Raye’s Egypt Adventure
Sandra and I had never ventured out of Europe before so to be invited to Egypt was exciting and scary! The adventure started for us slightly sooner than expected when the Wednesday before we left the exhaust fell off the car and then I came across someone suffering an epileptic seizure in the street - things could only get better….
The adventure had been arranged by Karima and Faye to whom along with Raye we give our deepest thanks for giving us the opportunity to grow and develop ourselves further and experience what follows ;
Friday 18th April 2003
We departed Cumbria in the morning and drove to Newcastle for our flight to Amsterdam - exciting in itself if you haven’t flown for years. We met Karima at Amsterdam as planned then flew to Cairo, arriving early morning. Our first experience of Cairo was amazing, the sights (different colours everywhere) sounds (more about that later) and the smells (we’ll leave that to your imagination). We were met at the airport as arranged for a speedy processing of our passports and visas and were then given our first experience of the Cairo traffic system - white knuckles were the order of the day as we all held on that tight. Our hotel was superb, about 10 minutes walk from the pyramids. Got to bed at 3am.
Saturday 19th April 2003
Up about 8am for breakfast (amazing choice) and then we headed for the pyramids, in Karima’s hands. It was our first experience of the high pressure sales techniques for anything from camels to papyrus paintings. We decided that Sandra, Karima and myself would have camels while Raye opted for a horse. Let us say that our guide did not appear to be a people person ! Sandra opted for a horse half way round after my camel got the hump and decided it wanted to be an individual and headed for freedom despite all my efforts to stop it, taking her camel with it. It was an experience - probably not one to be repeated. We both didn’t really see much of the pyramids being more concerned with self preservation - it’s a long fall from a camel. We walked the last mile or so through what could only be described as a poor quarter with people especially children begging. Ten minutes later we were dining back at the hotel in luxury - certainly it seems to be a land of extremes.
Saturday afternoon we headed for Khan el-Khalili, the bazaar. To get there involved one of the ever increasingly entertaining taxi rides. Karima gave us useful hints on taxi prices and bargaining techniques. The majority of taxis look as though they have been attacked with a sledgehammer, which didn’t bode well for those with a nervous disposition. We eventually began tipping the drivers on the those who were most entertaining and avoided a hospital visit ! Traffic is always heavy, there is no lane discipline, horns are used (bip bip - means I am here move over I’m coming through, beeeeeep - means we are about to crash somebody better do something) and its really good fun - the only downside is the pollution. The amazing thing is that although it appears chaotic it works, with hardly any traffic jams, it makes our road system look poor. Back at the Khan el-Khalili we were given a crash course in the Egyptian way of doing business - the negotiating way. The bazaar is another experience for the senses, the smells of the spices, leather goods, perfume, the noise of the shopkeepers wanting you to go in (come in I give you 50 per cent discount - bearing in mind nothing is priced) and the visual spectacle of the colours and the alleyways crammed full of people and goods.
Dinner was back at the hotel with the four of us and four friends of Karima including Faye who had helped arrange the desert trip along with the Crystal Course. When they came to get a taxi back outside the hotel foyer the taxi driver quoted a high price so they walked outside the hotel onto the main street only to find the same driver quoting an acceptable price - welcome to Egypt !!
Sunday 20th April 2003
An earlyish start (7am) due to a man and a lawnmower. Breakfast and then a walk with Raye to the pyramids for a walk round and a closer look at the Sphinx - got approached by numerous salespeople selling anything from T-shirts to bookmarks - we are learning to avoid eye contact as when established it seems to imply that despite me saying no I will end up buying something from you. Managed to do a short meditation at the Sphinx amongst all the noise and chaos. As we were walking below one of the pyramids a convoy of black windowed limousines pulled up, armed security personnel jumped out and more or less bundling us out of the way for some dignitary (a short man in jeans, T-Shirt and baseball cap) to view the pyramids.
The afternoon was spent at the Museum after yet another exciting taxi journey. The energy in the Museum was amazing , all of us feeling light headed and dizzy. It was an exceptional place and a bit overwhelming for us. We spent the evening on a Felucca (traditional sailing boat) on the Nile watching the sunset and the fishing boats, a peaceful haven amidst the noise of Cairo. Excellent food at a Thai restaurant was a perfect end to the day, not forgetting the taxi ride back to the hotel of course.
Monday 21st April 2003
We were collected at 7 am by our driver Amr (later to be nick-named Scooby-do) who proved to equally adept at driving though Cairo as he was off road in the desert. We met up on the outskirts of Cairo with Hany, our guide, and two other adventurers, Lucille and Marianne (both worked for the Australian Embassy in Cairo). Ahmed, a Bedouin, also joined us. He works with Hany regularly and we camped near his settlement. On our journey to Sinai we stopped at a military site which is a preserved gun emplacement from when Israel occupied the area. We also stopped at The Springs of Moses, a hot spring which emerges form beneath a mountain into the sea, hot enough to boil an egg! There was also an opportunity to enter a cave which was heated by the water - it was like being in a sauna.
A huge and excellent packed lunch was enjoyed by the sea before heading into the desert, swapping the tarmac for rocks and sand. We got stuck in sand once but our expert team soon sorted it out. We stopped off at Ahmed’s house (a small Bedouin settlement) to collect supplies. We were given tea and an opportunity to buy a selection of jewellery and clothing - they are mean business people , especially the youngsters). Then on to the camp , a plateau of soft sand surrounded by mountains. The tents erected we sat around the camp fire and watched the stars , talked and just soaked up the amazing feel of the place. The peace is like nothing I have ever experienced before. The energy quite incredible. The meal was superb, a real spread and we probably had about three hours sleep just taking in the atmosphere and watching the sunrise - we were visited by beetles who left us little trails.
Tuesday 22nd April 2003
We were joined by members of Ahmed’s family who came to lend a hand at breakfast. They must have left their home well before sunrise. Breakfast was another feast, fresh baked bread with a variety of spreads including black honey - a personal favourite. We departed the camp for a guided walk in the mountains with Ahmed’s brother Ishmail ( complete with patent and highly polished shoes - we all felt overdressed in hiking boots!). The scenery was stunning mountains and desert - we visited the Temple of Hathor, the goddess of Turquoise. The peace and solitude was awe inspiring, you felt connected to mother earth with each step.
After meeting up with the vehicles we set off for the Sinai hotel passing through the valley of inscriptions. Just before we reached this Raye felt a vortex of energy as we passed through a circular plain surrounded by a ring of mountains. This place is an unofficial earth chakra centre. We stopped and everyone joined in to carry out some earth healing. The spirit on the way to the hotel was fantastic, singing being the order of the day - if you didn’t know the words then Scooby-Dooby-Do would suffice, hence Amr became christened Scooby Do.
Arrived at the hotel about 8 pm, ate and retired to bed for some valuable sleep before……
Wednesday 23rd April 2003
Up at 1.30 am (yes in the morning!) for a walk up Mount Sinai - a surreal
experience, with lack of sleep, an arduous 4000 feet climb, people trying
to sell you camel rides every three feet (slight exaggeration but that
is what it felt like) and a torchlit procession up the mountain. We eventually
got to the top about 5 am in time to see the sunrise. There were probably
a thousand people on the top all jostling for that ever elusive perfect
photograph. Fortunately there were loos as our party were now experiencing
the delights of foreign travel on the digestive system.
Raye has developed a scoring system for Egyptian loos, 1-10. There was
a certain loo on the mountain which scored -3,000 - enough said. The
walk back down was hot, dusty and tiring. There was one vision which
will stay with us all, the silhouette on the way up of a camel being
guided by his owner against the starry sky - just beautiful. The sunrise
was not one of the best, the day being hazy. We arrived back at the hotel
about 9am had breakfast and slept for an hour or so.
We were then taken to our next hotel at Nuweiba, a luxury hotel on the Red Sea. Here was an opportunity to relax, write postcards, swim (despite a British couple telling us there were fish which “could put you in hospital”- not what a nervous swimmer wishes to hear) and catch up on sleep, though we all seemed to keep going despite the hectic schedule, must be a combination of the air and the energy we were clearly receiving from all around us. It was Marianne’s birthday, so Hany had arranged for her to receive a birthday cake . The Arabic version of happy birthday was brilliant and lively. Raye then led a party game of “My grandmother went to Paris and bought some scissors…………”, this complete with actions which had the whole party in hysterics, particularly Hany who just couldn’t stop laughing. We will be remembered in the hotel.
Thursday 24th April 2003
Hany had arranged a treat for us, a visit to the Coloured Canyon, the price was an early start, 7am, but surprisingly we all managed this without problem - we were glad we did as we had the place to ourselves. The canyon is a narrow channel between to mountains, in places wide enough for just one person. The colours were amazing, there were faces and figures in the rock formations everywhere. It was awesome. In one place we had to slide down a ten foot drop underneath a huge boulder - Raye christened this the re-birthing channel. Ahmed, who was our guide through here, was suffering with some sort of virus, but felt better after being in Raye’s company for an hour or so. He said that he wished he had spent more time with her in the desert. After our walk through the canyon which lasted about an hour an a half ,we made our way back to Cairo, stopping for lunch en-route - another excellent spread. We came through a sandstorm and a shredding tyre which required a wheel change - Hany managed this in just three minutes !
We arrived at the Nile Meridian Hotel, the top hotel in Cairo, looking like we had been rolling in dust for a day ! Despite this the hotel staff were lovely and appreciated being spoken to, as observations suggest that they are often ignored by the majority of guests. After numerous showers to try and remove sand which seemed to find its way into every nook and cranny, we had dinner at the Indian Restaurant and retired to bed. Views from the 22nd floor overlooking the Nile and Cairo were amazing.
Friday 25th April 2003
Day One of the Crystal Course in Cairo. What can I say except it was a privilege to be present and to assist. There came together a lovely group of people eager to learn and to put their knowledge into practice. The energy levels in the room were quite something and everyone responded to Raye’s teaching style, it was a joy to witness. Raye went on to carry out some psychic drawings finishing at about 7pm - a long and tiring day.
The taxi driver on the way back was a humble and gentle man who was prepared to accept a meagre fare. He was overjoyed at a tip - it was a fitting end to a perfect day , the sort of day which stirs your heart. Dinner and a few drinks were followed by a relatively early night.
Saturday 26th April 2003
Day
two of the Crystal Course we are getting used to finding our way about
now and negotiating
taxi
prices still giving excitement and thrill
related tips. Raye was feeling under the weather but still met everyone’s
expectations on the second day of the course. Raye was overwhelmed with
help in the form of various remedies ! After the course, Sandra and I
headed for the Khan el-Khalili to brush up our negotiating skills and
soak up the atmosphere. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner with
Raye. Before this, however, we had an announcement in our rooms that “There
has been an incident on the 10th Floor”…… We decided
to evacuate and went down the stairwell, smelling smoke and passing someone
with a hose on the 10th floor. However, in the lobby there was no sign
of panic and we were told conflicting stories ranging from ‘it
was a drill’ to ‘it was a small fire which is out now’,
all statements ending with ‘no problem’ . Eventually the
fire brigade arrived what seemed like three hours later - no-one seems
to rush in Egypt. Stress appears to be a Western concept.
Sunday 27th April 2003
After a leisurely breakfast we decided to visit the Zoo, mainly to see the trees in there which looked fantastic. Getting tickets was an experience and brought back memories of playing rugby. Queuing is also clearly a British thing. It cost us about 5p each to get in. Once in we experienced our 15 minutes of fame - we were the only white people in there, it appears that it is not on the tourist route and this coupled with it being a public holiday led to an unusual surreal type experience.
People were shaking our hand, asking for photographs, Raye having to hold a baby in one ! After we decided we didn’t enjoy being famous and were heading for a way out we were ushered into a side entrance of the lion compound by one of the keepers on the promise of seeing some cubs - these had been cubs at one time probably several years ago !! There was a cage between them and us and we were encouraged to stroke the male which we did. It was disconcerting how crowds were gathering around, it was lunchtime and we were the only white people in the zoo, we hoped there wasn‘t a correlation between the two. We had to give a tip to have the gate unlocked - he could have had my whole wallet as long as we got out !!
We then headed for the Khan-el Khalili for the final bit of shopping returning to the hotel to relax.
Monday 28th April 2003
An early morning departure back to Amsterdam arriving back in Newcastle about 1030am, only to be greeted by a grumpy minibus driver - welcome back to England. Really noticed how green everything was.
Personal Reflections
Words can not really do justice to the impact the trip has had on me. Overall it was an amazing and fantastic experience, I thank all those who made it possible. We have all agreed that we have changed as a result of this trip.
We all felt it was as though time slowed down for us to have all these wonderful experiences, and we were given the energy and strength to see us through - for Sandra to survive on the sleep she did was a true miracle !!
I have experienced a different culture, a people who are happy despite
few possessions or modern comforts. True happiness comes from within.
I have felt the vibrant energy that surrounds the country and its people.
I have seen how religion can control masses of people. I have seen people
openly laughing in the street. We have laughed till it hurt and then
there were those taxi rides - terrific. It has taught me to be grateful
for what I have and being able to do what I do, and to reflect on the
world situation. Finally there was the opportunity to feel in touch with
the universe in the desert. Since returning personal events have occurred
which have shown I have grown. Just another co-incidence that they have
happened now ….. Another step along this amazing journey.
Where to next…. ???
Written by John Fee
