Continuing our quest to see ALL 15 Species of the birds which comprise the Crane Family somewhere in the wild, we flew to Cameroon on March 1st hoping to see Black-crowned Cranes.  We were joined by Sue and Jack Siler, whom we had met on our Field Guides trip to South Africa in 2004, under the leadership of Rod Cassidy, who'd co-led that same trip.  Cameroon is located in the 'armpit' of West Afrcia, just above the equater.  It extends north and east toward the lower reachs of the Sahel, which is from the Arabic ساحل, sahil, meaning shore, border or coast of the Sahara desert.  This is the boundary zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south, known as the Sudan, which is NOT to be confused with the country of the same name.  For centuries, the Sahel boasted some of Africa's most influential civilizations. A narrow band of semi-arid land south of the Sahara, the Sahel attracted both Arabs looking for gold from Sudan and Europeans looking for slaves from West Africa. The two influences merged with native ones, creating a culturally complex area.

This satellite image with the outline of Cameroon in red reveals its location.  Note how close the northernmost province lies to the great Sahara Desert. 

The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Baka (Pygmies). They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces.  Bantu speakers, who originated in the highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. The Mandara Kingdom in the Mandara Mountains was founded around 1500.  The Aro Confederacy of Nigeria had a presence in Western Cameroon due to migration in the 18th and 19th centuries.

During the late 1700s and early 1800, the Fulan, a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel, conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.

Although the Portugese arrived on Cameroon's coast in the 1500s, malaria prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until the late 1870s when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves.  The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century.  Christian missions established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role in Cameroonian life.

Beginning on July 5, 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its neighbors became the German colony of Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea and later at Yaoundé. After World War I, this colony was partitioned between the United Kingdom and France under a June 28, 1919 League of Nations mandate. France gained the larger geographical share, transferred outlying regions to neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaoundé as Cameroun (French Cameroons). Britain's territory, a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal population was ruled from Lagos as Cameroons (British Cameroons).

In 1955, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing intensity, even after independence in 1960.  Estimates of death from this conflict vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Cameroon has been in the news recently (May 2006) because scientists studying chimpanzee droppings taken from some of the country's remote jungles, have found direct evidence of a missing link between a chimpanzee virus and the one that causes human AIDS.  Scientists had long suspected that chimpanzees are the source of the human AIDS pandemic because at least one subspecies carries a simian immune deficiency virus closely related to H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.

But because the simian virus, known as S.I.V.cpz, was identified in chimpanzees in captivity, researchers could not be sure that the same simian virus existed among these apes in the wild.  But a team of American, European and Cameroonian scientists reported in the journal Science that they have found it does by testing hundreds of chimpanzee droppings collected in Cameroon.

This is the Cameroon flag.  The red, yellow and green are the pan-African colors and the pattern of the flag is similar to the French Tricolor. The green color in the flag symbolizes the rich forest vegetation of the country's southern region, as well as signifying hope for a happy future. The red represents independence and unity; while the yellow represents the savannas in the north and the sun as the source of Cameroon's happiness. The star symbolizes the unity of the country.  The Cameroon flag was adopted on May 20, 1975 after Cameroon was made a unitary state. Cameroon gained independence from France on January 1, 1960.

Having arrived in Douala, which is located on the Wouri River ~15 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, we were taken to the Ibis Hotel.  We recovered from our 34 hours of travel with a good night's sleep before going exploring.  Next door were several trees containing a large colony of straw-colored fruit bats. 

Straw-colored fruit bats are the most widely distributed of the African fruit bats. The coloration is yellowish brown or brownish above and tawny olive below. Their wings are long and narrow and are adapted to flying long distances. The wings are also used in climbing about branches in the roosts. This bat inhabits forest and savannas and is found at elevations of up to 2,000 meters. It is a very social bat and prefers to roost in tall trees by day but has also been found in lofts and in caves. During daytime it is often noisy and restless and even flies about from place to place. At night groups fly out of the roosts in search of ripe fruit. The roosts the bats use are within easy reach of forests or fruit plantations. Juice of various fruits are the preferred food, though this bat also feeds on the blossoms and perhaps young shoots of the silk-cotton tree.

The bats will eat directly into the fruit of palm trees, and has the unusual habit of chewing into the soft wood, probably to get moisture. Female bats have one young per year with the newborn weighing up to 50 grams. The known longevity record for straw-colored fruit bats is 21 years and 10 months.

In some areas these bats are hunted and eaten by humans; in other areas they are protected. 

A male agama lizard makes its way up a tree near the hotel pool.

This 'Chinese Pagoda' was designed and built by Rudlof Douala Manga Bell, a local monarch who was executed by the Germans in 1914.

Passing the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), we noted a wedding was happening.  We stopped to watch the festivities.

Musicians played and danced for the attendees as they made their way inside.

Dress ran the entire gamut, but BRIGHT colors were everywhere.

Returning to the airport in Douala, we flew to Garoua.  There we were met by our local guide, Abdoulaye Farikou, with a driver and van.  We headed south over the Mbang Mountains back to Ngaoundere.  After stopping to refuel, we drove to Ngaoundaba Ranch, which at ~4,000 feet elevation, had a very pleasant climate.

Ngaoundaba Ranch is a working cattle ranch, which is also well known for its birding possibilities.  Pictured above is our 'open-aire' dining room.  Power is supplied by a diesel generator, which runs from 6 - 10 P.M.

The flowers around the lodge attracted several species of birds, also.

On our early morning walk, we saw several Brown-chested Lapwings.

Our favorite bird, a Double-toothed Barbet, was spotted in the forest near its nest hole.

It was quite busy feeding insects to its young.  This photo shows how it got its name.

Stopping in Ngaoundere for fuel, we saw this horse and rider, a member of one of the 225 ethnic groups in the country.

A local craft store had these mosaics made from butterly wings.  We hoped none of them were endangered.

This young man was selling breakfast, complete with a stool from which to enjoy it.  Leaving Ngaoundere, we retraced our previous route, leaving the paved road to drive east to Benoue National Park.

Benoue National Park includes 180,000 hectares and a wide frontage along the Benoue River.  We stayed in the Buffalo Noir camp, which was also on generator power.  Dii is the predominant ethnic group in this area.  

The most colorful bird in this area was the Red-throated Bee-eater.

Our guide, Rod Cassidy from South Africa, with whom we've traveled several times, along with fellow birders, Jack and Sue Siler, who hail from Philadelphia.  Though the background looks foggy, this is due to dust particles suspended in the air from a hamatan.  This is a wind expereinced between December and February marking the change from the Wet Season to the Dry Season.  The wind blows off the Sahara dessert in the North and takes the fine particles very high into the atmosphere; covering everything with extremely fine sand which turns the air a rusty color. This diminishes visibility down to a couple of hundred yards at times.

We enjoyed watching the Colobus Monkeys, which were new for us.  They have a number of features that demonstrate an adaptation to a life spent primarily in the upper levels of the forest canopy as it is the most arboreal of monkeys.  They have a light weight bone structure and elongated limbs which make it easier to leap from branch to branch. A hand with four fingers and no thumb provides a strong grasp on branches as the animal moves through the trees. (The name "colobus" means "mutilated one" and refers to the missing thumb.)  When traveling from tree to tree, these animals often perform spectacular downward leaps of 15-20 feet, during which the long shoulder hair acts like a parachute, fanning out to help check the animal's descent.  This same white fringe also provides camouflage by breaking up the animal's outline. Unlike other Old World monkeys, the Colobus has no cheek pouches. 

A Common Duiker warily browses near our chalet.

A large, nearly solid, spider web and the tunnel leading into its nest.

Driving north toward Waza National Park, we spied a single Northern Carmine Bee-eater.

The landscape became progressively drier and more barren as we went further North.

We passed many overloaded bicyclies being pedaled by predominantly young men.

Many farmers grow fields of onions which they water from shallow wells via this ancient method using Egyptian-styled 'shadoofs', the oldest of well sweeps.

A bucket is dipped into a shallow well and then quickly raised, assisted by the weight of the ball of mud on the other end of the pole.

The bucket of water is then emptied onto the 'slide' spreading out over the nearby field.

A young giraffe moves away from a water hole upon our approach.

Two female Patas monkeys, one nursing her youngster, watch us carefully.  This species is probably the fastest primate on Earth.  It is exclusively terrestrial, living in open savanna country and is capable of tolerating very arid conditions; it is found right up to the southern edge of the Sahara desert.  They live in groups of ~15 with only a single, dominant adult male, who frequently serves as the lookout, standing on his hind legs, assisted by his tail as the 3rd leg of the tripod, as he scans over the tall grass.

This was our chalet at Waza Safari Camp, which is owned by the government and has electricity from the country's grid.  It was located on a hilltop across from the entrance to Waza National Park.

Nearby our chalet, locals were selling masks.  Rich bought this one, which was crafted in nearby Nigeria, to add to his collection.  Travel has shown that in every culture around the globe, human beings create and dance with masks. Masks have a great power and magical ability to bring to life many different kinds of beings; spirits, clowns, animals, and ancestors. Masks are used in religious ceremonies, in parades, in theatrical productions and dance performances, as well as in social events such as Masquerade balls and Halloween. They are used for protection (gas masks, football masks, dust masks), for disguise, and for anonymity. In the world of dance and theater they can both hide and reveal; hiding the personality, the face, of the one wearing it, but revealing some inner truths of both the character and the actor/dancer, through movement.  What do you think this mask communicates? 

As the land which the park occupies was tribal land, visitors must be accompanied by a guide, who is a member of this tribe.  This benefits the local economy by providing additional jobs. 

During our day in Waza National Park, which covers 170,000 hectares, we saw many herds of roan.

As the rains had not yet come, water holes were an excellent place to find many different species.  This is a Yellow-billed Kite which had come to drink.

A pair of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, female at the water as the male observes us.

This Spur-winged Lapwing approached quite close to our van.

Hundreds of Red-billed Quilea 'swarmed' from nearby bushes/trees to drink momentarily and then return to their perches.

A Saddle-billed Stork erupted into flight as our vehicle approached.

Several vulture species waiting to make their way to water, also.

A Lappet-faced Vulture (lappets refers to the 'flap-like' bare flesh on each side of the head) stares over its shoulder just before launching itself into the air.

The Egyptian Vulture (a Life Bird for us) is much smaller and lighter colored.

The Abyssinian Roller has long central streamers from the tail.

This water hole held our 'target' species, Black-crowned Cranes, as well as several other waterbirds.

A pair of Black-crowned Cranes look for food.

We were VERY pleased to see ~100 of these beautiful birds.  When the rains arrive, the birds will pair up and depart into the wetlands where they'll nest.  Unfortunately, illegal capture and sale of this species in the 'pet trade' as well as loss of habitat is causing their decline.

A male Melba Finch hops through the grassland savana.

A Blue-eared Starling's eye stands out despite the hamatan condition.

Returning to Garoua, we flew back to Douala and after overnighting there, drove to Bamenda.

Antoine, who was our driver, hailed from this province.

We waited for a young man to move this herd of Mbumba cattle to another area for grazing.

The pasturelands surrounded the forest area where we were birding.

A male Black-collared Apalis hopped into the open for just a few seconds.

This Fine-banded Woodpecker responded to a taped call and flew in to check us out.  Following lunch in Bamenda, we left Sue and Jack with Rod and were driven back to Douala for an evening flight to Cairo, Egypt with a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

#####################################################################

Flying over the Nile River into Cairo, one couldn't help but be struck by the vastness of the Sahara Desert landscape.  The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to improve the economy through reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.  However, the country still relies upon substantial foreign aid. 

Only ~3% of the land is arable.  The population is estimated at ~79 million with Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%.   The official language is Arabic, though many educated individuals speak French or English. 

This is the Egyptian flag.  It has three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with the national emblem, a gold Eagle of Saladin, facing the hoist side and a shield superimposed on its chest above a scroll bearing the name of the country in Arabic centered in the white band.  The design is based on the Arab Liberation flag.

The doorman posed with us in front of our hotel, Le Meridean, which is located in Giza with the Great Pyramids in the background, as our friend Paula, who joined us here, took the photograph.  We were part of a Sky and Telescope Magazine Tour Group under the organization of  the agency, TravelQuest. 

The view from the roof of our hotel.

As we had all arrived in Cairo one day ahead of the start of the TravelQuest tour, we hired a driver/guide and visited several different venues near the hotel.  Our first stop was Atlantis Oils: Healing & Well Being Centre.  This company sold aroma therapy oils; perfume oils; body massage oils; and herbs and spices.  In the photo above, Paula looks on at the machine which crushes seeds to be made into oils for treatment of various human ailments.  Papyrus manuscripts dating back to the reign of Khufu ~2800 BC record the use of many medicinal herbs.  

Adam, our salesperson, showed us this chart with the 7 chakras, which are part of ancient AND new age therapy. The word "chakra" comes from the sanskrit meaning 'wheel'.  Each chakra location represents different emotions and feelings.  Ideally all the chakras should be balanced- open and spinning at a similar rate to each other. Most of us however have some chakras which are overactive and others that are closed down or underactive. 

First chakra: Located at the base of the spine and connected with issues of survival and safety. When it’s relatively closed, you may feel insecure and ungrounded, possibly even terrified and mistrustful of your capacity to survive. As it opens, you may feel energy flowing down through your body into the earth, accompanied by images and feelings associated with safety and survival as well as an overall sense of stability and trust.Second chakra: Located in the lower abdomen about two inches below the navel; connected with issues of sexuality, creativity, and emotional attachment. When it’s relatively closed, you may feel ashamed of your body, sexually inhibited, and emotionally disconnected from others. As it opens, you may experience a rush of sexual feelings or imagery, including possible images of past abuse or dysfunction, as well as a sense of potency, playfulness, and flow with others.

Third chakra: Located at the solar plexus just below the diaphragm and connected with issues of interpersonal power and authenticity. When this chakra is relatively closed, you may find it difficult to trust (either yourself or others), to set interpersonal boundaries, or to express or even acknowledge your own anger or vulnerability. As it opens, you may experience a release of anger or shame and a deepening and expansion of your breath, accompanied by feelings of personal power and vitality.

Fourth chakra (often called the “heart chakra”): Located in the center of the chest near the heart and connected with issues of love and self-esteem. When this chakra is closed, you may feel self-hatred, resentment, and alienation from others, and you may find it difficult to give and receive love freely. As it opens, you may experience a release of old grief or pain, accompanied by love or joy or poignancy and a sense of boundless expansiveness.

Fifth chakra (also known as the “throat chakra”): Located in the center of the throat; connected with issues of honest, direct, and responsible self-expression. When it’s relatively closed, you may find it difficult to share your feelings, thoughts, or concerns without diluting or distorting them to make them more acceptable to others. As this chakra opens, you may experience a sudden upsurge of things you’ve always wanted to say, accompanied by increased confidence in your own voice and creativity.

Sixth chakra: Located between and slightly above the eyebrows; connected with intellectual clarity, intuition, and personal vision. When this chakra is relatively closed, you may have difficulty thinking clearly or planning for the future, and you may have strong personal opinions, prejudices, or negative beliefs about yourself. As this chakra opens, you may have sudden insights or intuitions that expand your intellectual or spiritual horizons, possibly accompanied by inner visions or even psychic abilities.

Seventh chakra (also known as the “crown chakra”): Located at the very top of the head; connected with issues of freedom and spiritual transcendence. When this chakra is relatively closed (as it is in most people), you may feel cut off from the sacred or spiritual dimension of life. As it opens, you may feel a subtle pressure or pain at first, followed by a release of energy through the crown of the head and an influx of what people have described as grace, peace, blessing, or illumination. At the same time, you may feel your identity dissolving and merging with the vast expanse of being itself. Needless to say, the opening of this chakra is a precious event much sought after in certain spiritual traditions. 

We decided to bring home 3 different oils, providing wonderfull aromas, if nothing else. 

Next we went to Philae Bazaar, which had many products made of gold and silver.  Rich decided to have a cartouche made as he'd read about these symbols, not unlike modern-day logos, which have an oval band symbolizing continuity enclosing a god’s or pharaoh’s name written in hieroglyphics.

RICHARD...luckily the A is symbolized by the falcon 

Then we visited a bazaar where this young woman demonstrated how papyrus is created starting with the reeds (lower left) which are peeled, sliced, pressed, dried and woven in the centuries old manner that produced the first 'paper'.  This allowed man to record his history and communicate with others at a distance.  It also provided a substance upon which to paint as shown in the next few images-

We also stopped for an upclose visit with a camel/driver.  Paula liked this one.

Many people still commonly ride camels or donkeys in the midst of traffic.

Contrary to the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), (extreme left) is on the list of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he died. The tradition of pyramid building started in Ancient Egypt as a sophistication of the idea of a mastaba or "platform" covering the royal tomb. Later, several stacked mastabas were used. Early pyramids, such as the Step Pyramid of King Zoser (Djoser) at Saqqara by the famous Egyptian architect, Imhotep, illustrate this connection.

The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20 year period. The site was first prepared and blocks of stone were transported and placed. An outer casing (which disappeared over the years) was then used to smooth the surface. Although it is not known how the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed. One theory involves the construction of a straight or spiral ramp that was raised as the construction proceeded. This ramp, coated with mud and water, eased the displacement of the blocks which were pushed (or pulled) into place. A second theory suggests that the blocks were placed using long levers with a short angled foot.

Today, the Great Pyramid is enclosed, together with the other pyramids and the Sphinx, in the touristic region of the Giza Plateau.   When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m (481 ft) high. Over the years, it lost 10 m (30 ft) off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. It was covered with a casing of stones to smooth its surface (some of the casing can still be seen near the top of Khefre's pyramid.  The sloping angle of its sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at any level, with each side measuring 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%.

The structure consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 10 ft high, 1 ft thick wall around the country of Framce.  The area covered by the Great pyramid can accommodate St. Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, plus Westminister and St. Paul's in London combined.

On the north face, is the pyramid's entrance. A number of corridors, galleries, and escape shafts either lead to the King's burial chamber, or were intended to serve other functions. The King's chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid, only accessible through the Great Gallery and an ascending corridor. The King's sarcophagus is made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King's Chamber. Most impressive is the sharp-edged stone over the doorway which is over 3 m (10 ft) long, 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 1.3 m (4 ft) thick. All of the interior stones fit so well, a card won't fit between them. The sarcophagus is oriented in accordance with the compass directions, and is only about 1 cm smaller in dimensions than the chamber entrance. It might have been introduced as the structure was progressing.

New theories concerning the origin and purpose of the Pyramids of Giza have been proposed... Astronomic observatories... Places of cult worship... Geometric structures constructed by a long-gone civilization... Even extraterrestrial-related theories have been proposed with little evidence in support... The overwhelming scientific and historic evidence still supports the idea that, like many smaller pyramids in the region, the Great Pyramids were built by the great Ancient Egyptian civilization off the West bank of the Nile as tombs for their magnificent Kings... Tombs where Khufu, Khefre, and Menkaure could start their mystic journey to the afterlife.

A Tourist Guard relaxes atop his camel with Khefre's pyramid in the background.

'Richard of Arabia' surveys the landscape from above his camel.  Because a camel moves both feet on the same side while walking, it is easy to understand why they're referred to as 'the ships of the desert'.  It's an unusual gait.

We also visited the mysterious Sun Boat, which was discovered in 1954 near the south side of the pyramid. The boat is believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu on his last journey on earth before being buried inside the pyramid. It may also have been built to serve as a means of transportaion in his journey through the afterlife.

Scaffolding sits in front of the Sphinx as Egyptologists plan to rehabilitate it.

A farmer sells the last of his produce from a donkey cart as we drive past to Memphis.

In Memphis, which was the ancient capital of the first division of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt until ~1300 BC, a Colossus of Ramesses II lies upon its back in a display building.  It is immense despite being cut-off at the knees. 

Paula decided it WAS time to read the DK book on Egypt which we gave her for Christmas:-)!

Carrots, both orange and purple, were For Sale along the road.

Sagarra farmer growing grass for the donkeys.

The Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser (also spelled Zozer) was built during the Third Dynasty (ca. 2800 B.C.) in what is now Saggara, Egypt.  Djoser's Step Pyramid is generally considered the first tomb in Egypt to be built entirely of stone.

Awaking early (1:30 AM), we were bussed to the Cairo Domestic Airport for our Air Egypt flight to modern-day Luxor, which had been called Thebes in ancient times.

There we were loaded onto buses and driven to the Temple of Karnak where we saw this statue to Ramesses II.

In ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes increased during the early New Kingdom and following the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two thirds of the property in the temples belonged to Amun.  This was very much in evidence at the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although  ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders.

The Temple of Karnak is actually three enclosed main temples and several outer temples located near Luxor, Egypt and situated on ~250 acres of land. Karnak is the site's modern name; . Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places".

This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen hundred year period. The three main temples of Mut, Montu, and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls.

The Hypostyle Hall, where we are standing, is found after passing through the Second Pylon. The hall is considered to be one of the world's greatest architectural masterpieces. Construction began during Ramesses I's reign. He was the king who founded the Nineteenth Dynasty and was king for only one year. The work continued under Seti (1306 - 1290 BC) and  was finally completed by Seti I's son, Ramesses II.

Members of our tour stand in front of the Obelisk of Hatshepsut (1473 -1458 BC).  It is 97 feet high and weighs approximately 320 tons. Besides the Lateran obelisk in Rome, this is the tallest standing obelisk. (The one in Rome is 101 feet high.) Hatshepsut was a woman who dared to challenge the tradition of male kingship. She died from undisclosed causes after imposing her will for a time. After her death, her name and memory suffered attempted systematic obliteration. The inscription on the obelisk says, "O ye people who see this monument in years to come and speak of that which I have made, beware lest you say, 'I know not why it was done'. I did it because I wished to make a gift for my father Amun, and to gild them with electrum."  The pink granite for the obelisk was quarried at Aswan, which is several hundred miles south of Karnak. The stone was moved several miles over to the river and shipped down to Thebes (Luxor) and painfully moved and set upright. 

Rich stands in front of another obelisk, which was never set upright.

Above is a wide-view of the Temple complex at Karnak

After exploring Karnak, we were bussed to our ship, the MS Salacia, which was to be 'home' during our 5-day cruise on the ancient Nile.  Unfortunately, it was also the source of 'food-poisoning' for ~50% of the people on our tour; a reminder WHY one should always travel with a supply of Cipro!

After lunch, we toured the ancient Temple of Luxor.  Luxor now represents both the present-day city that was ancient Thebes and the temple on the eastern bank which adjoins the town. "Luxor" derives from the Arabic 'al-uksur' meaning "fortifications". That name in addition was adapted from the Latin castrum which referred to the Roman fort built around the temple in the later third century AD. The temple of Luxor has always been a sacred site.

Paula and Dean stand besides the head of Ramesses II, who added to the complex built by Ahmenhotep III.

Leaving the Chapel of Hathor in the direction of Karnak, one passes by many sphinxes of Nectanebo I.  Here a new friend, Nick, who is a radiologist in Chicago, poses with us by one of them.

The following morning, we breakfasted early, boarded buses and crossed the Nile for a drive into the Valley of the Kings west of Luxor.

Due to the number of visitors to the Valley of the Kings, tombs are opened to the public on a rotating basis.  This is due to the fact each visitor produces carbon dioxide, which in turn creates carbonic acid that damages the paint and other surfaces of the antiquities.  Luckily for us, the officials in charge of WHICH tombs are open to the public, opened the tomb of King Tutankhamun for viewing the week we were there.

Therefore we were able to visit King Tut's tomb.  His original name was TUTANKHATEN.  He was king of Egypt from 1333-23 BC and known chiefly for his intact tomb, which was discovered in 1922. During his reign, powerful advisers restored the traditional religion and art style after the death of Akhenaton, who had led the "Amarna revolution."  As suggested by a docket from Tell el-Amarna (Akhenaton's capital Akhetaton) and other circumstantial evidence, young Tutankhaten probably became king after the deaths of Akhenaton and his coregent. Seals from Tell el-Amarna suggest that Tutankhaten resided there during his first year or two. He was married to Akhenaton's third daughter, probably the eldest surviving princess of the royal family, to solidify his claim to the throne. Because at his accession he was still young, his vizier and regent, Ay, who had ties with the royal family, and the general of the armies, Horemheb, became his chief advisers.

During his ninth year, perhaps under Horemheb, the Egyptians marched into Syria to assist Egypt's old ally, the Mitannian kingdom of northern Syria, which was embroiled in hostilities with vassals of the Hittites. As reinforcements sent by the Hittite king hastened to aid his vassals, Tutankhamen unexpectedly died, aged about 18 years. Because none of his children survived, Ay succeeded him, perhaps marrying his widow.

Some time after his death, Tutankhamen's tomb in western Thebes (not his original, which Ay had appropriated for himself) was entered twice by plunderers who, however, were caught after doing only minor damage. The burial chamber was not entered and remained intact until it was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, the English Egyptologist who excavated the tomb. When in the 19th dynasty the "Amarna kings"--Akhenaton, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamen, and Ay--were stricken from the royal lists and publicly condemned, the location of Tutankhamen's tomb was forgotten, and his relatively few monuments were usurped, chiefly by his former general, Horemheb, who later became pharaoh. In the 20th dynasty, when the tomb of Ramses VI was cut immediately above that of Tutankhamen, the stone rubble dumped down the side of the valley covered the young king's tomb with a deep layer of chips. The workers of the 20th dynasty came close to Tutankhamen's tomb and clearly had no knowledge of it. The tomb escaped the great series of robberies at the end of the 20th dynasty and was preserved until a systematic search of the Valley of the Kings revealed its location.

Inside his small tomb, the king's mummy lay within a nest of three coffins, the innermost of solid gold, the two outer ones of gold hammered over wooden frames. On the king's head was a magnificent golden portrait mask, and numerous pieces of jewelry and amulets lay upon the mummy and in its wrappings. The coffins and stone sarcophagus were surrounded by four shrines of hammered gold over wood, covered with texts, which practically filled the burial chamber. The other rooms were crammed with furniture, statuary, clothes, a chariot, weapons, staffs, and numerous other objects. But for his tomb, Tutankhamen had little claim to fame; as it is, he is perhaps better known than any of his longer lived and better documented predecessors and successors. 

King Tut's golden portrait mask.

A 'quick' shot of the interior of King Tut's tomb using no flash.

An enlarged photo of the young King Tut's golden chair which is on display at the museum in Cairo, which we visited later in our itinerary.

Close-up of the columns protraying Hatshepsut at her temple, below.

Before he died, the King and husband of Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis II chose his son Tuthmosis as his heir (the son of an harem wife). However when Tuthmosis II died, the new king Tuthmosis III was still quite young and so Queen Hatshepsut stood as regent - during this period she still used the same titles as she used when the wife of Tuthmosis II (King's Daughter, King's Sister, God's Wife and King's Great Wife).

Tuthmosis III and his regent Hatshepsut ruled jointly for only a short time.  In Year 2 of Tuthmosis III's reign, Hatshepsut declared herself Pharaoh. In order to justify her new position, she assumed the titles and clothes of a male king. Hatshepsut could not have made this leap for power without help, she had the backing of key members of her court - including Hapseneb - as well as the High Priests of Amun. An inscription at the time details this change in power:

'Came forth the king of the gods, Amun-Re, from his temple, saying: "Welcome, my sweet daughter, my favourite, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Maatkare, Hatshepsut. Thou art the king, taking possession of the Two Lands".

Hatshepsut still needed to support her claim to rule as King - on the walls of her funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri scenes show her divine birth, her father being the King of gods, Amun-Re (identified as Tuthmosis I). These scenes show Amun-Re on his way to see Ahmose (mother of Hatshepsut):

'He made his form like the majesty of this husband, the king Aakheperure [Tuthmosis I]. He found her [Ahmose] as she slept, in the beauty of the palace. She waked at the fragrance of the god, which she smelled in the presence of his majesty. He went to her immediately...'

Hatshepsut also claimed to have been crowned king of Egypt while her father, Tuthmosis I, was still alive - showing that she was his chosen heir. To confirm her kingship, Hatshepsut would also be depicted as a man, or wearing a King's headress with a woman's body - sometimes she would be referred to as 'he', or the feminine ending to the word for 'majesty' would be added.

By the banks of the Nile, across the river from Thebes, a three-tiered temple was found beneath hundreds of tons of sand tens of centuries after its construction. The temple is a reflection of the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, and was constructed alongside that eleventh-dynasty structure. However, the temple of Hatshepsut is far larger than that of Mentuhotep. The architect was Senmut, Hatshepsut's lover and a member of her court with more than 20 titles. Senmut designed the temple with rows of colonnades that reflect the vertical patterns displayed by the cliff backdrop. In this way the temple is a successful example of architectural harmony between man and nature. The temple is dedicated to Amon and Hathor, Hatshepsut's claimed parents, although there are chapels dedicated to other gods, like Anubis, the god of embalming. The sanctuary lies within the mountainside. Two ramps connect the three levels, and on either side of the lower incline were T-shaped papyrus pools. On the ground level were sphinxes and fragrant trees from Punt. The sphinxes had the heads of Hatshepsut, and she is also represented as a lion in some of the temple's reliefs. Although she has no specific enemies, she is represented clawing at adversaries and capturing "birds of evil" with a clapnet. Furthermore, the temple's walls document Hatshepsut's divine conception, her vote of confidence given by her father, her efforts to repair damage inflicted by the Hyksos invaders, the expeditions to Punt and the erection of the colossal obelisks at the temple of Karnak. Since the construction of the complex took about twenty years, the walls were like blank pages of a book, filled in as her reign progressed. By the time the temple was finished, Hatshepsut probably had little time to enjoy it as a pharaoh. Although Senmut originally planned to be buried at the temple, Hatshepsut's tomb was destined to lie elsewhere. In the manner of her father, Tuthmose I, who realized a temple is too obvious a place to bury priceless artifacts, the tomb of Hatshepsut was constructed in secret. Ineni, the architect of the tomb and temple of Tuthmose I, prided himself that he was the only one who knew the tomb location of his master. The 100 "slaves" that built the tomb, according to Otto Neubert, were killed after the project to protect the secret. Whether this brutal technique was used in Hatshepsut's case is not known, but it is rather moot. The biggest enemy Hatshepsut had were not grave-robbers, but her own nephew, who would have no problem finding her tomb, no matter how many slaves died.

Statue of Hatsheptut, which we saw on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City during a visit in May 2006

A vultures wings painted high on the ceiling of the Temple.

The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.  For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Thebes necropolis, across the Nile River from the modern city of Luxorr. The twin statues depict Amenhotep III in a seated position. his hands resting on his knees and his gaze turned eastward toward the river and the rising sun. Two shorter figures are carved into the front throne alongside his legs: these are his wife Tiy and mother Mutemwia. The side panels depict the Nile god Hapy. The statues are made from blocks of quartzite sandstone, which was quarried at either Giza near modern-day Cairo or Gebel el-Silsileh (60 km north of Aswan. Including the stone platforms on which they stand, they reach a towering 60 feet in height.

Returning to the ship, we were shown several houses or businesses with paintings on the exterior.  Our Egyptologists explained the owners of these buildings had made the journey to Mecca, the Haasch, as required of faithful believers of Islam.

Before departing, we watched people riding in the horse and buggy along the Corniche by the Nile.

We enjoyed fruit-based cocktails on the cruise ship as followers of Islam do not consume alcohol.

Heading South on the Nile, we had to wait in line to go through the locks.  As ships backed up, locals rowed out to sell their wares to the people on board the Nile cruise ships, such as this 1917 steamship.

People on the river were very friendly as they moved near our ship.

Stopping at Edfu, we visited the Temple of Horus, the falcon headed god, which was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. It was begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes.

This is the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt and the second largest after Karnak. It is believed the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth.

This is the pylon of the main temple, which is ~118 feet high and contains battle scenes.

This is the colonnaded courtyard with its distinctive, pared columns, which leads into the great hypostyle hall.

Horus with Rich and I

Though difficult to see, this photo reveals hierogyphs of ancient medical tools at Edfu.

We then proceeded to Kom Ombo, which was located on the Nile ~28 miles north of Aswan.  The Temple, dating to the Ptolemies, is built on a high dune overlooking the Nile. The actual temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC.  Ptolemy XIII built the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC, and are mostly gone.  There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the vicinity of Kom-Ombo village.The Temple known as Kom Ombo is actually two temples consisting of a Temple to Sobek and a Temple of Haroeris.  In ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the river bank near here. The Temple has scant remains, due first to the changing Nile, then the Copts who once used it as a church, and finally by builders who used the stones for new buildings.

Sobek, the crocodile god, in a relief at Edfu, where we also saw mummified crocs.

All of the antiquities are lit at night and most have "light and sound" presentations: Edu was no exception.

Onboard our ship, it was Galabria Dress-up Night at dinner.  Here's our attempt-

Nick and Jamie wore headpieces, also.

Caroline and Simon, new friends who are both physicians from England, look ready for their role in Cleopatra, too.  Younger than ourselves, they were incredibly kind and shared their hotel suite with us on the day of our final departure from Cairo. 

Walt, a GI doc with a sense of humor, came as Ramesses II complete with beard.

After we arrived at Aswan, we took a tour of Philae, a temple that was moved beyond the reach of the higher water level created by the dam.

Philae in Greek or Pilak in ancient Egyptian, meaning 'the end,' defined the southern most limit of Egypt. It was begun by Ptolemy II and completed by the Roman Emperors. The Temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. These three characters dominate ancient Egyptian culture and their story possesses all the drama of a Shakespearian tragedy. The god Osiris is murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. Isis searches for the fragments, collects them together and with her magic powers brings Osiris back to life. They then conceive the god Horus. Osiris becomes god of the under world and judge of the dead - who must answer to him for their deeds on Earth. Meanwhile Isis gives birth to Horus and protects the young god. Later when Horus is grown he avenges his father by defeating Seth in combat. Isis is a very important figure in the ancient world. She is associated with funeral rites but as the enchantress who resurrected Osiris and gave birth to Horus she is also the giver of life, a healer and protector of kings. She was known as 'Mother of God' and was represented with a throne on her head. During the Roman period her cult spread throughout Greece and the Roman Empire. There was even a temple dedicated to her in London.

The temple at Philae was nearly lost under water when the high Aswan dam was built in the 1960s. Fortunately the temple was rescued by a joint operation between the Egyptian government and UNESCO. In an engineering feat to rival the ancients the whole island was surrounded with a dam and the inside pumped dry. Then every stone block of the temple complex was labelled and removed later to be assembled, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, on the higher ground of Agilka island. The whole project took ten years and has saved one of Egypt's most beautiful temples from certain destruction.

A feluca, the typical Egyptian sailboat, was used to transport members of our group on the Nile River in central Aswan to the old Cataracts Hotel. 

It is perched atop a granite hill at the Nile river's edge in Aswan and takes its name from the rivers First Cataract (rapids) at the traditional northern border of Nubia. It was Thomas Cook, the grand tour manager of Egypt who had the hotel constructed, mostly for the tourists that his company was escorting up/down the Nile on steamers at the end of the 19th century. Unlike many historical hotels in Egypt, it was never seen as a royal palace or lodge. It has always been a "grand hotel". Today, under the management of Sofetel, it remains one of the finest hotels in Egypt.

A musician playing a XXXX entertained us during tea.  Our guides pointed out which balcony had been used by Agatha Christie to write her novel, Death on the Nile.

Returning to Cairo, we spent some time at the Egyptian Museum and other sites before driving to the NW corner of Egypt for the astronomical feature of our trip, a total solar eclipse on March 29th.  While the officials didn't let Nick and Rich enter, Dean snapped a photo outside.

This image from NASA demonstrates how the total solar eclipse began on the eastern edge of Brazil, crossed the Atlantic, proceeded over Africa and ended in Mongolia.

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC"

Rich set up his video camera while Paula looked on...

While not the height of fashion, Paula and Rich tested their solar viewers, while Nick stood by, too.

Our favorite Egyptologist, Manal, poses with Rich as we wait for the moon to move across the sun.

Dean waits with Caroline and Simon, who enjoyed the eclipse, too.

Nick holds a shadow sign he created, which reveals this moon has taken a bite out of the sun.

Finally, the moon totally eclipsed the sun and we could look at this beautiful spectacle with our naked eyes or through binoculars.  The nearly 4 minutes of totality yielded a breathtaking view of the ethereal corona, stunning prominences placed all over the solar limb as well as a magical view of Baily's beads.

This photo by Chris Barr shows solar prominences.  These are also known as a filament and are an arc of gas that erupts from the surface of the Sun. Prominences can loop hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Prominences are held above the Sun's surface by strong magnetic fields and can last for many months. At some time in their existence, most prominences will erupt, spewing enormous amounts of solar material into space.

As the moon moved off the sun, a beautiful 'diamond-ring' appeared due to the sun's light streaming through a deep valley/wide canyon located obligingly between us and it.

Christopher Barr of Illinois, who was traveling on our tour with his son, Ian took the 2 images above, also.  IF you have questions specific to these photos or astrophotography in general, you can contact Chris at dagobert2@sbcglobal.net.   We'd like to THANK Chris for the use of his wonderful images.  

When the total eclipse ended, Rich was surprised to learn he had been the 'subject' for a professor of art, who had sketched him during his efforts to film the eclipse.  This professor had an entire class from the Art Institute of Cairo sketching various aspects of the solar event. 

The following morning, tour participants awoke early and returned to Cairo by bus.  After checking into Le Meridean again, those who desired were taken to Khan Misr Touloun, located in medieval Cairo just in front of the Mosque Ibn Touloun.  It is a wonderful place to take in the sights, smells and sounds of life in all its chaos and glory.  In the various bazaars (souqs) one can purchase carpets, camels, shoes, books or whatever strikes your fancy.  This one specialized in brass pieces.   

We stopped in front of a shisha store.  Shisha is a Middle-Eastern smoking tradition which began several  hundreds of years before the invasion of American cigarettes.  It is a common and interesting site in the Arab World. There are numerous cafes where one can sit or lie on long cushions and spend time talking to your friends while enjoying this Arab delight. Tobacco is soaked in fruit shavings such as strawberry, apples or grapes. This mixture is then smoked through a large water pipe which Americans call a hookah.  Men and women of the upper classes in the Arab world have been entertaining guests with hookah pipes for centuries. Moreover, there are hoards of Shisha purists who truly cherish this tradition no less than a Japanese tea Master or Matron.  The shisha was invented over 500 years ago and the Turks have since refined smoking to an artful and elegant ceremonial experience to be shared in the company of friends.

The hookah uses a small charcoal tablet to gently heat a special, flavor-infused tobacco blend. The tobacco never burns, but is filtered as it is drawn through the water-filled, hand-blown glass base and inhaled through ornate, embroidered hoses. The vapor is said to be incredibly smooth, sweet and aromatic.  None of us tried it.

Here an Egyptian enjoys relaxing while smoking shisha.

Handwoven purses, shoes and clutches were sold in this souq.

As Paula had not gone the previous afternoon, the following day the 3 of us hired a guide and went to Khan Al-Khalili, one of the world's oldest bazaars.  As we desired a more authentic souq experience, we headed west with our guide deeper into the market.  Once known as the Turkish bazaar during the Ottoman period, now it is usually just called the 'Khan'.  It was named for the great caravansary, which had existed there.  The market was built in 1382 by the Emir Djaharks el-Khalili in the heart of the Fatimid City. Together with the al-Muski market to the west, they comprise one of Cairo's most important shopping areas. Further, they also represent the market tradition which established Cairo as a major center of trade, and at the Khan, one will still find foreign merchants. One can speculate that this very market was involved in the spice monopoly centuries ago, which encouraged the Europeans to search for new routes to the East and led Columbus, indirectly, to discover the Americas.

It is quite different than strolling 5th Avenue in NYC, but that is WHY we travel.

Many of the buildings were tiered above the walkways.

Large bales of fine Egyptian cotton were available for sale, also.

As we found the Islamic geometric patterns on the pillow cases quite interesting, we purchased several from this young man.  Haggling over the price was expected and accomplished!

Additional examples of how Egyptian cotton is colored and transformed into interesting articles for sale, including a 'Tweetie Bird' wall-hanging.

The carpet stalls held some beautiful examples, too.

Spices from the Far East were still available in bulk and pre-packaged.

Bok choy grown in nearby fields

Bread being delivered by bicycle.

Items of carved stone

Conservative dress was common

Small booths prevailed

Islamic architecture was an interesting feature, too.

Paula smells the hibiscus flower petals that are used to brew a sweet welcome drink, frequently served to guests or shoppers.

We saw this mosque with dual minarettes that stands near the bazaar.

Saint Simon the Tanner (St. Sama'an, in Arabic) lived towards the end of the 10th when Egypt was ruled by the Fatimid Caliph, Al- Muizz, and Anba Abram was the Coptic Pope.  The Copts (Christians) living in Egypt were engaged in making handicrafts.  As tanning involved other crafts that depend on the process, he carried several titles related to skins; St Simon the Tanner, the Cobbler, the Shoemaker.

The Tanner Monastery is located on the opposite side of the road which leads to the Citadel and contains seven Churches and Chapels hidden in a series of caves in the Mokattam (Muqattam) hills.  Above is one of those chapels, which stands in front of the entrance into the cathedral itself.

The Monastery was erected and dedicated to him a thousand years after his miracle and death. It lies beyond "Mansheiyet Nasser", the Zabbalin village of garbage collectors. This village was erratically established in 1969 when the Governor decided to require all the garbage collectors of Cairo to relocate to one of the hills of the Mokattam. There they built themselves primitive houses of tin. The number of trash collectors living in the area was ~15.000 in 1987 and has now doubled.

Reaching the monastery without a guide is quiet difficult. Amazingly, the people in Mansheiyet Nasser will point you in the right direction as they know your destination without even being asked. The Monastery is reached through the narrow village streets, trash carts passing you by along with piles of rubbish, plastics and tins on the sides of the alleys with people sorting them out. Even if described in detail, the Zabbalin village is a hard place to picture, far from one's imagination; it can only be grasped on site.

At the far end of the village, awaits you an unexpected, stunning place; a vast open space lying in the bosom of the hills, with dramatic colored carvings all over the mountain. The carvings were done by a Polish Artist who begun working there several years ago. They represent stories from the Bible such as the Holy Family's Escape into Egypt and the Nativity scene. 

The sanctuary is in a cave of the mountain, which according to legend was moved:  following Coptic sayings, the Caliph Al Muizz, an enlightened man, was fond of literacy gatherings and inviting different religious leaders to debate in his presence with neither anger nor contention.

In one of those meetings in which Pope Abram and a Jew named Jacob Ibn Killis were present, the Pope got the upper hand in the debate. Plotting to take revenge, Ibn Killis quoted the verse where the Lord Jesus said in Mt 17:20: "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, nothing will be impossible for you" and demanded him to prove that his religion is right by means of this.

The Caliph saw in this an opportunity to remove the mountain that was spoiling his view.  At the same time, if they proved unable to do so, it would be the proof that the religion of the Christians was wrong and he would be done away with them completely or so goes the Legend.  And so, after 3 days of prayers and fasts by the people throughout the land of Egypt, Simon the Tanner was chosen to move the Mokattam Mountain. It is said that a great earthquake swept over the mountain. Each time the people stood up to worship, the mountain was thrust up and the sun would be seen from under it. When the people sat down, the mountain thrust down. This was repeated three times.  St Simon was never found afterwards. His skeleton was discovered in 1991 in Babylon in the Hanging Church.

Next, our guide dropped us at the Citadel, which houses a number of museums, ancient mosques and other sites.  It is located on a spur of limestone that has been detached from its parent, Moqattam Hills, by quarrying. The Citadel is one of the world's greatest monuments to medieval warfare, as well as a highly visible landmark on Cairo's eastern skyline.

The area where the Citadel is now located began it's life as the "Dome of the Wind", a pavilion created in 810 by Hatim Ibn Hartama, the governor of the area, as this area was well known for its cool breeze. These early governors, not realizing its strategic importance, simply used the pavilion for its view of ancient Cairo.  Between 1176 and 1183, Salah ad-Din, Saladin to Westerners, who was an Abbasid Ruler, fortified the area to protect it against attacks by the Crusaders.  Ever since, it has had a military garrison. 

The Ottoman Muhammad Ali Pasha, one of the great builders of Modern Egypt, came to power in 1805,  He was responsible for considerable alteration and building within the Citadel.  He rebuilt much of the outer walls and replaced many of the decaying interior buildings.  He also reversed the roles of the Northern and Southern Enclosures, making the Northern Enclosure his private domain, while the Southern Enclosure was opened to the public. His Mohammed Ali Mosque, pictured above,  was built in the style called Ottoman Baroque.  It was designed by the famous Turkish engineer, Yousof Boshtaq, so it's a mix of Al-Sultan Ahmad’s Mosque and Aya Sofia’s Mosque in Turkey.

Here we are in the open courtyard, which is larger than the interior of the mosque.

This is part of the interior ceiling of the mosque.

RIch enjoyed the details present in the Islamic architecture of this mosque, the only remaining structure built by An-Nasir Muhammad, a fascinating Sultin of this era who ruled during 3 distinct periods: 1294-1295; 1299-1309; and 1310-1341.  This An-Nasir Mohammed Mosque was begun in 1318 and finished in 1355.

View from the terrace outside of the mosque toward two other mosques and the city of Cairo beyond.

Two of the Tourist Police at the Citadel, who agreed to pose for us, after chasing off some youngsters who were following us.  Note their striking features, especially the strong forehead and nasal profile of the man on the left.  According to Manal, our Egyptologist, this was characteristic of the pharoahs, especially Ramesses II.

On our way out of the Citadel, we stopped and watched this man make the traditional Arabic hats, a Fez.  He used this ancient press to form the felt.

We admired the green glass dome of this building as we headed back to our hotel.  Cairo proved to be a most interesting city, a mix of ancient and modern, where life is a 'hustle' for most of the inhabitants. 

What a difference the angle of the sun and the Photoshop manipulation can make.

This photo was from our final stop on our way back to the Le Meridean Hotel.  With downtown Cairo in the background, we pulled over on a bridge above an island with the Nile River flowing past both sides.  Our guide explained the inhabitants build boats and grow grains here.  Due to the high Aswan Dam's ability to control the water flow/level, growing crops on islands such as these has become much easier. 

As they were VERY friendly and kind beyond our wildest imagination, we enjoyed the Egyptian people VERY much.  While we could have done without the constant out-stretched hand and the underlying pressure to tip, we understood life is a hustle for most of the residents. 

Our journey to Egypt to see the Great Pyramids and Sphinx plus cruise the Nile had fulfilled another long-time dream of Rich's.  We returned home pleased, ready to work on fulfilling another one ...