Trips

Fri., 2/25/22 - Petra to Amman to Cairo, Egypt

Group departure from Petra was set for 6 AM. However, the Jordanian Prime Minister decided today to have Jordan go on daylight savings time overnight. Since Friday and Saturday are the normal Moslem weekend, it made some sense, but it created havoc with our trying to set a wake up alarm on our cell phones and three of us got up and were ready to travel an hour too early.

The drive back to Amman was uneventful. The OAT airport rep met us, sent the group in one direction, and took Marge to claim our suitcases. Lo and behold, everything sort of worked out. Our suitcases were secured with ziplocks and everything was there.

Jordanian security took out and searched everything in just about everyone's carry-on bags - twice. Really annoying. They have a really problem with binoculars!

The flight on Royal Jordanian was uneventful and even included lunch - on this 1.5-hour flight.

Another OAT rep met us at the Cairo airport and guided us through the procedures to enter Egypt: $25 for an Egyptian visa, showing our negative PCR test results, etc. Our two suitcases arrived with the rest of the group’s luggage and we headed for our big motor coach - for just the nine of us. Then, before our bus could leave the airport, we had to receive police/security approval to drive anywhere. We were also joined by an armed security guard. American tour groups in Egypt each have a security person travel with them. They have been nice, pleasant, and helpful but they do carry an automatic, multi-bullet cartridge pistol that hangs out noticeably below their suit jackets. There was one with us everywhere we went in Egypt.

Before dinner, Mona, our OAT Trip Experience Leader, took us on an introductory walk of the neighborhood - it has not changed much in the 11 years since we last stayed at the Cairo Marriott. For dinner (on our own), we returned to Maison Thomas (where we had eaten in 2011), just across a busy street from our hotel, for pizza and spinach lasagna. We were joined by Sharrel and Dan from Ft. Collins, CO. The food was still good and the four of us ate for about $25 US!

I did wash this afternoon and showered with my own toiletries and put on my real sleep clothes tonight. What a relief. Different clothes tomorrow! No one will recognize us.

HOORAY! It is interesting that one bag came from London on Wednesday aboard BA 312 and the other aboard RJ 112.
Flag of Egypt	Egyptian license plate
All of our security people were armed with these wicked looking automatic pistols.	View from our hotel room in the Cairo Marriott
The Cairo Tower	Cairo high-rise apartment building
Sat., 2/26/22 - Cairo Today's visit was to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, built in 1902. We were hoping the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) would be open by now but it isn’t completed yet. It is about 13 years behind schedule. Mona took us through the first floor of big stuff and then to the second floor with the burial items of a king and queen. She explained the process of mummification and the use of the canopic jars in which the mummy’s liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines were placed.
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities	Benben stone - the capstone from the pyramid of Amenemhat III of the Twelfth Dynasty
Stele of a noble man named Kap-Ptah	Pharaoh Menkaure, Hathor (on left) and Bat Pharaoh Menkaure: Fourth dynasty; son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu Hathor: One of Egypt's greatest goddesses - usually depicted as a cow Anput: Female counterpart of the god Anubis,
Painting of geese on mud covered with plaster	Sphinx of Hatshepsut
Head of Queen Nefertiti, wife of King Akhenaten	Statue of Rameses II as a child protected by the God Horun or Horus
The Museum has a section dedicated to King Tut in which are exhibited some his regalia (crook scepters, flail, and Kherep scepters), scarab jewelry, cobra collar, his funerary mask, the two caskets (one pure gold and one wooden and gilded), his canopic jars, and much more. All of the materials from his tomb will be displayed at the GEM. Tutankhamun only ruled from 1361 to 1352 BCE but he was buried with impressive finery.
Canopic jars	Tomb of King Tut
Outermost golden shrine - From the tomb of King Tut	King Tut's Sandals
King Tut's Throne - front	King Tut's Throne - back
Statue of Anubis God of the dead associated with embalming. Usually depicted as a man with the head of a dog or jackal.	Sacred Ibis
Papyrus scrolls	Balance
Sun., 2/27/22 - Giza Today's excursion was to Giza to view the pyramids and the Sphinx. As with any new place, there were lots of interesting sights to behold as we drove along. (Please remember that taking photos from a moving bus does not lead to excellence in photography - more like a blurry foreground and reflections of the bus interior. However, it is the only was to get some photos.)
Rowing on the Nile	Corner market - note the hanging oranges
New road construction in Cairo	Agriculture plots between Cairo and Giza
As we approached the pyramids in Giza, we passed the site where the new Grand Egyptian Museum (affectionately referred to as the GEM) is being constructed. It is a humongous structure, very modern in design and with beautiful landscaping, lots of parking area, and access roads around the sprawling building. Construction of the GEM began in 2003 and it was originally supposed to open in 2006, then 2009, then . . . and now, November 2022, the one hundredth anniversary of the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Many things went wrong during planning and construction and much of the money ended up in corrupt officials’ pockets. The Japanese have invested over $8 million in the project. Many other groups have given money. The first part to be opened will display all 5,000 pieces from King Tut’s tomb. The GEM will eventually house more than 20,000 other pieces. The building is in Giza near the pyramids and the entrances to the building are little pyramids. It is rather disappointing that this project was not finished so we could have visited it on this trip. (Link to images of the GEM.)
The new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)	The new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
The new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
Map of the site
After the obligatory Trip Leader talk, we were able to walk around the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It was a beautiful day - 70° and clear blue sky and only a small crowd of people. There are many different types of pyramids in Egypt. There are also numerous theories about how these pyramids were constructed, the most logical of which involve some form of ramp or inclined plane. (Go to this link for a lengthy, but interesting, discussion of the topic and/or to link2 for a short video about the subject.) Although originally thought to be built using slave labor, there is now quite convincing evidence that construction was accomplished using both laborers and skilled craftsman who were all paid for their work. Additional information: The pyramid shape was to allow the king or pharaoh to ascend to the afterlife. It took 30 to 40 days to mummify the body which was done in Memphis. It was then placed in the caskets and taken from the funerary temple, up the causeway, and sealed in his sarcophagus in the tomb within the pyramid. Treasures were sealed with him in the tomb - things he might need in the afterlife and riches to show his importance. The limestone for most of the construction was quarried nearby. The red granite came from Aswan and was brought down the Nile by boat. The pyramids are all built with each face to a cardinal compass direction. The great pyramid is only 2 mm off true. The north face was the entrance, the queens’ tombs are opposite the east face, as was the funerary complex. Pilfering of the pyramids apparently began around 900 BCE. Both the exterior materials and the burial treasures were looted.
Pyramid of Khafre	Pyramid of Khafre with Gale providing perspective
Waiting for riders	Fossils in the limestone blocks of the pyramids
Pyramid of Khufu	Pyramid of Menkaure
Khafre, Khufu, and Menkaure	Giza and Cairo from the Giza Plateau
From the pyramids it is only a short ride to the site of the Great Sphinx. The Sphinx, which is regarded as a funerary guardian, is east of the three pyramids.	The Sphinx
Back of the Sphinx	Sphinx with the Pyramid of Khafre
After viewing the pyramids and the sphinx, we went off to lunch in an area called New Giza. At the restaurant the bread is made and baked in stone ovens and the chicken is roasted on a large, open, grill. The view was expansive and the food good, but far too plentiful.	Street vendor
Electrical lines and junked vehicles	Making bread for our lunch
Roasting chickens for lunch	View from the lunch table
Laundry day	The money machines
Dinner tonight was at a floating restaurant on the Nile and consisted exclusively of excellent starters - the starters are often the best part of the meal. There were lots of decorated "party boats" moving up and down the river.	Party boat on the Nile

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