We flew to Abu Simbel and back to Aswan today, the site of two magnificent temples. The one with these four colossal statues is the Temple of Ramses II. The entire site was moved across the Nile and to higher ground between 1964-68 when the High Dam at Aswan was […]
Convivium
Oct 27: Edfu and Kom Ombo
This is a late temple. You can see the king being anointed by the goddesses of both Upper and Lower Egypt (represented by their different headdresses). The king (one of the late Ptolemys) shows, by the combined headdress, that Egypt has been united. There is much more that could be […]
Oct. 26: Luxor/Thebes and traveling south on the Nile
Photography was prohibited in the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, so no way to share the jaw-dropping beauty and sophistication of the wall paintings. This pic os of our esteemed discussion leader David Schmitt taking a moment to limber up before the next climb. It is […]
Oct 25: Luxor
Yesterday ended with an animated debate about the nature of Ahmed, the patriarch of the family in Palace Walk, followed by an impromptu party in the hall. An early morning flight over the desert to Luxor landed us at the Temple of Karnak by 8:30 am. This is the site […]
Oct 24: Cairo
Here we are on Palace Walk, the setting for our first book (of the same name). We are in front of a spice store, the business owned by our anti-hero, Ahmed. He was a bon-vivant in the street but a tyrant at home. View Slideshows of Egypt and Jordan View […]
Oct. 23: Cairo
This is the best I could do to take a picture of the interior stairwell of the building that houses our utterly charming hotel on the fifth floor. Kind of retro French Oriental. Large rooms with high, high ceilings. Exquisite middle eastern lights and tapestries. It is on a busy […]
Oct. 22: Cairo
A great day at Giza. Why is it so hard to find words to describe the Cairo experience? It is sensory overload in the best way. Brimming with life and contradictions. How many images have I seen of the pyramids and the sphinx? And why is it that being face […]
Oct 21: Arrive in Cairo
Short flight from Amman to Cairo, which to eyes that had become accustomed to the unbelievable aridity of Jordan, Cairo from the air looked remarkably green. We are in a wildly bustling part of the city. No way I can describe the throbbing of people and vehicles of every type […]
Oct. 20-21: Petra
We watched a very tender and touching Jordanian movie last night – Captain Abu Raed. I recommend it highly and gave copy to a hotel employee who expressed great interest and implied how hard it is to find and pay for DVDs here. Perhaps I’ve been duped, but I choose […]
Oct. 19: Amman, Mt. Nebo, Kerak, Petra
Writing this on the last leg of journey to Petra, which we will visit tomorrow. I got up early and wandered out to see how Amman gets up in the morning. Saw street cleaners sweeping; shop keepers opening up; children with backpacks waiting for school busses; people heading off to […]