Adult Report for Felucca On The Nile

I will keep this subdued a I know some children cannot help but poke their noses in where they shouldn't.

Thursday was a bit of a rush to leave school and get fed before 5pm when everyone was meeting.
 TGIF should be named Thank God It's Thursday but I suppose because it's owned by the Brotherhood they appreciate their prayer days more than our last day of the working week. After a burger and fries we headed off to meet the rest of the party goers, including the boss who shouted the ride. There's an idea for Gladstone - Dave shouting the staff on a ferry ride around the harbour :-)
The felucca could have fitted 30 + on it but we needed space for the alcohol, chilly bins and a little bit of room for us to mix and mingle. The skipper downed 3 cans of beer during the ride and I wasn't surprised when we started floating backwards onto a bank at one stage, although the wind and current were blamed.
Steve, our school councillor who is responsible for dealing with the naughty kids, kindly donated a bottle of Jim Beam and another of Vodka which were nearly empty by the time we moored and headed off to his place. I'm not sure how they were brought into the country but they were greatly appreciated by 98% of us. I will admit to, and apologise Justin for, performing the All Black haka as my contribution to the sing along section and I could only manage to persuade 1 American to do it with me. Shannon will give anything a go...once. Tony was very relieved it wasn't him that had to get up.
Ignoring the curfew (11pm) we continued the party at Steve's until we realised it was late and we had to WALK home. 35 minutes after leaving Tony, Debra and I finally made it to our place. I wonder how the others who lived further than us got home. Will find out tomorrow ...

Food stop at TGIF right on the Nile, with Bonnie & Bill.

 Tony, the tactician, and our felucca skipper.

 Iti found Steve and his bottle of bourbon...

and became good friends with Jim.

So did I.

 

p.s. There are other photos on the kids' page.



Felucca on the Nile - for the kids

Sorry adults, this blog is more for the kids. A felucca is a pretty big boat that can hold up to 30 people and sails (no motor) with the help of the wind and the current from the Nile. It was a lot easier sailing up the Nile than it was heading back to the pier because both wind and current were heading in that direction (which is North not South). Did you know the Nile flows to the Mediterranean Ocean from the South?? It is the only river in the world that does that.

I took this photo of a  felucca on the Nile at 4.30pm. The sun has an amazing glow which is caused by the pollution in the air. At sunset, about 6pm, it was actually red and then it vanished into a grey haze.

Families heading out to go fishing. 

 

A "traffic officer" on duty at a typical street corner opposite the Nile River. All the streets look like this most of the day.

The pier where we left from. Our felucca skipper had to push the other feluccas out of the way to get ours, the one closest to the Germany sign, clear.

 A water taxi that people use to get across the river from the Maadi side of the river to Giza. This one is pretty empty. I saw two that had people sitting on the roof.

The view back to where we came from. This is a small snapshot of a very, very big city. They say not to swim in the Nile unless you have a tetanus shot first but if you touch the Nile you will always want to come back.

The Inside Photos

I managed to screenshot these from the video I bought. Is this breaking the copyright law? (It was a long video). Anyway...on with the history lesson. Don't forget to click on a photo to get a better view of it. Some of the detail is incredible.

The museum was built around this gigantic limestone statue of Akhenaten’s parents and believed to be grandparents of Tutankhamun. Forgot their names.

Chephren, builder of the second Pyramid and Sphinx at Giza. Found in a hole in the Temple at the foot of the Sphinx.

 

The Meidum Geese is a water colour wall painting from 2500 bc.

 

 Rahotep and Nofret. From the old Kingdom, 5000 years ago. Chephren’s younger brother and his wife. Made of limestone & original colour.

                                  


Akhenaten worshipped only one God. Believed to be Tutankhamun’s father. Nefertiti’s husband.

 Queen Hatshepsut , the first female Pharaoh. She ruled for 23 years

The Golden Mask weighs 11 kg. Amazing  to look at!

                                        

One of the 3 Sarcophaguses. This was the smallest of the 3 and the one the mummy was in.

Canopic jars that stored his organs

Liver, Lungs, Stomach and Intestines were first stored in these then inserted into the Canopic jars. (above)

The largest Shrine of 3 the Canopic Jars were placed in.

His mobile camping bed with the 4 hinges made of metal.

 

3 of the 4 Shrines the Sarcogaphuses were placed in, just like Babushka Dolls. Note the 3^rd one is in top photo at the back, and there is one bigger again.

 

Didn't add any mummy photos as they are a bit gruesome...

 

Day At The Museum

Well it was really a half day but trying to do a full day would have been very, very tiring. The museum was outstanding, everything I thought it would be and more. You can't really compare it to Auckland Museum or Smithsonian or the British Museum because this museum is only about Egyptian history dating back from 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. There was so much to see and learn! We are so pleased to have Memo as our guide, he also showed us the pyramids, as he is so knowledgeable and answers all our questions even when they relate to something he has already told us (can't remember everything!) He showed us the main pieces from the different dynasties which helped us understand the story of Egypt and its pharaohs even more. The idea of placing the pharaoh's mummy inside a gold painted wooden sarcophagus, inside another and then a third gold painted sarcophagus is incredible but when you see the enormity of the 3 or 4 large wooden shrines that the sarcophaguses then fit into like Babushka dolls you have to be in awe of the craftsmen of the time and the engineering genius of these people. We saw Tutankhamun's bed he used when camping in the desert. It had 4 metal hinges, yes hinges, so it could fold into thirds and be transported. 5,000 years ago they used glass in the eyes of their statues and there are painted limestone figures that have maintained their colour - just incredible.
Cameras were not allowed inside the museum so unfortunately all my photos are of the outside. The Ritz was burnt down during the revolution to oust Mubarak and is now being rebuilt across the road. I wonder if they will eventually knock down the old one. There are still burnt out cars parked in the car park.
As I've mentioned before there are tanks everywhere in Cairo. It was quite funny to see more than 20 on the roadside outside the museum though. Hate to see them try and leave in a hurry as the road could only fit 2 across.
I will try and upload photos of the inside of the museum if I can find some on a CD we bought in the meantime you will have to make do with mine.... and no there are no photos of Iti. I forgot to take him so he's sitting sulking on the shelf. Next time when we do Islamic Cairo and the Citadel.

                                          
 

 
                      

 

Day Out at Zamalek

If you google map Zamalek you will see it is an island in the middle of the Nile, about 45 minutes north of Maadi. We had a great day out with Tim and Laurie, a couple of teachers from school, who showed us around the area. The island has quite a few embassies on it (note the Irish Embassy signage for Orla) and has some amazing architecture and a lot of history to it. The photos are as follows:

First stop Sufi's Bookstore for a browse, coffee & cheesecake.

 The Irish Embassy's very shiny plaque outside their big white wall.

 My romantic husband bought me a rose from a vendor on the street. Smelt amazing! First roses we've seen here...

... and just along the road look what he found. He was like a kid in a toy shop.

 The price of the new Fat Bob is cheaper than NZ with no on road costs and no insurance. I still wouldn't buy it for him. 

 

 After a few hours wandering around we decided to stop for a beer at the Marriot Hotel. These 2 photos were taken in the Royal Lounge. We got lost looking for the bar :-)

The lounge was twice the size of this photo filled with ornate furnishings fit for a queen. You can see the huge chandelier, reflected in the mirror, that I was standing below.

Finally found Harry's Bar and had our beers along with a mezze before catching the cab home.