Saturday, July 31^st. Onboard time is 6pm. So we have to be careful not to go too far. Our plan is to get to the new Alexandria Library early, look around a bit, catch the 1:00 show at the planetarium, and catch a cab back to the ship.

Traffic in Alexandria is a little bit crazy. It’s sort of like Boston, if Boston had 90% fewer traffic lights. You just run your car out into intersections and folks make room for you. And they enter the intersection from your right or left and you make room for them. There is some horn honking, but mostly of a relatively polite “I’m passing you please look out” variety. We did have an incident where our taxi was cut off. And our driver proceeded to force the offending car out of the traffic lane and then to sit for 30 seconds or so before “releasing” him. But overall drivers seemed resigned to the traffic methods.

The first show we saw was on the seven wonders of the ancient world. The only one of these still standing is the Great Pyramid at Giza. Alexandria was the site of another, the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Which is believed to have slipped into the sea. BTW, Alexandria is planning an underwater museum. They plan a sort of glass tunnel in which folks could observe antiquities that have been found in the bay.

A collage of The Seven Wonders of the (ancient) world, depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck.

There is a collection of medieval instruments of astronomy and science in the planetarium. Islamic scientists made major contributions to the development of science in the first millennium, and astronomy was one field where they led the way.

The other show was about the cosmology of the Egyptians during the period of the pharaohs. Weird stuff, but no weirder than any of our other many religions. The earth is flat with an overworld and an underworld. The sun shines on 1 for half the day and on the other for the other half-day. At death, some of us through careful preparation can move from the one to the other. One interesting tidbit was that the north star hasn’t always been the same star. The axis upon which the earth spins does not always point to the same spot in the universe.

Book of the Dead

OK. Out into the Egyptian sun, and back to the empty port terminal, and back on the ship. Next stop Morocco.

July 30^th, Friday

This morning was a catch-up time. Kathy was grading papers, and I was sitting outside on deck 7 listening to the Friday call to prayers. They use PA systems in the minarets. Friday noontime prayers are the most important of the week and the call to prayer is more elaborate and prolonged. 1/2 hour of the chanted call followed by a sermon. Some of the mosques broadcast the sermon. I could hear a few pretty well intermittently as the breeze shifted one way or another.

We planned to get back to the Library of Alexandria by 17:00 for a planetarium show.  We did get there on time, but the show was sold out! We made a reservation for Saturday’s show and headed back along the corniche. We had made a tentative date to meet up with folks at the “Greek Club” next to the Qaitbay Citadel. We were hoping to find an ATM, get some cash, and grab a taxi. But we couldn’t find an ATM anywhere. Finally, after a long walk, hot and tired, we did see an ATM one block off the corniche, near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier… and we did get cash, and we did catch a cab the rest of the way.

Cab hiring in many of these ports is a specific art. You have to negotiate a price, with the driver, in advance. You have to make sure you are quoting prices in the same currency, and that the fare is not per person. Experts recommend you exit the cab before paying and pay through the window so if there has been a misunderstanding you can choose to walk away.  This worked pretty well for us with few misunderstandings.

The Citadel is on the end of a thin peninsula at one end of the bay. The Greek Club is also on this peninsula and has a view of harbor beaches to the east, and of a waterfront park area to the west. As evening fell, and the city cooled off, families came to hang out near the water. Folks were flying kites, buying balloons for the kids, eating street vendor foods, and taking short rides aboard a few rowboats. There is a small bay with a narrow rocky entrance where the waves create some spray. The boats seemed to take the customers toward this entrance, close enough to get rocked by the waves and hit by some spray, and then back to safety.

None of our tentative fellow diners showed up so we had a peaceful dinner for two. We decided to try to walk back to the ship. It was probably about 1 mile and we “sort-of” knew the way. We walked past a fish market, and through a district with beaches on the right and restaurant-clubs on the left. Lots of people out. Gradually we ran out of major crowded streets and got into an area where it was more difficult to pick a direction. We wound up in a fairly busy very small crossroad and decided to try to catch a cab there. This we did after a short wait.

In each port the folks on the ship give out “green sheets”. A single-page two-sided paper stuffed with critical information such as the number of the consulate, the ships reception, which dean is on duty which days, their phone number…etc. One of the things they put on the green sheet is the location of the ship written in the local language. I typically show the driver this and ask if he can take us there. This driver says yes, but has to slows ask for directions from some guys sitting on a step. That seems to work though and we are on our way. We get back to the ship exhausted.

Thursday, July 29^th.

Thursday morning we boarded busses for the ride to Giza.  Giza was once a small peasant village adjoining the pyramid field. Now it is part of Cairo as the two grow towards each other. There are 3 main pyramids at Giza in which were interred three successive pharaohs, Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. While Egypt has uncovered well over 100 pyramids, these are the most significant.

The ride from Alexandria to Giza is about 3 hours. Our bus deposited us in a parking area about 100 meters from the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. It is still the tallest pyramid in the world. (According to wikipedia, Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla is largest by volume).

So, they are impressive. It was hot-hot-hot, and you are standing on a rock plateau. And these monuments are BIG. And you try to imagine what they looked like when they were smooth, white limestone exteriors. And it is awesome, but you do have to think about the labor, and the reason. Making sure these leaders successfully get to the other world. But it would be better to build a just, sustainable, happy culture. And maybe that has happened. But it doesn’t last as long and is harder to see. So we think, maybe we should be building something like this. Hey, let’s build some playgrounds and hospitals.

Back on the bus. Now we head to a “country club” on the edge of the desert outside Giza. We hop into some 4-wheel-drive cars and BOUNCE out across the desert. This is meant to be fun-like-a-roller-coaster, but I was in the jump seats in the back and bouncing off the roof. I think it would have been a LOT more fun to drive a motocross bike out there! After the measured dose of bouncing we got out and were greeted by our camels and drivers. We mounted up and rode ½ hour back to the club. The camels were well behaved, the drivers were fine, and the length was about right. Long enough to enjoy the sand landscape but not too long in the sun.

After lunch we drove to Saqqara, a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step pyramid of Djoser. Djoser’s funerary complex was built by the royal architect Imhotep. And if you haven’t seen Bubba Ho-tep , get it, see it.

OK Back on the bus. Back to the ship.