We did absolutely nothing! In preparation for the big tour, the group gathered in a large room to meet the team leading the trip. Three busses, two guides on each, one local, one in CMI, both having good Egyptian history knowledge, plus the Manager team of Gary and Fran. The group size is about 100. […]
The great, ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria has a fascinating history. Alexandria was one of the most important cities in the ancient world, and so there are many temples and monuments associated with the Greek presence in Egypt. In 332 BC, on the way to his conquest of the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great invaded […]
I had booked two days of places to go to, one being Coptic Cairo (Old Town of Cairo), a protected area. We stopped next to the Roman wall, the foundations of which were several metres down. The Church of St. George next to it is a Greek Orthodox church within the Babylon Fortress in Coptic Cairo. It is part of the Holy Patriarchal […]
The hotel in ‘5th October’ is west of the city, one of 5 ‘suburbs’ making up Greater Cairo (28M), separated by the Nile and a stretch of desert, preserved in case of undiscovered archaeological finds – even this highway(!) is bridged several km. Speeds are kept low by frequent sharp humps. The place is over […]
We were late waking at 9 to a dead phone (no adapter). Peigi and Jason were up at 7; they met us at the huge breakfast selection. Peigi had already contacted insurance, so we will go shopping nearby! And she has a spare adapter to charge my phone. The massive two level mall is a […]
Wednesday 14th – Perth – Singapore – Dubai – Cairo & brief Egyptian History We left Perth on Singapore Air: we could have taken the direct flight on Emirates to Dubai, as we will for the return, but the original plan was to go to Israel via Istanbul, Fortunately Singapore air could change that to […]
My last day in SA is unlike the last day in 1981. How can one feel sad for leaving a place that no longer exists? No, SA was certainly not perfect then, but its worse now in so many ways. Every town, city, beach, road, business, is deteriorating like rust on steel. I have been […]
Brian took me on a walk around this place. It has accommodation for 443 couples/singles, probably covering 2 hectares or more. It is steep though! We had lunch at the café, I updated this on the free wifi, and then we drove to Uvongo and Shelly beaches to the north. The wind had picked up […]
I am impressed with the Retirement Village in which Brian and Yvonne live. Completely enclosed by security, on a very large area on the old sand dune hills, heavily gardened ie big trees, lawn, flowers, bushes, paths between 2-bed homes, some flats, a frail-care building, cafe for meals if wanted, a large library, post office, […]
The weather had changed, clouds hung over the mountains, and then the rain started. I left at 7.50am, arriving in Margate about 3pm, having stopped for some time, first at Amanzimtoti, Winkelspruit, then Umtentwini. Winkelspruit is significant as the place I went to with my parents as a 6-7 year old, where we stayed in […]