Egypt - continued
Up Kenya 1
Postcards from: Minya 

Postcards Introduction
Before Africa
Egypt
Egypt2
  Minya
  Luxor
  Aswan
  Luxor
  Cairo

Kenya 
Uganda 
Rwanda 
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
South Africa-2
Malawi
Tanzania-2
Kenya-2
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mali
Senegal
Morocco
After 
Home
 


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile near the Mercure Hotel. Enchanting.


Minya Egypt: The Internet cafe, LinkEgypt where I finally got my PenCam pictures processed.


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile framed by the war memorial across the street from the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minya Egypt. 


Minya Egypt: The park strip that runs along the river near my hotel in Minya Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Donkey cart being loaded by two boys who's father urged me to take this picture. The older boy shyly ducks behind his younger brother. 


Minya Egypt: View from the Lotus Hotel room I used the first night in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Another view from the Lotus Hotel room I used the first night in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Our little sedan breaks down on the short escorted trip to Beni Hassan tombs. Actually, the gear shift fell out! This became a major security issue for the military escort in our exclusive caravan.


Minya Egypt: We cross the Nile to the east bank to visit the tombs of Beni Hassan. Yep. We got some new armed guards for this segment, too. Generally, the security people discouraged being photographed.


Minya Egypt: Another of our guards on the river crossing to Beni Hassan. He seemed to be the officer in charge.


Minya Egypt: A view from inside the cabin of the boat we used on the river crossing to Beni Hassan.


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt. Not visible in this photo were dozens of armed men along the cliff tops.


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile from the area around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Another view looking down into the valley along the Nile passing by the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: At the eastern shore of the Nile looking up toward the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: One of the many goats one sees near the tombs of Beni Hassen in Egypt.


Minya Egypt: These are our "guides" and guards once we were inside the protected area around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A war memorial across the street from the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Vegetable merchants on the streets in the old town of Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: On the streets of the old town in Minia Egypt. These friendly people are repeatedly warned not to talk to foreigners... but they do anyway.


Minya Egypt: Around town in Minia Egypt: this mosque has a decidedly Moroccan flavor.


Minya Egypt: This driver wanted to show off his superior and younger horse and passed us at a gallop.


Minya Egypt: The driver of my carriage in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Sunset from the window of my hotel in Minia Egypt looking toward the Nile.


Minya Egypt: A donkey accident in the middle of a busy downtown street in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: One of the many mosques in Minia Egypt. I liked the lighting.


Minya Egypt: Another typical street scene in Minia Egypt near the University.


Minya Egypt: Entrance to one of the other Internet cafes. I think it is a part of some sort of private club as guards got very disturbed when they thought I was going to take a picture (after I had already gotten this shot!)


Minya Egypt: Cargo "truck" in Minia Egypt. I'm sure there still are more animal powered vehicles than gas powered.

 

 

SmallBook11 April 2001

Greetings from prison Egypt.

The last week has been a study in frustration, followed by lessons in Egyptian police harassment, at least that's what it seems like. I submitted my application for a tourist visa to the Sudan Consulate in Cairo on 1 April and I'm still waiting! As I must pass through Sudan to get to Ethiopia, I am effectively blocked from moving south by land. It is possible to fly directly to Ethiopia and that will be my fall back strategy.

With time to kill while waiting for the next Sudan visa disappointment, I decided to head down toward Luxor stopping at any old somewhere along the way. The somewhere turned out to be Minya, the capital of the governorate where terrorists are suspected to be hiding as it turns out. There has been no terrorist action against tourists for eight years although the same group of bad guys is suspected to be responsible for a particularly brutal attack on police officers as recently as 1997. Foreign governments have been warning their nationals to avoid the area since 1992 and the Egyptian authorities have been working feverishly to eliminate any suspicion of danger to tourists.

Minya could be a typical medium sized Egyptian town with little to attract tourists, and in some ways that's what I found. It fancies itself at the gateway to one of the ancient archaeological tomb sites, Beni Hassan. That is the main reason I decided to stop there rather than a couple other towns along the way. Boy, was I in for a surprise! Little did I suspect I had stumbled into an area run like a police state. 

Most of the Egypt I've seen is more or less like everywhere else in the world: lots of good, wonderful people and sights plus a scattering of bad people and things. Minya, has been invaded by every branch of the existing and newly created civilian police services which are still searching for the Islamic extremists known to be responsible for the attacks on tourists almost a decade ago. One newspaper article at the time put the influx of special police personnel at a thousand, but even today there must be at least that many. Articles in the Al-Ahram Weekly On-line and censored articles from the Middle East Times told a different story of the late 1990's in Egypt, but the citations disappeared sometime before 30 August 2010. The security activity today is controversial and some critics say it is the police and their disregard for human rights that have led to more recent attacks on the anti-terrorist military-police personnel.

On the train from Cairo I shared my seat row with a good looking young guy with the Special Forces, the special police branch charged with protecting the antiquities and tourists from threats of all kinds including terrorists. He told me I could spot people from his branch by their black uniforms, which I subsequently saw everyplace I went in and around the town. He confirmed that the government still is VERY concerned that would be visitors to Egypt feel safe and all of the security activity is in place for that purpose.

My first personal encounter with the ubiquitous and heavily armed police security agents came as I left the Lotus Hotel to walk the town and check out other hotel possibilities. Someone dressed in a delebaya (Arabic robe) approached me like all the other hustlers in Egypt and said he would come along with me. I told him I didn't need or want any company and motioned him away. He slinked back, but the next time I looked around there he was. So, I took mild evasive action and lost him with little effort. When I reached the Hotel Etab, the "best hotel in town" and made arrangements to move over there the next day, a big guy who looked for all the world like an Egyptian version of Gunsmoke's Sheriff Mat Dillon, approached me: "You are the American, right? I saw you over at the Lotus Hotel." Surprised, I looked to the hotel manager for an explanation and he added "we have been hearing about you on the radio." (That's the police radio!)

It had been an hour's walk over to the new hotel so I agreed a cab back would make sense (the fare was only 2 Egyptian Pounds or about half a dollar). When I got back to the Lotus Hotel I learned that the "tout" I had alluded had been my official police escort. We all had a good laugh. Later in the evening I again went out to walk the town and my plain-clothes tourist police escort again tagged along. I let him know through gestures that I didn't want him too close to me and he more or less complied... I could always pick him out of the crowds around me not more than five meters away every time I looked, however.

The next morning I shouldered my backpack and headed out walking toward the Hotel Etab. I planned to walk part of the 7-8 Km and perhaps pickup a cab at some point. My police escort made a big fuss about the urgency of my getting a cab... he indicated he had already called one! I insisted on walking and much to his consternation, off I went with my distraught shadow in tow. I ended up walking the entire distance, my light blue robed watcher not far behind. At the hotel gate my guy and a half dozen other police personnel in various kinds of uniforms carried on animated discussions obviously about me.

The next day my new hotel manager and I had arranged for a driver and car to take me to the two principle archaeological sites in the region: Beni Hassen and Tell al-Amarna, ancient Egyptian tombs cut into the rock cliffs that run along the Nile from horizon to horizon. After checking into the hotel I got myself down to the lobby at the appointed 10:00AM time to meet the driver, but more arrangements needed to be completed before we could start our 80 km trek to the ruins. A blue pickup truck containing four well armed "soldiers" including one officer and one special forces guy in black finally arrived and our little convoy started off about 10:30; the truck leading the way and our small vintage sedan following. At seemingly every opportunity the truck would emit short bursts of its electronic siren to order pedestrians and other vehicles out of the way to allow our caravan to proceed unimpeded... or perhaps to attract attention to the very important dignitary they had in their custody.

We hadn't gotten far out of town before my driver began muttering something in Arabic. Then he pulled over to the side of the road holding in his hand the gearshift shaft which had fallen out! Fortunately, we had broken down right in front of a garage and a mechanic came promptly to our aid. At the same time the military escort jumped into action setting up a protective perimeter around our disabled vehicle. Every time I made a move one of the soldiers became agitated and repositioned himself. I started seeing humor in the whole charade and imagined myself some important foreign official, perhaps a president even. I pretended like the bad guys were after me and moved to a protective space between two buildings to make it easier for my protectors.

Finally, the car became operational again and off we started. Not more than 15 minutes later we again stopped on the instructions of the officer in the military truck ahead. "We are waiting for another escort detail," he told me in answer to my puzzled expressions.

Soon, an enormous armored personnel carrier arrived and pulled in ahead of the little truck. The military pickup truck full of solders peeled off and parked on the other side of the road where it apparently sat the entire time we were gone awaiting our return. Our tiny sedan inched up under the protecting "arms" of the huge military vehicle while the six men inside made preparations for leaving. Eventually, the high caliber machine gun manned and other automatic weapons at the ready we headed south on the road to the famous tourist attractions. After perhaps a half hour we again halted and learned that another "detail" would take us the rest of the distance. At the river an Egyptian Navy boat with armed sailors accompanied the ferry that took our car and us across the Nile to the foot of the cliffs on the east bank where all the tombs are located.

After all the preparations and excitement of the trip to get here, I am sorry to report the tombs themselves are hardly worth the trouble. Each room carved into solid rock measured perhaps 7 by 12 meters with ceilings about 6 or 7 meters high. All had elaborate paintings on the walls depicting the daily life of the deceased I am told. Big deal. I saw better up in Giza near the pyramids with much less trouble getting to them.

I hoped for something more spectacular at our next destination, Tell al-Amarna, represented in some ancient history books as the "Cradle of Civilization." Off we started... Goliath ahead, our rattling sedan following. The roads wound their way through several picturesque villages primitive by even Egyptian standards, our caravan attracting attention wherever we went. If there were bad guys out there looking for targets, they would have had no trouble finding us. I got to wondering if I might be bait to flush out the still hiding militants. I wish I could report how delightful were the new tombs, but to tell the truth, they looked identical to the ones at Beni Hassan earlier. While archeologists, no doubt find them a treasure trove of antiquity, I remained decidedly underwhelmed.

Anticlimactic is the best way to describe our return trip home. The big personnel carrier peeled off a short way back letting us proceed on through a couple check points unaccompanied until we reached our little blue pickup truck full of guys no doubt excited to see us after their hot wait by the side of the road where we had left them six hours earlier.

The next morning I planned a long conditioning walk. As I prepared to leave the hotel compound the "military" scurried to make sure I had the appropriate escort to tag along, a plain clothes guy carrying a concealed AK47 under his delabeia. I indicated my preference to walk alone, but they insisted on protecting me. During the entire two-hour walk this guy would interject himself into every encounter or conversation I initiated along the way... always telling the Egyptians something like: "This is an American. I am his assigned police bodyguard." As one of the people with whom I spoke knew perfect English I got an accurate translation of my escort's usual Arabic pronouncements. At other times people would hear his announcement and then look at me saying "Amerique?" and smile. A day later I met a fellow at a museum who was "licensed" to speak to foreigners who told me it is against the law to speak to foreigners on the street and an Egyptian in Minya can go to jail for it! This same routine repeated itself every time I left the hotel: to explore the town, to meet the people, to spend some time working on the Internet getting my PenCam pictures processed.

Finally, I'd had enough close police surveillance and told the hotel staff as much. "Oh. You may write out a statement saying you do not want a police escort, sign it and we will terminate the bodyguard service." Sign off on the city's responsibility to protect its visitors? You got to be nuts! What I did do was prepare a carefully worded statement of my observations that the police procedures in place here made things LESS secure for foreign visitors, in my opinion. I presented this to the hotel receptionist and asked that they tell the police to lay off, which they apparently did. My next walk did not include a shadow; though I now fear I actually just gave them the slip in the confusion of a new busload of guests arriving. The next time I left the hotel, here was the gang of police hovering around me and this time with an attitude, blocking my way as I attempted to rush away before they could get themselves organized. A block or two away from the hotel sure enough there was my trusty protector, this time slinking in the "shadows." By now I am really pissed. This is no way to run a railroad!

As I attempt to find an Internet cafe with all the features I need to process my camera, I am directed to the governorate (state capital) building where there is supposed to be an office to help tourists. Stumbling around inside the three-story structure I am finally directed to an office where a guy in his forties spoke good English. I explained my computer need and he made a phone call. When I enquired what might be his responsibility for the governorate (like a state in the U.S.), he informed me that he is the head of the "secret police."

Boy! Did I let him have it! He listened politely, had mint tea brought in, presented me with a little lapel pin and asked a number of questions about my experiences with his police officers. As I prepared to leave with one of his officers who had been instructed to take me to a place where I could use a computer connected to the Internet, there arose such a commotion that everything stopped and a couple officers hustled me back into the police chief's office. In a moment the chief returned to explain that the Governor General wanted to meet me!

With all the fanfare appropriate for a state governor we were led into a large waiting room and in a few minutes ushered into the presence of Governor General Hassan Hemeda who glanced up briefly to acknowledge our presence and continued to sign letters from a huge pile on his desk making the usual small talk as he did: "How do you like Minya; are you having a good time; etc." Finally, he directed his full attention to Mr. Mohammed Saeid, his head of the police operations who translated for us. "How have you found our efforts to protect foreign tourists?" he asked through the interpreter. For perhaps three or four minutes he listened while I detailed my observations and feelings, finally offering a few suggestions for making the escort activity less intrusive, less obtrusive.

The governor then launched into what must have been his canned speech about how everything now being done had been at the request of the major foreign embassies, the American and British in particular - crowing that after years of being black-listed by those countries, only two months ago Minya had once again been judged by the American Ambassador safe enough for American citizens!

Rising, the governor indicated we were approaching the end of our meeting and directed the waiting photographer to capture this historic meeting for posterity (what else?). I produced my little spy camera and he agreed to let his man take a picture of me shaking his hand, the hand of the guy ultimately responsible for all the misery I had been enduring. He then searched around in his desk drawers locating a souvenir folder with a cheap papyrus picture of Nefertiti, and a key chain with the governorate logo. He then invited me to sit down for a while and drink more mint tea and look through several large albums of photos featuring the attractions of his region.

I stayed on in Minya another night, but soon felt it time to move on as the police personnel around the hotel had obviously gotten the word that I am a trouble maker and their behavior around me got rather weird. People still followed me, but now I had to look hard to catch them at it. At the train station, the police knew me when I arrived and treated me like some special visiting dignitary... not overbearing, but very attentive, making sure I got my ticket and got on the correct train for Luxor (Is it possible that I had been gently run out of town again?).


Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

PS: From the Middle East Times (October 1993): "Hassan Abdel Latif MINYA Around 1,000 police, including anti-terrorist squads and Special Forces, launched a massive man-hunt in Egypt on 14 October for Islamic militants suspected of carrying out the bloodiest attacks against the police in five years." Note: this article is among many which were censored from the printed version of the paper. Though now purged from the on-line site, they made for interesting reading about problems in the Middle East and Egypt in particular. FB

 


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt. At one point in ancient history people considered this the center of civilization.


Minya Egypt: This is Hassan Hemeda, the Governor General of Minia Governorate who summoned me to his office to hear first hand my complaints about the ways the police were "protecting" tourists. I had been talking unknowingly to the chief of the Governorate's "Secret Police," Mr. Mohamed Saeid.


Minya Egypt: Fishermen processing their catch in Minya Egypt. 


Minya Egypt: Butcher on the streets of old town in Minya Egypt. 


Minya Egypt: Sidewalk barber and his client invited me to capture their pictures for posterity. Very brave of them as talking to a foreigner can mean jail time in Minya!


Minya Egypt: These old guys watched me taking the pictures of the barber at work and indicated they wanted me to capture their souls as well. One sees many small groups of men like this just sitting around smoking and chatting on the streets of small towns everywhere in Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile near the Mercure Hotel. Here is another one of those strange and interestingly pruned trees.


Minya Egypt: One of the interestingly pruned trees along the narrow park that is next to the river near my hotel in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Sugar cane juice processing on the outskirts of Minya Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A one half horsepower cart - there are more of these than gasoline powered versions! At one point I saw a cart being pulled by a big mule and a small donkey... about one and a half horsepower I reckon.


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile near the Mercure Hotel. Lovely, don't you think?


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile near the Mercure Hotel. Enchanting.

 

End

 

 

 


Minya Egypt: A young (22) man I met on the train from Cairo to Minia. He is assigned to the special forces (police) somewhere south of Luxor. He suggested I would enjoy visiting Minya.


Minya Egypt: A young (22) man I met on the train from Cairo to Minia.


Minya Egypt: I became fascinated by the large number of deliberately shaped trees along the narrow park that is next to the Nile River directly in front of the Mercure Hotel in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Another of the strangly pruned trees along the Nile river in front of the Mercure Hotel in Minia Egypt. 


Minya Egypt: Another view of the Nile near the Mercure Hotel. Peaceful, don't you think?


Minya Egypt: One of the oddly pruned trees along the narrow park that is next to the river in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: One of the artisticly pruned trees next to the river near my hotel in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: O.K. This is the last of the interesting trees I so admired in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Mohamed (a very popular name!), the front desk manager at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt, gave me one of the rooms reserved for "ministers" and arranged for transport and guides the next day to the ancient tombs. 


Minya Egypt: The breakfast buffet at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A view from the window of my room at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A view of the protected garden behind the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Outside view of the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A view toward the town from the window of my room at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Another view of the Nile and the lovely parkway along the river from my room at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Patio and pool at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: A view of the Nile from the window of my room at the Mercure Hotel (Etab) in Minia Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Our little sedan breaks down on the short escorted trip to Beni Hassan tombs. Actually, the gear shift fell out! This became a major security issue for the military escort in our exclusive caravan.

 
Minya Egypt: We cross the Nile to the east bank to visit the tombs of Beni Hassan. Yep. We got some new armed guards for this segment, too. Generally, the security people discouraged being photographed.


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: Around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt. Not visible in this photo were dozens of armed men along the cliff tops.


Minya Egypt: This guy along the road to the tombs near Minia (Minya) Egypt got very interested in my camera and agreed to let me take his picture. It is unusual because it is against the law for ordinary citizens like him to talk to foreign tourists! 


Minya Egypt: Unusual building on the dirt road to the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minia (Minya) Egypt. This is the gate keeper's home.


Minya Egypt: Crossing the Nile on our way out of the protected area around the tombs of Beni Hassen near Minya  Egypt


Minya Egypt: After Beni Hassen near Minya we moved on down the road to what archeologists consider the cradle of civilization, Tell al-Amarna. On the ferry crossing the river a half dozen cars and trucks joined our little band.


Minya Egypt: On the ferry across the Nile to the tombs of Tell al-Amarna near Minia (Minya) Egypt.


Minya Egypt: The ferry reaches the east shore of the Nile near the tombs of Tell al-Amarna near Minia (Minya) Egypt. Our armed guards are watching everything, but out of sight.


Minya Egypt: After our underwhelming visit to the tombs of Amarna near Minia (Minya) Egypt, we board the ferry back across the Nile to our little sedan and military escort for the hour trip back up to Minia.


Minya Egypt: Typical scene on the streets of Minia Egypt in the vicinity of the University campus.


Minya Egypt: This is Moustafa Khalaf who is the security officer for a children's enrichment institution. Anxious to practice his English, he showed me around the two story facility with pride. He told me he had a job as a night clerk at a hotel with many foreign visitors to better learn English, but they only pay him 100 Egyptian Pounds per month (about $25).


Minya Egypt: Typical street scene in the residential district near the University in Minia Egypt.

 


Postcards from: Luxor...
 

Postcards Introduction
Before Africa
Egypt
Egypt2
  Minya
  Luxor
  Aswan
  Luxor
  Cairo

Kenya 
Uganda 
Rwanda 
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
South Africa-2
Malawi
Tanzania-2
Kenya-2
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mali
Senegal
Morocco
After 
Home
 


Luxor Egypt: Smoke stacks from an ancient electronics factory near the ruins of Karnak Temple in Luxor Egypt. (Oh. Maybe they aren't smoke stacks... they seem to be made of solid rock!)


Luxor Egypt: The complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple: interesting architecture. 


Luxor Egypt: Beautiful decorations in base relief in and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak. 


Luxor Egypt: Part of a huge mural in base relief at the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple.


Luxor Egypt: In and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple in Luxor Egypt: I borrowed someone else's "people" for this picture. Off to my left her husband composed his picture.


Luxor Egypt: Some of the structures are extraordinarily beautiful within the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple. 


Luxor Egypt: A "herd" of calves in the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple. 


Luxor Egypt: The temple ruins at Karnak Temple: much of the excavated building stones have not yet been identified for use in the on going restoration work.


Luxor Egypt: Stone lions line the main road leading to Luxor Temple Egypt.


Luxor Egypt: This obelisk never got erected at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Some of the surviving statues around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Some of the better preserved lion statues lining the road to the temple ruins at Karnak Temple near the entrance area.


Luxor Egypt: another shot inside the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple: after a while it all begins to look the same, doesn't it.


Luxor Egypt : More columns within the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple in Luxor Egypt: note the "benches" around the bases of each column.


Luxor Egypt: One of the many obelisks around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: A few of the visitors to the ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Some of the structures don't look too stable at the ruins: Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: In and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple: the restoration work continues.


Luxor Egypt: More base relief carvings around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak


Luxor Egypt: A view of the courtyard at the Mercure Hotel where I stayed several nights.


Luxor Egypt: A view of the road that runs along the Nile; taken from the window of the Mercure Hotel where I stayed several nights.


Luxor Egypt: Along the Nile near the Mercure Hotel I used


Luxor Egypt: Entrance to the Zamzam Cyber Cafe which I finally found with all the capabilities I need to process my PenCam pictures: CD-ROM drive and USB port.


Luxor Egypt: Walking the street markets of Luxor one sees piles of stuff that looks line partially dried cherries molded into coagulated balls. I think it is food, but doesn't look very appetizing to me.


Luxor Egypt: Another pile of that stuff. Never did learn what it is.


Luxor Egypt: Cute "road" sign in Luxor. I think the Arbic says "Be nice to the tourists; they bring money!"


Luxor Egypt: Street scene at night in Luxor.


Luxor Egypt: Another street scene at night in Luxor.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. The driver of my cab. He took me all around the sights of the west bank in Luxor; here in the shadows of the Colossi of Memnon.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. At the entrance


Luxor Egypt: At the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. It is very hot and dry here.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. At the reception center entrance.


Luxor Egypt: At the entrance to the Valley of the Kings: the Disneyland style tram that took us part way up the hill to the area of the tombs.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. Tram stop at the top gets visitors close to the actual tombs.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. Here one of the many guided groups pauses to rest and drink water.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. Some of the tombs seem to have been deliberately hidden within cracks of the rock formations.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. These are the toilets provided for the thousands of visitors that pass this way everyday.


Luxor Egypt: Dry and desolate describes the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: Valley of the Queens at. More of the same, though not on the same grand scale of the King's tombs.


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located


Luxor Egypt: Another view from the roof of my Tutotel Hotel

 


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located

 

 

16 April 2001

Hello from the real Egypt.

After a short four-hour train ride from high security Minya I arrived unceremoniously in Luxor. Luxor is Luxor. Everything you have heard is true, a remarkable area, full of antiquities, monuments everywhere. The atmosphere is festive and most of the people dealing with tourists try to make visitors feel welcome. The street hustlers and touts are an exception, of course.

I'm going to leave my further thoughts on Luxor for future conversations as this has already gotten so long no one is going to be able to read it without at least one bathroom break.

Peace,
Fred L Bellomy
 

 


Luxor Egypt: Luxor Temple built to allow the rays of the sun god to shine on the interior. 


Luxor Egypt: Elaborately illustrated walls in base relief at Luxor Temple in Egypt.


Luxor Egypt: Closer shot of the columns within the temple ruins at Karnak in Luxor Egypt: note the people using the "benches" around the bases of each column.


Luxor Egypt: Self portrait of the photographer . 


Luxor Egypt: Inside the open air temple at Karnak Temple: note the "benches" around the bases of each column.


Luxor Egypt: In and around the ruins at Karnak Temple: so many tour groups. This shot shows the scale of things inside the temple ruins.


Luxor Egypt : At Luxor Temple.


Luxor Egypt: Closer shot of the columns within the temple ruins at Karnak: note the people using the "benches" around the bases of each column.


Luxor Egypt: Designs on the columns at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Some of the structures are extraordinarily beautiful within the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Swarms of foreign tourists visit the temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 1


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 2


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 3


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 4


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 5


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 6


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 7


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 8


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 9


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 10


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 11


Close up of the illustrated wall at Karnak Temple complex in Luxor Egypt. 12


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. West bank area of Luxor on the way to the Valley of the Kings: the Colossi of Memnon.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. many of the tombs are in the process of being restored. Others are still being excavated.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. "Don't touch the walls!"


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings: here work is actively underway to restore one of the tomb entrances.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings: an excavation pit which seems to have yielded nothing. The landscape is pocked by such shallow holes everywhere.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: The train ride extortionist. This is the grin I got when I pointed out he didn't collect anything from anyone else. I think he had seen my tiny camera by now. Sellers of everything were short changing tourists right and left or collecting non-existent fees.


Luxor Egypt: Valley of the Nobles area.


Luxor Egypt: Another view of the Valley of the Nobles area


Luxor Egypt: Valley of the Queens. This tomb is closed for restoration.

 

End

 

 


Luxor Egypt: These must have been important people to have been memorialized in stone at the Karnak Temple.


Luxor Egypt: Luxor Temple Egypt is in surprisingly well preserved.


Luxor Egypt: Entrance to the temple ruins at Karnak Temple.


Luxor Egypt: Still very much like is must have been in ancient times, the temple at Karnak in Luxor Egypt is still a shady pleasant place to sit and contemplate the gifts of the gods.


Luxor Egypt: This is Victoria from the British Embassy in Cairo. I told her I would title this picture "Victoria Stands" and place it next the the one I will take of Victoria Falls in a couple months.


Luxor Egypt: On the ferry crossing over to the West bank of the Nile where the Valley of the Kings is located. 


Luxor Egypt: One of the Colossi of Memnon in the west bank area of Luxor on the way to the Valley of the Kings. 


Luxor Egypt: Restoration continues at the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple.


Luxor Egypt: Entrance to the Zamzam Cyber Cafe which I finally found with all the capabilities I need to process my PenCam pictures: CD-ROM drive and USB port. 


Luxor Egypt: Entrance courtyard at the temple ruins at Karnak Temple: the entrance area.


Luxor Egypt: the entrance area. At the temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Restoration continues around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: More obelisks around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Sacred Lake in ancient times existed near Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: In and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple.


Luxor Egypt: These chaps must have been very important to be so immortalized at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: One of the many steam boats that ply the Nile disgorging passengers at Luxor: Near the Mercure Hotel where I stayed several nights.


Luxor Egypt: A view from the window of the Mercure Hotel where I stayed several nights.


Luxor Egypt: Another view of the Nile from the window of the Mercure Hotel where I stayed several nights.


Luxor Egypt: Entrance to the Zamzam Cyber Cafe which I finally found with all the capabilities I need to process my PenCam pictures: CD-ROM drive and USB port.


Luxor Egypt: Alaa and Isis at the Zamzam Cyber Cafe.


Luxor Egypt: Isis at the Zamzam Cyber Cafe. She is the boss!


Luxor Egypt: A view of the Nile River from the window of my Luxor Mercure (Etab) Hotel room.


Luxor Egypt: Hmm... There is no tourist ferry! After the terrorist attack in 1993 they closed it down.


Luxor Egypt: On the ferry crossing over to the West bank of the Nile where the Valley of the Kings is located.


Luxor Egypt: On the ferry crossing over to the West bank of the Nile where the Valley of the Kings is located: the helm.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. One of the Colossi of Memnon in the west bank area of Luxor on the way to the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings at the entrance


Luxor Egypt: At the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. The sun beats down without pity.


Luxor Egypt: At the entrance to the Valley of the Kings: the Disneyland style tram that took us part way up the hill to the area of the tombs.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. A group waiting for their guide to lead them up into the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. This long climb led to an interesting tomb complex.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: Back down the long flight of stairs from one of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings This is one of the gate keepers that stand at the entrance to every tomb. He wanted some money and tried to get me to take a picture. Finally, I relented and indicated I'd shoot him and gave him a one pound note. He reacted like I had insulted him, so I put away the camera and started to take back the pound note. At that point he decided a pound was better than nothing.


Luxor Egypt: In the Valley of the Kings. This guy collected one pound for the return train ride from me before I noticed no one else paid anything! When I reached the bottom of the ride I asked him about it and took his picture without his knowledge.


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located


Luxor Egypt: A mural painted on a wall at my third hotel in Luxor: the Tutotel.


Luxor Egypt: A view from the roof of my Tutotel Hotel


Luxor Egypt: On the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located


Luxor Egypt: From the ferry boat on the way back to the east bank where most of the hotels are located

 


Postcards from: Aswan
Postcards Introduction
Before Africa
Egypt
Egypt2
  Minya
  Luxor
  Aswan
  Luxor
  Cairo

Kenya 
Uganda 
Rwanda 
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
South Africa-2
Malawi
Tanzania-2
Kenya-2
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mali
Senegal
Morocco
After 
Home
 


Aswan Egypt: Corn bread loaves cooling on the street. I got one right out of the oven and burned my fingers eating it. 


Aswan Egypt: Here is another example of the metal staple technique to hold blocks of stone together. I've also seen the same method used in Greece, Turkey and Peru. As my friend Gino would say, "veeery interesting."


Those same lightening rods in Aswan again.


Typical street scene in the older section of Aswan. Two patient donkeys in the foreground.


A sign leading to the main cyber cafe I used in Aswan.

 

 

23 April 2001

Hello from the border with the Sudan.

At the moment I am in Aswan, the gateway to the Sudan by boat. There is a weekly (09:00 Mondays) boat from Aswan to Wadi Halfa where the railhead there connects with Khartoum daily. The latest information I got from the many telephone conversations to a Mr. Mohammed Seleman, assistant to the man in charge of the visa section at the consulate, is that it might be easier to get a transit visa. So, that's what I'll be trying when the consulate is again open tomorrow, Sunday (everything closes Friday and Saturday in the Arab world).


Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

 


This guy never seemed to move from this spot the entire time I walked the streets of Aswan. Also, he slept a lot.


Those same lightening rods in Aswan again: an art shot through a strange pedestrian barrier.


Typical street scene in the older section of Aswan. Here a merchant displays his selection of spices.


A view from my hotel room in Aswan. That is the Nile in the background.


Colorful street scene in the older section of Aswan.

 

End

 

 

Aswan Egypt: Typical street scene in the older section. Here a merchant displays his selection of spices.


Aswan Egypt: This must be a replica of the original Tower of Babel... where the engineers and construction crew didn't speak the same languages: an odd sculpture. Have no idea what it might signify.


Aswan Egypt: Day after day I found him here; always dressed in the same robe. I wondered if he might be one of the ubiquitous security police...


Aswan Egypt: Casual laborers used these flexible "buckets" to haul anything they happened to be digging. Guys looking for work would stand around with their empty buckets at the ready.


Lightening rods in Aswan. Just looked pretty to me.


Typical street scene in the older section of Aswan.


A view from my hotel room in Aswan.


Aswan Egypt: This sign shows that the weekend is Friday and Saturday here.

 


Postcards from:
Luxor

Postcards Introduction
Before Africa
Egypt
Egypt2
  Minya
  Luxor
  Aswan
  Luxor
  Cairo

Kenya 
Uganda 
Rwanda 
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
South Africa-2
Malawi
Tanzania-2
Kenya-2
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mali
Senegal
Morocco
After 
Home
 


Luxor Egypt: In and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple. This is 40 meter long wall full of carved illustrations in base relief. Only god(s) knows what they mean... and a few archeologists, of course. 

 

 

30 April 2001

Hello again from Luxor.

Chances are you are getting this postcard out of order, but you know the postal services.

I am sending it mainly to mention the pictures I took while down in Aswan waiting for my Sudan visa to come through. My plan had been to take the boat to Wadi Halfa in Sudan and the train on down to Khartoum. But as you know, that didn't work out. So, I'm heading back up to Cairo with this two night stop in Luxor waiting for a convenient train schedule.

Feeling frustrated,

Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

PS: We won. Egypt has adopted anti-smoking laws as forward looking as those in California. F


Luxor Egypt: In and around the complex of temple ruins at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Valley of the Nobles area. That's my cab sitting there. In the background can be seen many of the cliff openings of tombs.

 

End

 

 

 


Luxor Egypt: Another shot of the same chaps at Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Lane of Legs at Karnak Temple: note the real person's head next to that huge foot! Before it came crashing down, that must have been a huge statue.


Luxor Egypt: A few of the thousands of permanent residents around the temple complex around Karnak Temple


Luxor Egypt: Another view of the lions at the Karnak Temple ruins: the entrance area.

 


Postcards from:
Cairo(again)
 

Postcards Introduction
Before Africa
Egypt
Egypt2
  Minya
  Luxor
  Aswan
  Luxor
  Cairo

Kenya 
Uganda 
Rwanda 
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Mozambique
South Africa-2
Malawi
Tanzania-2
Kenya-2
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ghana
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mali
Senegal
Morocco
After 
Home
 

 


Another of the exhibits inside the Cairo Egyptian Museum. 


Cairo Egypt: Typical street scene in Old Cairo: shot through a sheet metal crescent.


Cairo Egypt: Cairo Egypt: Lots of litter on the streets of Cairo: typical.


Cairo Egypt: Closer to the pyramids of Giza with a small sampling of the throngs of tourists crawling all over the place.

 

 

2 May 2001

Greetings from Cairo (again),

I first approached the Sudan Consulate here in Cairo on 27 March about 15:00 after they had closed for the day (and weekend) and learned the next time they would be open would be Sunday, the first day of their week. So, application in hand I completed all the paperwork and submitted everything on 1 April. The clerk told me to return in one week for my visa. That's when I decided to head over to Matrouh on the north coast. When I returned after the elapsed week they took my passport and directed me to a dusty "reception" area free of confining walls. There I sat for 8 hours while multiple dramas unfolded as desperate applicants and harried consulate staff milled around shouting at one another. An hour after the posted public business hours elapsed a guy came out with a briefcase full of passports and began passing them out to anxious... over anxious people who could not wait to hear their name called. The mad scene finally ended and my name had not been called and my passport had disappeared. Now I got frantic and finally some new face showed up and handed me back my passport saying no visa had been approved. No one spoke understandable English, but finally a guy (who turned out to be the head of the visa section) showed up and suggested I call one of two numbers he gave me in a "few days."

That began a month of stalling and avoidance on their part. Since then I have called them - or more precisely tried to call them as no one answered either number with any regularity - several times a week as I filled the time with visits to Minya, Luxor, Aswan and back. Finally back in Cairo and desperate I contacted the U.S. Consulate Citizen Services Section and pleaded with them to intervene on my behalf... which they did, but to no avail. They did manage to get the name and phone number of the Sudan Cultural Attaché and suggested I contact him emphasizing the journalism aspects of my planned visit to Sudan. Mr. Basit graciously received me, listened to my sad tale and brightened up considerably when I mentioned my plan to retrace the route used by Michael Palen in the BBC TV series: Pole to pole. In a few minutes he had summoned the head of the visa section who eventually showed up with my file, explaining the actions he had taken on my behalf without success so far: several Fax messages had passed back and forth between Cairo and Khartoum in the preceding weeks. He promised to get me an answer by "tomorrow" and instructed me to call him at his private cell phone number between 10:00 and 16:00. Buoyed by all this attention and what seemed like a near guarantee of success finally, you can be sure I called him, and called him about 10:05 the first time. The phone had been turned off! Still undaunted, I tried the number every 15 minutes for the next hour and then every hour until about 17:00. He never turned on the damn phone the entire day!

I decided they just didn't want to talk to me and started making alternate arrangements to bypass Sudan on my way south. At least once a day I would again try the phone number, always finding it busy or unanswered. Now it is 7 May and I finally got someone to pick up the phone, the visa chief himself. "You still in Cairo?" he asked in response to my obvious question about the status of my visa request. "Yes I am." I politely answered. Suddenly his perfect English changed to something unintelligible. Eventually, in response to my repeated prodding he made it known that they had heard nothing in the affirmative from Khartoum.

So, I'm off to Nairobi a little after midnight tomorrow, 8 May. I got a ticket that will allow me to connect to Lagos Nigeria in a few months, planning to do my exploring of the east African area as far south as Victoria Falls and then return to Nairobi to fly over to the west side of the continent. "Plans" could change of course, but that is the rough schedule.

Love getting letters from home; so don't hesitate to write me with news, good wishes or whatever. (cont.)

Peace,
Fred L Bellomy

 


Cairo Egypt: Typical street scene in Old Cairo: sometimes it is hard to tell where the shops end and the alleyways begin.


Cairo Egypt: Typical street scene in Old Cairo: half the shop is usually on the sidewalk... when the cars aren't parked there.

 

End

 

 

Cairo Egypt: Grandfather and grand daughter deep in a philosophical conversation as she stuffs food into her mouth. Until I showed up she couldn't take her eyes off the old man, who obviously watched her with affection. I snapped the picture before anyone but the little girl knew of my presence.


One of the exhibits inside the Cairo Egyptian Museum. 


Part of the crowd inside the Cairo Egyptian Museum.


Cairo Egypt: Typical street scene in Old Cairo; many narrow streets wind their ways through the area.


Cairo Egypt: Lots of litter on the streets: typical.


Cairo Egypt: Typical street scene in Old Cairo: The tinkers pounding out a tray.

 

Reference photo: author
 August 2002
 

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