Cairo, Egypt - Day 40

Cairo is incredibly smoggy and is supposedly like this every day. It reminds me of the very worst summer days in Los Angeles in the late 70’s. We awoke early to the wonderful view of the Pyramids from our room, packed our things and headed for breakfast. What can you complain about when you are sitting in air conditioning, being served food in a historic building and one complete wall is glass with a giant pyramid looking in at you. Pretty magical.

Our guide and driver met us at 8:30am and we were off to see the giant alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali inside the Citadel of Saladin. Jewish artists had decorated the edifice so there were lots of stars of David in the plaster work. What an interesting political juxtaposition. The views of Cairo would have been incredible from the mosque’s hilltop if only you see through the brown gunk infused in the air.

Then it was off to see the huge Egyptian Antiquities Museum. No photos were allowed inside. The exhibit of King Tut was awesome. So many artifacts to see including the four giant golden boxes his sarcophagus was enclosed in. If you’ve ever seen the traveling Tut exhibit, think five times more things to see here. The museum inside looks like something out of Indiana Jones – dusty exhibits all sort of piled up and presented willy-nilly.

It was time to leave this great city and head back to Alexandria to catch our ship. I’m not sure we’ll ever return to Cairo. The air pollution and general lack of any tidiness overwhelm all the positives. But we’re glad we visited and had a great time.








Hello all Jeff here
Ron has covered our trips to Israel and Egypt so well I won’t even consider trying to add to his prose
However just some of my now famous random thoughts:
My family Mother and my sisters have been talking for years about their trips to Israel
I will admit it was never high on my list of priorities Our friends Bob and Shelley have visited there so often I am sure they go through local immigration lines They have talked endlessly about the country and the many causes they both support We of course realize the importance of Israel to the United States and appreciate our commitment to IT
However I had no idea that visiting the country would have the effect on me that it did. From the holocaust museum Yad Vashem to standing so close to the Holy of Holies under the Western Wall that I was able to touch it and leave a prayer The entire country is a roller coaster of emotions The security wall dividing major parts of the city and the country side may be necessary but it is a blight on all the peoples in the region and the stubbornness of many and the sick attitudes of others
This country offers so much to so many We found the people to be warm friendly and welcoming
Our way too short time at the King David Hotel was special beyond words oh by the way anyone that tries to convince you the newer David Citadel is better is way wrong It’s a nice hotel but designed for businessmen not for the elegant stays at the KING The food was excellent and its location has secured its place among the many wonderful sites of Jerusalem
After what turned out to be an all too brief visit, of which our tour guide explained to us in almost Churchillian poetry that “ he in all his years had never toured so much in so short a period of time” we returned to our ship and set sail for Egypt
Once again Ron has provided excellent detail about our time in this fascinating country Our guide and driver were accommodating and very knowledgeable They both made sure we got to where we wanted to go and explained as much as they could about each of the sites
As with any guides they bring their own perspectives and we chose to not engage but rather just listen
The streets of Cairo could have been Mumbai except for the SAND cloud that permanently surrounds the city Between the sand dust and the automobile exhausts the pollution belt wraps its way into every part of the city We can understand why the authorities are worried that one day the pyramids temples and burial sites will all but disappear
We were pleased to discover that hopefully in 2015 a new Cairo museum will open Their collection is truly beyond words but the way it is currently displayed and cared for is a crime against future generations King Tuts regal headdress the one reprinted throughout the world is stored in an aging Plexiglas case with cracked panels and lighting that only a vampire could wish for While the collection excited us its lack of proper display and storage needs sadden us
While we both know that one day soon we will return to Israel to explore more of this fascinating country, I doubt we will return to Cairo unless maybe after the new museum opens in 5 years

Just a few words about Voyage 2:
As we have mentioned previously the whole tone of this voyage is so very different then Voyage 1, the limited number of sea days and the frenzy of visiting ports while wonderful in learning discovering and enjoying these new sites has eliminated the camaraderie we enjoyed on the first voyage We have managed to meet other couples for a few dinners but friendships such as we now enjoy with several couples from Voyage 1 will not happen
We miss our new friends and we are not just saying that because they are now reading the BLOG