Tuesday, May 5, 2015

A Trip of a Lifetime: Part III--Desert Camping and More Egypt



One of the things I love about my Blog is that I have a place to keep memories and images, now that I rarely get hard copies of photos. I also can look back over the years of blogging and be reminded of when things happened in my life. So, in a sense, you viewers are looking into my journal and photo albums.

Again I will load up photos which speak for themselves and be brief with words.

In the City of Cairo

Donkeys and carts travel throughout the city along with motorized vehicles.

The Citadel Wall was built 1100-1200's to keep out the Crusaders.

In a tent maker's stall in Old Cairo.

One of the gates into Islamic Cairo.


The fez maker's shop

Fez making tools

Desert Camping

Loading up.










Small fossils cover the sand in areas of Egypt's Western Desert.



Our outfitters stopped to pray, the children got out to play.





This is the oldest paved road in the world.  This 4,600-year-old highway linked a basalt quarry in a desolate region of the Egyptian desert to waterways that carried basalt blocks to monument sites along the Nile. The paving was done with petrified wood limbs laid down in the sand.














Our lunch stop--the only shade to be found was at this lesser Crocodile Temple.





























The Egyptian desert is full of ruins.

Shards from broken pottery.



















"Dune Bombing" and our Camp
So what is "dune bombing?"  Our vehicles were driven up, up, up to the top of a huge sand dune, then inched over the edge until gravity pulled us over and down a tremendous drop. Thrilling and scary and I loved it.

The vehicles didn't always drive off after a dune bomb without some digging or towing.


Our camp spot was a random valley in the dunes. We had the greatest  bocci ball court.

Vast
This one word best describes the monochromatic miles of desert.







A shadow can be so impressive in the desert.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it all, thanks for sharing. What a trip of a lifetime.
Sheri

Judy said...

So wonderful, Margaret! I loved keeping up with your adventures as I have also been to many of the same places. I hope to see you and Mike upriver when you're recuperated from your adventures.