Phil's Mideastern Meanderings

Ok, well that seemed to work.

We paid our 25LE (I think) to go inside the 2nd Pyramid (that of Khefren). The slope down was steep and the headspace limited. Inside, it grows extremely stuffy and airless, and is not for claustrophobes. You ascend again (with everyone else) to enter the burial chamber in the heart of the pyramid. Inside is the empty stone sarcophagus of Khefren, in a chapel-like room with a triangular ceiling. On the wall is a sign written by Giovanni Belzoni, the Italian circus-strongman-cum-Egyptologist who first rediscovered the place.

The Sphinx is nearby, next to a temple, and has a commanding view of the local KFC. Nice. The statue itself is suitably timeless and impressive, although one can't get too close b/c of erosion fears. They can't seem to say 'Sphinx' around here, and call it the "Sphincid" (or "Sphincter", as some wag had it). It was the name the Greeks gave it, as it reflected their own mythology, and was probably snappier than Re-Harakhte, Horus-of-the-Horizon.

We grabbed lunch, a local dish called koshary, made up of macaroni, rice, spaghetti, chickpeas, onion, herbs, and a spicy tomato sauce. Very tasty :^q

The Cairo Antiquities Museum is something else. It would take a few days to do it justice, so huge is their collection. The entire upper floor is dedicated to King Tut. The famed golden mask is, of course, breathtaking, but there are plenty of other fascinating exhibits, including his golden sandals and toe-'tectors. There was so much to see, I had to sit down and rest a couple of times (and, to be fair, it was pretty warm!). Recommended.

That evening, I joined Anna, the Romanian-Canadian girl I'd met in the taxi, and her guide Sharif for a Nile cruise. This wasn't on a traditional fellucca, but a bog-standard cruise boat. We had a buffet and some seriously cheesy-but-ace Egyptian entertainment, including a belly dancer and some whirling-dervish style 'sufi dancers', (one a dwarf) who did amazing things with twirling, mushrooming skirt-like spinning-top outfits. (I'll post photos at some point!)

On Sat 13th, I took a taxi out to the Khan-el-Khalili market area, to try my hand at getting ripped off by the marketeers. Interestingly, while people will try it on, the hard sell is easily limited by a polite refusal, and there is virtually no petty crime in Cairo, as the penalties and social stigma are so harsh. I haggled for some Karkady, and was reasonably pleased with the price I got (I guess that's the idea). The streets there are highly uneven and strewn with rubbish, and kids running off giggling as cap-bombs explode beneath tourists' feet. It's mostly tat, to be fair, but then I didn't have time to explore the whole area. I was persuaded by one young chap to enter his store, where I eventually bought… [Mum will have to wait to find out ;^) ]

Back at the Victoria, I discovered that our team was meeting an hour earlier than I thought (good thing I decided to leave myself some time). Our leader is Dan, an Aussie (who also goes by Mustafa since his conversion to Islam). He's a top bloke, and looks a bit like a younger version of Locke from Lost. Karen and Jeff are (also) from Perth, as is Dawn (originally from Singapore) who's going out with Liam, from Sligo, Ireland. Chris is from Toronto, and Das lives in Orange County, LA, but is from Calcutta. They're all good folks (so far…)

Our first outing was to the Coptic Quarter, to see some of the churches of the ancient Coptic Christians. Their tradition dates back to the earliest Christians, including St Mark (the Disciple and Evangelist), who was martyred in Egypt (tied to a horse from a noose around his neck, and dragged until his head was parted from his body). Olla told us many wonderful tales about some of the early Christians, and their relationship with the Romans, then the Muslims, which eventually came to a mutual acceptance and respect. The Hanging Church is suspended, as it were, above the ruins of an old Roman fort ( I think) and has many icons. St Sergius church is built above the crypt where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are said to have taken refuge when fleeing from Herod.

We also visited a very old mosque, and Olla explained the fundamentals of her faith, which was very helpful, and touching as she described how she came to her decision about taking the veil at the age of 25 after a pilgrimage to Mecca. The removal of the shoes from the feet, apparently, is not so much about 'holy ground' , as a point of hygiene in a place where hundreds of believers regularly kiss the carpet. Most illuminating.

On Sun 14th, we arose early for our long trip to the Sinai. I slept poorly, as the horns were blaring, and Das rivals by good mate Stu in the snoring department. No matter, clutching our breakfast boxes we were soon away in a good-sized, air-conditioned minibus. We stopped at a roadhouse cafe by the Suez Canal. Turkish coffee (strong, sweet & chewy). Too many flies. Back on bus. Tried out my travel pillow. Not bad. Read a little of The Mystical Theology of the East, by a Russian author. Excellent so far. Coincidentally, I came to the part describing how Dionysius the Areopagite uses Moses' ascent of Mt Sinai as a metaphor for the soul's apophatic progression towards the Godhead (it's actually a lot more riveting than it sounds!)

Arriving at the Daniela 'hotel' in the Sinai foothills, we had a good meal. A few tummy troubles, but Immodium seems to be doing the trick. The way up Mount Sinai is the 3,750 stairs of Repentance. I kid you not. It's pretty tough going (especially with irregular bowels, but I found a blessed litle shack on the way…), but the mountains are magnificent, with warm colours of brown and pink, shifting with the evening sun.

The summit is really worth it, albeit marred by rubbish left by a recent tour party (of 3,000!). The sunset was a fine moment. This may or may not be Gebel Musa (Moses' Mount), but you can really believe it.

Right, it's getting late… ttfn! xxx