FROM STEAV AND BILL

Saturday Camel....the other red meat: tastes like a good pot roast.

Our Falluca cruised into a small village south of Luxor: the end of our trip with Mustaffa and Omar after a very pleasant sail.

Private van/bus to Luxor after a short, bumpy, dusty, crowded visit to a camel market . . . and a look around a village (name unknown and certainly not on anyone's "places to go" list). This is poverty at a subsistence level and shows an Egypt of two classes: the "haves" and the "have nots". Without population controls linked to a government willing and able to provide basic infrastructures, there's little chance for any brighter future. It almost seems that Christianity and Islam require this two tier system for their existence . . . . and that the real difference with Judaism is that they do not (or at least not to the same extent). Seemingly not an active tenant of religion: "The good of the many outweighs the good of the few or one".

Luxor, like Aswan, would be well worth a return visit. The phenomenal Temple of Karnac went on forever and was well worth the walking. We opted for the evening alone while some went to Luxor Temple. This was the night when I (Steav) woke up Bill (to get ready for breakfast and the Valley of the Kings) at 1 AM instead of 7 AM! I was looking at CLT (Charlotte) time on my watch instead of CAI (Cairo). We were 7 hours early for breakfast. It was really all Tom's fault!

In lots of ways, Sunday was as rewarding as the Saqqar and Dashu visit. Off relatively early to the west bank area near the Valley of the Kings, we mounted our donkeys for an hour ride past the ruins of the Workers City to the KV itself. The trails are steep with loose rubble, so we had to learn to trust our donkeys (Bill's donkey stumbled at one point and slid him off). At the top of the mountain, we left our donkeys to walk down into the Valley of the Kings.

Fill a child's wading pool with sand and form a valley from the sides down; cut about 100 pieces of 1" x 1" sticks a foot long and drop all 100 randomly into the sand-filled pool; cover with sand until all is hidden - this would be a fair representation of The Valley of the Kings! The tombs are scattered everywhere: some atop others, some bumping into others. All tombs are at various angles and all hidden . . . until grave robbers or archaeologists or both unearthed them. All the kings are accounted for (however, queens, family and retainers are still being found).

We visited (with guide Ghandi's suggestions) three of the most interesting tombs: Tutmosis III, Ramses III and Seti (?).

Great lunch at a local restaurant. We all think that between miles of walking and extraordinarily low calorie meals, we are losing weight. Lunch was just after visiting Habu Temple. We inadvertently acquired a local guide who took great delight in telling us of Egypt's enemies during the Pharonic period (Syrian, Iranian, Nubian) and what Egyptians did to those they captured (cut hand one, hand two, cut head, cut sex - all gone). Then 2000 years ago, Romans cut the heads from all the statues to show that Egyptian gods were nothing. Our guide knew Heiroglyphics better than English . . . but it was worth the €L15 we paid him.

The evening was the long train ride to Cairo and bus to Alexandria. Another overnight of travel meant another night of little sleep.

Monday arrived in Alexandria to a hotel of great potential (Crillon Hotel). Lots of construction work yet to be done . . . but a fabulous location overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Great walk to Egypt Yacht Club, Department of Oceanography . . . a great deal of modernization going on.

Dinner of fresh shrimp and Baskin Robbins: life could be much worse.

Tuesday yet another butt-breaking ride. This time by big public bus: 4 hours along the Mediterranean coast, another 4 or more through miles and miles of not much to see, all to reach Siwa Oasis. I think the last camel died at noon....