Egypt, my first days on the Nile, and Buckshee.

Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to between the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Its history reaches back to before the Pharaohs with Upper and Lower Egypt. Ancient Egypt, as we know it today, was formed from the joining of the two Egypts at around 3000 BC. The Pharaohs to signify this wore a double crown, the White one representing Upper Egypt and the Red Crown Lower Egypt.

I was enthralled by Egypt from my childhood. What caught my attention as a young boy was watching the movie ‘The Mummy.’ Not the 1999 American fantasy action-adventure thing with Tom Cruise. I mean the original Boris Karloff 1932 movie ‘The Mummy’ and also the 1978 Movie ‘Death on the Nile.’ With the great Peter Ustinov as the Famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot.

And of course, learning about the amazing exploits of Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s treasures, I had the joy of reading about it in ‘The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen’ by Howard Carter and AC Mace.

A Great Read..!

But the real cherry on the cake was at the age of thirteen in assembly at school one morning, when the Deputy Head addressed the school. Informing the students that the wonderful exhibition of Tutankhamun’s Treasures had now arrived in London and the school would be laying on a trip for those who wished to see it. I think the cost was £5.00. Entrance to the exhibit was £0.25 for school kids; the remaining cost was for the coach to London and back. And it would take place on a school day to avoid the weekend crowds.

Now being in Foster Care, something I had been in since early childhood. I didn’t have parents that I could go home to and ask for the trip money. At this moment in time I was staying in a Foster Home with David Kaley and his family, at 55 Stephens Ave, Birmingham. And as with all things government run, money was always tight.

Needless to say I plucked up the courage that afternoon to approach David in the office and broach the subject. I told him of the schools plan and the cost. Fully expecting a swift rejection on the grounds of money being tight, cut backs on spending, Blah, blah, blah. However that was not the case. He picked up the phone made a quick call to Birmingham Child Services. Just getting them before they closed for the night.

David asked a couple of questions about who funded school trips for Children in Care. And as a complete shock to him and me, there was a Fund just for that sort of thing. The person on the other end of the call said they would fax a request form to us right away. All David had to do was fill it in and fax it back.

Literally seconds later, the form arrived. David read it, then filled it in. It was all the usual stuff. Name of student, school, date, reason for trip…! Then the bit about cost. David said how much was the trip. £5.00 I replied. “OK” he said. “We will ask for £7.00 and you can have lunch and drinks money.”

So that’s how I got to travel to London to the British Museum to see the most dramatic archaeological find of the century at age thirteen. When we were there, I remember queuing outside in the rain for a fairly long time. Yet once inside, I was impressed. You bet I was, like thousands of others that day. I was completely blown away by the splendour of everything, all shiny and gleaming in their glass cases. I don’t recall if photography was permitted; I don’t think so. Needless to say, I’m not sure anyone in our group possessed a camera. But I did leave thanks to David’s foresight and the extra £2.00 with a brochure containing the abridged story and most poignant pictures. I was a very tired yet immensely happy schoolboy who fell asleep that night.

Treasures of Tutankhamun: British Museum Exhibition Catalogue. 1972 Author: I. E. S. Edwards. 

The call to Egypt had been well lit in my soul. And fortunately for me, just a few bus stops away was ‘The Library of Birmingham’ at Centenary Square, Broad Street. It’s the section on Egypt that kept me enthralled and completely absorbed in all things Egyptian. The writer who engaged me the most has to be Sir Flinders Petrie. To quote Wikipedia, “He was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyptology in the United Kingdom and excavated many of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt in conjunction with his wife, Hilda Urlin. Some consider his most famous discovery to be that of the Merneptah Stele, an opinion with which Petrie himself concurred.

The wonderful Flinders Petrie at Abydos, 1922.

I’m sure many people have visiting Egypt on their Bucket List. Perhaps as a Holiday Destination, or just a cool place to see and go Diving. I, on the other hand, wanted to see Egypt because of all the wondrous people and places I had read about. I wanted to sail the Nile. Visit the temples, walk where Pharaohs had walked. See the Valley of the Kings. Climb down under the Pyramids, climb up them if permitted. And walk the hallowed halls of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. All this I was promising myself at the age of thirteen. How was I going to make this come to pass? It’s not like I was rich; I didn’t even have a Saturday job. It would look like I would have to put my aspirations of visiting Egypt on hold.

Hold was an understatement; the years from 1972 until 2014 seemed to just fly by. Now here I was at age 55 and still not having travelled to Egypt. I had travelled with the British Military all over the world. But just didn’t manage to get to Egypt. Now happily retired from the military, I had some free time for myself. My family and I had been running a hotel and ski school. Then we converted that into a Military Training Centre for the Navy. Many years later, we closed that establishment down, and boom, here I was with nothing to do and time on my hands. Now to put that time to good use.

Not far from where I was living in Bad Hindelang is the little village of Burgberg. Amongst all the other beautiful things, the quaint German Village has it also has a Travel Agent called ‘Glutenfreies Reisen.’ The great thing about this Travel Agent is it’s only small, providing that most wondrous and highly valued of things ‘Personal Service.’

The night before going to Burgberg I sat down in front of the computer and researched exactly where and what I would like to see and the places I’d like to visit. Committing them to paper in a prioritised sort of way. Though in my mind still remaining flexible. I would have to see what the Travel Agent could provide.

About Eleven O’clock the next morning, I entered the Travel Agents. I was warmly greeted by a smartly dressed young man. I explained to him my needs, my time plan and my budget. I then produced my list. My jumble of self-prioritised things I’d like to achieve. Now it was his turn to fire up the computer. He was soon hard at his task. Pages and screenshots were flicking by, videos of boats sailing the Nile, the Pyramids and the Sphinx were popping up, then disappearing under other pages.

All this was happening in German. Now I can speak German but reading and writing not so well. And the pages were zooming by, some being saved while others discarded. Lifting his head up from the screen he said. ” This is going to take a while, would you like some refreshments..?” I replied “A coffee would be great.”

Coffee in hand, we were both back at it with gusto. Maybe twenty minutes later and things were beginning to take shape. We had a departure date, a Train to Munich, a flight to Cairo, Transfer to Luxor. Taxi to the Nile Cruise Ship. Ship booking, a Nine-day Nile cruise taking in the divine Karnak Temples Complex. The legendary Valley of the Kings, the mesmerising Hatshepsut Temple, and the unique Kom Ombo Temple. The majestic Philae temple, the glorious Edfu temple, the Great unfinished obelisk, and various other attractions. Then transfer to Hurghada to a Luxury Hotel for seven days by the Red Sea. Transfer back to Cairo, Flight to Munich, Germany, and finally the Train to Sonthofen. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner..!

And all this came in well under budget. I was very impressed by the young man’s diligence and commitment to getting me what I wanted not just trying to sell me a package deal which for him would have been so much easier. Having agreed to my itinery, I asked him to print it all out, as I would walk across the road to the bank to get him the correct cash to pay him on the spot.

My departure date soon arrived. Tina, my wife, was kind enough to drop me off at the Train Station in Sonthofen. There, I had enough time to purchase a nice coffee, an English newspaper, and the Times magazine.

The train, as with normal regular German efficiency, was spot on time and with a wave goodbye to Sonthofen. I settled into my first-class seat. Looking around the carriage, I noticed it was half full of Male and Female business types. All were smartly dressed in their work finery. I, in comparison, was in shorts, a teeshirt and flip-flops. I received more than one odd glance that asked the question ” Are you in the right carriage..?” Though no words were spoken, the air was rich in their thoughts.

Half an hour into my three-hour journey, probably just after Kempten. The train guard arrived, followed by the refreshments wagon. The Guard asked for tickets. On presenting mine, I was greeted with a smile and asked if I would like anything from the buffet. I ordered a couple of sandwiches and a large coffee. All courtesy of my First Class Ride and Fly Ticket. Procured by the wonderful gentleman in Burgberg the week or so before. My fellow First-class passengers had to pay cash for their refreshments. I did have an inward smile.

Negotiating your way from Munich Train Station to Munich Airport is rather simple. A few escalators or the lift and your there. I had ample time before my flight so I went to the Snell Imbiss that is in the large open area between Arrivals and Departures. The food here is wholesome and relatively cheap, compared to the restaurants inside the airport. My Currywurst and Chips did not disappoint me.

As I was traveling pre Covid. Immigration and Passport control was easy. I was traveling light with everything I needed in a Carry on Bag. I had sought favour with the Check In Staff and secured an Emergency Door seat which afforded me the extra leg room. This is something I try for on every flight, and so far with great success.

The flight to Cairo from Munich takes about four hours, as apposed to the fifty hours were you to drive there. Air Egypts flight was smooth, the movies entertaining and the food and beverages provided were adequate.

As this was my first time getting a connecting flight at Cairo Airport, I was unsure of the procedure. The Air Egypt staff on board gave no information about any on going flights. So when the doors opened at Cairo International I just followed the crowd.

Once clear of the ramp and inside the airport proper, my fears were allayed as above the walkway were huge signs saying ‘ Ongoing Passengers This Way..!’ After following the signage, it brought me to a desk manned by an Egyptian couple. Each smartly dressed in black airport uniforms. The lady dealt with Arabic speakers. The Gentleman looking after the English Speakers. If you didn’t fall into either of those categories, your journey was about to get interesting.

In the group that I was stood amongst there were several Germans, some Swiss Germans, and a few other Europeans. The gentleman was doing his best in his heavily dialectic English to get instructions across. But a lot of what he was saying was just getting lost in the noise and background chatter. If I was going to get anywhere something needed to be done. As I didn’t want to miss my next flight.

So the next five or six minutes I spent relaying the Egyptian Gentleman’s instructions into German. Much to the relief of my fellow traveler’s and our airport guide. Once everyone was happy it was onto a Golf Cart train for the party traveling onwards to Luxor.

After a five minute tour of the airport we arrived at our new boarding gate. Our Airport guide beaming with a huge smile as he bid us a safe onward journey. He then no doubt returned to meet his next flight. I wish him luck..!

The Cairo to Luxor leg of the journey was about an hour and five minutes flight. Just long enough to get airborne have a Coffee, check out the inflight magazine and then it was preparing for landing. All in all a nice smooth short flight.

Once I had cleared immigration and headed out to the Luxor City side of the airport, I looked around for a kiosk selling Egyptian SIM cards. Along one side of the Exit walk way was perhaps half a dozen of them. I approached the least busy of them and purchased a 30 day holiday sim card with 4 gig unlimited WIFI.

With my phone all sorted, I could make free internet calls to my family. Call taxis, Google Earth my location, research things on the web, and upload things to Facebook. Not at all bad for just a few Euros.

My next priority was to find my Taxi to the boat. Along the opposite side of the walkway to the SIM card sellers was a secure area full of gentlemen holding large cards or pieces of paper with company names or individuals’ names. Off to the side and holding a large sign with my travel company logo and ship’s name was my taxi driver. He said we had another ten minutes to wait, and then he would drive us to our ship. In all three mini bus loads of my fellow travellers arrived at our ship.

The Ship itself was really a floating Hotel. Once we had negotiated the gangplank. We were greeted with nice warm, wet face towels to freshen up with and a rather nice chilled sweet fruit drink. One of the cabin staff called out our room numbers and pointed out the directions to our accommodation for the next ten days.

My Suite was compact yet had everything I required. Also to my surprise a double bed. I had thought being a single traveler, I would have been given a smaller room. Needless to say I didn’t question it, and was happy with my luck. The room had a fitted wardrobe, desk area with a chair. On suit shower and toilet. Nice window that gave me a lovely view of the Nile passing by. And a nice quiet air con machine. So I was quite happy with my lot.

Unpacking my bag was easy, all clothes on the shelf in the wardrobe, training shoes on the wardrobe floor, and my washing and shaving kit next to the sink in the bathroom. The two towels were taken off the bed and hung over the shower door. And that was me unpacked. Now time to explore the ship.

The ships layout was great in its simplicity at the bottom of the ship was the engine rooms, laundry and staff accommodation. The next deck was reception area, main dinning area and indoor bar. Then came two decks of customer accommodation, followed by the top deck which was the outside bar, outside restaurant and pool area. All the decks were connected by two main stairwells. Rather a nice ship I thought.

On each deck and in both stairwells, you could find a prominent notice board on a stand and for public display was the boat’s itinerary and other snippets of information like meal times, and the assembly points if anything were to go wrong. I took a couple of photos of the relevant information with my phone; that way, I had a permanent copy with me for reference if I needed it.

The next thing on my agenda was food, and that was not until 18:00 hrs so I decided to pop up on to the top deck take look at the Nile and have a cold beer while I was up there.

I suppose it was at this point that I started to properly interact with my fellow traveler’s. We had journeyed from all over Europe to this bar onboard a ship on the River Nile. It would only be right to get to know them.

We were a mixed bag of tourists. There were two elderly male Berliners; they had been friends since school days, and now, both retired, had decided to do a bit of travelling. There were a young couple on their first holiday together. A sweet elderly couple, still very much in love. They had been married together since their teens. There were also four or five Swiss who seemed to stick together. A few families with teenage kids, and a few single tourists like me. Quite a nice variety, I thought.

During the time on the top deck before supper, a little group of us started to form. We just seemed to click and it was this group that sat together on the same tables for supper. While everyone was together in the dinning room, our tour guides were presented to us.

There were three Guides. A young American guy. A middle aged Egyptian guy and a French speaking middle aged lady. We could choose who we wished to join by adding our names onto a piece of paper on the notice board.

Having eaten well, and with a cold beverage in hand I went to meet the Guides. As I only have school boy French this ruled out the lady. Of the two remaining candidates it appeared the young man was here in Egypt to learn his craft. Where as the Middle age gentleman was a Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and spoke English.. So my choice was easy. It was under Abdul the Professors name I entered my own.

Returning to the tables of our group I explained the situation about the guides. Several Swiss said they preferred French rather than English as a technical language. The remainder agreed to join Abduls group, and were quickly signed up.

Over the next half an hour or so, our guides mingled to meet their groups. Abdul came and joined our table. Now most Germans learn English as a second language, so they can understand the Basics and most can hold a decent conversation. The problem our European cousins have is if a broad Scotsman talks, or perhaps a Cornishman. The spoken word with the added dialect sounds like Chinese to them. Abdul had a distinct Egyptian accent. When speaking slowly and extra clearly, most of the group could understand him.

But when he and I got into speaking, what I consider normal speed. Our newfound friends struggled. So as we only had a small group compared to the others. I assured them I would translate into German anything they wished. So it just sort of evolved that I would do a running commentary in German when Abdul Spoke. Which was great for the group, and everyone was happy. Also, the two Gentlemen from Berlin assisted as well because their knowledge of English was awesome.

Abdul presented us three options for the morning. Option one, rise at 05:30 have breakfast and leave for the temples at 07:00. Be the first group at the temple, and have it to ourselves for an hour or so before the masses arrive from all the other hotels and boats.

Option Two: rise at 06:30, breakfast at 08:30, get to the temple with the masses.

Option Three, get up at 08:30 breakfast leave at 10:00 arrive at the temples when there are thousands of tourists already there.

For me, it was a no-brainer, definitely the early start. I wanted photos of the temples without thousands of tourists in them. So, fortunately, most of the group did as well. Our two Berliners were not overly impressed with the early start, declaring they were retired and on holiday. And we were not planning on getting up each day before dawn. I placated them by saying that by noon, they would be back on board in the pool with a beer, chilling. While other mad dogs and Englishmen were out in the midday sun. So, option one was agreed upon by the group. I was beginning to look forward to the morning.

Now as a more cohesive group it was decided to move upstairs into the fresh air, have a few more beers then head in for an early night. The Egyptian beer was going down nicely, and the conversation was rather pleasant. Our waiter was charming and attentive. He told us his name was Ahmed. A traditional and popular Arabic name, it means ‘praised.’

About 11:00 we decided to pay our bills and get some sleep. A few of the group were smokers so they had a last cigarette before heading inside. As the rest of us bid our good nights and sought the comfort of our beds. As I passed reception I booked an early call for 05:30, and gave Ahmed one final instruction.

Once back in my room, I was quickly showered and opted to shave to save time in the morning. On my head hitting the pillow sleep washed over me like an incoming tide. It must have been a deep sleep as I knew nothing about it until the knocking on my door at 05:30. Back in the shower for a quick rinse and a teeth clean. Then I was off to breakfast.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting for breakfast, perhaps a small buffet selection for us early risers, with make-it-yourself tea and coffee. I was suitably surprised when I saw that even at just after 05:30, the whole restaurant was manned. So my order for a full English breakfast and a pot of coffee with hot milk was placed. As I waited, I took in the faint light of the sunrise hiding just beyond the horizon through the large bay window by the side of our table.

My breakfast and coffee hit the spot, and it was nice to see the other members of our group arriving. Non of them seemed to be too down about it being so early and once breakfast was completed I approached the chef and asked if Ahmed had left something for me in the freezer? Once I had received my package I headed up for the coach.

Our ride to the Luxor temple complex was not too long and as promised we were the first coach there. It was truly a joy to have the complex to ourselves. Taking photos was so much more relaxing rather than waiting for other tourist to walk out of your shot. Or it never happening because there’s so many of them you have to take the photo with them in.

  Luxor Temple Complex without too many tourists.

My goal with this blog is not to turn each writing into a travel guide, as I feel we as individuals should take our own journeys and discover things on our own. If I do go into detail in some areas, it’s because I feel that what I’m covering is noteworthy, interesting or maybe amusing. So please indulge me.

The complex at Luxor is well worth a trip. The site was built by Amenhotep III and added on to by Hatshepsut, King Tut and Alexander the Great, each stamping their mark on it.

Me, Happily Bathing in Culture

Amenhotep III, as with Pharos before and after him, liked to write himself up to look good for prosperity. It is said that the most important place in the whole complex is actually a tiny room behind the shrine where the Solar Barque (the god’s vessel) was kept; it’s a small offering room. In this seemingly tiny chamber, Amenhotep III rewrote his history. He declares himself the Son of God way before Jesus was called such. He tells how his mother, Mutemwia, was visited in her bedchamber one night by what looked like her husband, Thutmose IV, but was actually the chief deity and Sun God Amun-Ra.

The story is also written in her mortuary temple, but here its more graphic. The writer seems to highlight the mothers arousal. Here is a translation.

She awoke because of the god’s scent and cried out with pleasure before his majesty. … She rejoiced at the sight of his beauty, and love of him suffused her body. …

“How great is your power!” … Your dew permeates all my limbs.” And then the majesty of this god did all that he desired with her.

Amenhotep-ruler-of-Thebes is the name of this child that I have placed in your womb. … He shall exercise potent kingship in this entire land. … He shall rule the Two Lands like Ra forever.’

All in all, a great way to tell the masses of your unquestionable divinity.

There is another amusing graphic description at Luxor. This one is of Alexander the Great. The legendary bisexual conqueror with the fertility god Min, who is depicted with an impressive erection.

For me, the whole of the Luxor complex was outstanding, and our guide, Abdul, was truly gifted with his knowledge of this ancient land. His ability to read the hieroglyphs took his teachings to another level. Once we had done the guided tour, Abdul gave us an hour or so to wander around at our pleasure.

It was while wandering that I made two discoveries. The first is quite sad. One of the great rulers who helped fund and build this great complex, though only for a short time, was King Tut. Tutankhamun, during his short life, helped build this wonderful place. The sad part is that the only statue I found of him was one with his queen hidden away. Right at the back of the complex. In a bad state of repair, neglected and not even facing his great achievement. It really was sad.

The second discovery I made was the power of the word Buckshee “Baksheesh” in Arabic. In the British Military the word stolen from the Arabic means “Spare.” So for example to have a Buckshee water bottle would mean you had a spare water bottle. In the land of the Pharaohs it means “Spare cash.” or “A Tip” and is very useful.

As one wanders around whichever attraction one is at, one may notice roped-off areas. Beyond these ropes can be found many hidden gems. Why are they hidden from the paying public? I do not know nor understand. What is hidden can range from statues or beautiful painted walls that have not had their paint faded by the sun. To exquisitely carved hidden rooms. You never know until you get passed the rope and the Arab Guard securing the area.

My first encounter was on a side path at Luxor, where there was a chap guarding a piece of rope across a doorway. I inquired what was there, only to be told it was closed. I asked again what was beyond the rope. The guard had a quick look around, checking nobody could see us, then said the immortal word “Baksheesh” and gestured to move the rope. Understanding exactly what he meant, I reached into my pocket and procured £5.00 Egyptian, roughly £0.20 in English pounds. The gentleman’s eyes lit up, and I was ushered in past the Rope.

Some hidden gems courtesy of Baksheesh.

While wandering happily around this awesome location I came across some of my fellow traveler’s who were grouped around one of our Berliners. He unfortunately had left his hat back aboard ship. And was now suffering mild heat stroke.

I have been blessed with many skills, thanks to the British military, being a medic one of them. So I asked if I could help. And directed the others to move away as they were stopping any breeze that was blowing, that might cool our friend. I then reached into my rucksack and produced two half-frozen bottles of water. The night before, I had asked Ahmed to pop two bottles of water into the freezer for my collection at breakfast. These were now coming to good use. One I gave to our hot friend to sip gently. While the other I soaked a Kaffiyeh with, and wrapped it around his head. A Kaffiyeh is an Arabic headscarf.

The remains of my bottle I passed to the group, for anyone else feeling too warm. To take a refreshing drink. Once our Berliner was feeling better his bottle was also passed around. It was quite amusing afterwards with members of the group inquiring as to where I got two frozen bottles of water from? Here where there are no shops. So I explained my freezer trick. And assured them Ahmed would be happy to do the same for them if they asked him.

With everyone now feeling OK, we strolled gently back to our coach. As promised, we were sipping beers in the pool just as noon struck. Leaving the midday heat to those other Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

Though not huge, the ship’s pool served its purpose and was refreshing.

After a few beers, a nice light Buffet lunch and a nice refreshing soak in the pool. I retired to my cabin for that wonderful English tradition of a Power Hour. Known to the rest of the English speaking world as an afternoon Nap. After all I was on my Hollibobs, and who knows what further delights the wonderful Nile will bring.