Egypt and Beyond

I feel like the more I travel, the more I experience and the more I come to know my "future" destinations, the harder it is for me to be overwhelmed or beheld in awe. Egypt certainly changed all of that. Literally behind every corner is history that is normally viewed in books or on Travel Channel specials. It just boggles the mind when you stand in front of it. So it was that we flew into Cairo, with our bags apparently still in South Africa. We toured Giza, some markets and Saqqara, you know, while we waited for our bags. Unfortunately for me, I had chosen jeans as my flight wear, so I was a touch hot, running from shady place to shady place. Saqqara had the oldest stone construction known to man, the Step Pyramid, as well as other temple complexes. It is staggering to think just how old these things are, and the fact that many houses built in the 1960's need renovation. We rolled up to Giza and the 3 most iconic of symbols just stood there in very stark contrast to the surrounding city. We decided to be tourists and ride camels and horses to the Pyramids base's, not as easy as it sounds. I ran up onto one of them, as that had always been my dream; actually to the top was my dream, but there were too many police around. After taking way too many photos there, we returned to our hotel and waited for our bags. The next day, lo and behold they were there. We went to see the Ancient Egyptian Museum, with its vast collection of ill-marked antiquities. Included in this was a room dedicated to Tut, the focal point being the golden mask. An overnight train and we were in Aswan touring the dam, and then the next morning Abu Simbel. How they moved an entire mountain is beyond me, but there it was, lit by the morning light in amazing splendor. For me, it was the highlight of all of Egypt. We then cruised on a boat called a felucca, down the river Nile for 2 days, lazing under a tarp, swimming, etc. So relaxing. We toured a couple of temples on our way to Luxor, where we stayed a few days to see the Valley of the Kings and Queens and Karnak and Luxor Temples. All of these individually would be worth the price of flight and admission, so to see everything was quite overwhelming. In a good sense. As if that weren't enough for a lifetime, I then moved on to Dahab, on the Red Sea coast for snorkeling and scuba at one of the best spots on Earth to do it. The Blue Hole was aptly named and was where I swam with what seemed like 20 million fishes, who just barely maneuvered out of the way before I touched them. Yes, they parted like the Red Sea... Went to the place where Moses received the 10 commandments, Mt. Sinai, catching a sunrise over the mountain range. Next day took off to see Petra in Jordan, which is WAY bigger than just the Indiana Jones temple face. It is actually a massive city, many square miles, with temples carved into the faces of cliffs. As if THAT wasn't enough, I am now in Morocco in Essaouira ("S"-a-we-ra) after having enjoyed Casablanca and Marrakesh.

It seems ages ago that I landed in Nairobi, 7 months now, yet somehow seems even further from going home, which is still " months away. Maybe its denial starting to creep in...