SJEDS Travels to Egypt

We got up early to soak up the special, calm atmosphere before the smelling of sunscreen crowd woke up and populated the beaches. The sea was calm and looked like a mirror, there was a gentle, warm (not hot) breeze and I was reminded and compared it to the calmness when floating down the Nile river on a felucca.

We had an exciting day ahead of us…

A tour guide picked us up at the hotel and drove with us to a “diving school”, where we were outfitted with snorkels, goggles and fins. Together with a couple from Denmark and a man from England (who was living currently in Kuwait), we drove to a marina. Hundreds of boats were waiting to take tourists to the diverse diving and snorkeling spots of the coast of Sharm El Sheikh. We climbed onto our boat “Empro II” and off we took to the Red Sea.

The deep blue water was an amazing contrast to the rugged coastline. We enjoyed almost an hour of riding through the breeze as it took us to our first diving spot in Ras Mohammed. The majority of people on the boat got into their diving gear and one by one jumped into the water. Mrs. Menger and I slipped into our fins and put our goggles on to jump in after the divers.
What an exhilarating feeling to be swimming in the middle of the Red Sea. We wondered if we were at the same spot where Moses parted the Red Sea? Were we swimming above the grounds where Moses let his people out of Egypt?

Once we lowered our faces into the water, it was breathtaking… The crystal clear water and the colors we saw gave justice to what we heard all along: that Sharm El Sheikh had one of the BEST diving spots in the world comparable only to the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia.

We felt like we were flying like birds in the sky, while watching the incredible amount of life below us. It almost seemed unreal to see the human divers descending further and further to the bottom while we were floating above. The bubbles that were floating from the divers’ oxygen tanks created a dream like glimpse into a different universe. Some of the bubbles were tiny and sparkling like diamonds, while others reached the size of a dinner plate. Mrs. Menger and I had a wonderful time playing “pop the bubble”.

The fish that were swimming alone or in large groups reminded us of the movie “Finding Nemo”. The creators of Nemo, must have spent hours diving, since they were able to captured the view underwater so accurately.

We swam and floated among the flora and fauna, careful as not to disturb any of it. It was incredible to be so easily accepted into their environment. The fish did not seem to be bothered by those strange looking individual that seemed so out of their element. At one moment, we were swimming what seemed like a very busy intersection. Tons of different schools of fish were swimming busily around, when they all stopped, one next to the other, as if in front of an invisible traffic light and let us pass by, as they were looking on to us, and then continued on their merry way.

We observed so many different kinds of fish, swimming as if late for an important appointment or lazily hanging out stationary with a group of friends. Some fish swam in large schools, while others seemed to be alone. The coral reef seemed to be a large condominium complex, with many restaurants behind windows, where the fish went to eat.

The sounds under water ranged from hearing the metal clinking of divers’ signals to the waves crushing above our heads and the horns of several boats nearby calling to the divers.

The diving guide, Yahia, told us to stay clear from touching a certain kind of corals by accident. They are called fire corals and, as the name implies, will sting/burn you, when you touch them. He continued explaining that in case we did get stung, we needed to make sure to use one of three treatments immediatly:

1. Vinegar
2. Lemon Juice
3. Human water

We were very careful in not getting too close to the corals.

What and incredible amazing day we had, when we returned tired and exhausted in the late afternoon to our hotel. This excursion was definitely one of the highlights of our Egypt trip.  It reminded us of all the hidden wonders of our world and that it is up to us to protect these natural treasures for future generations.

When we first arrived in Cairo, we had noticed many beautiful lanterns displayed in business and residential areas. At first we just thought they were a common decoration, but they looked so festive; we finally asked what they were. Turns out, they are Ramadan lamps or the traditional Ramadan fanoos. Just like we have Christmas trees at Christmas time, during the Holy Month of Ramadan, out come the Ramadan lanterns. Often the fanoos have paper streamers attached to them. Can you imagine putting paper decorations out in the Florida humidity? They would curl up and look terrible after the first afternoon shower. In Egypt, paper decorations can be used and stay nice looking for a long time, due to the dryness of the area because it hardly ever rains.

The lanterns come in various sizes and have differing decorations, all having the same basic shape though. The history of the lanterns date back to the year 969 A.D. For us that seems a long time ago, but for a country where life has spanned over 6000 years, many traditions date back hundreds of years.

On the fifth day of Ramadan, in 969 A.D. the Fatimid Caliph Moezz el-din El-Allah, one of their caliphs was coming to Cairo. His arrival was expected to be at dusk. To welcome him, numerous residents turned out with lanterns aglow. A new tradition was born.

As we are preparing for our all night and day excursion to Mount Sinai and St. Catherine’s Monastery, we are spending the day hanging out with Jose and Omar at the beach. We tried to relax and close our eyes while laying under the giant umbrellas, since we knew that we would not be sleeping at all that night.

It was great to catch up with Jose and hear a little more details of their adventures while traveling together.

The sand of the beach was a little different than the one we are used to in the Jacksonville area. There were not that many shells in it and the sand seemed to have a different texture. Can you tell which footprint is Mrs. Menger’s and which one Mrs. Tolisano’s?

The water of the Red Sea is so clear that one can see to the ground, as if there was no water. If you stand real still in order not to cause any water ripples around you, it is like looking through glass. In the bay where the beach was located from the hotel, there were no waves at all. That made taking the camera into the water very easy, since I was not worried about a wave crashing on top of us, which would have broken the camera.

Look at the wonderful colors of the fish that were swimming around a small coral reef in the bay. Aren’t they beautiful?

Dear students and teachers at San Jose,

I know that you have been worried, but we are so happy to tell you that Mrs. Menger and I have finally caught up with our adventurous travel bear and his friend Omar.

When we walked passed the pool area in our hotel after dinner last night our eyes immediately caught the sight of the two of them hanging out on the lifeguard seat.

What a celebration that we were finally reunited. We strolled down a very busy restaurant and shopping area. Omar was very proud to show off his hometown. We had a fabulous time looking at all the different stores and Mrs. Menger became a regular customer at the “Aladin” store. The store owner smiled when she would walk in the store for the fifth time to take just one more look and purchase a souvenir. How different the shopping experience here in Sharm El Sheikh than the one in Kom Ombo or Luxor. The shopping experience was so relaxed that we felt like returning over and over again.

After being taken to the airport in Luxor, we flew about 35 minutes towards Sharm El Sheikh.
From Wikipedia:

Sharm el-Sheikh (شرم الشيخ, also transliterated as Sharm ash Shaykh), often known simply as “Sharm”, is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Janub Sina’, Egypt, on the coastal strip between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai.

Sharm el-Sheikh is the administrative hub of Egypt’s Southern Sinai province which includes the smaller coastal towns of Dahab and Nuweiba as well as the mountainous interior, Saint Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai. Sharm el-Sheikh is known as The City of Peace referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there. Sharm el-Sheikh is also known for its glamorous lifestyle, attracting millions of people each year.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by a new travel guide, who took us to the resort hotel we were going to be staying in. Having just left Luxor and catching a glimpse of the lifestyle of the locals along the Nile, we were in for a surprise. Mrs. Menger and I felt as we were driven through International Drive in Orlando on our way to the hotel. Neon lights, restaurants and hundreds of people (obviously tourists) strolling along the main street. We could not believe our eyes that we were still in the same Egypt as a few hours earlier.

After we dropped off the suitcases in our room, we went for a stroll around the property. Both of us were drawn immediately to the beach area and could not help ourselves to take our shoes off and immerse our tired feet into the warm (Mrs. Menger thinks it was cold) waters of the Red Sea.

We had dinner in a huge dining hall with a buffet. We heard so many different languages while eating dinner. Most of the languages are not English. As a matter of fact, we have met very few Americans on our trip. With the majority of the tourists coming from Eastern European countries, Australia and Germany.

The resort seemed like some kind of Oasis in the middle of the rugged desert and mountains in Sharm El Sheikh. Everything was lush and green with beautiful flower, trees, shrubs and bushes. The blue pool and the sandy beaches were an amazing backdrop. We could hardly believe that we were still in Egypt.

As our last day in Luxor dawned ,we were looking forward to a little more time to spend on this amazing body of water and what it represents for the people and country of Egypt. We wanted to take one more ride on the Nile. For that purpose we hired a Nubian Felucca captain. He worked together with his nephew and lived in Luxor, while his extended family was from a small village further south.

There was no breeze in Luxor that afternoon and a tugboat had to pull us and another felucca out to Banana Island, where we got off board and walked through a beautiful and peaceful banana plantation.

We also saw mango trees, which is the bearer of our favorite fruit that we have drunk and eaten here in Egypt. All the fruits have been great, but the mango has been by far our favorite one. They are juicier and sweeter than anywhere else.

We also saw lemon, orange and mandarin trees, besides all the banana ones. We were treated, under a straw roof, to freshly picked ripe bananas.

What a relaxing moment…

Luxor Temple is located along the banks of the Nile, in the middle of the busy and modern town of Luxor. In ancient times Luxor was known as Thebes. The temple is located on the main street that parallels the Nile, and the ancient structure juts up amid shops, apartment buildings, and businesses. At night the temple is lit up, and the lights and their shadows cast an eerie sight in the middle of a modern city.

Luxor Temple is quite small in comparison the Karnak Temple and was largely built by only one pharaoh, Amenhotep, III, a New Kingdom ruler. The temple was built in honor of three gods; Amun, Mut, and Chons. During ancient times many festivals were held in Thebes, with the most important festival, Festival of Opet, held at the Temple of Luxor. The festival originally lasted 11 days but over time grew to 27 days. Much food and drink was consumed during this time, and when the festival reached its peak, 11,000 loaves of bread, 85 cakes and 385 jars of beer were consumed.

The temple is located in the small village of Karnak, which is 2.5 kilometers north of Luxor. During the height of Theban power, the temple was the main place of worship for Egypt. Everything at Karnak is on a grand and huge scale. Standing in the temple you feel like a mere spec or a tiny ant walking around tremendously sized columns, unable to see from one end to the other. I felt as though I were on a movie set that had been created for an Indiana Jones movie. I expected to hear, “Ready, set, action”, at any time. But reality sank in that this was real and had been created thousands of years ago. The temple’s original splendor, when adorned with color and landscaped with the numerous indigenous plants, can only be imagined.

Construction on the Karnak temple began in the 16^th century, but it was a work in progress for hundreds of years, with thirty different pharaohs adding various structures to the temple. During the reign of Ramses III over 80,000 people worked on or in the temple. The temple consists of four main parts with the Amun Temple Enclosure being the center of the temple. In the great hypostyle hall there are 134 papyrus shaped stone towers. Mrs. Tolisano and I thought this would be a great place to play hide-and-seek or to just run through the columns, so we did.

Watch our video from Karnak Temple

How big is big? The site at Karnak measures 1.5 km by 800 meters and could easily contain ten cathedrals. The Amun Temple Enclosure alone measures over 260,000 square meters. The first student that can convert these measurements to feet and inches will receive a special prize. Post your answer to the blog.

The Temple at Karnak is probably the sight visited most often, after the Great Pyramid. Just like the Great Pyramid, the building is another example of the incredible construction abilities of the ancient Egyptians. It is mind-boggling how these structures were created without the use of modern technology. Those ancient Egyptians were truly amazing!

Watch the symbolic exchange of St. Johns River water from Jacksonville, Florida with water from the Nile River.

Open the movie file to watch

We had a wonderful young man, named Mustafa take us back to the airport in Luxor. He agreed to be recorded so all of you at San Jose can hear how to say these words in Egyptian Arabic

• Hello
• Goodbye
• How are you?
• Fine, thank you
• Friend
• Peace

Also, hear him count from 1 to 10.

Listen Now:

 Arabic Words: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Counting from 1-10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download