Well, after 23 hours of flying and a short drive home from Cincinnati, Lea, Frank and I made it home last night around 3:30 p.m. All the flights were F,F and E (fast, fun and easy)! The only hiccup was that Lea and Frank's checked luggage ended up being loaded on a later flight. Getting a delayed luggage claim filed, etc. took some extra time, but we were on the road to Lexington around 2:00. Bless Lillibeth's heart for coming to get us and for her patience. I couldn't get cell phone service in the airport. I received a voice mail from her once we landed, so I had coverage on the tarmac, but not inside the terminal. Anyway, it was all sorted out and we were on our way home tired, but happy.
Turns out that Martin was on the 3:30 flight that Lea and Frank's luggage was on. Apparently he saw their bags on the carousel and delivered them to our house last night! What an angel he is and what a gift it was to see them on our back porch last night around 9:30! That kind of thoughtfulness and generosity was experienced by us throughout our trip and we're so grateful to have friends and family who are so loving and considerate. We're truly blessed!
On our drive home from the Cincy airport, we were amazed at how green and hilly Kentucky now seems to us after 3-weeks in Egpyt!
We're, of course, jet lagged. Frank went to bed first. He's been fighting a cold that the group started sharing near the end of the cruise. Please send energy that Lea and I can avoid getting this. Thanks! Then Lea went to bed around 7:30 and I stayed up until 10:00. We all woke up this morning at 6:30 a.m.
Well, at this point, I think this will conclude my new entries for this Egypt Blog. If I think of something else to add, I will. I've already added some videos to previous posts, so if you get a chance, please feel free to go back and take a look at those. I could never get the videos to load properly while in Egpyt as the file size seemed to put me over my bandwidth limit. There are MANY things to be grateful for in being home, and true high-speed broadband is one of them (along with pups, soft tissues and thick toilet paper)!
Egypt is an amazing country and I highly recommend it as a destination for anyone wanting to have an adventure. The sites, temples, landscape, and Nile valley are magnificent and on a scale that no photo can do justice. However, Egypt's biggest treasure is her people. Egyptian hospitality knows no bounds and a visitor's comfort is of prime concern. As our dear friends Manal and Basem say, "Nothing is impossible." and that sums up the attitude and spirit of the Egyptian people. We're truly blessed to have visited Egypt again, and I hope to go back again some day!
Thanks for all those who visited my blog and who added comments along the way. I haven't had a chance to read them all, yet, but hope to later this morning. Knowing that you were following our journey with us motivated me to continue to post and I could feel you there in Egypt with us. Thanks for that support and for the love and energy you sent us--it made a HUGE difference. Please feel free to continue to comment. There's no reason we can't continue to discuss the highlights of the trip together in this blog by using the comments section. I hope that trip participants, most who weren't able to keep up with this blog while traveling, will add their comments and memories, too. This blog was written from my experiences only and there's so much more than any one person's perspective to share. I hope that the sharing and commenting continues. If not, this blog seems to have served it purpose by allowing me to share with you a little of what we experienced while in Egpyt. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
I hope to see all of you again in person sometime soon. Until then, much love and gratitude,
Stuart
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
2 Flights down, one more and a drive to go!
We just landed in Richmond after an uneventful flight from JFK and awaiting our next flight which departs around 11:30.
Going back to the trip, we left the Black Desert and arrived at our hotel in the Bahariya Oasis shortly before dark. Lea, Frank and I were disappointed that the new section they were building in January was still under construction. This was the most disappointing oasis hotel experience we had had on our Inspection Trip in January and, unfortunately, the hotel hadn't changed any since. One trip participant commented to Lea the following morning that the hotel was the example of what happens when men build, design, run and maintain a hotel without any input from women! He's probably correct. The hotel grounds and common areas are nice enough considering you're in very rural Egypt in the poorest oasis in the desert. But the rooms sorely lack any comforts--for instance, no shower curtains. Like our visit in January, we had low water pressure and could only get a trickle of water from our hand-held shower head. Lea was exhausted and after spending the night in the desert we both desperately wanted a nice hot shower, but none was to be found at this hotel. After several visits from maintenance, and a shower head replacement, we figured we had it as good as it was going to get and took our showers.
We went down to dinner hungry but for what turned out to be the poorest offerings we'd had all trip. There was little available to us other than salads. We sat around our table eating quietly looking every bit the travel-weary group we were. Many of us had been traveling together for three weeks which included a major Dragon energy working (and all that entails) with Samuel--we had good reason to be whipped. As Lea would say, we looked like we'd been "rode hard and put up wet." which is a phrase I think she picked up from Gwen back in her horseback riding days. Lea retired early, but I was concerned about going back to the room at 8:00 p.m. I knew that I should avoid going to bed that early if I wanted a full night's sleep.
So I joined another table and we chatted for a while. We left the dining room and as I was walking back to our room, I stumbled across a small group of ours sitting out in the garden chatting. The temperature was delightful, so I asked if I could join them. It was a delightful exchange of White Desert trip stories. Jeanean was sharing stories as only Jeanean can with Catherine S. egging her on every bit of the way! It was a hoot and I'm glad that our guide, Mena, was a part of this experience. He commented on how early we retired every night, especially when we had an early morning the next day. On this night he was able to see that not everyone was in bed by 10:00 p.m.
The following morning was a check out and a 9:00 a.m. departure. The tombs and museum of the Golden Mummies didn't open until 9:00. So, we made our brief visits and then stopped at a coffee shop under the guise of a bathroom stop for our group, but I think the real reason was that our drivers wanted to have a "shisha"--tobacco water pipe. After spending about 30-minutes there, they took us to a little oasis very near the hotel where we had spent the previous night. We walked back through some date palms and ended up having a delightful picnic in the shade of the trees consisting of: eggplant; tomatoes, olives and cucumbers; falafel; bananas, pears and dates collected from the trees we were sitting under for desert, and more.
There are many varieties of dates all of which can, and are, eaten at different times of the year. The picnic dates (as you can see) were yellow and tasted a little like caramel! Yum! At the restaurant in the Khan al Khalili market, we ate fresh red dates. These were sweet, had the texture of a crisp apple with a similar water contecnt, but were a little starchy. Apparently, these dates can be eaten once dried, as well, which must occur around Christmas time, as our guide referred to these as Christmas dates.
When we arrived at the picnic site, we walked past a donkey. Once we were settled in at our picnic area, Lea remembered we had an apple in our backpack and wanted to feed it to the donkey. When she was in college, she used to train donkeys for the Shriner Circus! She loves donkeys, and animals in general, so we went back so she could feed the apple to it.
We then loaded up in the Land Cruisers and headed towards Cairo. Shortly after we were on the main road one of the cruisers had a flat tire. We watched as they changed the tire and had us on the road again in less than 5-minutes. In watching at how efficiently this took place I assume this was a common occurrence in the desert. I was right. It happened again with another one of our vehicles later that afternoon. They must go through a lot of tires!
We made another unexpected stop enroute. Like the Black Desert stop, this wasn't something we had experienced in January and it was delightful. We went off road and up a steep sand dune for a photo op. The view was stunning!
Also stunning, was the fact that what we were standing on (had driven up) was a dune of compacted and crushed seabed shells.
What ended up happening was that every jeep had a photo taken with their driver. It all started rather spontaneously with jeep #1. Each vehicle "stole" their idea and wanted a photo with our fellow travelers and driver. After we did this, we agreed that we wanted a photo taken with everyone. To make a tri-pod, we attached Don's camera to a portable and flexible tri-pod I had brought with me. We then attached it to a hand-hold on one of the vehicles. Don set his camera to timer mode so he could join the frame. Thanks, Don, for catching this Kodak moment for us all and for emailing the photo to me so quickly so I could post it.
We had climbed up the dune in the Land Cruisers following a switch-back style path. However, we went straight down the steep side of the dune on our departure!
We hit the outskirts of Cairo around 5:30 p.m. Friday is the Islamic holy day of the week, so Thursday afternoon traffic is like our Friday afternoon rush hour traffic (but since it's Cairo you can multiply it by 100!). Traffic was bumper to bumper and moved at a snails pace! We didn't arrive at our hotel until 7:10 p.m. Eighteen of the 27-member group had a 12:30 a.m. flight, so we needed to check in to the hotel, shower/shave, repack and gather back in the hotel lobby at 9:00 p.m. for an airport transfer! Obviously, this was a real challenge to do after such a tiring day of travel and a long, 3-three week trip! It was a mad dash, and I didn't think we were going to be able to do it, (I think it took all the energy Lea could muster to be able to do all of this at such a frantic pace) but we all made it back in time to leave for the airport. Traffic again was very heavy and chaotic--typical Cairo traffic! Earlier in the trip, we had noticed that they steer their grocery carts the same way they drive. At the airport we learned that they do the same with the luggage carts. To us, it's complete madness, but to them it's organized chaos.
Well, the airport was stressful, but we made it through the gauntlet and our flight seemed to leave on time which leads us to where we are now, in Richmond. It looks like our flight to Cincy is getting ready to board, so I'll close for now.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Going back to the trip, we left the Black Desert and arrived at our hotel in the Bahariya Oasis shortly before dark. Lea, Frank and I were disappointed that the new section they were building in January was still under construction. This was the most disappointing oasis hotel experience we had had on our Inspection Trip in January and, unfortunately, the hotel hadn't changed any since. One trip participant commented to Lea the following morning that the hotel was the example of what happens when men build, design, run and maintain a hotel without any input from women! He's probably correct. The hotel grounds and common areas are nice enough considering you're in very rural Egypt in the poorest oasis in the desert. But the rooms sorely lack any comforts--for instance, no shower curtains. Like our visit in January, we had low water pressure and could only get a trickle of water from our hand-held shower head. Lea was exhausted and after spending the night in the desert we both desperately wanted a nice hot shower, but none was to be found at this hotel. After several visits from maintenance, and a shower head replacement, we figured we had it as good as it was going to get and took our showers.
We went down to dinner hungry but for what turned out to be the poorest offerings we'd had all trip. There was little available to us other than salads. We sat around our table eating quietly looking every bit the travel-weary group we were. Many of us had been traveling together for three weeks which included a major Dragon energy working (and all that entails) with Samuel--we had good reason to be whipped. As Lea would say, we looked like we'd been "rode hard and put up wet." which is a phrase I think she picked up from Gwen back in her horseback riding days. Lea retired early, but I was concerned about going back to the room at 8:00 p.m. I knew that I should avoid going to bed that early if I wanted a full night's sleep.
So I joined another table and we chatted for a while. We left the dining room and as I was walking back to our room, I stumbled across a small group of ours sitting out in the garden chatting. The temperature was delightful, so I asked if I could join them. It was a delightful exchange of White Desert trip stories. Jeanean was sharing stories as only Jeanean can with Catherine S. egging her on every bit of the way! It was a hoot and I'm glad that our guide, Mena, was a part of this experience. He commented on how early we retired every night, especially when we had an early morning the next day. On this night he was able to see that not everyone was in bed by 10:00 p.m.
The following morning was a check out and a 9:00 a.m. departure. The tombs and museum of the Golden Mummies didn't open until 9:00. So, we made our brief visits and then stopped at a coffee shop under the guise of a bathroom stop for our group, but I think the real reason was that our drivers wanted to have a "shisha"--tobacco water pipe. After spending about 30-minutes there, they took us to a little oasis very near the hotel where we had spent the previous night. We walked back through some date palms and ended up having a delightful picnic in the shade of the trees consisting of: eggplant; tomatoes, olives and cucumbers; falafel; bananas, pears and dates collected from the trees we were sitting under for desert, and more.
There are many varieties of dates all of which can, and are, eaten at different times of the year. The picnic dates (as you can see) were yellow and tasted a little like caramel! Yum! At the restaurant in the Khan al Khalili market, we ate fresh red dates. These were sweet, had the texture of a crisp apple with a similar water contecnt, but were a little starchy. Apparently, these dates can be eaten once dried, as well, which must occur around Christmas time, as our guide referred to these as Christmas dates.
When we arrived at the picnic site, we walked past a donkey. Once we were settled in at our picnic area, Lea remembered we had an apple in our backpack and wanted to feed it to the donkey. When she was in college, she used to train donkeys for the Shriner Circus! She loves donkeys, and animals in general, so we went back so she could feed the apple to it.
We then loaded up in the Land Cruisers and headed towards Cairo. Shortly after we were on the main road one of the cruisers had a flat tire. We watched as they changed the tire and had us on the road again in less than 5-minutes. In watching at how efficiently this took place I assume this was a common occurrence in the desert. I was right. It happened again with another one of our vehicles later that afternoon. They must go through a lot of tires!
We made another unexpected stop enroute. Like the Black Desert stop, this wasn't something we had experienced in January and it was delightful. We went off road and up a steep sand dune for a photo op. The view was stunning!
Also stunning, was the fact that what we were standing on (had driven up) was a dune of compacted and crushed seabed shells.
What ended up happening was that every jeep had a photo taken with their driver. It all started rather spontaneously with jeep #1. Each vehicle "stole" their idea and wanted a photo with our fellow travelers and driver. After we did this, we agreed that we wanted a photo taken with everyone. To make a tri-pod, we attached Don's camera to a portable and flexible tri-pod I had brought with me. We then attached it to a hand-hold on one of the vehicles. Don set his camera to timer mode so he could join the frame. Thanks, Don, for catching this Kodak moment for us all and for emailing the photo to me so quickly so I could post it.
We had climbed up the dune in the Land Cruisers following a switch-back style path. However, we went straight down the steep side of the dune on our departure!
We hit the outskirts of Cairo around 5:30 p.m. Friday is the Islamic holy day of the week, so Thursday afternoon traffic is like our Friday afternoon rush hour traffic (but since it's Cairo you can multiply it by 100!). Traffic was bumper to bumper and moved at a snails pace! We didn't arrive at our hotel until 7:10 p.m. Eighteen of the 27-member group had a 12:30 a.m. flight, so we needed to check in to the hotel, shower/shave, repack and gather back in the hotel lobby at 9:00 p.m. for an airport transfer! Obviously, this was a real challenge to do after such a tiring day of travel and a long, 3-three week trip! It was a mad dash, and I didn't think we were going to be able to do it, (I think it took all the energy Lea could muster to be able to do all of this at such a frantic pace) but we all made it back in time to leave for the airport. Traffic again was very heavy and chaotic--typical Cairo traffic! Earlier in the trip, we had noticed that they steer their grocery carts the same way they drive. At the airport we learned that they do the same with the luggage carts. To us, it's complete madness, but to them it's organized chaos.
Well, the airport was stressful, but we made it through the gauntlet and our flight seemed to leave on time which leads us to where we are now, in Richmond. It looks like our flight to Cincy is getting ready to board, so I'll close for now.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Greetings from New York's JFK Airport!
We just arrived a few minutes ago and it's great to be back in the USA--the land of high-speed internet (among, of course, many other awesome things and people!)! :-)
First of all, Lea asked that I tell her folks hello for her! "Hi!" Clyde, Neva, Bob and E! :-)
Our flight from Cairo was fast, fun and easy. I may have written earlier that Lea and I are flying business class cashing in some (most) of our American Express points. The flight home was even better than the flight over. We both got a lot of sleep. Lea's was Ambien induced, mine was sheer exhaustion.
Our last day in the desert was good but really made for a long travel day. But before I get into that, I think I should fill you in more on the day before. I mentioned the white desert and how impressive it was. After visiting it, we went back to the camp for lunch and then packed our bags and headed to the final oasis on our safari--the Baharya Oasis--via the black desert.
Before reaching the Black Desert, we had a scheduled stop at the Crystal Mountain. Didn't I already mention this? I'm not sure. Sorry if this is a repeat. It's not so much of a mountain as it is a hill and the crystals aren't quartz crystals that we often think of when we think crystals, so at first, based entirely on the name, the site can be a disappointment. However, upon closer inspection, people began to realize how amazing it is to find all these crystals growing out in the middle of the desert. They're everywhere you look.
When we were packing up from lunch at the encampment in the desert, you could see water vapor, like steam, rising in the air. It was sooo hot!. After a while we noticed the formation of clouds--the first we'd seen on our entire trip! By the time we reached Crystal Mountain there were very distinct clouds over head, so providing us with much welcomed shade. Here's a photo of one. I thought it looked like a peace dove.
After Crystal Mountain, we were back in our LandCruisers and heading to the Black Desert. We made one brief roadside stop for a photo op, and hardly anyone left their vehicles. Mena told me he thought our group was tired of the desert, and maybe they were.
On our Inspection Trip, we didn't make an excursion into the black desert, we only saw it from the road. With the group, we actually went off road and got to see the black desert up close and personal. It was nothing like I imagined it to be. It was more awesome than I thought it would be. Here's a view from up top the mountain. The wind up there was a amazing the temperature must have been 20 degrees cooler than the white desert was during at noon. It felt so refreshing! At this stop everyone came back to life again. Everyone left the vehicles and enjoyed the desert. One of the drivers made tea using a tea pot on a propane fueled burner. Everyone was laughing and having a good time! Maybe we weren't tired of the desert as much as tired of the 120 degree temperatures! This site was shaded and much cooler. Yay!
I need to cut short as they're going to boarding our flight soon. We fly next to Richmond, then Cincinnati and then drive home! We're so looking forward to being home again soon and seeing our pups! We've really missed them! I'll add more from Richmond, if there's time. If not, I'll come back once we're settled in a bit at home and share with you the last day of our trip.
This really was a trip of a lifetime and our group, the Egyptian people, the land, our guides and, of course, Manal and Basem, all made it so magical and memorable for us. This is a journey that we'll always remember.
I'll add more soon. Until then, much Love,
Stuart
First of all, Lea asked that I tell her folks hello for her! "Hi!" Clyde, Neva, Bob and E! :-)
Our flight from Cairo was fast, fun and easy. I may have written earlier that Lea and I are flying business class cashing in some (most) of our American Express points. The flight home was even better than the flight over. We both got a lot of sleep. Lea's was Ambien induced, mine was sheer exhaustion.
Our last day in the desert was good but really made for a long travel day. But before I get into that, I think I should fill you in more on the day before. I mentioned the white desert and how impressive it was. After visiting it, we went back to the camp for lunch and then packed our bags and headed to the final oasis on our safari--the Baharya Oasis--via the black desert.
Before reaching the Black Desert, we had a scheduled stop at the Crystal Mountain. Didn't I already mention this? I'm not sure. Sorry if this is a repeat. It's not so much of a mountain as it is a hill and the crystals aren't quartz crystals that we often think of when we think crystals, so at first, based entirely on the name, the site can be a disappointment. However, upon closer inspection, people began to realize how amazing it is to find all these crystals growing out in the middle of the desert. They're everywhere you look.
When we were packing up from lunch at the encampment in the desert, you could see water vapor, like steam, rising in the air. It was sooo hot!. After a while we noticed the formation of clouds--the first we'd seen on our entire trip! By the time we reached Crystal Mountain there were very distinct clouds over head, so providing us with much welcomed shade. Here's a photo of one. I thought it looked like a peace dove.
After Crystal Mountain, we were back in our LandCruisers and heading to the Black Desert. We made one brief roadside stop for a photo op, and hardly anyone left their vehicles. Mena told me he thought our group was tired of the desert, and maybe they were.
On our Inspection Trip, we didn't make an excursion into the black desert, we only saw it from the road. With the group, we actually went off road and got to see the black desert up close and personal. It was nothing like I imagined it to be. It was more awesome than I thought it would be. Here's a view from up top the mountain. The wind up there was a amazing the temperature must have been 20 degrees cooler than the white desert was during at noon. It felt so refreshing! At this stop everyone came back to life again. Everyone left the vehicles and enjoyed the desert. One of the drivers made tea using a tea pot on a propane fueled burner. Everyone was laughing and having a good time! Maybe we weren't tired of the desert as much as tired of the 120 degree temperatures! This site was shaded and much cooler. Yay!
I need to cut short as they're going to boarding our flight soon. We fly next to Richmond, then Cincinnati and then drive home! We're so looking forward to being home again soon and seeing our pups! We've really missed them! I'll add more from Richmond, if there's time. If not, I'll come back once we're settled in a bit at home and share with you the last day of our trip.
This really was a trip of a lifetime and our group, the Egyptian people, the land, our guides and, of course, Manal and Basem, all made it so magical and memorable for us. This is a journey that we'll always remember.
I'll add more soon. Until then, much Love,
Stuart
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Our last morning in the Desert
Marj says "Hello!" We're sitting in the courtyard of our Baharya Oasis with the hotel's kitty. She's ready for breakfast, I am, too!
Yesterday was an amazing day! The morning started with a delicious breakfast at our encampment. I wouldn't call what we did camping because we didn't pitch our own tents, we didn't slept in beds, we had running water (albeit no showers) and a mess hall and chef--let's hear it for 5-star camping in the desert!
After breakfast we went out into the white desert to enjoy seeing the very unusual rock formations. It was not hot yet, but the sun was strong and we knew it was only a matter of time.
Here's a photo of our tent. You can see it's quite comfortable and very romantic.
As we were heading out into the white desert, and before we went off-road, we came across some camels. Camels are not native to Egypt, but were imported from Asia.
We soon went off-road and visited the highlights of the White Desert, and there are many. It's such a unique area. In fact, one of the amazing things about the entire desert safari experience is that every excursion looks completely different! Such diversity in such a small area. The rock formations that are the most famous are the mushroom formations. The wind has eroded the rock in such a way that they're shaped like mushrooms. I guess the sediment layers near the base of the formations is softer (was less compacted?) and so erodes at a faster rate than the top layers. The wind and sand have created some masterful sculptures!
After visiting the mushroom area, we went to a spot with what appeared to be a very ancient tree on top of a hill. From this spot we had a panorama of the entire mushroom section of the white desert! We gathered for a merging heart tone.
From there we were driven to a small oasis and after that went to a rock formation that I called the Uluru of the White Desert. It was a large white rock protruding out of the desert. The views from the top of the rock were incredible. I don't think any photo could do it justice, although I hope all of the ones we took come close! We'll see.
By the time we left this location, it was getting really hot! We began making our way back to the encampment driving through more of the mushroom rock formations. On these stops more and more people remained in the jeeps to avoid the heat. At some locations we simply took our photos from the car and moved on--in typical tourist mode: been there, saw that, bought the t-shirt! :-)
Once we arrived back at the encampment it was at least 110˚ F! We were all seeking any shade we could find. Fortunately, there was a nice breeze and that helps. We had another gourmet lunch (by camping standards). I ate my first fresh pomegranate. It's a little work to the get at the fruit, but once you do it's delicious! It reminds me of the taste of the Italian liquor Compari (which I happen to like).
After lunch we packed our bags and headed towards the Baharya Oasis. Enroute our first stop a the Crystal Mountain. We tried to prepare people for what they would see at this stop by having a photo of it in our brochure, but some people had images in the mind of well, a crystal mountain! The fact is that it's not really a mountain and not a quartz crystal formation. It is, however, a large out cropping in the middle of the desert of crystals! Again, photos will follow if I can't get them uploaded from here.
After a merging heart tone at the crystal mountain, we headed into the Black Desert. On our inspection trip in January, we drove though the Black Desert without making any stops. Yesterday, they took us to an amazing location off road and it was amazing to see the Black Desert up close. It was nothing like I thought it would be. The light was perfect for photography and the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler than it was in the desert! There was a strong wind and now everyone was more than willing to get out of the jeeps and enjoy themselves. One of the drivers made tea for everyone. A couple hours earlier we were all wilted flowers with no energy and now we were all laughing and enjoying ourselves.
Well, we're getting ready to leave the hotel and a photo is still uploading. I'll go ahead and post this and add the photos later.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Yesterday was an amazing day! The morning started with a delicious breakfast at our encampment. I wouldn't call what we did camping because we didn't pitch our own tents, we didn't slept in beds, we had running water (albeit no showers) and a mess hall and chef--let's hear it for 5-star camping in the desert!
After breakfast we went out into the white desert to enjoy seeing the very unusual rock formations. It was not hot yet, but the sun was strong and we knew it was only a matter of time.
Here's a photo of our tent. You can see it's quite comfortable and very romantic.
As we were heading out into the white desert, and before we went off-road, we came across some camels. Camels are not native to Egypt, but were imported from Asia.
We soon went off-road and visited the highlights of the White Desert, and there are many. It's such a unique area. In fact, one of the amazing things about the entire desert safari experience is that every excursion looks completely different! Such diversity in such a small area. The rock formations that are the most famous are the mushroom formations. The wind has eroded the rock in such a way that they're shaped like mushrooms. I guess the sediment layers near the base of the formations is softer (was less compacted?) and so erodes at a faster rate than the top layers. The wind and sand have created some masterful sculptures!
After visiting the mushroom area, we went to a spot with what appeared to be a very ancient tree on top of a hill. From this spot we had a panorama of the entire mushroom section of the white desert! We gathered for a merging heart tone.
From there we were driven to a small oasis and after that went to a rock formation that I called the Uluru of the White Desert. It was a large white rock protruding out of the desert. The views from the top of the rock were incredible. I don't think any photo could do it justice, although I hope all of the ones we took come close! We'll see.
By the time we left this location, it was getting really hot! We began making our way back to the encampment driving through more of the mushroom rock formations. On these stops more and more people remained in the jeeps to avoid the heat. At some locations we simply took our photos from the car and moved on--in typical tourist mode: been there, saw that, bought the t-shirt! :-)
Once we arrived back at the encampment it was at least 110˚ F! We were all seeking any shade we could find. Fortunately, there was a nice breeze and that helps. We had another gourmet lunch (by camping standards). I ate my first fresh pomegranate. It's a little work to the get at the fruit, but once you do it's delicious! It reminds me of the taste of the Italian liquor Compari (which I happen to like).
After lunch we packed our bags and headed towards the Baharya Oasis. Enroute our first stop a the Crystal Mountain. We tried to prepare people for what they would see at this stop by having a photo of it in our brochure, but some people had images in the mind of well, a crystal mountain! The fact is that it's not really a mountain and not a quartz crystal formation. It is, however, a large out cropping in the middle of the desert of crystals! Again, photos will follow if I can't get them uploaded from here.
After a merging heart tone at the crystal mountain, we headed into the Black Desert. On our inspection trip in January, we drove though the Black Desert without making any stops. Yesterday, they took us to an amazing location off road and it was amazing to see the Black Desert up close. It was nothing like I thought it would be. The light was perfect for photography and the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler than it was in the desert! There was a strong wind and now everyone was more than willing to get out of the jeeps and enjoy themselves. One of the drivers made tea for everyone. A couple hours earlier we were all wilted flowers with no energy and now we were all laughing and enjoying ourselves.
Well, we're getting ready to leave the hotel and a photo is still uploading. I'll go ahead and post this and add the photos later.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Greetings from the Desert
Last night we camped in the desert and it was the best night's sleep Lea's had since we were in Cairo! I slept well, too. :-) Lea woke me up about 2:30 a.m. so I could escort her to the latrine, which was fine with me because I needed to go, too! The stars were amazing. We just stood outside the tent for a few minutes just taking them in. With Lea's impaired vision, it's very rare for Lea to see stars anymore--so for her to see so many was such a gift! At one point, we both said, "Shooting Star!" and she started crying. The two of us seeing the same shooting star was such a gift. As I was typing this, Lea said she was thinking about the shooting star last night. I told her that I was writing about it just now. She said that it was a "Universe Loves me best moment" for her and that it must have really wanted her to see that star.
Our camp is deluxe. Each tent has one or two beds (with enough room to move a round), a bed-side table, a peg rack, shelf and mirror combo, waste basket and a great view from our front and back door! If you're going to camp in the desert, this is the way to do it!
Last night before dinner, we did a Toning. It was such a gift to get to tone with our friends in the middle of the desert! During the Love Circle everyone shared their gratitudes for being able to be together in the desert and for the trip in general.
The chef prepared us a lovely vegan, wheat-free dinner of rice, moussaka, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, and a oriental pastry. After dinner, we went out to the desert and sat around a camp fire. We were so amazed at how cool the sand was. It was burning our feet a couple hours earlier. We were also amazed that we were so close to a fire when we were so hot earlier in the day. We shared ghost stories around the fire and people talked about their haunted houses and Lea told people about the ghost kitty in our house. One of the drivers (whose name escapes me) came over the camp fire and began making coffee Bedouin style. It involved crushing coffee beans by hand with a mortar and pestal. He also crushed and added ginger. He then stiffed it into a small long-necked ceramic pot. He took some coals from the fire and put them into a shallow pit in the sand and sat the pot in the coals. Every now and then, he would take the pot and rub the bottom of it with a oil-soaked cloth and put it back on the coals. The oil kept the pot from cracking, I was told. Once the pot started steaming, he put out 8 small cups and put a small amount of sugar in each one. He then put something fibrous into the spout (to filter out the grinds) and poured a small amount into each cup. It was an amazing ritual he shared with us. Many of us drank his coffee and it was delicious! So strong, sweet and spicy!
This morning we're heading into the White Desert. I'm really looking forward to going back and to sharing this amazing place with our friends! They're going to love it!
Lea sends her love and asks me to let her her folks know that she's doing well and that this blog is their postcard! :-)
Time for coffee!
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Our camp is deluxe. Each tent has one or two beds (with enough room to move a round), a bed-side table, a peg rack, shelf and mirror combo, waste basket and a great view from our front and back door! If you're going to camp in the desert, this is the way to do it!
Last night before dinner, we did a Toning. It was such a gift to get to tone with our friends in the middle of the desert! During the Love Circle everyone shared their gratitudes for being able to be together in the desert and for the trip in general.
The chef prepared us a lovely vegan, wheat-free dinner of rice, moussaka, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, and a oriental pastry. After dinner, we went out to the desert and sat around a camp fire. We were so amazed at how cool the sand was. It was burning our feet a couple hours earlier. We were also amazed that we were so close to a fire when we were so hot earlier in the day. We shared ghost stories around the fire and people talked about their haunted houses and Lea told people about the ghost kitty in our house. One of the drivers (whose name escapes me) came over the camp fire and began making coffee Bedouin style. It involved crushing coffee beans by hand with a mortar and pestal. He also crushed and added ginger. He then stiffed it into a small long-necked ceramic pot. He took some coals from the fire and put them into a shallow pit in the sand and sat the pot in the coals. Every now and then, he would take the pot and rub the bottom of it with a oil-soaked cloth and put it back on the coals. The oil kept the pot from cracking, I was told. Once the pot started steaming, he put out 8 small cups and put a small amount of sugar in each one. He then put something fibrous into the spout (to filter out the grinds) and poured a small amount into each cup. It was an amazing ritual he shared with us. Many of us drank his coffee and it was delicious! So strong, sweet and spicy!
This morning we're heading into the White Desert. I'm really looking forward to going back and to sharing this amazing place with our friends! They're going to love it!
Lea sends her love and asks me to let her her folks know that she's doing well and that this blog is their postcard! :-)
Time for coffee!
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Monday, September 28, 2009
Getting ready to depart the Dakhla Desert Lodge
We're going to be heading into the white desert today and will be leaving soon. We have a lot of ground to cover, but not as much as yesterday. I slept pretty well but woke up a lot due to the heat. I slept better than Lea, did, though. She eventually got up and soaked a wash cloth to lay on her body to try to cool down and that seemed to help. Here are some photos of the Desert Lodge. Everyone loved this hotel, in spite of the heat, and many said they wished we could stay there another night.
Soon after we arrived, and as we were checking in, we were gifted with a panoramic view of a lovely sunset.
This morning, some folks went out to the abandoned Islamic city, Qsar, while the rest of us took a leisurely morning. I woke at 6:00 a.m. without an alarm and headed down to the hot-spring pool. I was the only one there. It was relaxing, refreshing and very peaceful. Here's a photo of the man-made pool. On the far right-hand side of the photo is where the hot spring water comes into the pool. It feels great to sit there and let the incoming water massage your back. The rest of the pool is from cool to tepid, depending on where you are. When you get out the breeze really cools you down and being that this is in the desert you dry off rather quickly.
After departing our hotel, we made a quick stop at some nearby tombs. I noticed that we could see the Desert Lodge hotel from the tombs.
I hope to have internet access while in the White Desert. We'll see.
Thanks for reading and love from Egypt,
Stuart
Soon after we arrived, and as we were checking in, we were gifted with a panoramic view of a lovely sunset.
This morning, some folks went out to the abandoned Islamic city, Qsar, while the rest of us took a leisurely morning. I woke at 6:00 a.m. without an alarm and headed down to the hot-spring pool. I was the only one there. It was relaxing, refreshing and very peaceful. Here's a photo of the man-made pool. On the far right-hand side of the photo is where the hot spring water comes into the pool. It feels great to sit there and let the incoming water massage your back. The rest of the pool is from cool to tepid, depending on where you are. When you get out the breeze really cools you down and being that this is in the desert you dry off rather quickly.
After departing our hotel, we made a quick stop at some nearby tombs. I noticed that we could see the Desert Lodge hotel from the tombs.
I hope to have internet access while in the White Desert. We'll see.
Thanks for reading and love from Egypt,
Stuart
Greetings from the Dakhla Oasis
Tonight we're in the Dakhla Oasis for one night after a long day of driving through the desert. It was a fantastic day, but a long and hot one! We arrived at this incredible desert lodge as tired puppies. Everyone seems to be enjoying the lodge in spite of their lack of AC. It's unbearably hot, but other than that it's all great!
We made several stops on the way from Luxor to here. I think everyone was really impressed to be in the desert. Here's a photo of some of our folks walking along a sand dune at our first stop of the day.
Here's a video of one of the Land Cruisers in the desert. It will hopefully give you an idea of some of the off-road treks we made.
I'd love to post more, but this connection is really slow and I'm really tired. Tomorrow should be an easier day of travel. I'm looking forward to spending the night in the desert. I won't have internet access there. Will try to connect somewhere soon.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
We made several stops on the way from Luxor to here. I think everyone was really impressed to be in the desert. Here's a photo of some of our folks walking along a sand dune at our first stop of the day.
Here's a video of one of the Land Cruisers in the desert. It will hopefully give you an idea of some of the off-road treks we made.
I'd love to post more, but this connection is really slow and I'm really tired. Tomorrow should be an easier day of travel. I'm looking forward to spending the night in the desert. I won't have internet access there. Will try to connect somewhere soon.
Thanks and Love,
Stuart
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Final night on board the Royal Serenade
Well, the group trip is rapidly coming to an end. It was a jam-packed, amazing and delight-filled 8-days. We are truly a tired bunch. Samuel really worked us hard and I think yesterday's ceremony demanded a lot from us physically. This morning was free and some went on an organized shopping trip with Mena and Yasser, while some wandered Luxor, shopping for some last-minute souvenirs or remained on the ship. This afternoon, we were back with Samuel for our closing meeting. It went for nearly 4 hours--time really flies when you're having fun!
We talked about yesterday's working and about our favorite memories from the trip. Many said that they Egyptian people were the highlight of the trip for them and that they will go home with a deeper appreciation for the act of love that is a smile. The Egyptians have beautiful, warm and friendly smiles. Several people commented that they really enjoyed walking through the City Star Mall in Cairo to watch the Egpytian's interact with each other. There was always so much laughter and smiling going on.
Samuel ended today's meeting by blessing each one of us individually. We first held David Oldham's Brazilian crystal wand over our hearts with both hands and exhaled into it releasing our humanity. We then, one-by-one, stood in front of Samuel and received these words from him. "You are mine, and you are me. You will see as Source sees. You will hear as Source hears. You will speak as Source speaks, and you will love as Source loves." He touched our eyes, ears, mouth and heart as he spoke each sentence. It was a rare and intimate moment with him and one I think everyone truly cherished and will long remember. It was a magical way to end an incredibly magical trip!
Those going on the Desert Safair post-trip, have a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call. We leave at 6:30 a.m.--not exactly the most relaxing way to begin a post trip, but necessary. We have roughly 350 miles to cover tomorrow on narrow desert roads with several stops to make along the way. I hope that the early departure doesn't mean we'll sleep our way through the drive! It would be good to actually see the desert and not sleep through it! :-)
It's almost midnight, so I better sign-off for now. I hope to be able to continue my blog while in the desert, but I have no idea it there will be service there. We shall soon see.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about our journey and that you visit my blog again sometime soon.
Many blessings,
Stuart
We talked about yesterday's working and about our favorite memories from the trip. Many said that they Egyptian people were the highlight of the trip for them and that they will go home with a deeper appreciation for the act of love that is a smile. The Egyptians have beautiful, warm and friendly smiles. Several people commented that they really enjoyed walking through the City Star Mall in Cairo to watch the Egpytian's interact with each other. There was always so much laughter and smiling going on.
Samuel ended today's meeting by blessing each one of us individually. We first held David Oldham's Brazilian crystal wand over our hearts with both hands and exhaled into it releasing our humanity. We then, one-by-one, stood in front of Samuel and received these words from him. "You are mine, and you are me. You will see as Source sees. You will hear as Source hears. You will speak as Source speaks, and you will love as Source loves." He touched our eyes, ears, mouth and heart as he spoke each sentence. It was a rare and intimate moment with him and one I think everyone truly cherished and will long remember. It was a magical way to end an incredibly magical trip!
Those going on the Desert Safair post-trip, have a 5:00 a.m. wake-up call. We leave at 6:30 a.m.--not exactly the most relaxing way to begin a post trip, but necessary. We have roughly 350 miles to cover tomorrow on narrow desert roads with several stops to make along the way. I hope that the early departure doesn't mean we'll sleep our way through the drive! It would be good to actually see the desert and not sleep through it! :-)
It's almost midnight, so I better sign-off for now. I hope to be able to continue my blog while in the desert, but I have no idea it there will be service there. We shall soon see.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about our journey and that you visit my blog again sometime soon.
Many blessings,
Stuart
Rocking the Boat
The final part of our Dragon working was a modified Toning. As I mentioned earlier, Samuel changed the pitch of "F-sharp" to "B-flat" so that we were toning the pitches of "A", "B-flat" and "D". Another important modification was the substitution of the typical visualization at the end of Toning with a Dragon Activation visualization.
First of all, I have to say I was amazed at the sound of the men's circle at the beginning of Toning--it was so powerful and unearthly sounding. Then, while we were doing the new Dragon visualization at the end of Toning, the boat began rocking so much that I thought I might lose my balance and fall down. I thought to myself that the Dragon was awakening. We'd been cruising for over a week and I have never felt the boat rock like that once. After the ritual, I went up to the sundeck thinking that we were still cruising but we had already docked. I was disappointed because I had wanted to enjoy more cruising after the working, and because my left brain kicked in and said that the rocking I felt during the visualization must have happened at the same time our ship was docking. So, the Universe, in its infinite wisdom decided to prove my left brain wrong. This morning our ship has moved and re-docked several times to allow other vessels to depart. Not once has the boat rocked like it did last night during the toning. The boat has simply glided effortlessly back and forth without the slightest rock--it's been this same way throughout the entire trip! Last night's rocking was a one-time event--the Activation of the Dragon!
I find it interesting that my human self was so ready to dismiss the work we had just done. Samuel said that our working with Shining Energy as we did would activate our human security needs. I think this is what I was experiencing. I'm so glad that the Universe proved me wrong so quickly this morning! That was such a gift!
Thanks for reading. I'll try to post more later after our final meeting with Samuel.
Until then, love and blessings from Egypt!
Stuart
First of all, I have to say I was amazed at the sound of the men's circle at the beginning of Toning--it was so powerful and unearthly sounding. Then, while we were doing the new Dragon visualization at the end of Toning, the boat began rocking so much that I thought I might lose my balance and fall down. I thought to myself that the Dragon was awakening. We'd been cruising for over a week and I have never felt the boat rock like that once. After the ritual, I went up to the sundeck thinking that we were still cruising but we had already docked. I was disappointed because I had wanted to enjoy more cruising after the working, and because my left brain kicked in and said that the rocking I felt during the visualization must have happened at the same time our ship was docking. So, the Universe, in its infinite wisdom decided to prove my left brain wrong. This morning our ship has moved and re-docked several times to allow other vessels to depart. Not once has the boat rocked like it did last night during the toning. The boat has simply glided effortlessly back and forth without the slightest rock--it's been this same way throughout the entire trip! Last night's rocking was a one-time event--the Activation of the Dragon!
I find it interesting that my human self was so ready to dismiss the work we had just done. Samuel said that our working with Shining Energy as we did would activate our human security needs. I think this is what I was experiencing. I'm so glad that the Universe proved me wrong so quickly this morning! That was such a gift!
Thanks for reading. I'll try to post more later after our final meeting with Samuel.
Until then, love and blessings from Egypt!
Stuart
Our final afternoon of cruising
We arrived back to the ship yesterday afternoon around 3:30 for a late lunch. Afterward, some of us went up to the sun deck to enjoy our last cruise back to Luxor from Qena. It was my favorite time of day for taking photos. Everyone was relaxing and just having a good time as we crept our way up stream to our final destination. The landscape was very pastoral--fisherman fishing along the banks, children playing along the sugarcane/palm-lined shore, an occasional cluster of minarets protruding above the palm trees and the escarpment in the distance--it was the quintessential cruise of Egypt!
Here's a collection of Nile river Goddess photos.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
We did it! The Dragon has been activated! :-)
It's 11:39 p.m. Luxor time and we're back in our cabin after the most amazing and miraculous working I think we've ever done. It was simply an effortless dance of one-heart, one-mind, and one body. I've never participated in a group working that was so excellently executed that it seemed to just flow with such precision and grace. I was touched at well we did it. It was one of the most, if not THE most, complex workings that we've done and certainly had more speaking parts than I can remember our ever having. At one point I took note that there were 22 people standing in the center of the circle and each of them had a speaking part, at one time or another, and many of the parts were to be spoken in unison by pairs with their backs to each other! I mean, come on, Samuel! That's tricky to do even if you're facing each other, but all four of these pairs spoke in such unison--it was a sure sign that we were fully merged with each other.
More than any other working, I felt like the toning aspect was less necessary than ever before. I really felt like the work we did prior to the toning was so powerful that this alone could have activated the Dragon and that the toning was just the icing on the cake. It was that goooood! :-)
Samuel said that we were one, that we matched the needed frequency and that we WERE the Dragon!
So many people made this possible. Everyone played such an important role that we couldn't have done it without the complete team effort--from Sylvia organizing the moving of the marble coffee tables that were obstacles, to Suzanne leading incredible tonings, to the eleven people charged with anchoring the energy of the last 5 successful Dragon workings, to the ship's kitchen staff and chef who have fed us so well throughout out cruise. The list just goes on and on.
As always, there's so much more to write than words can express or that time allows. I'm really crashing now and Lea's already fallen asleep. I hope to add more tomorrow.
About half of the group is going shopping tomorrow morning at 8:30 to buy papyrus and alabaster, etc. I'm planning on hanging loose. I've been awake by 5:30 a.m. most mornings this week, so I hope I can sleep in a little bit tomorrow. We'll see.
We have our final closing meeting tomorrow afternoon. I hope it will be a wonderful recap of tonight's working and a celebration of our magical time together. This has been such an amazing trip.
On Monday, a group of about 30 of us head to the Desert for a safari! I hope I stay healthy. I was so sick when Lea, Frank and I were in the desert for our Inspection Trip back in January. I barely remember some of the places we visited. So far, I've been well and not had any problems. I think eating vegan is the answer for me. I do look forward to getting back to our raw-food diet once we're home. Eating cooked food just seems too heavy and lifeless to me now.
Well I must stop for now. Until tomorrow. Sleep with the Dragons!
Stuart
More than any other working, I felt like the toning aspect was less necessary than ever before. I really felt like the work we did prior to the toning was so powerful that this alone could have activated the Dragon and that the toning was just the icing on the cake. It was that goooood! :-)
Samuel said that we were one, that we matched the needed frequency and that we WERE the Dragon!
So many people made this possible. Everyone played such an important role that we couldn't have done it without the complete team effort--from Sylvia organizing the moving of the marble coffee tables that were obstacles, to Suzanne leading incredible tonings, to the eleven people charged with anchoring the energy of the last 5 successful Dragon workings, to the ship's kitchen staff and chef who have fed us so well throughout out cruise. The list just goes on and on.
As always, there's so much more to write than words can express or that time allows. I'm really crashing now and Lea's already fallen asleep. I hope to add more tomorrow.
About half of the group is going shopping tomorrow morning at 8:30 to buy papyrus and alabaster, etc. I'm planning on hanging loose. I've been awake by 5:30 a.m. most mornings this week, so I hope I can sleep in a little bit tomorrow. We'll see.
We have our final closing meeting tomorrow afternoon. I hope it will be a wonderful recap of tonight's working and a celebration of our magical time together. This has been such an amazing trip.
On Monday, a group of about 30 of us head to the Desert for a safari! I hope I stay healthy. I was so sick when Lea, Frank and I were in the desert for our Inspection Trip back in January. I barely remember some of the places we visited. So far, I've been well and not had any problems. I think eating vegan is the answer for me. I do look forward to getting back to our raw-food diet once we're home. Eating cooked food just seems too heavy and lifeless to me now.
Well I must stop for now. Until tomorrow. Sleep with the Dragons!
Stuart
Leaving Abydos
We're now leaving Abydos. It was a fantastic visit at one of the most complete and sacred temples we've visited on this trip. We had a brief tour from our guides, Mena and Yasser, and then met with Samuel! We were able to fit everyone into the "Holy of Holies" for our meeting. We had to leave a small path for other visiters to walk through as the were more rooms behind it. There were no other tour groups in at the site, but there were some couples visiting. Our time in the "Holy of Holies" was brief but was memorable. The energy of the space, of the entire site of Abydos, is palpable. We thought that we might try to do the ritual there, but the atmosphere really wasn't conducive to that. When we were here in 1998 we were here late in the day. Our boat was able to cruise all the way up the Nile to Abydos. They don't allow ships to cruise that far North any longer. Also, we were here within the year of the 1997 massacre at Hatshepsut's temple. That horrific event did exactly what the terrorists hoped it would do--obliterate Egyptian tourism overnight. Because of this we were the only visitors in 1998 and completely undisturbed. Today, there were few visitors, but enough that we couldn't really do a longer working.
Samuel said that at Abydos we were ate an ancient crossroads--a place where balance is found. He said, "You're more balanced than you've ever been, unless you were here before (which I took to mean being at Abydos with the group in 1998).
When Samuel first "arrived" he asked us how we liked it. Heidi answered, "A part of me is home!" Samuel commented that, "Heidi said it well."
I agree with Heidi. I don't know if I feel that way only because of the work we did there in 1998, or not. Either way, Abydos will always hold a special place in my heart.
Our meeting was brief, but before Samuel "left" we did a merging heart tone before taking our free time. Samuel asked us to think about what we released to the river Nile a few days ago and to think about what was left of us after releasing that. He said, "I want that being to do a merging heart tone, merging with this holy space. This room is a miracle. This is a working of the Light. I call on the Light in you, the love that you are. . . . and fill your hearts and souls and let it pour forth in conscious song."
At Samuel's request, Suzanne then led us in the most poignant and beautifully merged heart tone I can ever remember. It was completely magical. I asked permission from Samuel to record it and he said I could as long as I posted it on HIS website, not mine! :-) That, of course, was my intent all along. I can't do that, though, until I return home. Sorry.
We're on the bus and my laptop's battery is getting low. I will post this now, but if I have enough juice, I'll add some photos before signing off.
The first photo is from the room just behind the Holy of Holies, where we had our meeting. You can see the amazing artwork on the walls with vibrant colors. It's hard to believe they're 3,200 years old.
This photo is of me outside the temple at the Osirion--the first tomb for Osiris.
Tonight is our ritual! Tonight we activate a Dragon!
Love,
Stuart
Samuel said that at Abydos we were ate an ancient crossroads--a place where balance is found. He said, "You're more balanced than you've ever been, unless you were here before (which I took to mean being at Abydos with the group in 1998).
When Samuel first "arrived" he asked us how we liked it. Heidi answered, "A part of me is home!" Samuel commented that, "Heidi said it well."
I agree with Heidi. I don't know if I feel that way only because of the work we did there in 1998, or not. Either way, Abydos will always hold a special place in my heart.
Our meeting was brief, but before Samuel "left" we did a merging heart tone before taking our free time. Samuel asked us to think about what we released to the river Nile a few days ago and to think about what was left of us after releasing that. He said, "I want that being to do a merging heart tone, merging with this holy space. This room is a miracle. This is a working of the Light. I call on the Light in you, the love that you are. . . . and fill your hearts and souls and let it pour forth in conscious song."
At Samuel's request, Suzanne then led us in the most poignant and beautifully merged heart tone I can ever remember. It was completely magical. I asked permission from Samuel to record it and he said I could as long as I posted it on HIS website, not mine! :-) That, of course, was my intent all along. I can't do that, though, until I return home. Sorry.
We're on the bus and my laptop's battery is getting low. I will post this now, but if I have enough juice, I'll add some photos before signing off.
The first photo is from the room just behind the Holy of Holies, where we had our meeting. You can see the amazing artwork on the walls with vibrant colors. It's hard to believe they're 3,200 years old.
This photo is of me outside the temple at the Osirion--the first tomb for Osiris.
Tonight is our ritual! Tonight we activate a Dragon!
Love,
Stuart
Friday, September 25, 2009
Heading to Abydos
Technology is amazing. Folks who were on the trip in 1998 are amazed. Back then you had to go to reception to make a phone call outside the ship. Now everyone's blackberries and iPhones are working everywhere. As I type this on my laptop, I'm on the bus heading to Abydos! Let's here it for 3G technology.
We had a 4-hour meeting with Samuel yesterday in which we did a walk through of the ritual we're doing later today. Heidi has done, as always, an amazing job organizing, printing the parts, getting them out to folks, etc. She's so good at it and makes it look easy. Just like Suzanne, she's such a gift to all of us.
Yesterday afternoon we discovered that there was a translation error in the ritual. The men AND women are supposed to tone a B-flat. Up to the point, we thought only the men were toning a B-flat. Putting this change in adds a whole new level of complexity. For those who know music, the pitches A and B-flat are only a half-step apart and that is a dissonant interval. It's a bit of a challenge for the men to hold the A while the women sing a B-flat. The natural inclination is to resolve the tension by going up to match their A. However, we're not doing that. We stay on the A, while they tone a B-flat and then we move to a D. The pitches, B-flat and D are very harmonious together, and that's good.
The bus is really quiet right now. Some are sleeping, most are awake. Everyone appears to have their "game face" on. We received word from Lea at breakfast this morning that we might actually do the ritual AT Abydos! Everyone is on high alert!
The temple of Abydos is amazing. Seti I began construction of the temple but his son, Ramses II, completed it. In my opinion, no carvings surpass the quality of Abydos. The details and craftsmanship is amazing to see. Some look like they were just finished yesterday. It's hard to imagine that they're 3,200 years old!
Right now, we're driving through a small village and Lea waved at a little girl from the bus window. The girl blew her a kiss!
We just entered an area where we have a lot of sugar cane growing on our left and the escarpment is on our right. The rifer Nile is on the other side of the sugar cane fields. The irrigation canals and the High Dam allow for multiple growing seasons each year--three times a year for the sugar cane. After the third harvest, they burn the field to fertilize it after the third harvest.
We're now driving through an area where the road has rejoined the Nile. The river is very wide hear and I can't distinguish between the water and the sky on the horizon--they're are ONE!
I just transferred some photos to my computer and saw this one of our guide, Yasser, at Luxor. He's showing us the base of a statue that was broken and repaired in ancient times. I love Yasser's smile because he smiles with his eyes as well as his mouth. He's definitely a kindred spirit. He's an artist as well as a tri-lingual (Arabic, English and Japanese) tour guide.
I'm going to conserve my battery power for the trip home. I'll let you know what we did at Abydos!
Thanks and love,
Stuart
We had a 4-hour meeting with Samuel yesterday in which we did a walk through of the ritual we're doing later today. Heidi has done, as always, an amazing job organizing, printing the parts, getting them out to folks, etc. She's so good at it and makes it look easy. Just like Suzanne, she's such a gift to all of us.
Yesterday afternoon we discovered that there was a translation error in the ritual. The men AND women are supposed to tone a B-flat. Up to the point, we thought only the men were toning a B-flat. Putting this change in adds a whole new level of complexity. For those who know music, the pitches A and B-flat are only a half-step apart and that is a dissonant interval. It's a bit of a challenge for the men to hold the A while the women sing a B-flat. The natural inclination is to resolve the tension by going up to match their A. However, we're not doing that. We stay on the A, while they tone a B-flat and then we move to a D. The pitches, B-flat and D are very harmonious together, and that's good.
The bus is really quiet right now. Some are sleeping, most are awake. Everyone appears to have their "game face" on. We received word from Lea at breakfast this morning that we might actually do the ritual AT Abydos! Everyone is on high alert!
The temple of Abydos is amazing. Seti I began construction of the temple but his son, Ramses II, completed it. In my opinion, no carvings surpass the quality of Abydos. The details and craftsmanship is amazing to see. Some look like they were just finished yesterday. It's hard to imagine that they're 3,200 years old!
Right now, we're driving through a small village and Lea waved at a little girl from the bus window. The girl blew her a kiss!
We just entered an area where we have a lot of sugar cane growing on our left and the escarpment is on our right. The rifer Nile is on the other side of the sugar cane fields. The irrigation canals and the High Dam allow for multiple growing seasons each year--three times a year for the sugar cane. After the third harvest, they burn the field to fertilize it after the third harvest.
We're now driving through an area where the road has rejoined the Nile. The river is very wide hear and I can't distinguish between the water and the sky on the horizon--they're are ONE!
I just transferred some photos to my computer and saw this one of our guide, Yasser, at Luxor. He's showing us the base of a statue that was broken and repaired in ancient times. I love Yasser's smile because he smiles with his eyes as well as his mouth. He's definitely a kindred spirit. He's an artist as well as a tri-lingual (Arabic, English and Japanese) tour guide.
I'm going to conserve my battery power for the trip home. I'll let you know what we did at Abydos!
Thanks and love,
Stuart
Denderah
We had a morning excursion to Denderah yesterday. It was such a busy day, that I haven't had time to write about it or transfer my photos to my computer, yet. Also, the internet connection where we're docked hasn't been great. I keep getting knocked off line. I will try to post more about yesterday sometime soon.
As promised, I'll fill in this gap now that I'm home.
I woke up early this morning as we were cruising to Esna for a visit to Denderah. It was quite chilly up on deck so I wrapped myself in a pool towel and enjoyed the rural landscape as we floated by. It was peaceful and no one was on deck except for me and Jerry. He was wrapped in a towel, too!
The sun rises early in Egypt in September. I was waking up at 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. and never saw a sunrise! Needless to say, the work day begins early for Egyptians and as we cruised by they were already working along the banks, in the fields and casting their nets.
Here's a short video of this morning's cruise.
Denderah is a temple dedicated to the cow goddess, Hathor. She's the goddess of music, dance, fertility, etc. The main temple is surrounded by a mud-brick enclosure and a few Hellenistic temples. Once inside, there's no Hippo-style Hall or Grecco-Roman influences--the main temple is all Hathor! They're doing a marvelous job of removing the soot and dirt from the temple and the colors underneath as absolutely amazing--like they were painted yesterday!
As we were leaving, I wanted to take a photo of Hathor with Matt's necklace he gave us to bring to Egypt for him. Hathor is one of his favorite Deities. In the photo you can also see the result of henna on my palm (which we did the day before--I think).
Thanks and love,
Stuart
As promised, I'll fill in this gap now that I'm home.
I woke up early this morning as we were cruising to Esna for a visit to Denderah. It was quite chilly up on deck so I wrapped myself in a pool towel and enjoyed the rural landscape as we floated by. It was peaceful and no one was on deck except for me and Jerry. He was wrapped in a towel, too!
The sun rises early in Egypt in September. I was waking up at 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. and never saw a sunrise! Needless to say, the work day begins early for Egyptians and as we cruised by they were already working along the banks, in the fields and casting their nets.
Here's a short video of this morning's cruise.
Denderah is a temple dedicated to the cow goddess, Hathor. She's the goddess of music, dance, fertility, etc. The main temple is surrounded by a mud-brick enclosure and a few Hellenistic temples. Once inside, there's no Hippo-style Hall or Grecco-Roman influences--the main temple is all Hathor! They're doing a marvelous job of removing the soot and dirt from the temple and the colors underneath as absolutely amazing--like they were painted yesterday!
As we were leaving, I wanted to take a photo of Hathor with Matt's necklace he gave us to bring to Egypt for him. Hathor is one of his favorite Deities. In the photo you can also see the result of henna on my palm (which we did the day before--I think).
Thanks and love,
Stuart
Karnak
We visited Karnak Temple yesterday morning (two days ago,now). It was hot but very enjoyable. The site is HUGE and everyone was blown away by the scale of the monuments. No photos can really do them justice. The site is sprawling because it was the capitol of Egypt and the religious center for thousands of years. Every pharaoh wanted to leave his/her mark on the place and they added more and more courtyards and temples and pylons, etc. They were all carved and painted. Some pigments can still be seen but most have long since vanished.
I took a couple photos of Priscilla at the site. Today (yesterday, now) is her birthday so we have a small party planned for her, Lakshmi (who shares the same birthday) and Marj whose birthday is Saturday) on board the ship. Steven brought some decorations and Lea, Frank and I have been invited to sit at a table with them. It will be a lot of fun!
In the first photo she's standing in from of a statue of Ramses II (I think).
The next one is more of a close up so her son, Zevn, and husband, Lee, can see her and know that she's doing well, but missing them, of course.
Thanks for reading my blog and please come back again sometime soon!
Salam,
Stuart
I took a couple photos of Priscilla at the site. Today (yesterday, now) is her birthday so we have a small party planned for her, Lakshmi (who shares the same birthday) and Marj whose birthday is Saturday) on board the ship. Steven brought some decorations and Lea, Frank and I have been invited to sit at a table with them. It will be a lot of fun!
In the first photo she's standing in from of a statue of Ramses II (I think).
The next one is more of a close up so her son, Zevn, and husband, Lee, can see her and know that she's doing well, but missing them, of course.
Thanks for reading my blog and please come back again sometime soon!
Salam,
Stuart
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Galabeya Night!
This was such a fun night! We all dressed up in Egyptian garb for dinner and ate a feast of Egyptian food--falafel, tahini, koshari, pita bread, etc. Near the end of the meal, the group gave the chef a standing ovation! It was delicious! They're really going above and beyond to provide us with vegan food. Once again, I'm very impressed with Egyptian hospitality!
The costumes people wore to dinner were amazing. I don't know how anyone had time to shop on this trip to buy their outfits, but almost everyone was dressed in Egyptian clothing. It was fun to see. David, Greg and Tamar George, were among some of the "best dressed."
After dinner we went to the top deck for our nightly toning practice under the Egyptian stars! All the tonings here have been magical and this one was no exception. As soon as we descended the staircase from our toning, the staff began singing and drumming, ushering us into the lounge parade style where we all danced in one large circle. I surprised myself by joining in and participating in all the festivities! I'm usually an observer in situations like this, but all the games were a lot of fun and some were very familiar. There was one game where we had to pass a large water bottle from person to person using only our necks! It was hilarious to watch. The funny thing is I was standing next to Rebecca who is very petite. I felt like a giant next to her and trying to pas this bottle to her neck was a challenge! I'm sure it was pretty funny to watch.
We're getting ready for our meeting where we do a run through of tomorrow's activation ceremony. Heidi, as usual, is doing an incredible job organizing this for us. She's such a gift to us. I think few people realize how much responsibility this is and the amount of thought and her work she puts into it. I know it's a gift of love, but it's still a huge amount of work for her.
Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. I hope you come back again soon!
Salam,
Stuart
Henna Hands
We spent a couple hours yesterday on the sun deck enjoying a wonderful afternoon of cruising the Nile and henna painting our hands. It was a lot of fun and a real bonding time together. At today's meeting, Samuel said that our energy was much more unified and he asked if we knew what did it. One of the things that I think helped was the time we spent on deck laughing and playing as we painted our hands with henna.
I took this photo of David as he waited for his henna to dry before scraping it off.
I'm just too tired to do any more posting tonight. It's been a very wonderful but very full day.
I can't seem to get the Philae video to upload properly. I may be exceeding my allowed bandwidth on it. I'm sorry it's not come through, yet. I hope it will eventually. If not, it's not a big deal. It just show parts of the boat ride and temple. We'll see.
Thanks and good night!
Stuart
I took this photo of David as he waited for his henna to dry before scraping it off.
I'm just too tired to do any more posting tonight. It's been a very wonderful but very full day.
I can't seem to get the Philae video to upload properly. I may be exceeding my allowed bandwidth on it. I'm sorry it's not come through, yet. I hope it will eventually. If not, it's not a big deal. It just show parts of the boat ride and temple. We'll see.
Thanks and good night!
Stuart
Philae
Today was an awesome day. I began with an optional Toning at 6:30 a.m. on the sun deck. Breakfast began at 7:00 and we departed for the Temple of Philae at 8:30.
The Temple of Philae was moved to higher ground by UNESCO in order to save it from the inundation created by the Nasar Dam. I'm really glad that this temple was saved, it's beautiful. The only way you can reach it is by boat.
Here's a roughly edited video of our boat ride over to the site.
We returned to ship in time for lunch and began cruising north back to Luxor.
After lunch we all went to the sun deck to enjoy our cruise down the Nile, but to also put henna on the palms of our hands. Samuel explained that red hands can be found in the art of almost all ancient civilizations. We've seen it on previous trips--in the Yucatán and Australia, for example. They can represent an affirmation of "self", the "I am", and mark a celebration--a highlight of a human experience. They also represent unity when done as a group with a conscious intent. So, under the masterful tutelage of Lakshmi, several people served by putting henna on our hands. It was a sacred work that was fun, loving, sensual and chaotic! Most people's hand were done by one person, but I was lucky and Lea did my left hand and Mary Claire my right. So, I can now officially say I had a "three-way" in Egypt! :-)
Here's a photo of Lea putting the henna on someone's palm.
There's still more to share with you about yesterday . . . our afternoon meeting with Samuel, our galabeya (sp?) night (Egyptian dress-up dinner) and party! It was so much fun! I hope to post more about this later today, but now, I must get ready for our excursion to the temple of Karnak--everyday is another major temple and highlight!
Thanks for reading my blog and please come back again sometime soon.
Salam Aliekom (goodbye),
Stuart
The Temple of Philae was moved to higher ground by UNESCO in order to save it from the inundation created by the Nasar Dam. I'm really glad that this temple was saved, it's beautiful. The only way you can reach it is by boat.
Here's a roughly edited video of our boat ride over to the site.
We returned to ship in time for lunch and began cruising north back to Luxor.
After lunch we all went to the sun deck to enjoy our cruise down the Nile, but to also put henna on the palms of our hands. Samuel explained that red hands can be found in the art of almost all ancient civilizations. We've seen it on previous trips--in the Yucatán and Australia, for example. They can represent an affirmation of "self", the "I am", and mark a celebration--a highlight of a human experience. They also represent unity when done as a group with a conscious intent. So, under the masterful tutelage of Lakshmi, several people served by putting henna on our hands. It was a sacred work that was fun, loving, sensual and chaotic! Most people's hand were done by one person, but I was lucky and Lea did my left hand and Mary Claire my right. So, I can now officially say I had a "three-way" in Egypt! :-)
Here's a photo of Lea putting the henna on someone's palm.
There's still more to share with you about yesterday . . . our afternoon meeting with Samuel, our galabeya (sp?) night (Egyptian dress-up dinner) and party! It was so much fun! I hope to post more about this later today, but now, I must get ready for our excursion to the temple of Karnak--everyday is another major temple and highlight!
Thanks for reading my blog and please come back again sometime soon.
Salam Aliekom (goodbye),
Stuart
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Kom Ombo
We arrived at Kom Ombo in the late afternoon and docked right at the foot of the Temple. By the time we disembarked and walked to the temple, it was almost sunset. I was surprised by how many cruise ships were docked there. For the first time, we had no breeze and diesel fumes from the vessels hung thick in the air creating respiratory problems for some in our group, including Lea. I've noticed she's been coughing on and off today. :-(
Lea and I joined our guide, Mena, for the Kom Ombo tour. Up to that point we had been on tours with Yasser. It would be virtually impossible for a group of 56 to visit the temples as one. Dividing the group into two is much easier to manage so we have two guides. I really enjoyed Mena's explanations of Kom Ombo. We are so lucky to have two very knowledgeable egyptologists with us.
Unfortunately, I don't have many photos from the site because it quickly became too dark to shoot anything without a tri-pod. I don't use flash as it often gives Lea migraines. Here's one photo I was able to take shortly after arriving. It's looking up at some of the Grecco-Roman columns of the inner courtyard. I like how it frames the moon. Near the bottom you can see how hazy the air is from all the ships exhaust.
Being on sites in two groups seemed to create less of a feeling of oneness and we were all missing that. So, after discussing our options at our meeting yesterday afternoon, we decided to add group tonings every night and morning on board the ship. At each site, the two groups come together after our separate tours and do a short toning before having some free time. The pitches we're using at "D" and "B-flat". We all do one pitch and then the other. We're merging with each other as a mother loves a child, we then merge with the energy of the site, and then merge with the Dragon force of the Nile. All our tonings have seemed very "on" to me and very "sweet." The last two nights we've done toning practices, complete with Star Weavings and a love/gratitude circle on the upper sun deck. I'm so amazed and grateful that we get to tone in such aswesome places on these trips. None, so far, are better than toning with our dear friends under the stars on our privately chartered ship cruising up the Nile--how it can it get any better than this?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Edfu Temple
We're back on the ship and are now cruising South (towards upper Egypt) to Kom Ombo. We had a fantastic trip to Edfu this morning. It was hot, of course, but not stifling. I'm sitting up on the sun deck in the shade sipping a hibiscus tea (karkade) (sp?) that's quite refreshing and apparently full of vitamin C. People are lounging, reading, dipping in the pool and taking photos of the banks as we slowly sail upstream. It's quite relaxing.
Upload speeds are bit slow right now, but I'll try to post some photos of our trip. The first will be of the outer entrance to Edfu Temple. There are two or three more entrances to the temple. This is the largest and the outer-most entrance. Our guide, Yasser, explained that the temple forms a type of pyramid laying on it's side. The floor gradually elevates as you move from the outer wall to the inner-most shrine--the holy of holies--where the representation of the god lived. The ceiling also gradually gets lower and the width gradually narrows which all works together to create the effect. The focal point is obviously the shrine which is in the oldest part of the temple.
I didn't get any photos of the inner-most shrine today, so I can't post those images, but I do have a very nice photo of a very exotic woman who looks a whole lot like Shelia--because it is! She looks like she could blend in with the locals except for the golden locks peeking out from her scarf. She's so beautiful, much more so than the temple!
This next photo is of Dan, Shelia and Gomaa (pronounced "Jo-Ma)--one of our servers on the ship--a very nice man. His name is Arabic for Friday, the Islamic holy day of the week, the day of the week that he was born, hence the name. I look forward to getting to know more the staff as the week progresses.
Already, the staff is warming up to our group. It didn't take long for the maitre di (sp?), (the spell-checker for this blog isn't working--sorry), Moustafa, to start joking with the group. Our first meal on board was lunch yesterday. As we entered the dining room, he proudly told us that the entire lunch was vegan and that nothing was made with butter. He said if anyone asks if there's butter in something, they'll have to go sit outside! :-) He was so cute!
Well, they just "gonged" us to lunch, I better wrap this post up. More to follow.
Thanks for visiting and much love to you from Egypt!
Stuart
Upload speeds are bit slow right now, but I'll try to post some photos of our trip. The first will be of the outer entrance to Edfu Temple. There are two or three more entrances to the temple. This is the largest and the outer-most entrance. Our guide, Yasser, explained that the temple forms a type of pyramid laying on it's side. The floor gradually elevates as you move from the outer wall to the inner-most shrine--the holy of holies--where the representation of the god lived. The ceiling also gradually gets lower and the width gradually narrows which all works together to create the effect. The focal point is obviously the shrine which is in the oldest part of the temple.
I didn't get any photos of the inner-most shrine today, so I can't post those images, but I do have a very nice photo of a very exotic woman who looks a whole lot like Shelia--because it is! She looks like she could blend in with the locals except for the golden locks peeking out from her scarf. She's so beautiful, much more so than the temple!
This next photo is of Dan, Shelia and Gomaa (pronounced "Jo-Ma)--one of our servers on the ship--a very nice man. His name is Arabic for Friday, the Islamic holy day of the week, the day of the week that he was born, hence the name. I look forward to getting to know more the staff as the week progresses.
Already, the staff is warming up to our group. It didn't take long for the maitre di (sp?), (the spell-checker for this blog isn't working--sorry), Moustafa, to start joking with the group. Our first meal on board was lunch yesterday. As we entered the dining room, he proudly told us that the entire lunch was vegan and that nothing was made with butter. He said if anyone asks if there's butter in something, they'll have to go sit outside! :-) He was so cute!
Well, they just "gonged" us to lunch, I better wrap this post up. More to follow.
Thanks for visiting and much love to you from Egypt!
Stuart
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