EGYPT in STYLE

Egypt was a total surprise.  We were there on October 3 & 4.  We knew we would be in northern Africa, but most consider Egypt more a part of the middle East and some even thought is was East Asia. We boarded our bus in Alexandria to go on the three hour ride to Cairo, where we would visit the pyramids and the sphinx at Giza.  The first surprise was the chaotic traffic.  Neither of the two metropoli had any traffic lights we could see.  We saw no stop-signs, yield signs, or even stripes on the road.  Even if there were stripes for traffic lanes, they were considered decorative.

As we traveled the desert road we saw many bridges to nowhere, partially completed. Upon arrival at the pyramids we had another surprise:  the souvenir vendors were very aggressive, not to say that we were accosted by them.  There was no way to even look at any souvenir without being pressured.  The picture where I am wearing the keffiyeh the vendor standing next to me wanted $20,00 for the picture which he "allowed" Corrie to take.  I had not asked for this pose or exposure.  Then 'he would take $5.00' he said. I gave him a dollar for his effort and walked off.  (The picture did turn out cute, though.)  The city of Cairo comes very close to the site of the pyramids which was disturbing to our tour-guide.  

After we visited the sphinx and the nearby necropolis we went for lunch on the Nile: "the Nile in Style" it was called.  Lunch was a traditional Egyptian meal.  The next surprise was the belly dancer during our lunch.  By the way, the sodas tasted just like back home.

The trip back to Alexandria was essentially uneventful and we had a nice late dinner on board ship. 

The next day we docked in Port Said at the entrance to the Suez canal.  We noticed the base of the statue of Ferdinand De-Lesseps,  but his statue is gone.  (I believe it succumbed during the six-day war.) We spend the day exploring this quiet city and relaxed from the hectic day we had before.