Turkish Delight (part III) – Away With the Ferries!! (in the valleys)

(August 22-27) After getting out of the water to give our wrinkled fingers some reprieve it was time to head inland to see some amazing sights!

Olimpos to Cappadocia via VW Jetta: August 22

Our new lawyer pal Kate from NZ piled into the back of a VW Jetta (same year as mine – ah familiarity) with Becky and I for the long 10 hour ride to Cappadocia. It sure beat the bus in terms of speed but not space (can you say sardines?). We traveled through amazing winding roads with rocky mountains and pretty pines to our left and the Mediterranean Sea to our right. Eventually, we headed north inland to see the sunset over countryside homes nestled into the mountains. We finally arrived after 11 hours of car time in Goreme (population of 2,500) and saw the fairy chimneys lit up at night. We stayed at the Star Cave Pension in an actual cave room which was awesome (aside from the excessive moth ball smell).

Cappadocia: August 23-25

Cappadocia is a fascinating little town where the locals live in fairy chimneys and tourists flock to see the amazing geological formations. Becky and I headed to the Goreme Open Air museum to see the fairy chimneys firsthand. From 1800 to 1200BC Hittites first settled there then Persians and eventually Romans. From the 4th to 11th century it was a refuge for Christians and the churches and monasteries were underground. It was intriguing to wander through the fairy chimneys and visit the living quarters and churches with Biblical paintings on the wall.

Becky and I then scrambled up a neighboring hill to see the views and take some pictures. We continued to be lured further and further away due to the awesome sights. Before we knew it we had hiked for four and a half hours through the Red and Rose Valleys. The unique rock structures varied a ton in color and shape – the formations were smooth, jagged, curved, pointed, and layered with colors. Some of the rock faces glowed in red and yellow while others were a more mild tan or white color. Around each turn and up each new hill the views shockingly improved.










Finally, we ended in a small town called Cavusin. We got lucky and got a ride back into town since our feet hurt and it had gotten hotter. After a 4PM lunch we headed up a small hill to see the sunset. A full moon shone and the sky around the rock formations was a purple hue. We ended the day at the Safak Café with Kate for a fun dinner complete with local favorites like lentil soup, apple tea and a chocolate banana crepe.

The next day we took a formal tour of the broader area. We stopped at Honey Valley for pictures and views and then headed to the underground city in Derinkuyu. This crazy city has seven stories below the ground and is 55 meters deep (182 feet)! We saw the kitchen, church, stables for animals (true story), wells etc. There are 137 similar cities where Christians hid from the Persian and Arabic armies in the 6th and 7th centuries. After seeing the dark city it was time to head above ground to hike through a gorge in the Ihlara Valley. It was a pretty hike through the huge walls of the gorge, and we saw the small Kokar Church built into the gorge with its unique frescoes and wall paintings of Jesus. Later we visited the rather large Selime Monastery which was cut into rocks like the fairy chimneys. Finally we ended the tour with a stop at Pigeon Valley where the birds used to act as messengers during dangerous times.

The next morning we dragged ourselves up at 5AM to see the sunrise over Cappadocia. It was initially pitch black and cold as we slowly meandered up the hill. It quickly became one of the most peaceful and exciting sights I have ever seen. Thirty-six hot air balloons broke the morning silence as they slowly inflated from the ground all over the area and eventually lifted themselves off of the ground as the sun peaked above the fairy chimneys. The balloons were a wide variety of colors especially while illuminated by the sun and they dotted the sky at various heights among the fairy chimneys. We looked on from the hill above and a few balloons passed closely right over head. We even talked to and felt the heat from one basket load of people.










Sadly, after two hours of gazing and picture taking it was time to pack up and leave Cappadocia. We had an eleven hour bus ride back to Istanbul through primarily dry scenery, but we powered through with limited stops.

Istanbul: August 26-27

Becky and I were back in Istanbul seeing the newer Beyoglu side of the city. This side of Istanbul was much more modern and western feeling. We walked across the Galata Bridge and headed to the historical sightseeing tower. The 61 meter (201 foot) high 9 meter (30 foot) diameter tower was built by Justinianus in 528AD. There were amazing views of old and new Istanbul, including numerous mosques, several bridges, and colorful homes. After visiting the tower we went to Taksim Square and strolled down Istiklal Caddesi Street. This street was extremely western and had Michigan Avenue style stores (Adidas, Nike, Starbucks, and even Pizza Hut) combined with a San Francisco-esque trolley on the hilly cobblestone roadway running through it. We completed our last night in Istanbul on our favorite street catching up with our New Zealand pal Kate. That night I finally got my flights back to LA and Minneapolis, so I will be returning to the US officially on October 29th!




I got up early and roamed the quiet streets of Istanbul on my own. It was very peaceful since people have Fridays off, so I shared the road with some cats and a few people. Soon after Becky and I were on the move again with a mid-morning flight to the Kingdom of Bahrain where we connected to Dubai. The airports were fancy as expected and the flights went smoothly. Turkey was an amazing trip and we were very sad to leave. Until next time…Sarah.

Turkish Delight (part II) – Getting Amongst It!! (on the water)

(August 17-22) Becky and I were back in action in Turkey as we finally set aside our museli snacks with apricot pips and our Form Light treats to start our highly anticipated water times in Turkey.

Koycegiz to Fethiye: August 17-18

On our way to get on the water we stopped in Tlos to see Ancient Lycia and the 3rd century AD tombs built right into the side of the mountains. Nearby was a theater and hippodrome from the 2nd and 3rd BC centuries. Turkey was filled with so many historical sites it was tough to avoid complacency.

Finally, we reached the 18 km (10.8 mi) Saklikent Gorge formed between the Akdaglar Mountains. It was mammoth and impressive. We hiked for 40 minutes with John and Juliet our bus pals from New Zealand while random local kids cliff jumped off of crazy high rocks and bridges (50 feet) into the water. There were also people floating on tubes down the freezing cold river, and we dined at a delightful table literally on the river water.

Later we arrived in Fethiye which was a quaint little beach town on the Mediterranean Sea with a European feel. We had two amazing dinners with our NZ pals. The first dinner allowed us to choose our own fresh fish or steaks from a huge selection right before our eyes. We then brought it to one of the nearby restaurants where they cooked it to perfection and provided sides. The next night we had eastern Turkish food – humus with hot peppers and a BBQ chicken wrap with huge veggies and a red sauce. Becky quickly learned and then dominated euchre, so we played a good deal of cards the next couple of days.

Fethiye to Olimpos via sailboat: August 19-22

It was time to board the 75 foot wooden Alaturka sailboat (complete with its own Turkish flag) for our highly anticipated journey from Fethiye to Olimpos on the Mediterranean. Twelve others around our age joined us from Australia, New Zealand, US, Turkey, and Germany. We had a little room with a porthole which held our stuff, but the majority of us chose to sleep sprawled out across the top of the boat.


The water was a gorgeous blue color as we sailed around Butterfly Valley stopping to hike up to what ended up being a mini waterfall, a trickle if you will. We parked in St. Nicolas Bay that evening where I jet skied for the first time tearing around the islands and dodging a sea turtle in the process.

A variety of fun music consistently blasted and backgammon was the game of choice as we baked in the sun and swam frequently to keep cool. I even walked the plank off the front of the boat, pirate style, before the captain (aka entertaining partier that occasionally steered the boat) caught me. We basically read our books, napped, ate, drank, and repeated for three and a half days. Never have I been so relaxed.


On the second day we sailed to Aquarium Bay, complete with rocky islands, to swim and then on to Kas for lunch in the beautiful European style town. That night we had a fantastic charcoal grilled chicken feast and a watermelon carved head complete with glowing sparklers and a Turkish fez hat.


The next morning afforded more swimming time and an eventual stop at my favorite little island. Kalekoy was extremely small with a few restaurants and small homes dotting the shoreline and hills. We hiked up to the Simena Ruins and castle at the top of it and a local 10 year old guided me around showing me the hidden ancient tombs; we communicated the best we could through broken English and pointing. I eventually swam back to the boat, and we sailed along the opposite shore to see a sunken city with walls and steps right into the water, caused by an earthquake.


Later it was anchors away in Pirate’s Bay – ARRRRGGHH maytey! The secluded little bays surrounded by rocky tree covered islands were spectacular, and I loved every minute of it! Eight of us could not resist as we jumped on a large inflatable banana and flew behind a speed boat often getting ripped off of it and laughing the whole way.



Since it was the last night it was critical that we have a dance boat party complete with the theme song “Ride the White Horse.” We had a blast and then headed to Smugglers bar on the island where all of the boats congregated for one final party. I naturally bartended for a bit and danced with our boat peeps – Becky, Kristen (US), and I put on a bit of a clinic for a bit and Thomas (Germany) kept things rolling with his shirt flying through the air. Our whole group got after it and celebrated a great boat trip.


Sadly we only had a half day left as we swam in Pirate’s cave and headed to Olimpos. It was tough to say goodbye to our new best boat friends after one last “Ride the White Horse” song, at least we have facebook. Luckily we got to continue on with Kate from New Zealand. Until next time…Sarah.

Turkish Delight (part I) – Give it Heaps (of historical concentration)

(August 12-16) Alright, I am back in action and writing about Turkey! Becky (my current travel pal from Kellogg) had the brilliant idea of mixing up my writing style and format for this one, so I hope you enjoy the new and hopefully shorter version. A huge thanks to our Turkish friend, Ozlem, who provided itinerary and culinary guidance that enhanced our journey.

The setting: Although elements of Turkey reminded me of numerous places I have been before never have I visited a place quite like it. Turkey has a population of 70 million people, 12 million of which live in Istanbul. Istanbul is on the Bosphorus Strait between the Black and Marmara Seas. Istanbul is technically on both the European and Asian continents, but we spent our time on the European side. Based on landmass, Turkey is about 97% Asia and 3% Europe.

The cast: The people are 98% Muslim and speak Turkish, which is an extremely challenging language. After two weeks Becky and I could not even say the full word for thank you! People were extremely welcoming and kind. They constantly helped us find our way, often even walking us to the location. They also have a great deal of pride and Turkish flags can be seen throughout the country.

In addition to the numerous Turks we interacted with along the way, we also met heaps of New Zealanders and Aussies. I will tell a few related stories along the way and throw out some new vocabulary we learned (some will be mixed in for you to pick up on but the extra fun phrases will be explained). They were all great, and we hope to stay in touch with many of them.

The transportation: We took a hop on hop off Fez bus to get around Turkey. It was a great way to get around Turkey, because it allowed for flexible stops, lodging advice, tour guides, and meeting new people. The route was set, and we were able to decide how long we wanted to stay in each place.

The experiences: Here is a map that shows our route for the two weeks. We completed the large red loop with a 3 day sailing trip between Fethiye and Olympos. The rest of this write-up will be pictures with captions and random stories.


Istanbul: August 12, 13

We stayed in the quaint area of Sultanahmet, and it was very hot (one of the hottest summers in the past 100 years in fact). The cobblestone streets, various restaurants, colorful buildings, and views of the sea reminded me of both Boston and San Francisco.

We visited Hagia (Aya) Sophia the 537AD church built by Justinian during the Byzantine Empire. It later became a mosque in 1453, so it was interesting to see the two cultures merge in the form of wooden doors, mosaics, and marble. We also took pictures outside of the famous Blue Mosque, just across the way from Hagia Sophia.


Later we braved the enormous Grand Bazaar and wandered the complicated halls of shops. There were sections of the bazaar that housed all of the same product types: gold area, ceramics, lanterns etc. We loved the bright colored lantern and ceramics. Becky and I got amongst it and bargained with the shop owners; it was definitely my favorite bazaar.


We also learned that people in Turkey believe that evil eyes can deflect and ward off evil. The Evil Eyes were everywhere (in cars, homes, stores, featured in jewelry, and even built into walkways and roads) and came in all sizes (from smaller than a dime to the giant peepers I am sporting in this ridiculous picture).


Turkey is famous for its Turkish delights or flavorful gelatin treats among other delectable desserts like baklava, pistachio ice cream, and rice puddings. I tried them all despite my dentist’s likely dismay.

Eceabat and Gallipoli to Canakkale: August 14

We got on the Fez bus in Istanbul at 7AM and traveled through farmlands many of which were of giant sunflowers which was amazing to see.

For 9 months key WWI battles were fought between the Turks and the British, Aussie, and New Zealand Allies at Eceabat and Gallipoli. The Turks managed to win this battle extending the war and solidifying Mustafa Kemal’s (Ataturk) future leadership position in Turkey. Gallipoli is now the site for memorials for both sides of the war and the Aussies and New Zealanders celebrate ANZAC Day here annually (similar to our Memorial Day). We visited the war museum, various grave sites, trenches, and memorials. We then took a ferry to the nearby town of Canakkale where we ate at a rooftop restaurant with our new bus friends. We got to know a great Italian family from Milan (Anita Di Malta, her parents, and Nepule their traveling penguin).


Our bus driver was quite the character indeed. He was often grumpy, scolding us in Turkish (honestly I am still not sure why) and always a crazy driver. Despite it being well over a 100 degrees he would not keep the a/c on regularly and he insisted on honking more than his fair share. At one point he swerved nearly hitting an old women who shook her fist at him in a fury; we all secretly cheered on the woman. The real highlight was watching him back into a parked car causing physical damage, which he was not going to report.

Troy to Pergamum to Kusadasi: August 15

We stopped in Troy (on the Aegean Sea) to see the site where nine cities have been built on top of each other from 3000BC to 500AD (fires and earthquakes destroyed them – you would think relocation would have been an option) and the famous Trojan War occurred. There were portions of original walls from the various cities like the ones I am running by. Later, Helen of Troy would be used in a game and I pathetically failed at guessing it. It was pretty funny indeed.


After some more bus time we toured Pergamum (323BC to 129BC – Alexander the Great’s time) with our delightful tour guide that called us his dear friends. We weaved through the current town (58,000 population) of red roofed homes and original Greek homes untouchable by law. Eventually we made it up the large hill to Akropolis where the former Greeks then Romans had kingdoms there. Ancient pillars, walls, and the theater were scattered around the area.

Finally, we arrived in Kusadasi for the evening where we ate amazing doner kebabs with our Aussie bus friends Alex and Dan. We shopped the Faux Collections - Kusadasi and beyond 2010 - where Becky got a Fouie Vitton wallet and Alex scored herself some Fay Bans. We skipped the Genuine Fake Watch section though.

Kusadasi to Koycegiz: August 16

We lost 7 of our bus pals as they chose to “hop off” and spend extra time in the Kusadasi area. We did gain 8 new people including out card playing friends John and Juliet from New Zealand.

This day will provide us with laughs for years to come as we made random shopping stops. First, we filed into a leather store where we sat unexpectedly along both sides of a runway. Suddenly intense music filled the air, the lights went dim, and a very serious leather fashion show exploded before our very eyes. There were about eight models sporting various leather jackets, and then they pulled three of our bus pals from the audience to participate. John held his own as he strutted his stuff to a US pop song (Sexy B*tch). It took everything I had in my bag of tricks to fight back laughter as the show progressed. Later Becky and I tried on numerous insane leather jackets as the owner tried to sell me on Los Angeles / Hollywood style gear. The onyx factory, rug shop, and ceramic stores did not stand a chance competing with that. We did however enjoy a fruit wine tasting later that day.




Koycegiz was a delightful little town on a lake and Becky and I had one of our favorite meals at a hole in the wall. My kofte meatballs bathing in a red sauce over rice was followed up by some fresh baklava. Becky had an additional dessert of a lemon cracker soaked in my Nivea lotion which had somehow escaped by bag earlier in the luggage compartment of the bus. After lots of laughs and me learning about my lost lotion we finally slept. More Turkey to come as we hit the water. Until next time…Sarah.

Walk Like an Egyptian (part 2) – De Nile Time!

(August 7 - 12) Back to Egyptian times. We made it to the Sharm el Sheik airport starving after our overnight hike, so we desperately wanted to eat. We were told there were numerous restaurants in the airport; unfortunately they were only in the international terminal. We could see a Burger King taunting us above, so we asked security with our saddest most pathetic faces if we could go through to eat. Since we looked like desperate US peeps in need of American food they actually entertained the idea for five minutes and talked to the security team. No surprise we were rejected and the airport café won yet another battle.

After the fun times in Sinai we arrived in Luxor and had a very early start to our sightseeing day. Luxor was a much larger city of 500,000 people living near the Nile. It was very green along the river, and as a result farming and sugar cane were the main industries.

We took the only bridge from the east bank of the Nile to the Valley of the Kings in the Theban Hills. The Valley of Kings was one of my favorite sites in Egypt. For 500 years pharos from the New Kingdom (1700 BC) had 63 tombs built below the ground in this limestone valley. The pharaoh would commission the tomb to be built as his eventual burial site to guarantee eternal life. The tombs varied greatly in size as some of them had numerous rooms off of long corridors covered in hieroglyphics. In order to protect the tombs only eleven of them can be viewed any given day, and they rotate which ones are open. One of the tombs was discovered as recently as 2005, and it is believed there may be a few more still hidden since some of the pharos’ tombs have not been found.

King Tut’s tomb was found here and is actually one of the smaller tombs buried below another tomb, which is believed to be the reason tomb raiders did not find it to steal its treasures. King Tut was young at the time of his death and not accomplished pharaoh, so his fame seems to be a result of his well preserved tomb and extravagant gold treasures and sarcophagi.

We started extremely early, but it was still laughably hot, especially as we climbed down into the tombs beneath the ground. We headed into the Ramses I tomb which was the largest we would visit taking about five minutes to reach the end. There were lots of mini coffin sized rooms, including a famous one with a harp painted on the wall. In order to protect the art we were not allowed to photograph the inner tombs, so just try to visualize the historic art by my descriptions…okay just Google it. The hieroglyphics were very impressive and were carved into the walls in many places and then painted in various colors. It was amazing to see all of the work that went into the wall paintings, and it was mind blowing that it has been preserved for over 3,700 years.

We then visited the much smaller Ramses IV tomb which displayed well preserved hieroglyphics with a pretty blue background. The paintings often showed the pharaoh meeting with and making offerings to the gods to gain eternal life. There were hundreds of small hieroglyphics in rows from top to bottom of the walls telling various stories. This tomb also had dark ceilings with stars painted on them.

Finally, we went into the very deep tomb of Ramses IX. There were noticeably many more women representations in this tomb. The very last inner room of the tomb was fascinating since the ceiling and walls depicted the queen and pharaoh making special offerings in large scale.

In general it was amazing to see this huge area of tombs all underground, and there is actually another separate area of the Valley of Kings to go to with three other tombs (we did not have time to visit). There is also a Valley of the Queens that housed the tombs of the queens. One of those tombs is known as the best preserved tomb and some people are willing to pay $20,000 to see it – since I am not Bill Gates we did not go there.

Since there were more old buildings to see, and we like a challenge we went to the Hatshepsut Temple. This temple was part of the New Kingdom during the 15th century BC. Hatshepsut was the only woman to rule Egypt, and she did so for 18 years. She even cross dressed and did what she could to look like previous male pharos to gain respect (wore the fake pharaoh beard etc) – I wonder what Dr. Phil would say about that.

The three story temple blended into the desert mountain behind it and as we approached it two tree stumps from 3,500 years ago marked the base of the impressive stairs leading to the grand entry. The bottom floor did not have much to see so we viewed the colorless hieroglyphics on the second floor. Our pro photographer, Mia, captured the main scenes, and we headed up to the top floor. The top floor had massive statues of Hatshepsut outside the temple, so I felt like I was in Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Sadly all of her heads and faces were “deleted” (aka destroyed by chisel) by Tuthmosis III who was her stepson. He succeeded her but was angry that she kept him from the throne sooner (Jerry Springer called and wants them on the show).



Later we walked to lunch and as Ben and I strolled ahead an aggressive (agro) Egyptian guy yelled to me that I could switch husbands if I wanted. Don’t worry Ben, I would still choose you…hahaha. We had some great shwerma for lunch and in the true spirit of wasting energy the restaurant had a/c blowing outside on us! John and I took a break from ancient sites to bask in technology while Ben and Mia the true Egyptians visited the Karnak Temple.

On day 8 after seeing hot air balloons dot the sky above the Nile we were loaded in our van at 7:15AM for a 3.5 hour ride to Aswan, another city of 500,000. The original Egyptians (Nubians) live in nearby villages and speak their own language and marry each other to perpetuate the culture. Nubians are typically Muslims with darker skin. Some of the younger generation Nubians have moved to other large cities around Egypt.

We went straight to the Aswan Dam (or High Dam), which is the newer of the two large Egyptian dams. The old dam was built by the British to save the Egyptians from the floods while the High Dam generates a great deal of electricity. Money from the Suez Canal was used to fund the Soviet designed, Egypt built dam (built from 1960-71). A Friendship Tower was erected with a Lotus Flower like shape to represent the Russian and Egyptian collaboration. The dam created the largest artificial lake in the world – Nassar Lake. This dam generates electricity from the Nile River which is the longest river in the world at 6,600 km (4,026 miles) and flows north from Ethiopia (Blue Nile) and Lake Victoria (White Nile). 15% of the energy is used by all of Egypt and the rest is exported to Sudan, Iran and other neighbors. The dam is 111m (367 ft) high and 1 km (0.61 miles) from one side to the other.

It’s not all sunshine roses though; the dam has caused its share of problems. 15,000 Nubians had to be displaced since they lived where Nassar Lake would eventually develop. Also, an ancient temple had to be relocated, so it would not end up under water. Finally, the lake water behind the dam is causing the soil to become more like silt, destroying the crop yields.

After learning about the dams we got on a boat to visit the Isis Temple on Philae Island which is between the two dams. This temple was actually built by the Greeks and Romans because Isis reminded them of their love/fertility goddess Aphrodite. The story of Isis makes soap operas and Desperate Housewives seem dull, so I could not keep up with it all. Ultimately, Isis’ husband was her older brother and was killed twice by the jealous younger brother (yes, twice - clearly Isis brought him back to life after the first time). We were the only people on the island at first, which was awesome since it felt more mysterious.

The temple had Greek columns and nice hieroglyphics that the Greeks created, so the Egyptians could understand and pray there. It was built between 300 and 150 BC. Eventually Christians and Napoleon’s troops came to the temple and defaced many of the gods since they represented idols. They left behind carvings of Celtic crosses and a note from Napoleon etched into the stone. UNESCO helped fund the temple move, which took eight years to dismantle and recreate on a higher island in 1972.

We spent our last time with John and Ben exploring the Aswan bazaar where we got lost in the huge maze of covered streets with a mix of legitimate stores and small stands. We happened to go during prayer time, so the market was calmer with many shops closed (thankfully). Mia was on an all out mission to obtain hibiscus tea and other spices for her boyfriend Dan. We wandered along as she methodically spoke to the various spice kings of the market. I was about ready to collapse, so I asked Mia to use her negotiation skills to get a deal done. This would prove to take at least 30 minutes since Mia is tough and always ready to get a bargain. She put her Kellogg skills to the test as Ben stood by patiently as her bodyguard. I watched at times and other times would check in on John as he was also attempting to buy tea. Eventually a deal was struck and Mia had her spices. Ben and John also nabbed hibiscus tea which looks like dark red dried up little flowers the size of a silver dollar.

We needed a quick dinner for John and Ben so that meant only one nearby option…just try and guess what their last Egyptian meal was…that’s right KFC! Hahaha. It was a fancy location on the Nile with similar food and pricing to the USA. It was sad to say goodbye to them both after three weeks together, luckily I still had Mia who never disappoints in the entertainment department.

The next day Mia and I had yet another crazy wakeup schedule as we got up at 3:30AM for our 4AM pickup. We caravanned south for 3.5 hours to Abu Simbel (in case of a desert breakdown – sound familiar?) which is on the border of Sudan. Abu Simbel is a very small town of 15,000 people on the water. The city’s big highlights are the Sun and Hathor temples. These temples were moved in the 1960s to protect them from the High Dam flooding. It took five years and $42 million dollars to move and re-erect the temples. It was not noticeable to the casual observer unless it was pointed out.

Ramses II (believed to be the Ramses of the Old Testament) was trying to move the border of Egypt further south to expand the kingdom, and he also wanted to portray himself as a god in his temple so he had the Nubians build it in Abu Simbel around 1300 BC. He was the only king to portray himself as a god, so he feared an uproar of the people in the north. Ramses ruled successfully for 67 years and won wars that expanded his kingdom. He had numerous wives, but Nefertari was the first and most prominent.

The Sun Temple honored Ramses II with its four 30 foot statues of him surrounding the entrance, one of which cracked and lay before it due to an ancient earthquake. The scary staring statues were meant to frighten enemies. Once inside the huge temple various smaller rooms were created for his sons. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones film and a boulder could come hurling after me at any moment. The inner most part of the temple has a sanctuary which was cleverly built to be sunlit on Ramses’ birthday and coronation day. There were huge columns inside the temple and various carvings that must have taken years to perfect. Cartouches were used throughout to identify the various kings and gods in the hieroglyphics. It was humbling to stand before all of these monuments created thousands of years ago without modern machinery. At times it felt like I was a movie set; it was so surreal.

Ramses II had the Hathor Temple erected for Queen Nefertari. It also had huge statues near the entrance, although the inner temple was considerably smaller. The carvings were equally impressive and detailed. It was great exploring the ancient tombs, pyramids, and temples but it was time to move on yet again.

Back in Aswan we enjoyed more shish twaok (chicken kebabs) and prepared for our felucca sailboat ride on the Nile. The wooden felucca was about 15 feet long and had one big sail that powered it. An older man navigated the boat with a basic rudder and his ten year old son worked the sail when necessary. The water was calm and there were a few other boats out for a sail. We zig-zagged against the current using the wind. I was even allowed to drive the boat for awhile and received an adequate number of stares and chuckles from the locals. As always, I loved being on water! We sailed by the fancy riverside KFC and McDonalds (amusing Egyptian scenery). We circled the Elephantine Island to the east and had nice views of tombs for the former nobles before docking once again near our hotel.

On Wednesday we had a flight to Cairo and given that Ramadan started that day we had to eat at the airport. Ramadan is the month when Muslims fast from dawn until sunset; they do not eat or drink anything (even water), so most of the restaurants are closed. Once again we had fine USA cuisine at Sabarros since it was the only option – funny but unappealing and more expensive than the US!

Mia and I were excited to be back in Cairo, especially since Drew Weightman and Parker Burke (Kellogg classmates) happened to be there that day only. We were able to meet up with them to swap travel stories. They had great times across Europe (including partying in Spain and sailing their own boat in the Mediterranean Sea), northern Africa, and the Middle East. We all went to Sequoia (a NY Times favorite) on the Nile, but sadly Drew and Parker could only have a drink before they caught their flights to the US. Mia and I ate at Sequoia which was decorated in celebration of the first night of Ramadan. It felt like we were in a restaurant at the Luxor in Vegas with its outdoor tables and canopies near the water. There was also colorful seating and the food was good, so we lasted until midnight.


The next morning Mia and I said our goodbyes at the airport as she headed to London for a visit with our Kellogg pal Damayante and I hopped my flight to Istanbul to meet my next travel pal, Becky Mitchell. As a side note Mia and I searched the giant Cairo airport for books and magazines and could not find any! No joke – very bizarre. Thanks to anyone who had the patience to read all of the Egypt blog and a extra big thanks to Sarah Clabby for her advice and Egypt expertise! I promise the next ones will be shorter and have less ancient stuff! The next adventure begins with two weeks in Turkey! Until then…Sarah.

Walk Like an Egyptian (part 1) – Old Stuff to Sea – It’s Too HOTT Ta Be ALIVE!

(August 2 - 7) Okay, I know it has been a while and my posting is less consistent but don´t you worry I am taking notes as I go, so I can get my blog journal updated. I want to wish my parents a very happy anniversary since I was not home for it sadly. Also, I hope you are all doing very well wherever you are at the moment. A HUGE thank you to everyone keeping in touch. I truly love the updates and miss you all tons, so keep it coming!

Anyway, back to the travel stories. John, Ben and I were very excited to meet up with Mia in Cairo especially as we had been emailing with her that morning from Nairobi. It was time to switch gears and weather. No more winter in Kili it was time for the desert in summer! We flew from Nairobi to Cairo with a nervous stop in Sudan on the runway. As you can imagine everything else changed as we moved on from eastern African culture, food, and landscape to that of the Middle East.

Here´s your brief taste of Egypt if you have not been yet…Egypt has 76 million people (22 million in Cairo) accounting for about 25% of the world´s Arab population. Arabic is the main language, but a good number of people speak some English (less than in Kenya), especially people that work in tourism and hospitality. Somewhere between 80-90% of the population is Muslim and the bulk of the remaining people are Christians. Given that Friday is the big prayer day their weekends are actually Friday and Sunday – much less convenient if you want to get away for the weekend, although maybe that means more three day weekends?? About 95% of Egypt is desert and from flying over and traveling through it I would agree! The Nile River does provide a surprisingly blue and green (via trees and grass) contrast to the tan desert.

Egypt is clearly famous for its ancient pyramids and Sphinx, but there was so much more to see and do as well. Not surprisingly tourism is one of their main industries. The Suez Canal tolls, oil, natural gas, electricity, and textiles are all exported and make up the bulk of the economy. I was spending their currency, the Egyptian pound, at 5.5 per US dollar. For the most part people were friendly, and it was slower paced and relaxed which makes sense given moving generates even more heat and the desert supplies more than enough of that.

We arrived late at night and Mia came stumbling down from her hotel room to cheerily greet us. She had done a great job organizing our ten day tour, so it was going to be smooth sailing. After catching up with Mia (and perpetuating her jetlag) until all hours of the night, it was suddenly time for our early morning at the pyramids and hanging out with the Sphinx. We figured we could not see all 109 pyramids in Egypt, so we headed to see the three pyramids of Giza along with many other tourists. These pyramids are the best preserved attraction of the 7 Wonders of the World.

The Great Pyramid of Cheops is the highest at 147 meters (485 feet), so we climbed part way up it for some random pictures. It was incredible to see how large the pyramids were in person and to imagine the people building them without the equipment of today. Inside the pyramids are mazes of hallways that go into and beneath the pyramids housing the tombs of pharos. We chose to enter the much much smaller Queen’s pyramid tomb to see what it was all about. It was a very narrow steep walk down to the tomb for about five minutes into the small room that could hold about ten people. It was oven hot and crammed. People could only go in or out one at a time, so we were stuck in this free sauna for several minutes. We were so glad we did not attempt the large pyramid tomb visit which takes 30 minutes to get to the inner tomb.






We had a BLAST taking ridiculous stereotypical pyramid pictures together, and I learned that I have very little skill posing and taking those pics. Then we headed to the nearby Sphinx with its lion’s body and man’s face. It was smaller than I expected, don’t get me wrong it was still too large to pet him. We were able to snap some shots and get a closer look (since it was the low season) at the nose-less beauty which was replicated throughout Egypt.



After I was done looking ridiculous in front of the camera we headed to a papyrus shop to see how the ancient paper was made from plants and to browse through the unique paintings. Clearly I could not afford nor understand a giant print with hieroglyphics, so I had to pass. Afterwards our guide, Fatima, explained what each letter in our names meant, for example: SARAH means: S – Independent, A – sharp sighted (good at reading people), R – talks too much (this made the system seem reliable), A – another dose of sharp sighted, and H – diplomatic. Many of our guides knew this system which made it seem like an important part of their culture or something to pass the time with tourists.

We then toured the Egyptian museum where we saw numerous statues of gods and pharos, sarcophagi they were buried in, and even some crazy mummified animals (fish, dog, alligators, etc). Fatima was extremely educated in history and archeology, so it was a fantastic tour. The highlight was the King Tut exhibit. There was a great deal of his gold, treasures, and tombs which were nice to see in person since I missed the exhibit in Los Angeles.

We then headed through the busy streets of Cairo seeing the old ruins and mosques mixed with the newer buildings and restaurants. Finally we were back at the airport headed to the Sinai Peninsula for some beach and water time. The red mountains of the Sinai Peninsula were gorgeous as we drove through the canyons to Dahab. The white beaches were surrounded by these mountains and splashed by the amazingly clear green and blue waters.

We stayed at a fancy German run resort called Happy Life Village where the scenery blew us away daily. For three full days we chilled out and played in the water, which was needed after the intensity of Kili. John and Ben went scuba diving a few times and loved it. Mia and I snorkeled in the Red Sea’s Aqaba Bay at the South Oasis Three Pools site the first day and then did a trial scuba dive the next day. After learning how to breathe calmly, clear our mask, and pressurize our ears we both really enjoyed it. I hope to eventually get certified. Beneath the water housed a Dr. Seuss like village of coral in various shapes, sizes, and colors. We swam along the coast for over an hour mesmerized by the endless reefs that awesome fish including moray eel (grossie slimy long black fish with teeth), parrot, butterfly (with feather like appendages), angel, and clownfish (Finding Nemo) swam and ate. It was so hot (well over 100 degrees) that the water felt incredible and was like bath water in some spots. Despite an annoying guy following Mia in the water and pointing at random stuff we enjoyed ourselves.



When we decided to stop playing Little Mermaid, staring below the surface, the bright white buildings, green palm trees and grass, blue sky, and red jagged mountains offered plenty to gaze at on land. Saudi Arabia was also visible eleven miles across the bay. We tried a local juice bar where I gulped down cold sugar cane and lemon juice after watching full lemons and sugar cane go through a huge juicer. They served it up in a “take away” bag with a straw – interesting packaging.

At night we took a shuttle into the town of Dahab where we strolled along a strand of restaurants and shops known as Asilah. There was tons of fresh seafood for you fish lovers and restaurants offered free drinks, appetizers, dessert, and shisha to entice you to dine with them. Our favorite spot was Shark where we sat two feet from the water with no barriers preventing us from a splash. We ate fantastic Egyptian food consisting of spicy lamb kebabs with rice and grilled vegetables and chicken tagen (chicken and vegetables in a spicy tomato sauce – clearly a Sarah favorite). We also tried some shisha and drank local beers that we brought since the Muslim culture keeps most places from selling alcohol.

The last full Sinai day proved to be the longest and most eventful. We started by heading to the famous Blue Hole for some snorkeling. The four of us jumped in the back of an old school Jeep and sat on benches as we off-roded in the desert along the sea. After getting geared up we stumbled into the water and started snorkeling around the coral. It was a very large ring of coral, maybe 20-30 feet in diameter and extremely deep. The downside was the large number of other tourists that did not always respect the sea life or Mia who got repeatedly kicked. I had some equipment struggles as the extremely salty water invaded my mask, burning my eyes like hot peppers, and I chugged water through my faulty snorkel – too funny. It got more amusing as I tried to fix the problem. I drifted and slightly brushed against some coral, fire coral to be exact, so I was stung (it looked like 2 large bee stings) and it hurt tons for several days. Who knew coral could be so vicious - lesson learned - fire coral literally burns.

Later we got cleaned up and rested prior to our late night Mount Sinai hike. We ate at the resort buffet which proved to be a problem for me. Mia and I perused the dessert area at the end, but it was a bit dark, so I popped a little white bar in my mouth. It was soooo gross and NOT a dessert. I wanted to spit it out as Mia laughed, but it had to be forced down. Sick, yet hilarious.

Upon surviving the buffet we got ready and packed in our little tour bus for the 11PM to 1AM ride to Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is 2,285 meters (7,540 feet) high and is the site where Moses received the 10 Commandments, although that is debated given the numerous mountains. We began hiking in the dark at 2AM with headlamps and camels frequently passing us. As we hiked, numerous guys said, “camel?” with varying accents trying to get us to ride one to the top. We took the winding dirt path used by the camels to the top, so we had to watch our step and dodge the landmines of camel droppings.

About an hour in, the dinner buffet attacked my stomach with a fury, and I became very ill. That’s what I get for trying some salads and other new foods. My stomach was rumblin’ in the Bronx, so I had to stop quite often. I felt badly for slowing the group down. Luckily there were quite a lot of little shops/cafes built on the side of the mountain. It was bizarre seeing Cokes, Snickers, and hot chocolate being sold on a historical and religious site. It was extremely commercial all the way up to the top. Sadly most of them did not have bathrooms – cruel joke. I had the pleasure of finding five random sketchy “bathrooms” to survive. Eventually we made it to the top after three hours, so it was 5AM. We rested for an hour before doing the last 20 minute hike to the peak.

The sunrise offered unbelievable views at the top that were worth the hike. We lost Ben along the way as he leveraged his hiking skills to power ahead. Sadly we could not find him until we made it to the bottom. There was a church at the top of the mountain teetering on the peak with 360 degree views of the Sinai area. As the sun slowly emerged everything glowed a deep red color and the unique jagged edges could be viewed as well as the St. Catherine Monastery below. After our usual photo shoot with Mia’s skills and nice camera it was time for the hike down.


We took the Steps of Repentance also known as the “Path of our Lord Moses” down. I can see why it was for repentance it was 3,750 steps of varying sizes down the steep mountain in fiery heat. It was a pretty hike with a couple of stone archways built into the mountainside and other notable scenery. After making it back down we regrouped and prepared for a visit to the Monastery of St. Catherine.

The monastery was built in 337 AD originally to protect the burning bush that Moses encountered in the Book of Exodus. We saw the most famous shrub in the world – of course it is debated that it is the actual bush, but it is the only bush of its kind able to grow on the Sinai Peninsula, and it has been there well over 2,000 years. From 542-551 AD the actual church was built including granite walls, 12 pillars (representing the months of the year), and cedar wood doors that are all still originals. There was also a beautiful mosaic of Jesus flanked by Moses and Elijah on separate panels, although it was partially blocked by a number of low hanging chandeliers. I loved seeing all of the art in person after learning about it in Early Christian Art and the Byzantine Empire at University of Wisconsin. I was also able to light a prayer candle while in the church, which was moving for me.

The monastery also has a nice garden in the middle of this dry area, Monks’ residences, Moses’ well, and a library with over 3,000 manuscripts and 5,000 books (only the Vatican has a larger collection). I really enjoyed the whole experience despite being sick and the extreme temperatures.

On the way back, much like a scene out of a Hollywood film, our van overheated in the middle of the desert. For thirty minutes we sat baking as our driver pretended to know what he was doing. They also took our remaining drinking water to try to cool the engine, so there we sat lonely and waterless in the middle of the desert. It was pretty comical, yet slightly disconcerting. Eventually a pickup stopped to help. They led us ten minutes away to a small factory with a hose. The guys at the factory popped the hood, cranked the hose, and began flooding the car. It was a hilarious display of car repairs. Mia was crying as she laughed at the whole crazy scene and a German mother and daughter joined in. I, being the nerdy risk person I am, insisted on filling empty water bottles in case we overheated again. We collectively argued with the driver to keep the A/C off to lower the risk of another round of overheating. Luckily we made it back alive. It was quite the hour detour.


I really hope to go back to Sinai again sometime, maybe as part of an Israel and Jordan trip. There will be lots of Egyptian sites discussed in my next entry. I hope you like ancient descriptions or you may want to skip that one! Until next time…Sarah.