Date: April 8
Location: Day 90 - Cairo, Egypt (Cairo Day 2 of 2)
Next Port: Alexandria, Egypt, April 9
Quick Summary: We visited the famous step pyramid in Sakkara and then a small museum housing the Ramses Colossus in the ancient city of Memphis. We drove back to Giza where we boarded a double-decked boat for a delightful 1-1/2 hour luncheon cruise on the Nile River. After that we set out on our 3-hour drive to Alexandria to join the Voyager which had transited the Suez Canal while we were in Cairo.
Report: After a buffet breakfast and checking out of the Marriott, we traveled about 30 minutes to the Sakkara, the necropolis of the ancient capital of Memphis.
The dominating structure in this large burial ground is the step pyramid of Zoser. It was built several hundred years before the Great Pyramids in Giza. The necropolis contains the remnants of a smaller pyramid, several other tombs and many outbuildings. There is also a 600 meters long causeway that was used just once – to bring the mummy of the emperor into the site. It took a life time of planning to die!
Just a short bus ride took us to the Kagemnj Tomb. It’s too bad that cameras were not allowed into the small tomb of this government minister because the carved stonework and paintings depicted everyday life in ancient Egypt. Most of the artwork in the tombs of the Pharaoh’s depicts a stylized version of life – even the statues and drawings of the Pharaohs reflect how they would have liked to look.
We drove back from the desert into Memphis to visit the small museum that houses the Ramses II Colossus…a large prone statue of this Pharaoh with the big ego. Supposedly, if he saw a statue he liked, he had the head or face replaced with a stylized one of himself. Also in some of the hieroglyphics found on different monuments, he took credit for all sorts of accomplishments that happened much earlier in time.
We drove back to Giza to board a large restaurant boat for a lovely luncheon cruise on the Nile. The buffet was served inside on white linen table cloths and fine Grecian china. Then we moved outside to an upper deck to enjoy a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon and the sights of downtown Cairo. (We found out later that we missed a dance performance of Whirling Dervishes while we were outside.)
Then it was a three hour bus ride to join the ship in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. (About 130 guests stayed onboard as the Voyager transited the Suez Canal on Saturday while we went to Cairo.)
The drive was quite interesting as it went primarily through the Nile delta and farming areas. (It was much different from the drive to Cairo from Suez that was mostly through the desert.) Besides village life, we saw children riding in the backs of open trucks and water buffalo doing the same. We also saw large, cone-shaped mud towers with holes and sticks poking out of them –homes for pigeons that were being raised for dinner.
It was good to see the ship waiting for us in Alexandria’s port, one of the nicest – and cleanest! – cruise ship areas we have seen. It has colorful gardens and neat, permanent vendor stalls. We were greeted “back home” with cool wash cloths by the crew, and Phil and his quintet playing shore side of the gangway.
When we entered the Voyager atrium, there was a table decorated with large chocolate eggs, colored hard-boiled eggs and small candies for everyone. And when we arrived back in our suite, there was a personal Easter basket and fresh flowers for us to enjoy.
After a quick shower, we joined about 65 others for an interdenominational Easter Service in the theater. Jamie had planned a meaningful Easter service for us, and Larry helped serve Holy Communion. This is the closest we have ever been to the Holy Land at this time of year. Our visit to Job’s Tomb, St. Catherine’s Monastery, the land of Moses in the Sinai and this special evening Easter service made it a very special Holy Week.
Karen and Larry
Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:
picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise
Photos of our second day’s visit to Cairo have been added.
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