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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
We got a lucky break in the weather today so Jeff was able to be the birthday boy just as he wanted. The original plan for Sunday would have been a washout, so this was a good move and a fair crowd turned out to help him celebrate. It couldn't possibly have been the promise of good food and booze that made us all go round to his garden.......Nooooooooooo we are not like that at all.
Sad news today. THE PUMAS MATCH FOR NEXT SATURDAY IS OFF. the good news is that the away game last week saw the Pumas win 38 - 0. Watch the website for more news. www.cypruspumas.com
Thursday again, the weeks come round quickly. Too late to warn anybody that "The Layabouts" are planning to go to The Rendezvous tonight. We will be minus George & Susan as they are taking Susan's sister back to Larnaca airport and Andrew & Sue have a similar mission with Sue's, ex-work, friend. Having said all that we had an excellent evening as usual with a couple of temporary Layabouts added, Steini & Sigga from Iceland and Fiona who is over sorting out her stamp duty etc. Fiona had kindly brought me some Canon printer cartridges as they are cheaper in UK.
Joan had a lovely result this week also, she had recently done the furniture in Valerie Metcalfe's apartment and she had kindly sent out a couple of black puddings with her daughter this week, that's at least two full Sunday brunches during the next couple of weeks, yummy.
Strange this year, here we are in April and the weather has gone back to February standards. There I was boasting that the pool had warmed up enough to consider swimming, note I only said consider, and now all of a sudden it has dropped back to a water temperature of around 16 degrees. We are getting strong gusty winds to go with this and some short lived thunder storms, still not enough to top up the reservoirs but better than nothing. The problem is of course for the early holiday people who came out prepared for hot sunny stuff.
Some sad news this morning. Alan Aldridge, who was chairman of the BRS, until he stepped down through ill health, died yesterday after a heart attack. Our condolences to all his family at this time.
Today was Stewart's 60th birthday and we were invited to The Tervaluta restaurant to help him celebrate with a lunchtime feast. Clearly Stewart was going to get stuck in so it was jackets off, or maybe it was just to prove that he was the only one there in a collar and tie. Barbara was in the pink on the opposite side of the table to him, trying to keep the guests on our side in order. As always at this restaurant they did us proud and it was an excellent meal. When it came to cutting the cake Stewart wanted to delegate, but was persuaded to at least make the first cut. Thanks Stewart for the invite and heres hoping for many more. I suppose I will have to reciprocate at the end of June when it is my 70th.
It was up early today for Joan and myself as we were to participate in a treasure hunt which is a charity affair raising money for a new Kidney Dialysis machine at Lefkosa hospital. This machine is sorely in need of replacement so there was good turn out of participants. The drive started from The Pegasos restaurant and we were there early enough to get a sausage sandwich and coffee before setting off. The route took us over the mountain to Lefkosa and then all the way out Bogaz were we had a coffee stop at the harbour. En route there were questions to be answered which varied from observation things alongside the road and questions which tested out knowledge of the history of the TRNC. After coffee we then went back over the mountain to Kantara castle and as Joan was doing the driving I was able to really enjoy the views on the way over the top.
At Kantara we stopped in a picnic place where we were to have lunch. Veli from The Pegasus decided that he would organise a mobile doner machine so this caused quite the lunch queue to form. I think I heard him say, "never again" as it was obviously just too much for his staff to cope with as there were so many cars entered. After lunch we were given book 2 of the questions so set off again to complete the route along the northern coast road, past Tatlisu and returning back into Girne and The Pegasos restaurant.
After a very well organised count of the points awarded we had a prize giving which was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and this was followed by the obligatory raffle, which on this occasion raised an added 1,000 YTL to the fund. No doubt we will find out in next Saturdays newspaper the actual total raised by the event.
A good day out, pity about the lunch going a bit hairy, but never mind, Joan and I went with Anne, up to the village restaurant in Karsiyaka, to round off the day.
Now that the busy weekend is out of the way lets see what The Cyprus Today newspaper is saying this week.
The first major piece of news is the opening of the border crossing in the very heart of Lefkosa. This barricade has been in position for the last 45 years. The barricade was finally removed at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning but by early evening it had closed again. Why, you might ask. Apparently some Greek Cypriots decided to protest in the buffer zone, because they were close to the TRNC side some of our police went remonstrate with them, the Greek Cypriot police objected and closed the crossing. Finally the UN were called in to mediate so that the crossing could be e-opened. This incident soured the whole thing and is an indication of the problems we might encounter in trying to get overall peace on the island.
The stamp duty deadline has now been extended to 30th April, this also applies to registration at the Land Registry because the two are closely linked, you need to pay duty before you can register. So if you haven't done it yet then get moving because delay will cost you more money. We have heard of many people, who have gone to register, only to find that their land has been mortgaged by the builders desperate for money. If there is a mortgage on the land then you cannot get your deeds in your own name until that mortgage is paid off.
Something really important has come up. Fairly substantial increases in prices of kitchen equipment and air conditioners. There is also to be a new link for Siemens equipment. So if anybody is looking right now please e-mail me on info@frankandjoan.com and I will send the new stuff. I will try to get the website altered in next couple of days.
Being Thursday we gathered the Layabouts together again for an evening out. By mutual consent we went to the village restaurant in Karsiyaka having forewarned the owner that there would be 12 of us. There we were also met slightly later by a group of 10 from the Karsiyaka area who aso appreciate a good restaurant. Altogether a quite noisy evening with two large tables, but one that brought a big smile to the owners face.
Anne sent me this collage of Jeff and Steini just mulling over the day at Jeff's birthday party, not very clear but shows two older statesman enjoying a chin wag over a glass or two.
Blood donors day at Girne hospital this morning which seemed to take much longer than usual, so we did not get out into the garden until quite late, but never mind at least I got the back hedge finished and hopefully will be able to spend some time tomorrow doing a lot more before our planned Egypt trip starting next Friday.
Speaking of the Egypt trip, Jeff is still back in UK and is going to get a big blast of radium treatment on Wednesday, fly back to the island on Thursday and be fit enough to travel with us on Friday. I guess he is going to enjoy the relaxation of our Nile cruise.
Well done Pat who cooked dinner for five this evening and very nice it was too.
Woke up around 4 a.m. this morning, couldn't get back to sleep so decided at 5 a.m. to get up and do this update. Aren't you lucky to get a very early update on the newspaper this week. Guess it might be time for an afternoon siesta later.
Big official notification that phase 1 of the long awaited bypass is to open on June 10th. The whole thing should have been opened 1 year ago but I suppose that half is better than none at all. They are still building the tunnel that is to be used to link the beginning of the bypass to the Girne/Lefkosa dual carriageway, but don't ask how long before that is completed or how much traffic chaos will be caused when they try to complete that bit.
An official warning from the British High Commission was given out at the annual meeting of the BRS. Foreigners in TRNC are not covered by European health insurance. If you have a holiday home here then be sure to have adequate annual health insurance for you and your family and more importantly, if you live here, be sure that you can afford to pay for what you need as it is getting more expensive now.
The honeymoon between the two presidents seems to be over. Mr Talat is concerned at the approaches that have been made by the Greek Cypriots in recent weeks. Firstly he believes that they are trying to drive a wedge between TRNC and Turkey and secondly two cases have been lodged with the EU against financial aid funding promised to the TRNC. Seems that the hard liners over in the south still have a strong voice and influence over things, so nothing changes really.
It seems that more than 20,000 people have crossed over the new border point in the middle of Lefkosa since it was opened. Shopkeepers on both sides are claiming big increases in business. A very positive thing which hopefully, long term, will help towards a solution to the 50 year old conflict. We must take a trip across that route when we get back from Egypt, just out of curiosity.
The Pumas rugby club here seem to be struggling, as once again a home game against a team from Turkey has been cancelled. It seems that many of the teams find it difficult to raise the funds to travel over from the mainland.
The newspaper also reported on last weeks treasure hunt, which is not surprising as it was one of the sponsors. It seems that a further £1,000 was raised on behalf of the haemodialysis unit in Lefkosa hospital.
The girls went off to a special chinese cookery lesson today at Five Fingers restaurant and book shop in Ozankoy. They also had the full Chinese lunch to follow and say that it was very enjoyable. So could this possibly mean that I am about to get a variation in the menu at home, would be lovely, but I think not......I'll let you know if I find chopsticks on the table one evening.
This is the month when the annual rates are calculated on our properties and we are obliged to pay 50% before the end of April and the balance in September. For those of you ask me about cost of living I am happy to tell you that our joint rates bill for the year is 317.00YTL. I think I remember paying almost that amount every month to Folkestone Council. There is as one might expect here, some silly things related to this cost.
We have friends who have not yet got their deeds, due to central administration and builders cock ups, so they are not allowed to pay anything to our council. The deeds need to be registered with them first so that the costs can be calculated. Now this sounds pretty criminal to me, as the central government is not getting their tax because the staff are not getting their act together between coffee breaks and because of this our local authority are unable to get their due income. Nothing against our friends but this has been so for the last three years and at a rough guess there are a couple of hundred more, in this area alone. As I said criminal and the authorities are guilty as charged.
I was having a last minute search through my computer files before packing up my clean underwear for the holiday. I have been asked to enter some pictures in a competition on 4th May, just after we get back. One of the categories was an action photo and I wondered if this might be suitable.
Last minute packing as usual and then off to the South to get some lunch on the way to the airport.
We all six, Ann & Jeff, Pat & Bryan, Joan and myself met up at the airport for our 7.30 pm flight to Cairo. We were eventually met by somebody from the travel company that was to take us to our hotel. We had booked in The Windsor hotel, described in the Rough Guide to Egypt as an old colonial hotel with character. Old, yes, character, yes but definitely a bit o the rundown side. No problem as we only arrived there at 9.p.m. local time had a couple of beers in the very ornate bar and a sleep until 5 a.m. because we had to be up early for the train journey down to Luxor.
The hotel had organised us a 6.15 breakfast and our taxi was there on time at 6.30 a.m..
We set off eventually on the 7.45 a.m. Train after waiting some time at the station. Jeff & Anne decided that a small step was to be a comfortable seat. This is a 10 hour journey down to Luxor in first class carriages with aircraft style lounger seats. You actually travel all the way down the Nile valley and can see, through very dirty windows, hence no pics, just how fertile it is in this region. To our left we can see the mountains which form the start of the desert and between the train tracks and these mountains the actual Nile flows. Years ago you used to be able to take a cruise all the way from Cairo but this has ceased nowadays since the fundamentalists started killing tourists, which are of course part of the lifeblood of this country. I have to say that the train is a super alternative to get down to the cruise ships which are now in Luxor. Cost per person, for this 10 hour journey, including the agents cost in Cairo to get the tickets to us at the hotel, £16.00 per head. British Rail eat your heart out.....
We arrived at Luxor around 6.30 p.m. to be met by the travel company and taken to our Hotel. The Nile Palace and having settled in our rooms with a view from the balcony down in to the courtyard below, we were able to watch the Saturday night entertainment of dancers. We just stayed in the hotel for the rest of the evening with a couple of drinks at the bar and then a visit to their Italian restaurant.
By unanimous decision a lazy day around the pool with a view was planned.
The views from this huge terrace area were absolutely tremendous and we all managed to get some shade to sit under, as the sun was very hot, a temperature in the top 90s. There was absolutely no wind around for most of the day and the sailing boats, known as Feluccas, on the Nile were being towed upstream with tourists on board and then using the current and a little wind to bring them back down to the hotels. Across from the hotel we could see the mountains, behind which we are told, is where the Valley of the Kings is situated, we will be going there on Tuesday so pics to follow.
After a very lazy day, we took a horse taxi to the bazaar area were Joan and I bought a traditional Egyptian Galabaya each,ready for the Egyptian night on the boat at the end of the week. Pictures of Frank, in a frock, if you are very very lucky. On the way we passed the Luxor temple and again this is to be included on a later trip during our cruise itinerary. After this first visit to some of the bazaar areas of Luxor we returned to the hotel, collected Jeff and then went to The Kings Head pub for drinks and dinner, this is somewhere that Anne and Jeff used in previous visits and was tremendous value for money with even draught Heineken on offer for those who enjoy. In a strictly Muslim country that is quite an offer.
We are moving on to the boat at 12 noon today so hopefully I will get some internet connection here in the hotel before then and get this lot uploaded before somebody complains.
We were collected at 12 noon from the hotel and taken to our cruise boat The King Tut. We found the bar area where we were to meet up with Hanna who was to be our tour guide. Many people were arriving during the evening direct from the airport and gradually the boat filled up. By the time we went to dinner at 8 p.m. the restaurant area was quite full but we were told that we would sail sometime during the night, down river towards Aswan.
Our Nile cruise is to start here in Luxor and to cover some 210 kms until we reach Aswan, with various stops on the way to visit some of the really historic sites of ancient Egypt.
We felt the boat start moving at around 5 a.m. but as it was clearly a little early to get up, just turned over and went back to sleep. When Joan and I did look through our window we found ourselves in a convoy all trying to be first at the locks at Esna. We sailed past many working villages where the Nile clearly provided crops in abundance and a place for the women to do the wash whilst the kids enjoyed a swim. Breakfast was served up on the sundeck where we lingered over coffee whilst the boat pressed on towards Esna and the locks. As we slowed down near the locks we were surrounded by Bum Boats with guys throwing garments, towels and tablecloths up on to the boat and then trying to negotiate money being thrown back down in return. There were dozens of them , one heck of a way to try to make a living. There must have been 40+ boats all waiting to get through the locks so we were just moored alongside one another waiting our turn. It looks very much as if we will be moving again during the night, there are just too many cruise ships on the river for the locks to contend with and I guess we are going to have the same sort of problem all over again when we want to come back. Who cares, we are on holiday and it’s not my problem to control the boat.
Because we were going to be moored up in Esna for some time we were taken to The Temple as the first bit of Egyptian history, to wet our appetites. This temple was built in the time of the emperor Claudius (41 – 54 AD). Much of original decoration in this temple has been well preserved and apparently this particular building was excavated by a French archaeologist in 1860 and the work took thirty some years to complete. The building stands in the centre of the town but is some 9 meters deeper than the current town level so is protested by high walls. The pillars and the carving are quite amazing, but we are told there is much more to come that will better this.
Back to the boat for lunch and a lazy afternoon and of course the wait to get through the lock. Dinner this evening is to be a BBQ on the sundeck which should be quite interesting and all the time until the sun went down the evening sales continued. These guys just never give up.
We finally felt the boat moving in to the lock at around 4.30 a.m., which meant we had been waiting in the stack for some 18 hours just to go further down the river. Rather takes the edge off the cruising bit, clearly just too many boats all doing the same thing.
All along the river the view is of well established farming communities and some buildings which could have been straight out of the “Carry on up the Nile” film.
Our first stopping place today is at Edfu. Just before we got to Edfu we were all asked to leave the top deck as the crew wanted to lower the funnel and the sun awnings, so that the boat could get under the bridge. At Edfu a visit to the Temple of Horus is an absolute essential. The excavation of this temple was also commenced in 1860 and apparently took a total of 50 years. History says that the construction of the temple began in 237 BC and took some 180 years to complete. The exceptional state of preservation is quite astounding and the carvings which are still in original form show clearly that the sand coverings, which were there for some 1900 years, preserved everything just as if the priests had recently left. Many of the pillars are of the same style as those in the Temple at Esna that we saw yesterday. The sanctuary to the god Horus, who is shown in the form of a falcon, is right in the heart of the temple, although we are told that nowhere in Egypt have any of the gold statues to the gods ever been recovered. Stunning stuff and not to be outdone we persuaded one other of our group to picture the members of the Lapta Layabouts who are on this little trip, Jeff unfortunately remains on the ship, as these visits in the very high temperatures would be just that little bit too much for him at present.
We sailed on into the evening and watched the sunset over the Nile until we reached the city of Kom Ombo where we moored within walking distance of the temple which is dedicated to the gods of Sobek, the crocodile; and to Haroeris another falcon god. This temple is on the east bank of the Nile and was built in the period 116 – 107 BC. Some of the work on the walls is still in exceptional condition. After a walk around here it was back to the boat for dinner with us all dressed in a Galabaya, traditional Egyptian clothing still worn today. The next morning was due to be an early start again but it was such a lovely evening that Joan and I sat out with Anne until we arrived in Aswan.
When we did go down to our cabins we found that the cabin staff had been busy making crocodiles out of blankets and towels and then inside the cabin a scary ghost figure using the bathrobes and towels. Joan’s travel bear, Biff, says he was not in the least bit scared.
Breakfast at 6 a.m. as we were being taken by boat trip, to the Botanical Garden on Kitchener Island, really quite a restful place with many of the trees and shrubs that we ourselves see around Cyprus. The small boat trip to and from the island early in the morning was worth the effort.
During the boat trip back the Aga Khan’s Mausoleum was pointed out to us, on the hill overlooking the Nile. Apparently you could at one time visit this, but once his wife died and was placed alongside him, the mausoleum has been closed to the public.
Later we set off in a bus to visit first the High Dam which was completed in 1971 with the financial aid of Russia. Apart from creating Lake Nasser the dam protects from possible flooding and creates a quarter of the country’s energy requirements. We followed this with another boat trip to see the temples on the island of Philae.
The construction of the original dam across the Nile in 1902, meant that this temple was covered by the river waters for most of the year, only being partially exposed during summer months when the sluice gates were opened. It was only when the new high dam was being built that a rescue plan was devised. A barrier was built around the island so that it might dry out, then the 45,000 blocks were dismantled and transferred to a relative position on Agilkia island some 300 meters upstream. The success of the project is to be seen during a temple visit.
Later, in the cool of the evening, we went on a city tour of Aswan itself. This included a view of some of the local shops and especially a spice shop with it’s wonderful aromas. The tour included a photo stop at the lovely mosque set high up in the city, a visit to a coffee shop which had some down to the river and over the city itself. We then took a peek in the Christian church in Aswan before heading back for dinner, as tomorrow is going to be a very early start for some.
Bryan and I had an early call, 2.15 a.m. to be exact, so that we could grab a quick breakfast and then set off at 3.15 a.m. for Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples.
The Abu Simbel temples are among the most famous along the banks of the Nile in this most southern part of Egypt, known as Nubia. There were some 18 temples due to be flooded for ever when the high dam was completed and only an extraordinary international campaign, under the auspices of UNESCO allowed these temples to be preserved as a vital part of our history.
The original two temples, the Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Small Temple, dedicated to the god Hathor and to Ramsesses wife Neferatari, were in fact cut into the mountains, instead of the usual style of building in blocks on a land plot. These were to be 60 meters under the water after Lake Nasser was created. The solution chosen was to create artificial hills, 80 meters, above the original site and section the temple into huge blocks, some weighing up to 10 tons and rebuild on this new site. The immense statues of Ramesses II, which guard the entrance were a colossal task on their own, one face alone weighing 16 tons. The result is quite astounding and this has to be one of the most beautiful of the temples built in the period and preserved for future generations to learn from. Clearly there is a need to recover some of the expenditure incurred as you are not allowed to take pictures inside the temple, with the pretense that flash can damage the colours still showing on the walls. Pictures are available at a cost of course, but not on a CD that would enable me to store with this collection, so with a good lens and switching off the flash, I was able to sneak a couple.
We returned to the ship at around 12 noon and set sail almost immediately and it is estimated that we will be back at the dreaded lock at around 11 p.m. this evening, but then I suppose it will be time to wait for our number to come up. Tomorrow we are due back in Luxor, where we will be using the boat as a hotel for a couple of nights whilst we visit the Valley of the Kings to complete our Egyptian experience.
We felt the boat start up and bump in to the lock at 5.30 a.m. and we were told later that our captain had delayed the start so that we could get the most of the sailing done during daylight hours. The arrival in Luxor was after breakfast at around 9.30 a.m. so we were able to enjoy the final bit up on the top sundeck.
Two temples to visit this morning and Joan and I are beginning to feel sort of all templed out. Having said that you have to marvel at the sheer scale of these things and the problems the people must have had to overcome in order to build such huge edifices to their kings and to their gods. The first of the temples was at Karnack which is only 1.5 miles from the Luxor temple with a roadway joining the two, originally. The edge of the road or walkway between the two was lined with statues depicting the body of a lion with the head of a ram. As almost always the temple is quite huge with massive columns topped off with stone lintels. These are interspersed with massive statues of King Ramesses II and also a 29 metre high obelisk made out of just one piece of sandstone. Cranes were not invented in those days so just imagine the logistics involved in getting this thing upright.
From here we went to a papyrus factory were we got a demonstration of how this ancient style of paper was made, but despite the obvious sales pitch we were not persuaded.
The final temple here in Luxor was equally impressive and just as at yesterdays Abu Simbel temples, seated statues of Ramesses II guard the entrance. Once inside you once again have to marvel at the size and quality of the huge number of pillars that surround the inner courtyard, Just compare the size of Pat and Bryan to the pillars and top lintels and then tell me how they did this. Hanna, our guide was joking about the two hundred sons that Ramesses had produced, all depicted in a wall frieze. In one corner of an inner wall the remnants of a painted mural are still visible and the colours remain bright after all those hundreds of years.
After our usual afternoon siesta in the sun we went off on a tour of the city of Luxor. This time by horse drawn carriages, Joan and I drew a horse called Cinderella, who according to our driver didn’t like these big groups and wanted to be able to trot on free. We were taken through many parts of the city and even through the very narrow streets that form the market or souk.
Our last official day of the cruise and its associated tours, tomorrow the six of us move back to the hotel on the Nile again, until Thursday and are planning a few things for ourselves, such as being able to stay in bed past 6.30 a.m.
The early start this morning was so that we could take a ferry boat across to the west bank to visit the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and the Tombs of the Nobles. The whole area is in the Theban mountains and was selected because of a natural phenomenon were the peak of the mountain looks like a pyramid, which lends a sacred character to the site. Thee guide book we bought says that there are 21 tombs currently discovered in the Valley of the Kings and we were to visit three during our time there, but I am reliably advised that the total number now discovered is 63. Each of the tombs is deep underground and in some instances difficult to access even with the aid of the steps and ramps built. In order to preserve this wonderful history, tombs are periodically closed for restoration work and photography is not allowed inside the tombs. I managed a couple of sneaky ones, without flash, in firstly the tomb of Ramesses III and then another in the tomb of Ramesses IV. We bought a set of official pics and will scan these in when I get home and then add a few of the things you can see inside these tombs. What is incredible to believe is the fact that these paintings and carvings are from around 1500 BC which makes them more than 3500 years old and yet we still find them in this wonderful condition. We are told that the new kings started to have their tombs excavated as soon as they ascended to the throne so that the longer they reigned the more ornate and the deeper their tomb would become.
From this valley we were taken to the Temple of Hatshepsut a the goddess Hator who ruled the country for many years and then visited Deir al-Medina, a secluded village which was the home of the artists and workers who built and decorated the royal and private tombs. These workers built their own more simple tombs and two of these are extremely well preserved and definitely worth the visit. One deep tomb belonging to Sennedjem a leading artist during the reign of Ramesses II looked as if the wall paintings had only been finished yesterday. Unfortunately once again no pics allowed.
We spent the later part of the afternoon sitting on the top deck watching a super sunset over the Nile and enjoying a G&T before dinner.
We have watched a few people get to celebrate their birthdays whilst on the boat. It appears that they check your passport for dates and then catch you out. Anne thought that as her birthday was actually tomorrow she would get away with it, but oh no she had to do the birthday dance with three other people. The result was good for us because we all got a slice of birthday cake, in fact we ended up with two cakes on our table
We were to be picked up for transfer back to the hotel at 1.15 p.m. so had some time to kill this morning after packing.
just across the road from the cruise ship moorings is the Luxor museum which Anne told us was a very good museum, so had to be worth the effort and the walk. How right she was, there is some absolutely lovely stuff in here that must have immense value and the whole museum is so very well laid out. Once again though no pics so had to get just the one chance. The whole place is just swarming with guards keeping a very close eye on the tourists and I would have just loved to get one or two more pictures of some of the statues that were found in Luxor, but no chance.
In the evening, because it was Anne's actual birthday, we all six went to The Ritz. This is not what you think, but a small local restaurant that Anne & Jeff know from previous visits. A really great meal and at only £50.00 for six people including the beer and wine, no complaints.
We had booked for a balloon flight over the Nile. But these things need to happen early so we were taken across the river in the dark, the procedure was obviously well practiced because tea and coffee was available on the boats at 5 in the morning, great idea.
We were transported from the west bank landing place, after a safety procedure lecture, to the regular take off point. Here there were four balloons and their baskets all laid out waiting for us, but there was a problem, too much wind. After about half an hour a decision was made to start packing up and moving to another area where it was believed that there would be less wind. This area was only big enough to lay one balloon out at a time so the crews were working frantically to start 04_91} the first balloon. The big baskets that they use can hold up to 32 people so they got the first one away very quickly and then got the second one started before you could say go. Obviously very practiced crews because before we knew it we were in the basket and up and away over the Nile. We were very lucky to be in this basket because we learnt later that the wind got up again and the other baskets didn't get away at all.
I don't know how many of you have been in these sort of balloons but I can thoroughly recommend it. We were high up over the river, the city, the river and the mountains. often in complete silence a wonderful sensation. Once we had cleared the city area we traveled over small farms and fields with a whole variety of crops. There were people harvesting sugar beet, corn etc all by hand and donkey carts in abundance. At one farm there was a resting mother watching us and she looked as if she was saying don't worry little foal., I've seen all these scary things before.
We landed very gently in a field that had contained sugar beet but had been burnt off so we couldn't really do any damage. Clearly Captain Bob had a number of years experience in the area of the negotiation and probably settled for a very small sum. All that remained now was to get out of the basket and for this some needed an Egyptian strongman. as the baskets are quite deep. A very enjoyable experience all round.
This was our last day of the Egyptian holiday and we spent sometime sort of doing our own thing around the town. Joan and I for example in a jewellers shop where they had made some special clip earings for her, so I finally have solved the belated birthday present problem.
During our few days here we had befriended some Egyptian lads who were in a touristy shop and as is usual here they had cousins of cousins who were involved in some money making scheme, like for example the jeweller was an uncle. We had talked about a trip in felucas on the river and of course they had somebody who could organise for us. One of these lads was Joans toyboy but in fact a very nice lad indeed and he together with his mate had organised the whole thing with beer and wine on board. They picked us up from the hotel at 4 p.m. so that we could enjoy a long trip and eventually a Nile sunset. We managed pictures of the whole gang and even Frank in frock but one of the real entertaining bits of the trip was the little girl from the village, only seven years old and sent out every day in a heavy wooden rowing boat to beg from tourists. She really had the must lovely smile and a keen eye for who was going to pay the most. The boys told us that she spent most of the day just rowing up and down begging in this way. What a life to have to lead just to keep food on the family table.
As we set off to come back to the hotel we had our first sight of an Egyptian climber up the mast. Apparently this is what they have to do when they want the sail to be on the other side of the mainmast. The boys kindly brought us back to the hotel in the boat and then said cheerio as they set off back home. We had been out with them from 4 p.m. until way pat 7.30 p.m. and all for £70.00 for us all, ot waht you would call a rip off by any means.
In the evening we were briefly entertained by the Twente youth orchestra down in the courtyard of the hotel. As we had arranged to go out to eat, we only caught the start of their performance, but we think that the hotel had deliberately planned it for 8.30 p.m. to try to make people stay in their expensive restaurant. We had spotted a restaurant called Joan's and thought that we should give this a try. Good choice, nice food a very friendly people.
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