It’s been exactly three years since completing our Antarctica trip and disembarking our ship M.S. Roald Amundson, in Punta Arena, Chile. The Corona Virus was spreading over Earth like a haboob. The virus had been a topic of intense interest and much discussion during our voyage. We took refuge in the knowledge that our ship was virus free, as were all the research stations in Antarctica. We had been in a safe place. But as we docked in Punta Arena, we could feel the cloud of the virus heading in our direction, just hours away. Our flight home started in Punta Arena with Santiago, and Mexico City stops. No one was wearing masks. We received the news as we switched planes in Mexico City that our ship, which took on a new set of passengers as we left, was put into quarantine. New passengers had carried the virus on board. The ship and everyone on board was quarantined and remained in port for 12 days. We dodged a bullet!

Soon after arriving home, the U.S. barred all flights from South America. We made it just in time.

As COVID protocols became mandatory in our area, all aspects of daily life were affected. We canceled plans for a Northern UK/Scotland/Iceland trip. We also scrapped a journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg (before the Ukraine conflict.) We had to adjust our mind’s focal length of travel destinations from worldwide to something much smaller – an opportunity to re-invent our life rhythm.

T.S. Eliot’s words come to mind:

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

We focused on home, taking online classes, writing, producing home movies, delving into spirituality, and getting closer to our families via Zoom. We put a lot of energy into creating a showcase yard by adding forest paths, Asian garden art, and specimen plants, all anchored by an open pavilion to sit and enjoy the serenity of nature framed with beautiful sunsets.

Our backyard with a visitor to taste some new growth.

As if by magic, the Universe presented us with an opportunity last year: an excursion to Egypt, Cairo, Alexandria, and of course, The Nile. Exciting! YES, but maybe a little scary!

I have been fascinated with Egypt since my teens. One of the book sets I had purchased was Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet…yes, it’s still on my bookcase! So starting our journey with a few days in Alexandria seemed exciting and romantic. But first, let’s look at ‘scary.’ It has two components: Is Egypt safe? And are we ready to break out of the shell we’ve inhabited these last three years – a bold move? Well, the answer to the previous question is an enthusiastic YES.

The safety cloud over Egypt remains. The U.S. Department of State gives Egypt an Advisory Level 3 rating – ‘Reconsider Travel.’ Alexandria’s Safety Index is 49, while Cairo’s is 39 on a scale of 100…the higher, the safer. The bottom line, it is moderately safe. The six hours on the road from Cairo to Alexandria is rated as a much greater risk. The travel time would give us only 3 hours in Alexandria. To minimize risk, we decided to skip it and spend more in-depth time in Cairo. We countered any remaining hesitancy by watching Death on the Nile, Cairo Time movies, and reading The House Built on Sand by Peter Townsend. Serendipitously, we had just toured the Ramses and Pharaoh’s Gold exhibit (180 objects from Egypt) at the de Young Museum in San Francisco just before last Christmas. The stars seemed to be aligning! We’re going.

The area adjacent to the Nile River, extending along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was part of the Fertile Crescent that nurtured the expansion of human culture, originating in Mesopotamia, dating back more than two and a half million years. The Nile’s flooding deposited rich soil that fueled civilization in Egypt over seven thousand years – beginning about 5,000 BC. The Pharaonic period started in 3,000 BC with the reign of King Narmer and continued through thirty-two dynasties. The Pharaonic period ended with the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C. and marked the end of the Hellenistic period (Alexander the Great). Rome annexed Egypt and continued to rule for seven centuries. Following the Roman period, Egypt endured tides of conquering foreign armies, race, religion, colonization, and politics that washed over the region and continue to do so to this day. The last upheaval, a political event, was the 25 January Revolution in 2011 -2013. Unrest continued into 2014 when the newly approved constitution banned political parties based on religion and the country democratically elected military strongman Abdel Tattah el-Sisi as President. He won a second term in the 2018 election. While the next scheduled election is in 2024, last year’s overwhelming approval of a constitutional referendum postponed the election until 2026, increased the Presidential term from 5 to 6 years, and allowed for a third Presidential term. It means el-Sisi could remain in power until 2030. It endorsed the desire for stability. The struggle to agree on Egypt’s identity continues to fuel unrest: Which dominates their identity – are they Arabs, Muslims, or Egyptians? Periodically, this spilled over into acts of terrorism, hence the Level 3 advisory by the U.S. Department of State.

Many museums (Berlin, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.) have antiquity exhibits focused on the Pharaonic period, filled with artifacts – some acquired via suspect sojourns. Whenever we think of Egypt, we mainly visualize Pharaonic icons such as the pyramids, King Tut’s mask, the Sphinx, and archeological digs. Unfortunately, thieves have desecrated many Egyptian burial sites and temples in search of gold and other treasures. Additionally, international archeological teams have absconded artifacts to enrich their museums. It’s one thing to examine an artifact as a single point and yet another to see the context from which it came. I believe the full-scale setting will add dimensions to connect the dots of artifacts into an impactful, four-dimensional vista.

Our itinerary heavily focuses on the Pharaonic era, including Luxor, Valley of the Kings, and temples at Kom Ombo, Isis, and Khnum. While visiting these ancient jewels is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, my mission is to get a more contemporary sense of Egypt’s culture with a focus on religion. The Greek Apostle Mark spearheaded the patriarchate of Christianity in Alexandria in 42 A.D. Alexandria became the epicenter of Christianity. Egypt remained Christian until the 7th century when Muslims conquered the region. Religious domains of Paganism, Christianity, and Muslim continued to enmesh with many episodes of friction and conflict. The Egyptian Christians remain and are known as Copts. They are the second largest religion behind Muslims, yet only represent about 5% of the population. Cairo is the melding center of three apexes: Muslimism, Egyptian, and Arab. I’m hoping to get a sense of which dominates.

Our itinerary includes four days in the Cairo area and eight days on the Nile River, with stops at notable towns, temples, and mosques dating back to the Pharaonic period. We will sail upstream to the giant Aswan Dam, completed in 1970. The dam controls flooding downstream, generates electricity, increases water storage for irrigation, and fuels industrialization. It will be interesting to learn how the combination of the dam and climate change will impact the future of Egypt.

Itinerary of our travels in Egypt

I’m looking forward to exploring this part of the world.  Note, dependent on internet access, I may need to postpone publishing daily posts at a later time.