Attractions – Page 15

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

A Few Final Points

November 14, 2018November 14, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CLUB MED PUNTA CANA IS WAITING

Here’s a few things I didn’t have a place for in other posts about Club Med Punta Cana. I hope they’ll help you decide you need to go there and visit. If so, call my friends at CTC Travel.

Dinner A La Carte

You never have to face down a buffet at Punta Cana unless you want to or unless you didn’t get your Indigo reservations in soon enough. Indigo reservations can only be made in person at the restaurant on the day you want to eat there. They start taking reservations at 9 AM and if you wait too long, you either won’t get the time you want or you won’t get in at all.

We celebrated our anniversary by having dinner at Indigo. It was a lovely meal, but Bill made better choices than I did. He had some kind of whole fish and he says it was one of the most amazing meals he’s ever had. I had some Dominican shrimp in a plantain bowl. Good, but not one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had. Here’s a few pics from Indigo and that meal.

Another Dinner Choice

With so much free food and drink available, we didn’t see much reason to spend money that way, but there was one opportunity to do just that. It was called La Cava. On the patios of Samana and Hispanolo (for dinner only) there was a section set aside for La Cava guests. You become a La Cava guest when you purchase wine, whiskey or cigars from La Cava and enjoy them with a meal. If we’d been there longer, we might have considered it, but we did just fine with the included comestibles.

Shopping

There were a few shops at the resort and they had lovely things – but there were no bargains. Not a single one. Especially not on larimar, a semi-precious gemstone found only in the Dominican Republic. The cheapest larimar I found at the resort was a pair of earrings with a tiny piece of larimar hanging from each stud. The price was $80 and if someone had brought it to me, I would have thought it was some cheap trinket they got for about 5. So none of my friends got larimar.

At the resort, everything is priced in Dominican pesos and while everyone can tell you how much that is in euros, they are not so good with dollars. That made shopping quite challenging. It also almost caused Bill a heart attack when he saw a receipt with a bottom line of 4210.

Several years back, Club Med celebrated its 45th anniversary by printing up lots of T-shirts and other items with the number 45. The items sold like hot cakes So, when their 50th came, encouraged by the sales of the 45 items, they printed up lots of 50 merchandise. However, the 50 merchandise was a bust. They almost had to give it away to get rid of it. but while everyone was rejecting the 50th anniversary merchandise, they were still requesting items with 45 on it. You’ll see the 45 logo all over the resort on everything from t-shirts and bikinis to flip flops and beach bags. Vintage 45 items are a status symbol. We spent a lot of time speculating on the ubiquitous logo and as we asked around, trying to solve the mystery, we discovered there were almost as many answers as their were t-shirts. Some Americans thought it was for Trump – NOT! Some French people claimed it was the number of a popular soccer player. I asked the Chief of the Village and he gave me this skinny. So, in case you ever go to a Club Med resort and wonder, well here’s the answer.

Farewell to Punta Cana

I think that about covers it. You should have everything you need to enjoy a resort vacation with Club Med – and I heartily suggest you give it a try. I’m probably the only person on the face of the earth that wouldn’t think it was the best vacation ever, but my best vacations are devoted to satisfying my inner Museum Girl.

Would we ever return to Club Med Punta Cana? If we were the sort to repeat destinations, then there is no reason we would not. It is a beautiful resort with great food and a lot of fun things to do. We just rarely return to someplace we’ve already been.

So will we ever do Club Med again? It is certainly a possibility, but we’d probably only go for three nights, not five. We had a great time, but while Bill is more active at sports than I am, neither of us prefer sports for days on end. I can see us doing it before or after a vacation devoted to all my museums, palaces and historic sites or just getting away for a few day.

Winning the fabulous door prize from CTC Travel certainly gave us a new favorite possibility on our wish list, but we’ve already got the next trip planned. I’m just not ready to tell you about it yet. Right now, as I finish up this post it is June, shortly after our Club Med vacation, I have no idea what I’ll be offering up next week on Travel Talk, but please come back. I promise it will be fun!

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, TRAVEL

What Do You Do at Club Med Punta Cana?

October 31, 2018July 3, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: KEEPING BUSY IS EASY!

The list of potential activities is quite long at any Club Med and that is very true at Punta Cana. I would think that most people in the world would find more to do than they can imagine. So, what did we do?

And They’re Off!

If you like to wake up early and get busy, you can do that at Punta Cana. The buffet opens early and early tee off times beat the heat. The gym opens early and if walking or running is your thing, well then there’s 42 acres to trot around in 24 hours a day. The beach also beckons 24 hours a day and it’s so beautiful all the time, that’s always appropriate.

Official activities begin around 9. Some a little earlier. Some a little later. We were usually ready to roll around 10. And what are those activities?

Water Sports – Kayaking, Stand-up Paddle Baords, Snorkeling, Windsurfing, Sailing (some fees)
Creactive by Cirque du Soliel
Archery
Tennis – courts, lessons and tournaments for all ages and levels of skill
Bill practicing his chipping swing

Land Sports – Jogging, Walking, Beach Volleyball, Soccer, Triatholon, Marathon, Bocce Ball, Basketball
Fitness – all kinds of classes, everyday, in the gym, in the pool and by the beach, from Aqua Zumba to Yoga
Golf – Lessons for all levels and a mini-golf (putt-putt) course – actual rounds are off the property and must be paid for seperately
Excursions (fee required)
Kid’s Club – for all ages from nurseries for infants to teens
Shopping – a variety of boutiques from art and jewelry to cigars and whiskey -they don’t charge you for looking 🙂
Spa Treatments (fee required)

What’s even more amazing is that the lion’s share of all this won’t cost you a penny extra.

So What Did We Do?

Well, Bill was a regular on the tennis courts, the archery field and he took advantage of the golf lessons. Around noon every day, there would be a Crazy Signs lesson after the Aquasize class, followed by volley ball, water polo and other games where Bill’s height and excellent coordination made him a popular player. Bill also played in a ping pong tournament. I was the official sidekick and cheering section.

On the first day, I thought that after the orientation was over I might hang around the pool until the Aquagym class at 11:30. Someone else, who will remain nameless, thought it might be better for me to follow him to the tennis courts and observe his lesson – and that’s pretty much how I spent my five days at Club Med Punta Cana. It wasn’t what I had imagined, but it wasn’t bad at all. I read a great book and made wonderful memories with my husband. Not a bad use of my time.

Things I Wish I’d Known

I had imagined starting my day with yoga on the beach. There was actually a palapa for yoga right next to the beach, but yoga was at 5:30 PM every day. By that time, Bill had put in a full day and we were back at the room for Bill’s afternoon nap.

I had also envisioned getting up bright and early and hitting the stationary bike, as I do at home and on cruises. Of the things available at Punta Cana, the gym was the least appealing. It was clean and they had lots of almost new equipment, but the space was cramped and I like a little elbow room. None of the stationary bikes were recumbent either and an hour on one of those saddle seats didn’t seem very appealing. Also, walking all the way to and from the gym to get saddle sores, when walking to and from is what took up most of our time, was a little discouraging. So, the gym was not my friend.

I had also dreamed of cabana boys delivering exotic drinks with paper umbrellas in them. There were no cabana boys. You could get as many drinks of whatever variety you wanted, if you walked up to one of the bars, but there were no paper umbrellas to be found and if I wasn’t going to be waited on hand and foot, I’d just as soon have another slurp from our bottle of water, several of which they left for us in our room each day.

Relaxed Myself to Death

The bottom line is that I nearly relaxed myself to death. I’m just not athletic, not even a little bit, but I’m also usually a very busy person. I don’t relax very well. My thing on vacation is to see as many museums, palaces and historic sites as I can, but Punta Cana was not a hot bed of museums.

So, we had a great time at Club Med and Bill took full advantage of all the activities. I ate a lot, relaxed a lot and walked a lot. Speaking of eating, isn’t it time for lunch? Come back next week and we’ll grab the mid-day meal.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Performing Arts, TRAVEL

Let Club Med Punta Cana Entertain You

October 10, 2018July 3, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: ENJOYING THE EVENING PERFORMANCES

If you were looking for it, there was always something to do at Club Med. As I said earlier, live music entertained the guests in the Cielo Bar before dinner. After dinner there would be more live music, often from a different band. And so it would go into the the wee hours of the morning, but we can’t tell you much about that, because we usually turned in after the evening show.

Not Broadway, But Not Bad

Perhaps you read some of my reviews of our recent Royal Caribbean cruise which included scathing remarks about the on board talent, or lack of it. At Club Med, the performers weren’t pros (with a few exceptions) and they didn’t try to pretend they were, but the entertainment was completely enjoyable. Most evenings, some time in between the end of dinner and the beginning of the hard core partying, there would be entertainment. We found it quite fun.

Michael Jackson Tribute

Our first night featured a tribute to Michael Jackson. A professional performer danced to familiar Jackson tunes and he was accompanied by a cast comprised of Club Med staffers – known as GO’s (Gracious Organizers). We discovered a large number of the GO’s are interns on a stipend. Pretty much ~~slave~~ cheap labor, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The pro had the right build to play MJ and had someone doing great make-up. His wardrobe was very convincing and so was his dancing. While I can’t say it was just like watching MJ himself, it was high-energy, fun and entertaining.

After the MJ tribute there was something very familiar – an introduction to the staff. I felt like I was on a cruise – but without the trays of champagne. The intro went overly long I thought, but the Chef du Village (the guy in charge of Club Med Punta Cana) was embarrassing people who left early, so we sat in our seat until he was through.

Creactive Demo

Creactive is the name of the Cirque du Soleil (CDS) trapeze training school at Club Med Punta Cana. There guests can pretend they’ve run away and joined the circus. Bill wasn’t the least bit interested in taking a high-flying class and I’m a little acrophobic, so we didn’t take advantage of Creactive at all – except for the show they put on one evening.

The show was great. Performers, alone and in pairs, put themselves through their paces high in the sky. If you’ve ever been to a CDS show or seen one on TV I don’t have to tell you of the aerial feats of skill and awe they performed. However, it was also different from the usual performance.

There was no plot or theme and I missed it. I love the crazy costumes and surreal stories featured in the CDS shows I’ve seen previously. There was also none of the floor acrobatics, juggling and magic that make a CDS show so fantastic. As I said, it was a great show and this isn’t meant as criticism, just a warning about what to and not to expect.

After the show, there was a Balloon Party in the Rondele, a circular patio next to the Cielo Bar. Whatever they called a party at Club Med, it contained a lot of singing and swaying. There’s a song they sang all the time that started out “alle’ alle'” and included hand signals that everyone seemed to know – but us. It was called the Crazy Dance and they gave Crazy Dance lessons every day, but since I don’t know my right from my left, I stayed away. This was the Balloon Party, because they dropped balloons on the crowd. The White Party was white, because they dropped white confetti on you. The Red Party was red because…well you get the idea.

The Brazil Show

Another evening we were entertained with a show featuring Brazilian music and dance. As far as I could tell, there were no professional performers for this one, just jiggling GO’s giving it their all in skimpy costumes. I’m not complaining. It was a lot of fun.

Then out came the Chef du Village (CDV). This guy really needs his own TV show. I don’t think the stage at Club Med is big enough for him. He had on a knock-out Carnivale costume and performed some “magic” that were actually gags, which poked fun at his victim, but entertained the audience.

From Carnivale, the CDV moved on to world peace. (See I told you his stage was too small.) He recognized all the countries represented by staff and then moved on to the audience to see how many other countries were represented. Then we all sang, “We Are the World.”

No Dominican Show

We were disappointed on our final day that there was no show. It was supposed to feature the Dominican culture, which I would have enjoyed. The show had been on the schedule I took a picture of that first day. The show was on the schedule I picked up in the lobby. However, the schedule at the Cielo had been changed somewhere along the way and the Dominican show had disappeared. The only people to show up were Bill and I and one other group. There’s being prepared and being over-prepared. I think I was over-prepared – as if that’s a surprise.

Sometimes after the show we would head over to Cielo to check out the action, but usually we were worn out by so much relaxation, so we’d head to the room. Come back next week and I will tell you about our accommodations – and as always, thank you CTC Travel.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, TRAVEL

Falling for Club Med Punta Cana

September 19, 2018September 22, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: LEARNING HOW TO BE CLUB MED MEMBERS

Though I was pretty put out that the orientation tour had fallen out of my grasp, I had to admit we had landed in paradise. Have I mentioned how grateful I am to CTC Travel? I still can’t believe I won the trip.

Learning Our Way Around

As I marched all over the campus trying to get my bearings we made some important discoveries. The tile around the pool was pretty slick when it got wet. We found Samana, where the evening buffet would be served. We found the Cielo Bar, which was sort of the living room of the property. We found the auditorium where we would have met the tour and where the evening’s entertainment would be. We also found the gift shops and the area where we could get pool towels.

Perhaps my best find was the schedules for every day of the week, posted on a wall in Cielo. I took pictures of them, because the Club Med app was not only sssslllllooooowww, it also ate up a lot of battery. I suddenly didn’t feel so frantic. I’d gotten the general lay of the land and even if the app wouldn’t serve up the schedule as fast as I wanted, I had a back-up plan. Later, I would also discover a place in the lobby where they made printed schedules available every morning. My hysterical anxiety began to abate.

And Then I Literally FELL for Club Med Punta Cana

A quick look at my watch said dinner was not far off and I wanted to freshen up a bit beforehand. The rain started falling more seriously and Bill told me to watch myself on the slick tile.

We headed towards our room in the rain. I took off my flip flops, because they seemed to add to the slickness of the tile. As we came to some steps, four at the most, Bill grabbed a hold of me to be sure I didn’t slip. I was being really careful, but suddenly there was no traction and I was down.

I hit so hard that Bill was convinced I must have broken my hip. He kept trying to roll me over to see the damage. I knew I hit an elbow and one of my arms, but my buttocks was well-padded. No problem there.

Everything else paled in comparison to what was going on with my foot. Since my foot had come out from under me without any traction whatsoever, I couldn’t imagine why it hurt so much, but my big toe and my fourth toe hurt like a cuss word I am not going to say. After I got home I decided my foot had hit a wall next to steps as I came down, but it had all happened so quickly I couldn’t figure what had happened.

So, rain was pouring down and my foot is killing me, but right that minute all I wanted to do was get to the room. I put on a brave face and limped away as Bill tried to convince me I should instead be figuring out what was broken. Come back next week and find out what happened.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL

Starving in Paradise

September 12, 2018July 3, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: CAN I PLEASE EAT?

There was no Indian restaurant on the beach. It was a beach bar named Indigo. We found our way back to the reception area and got directions to the nearest place to get food at that moment in time, which was the Indigo.

Finally Food

The Indigo Beach Bar and Grill is an open-aired restaurant, right on the beach. Initially the charm of it was lost on me, because I was starving. We were seated and handed some menus. Speed was not of the essence to them, but my blood sugar had hit rock bottom.

They wanted a drink order. I remembered all drinks were included, which brought a smile. I ordered a margarita on the rocks with salt. The waiter wandered off, so we could peruse the menu. The margarita returned and it wasn’t exactly as I imagined it would be. There would be no cigars, because it wasn’t even close. Scratch margaritas off my drink list. We gave them our food order – hamburgers. The waiter wandered off and I realized if I didn’t get some food soon I was going to start chewing on the palm-frond roof.

I gazed around the restaurant, thinking I might spy some crackers or a basket of bread, but to my relief there was buffet of sorts. It was a salad bar and had a few other edibles. The salad wasn’t all that fresh, but it would have to do. FOOD!

It wasn’t all that long until the burgers arrived. I inhaled that as quickly as I had the salad. I was ready to figure out where we were and what we were supposed to be doing. As the calories from lunch began to connect with my brain, I decided to check into the Club Med Punta Cana app and see if I could figure out what was going on. After all, the welcome crew had told me there would be an orientation tour at 3. I just had to find out where that would be.

Then Everything Changes

This is about the time it started raining. Said orientation tour was not on the app. Bill has his quirks. I have mine. One of mine reared its ugly head. I obsessively need to know my way around and I want to know what’s happening. Bill is much more laid back about that sort of thing than me, willing to wander about aimlessly, not wondering if he’s missing the best activity or not.

After 24 years, Bill and I are getting better at this traveling stuff. I had allowed him to play computer games on the sofa, even though I was starving and he followed me around the grounds to get my bearings, even though I was behaving like a chicken with my head cut off. Isn’t marriage wonderful?

We’re about to take ourselves on an improptu, self-led tour of the grounds. Come back next week and join us as we get our bearings for the coming days.

Accommodations, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, TRAVEL

Our Punta Cana Pals

September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: ARRIVING IN PUNTA CANA

Punta Cana is one of those open air airports. It was lovely on the day we arrived, but I couldn’t help but wonder how miserable it might be if it was storming. You disembark onto the tarmac and ride a bus for such a short bit that you wonder why they bothered. Then you leave the bus and enter the palm-frond-covered terminal.

Happy to be There

Most everything in Punta Cana is palm-frond-covered, but the picture you see was not taken at the airport. That’s Club Med’s lobby and it was taken several days later. We did not arrive quite so happy and carefree, but we were happy to be on the ground again.

I was starving, because I had used up all the calories from my morning cookie a long time ago. I was also not too happy about the fact that somewhere during my sojourn with Spirit Airlines I had managed to get gum on the divided skirt I planned to wear several times during my Punta Cana stay. I had enjoyed better traveling experiences.

We shuffled along in the terminal, following the rest of the people from our plane. We waited for our luggage and then something odd happened. Remember those fees Bill doesn’t like to pay. Well, he’s not fond of tipping either, so I was surprised to discover that somehow we’d inherited a porter to push the luggage cart we’d wrangled on our own. That’s not our usual MO, but I’m not complaining.

Our porter ushered us through customs and hooked us up with a taxi. Most taxis in Punta Cana are white vans, not the yellow vehicles that usually come to mind. A short ride later and we were at Club Med.

Welcoming Ritual

They do things nicely at Club Med. We were helped from our vehicle and ushered over to a sofa. A smiling young lady offered us a cool cloth with which to wipe our face and hands. An inviting fruit drink waited on a nearby table. Our luggage was unloaded. We were ushered to a comfortable sofa to enjoy our beverage. I realized I could get used to this relaxation thing.

While we sipped our fruit drink, a dark-skinned gentleman with a sing-song voice chatted us up. He pointed one way to tell us about Samantha, Banana or Sama-something where we would have dinner. He pointed another way to tell us about Hispanola, which was closed. And then it sounded as if he was telling us there was an Indian restaurant on the beach where we could get snacks.

Snacks sounded good, but then a fresh-looking young lady came to show us our room – La Nina 662. Rain was in the forecast, but while it didn’t look as if that was possible, heavy humidity whispered that it wasn’t only possible, but probable. Our guide across the property was an Israeli, but her family lives in Canada. She’s an intern. We’d soon figure out that there were a lot of interns from all over the world.

Getting Settled In

Our Canadian/Israeli friend had no sooner shown us to our room, than a bellman arrived with our luggage. This was one of those situations in which a vacation can go awry. Damn the luggage, I was starving, but Bill wanted to rest a little. I’ve learned to let him settle in his way and there is no telling what that will be. Sometimes he’s ready to go exploring, but not this time, when I would have loved to find the first viable source of food and feed my face.

As he laid on the sofa playing his favorite game on his tablet, I used the time to get unpacked. That’s usually the first thing I want to do, but this time all I could think about was how hungry I was. Once everything was unpacked and organized in our room, I looked out the window and decided on a change of clothes before heading out. I wanted to get out of the gummed skirt and in the humid heat, even the short-sleeved top I was wearing felt like too much.

Bill was still playing his game, but I could wait no longer. I convinced him it was time to go find that Indian restaurant on the beach. Off we went! We tipped our sunhats to our friends at CTC Travel who had given us this great trip. Come back next week and let’s have snacks on the Beach.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Gardens, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

More Old Cairo

July 18, 2018February 16, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WRAPPING UP OUR TOUR

So after Abu Sargus, what else can I tell you?

The Rest of Old Cairo

We visited St. George’s. It’s nice, but confusing. There’s all these pictures of St. George and the dragon, but St. George is a Roman soldier martyred because he would not give up his faith. No dragons in the story, so don’t ask me. It’s also confusing, because it started out as a Roman Catholic Church, but is now is a convent for Greek Orthodox nuns and old George is a Coptic saint.

We visited the very old Jewish Synagogue which they call the New Synagogue, because the current building was built in the 1890’s and this building is one of three known synagogues on this site. However, according to tradition, there’s been a synagogue here since ancient times. I mentioned a few weeks ago that it was built on the site where Pharaoh’s daughter discovered Moses in the bullrushes.

Hanging Church Depiction of Moses in the Bullrushes

They say stuff like that all the time in Egypt. St. Catherine’s Cathedral out in the Sinai has THE Burning Bush. One of the murals at the Hanging Church depicts the Moses in the bullrushes story. There’s also a mural of the documented story of when faith actually moved a mountain. You really need to get to Egypt.

One of the sad things I learned was that while there was a large Jewish community in Cairo for centuries, it has virtually disappeared. The Synagogue is a tourist attraction, not a place of worship. Imagine a congregation, whose place of worship was originally associated with the story of Moses and which was perhaps the place Joseph worshiped when he was in Egypt, no longer having any Jews to worship in it.

Another important miracle recorded in the murals of the Hanging Church is the moving of Mokattum Mountain. A Muslim Caliph was ready to do away with Christians altogether when a bishop made a deal with him. If he could get a mountain to move then the Christians were safe. According to tradition, the bishop had everyone pray and then they had a mass at the foot of Mokattum Mountain at the edge of Cairo. Lo and behold the mountain jumped up into the air and the Christians were saved.

In recent years a church has been planted in a cavern out there at Mokattum and Bill and I would travel there before the day was over, but for now, I’ll round out my tour. On the way into the area I saw a shop selling shawls. I love shawls and capes. Bill promised we’d stop back by on the way out, probably thinking I would forget all about it – and who knows, I might have – but Zuzu remembered and now I have this beautiful shawl.

The shawl I saw on the way in was not the one I ended up with. I saw a pretty shawl that I thought would be great for evening wear and the price was minuscule. When I went back I saw this gorgeous, heavy, reversible number and asked if all the shawls were the same price. “Yes,” was his answer. I know value when I see it. I immediately abandoned the evening style and held on to this one until Bill paid for it.

Come to find out, the shawl I chose is hand woven goats wool. A tag identified the Egyptian craftsman who made it. We probably should have paid $100 for it. I’d be surprised if Bill paid $10. He’d bargained so mercilessly that he was embarrassed when we walked out of there. Once again, not understanding Arabic saved me. I would have told Bill to pay the man his price and quit bargaining.

Next week we’ll move on to Mokattum Mountain, but first, enjoy these beautiful photos.

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

The Hanging Church & Abu Sarga

July 11, 2018February 16, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: WONDER OF WONDERS

OK. Get ready! This is big. The Hanging Church is a pretty marvelous place, but wait until you hear about Abu Sargus.

Why Is It Called the Hanging Church?

When you don’t know something, your brain can make up weird stuff. I figured it was called the Hanging Church because they used to hang people there. I was wrong. It’s called the Hanging Church because of the way it hung over the city like a mirage, in the days before sky scrapers.

This church was one of the most pleasant tourist destinations we visited. The Old City was not crowded and as you can see by the picture, this is a very lovely place. The walls have pretty murals depicting the most significant events in Cairo’s Christian Community. More about that later.

Abu Sargus

I have to confess to you that I’m not big on relics. I’ve seen more bones, scraps of fabric and hair than your average traveler, because I’m always interested in churches and many churches are interested in relics. Even palaces, like the Hofburg in Vienna, have their relics. In fact, I probably saw more relics in one place in the Hofburg’s Treasury than I have seen in any church.

I feel the same way about religiously significant locales. While I would like to go to Israel, I’m convinced that most of their religious sites are not sitting in the right place at all. In most cases it is the traditional location, not the actual location and knowing there is a difference bugs me.

So, while I had probably read something that told me what I was about to see in the basement of Abu Sagus, known as the Cavern Church, it really hadn’t registered with me. I just marked it up to, uh huh sure, would you like a piece of the True Cross?

Hanging Church Mural of the Holy Family traveling to Egypt

Jesus in Egypt

Now we all know the story of the angel appearing to the Wise Men and warning them not to return to Herod after they had seen the Christ Child. We know how Joseph, Mary and Jesus escaped Bethlehem to avoid the Massacre of the Innocents. We all know that the Holy Family went to Egypt, but have you ever thought about where in Egypt they went? OK, me either. I assumed it was some cave or small town. That’s what you get for assuming.

So, if you are a Jewish Family looking for a place to wait out a bad political situation, wouldn’t you go find some other Jews to hang out with? And wouldn’t you look for a community where you could ply your trade?

To this very day, Jewish families tend to gather in the same area, near their synagogue of choice – especially observant Jews and those who practice the Orthodox tradition. Wouldn’t the Holy Family do the same thing? And where was there a significant Jewish Community and synagogue in Egypt? Well, Cairo, of course, and for good measure it was supposed to be built on the spot where Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses.

We went down to the basement and there was the remains of a two room house, but this wasn’t just any house. This was where the carpenter Joseph lived with his wife Mary and the Christ Child. OK, so it it the traditional two room house where Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived, but this space is more believable to me than most of these types of locations.

Oral histories are very strong in Egypt. I can see the Gospel writer Mark arriving in Cairo sharing his testimony. Someone says, “Jesus of Nazareth? His dad was my family’s carpenter! You say He’s the Messiah! Come on, they went to my synagogue. I can show you the very house they lived in. He died on a cross and was resurrected? Well, I’ll be!”

Without the Jerusalem Temple crowd, who did everything they could to wipe out any hint of a Messiah, I can see the Egyptian Jews accepting this information. Especially since along with the tradition that the family lived in the neighborhood, there are stories of events which demonstrated Jesus was known as someone special, even as a child. Our Muslim guide considers it common knowledge, more than a mere rumor or tradition – just short of a scientifically proven fact.

We don’t get this, because here in American we’ve only been around for a few centuries. Egyptians talk about ancient Pharaohs like we talk about our 2nd cousin on our mom’s side. We might not know them personally, but we know about them. So can I prove Jesus lived in the basement of the Abu Sargus before there was a church there. No, but it seems reasonable to me.

Come back next week and we’ll see some more of Old Cairo.

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

Sightseeing in Cairo

July 4, 2018February 16, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST?

This trip to Egypt was one best thing after another, but our day in Old Cairo was special for many reasons. Let’s get started!

A Long Wait

During my 1996 visit to Egypt, my niece had plans to take us to the churches in Old Cairo, but those plans were always for bokra (tomorrow) and bokra never came. I really didn’t know what I was missing. I was so focused on getting to the Pyramids and the Cairo Museum the churches weren’t even on my list.

This time things were different. Old Cairo was on my radar and the research I did told me not to miss it. It also told me not to let anyone squeeze it into some part of a day, but to keep demanding the outing needed its own day.

First, Bill and Ayman tried to squeeze it into the day of the wedding, but I said no. Then they suggested I see it on the day we transferred from the Fairmont to the Mena House. I kept saying no. Then I was somehow supposed to drive from Alexandria to Cairo, see the churches and get on a plane. Nope that wasn’t happening either. I’m only occasionally stubborn, but on those occasions, I’m very stubborn.

The Cairo Museum

And speaking of stubborn. Remember Zuzu, our guide to the Pyramids? Well, he was back for a repeat performance. And remember how he was determined to take us to Giza before we went to Dashour or Saqqura? Well, we had the second stanza of that. We were going to the Cairo Museum before we went to Old Cairo and that was that.

I have been to the Cairo Museum and unlike my first trip to the Pyramids, my visit to the museum trip was very satisfying. I felt like I had the time on that trip to process everything I saw. If I lived there, I would go to the museum on a regular basis. Since I didn’t live there, I wanted to spend my time doing new things. That didn’t happen. So here I am out in front of the Cairo Museum with Zuzu listening to whatever it is that he wanted to tell me about the museum.

Old Cairo, Finally!

Old Cairo is very, very old. To impress this fact upon us, Zuzu started with this ancient fortress. It was known as the Fortress of Babylon in the early AD years and once the Nile flowed through it. That’s important later on in the story.

The Old City is a warren of churches. There is St. George’s Church and Covent, The Hanging Church, St. Barbara’s, Abu Sargus Cavern Church and a Synogogue. It gets a little confusing, because some of the properties have changed hands several times. Several have been rebuilt several times. As I researched this part of the trip, I imagined having to walk great distances to see these various sights, but they are actually cheek to jowl – right in the same place.

Next week we’ll go start touring the churches. You won’t want to miss that!

Architecture, ART, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Cruising the Nile Like a Queen

June 20, 2018February 16, 2018 Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: THE PHARAOH’S DINNER CRUISE

Moksen, my nephew Bassem’s new father-in-law, invited us to be his guest on an early Nile Dinner Cruise. He’d enjoyed our hospitality on a visit to the States and was eager to return the favor. He returned the favor in spades!

An Early Arrival

Since we’d allowed plenty of time to visit the monastery during our trip from Alex to Cairo, we were early to the cruise. Izzat entertained us a little by driving us around the elegant neighborhood near the dock of the boat, but that didn’t take very long and we really didn’t have time for anything else. Hence we arrived at the boat long before anyone else – and what a boat!

I’m telling you Cleopatra would have been thrilled to take a cruise on this boat. The photos really don’t do it justice, but the boat was covered in gilded pharaonic decorations. The waiters wore the same garb as Cleo’s servants would have worn. All that was missing was getting fanned by ostrich plumes and I have a feeling if I’d asked for it, they would have been able to comply with my wishes.

An Excellent Meal

If you remember any of the details about my nephew’s wedding and reception, then you know that no expense was spared. This dinner cruise was similar – the best of the best.

While we waited for our party, I checked out the restroom facilities and they were much improved over our roadside stop. Then we wandered around the boat checking out every elegant detail.

Before long Moksen and his lovely wife Shahira, first on the left side, were coming aboard and the party started. It was a huge, delicious meal and I was thrilled to be with my family once again.

Once we’d eaten our fill (and a little bit more) we all wandered outside to enjoy the view from the decks. Our hosts had invited us to the early cruise – about 2:30 – and this allowed us to see Cairo in all it’s daytime glory. I’m sure the evening experience is romantic, but I would not have traded our daytime views for anything.

I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to enjoy this amazing trip. It seems as if every time I travel I say, “This was the trip of a lifetime,” but each time it seems true. From family tours of historic American sites when I was a child to wandering through the English countryside in my twenties to the Danube Cruise I took in 2016, they are all singular experiences many people never get the opportunity to enjoy. This trip was no different. Each day was an absolute wonder. It has taken over a year to share it with you, but it is finally drawing to a close. Only one more full day to share and then we’ll have to see what our next adventure will be.

Enjoy and come back tomorrow for our return to the Fairmont. The second time around was a little more problematic that our original stay!