Last week should be marked down as the “week of the resort”. I had three nights away from Cairo, in two different “resort” areas. One of those twisted ironies, given that Cathy had travelled half way around the world to be here …… still!!
First, I went without her to Ain El Soukhna for a two day workshop. This is a newly developed area with large numbers of villas in gated communities and, at least one, luxury hotel and conference centre. It also has developed a petro-chemical industry in concert – so one drives to the conference centre past refineries. Our hotel included a huge pool, maybe 70 metres long, adjacent to the Red Sea (an even bigger pool). I took a walk to dip my hand in the Red Sea during lunch. Not the peak season for beaches of course, but the water was clear, if cool and the seas calm. With typical Egyptian style, the lawns were immaculate and the sand on the beach scrapped perfectly flat, giving the beach a somewhat manicured appearance.
We travelled from Cairo in a mini bus and returned in a coach – the latter broke down twice on the way home – some form of fan belt broke – so we were delayed for an hour or so and then were caught in the end of week (Thursday night) traffic. Ain El Soukhna is about 90 minutes drive east of Cairo along an excellent toll road through the desert.
Early on Friday morning the three of us left for our private trip to Alexandria by express train. Cathy & Co. had done a great job in my absence and purchased the tickets for the 9:00am express train so we travelled by the underground to Mubarak Station. All went smoothly until we arrived in Alex and disembarked. We battled through a bevy of taxi drivers with their yellow and black charges (Cairo cabs are black and white), fending them off because we had “the map” (Cathy had bought the tourist guide) and the sea was not far off. We reached the sea and turned left heading for the hotels. Eventually it became apparent that we were on the wrong part of the sea front and our short walk took over hour and a half and covered nearly ten kilometres. It seems that the express train stops once in Cairo but twice in Alex and the popular stop is the first one – everyone else alighted so we assumed we were there.
By then, in the actual harbour area, we were ready to take any hotel that we saw but chose the Cecil, a Sofitel hotel. I am sure we paid way too much but we did get the best room in the house and were pleased with a weekend of luxury.
Our room had both a number and a name (the only one with a name on the third floor) – so that must have made some sort of statement. We had a corner room with one set of French doors overlooking a gardened square and the other with an uninterrupted view of the harbour. With such views of the Mediterranean, we thought we had gone to heaven. Particularly lovely was the sandcastle magic of the ancient fort that sits where the even more ancient lighthouse used to stand on Pharos Island, still containing some of the lighthouse stones, and topped (in good sandcastle style), with the delightfully flowing Egyptian flag.
So we had a touristy time at the fort, the foreshore, and the town. We went to the Roman ruins – the Odeum – an ancient amphitheatre, Pompey’s Pillar – a huge and major attraction of Alexandria for centuries that I had forgotten about, the Montaza Palace – now a retreat for the President but surrounded by extensive public gardens, hotels and harbours, and the Bibliotheque. This is the new library. The ancient library of Alexandria was famous for its world-record-breaking store of ancient knowledge. The Egyptians have done a wonderful job of creating a more modern marvel, architecturally imaginative, massive, impressive and beautifully finished. The new Bibliotheque Alexandria is an entirely modern structure, ideally situated next to the university.
The library includes antiquities museums, art galleries, a science museum and a planetarium. We timed the planetarium badly but certainly indulged in all the other delights.
A very full day, a late train (left from the station we were meant to go to originally) and a cold trip back to the hotel saw all three of us elated but exhausted.
My two ladies have had a very busy time of it so far – venturing to new places every day and mastering Cairo’s peculiarities very well. They are having a ball together, and promise me that they have only just begun.
We have also been galloping gourmets, testing every restaurant that I have heard about since I arrived and enjoying them all. The food here is delicious and generally very healthy, leaving us feeling good about eating and probably losing weight at the same time.
Egypt is famous for many things but perhaps not for its wines. Some of the red wine is drinkable enough, but the whites are best left to age, for many, many years – perhaps another 50 or more. On the other hand the beers are really very good to drink and there is no need to seek out foreign beers when Saqqara Gold and Stellar beers are available.
The girls have discovered a shortage of shops that sell makeup suitable for their pale complexions. We did discover that there is one called La Beauté in the neighbouring suburb of Mohandeesen but our first expedition led to an hour walk and no Beauté. Just goes to show that beauty can be just as elusive here as in Australia but we will not retreat from our quest and will try again
So, my sojourn here is now half through – so suddenly in many ways. The silly season approaches as in Brisbane, although it is mostly the Muslim Eid commencing on 30 December and the Coptic Christian Christmas on 7 January. This might yet have its complications for us, certainly for me in terms of work as my contacts are likely to be holidaying for a while.
I trust that your Christmas will be cool – the weather here is quite cold at times now, but we cannot hope for a white Christmas.
First, I went without her to Ain El Soukhna for a two day workshop. This is a newly developed area with large numbers of villas in gated communities and, at least one, luxury hotel and conference centre. It also has developed a petro-chemical industry in concert – so one drives to the conference centre past refineries. Our hotel included a huge pool, maybe 70 metres long, adjacent to the Red Sea (an even bigger pool). I took a walk to dip my hand in the Red Sea during lunch. Not the peak season for beaches of course, but the water was clear, if cool and the seas calm. With typical Egyptian style, the lawns were immaculate and the sand on the beach scrapped perfectly flat, giving the beach a somewhat manicured appearance.
We travelled from Cairo in a mini bus and returned in a coach – the latter broke down twice on the way home – some form of fan belt broke – so we were delayed for an hour or so and then were caught in the end of week (Thursday night) traffic. Ain El Soukhna is about 90 minutes drive east of Cairo along an excellent toll road through the desert.
Early on Friday morning the three of us left for our private trip to Alexandria by express train. Cathy & Co. had done a great job in my absence and purchased the tickets for the 9:00am express train so we travelled by the underground to Mubarak Station. All went smoothly until we arrived in Alex and disembarked. We battled through a bevy of taxi drivers with their yellow and black charges (Cairo cabs are black and white), fending them off because we had “the map” (Cathy had bought the tourist guide) and the sea was not far off. We reached the sea and turned left heading for the hotels. Eventually it became apparent that we were on the wrong part of the sea front and our short walk took over hour and a half and covered nearly ten kilometres. It seems that the express train stops once in Cairo but twice in Alex and the popular stop is the first one – everyone else alighted so we assumed we were there.
By then, in the actual harbour area, we were ready to take any hotel that we saw but chose the Cecil, a Sofitel hotel. I am sure we paid way too much but we did get the best room in the house and were pleased with a weekend of luxury.
Our room had both a number and a name (the only one with a name on the third floor) – so that must have made some sort of statement. We had a corner room with one set of French doors overlooking a gardened square and the other with an uninterrupted view of the harbour. With such views of the Mediterranean, we thought we had gone to heaven. Particularly lovely was the sandcastle magic of the ancient fort that sits where the even more ancient lighthouse used to stand on Pharos Island, still containing some of the lighthouse stones, and topped (in good sandcastle style), with the delightfully flowing Egyptian flag.
So we had a touristy time at the fort, the foreshore, and the town. We went to the Roman ruins – the Odeum – an ancient amphitheatre, Pompey’s Pillar – a huge and major attraction of Alexandria for centuries that I had forgotten about, the Montaza Palace – now a retreat for the President but surrounded by extensive public gardens, hotels and harbours, and the Bibliotheque. This is the new library. The ancient library of Alexandria was famous for its world-record-breaking store of ancient knowledge. The Egyptians have done a wonderful job of creating a more modern marvel, architecturally imaginative, massive, impressive and beautifully finished. The new Bibliotheque Alexandria is an entirely modern structure, ideally situated next to the university.
The library includes antiquities museums, art galleries, a science museum and a planetarium. We timed the planetarium badly but certainly indulged in all the other delights.
A very full day, a late train (left from the station we were meant to go to originally) and a cold trip back to the hotel saw all three of us elated but exhausted.
My two ladies have had a very busy time of it so far – venturing to new places every day and mastering Cairo’s peculiarities very well. They are having a ball together, and promise me that they have only just begun.
We have also been galloping gourmets, testing every restaurant that I have heard about since I arrived and enjoying them all. The food here is delicious and generally very healthy, leaving us feeling good about eating and probably losing weight at the same time.
Egypt is famous for many things but perhaps not for its wines. Some of the red wine is drinkable enough, but the whites are best left to age, for many, many years – perhaps another 50 or more. On the other hand the beers are really very good to drink and there is no need to seek out foreign beers when Saqqara Gold and Stellar beers are available.
The girls have discovered a shortage of shops that sell makeup suitable for their pale complexions. We did discover that there is one called La Beauté in the neighbouring suburb of Mohandeesen but our first expedition led to an hour walk and no Beauté. Just goes to show that beauty can be just as elusive here as in Australia but we will not retreat from our quest and will try again
So, my sojourn here is now half through – so suddenly in many ways. The silly season approaches as in Brisbane, although it is mostly the Muslim Eid commencing on 30 December and the Coptic Christian Christmas on 7 January. This might yet have its complications for us, certainly for me in terms of work as my contacts are likely to be holidaying for a while.
I trust that your Christmas will be cool – the weather here is quite cold at times now, but we cannot hope for a white Christmas.
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