Mark's brother will pick us up at the airport and we head directly to the rehearsal dinner.  Saturday is the wedding - black tie.  I love to see Mark in his Dad's tuxedo, so handsome.  Sunday we'll celebrate my brother-in- law's birthday, then a late flight home and work Monday for Mark.  Then there's the beginning of various holiday events.

Happy Chanukah.  We had my special latkes Wednesday night.  I put grated zucchini and sweet potatoes in with regular potatoes.  Delish.  And I always have homemade applesauce.  Another thing I've been making is a baked chile dish.  I have a lot of anchos I rescued before the frost and they are keeping quite nicely in the carport.  I char them, peel off the skins, slit them and fill with a mixture of just about any sauteed vegetable and cheese.  I've been using grated zucchini, the last from the garden, and broccoli and onions and hot peppers, also from my garden, and of course garlic.  For seasoning, my preference is cumin and s and p.  I also like the queso fresco.  If you don't put in too much cheese, it's a pretty healthy side dish.  Then I bake them for 20 minutes. 

We had our first frost the Monday before thanksgiving, and I cut the last of the zinnias and rudbeckias for the holiday table, though I could have as easily used any of the wild bushes and trees sporting their winter red berries. I'll bring some of them in when we get back.  Time also to look up some recipes for Egyptian food, which I did not get enough of when we were there.  It's wild mushroom season too and I picked a basket full of russula xerampalina (?), common name, shrimp russula, for that fishy smell.  But they are a beautiful wine colored mushroom and I can find them as very firm caps, large and small.  They smell shrimpy when cooking, but taste nutty and are especially good in a cream sauce over pasta.  With lots of garlic of course.  I still have some chanterelles left from my big haul when we got back.  They last surprisingly well in the fridge, as they tend to dry rather then get soggy.  Love them and will want another scalloped potato with chanterelle dinner before the season is over.

A Farewell to Egypt

I have loved Egypt, the temples, all of the antiquities, really.  I've loved the young children so eager to speak English with us.  I really liked our tour guide Khaled and have his email address is anyone is planning a trip there, you could contact him.  I really didn't like the endless haggling.  I thought I'd come home with some interesting fabrics, embroideries, etc., but trying to buy anything became a major hassle.  The 20 scarves I bought on our last morning in Aswan took two different venders and about 45 minutes to accomplish.  Mark and Stewart spent 20 minutes on 3 teeshirts.  And I couldn't find any Egyptian cotton!!

A Nile Morning

Our main group left very early this morning for their Abu Simbel trip.  Although they tried very hard to be quiet, the pergo floors on this ship creak so badly that about 5am I was sure someone was coming into our room.  The Tamr Henna has 4 passenger floors.  The crew quarters, laundry, etc are below the waterline.  Next is the restaurant, kitchen deck.  I is the main lobby, bar/ lounge, and a few rooms.  Floor 2 is rooms, 3 more rooms, then the top sun deck with small pool.  We are sitting on the sun deck in comfortable chairs with a cool breeze, cooling us after our morning trek to the market. I was feeling the need for a little textile excursion and managed to haggle like a fishwife over some cotton scarves.  Both the vendor and I were satisfied with the transaction.  I was certainly his first customer of the day as many of the shops were still closed when we arrived at 8:30.

As we walked back through the awakening market, I watched 2 women in front of me, each walking at a good pace while balancing what looked like heavy loads on their heads.  One woman stopped, the other continued. When we had passed her, I turned and asked if I could take her photo, showing her my camera.  She smiled shyly and nodded.  After I took her photo, she smiled again, seeming so pleased that a foreigner would want a picture of her.  She was about to continue on her way, not asking for $$, but I did give her some Egyptian pounds, thinking how difficult her life must be.  It was a very sweet moment in the midst of so many men entreating, "Madame, lady, moustache (referring of course to Mark). I really do not have a moustache.

We leave about 11:30 for the Aswan airport where we will meet the rest of the group returning from their Abu Simbel trip, then all go on to Cairo.

Last Day in Aswan

Yesterday we went for a brief sail on a feluca. 

Some of us opted to go to a Nubian village on an island in the Nile, just across from the old Cataract Hotel, now being renovated into a luxury hotel opening September 2011.

The Nubians were farmers in the Nile delta for hundreds of years, but were displaced by the high Aswan dam and Lake Nasser, which is by the way, the largest man made lake in the world.  So, having displaced the Nubians from their homes and farms, they were given some space on the island we visited and further outside Aswan city, but not with land, so now they have to make their living mostly in service jobs.   Many of the boat crew are Nubians.  Yesterday was the festival of Adtha, a day for slaughtering and eating meat, and for children playing exuberantly in playgrounds.  There are several right next to the boat and they particularly like the trampolines and one can see them even late at night jumping, jumping, while their parents sit in the garden sipping, sipping tea.

Our friend Annette was ill this morning so not able to go on the feluca, so here is a little of what she missed.  We sailed past Kitchener's Island - we had hoped we'd have time for a tour, but the TOUR has its own agenda.

The Nubian village we visited is very poor, and there is alot of trash, as everywhere in Egypt.  Think Mexico in the middle east.  Our guide said even if there is a trash can, Egyptians will still throw it on the ground.  I asked him if there were environmentalists here and he didn't really know the term.  There were newly slaughtered sheep hanging here and there, or being skinned on the dirt pathway.  Women were carrying offal in baskets on their heads, perhaps to the river to clean for casings? 

Khaled our guide at house in Nubian village, which is clearly not in the middle of nowhere

The little girls were dressed in mostly bright pink and sparkly Egyptian clothes and headscarfs.  We went to a Nubian home.  Many of them raise crocodiles.  The Nile once had many in the river, but they all died when they could not make it past the sluice gates of the dam.  So now the Nubians raise them and some are sold to croc farms and many are put in lake Nasser.  Mark held one that was about 15" long, with his mouth banded shut, though his owner assured us his teeth were too little to hurt. 

Mark with baby crocodile - a pleasure I declined

We were offered refreshments on the top floor, open to the sky and views all around, with a pleasant breeze.  We were also offered things to buy.   I wish he had had some of these beautiful woven baskets for sale, that were not made of plastic.  sigh.

We returned to the bus by boat and went to visit a granite quarry to see an obelisk that was being shaped out of the stone, but it cracked and so was left there.  Believe me, in the heat, this was not a favorite trip.  After lunch we went to see the high dam and lake Nasser.

Next, after that exciting tour of the Aswan High Dam, we visited what is called the temple of Philae, because that is the name of the island to which it was moved.  Yes, moved.  When the dam was built there were two very important temples that were flooded.  I guess Nasser didn't have the money to deal with them.  After all, the Russians paid for the dam.  But when Egyptologists all over the world realized what had happened, many countries contributed $$ for them to be moved.  Ramses II built a temple to his wife Nefertari and after 4 years under water, it was moved to Abu Simbel.  Most of our group left early this morning for a flight there and will join us at the airport in Aswan later this morning.  The temple of Isis was the one moved to the island of Philae.  The site is lovely, but once again, it was defaced by the Roman Christians.  Horrible to see these images chiseled away when the temple was converted to a church.  There are some that remain untouched.

Temple of Isis or Philae Temple

You can see the face on the right is chiseled out - thank you Roman Christians

Graffiti - thank you woman from NY

Cruising the Nile

Last night we all watched as our boat and another went through the lock, then had dinner up on deck. Love the warm summer breezes, something we don't get very often at home.  We woke this morning to a boat right next door - good we closed the drapes.  And there at least two boats side by side in front of us.  This is cruising the Nile.  Tourists everywhere.  Last night before dinner there was much shouting from small boats surrounding all the ships, offering the usual wares for sale.  If you were interested, they threw the item up in a plastic bag and then you either threw back money or refused the item.  I wish there were more regulation of these hawkers, somewhere you could be away from them and just enjoy the temples.

 This isn't our ship, but is much the same.  There is a swimming pool top front, bar and seating toward the back.  You can see other ships in the background.

Today we visited the Temple of Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sun and planets.  It is the first temple we have seen that shows Greek influence and Roman  and Christian defacement.  At the lower levels, many of the faces are scratched out.  The finials on the columns are all different , but still representing the papyrus flower  or lotus.

In the first inner court, the walls on the left tell the story about the temple.  The pharaoh asks his mother to intercede with the god Horus for permission to build a temple for him.  Next scene is Horus followed by mother getting permission, then someone holding building stones - the architect? Then the pharaoh is shown pouring sand from an urn to start construction.  Next scene is the building, then Horus is shown the finished temple.  In the next scene he is kissing the pharaoh with exaggerated smooching lips.  Very charming.  Sort of like the first cartoon.  One of the inner sanctums has the best preserved heirogyphs in Egypt.  This room was used for mixing perfumes and the Egyptians believe the french deciphered the formulas and are still using them today.  When this temple was discovered about 1863 there were many people living inside.  Sand and rubble from centuries had accumulated so the level inside was much higher than today, and the once painted roof is blackened by the cooking fires.  However, it is the best preserved antiquity because although occupied, it was not torn down.

Yesterday, we visited a perfume house and were given various oils to smell and told their uses, ie lotus flower oil to entice husbands, peppermint and eucalyptus oil to prevent snoring and get a good night's sleep, musk oil for dry skin and to remove dark circles from under the eyes.  They were very strong oils and many people on the tour purchased a little box of 4.  I was not one of them, as I really dislike strong perfumes and oils, but the lecture was enlightening and it was air conditioned and we were given our choice of drink: coffee, hibiscus or tea.  These places are on every tour agenda when traveling in poorer countries, and they are hard to avoid.

We are cruising now toward Kom  Boro where there is, you guessed it, another temple.  But the good news is that we walk to it from our boat.  It is on an island.  We are heading south and it is hotter and more humid.  We are passing farms, watching horses being washed, oxen being led to drink, children swimming. We passed a town with beautifully painted houses along the banks of the river.  There are 9! of these cruise ships in front of us, and 2 behind us.  Guess we won't have the temple to ourselves.

Temple of Kom Boro

That means pile of gold.   The gold from Nubia came here first before going to other areas of Egypt.  There were the usual massive columns.  It was begun about 125 bce by the Egyptian Greeks and finished by the Romans about 320.  It is badly damaged, but some interesting parts remain.  There is a calendar showing what type of food to offer the gods each day of the 30 day month.  A week was 10 days, there were 12 months in a year, with 5 days of festivals at the end of the year which weren't part of any month.  There were 3 seasons: inundation, sowing seeds, & harvesting.  An area behind the sanctuary was used as a medical clinic, and there are engravings of instruments used in surgery and childbirth.

Woman giving birth - see the baby under her?

Since all the boats had just pulled in, it was very crowded and there were certain things every guide wanted to show their group.  We waited patiently to see the calendar wall.  There was an Egyptian, sort of a maitre de.  He noted which group was next and told you when to go in.  After Khaled explained what we were seeing, very briefly, he said now you can take photos.  The next group barged in and interrupted us and many didn't get to take photos.  Khaled was annoyed at such rude behavior.  Next we went to see the medical drawings, once again waiting for the group in front to finish.  Again, the same group came up and circled around us until they were in front.  Khaled blew his top.  Egyptians yelling in anger are a sight to see.  The maitre d' spoke very calmly, but the point was made and the others slowly got behind us.   It was great theatre.

Our guide Khaled beside Horus & Isis

Temple Calendar

Now for the ugly facts about Nile cruising.  There are 350 of these boats.  All effluent goes into the Nile.  I wonder how long the river can take this much pollution.  The air of the river is also fouled by the diesel engines of the boats.  All in the name of tourism.  If you want to see Egypt, I don't think this river, which has survived so many thousands of years can survive tourism without some kind of sewage regulation.  And now it's 6:20 and I hear the call of the muezzins - which has a calming effect.

Luxor Day Two

We had a 6am wakeup call and a 7:15 bus departure.  We stopped along the way to pick up 3 of our group who opted for a hot air balloon ride.  At the pickup point there were these huge statues, sort of out in the middle of nowhere, thousands of years old, just looking out over the countryside.  There were two of these massive statues, but this one was in the best shape, and it faced a herd of sheep and hot air balloons.  Such an odd juxtaposition.

Then on to the valley of the kings.  After we left the tourist entrance center, we were on a road which wound through the desert hills.  The tomb entrances have cement bulwarks and a description of who was buried there with highlights of what you'll see.  Our ticket entitled us to see 3 tombs and after a brief history lesson, Khalid recommended certain tombs.  It was a very hot day, at least 95.  We ignored Khalid's advice and chose tombs with short or no lines.  We were not disappointed.  As we walked down the long corridors leading to antechambers, there were stunning paintings and hieroglyphs on walls and ceilings. Much of the paint is gone, but enough remains to give an idea of how stunning it must once have been.  In the tomb of Ramses IV a large chamber had huge ceiling paintings of the goddess of the sky.  She is bent into an arch and she is eating the sun at sundown, then stars and night and in the morning she gives birth to it again.  At a papyrus factory, we bought a similar small painting.

I seem to have lost all the photos I took inside the tombs, but there are some excellent images here.  In many of the tombs, much of the color remains.  The amount of excavation required to make these tombs and the incredible numbers of artists it must have taken to do this work indicates there was a very large population of tomb workers and artisans here.  As you leave the valley, you can see many partially excavated worker tombs.

from tomb of Ramses IV

God Re-Horakhty

The images above are from this website which has some more excellent photos from other tombs.  I just had to put a few here to encourage you to go look for more.  The paintings were gorgeous.  Many had been damaged by tomb robbers, but much still remains.

It was sweltering and there are mobs of people and the tombs are nearly as hot or hotter inside as it is outside.  I saw the tombs of Setnakht, Siptah from dynasty 19, and Ramses IV.  The tomb of Ramses the great is not open and no one knows when it will be. All of the tombs in the valley of the kings had been robbed.  When Egypt was strong, there were guards to prevent this, but after Ramses IV, the pharaohs were weak and tombs began to be robbed.  After seeing the incredible treasures of Tutankhamun, the only royal tomb not robbed, it boggles the mind to think of all that was once there. 

Still in sweltering heat, we went to Hatshepsut's Temple.  She was one of the few queens to rule Egypt.  Our comedian guide said the way to remember her name is Hot Chicken Soup or Hot Cheap Suit.  I haven't forgotten it yet.  After her death this temple was obliterated by the next pharaoh, a relative who wanted to destroy her.  It has been partially restored and sits back into a mountain called Al- Deir Al- Bahari, from which the temple gets it's name.  This is where 58 tourists were massacred in 1997, seriously affecting tourism in Egypt for many years.  It was all safe today, though, except for the swarms of tourists, most probably unaware of the terrorism attack.

In the heat, we decided to look from afar.  It reminded me of greek or roman temples at that distance.  By the way, this queen is always shown with a beard, as pharoahs are supposed to have them, so she wore one, like a wig with loops over her ears.  She also wore men's clothes, in a successful attempt to have the priests accept her as Pharoah.  In the hills surrounding this temple you can see small entrances to what look like caves.  They are the tombs of the nobility and the workers.  Because these ancient Egyptians believed the afterlife was far better than this life, they spent their lives here on earth getting everything ready for the next.  They were mummified so they would have their bodies for their soul to go back to, and the food, servants, jewelry, etc etc.  The artisans were well respected and given tombs and probably mummified as payment for their services.


Last but by no means least, Karnak Temple.  Despite the heat, this is not to be missed.  This temple was added to by many Pharaohs, including Ramses the great, also known as the Great Eraser.  One can see where he added his cartouche, which is a signature, on columns all over the place, and had them carved so deeply that no one could go back and erase them!  The columns which line the way in are at least 30 feet tall and supported a roof.  In places you can still see the beautiful paintings on remaining roof pieces and here and there on the columns.  It must have been incredible to see back then, but of course, a commoner like me wouldn't have been allowed in.  Temples were for royalty and priests.  The scale of Karnak temple is staggering. 

Ramses Cartouche, deeply incised over other Pharoah's cartouche

I can't begin to describe what its like to stand in the shadow of these massive columns. It would take 9 people holding hands to encircle one and 100 people standing would fit on top of the column where the ornament is a representation of an open papyrus flower.  Then above that would be the massive stone blocks of the roof.  In one area of the temple the ramp of earthen bricks still stands to show how they were able to heave massive blocks up that high.  At one end of Karnak is a huge crane, ready to help with restoration the modern way.  Wilting from the heat, we returned to the ship and lunch and are now cruising on our way to Edfu.  Tonight's entertainment is Nubian dancers.  

Luxor

Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:45, but we finally left after 1pm.  A lot of standing around the airport.  For apology, we were given cold, horrible pizza and soft drinks.  Ugh.  After arriving in Luxor, we went right to the ship, the Tamr Henna.  There are many many ships this size on the Nile possibly as many as 250.  As you can see from the photo, the diesel fumes hover around the ships.  When we dock, we often have to walk through other ships to get to shore.  Lotsa ships and tourists.  I'm not sure how many staterooms there are on the Tamr Henna, but I think it would be about 50 double staterooms, and maybe a few bigger ones for families.  I'm disappointed in the food.  As usual for a cruise, there is always plenty of it, but it's mostly quite bland.  No seasonings to speak of. Last night I used the hot pepper used in the pasta to add some zing to the chicken and fish.  There is always meat, chicken, fish, rice, potatoes, veg- fixed in various ways.  The fish is always good, even without much seasoning.  But only one night did we get Egyptian food, otherwise same old, same old.

Our room is lovely, with sliding glass doors and a porch wide enough to stand on - a porch for your toes. Our evening's agenda was the Temple of Luxor.  It is beautifully lit at night, making it appear more mysterious than it would in the daytime.  I was amazed at the massive columns of limestone.  In front of the temple is one of the two obelisks that once stood there.   I had to ask if it was new, so clear were the heiroglyphs.  The other one was given to France and is at the place de la concorde in Paris.  Quite a gift to give - one of your country's priceless antiquities.  But of course, they do have a lot of them, as  we were to find out the next day.

As our bus navigated the narrow streets, I was fascinated by the life going on around us.  Men steering donkey carts laden with all kinds of things - sugar cane which is one of the main crops grown here, or brush for cooking fires or stuffed bags piled high with who knows what, or a cart with a family.  And in the midst of all this tourist traffic is a small herd of sheep heading down an alley.  Most of the women wore long dresses and head scarves, but there are the occasional women in full hijab with slits for their eyes.  It's very disturbing to see, as if they are black ghosts.  The men wear galabyia which are long dresses in dull colors.  Even the farmers in the fields wear these.  I did not see women farming at all.  I think their jobs are cooking, cleaning and taking care of children.  Men bring in the money.  Very traditional.  Khalid says that every Egyptian is very attached to the land and where they grew up, and that life is pretty much unchanging except for the ever present satellite dishes and cell phones.