Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ The Fading City of Cairo

It was then back on the bus for the three-an-a-half hour ride back to Alexandria and the waiting ship.  As our guide pointed our Cairo was once thought of as a beautiful city but it is a faded glory.  All too poignant as we passed what was once the second best zoo in the world after London – its cages and enclosures now empty of almost all animals.

I’m pleased to have seen some of these ancient historic sites in Egypt but the filth, dilapidation and constant pestering by the street vendors will make me think twice about returning.

The photo is of sheep in Cairo rummaging amongst the piles of rubbish and awaiting slaughter!!

Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ Yes Its Me Belly Dancing Again!!

It was soon time to leave and escape from the ‘hordes’ of vendors – thanks Mike for pointing out I had referred to the German tourists at Petra as ‘hoards’ of advertisements (?) – and take our lunch on one of the finest floating restaurants on the Nile – another example of slightly faded glory but an enjoyable lunch followed by another starring role for me as a Belly `Dancer’!

What concerns me is that there I was finishing my sweet when a tap on the shoulder from this gorgeous lady request I join her on the dance floor!!  As you already know the Belly Dancer in the local show on board two evenings earlier had also made a beeline for me!  Clearly my receding into the background technique failed!!

I did my best and the photo is courtesy of a fellow passenger and I’m thinking of offering classes – don’t all rush though!!

Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ The Sphinx

We then moved on down the hill to the Sphinx – with the face of a man and the body of a lion, this magnificent statue carved from natural rock, looks towards the east and the rising sun symbolising and rejoicing in the return of life every day.  It is 190 feet long and reaches 66 feet at its highest point with the face itself over 16 feet high.

Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ That Will be Five Euros Please!

We then had some free time to wander amongst the Pyramids dodging some hawkers and in this case finding a camel unattended and therefore fair game for a photo.

Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ The Great Pyramid of Cheops and Others

Described in the Cruise Brochure as ‘stark and lonely sentinels’ - well they are not so lonely as you will have read from an earlier posting but they are impressive structures. The Great Pyramid of Cheops is said to be constructed of 2 million stone blocks, each one weighing two-and-a-half tons.

These astonishing achievements were built in 2,000 BC and one can only marvel at the intellect and knowledge of the ancient Egyptians in their construction – the angle of the slope of the Pyramid being exactly 51.5 degrees.  For thousands of years the Great Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest structure in the world.

As I understand it the Pyramids were the first form of tomb predating the tombs viewed earlier this week in the Valley of the Kings.

We viewed the Pyramids first from a vantage point above them and looking towards the sprawling city of Cairo.

Saturday 16th March 2013 +2.0hrs GMT: Alexandria, Egypt ­ The Pyramids ­ Ancient Sentinels in Modern Chaos

Suddenly the Pyramids appear on the skyline – these ancient Wonders of the Word built over 4,000 years ago juxtaposed against the busy city traffic, advertising hoardings and tower cranes constructing the new Cairo Museum.  The latter has evidently been under construction for a few years and yet is hardly out the ground – just another moribund project in this troubled country.

The suburb of Giza comes within a few hundred metres of the Pyramids and Sphinx.  There is still empty desert beyond with the odd camel on the horizon paid to be their by the Tourist police fleecing tourists by encouraging them to take pictures of these distant figures from a particular vantage point for dollars or euros or then deliberately walking into your frame and demanding a tip.  Just some of the many ways that the hawkers and vendors use to get you to part with money or trying to put something into your had and telling you it is a gift and then demanding money often in a threatening way.

My training in ‘presence’ – in how to make yourself stand out in a crowd works both ways i.e. how to disappear in a crowd and putting this into practice gave me a pretty trouble free time today.