ART – Page 24 – jane sadek

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Performing Arts, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Broadway on the Red Sea

January 17, 2018January 17, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WHAT’S NEXT SHARM?

I’m in Sharm el Sheik, a resort town on the Red Sea, and it’s past my bedtime. I’m stuffed into the back seat of my niece’s car trying to stifle my yawns. My husband is in our nephew’s car at some other location. Our niece and nephew are on the phone discussing what we should do next. It’s all in Arabic, so even though the whole conversation is on speaker phone, I have no idea what is going on. Some resolution is made and we zoom across town to our next destination. It might be late at night during the week, but you wouldn’t know it from the festival atmosphere. Why all these people prefer to wander around inland,when there is a perfectly good Boardwalk on the Red Sea, just a few blocks away, I will never know. That was my big question over the next few days as we scurried around trying to entertain ourselves. Why were all these venues spread out all over town, when it had been so perfect to have everything right there at the beach?

Going to the Mall

Our destination was a mall, but is wasn’t like anything we have in Dallas. Here in Dallas we are serious about shopping. There they also shop.

My niece found parking, a constant challenge, as she continued her phone conversations, probably with her sons, who were wandering the city on public transportation. We piled out of the car and reunited with our spouses. All of us stomped through a virtually empty shopping center and I wondered where we would end up. Don’t get me wrong, the place was beautiful with all kinds of lovely stores, but most everything was closed and it looked like a ghost town.

After what seemed like a long trek, across esplanades, around grand staircases and through narrow hallways, we arrived to the middle of everything, a large open-air patio, full of patrons smoking sheesha and enjoying a lively stage show.

My nephew Ayman started working the room and magic started happening – something I saw a lot of over the next few days. Though it seemed our big group would have to break up into smaller bunches to enjoy the show, it was only an illusion, because we had Ayman. Like the Red Sea parting, a large space opened in the center of the crowd and chairs began to appear out of nowhere. In just moments our entire group was seated in the center of the action.

Drinks, food and hookahs were ordered and we sat back to enjoy the show. The only problems were a few mosquitoes and the fact that I was about to fall asleep, but those were minor irritations. The stage props suggested the show had a Broadway theme, but don’t let that fool you. It was all the usual Arab entertainments, belly dancers, whirling dervishes, belly dancers, a magician, belly dancers, swords, belly dancers – well you get the picture. I’ve included some photos below.

When the show was over we gathered up our belongings and headed back to the hotel. This day, which had seeped over into the next, was over. Within a few hours, we’d be climbing into another vehicle for our next entertainment. Enjoy the images below and come back next week for more Sharm.

Swords and Fire

Another Belly Dancer

Whirling Dervishes

Another Whirling Drvish

Belly Dancer

Architecture, ART, Museums, TRAVEL

Step Up to Saqqara

December 6, 2017December 3, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: VISITING THE STEP PYRAMID

The Egyptians didn’t wake up one morning and have the perfect formula for pyramid building. They had hundreds of years of practice before the elegant examples at Giza were built. (There’s a nick in the Ancient Alien theory!) At Dashour we saw pyramids of various shapes and sizes. Their most successful attempts led them to give step pyramids a try and the best example of these Step Pyramids is up the road a bit from Dashour and down the road a bit from Giza at Saqqara.

Getting There

When we departed Dashour, our military friends didn’t seem quite so intimidating. They barely glanced at us as we passed by. Izzat got back on the main road, the one with the dirty canals in the middle, and headed back north. Zuzu continued to regale us with the history lesson and before long we were at another military installation. This one was not quite as intimidating, but to a certain extent a little more scary. The soldiers at Saqqara were a little less serious, but also a lot more careless. They all carried guns and seemed to be having several different conversations, and in each the guns were being casually waved about as if they were extensions of the gesticulating soldiers’ arms. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if someone’s finger slipped a bit.

If you don’t count the threat of wayward bullets, the site seems more tourist-friendly. In Dashour everything was a street and a parking lot because it was just wide open spaces for as far as you could see. At Saqqara, there were actual gravel-covered parking lots and roads that looked regularly traveled.

The Museum

Another tourist- friendly feature was a small museum. There’s actually a lovely promenade from the parking lot to the museum that looks as if it could accommodate a gift shop, a concession stand and perhaps even a small cafe, but everything was closed down tight and no signs indicated that any of it had ever been anything. I wondered if there had been more there once or whether they were presently developing it, but Zuzu did not provide that kind of information. He looked at me as if I’d suddenly begun to speak a language he didn’t understand and shrugged his shoulders.

We grabbed a few pictures and headed inside. This had to be a recent development, because the interior looked like something you might see in other countries. It was clean and neat. The items were advantageously displayed in glass cases and lo and behold, there were placards there to identify the pieces and give a little history. Pictures were not allowed or I would be glad to show you the lovely facility. The museum was not large, but I liked it very much.

Wandering the Ruins

Saqqara is a significant archaeological site. They have found a number of ruins dating to a variety of periods. Some have been restored. Some look as if they were once available for viewing, but have been closed up. Some areas are currently under renovation. Even though the ruins come from different eras they are all very close together. You can see everything without having to walk very far.

I’d say of the three Pyramid sites, Saqqara was my favorite – not more important than Giza, but more enjoyable. Each is worth a visit. If you can convince your guide to do them in chronological order, then kudos to you. I think that would be an interesting progression, but that guide would not be Zuzu. He’s going to do Giza first, no matter what.

A Little Entertainment

As if to prove they’d gotten the tourist thing figured out a Saqqara, they actually had a cultural performance! A toupe of dancers, both male and female, performed energetic renditions of folk dances, brandishing swords, swaying their hips and stomping their feet. The colors were a little too Hollywood to be traditional, but I appreciated the effort.

The drive back to the Mena house was daunting. It was five o’clock traffic Egyptian style. I was appreciating Izzat more and more. Back at the hotel we did a little exploration, wandering around at will. We’d been on the official tour and they encouraged us to wander the hotel – so we did. We also had another fantastic meal, this time at the Khan-il-Khalili restaurant which specialized in Egyptian cuisine. Back at the room I packed up. In the morning Izzat would be there fairly early to take us to the airport for the next phase of our adventure.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Don’t Miss Dashour

November 29, 2017November 25, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE INFANCY OF PYRAMID BUILDING

I’m worried about Egypt. Tourism is their primary industry, but they aren’t exactly working hard to promote it. Bill and I shook our heads in disbelief during most of the trip. It’s almost as if they don’t want tourists. The first thing I’d like to do is just give everything a good cleaning and add some trashcans. Egyptians themselves are delightful and there are wonderful things to see, but you have to be serious about wanting to visit and you will encounter obstacles. Let me explain.

Do You Know the Way to Dashour?

Were Giza, Dashour and Saqqara in the US, they’d be owned by the National Park Service. All three complexes would be surrounded by federal lands and you’d get a tour map that helped you navigate your way from one site to another. All along the tour route, you’d see lovely hotels, a wide variety of restaurants and other attractions like miniature golf and water slides. Each site would have interpretive signs, museums, exhibits and gift shops. That’s not the way it goes in Egypt. Where is UNESCO, by the way!

Nothing about the Giza site suggests that just a short drive away are two more fantastic historical sites. You’re just supposed to know. There’s not a single sign that points the way. You head off down the road and wander along the side of a filthy canal. Along most of the way, both sides of the road has development, but it’s residences, not fast food and hotels. If you didn’t have a guide, I guarantee you wouldn’t find it.

While there, I discovered that you could ride horses between the sites. You can google “pyramid horse tours” and find all kinds of vendors, but since I didn’t know about the tours, I didn’t know to research it. You are now better informed than I was.

We eventually turned off the main road, but I didn’t see anything that said, “This way to Dashour.” A rutted goat path took us to a military installation. I don’t know any better way to describe it – white painted buildings, with guys in uniform carrying guns. This was not the appropriate welcoming committee for your average American tourist.

I do love one thing about Egyptians – their creativity. Wherever we went were folks who set up shop and went about their business without the accouterments Americans would demand.

If neighbors want to get together and smoke sheesha, why let the absence of a park stop you. Gather your chairs in the street and pass the hookah. The cars will figure out a way to get around you.
Want to have a souvenir shop? Then find a piece of pavement and start selling. You can hang wire between signs to display your wares or use a cardboard crate.
Need an office. Find a table and chair – any table and chair.

The guy in charge at the military installation had followed the examples above – right by the side of the goat path. Both pieces of furniture looked like they’d been built in the 50’s, but for completely different purposes. Sitting on the table was the ubiquitous glass for tea. Who needs anything else?

Worth It for Me

It’s no wonder that our nephew couldn’t understand why we wanted to go to Dashour. With the exception of a few pyramids in serious disrepair there is nothing there. I mean nothing!

But those few pyramids were worth the trip for me. While Zuzu hadn’t found much new ground to cover with me at Giza, he was invaluable at Dashour.

Obviously, the Bent Pyramid is bent, but hearing why and how it got that way, as I stood below it, was fascinating. We climbed up another crumbling pyramid to see the shaft built down into it, where the pharaoh’s body would have been carried and imagined the day of the funeral. How did they get him down all those steps? Another pyramid was tall and skinny, almost like a Christmas tree. How did these configurations develop into what we saw at the Giza Plateau?

I’d read right before I left for Egypt that they’d just found a new pyramid at Dashour – but where? And why didn’t they offer to show it to me for $20 more. I would have gladly coughed up the Jackson.

The whole thing begs for development. In our heads we laid out the informational signage, chose refreshment stands, picked out costumes for the guides and decided where the museum and shop should be. The Egyptians need tourists to spend more days in their country and with just a few bare necessities and a little signage, people would flock to see these wonders, but as it stands, Bill and I were the lone tourists. We would never have found it on our own and even if we would have, I doubt we’re brave enough to confront the military authorities guarding it. What a shame!

But our Pyramid tour was not over. On to Saqqara. Join us next week.

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Marvelous Mena House

November 8, 2017October 5, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: AN AMAZING HOTEL

I was predisposed to love the Mena House. I’d been hearing about it for years and it sounded like my kind of place. It had historical significance and it was a luxury hotel Bill’s place of birth would make affordable. Let me tell you about it.

Arriving in Style

I will admit there is something posh about being delivered to your hotel by a private driver and car. We pulled up to the security gate to be sniffed by dogs, checked by metal detectors and generally gone over with a fine tooth comb, but our driver handled it all while Bill and I marveled at the Pyramids looming over us. I thought we’d have a view of them. I didn’t realize we’d be next door.

The lobby was opulent and we were treated like dignitaries. Being treated like dignitaries takes a little longer than just being tourists, but it was kind of fun. We were whisked to our room on a golf cart by a servile employee of the hotel and escorted around our new digs as if they rooms of the old palace, instead of the very comfortable modern room we’d reserved.

A Delicious Meal

Our next stop was lunch. We wandered across the grounds and found a nice patio restaurant which served food all day long. The prices were reasonable, the service was attentive and the food was amazing. The travel gods were shining on us.

A Free Historical Tour

As we lazed about enjoying the view our nephew Steven and his friend John arrived. They’d fallen for the 8:30 sight-seeing tour I’d rejected. While they regretted waking up early, they were very happy with their day. We decided to meet up again soon and see the free historical tour of the hotel I’d seen advertised in the lobby. The parade of celebrities who have stayed at the Mena House is pretty interesting, but not anything compared to the amount of history that has occurred since it was built in the 1800’s as a lodge for royalty.

The Rest of the Stay

The only problem we had with our stay at the Mena House is that it was too short. We loved hanging out in our room and enjoying the patio with the great view of the pyramids. We loved wandering around the hotel and grounds, photographing all the beauty both natural and man-planned. The service was amazing. The food was great – whether we were enjoying the free breakfast buffet, having lunch with a view or enjoying a Middle Eastern feast at the Khan il Khalili restaurant (named after the famous Cairo bazaar).

I have a fantasy of returning to Giza some day to see the wonderful museum being built to replace the Cairo Museum and the Mena House would be the perfect place to stay – but I doubt I could ever get Mr. Bill back to Egypt. The place he has fond memories of growing up in doesn’t exist anymore.

If you’re still hungry for more about the Mena House, watch this video. If you want to know about visiting the Pyramids, then come back next week.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

A Plethora of Pyramids

November 7, 2017October 7, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: DON’T LET GIZA BE YOUR ONLY PYRAMID EXPERIENCE

If you go to Egypt, you’ve got to see the Pyramids, but don’t stay in some Cairo hotel and take a day trip to the Giza Plateau. Get out of the city and stay at the Mena House. Someday, hopefully, they’ll finish the new museum that is supposed to replace the antiquated Cairo Museum and doing it this way will make even more sense. But even if they never finish the museum (a distinct possibility given the tomorrow/bokrah mentality) you don’t want to be just another tourist. There’s more to the Pyramids than you see at Giza.

A Tourist Trap to Avoid

Before I go into what you should see, let me steer you away from the Light and Sound Show. I had been warned, but back in 1996, the Luxor Temple Sound and Light Show was one of the highlights of my trip. The stunning display was interesting and entertaining. Chances are that in 1996 the Pyramid Sound & Light Show was pretty amazing, too, but it’s not anymore.

There’s a huge outdoor theater which would seat hundreds of people, suggesting the show was once a really popular attraction, but I’d be surprised if there were 50 people at the performance we attended. What’s more, the parking lot and entry were right next to a spot used as a toilet by the local camel population. You need to be careful where you step and the smell will bowl you over.

I had threatened to enjoy the performance from my balcony at the Mena House, but wasn’t sure if I could see it from there. It really doesn’t matter whether I could see it or not. The balcony would have been a better choice.

The obligatory Sphinx and Pyramid picture

You Will Go to Giza First – and You WILL Like It or ELSE

Egyptians don’t see their country the way we do. I had great difficulty convincing my nephew that I really did want him to schedule our guide to visit Dashour and Saquara. Having already seen Giza, I really didn’t want to waste my time there, but skipping it altogether was not to be allowed. What’s more my excellent guide, Zuzu insisted we had to start the day there.

My nephew and his friend had toured with Zuzu the day before and warned us that he was a little, shall we say, stubborn. With Steven and John, the main problem was that he was going to give them all the information they paid for whether they wanted it or not. I didn’t see that being a problem for me. I challenge any guide to tell me more than I wanted to know about what I’m seeing. However, Zuzu was a little stubborn in other ways, too.

When we got in the car to begin our day, I explained how I had already been to Giza before and I preferred to start at Dashour. Zuzu said we would get to Dashour, but we’d start at Giza. I tried several approaches to convince him I was the customer and he should do it my way, but whatever tack I used, he wasn’t going for it. I didn’t want to be that Ugly American, so content in the knowledge we would get to all three pyramid locations, I decided to sit back and enjoy the tour.

The Solar Boat Museum

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go to the Giza Plateau at all, because my previous unorthodox tour had not included the Solar Boat Museum and I wanted to see it. I just didn’t want to waste time stomping around the Pyramids and the Sphinx, if it meant I’d miss out on Dashour and Saqqara.

Well, we did stomp around the Pyramids and the Sphinx. And guess what, they looked just like they did last time we were there. Granted Zuzu provided more background information than I got from Ahab’s guides, but after a lifetime of watching shows about Egyptian archaeology, Zuzu didn’t have much to add that I hadn’t already learned from Zahi Hawass and Giorgio A. Tsoukalos .

The Solar Boat Museum is fascinating, but they make you wear these awful shoe covers and pictures are not allowed. The boat was buried in the sand somewhere around 2500 BC. It had been disassembled before burial and the pieces were intact when it was found in 1954. It was painstakingly reconstructed over a number of years and then in 1985, the Egyptians built the museum to show off the treasure. Don’t miss it if you visit the Pyramids.

My Giza duties fulfilled, Zuzu let Izzat take us to Dashour. Come back next week and enjoy that part of our day. In the meantime, here’s a video of our visit to the Pyramids.

Architecture, ART, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, TRAVEL

Wedding Day in Cairo Egypt

September 27, 2017August 26, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF CEREMONY

So far, Bassem and Miriam’s wedding day has been pretty mundane, if you don’t count the machine guns on our bus. Once the church doors opened, everything changed. We were at a Coptic Wedding.

Saint Mark Coptic Church

When the huge doors opened, the scent of incense wafted out into the waiting crowd and I was awestruck. The church was gorgeous, obviously very, very old, but beautiful. You got the impression God had been hanging out here for a very long time.

It was not a particularly large church, but it was grandly decorated with beautiful paintings and an amazing amount of gold. There was no formal seating going on. Everyone just wandered in and took a seat. There was no his side and her side, just folks wandering into a pew as they entered. The family was sort of huddled over to one side. We had some front row seats, but they certainly were not particularly advantageous.

A handsome couple

Daniel takes a nap

EVery couple is treated like a King and Queen

The interior dome

Even the groom gets an outfit!

The smaller guests

The Altar

A cross atop the church

The interior of the church

One of the church’s towers

The Resurrected Christ

Shady reads the Scripture

Photographers everywhere

Waiting to enter the church

The bride’s father greets guests

Forget What You Know About Weddings

Throw out preconceptions, because this had nothing in common with your basic American wedding. The bride and groom were seated in thrones at the front of the church. The photographers and videographers considered themselves very much part of the ceremony and spread themselves out across the front of the church. Joining them on the stage were a group of priests in decidedly Coptic garb.

Now I’ve been to weddings where there were more than one officiant. Sometimes it’s because each family wants to be represented or there are several members of the clergy in the family. This wedding had an entire crowd of priests. They’re the guys wearing the black turbans, but these four in the picture are only a sample.

I was made to understand the number of priests reflected the status of the people getting married and no one could remember a wedding where they’d seen more priests. Most gratifying was the priest who had come all the way from Sharm El Sheik because of my niece, who holds such a special place in their congregation. Each of the priests participated in one way or another. Some doing ceremonial duty and others delivering pithy little sermonettes to the bride and groom. (None of which I could understand, of course, because they were in either Coptic or Arabic.)

All the while, the church was a beehive of activity. Along with all the priests were acolytes and altar boys wandering around doing a variety of tasks, from swinging incense burners to lighting candles. At one point my nephew Shady went up to read the Bible. Also any time a priest wasn’t involved in the ceremony, they were kept busy blessing whoever came up to the stage, bowed before them and kissed their hands.

Folks seeking blessings weren’t the only ones who came up to the stage. As if the photography and videography crew of about six people weren’t enough, no one hesitated to pop right up out of their seat and head up to the front to get a picture – and if the best angle was between the priest and the wedding couple, then so be it.

Behind their back, their very expensive decorations are already coming down

I was gob-smacked. I couldn’t believe it. The bride and groom were almost an after-thought in all the frenetic activity. Suddenly it was all over. The bride and groom stood. A few pictures were taken and we all filed out of the church.

Let the Turnover Begin

I was still trying to process what I had seen, when I realized that as soon as the bride and groom had their back towards the stage, folks started tearing down the decorations so they could get set for the next wedding.

An American church might have 2 or three weddings on a given day, but Coptic churches schedule about an hour per wedding and stack them all day long, from early in the morning until late in the evening – especially on holidays like the day after Easter. If they get behind, which apparently they always do, then they just hurry you up a little more.

Once we were outside, you could see they had already redecorated the entry to the church and on a corner near the church were the floral remains of several different ceremonies. Egyptians do have a receiving line, but it’s held on the porch of the church, rather than at the reception. As the wedding party assembled into the obligatory formation, a limo pulled up in front of the church. I will never forget seeing the bride get out of the limo, go through the security routine we had and then climb up the stairs to the sanctuary. It was one of those odd scenes that you can’t erase.

Then it was back in the bus and back to the Fairmont.

Architecture, DESTINATIONS, International, Road Trips, TRAVEL

An Interlude for Observation

August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: A LITTLE NIGHT WANDERING

Our lunch at Baalbak was great and we could have easily sat around the congenial table and chatted for hours, but at seven they had to open for regular patronage. They finally shoved the last of us out of the room at about 6:40. To a certain extent, hysteria was setting in. We had a wedding in less that 24 hours.

Time for the Gifts

After lunch, Bill’s family went into a variety of directions. Some back to hotels, others to Mirette’s apartment and Bill wanted to know what I wanted to do. Well, my number one priority was still delivering gifts. Good husband that he is, he got us back to the hotel, gave me enough time to get the gifts wrapped and then arranged for someone to come pick us up, all so I could get the gifts off my list. Perfect. The bonus was that he got to take a nap – albeit one where he had his head covered with a pillow, because I was rustling tissue paper and gift bags.

In good American time, Mirette came to the hotel to pick us up. This is the point at which I get to tell you what a doll she is. She adores her Uncle Bill and is so sweet to me that I could just eat her up. This girl has a heart as big as they come and it is open to everyone. Love her!!

My beautiful nieces. Maggie on the left and Mirette on the right.

Sister Mona’s Old Apartment

Mirette’s apartment is in Heliopolis, not far from the Fairmont. It’s in the same neighborhood her mom used to live in. Bill was interested in driving around and seeing how things looked, because this is where Mona lived since the time he was a boy. He has fond memories of daily trips to the area for Mona to tutor him. Believe me, he was a lot more interested in the daily trips than he was in the tutoring.

I’d stayed with Mona for a day or two on our last trip and been amazed by a few of the constant inconveniences of life in Egypt. For one thing, they don’t have little things like building codes which demand that you must build a parking lot to accommodate the people living in a building. Parking cars two and three deep around a building was the norm. The density is hard to imagine. One huge multi-story apartment building after another built chock-a-block. You can literally reach across and steal your neighbor’s underwear hanging on the patio of an adjacent building.

You don’t need alarm clocks, because early morning prayers and the vegetable crier with the donkey cart will wake you up. The dust is appalling. You cannot keep a house clean. The water may or may not work. The same with electricity. Life is chaos. And this isn’t in the ghetto. This is in one of the best residential areas in Cairo. I found it mind-boggling.

Rent Control vs. Life Control

My liberal friends like to tout ideas like rent control. Before you think rent control is a good idea, take a gander at Egypt. It has rent control. The place is built and you pay through the nose for the most basic of apartments. The buyer is responsible for finishing out the apartment, so while you may have a very elegant tasteful finish, the guy on the next floor can negate it with his purple porch or maybe he’ll never finish it out, leaving a hole where there should be an apartment. Maybe he’ll put up curtains or build something on his patio. That’s tough, because once your in, you’re stuck. While things may seem expensive in the beginning, hang around, you’ll have a bargain in a few dacades.

My sister-in-law now lives in the apartment she renovated that belonged to her parent’s. The rent is equivalent to $10 a month. She’s got an absentee landlord who allows one of the tenants to be his super and the perk is this agent is allowed to run all kinds of scams – overcharging for electricity, doing faulty repairs, whatever. But Mona’s got it good. Her neighborhood is still one of the nicer ones available.

The worst part for Egypt is that Mona is the exception that proves the rule. She could afford to do a renovation and she works hard to keep her apartment clean and attractive. In most cases, by the time a family has lived a lifetime in an apartment, it desperately needs to be renovated, but there isn’t any money. The owner of the building certainly isn’t going to renovate it, because the building no longer has any value to him. He will continue to collect the minuscule rents until the last person there dies or maybe he won’t and if he doesn’t, maybe his super will take them for himself. Many, many buildings are in horrid disrepair. Perhaps there’s no one living there any longer and the owner has abandoned it. Perhaps there’s still a family or two in the building, praying they can somehow continue to get water and electricity until they are dead.

You can spend the next day or two trouble-shooting this, but you have two possible ends – the current situation remains or the government gets involved. We Americans assume that the government is just going to come in and fix everything, but what happens if the government we are depending on is broke. Welcome to Egypt. Let’s just hope it’s nothing like this ever happens to us, but just to be on the safe side, let’s not have rent control.

Accommodations, Architecture, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Libraries, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

And She’s Back

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: AN EXTRAORDINARY EGYPTIAN ADVENTURE

I just got back from Egypt and I want you to visit this amazing country. You’re not going to believe some of the exciting adventures I had while I was there. I hope that as you read my blog in the coming months, you’ll start planning your own trip in your head. As much as I want you to go, I have always been totally honest with you – sharing the good and the bad. So it is only fair that I start this series by warning you that Egypt is not an easy country to visit. You have to overlook a lot to see what is valuable, but there is great value. In the coming weeks I will rave about spectacular hotels and jaw-dropping sites, but I have to start here, with the not-so-pleasant reality of Egypt today.

Then and Now

This was my second trip to Egypt. The first was in 1996 when terrorism was an occasional, rather than a daily, thing and the only terror incident associated with Egypt was an attack on a busload of tourists in 1990. The world has changed a lot since then. Days before I was scheduled to leave for this trip, bombs went off in two different Coptic Churches. It didn’t stop us from going, but it did give us pause. It shouldn’t stop you from going either, but you need to know what you’re getting into.

The imminent threat of violence was the most obvious difference between this trip and the one we enjoyed twenty years ago. Security was a pervasive presence, everywhere we went – whether we were visiting a museum, an airport or a church. Every time we entered our hotel we had to put all our belongings through a scanner and ourselves through a metal detector. I was glad for the security, but saddened by the need for it.

It was the same thing pretty much everywhere we went and you just got tired of it. Take a romantic walk on the beach and come back to the hotel for a thorough search. By the time you prove you have a right to be there and you don’t have any WMD’s, the romance has dissipated. This adds to the stress of travel and distracts from your ability to really relax.

One evening we accompanied a niece and her husband to a hotel where they stayed on their honeymoon. They wanted to take a walk down memory lane. Our taxi went through one inspection at the gate to the property and we were put through a thorough search at the front door. Then as we headed out to the pool to look around, we were stopped because we were not actually guests at the hotel. We had to go to the front desk, explain ourselves, show them our room keys to a sister property in town and give them a passport to hold before we were allowed into the pool area. By the time we actually made it down there, we had more thoughts about the intrusion of security than we did Maggie and Shady’s honeymoon.

Forget Lowe’s or Home Depot, Shop for Home Improvements Streetside

Related Changes

The threat of terrorism has devastated the country. Tourism has been at the center of Egypt’s economy for a very long time, but they have nothing to take its place and little with which to woo the tourists who actually show up. Yes, they have some of the most splendid sights in the world, like The Pyramids, Luxor Temple, The Valley of the Kings and such, but the hassle associated with visiting them is challenging.

I thought Egypt was the dirtiest place I had ever visited the last time I went. Well, now it is beyond dirty. It’s down right filthy and much of it has been abandoned. Whole blocks of Cairo and Alexandria’s city centers are just empty graffiti-covered buildings, surrounded by piles of trash. Everywhere we went, unfinished new construction showed signs of being abandoned years ago, when their hope of an Arab Spring turned into a nightmare. Don’t plan on wearing the same clothes over and over. A day of touring will render you and everything you are wearing disgusting. You either need to pack more or plan on a budget for laundry.

And Then There’s the People

Egyptians, as a whole, are wonderful. They are happy people who want to get to know you and they love pleasing you. They want you to love their country the way they do, but right now they are a little embarrassed – as if you caught them between working in the yard and getting a shower. They’ll point you towards the freshly planted flowers, hoping you won’t notice how dirty and sweaty they are.

However, they are also frustrated and tired. At almost every hotel we observed someone having a meltdown in the lobby and it was usually an Egyptian guest. Life is hard. The economy is impossible. Traffic is horrendous. Everything is harder to do than it should be and after a ten minute walk your white shirt just isn’t white anymore. Still, given the chance, most of them will bend over backwards to accommodate you and try to create a smile.

At the same time, we noticed there is also a trend that distances the female population from visitors. There was a greater number of women completely covered from head to toe. During our last visit, most women dressed very conservatively and the majority covered their heads, often with a bright colorful scarf. Many would be sharply dressed, while sporting a more conservative hijab. There were some who wore the more old-fashioned gallabeya and hijab, but only a rare woman was covered and veiled in black.

This time gallabeyas and hijabs were the norm. Young women wore leggings or jeans with a tunic, but the hijabs were everywhere and they were not brightly colored scarves, but solid blocks of neutral colors. However, women covered from head to toe in black were no longer rare and I noticed most of them also wore black gloves. They were moving shadows with just a sliver of their eyes showing – distant, aloof, unapproachable.

In the Cairo Museum we saw a young couple taking a selfie. The woman was completely covered in black. We wondered at the incongruity of hiding yourself and then taking a selfie. The young man’s outfit was standard casual fare, but she was covered in plain black without even a bit of embroidery. A lot of mixed messages there.

So I will tell you the story of our trip. I’ll remind you of the difficulties from time to time, but I’ll leave it to you to remember that everything was dirty, inconvenient and noisy, whether I mention it or not. Come back next week and we’ll hit the road.

Accommodations, Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Museums, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Shopping, TRAVEL

Egypt Here We Come

March 22, 2017March 20, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CAIRO, SHARM & ALEX

In less than a month we’ll be winging our way to Egypt for a family wedding. While it’s primarily a family trip, you can rest assured that Museum Girl will be taking in the sights. The itinerary is firming up and I thought I’d share a few highlights.

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

As excited as I am about the rest of the trip, the reason we’re going is to participate in Bassem and Mariam’s wedding. We’re all agog with excitement. Bill and I will arrive in Cairo late in the evening on a Saturday night and be whisked away to the Fairmont in Heliopolis. On Sunday afternoon we’ll attend a luncheon for all the families at an “oriental” restaurant. When I wondered why we were having Chinese food, I learned Egyptians call Middle Eastern food “oriental.” I learn something new every day.

Monday is the day of the wedding, and it is also a national holiday, so I’m told I will see the residents of Cairo enjoying themselves in parks and other areas of leisure. I’ll spend the day getting all gussied up for the wedding. Egyptians know how to party and they expect guests, especially the couple’s families, to get all decked out. I’ll be wearing a long formal gown bedazzled with crystal beads. For the church ceremony I’ll wear a sheer over-blouse cinched by a jeweled belt, which will cover the spaghetti-strapped straight bodice of the full-skirted gown. Pictures to follow.

Let the Sightseeing Begin

On the day after the wedding we’ll be transported to the elegant Mena House Hotel, in the shadows of the pyramids. Some folks tried to convince me to hire a guide for sightseeing for the day, but 8:30 AM was entirely too early to start a day of touring, especially after partying late into the night in the ballroom of the gorgeous Fairmont.

So instead, we’ve arranged to be transported mid-day and ease into the sightseeing. We’ll enjoy the gardens of the Mena House, walk around with our mouths agape at the splendid architecture of the place, dine around the pool and then watch the Sound & Lightshow at the Pyramids from our room’s balcony. Who knows, there might even be time for a dip in the pool. Personally, I plan to have at least one picture of me taken in the pool with the Pyramids behind me.

Then we’ll do the Pyramids. Since we’ve already done the Giza Plateau, I plan to go further afield and check out the Step Pyramid at Saqqara and the Red Pyramid at Dahshour. I’m also interested in the Meidum Pyramid, but I’ve been told it is too far out – drat. Instead we’ll go back to Giza and see the Solar Boat Museum, something that’s been added since our last visit.

A Family Reunion Extraordinaire

After our second night at Mena House, we’ll head to the airport and make the short hop to Sharm el Sheikh. Some of the family lives in the beautiful city by the Red Sea and others will have gone there when we headed to Giza. We’ll have a family reunion of sorts for about five days along one of the most spectacular beaches in the world.

The diving and snorkeling are supposed to be awesome, but I’m not much of a guppy. You’ll find me at the Marriott Naama Bay Resort pool with an exotic cocktail of my choice somewhere near the waterfall. Yes, the beach is beautiful, but no way am I going to smear sunscreen all over and then sit in the sand all day. Not this girl’s idea of a good time. I’ve been promised activities like a star-gazing visit to the desert, some shopping opportunities and other attractions.

In the evening, look for me along the boardwalk. It’s one of my favorite memories of our last journey to Egypt. Every evening the tourists come out in all their sunburned glory to stroll along and enjoy the wide variety of entertainment available on every side. On our last visit the Macarena was all the rage. I wonder what earworm will bite me this time.

On to Alex!

We’ll fly back to Cairo and then have a driver take us to Alexandria where we’ll be in the center of the action at the Cecil Hotel. This elegant old dame gives a nod to Alexandria’s heyday with plenty of modern updates. What’s more, I’m supposed to be within walking distance of many of the sites I want to see – that is if I can ever cross the street. I remember the traffic being deadly in Cairo and Alexandria is supposed to be more of the same. Pedestrians don’t have the right of way and stoplights are merely suggestions. I’ll be right across the street from the beach, but may never actually get to the sand!

My wish list for Alexandria is long and includes a visit to a Coptic monastery on the way back to Cairo. Once back to Cairo, we’ll visit Old Cairo and seeing the famous churches there, something I never got to during our other visit. I think we’ll spend our final nights at the Fairmont. We have to be to the airport bright and early for our return. Then it’s back to the grindstone!

That’s it so far for Egypt. Keep dropping by. I’m not sure what I’ll be up to in the weeks to come, but I promise not to disappear.

ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Birmingham Museum of Art

March 8, 2017March 5, 2017 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE JEWEL OF BIRMINGHAM

When the possibility of visiting Birmingham first came up, I checked out the city online. The city seemed to be a foodie haven with a great art museum and a nice botanical garden, but comparing their hours to our flight schedule and the hours of the thing I can’t tell you about, I wasn’t going to have time to do anything about any of that. So, I dutifully went about my business. Still, something in my subconscious kept clanging. I couldn’t exactly recall why, but I knew I really wanted to see the museum.

Perhaps, Maybe, Possibly

One day at lunch, before we took off on the Birmingham adventure, I mentioned to Hannah Beth that I regretted we weren’t going to have time to do the touristy thing. She assured me the museum was well worth seeing and mentioned a couple of possibilities we might have for seeing it. I assured her I had checked for evening hours, so that wouldn’t work, but skipping the final session – that would do.

I just happen to be one of those people who believe God is personally involved in my life. I also believe that if I’m willing to put Him first, He does everything he can to fulfill Psalms 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart.” In fact, He’s proved it to me too many time to deny it.

So, while we were keeping an ear to the ground to find out how significant the final session would be, God was arranging to keep things ahead of schedule so that we could get out in plenty of time to make it to the museum. You may call that a coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidences.

An Embarrassment of Wedgwood

If you’ve been hanging around this blog for very long, then you know the Decorative Arts Wing of any museum is my prime objective when I make a visit. I love Decorative Arts better than anything else produced from the artistic mind. I can spend an entire day in a Porcelain gallery – a passion I learned from my mother.

What’s more, Wedgwood,especially their Jasperware, (matte porcelain with relief decorations) is among my most favorite porcelains. Don’t believe me? Take a gander at the photo of the fireplace my husband and I designed for our home. You don’t have one of these unless you love Wedgwood. It was inspired by two I’d seen in Mount Vernon.

Along with representative Wedgwood pieces gracing the mantle piece, there are various Wedgwood and Jasperware pieces spread throughout the house. For good measure, my everyday china is Wedgwood. Not Jasperware but Wedgwood. So imagine my delight when I glanced over the map of the Birmingham Museum and saw three galleries designated by the word “Wedgwood”.

The Dwight and Lucille Beeson Wedgwood Collection

If you love Wedgwood the way I love Wedgwood, then go ahead and book the flight. I’ve been in a lot of museums and so far, I’ve never seen one with so much Wedgwood. I haven’t been to The Wedgwood Museum at Stokes-on-Trent yet, but that’s only because it didn’t exist decades ago when I visited the city. I can assure you, this is the most Wedgwood you are going to see anywhere outside of Britain.

The galleries contain mostly Jasperware in a rainbow of hues, but they have samples of other forms of Wedgwood collected by the couple. I swear I could have visited the museum every day for a week and been perfectly happy studying the exhibits in the three galleries. Here are some samples.

That blue and yellow vase on the jade pedestal would be great in my yellow and blue French decor but the dark blue wine cooler with the white flowers must be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I’d leave it in the museum for others to share.

Giving the Rest of the Art Its Due

Even if you don’t like Wedgwood, the Birmingham Museum of Art is still a good thing to see. Porcelains from other places are prevalent throughout the museum, but there are also paintings and statues and other things to enjoy. I did run through the balance of the galleries at a high speed and then rushed back to gander at the Wedgwood a little more. However, I did get these two postcards to prove the museum has variety.

Buying the Book

In this digital age, when you can find almost any piece of art you’d like to see by searching it online, art books might not seem a good investment to some people. Maybe other people spend their time cruising museums online, but I’ll confess, I want to be there and see it in person. Seeing it online is better than not seeing it at all, but it’s not even on the same continent as first hand observation.

By the same token, while I have broken my habit of buying a book in every museum I go to, sometimes I just have to take a catalog home. This was one of those times. In fact, I anticipated facing down the fury of my husband if the only thing available was some $160 hardback number.

I guess God was doing me another favor, because there was a reasonably priced soft cover edition of the catalog – only it had a large sticker designating it as the display copy. I chatted up the clerk, who was a volunteer. She looked in the stockroom – nothing. She offered to have someone take a gander in the warehouse in the next day or so and call me if they had anymore. I just stood there clasping the display edition as if my life depended on it. “I’m leaving town this afternoon,” I all but wailed. “Oh we can ship it to you,” she assured me.

I put off replying to her suggestion by telling her about my fireplace. Then I mused as to what in the world I would do if there were no more of the books in the warehouse. She decided to sell me the display copy at a discounted price. BINGO! I’m getting a whole lot better at this negotiating thing than I used to be. I’d have paid full price just to have it, but I’m sure the fireplace story did the trick!

The flight home was not as trouble free as my flight to Birmingham. The flight was delayed for hours and as a result I know more about the food vendors at the Birmingham airport than I should. I’d been on a diet, which had been seriously threatened by the fast food offerings served to us at that thing I can’t tell you about, but what damage had not already been done got done. So much for dieting. And so much for Birmingham. Come back next week and see what I’m up to.

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