We arrived in Cairo close to midnight Wednesday. Our Phoenix-Heathrow
plane was delayed several hours, and arrived at Heathrow just as our
Heathrow-Cairo plane was scheduled to leave. After telling us it was
impossible, British Airways did everything they could to get us on the
plane. They were less successful with our bags. We are hopeful they
will arrive tonight. Next time carry-on! Oh yeah, my Global
Traveler phone has a wimpy battery and was dead when I fired it up at
Heathrow. So although you can leave me messages, I can't retrieve
them until our bags (and the charger) arrive. Meanwhile our lovely
hotel in old Islamic Cairo offers laptops in each suite.
Our hotel http://leriad-hoteldecharme.com/
Our suite is Mamluk.
Our first day in Cairo has been nothing short of fabulous. Breakfast
on the rooftop terrace, surrounded by minarets. We are on a street of
mosques, little shops and a famous bazaar. From our little balcony we
can watch a fascinating parade of people. Then Maha, our guide for
this first day and a half in Cairo, arrived and took us in hand.
Coptic Cairo, the very synagogue where Moses was pulled from the
rushes (it';s a long story), the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the
Gayer-Anderson Museum, a place where we learned how they make papyrus,
a long conversational lunch overlooking the Citadel (at 3 p.m.), a
visit to a perfume maker to learn about essential oils, then back to
our hotel at 7 p.m. Tomorrow the Bent and Red Pyramids at Dashur and
more.
It is as if a friend was showing us around. Oh, did I mention we have
a driver too? Essential in Cairo, which is like nothing I have ever
experienced for traffic and random driving. Imagine a city of 22
million or more (2 million living in a huge cemetery called the City
of the Dead) without signals. Maha calls it democracy in action!
More tomorrow. Now we are off to wander the ""neighborhood."
Love, Toni
Heathrow-Cairo plane was scheduled to leave. After telling us it was
impossible, British Airways did everything they could to get us on the
plane. They were less successful with our bags. We are hopeful they
will arrive tonight. Next time carry-on! Oh yeah, my Global
Traveler phone has a wimpy battery and was dead when I fired it up at
Heathrow. So although you can leave me messages, I can't retrieve
them until our bags (and the charger) arrive. Meanwhile our lovely
hotel in old Islamic Cairo offers laptops in each suite.
Our hotel http://leriad-hoteldecharme.com/
Our suite is Mamluk.
Our first day in Cairo has been nothing short of fabulous. Breakfast
on the rooftop terrace, surrounded by minarets. We are on a street of
mosques, little shops and a famous bazaar. From our little balcony we
can watch a fascinating parade of people. Then Maha, our guide for
this first day and a half in Cairo, arrived and took us in hand.
Coptic Cairo, the very synagogue where Moses was pulled from the
rushes (it';s a long story), the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, the
Gayer-Anderson Museum, a place where we learned how they make papyrus,
a long conversational lunch overlooking the Citadel (at 3 p.m.), a
visit to a perfume maker to learn about essential oils, then back to
our hotel at 7 p.m. Tomorrow the Bent and Red Pyramids at Dashur and
more.
It is as if a friend was showing us around. Oh, did I mention we have
a driver too? Essential in Cairo, which is like nothing I have ever
experienced for traffic and random driving. Imagine a city of 22
million or more (2 million living in a huge cemetery called the City
of the Dead) without signals. Maha calls it democracy in action!
More tomorrow. Now we are off to wander the ""neighborhood."
Love, Toni
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