EGYPT JOURNAL ENTRY
September
9, 2001
ALEXANDRA AND CAIRO EGYPT
We are finally in Egypt! We docked in Alexandra at 7:00 a.m. Mike had arranged a private tour through Abercrombie and Kent because the tour offered by the ship was 14 hours long! We didn't know if the kids (or us for that matter) would last that long so we wanted the option of returning to the ship when we wanted.
We were met at port by Mona our guide, Sam the driver, and a bodyguard! We left Alexandra in their van. Mona was turned in her seat facing us and was talking non-stop. It seemed strange to me but then I figured it out. I had been hearing police sirens for quite some time and then it occurred to me that I had heard them from the minute we left the port. As I looked away from Mona and looked around our vehicle, I saw two police cars in front of us and two police cars following us. We were being escorted out of town. Now I realized that Mona was probably chatting away to distract us from the reality of the situation.
The other thing that caught my attention is the way the Egyptians drive. There are no rules. To add to the equation, men work on the road picking up trash. I mean ON THE ROAD! They stand in the fast lane by the curb and are oblivious to the fact that they could die at any moment and continue to pick up liter. Our van came within inches of some of these workers.
When we got out of Alexandra, the police escort ceased. But our driver Sam saw the open road as one to be conquered and drove at speeds between 80 and 90 miles per hour! Mona was a young woman and she had a child yet she was not wearing her seat belt and seemed unconcerned with Sam's driving. I asked her if she thought she should put on her seat belt and she told me she was used to the speed. I might have been able to deal with the speed, but Sam brought new meaning to the word "tailgating." I am not making this up....he was a foot away from the car in front of us. I finally lost it and yelled, "STOP!" Apparently, Sam didn't speak English and kept on going! I told Mona that I was going to have a heart attack if Sam didn't drive slower and get off people's bumpers. After all, I am a mother concerned for the well being of her children!
We survived Sam's antics and arrived in Cairo safely. Our first stop was the Cairo Egyptian Museum. Mona, knowing a child's attention span can wane, took us immediately to King Tutankhamen's treasure. Or, as Alex calls him, "Mr. Tut." The only reason the treasures of King Tut's tomb were intact is because he died when he was 18 and a proper burial site had not been prepared. He was buried in a spot not befitting a king and his grave was overlooked by tomb robbers and archeologists. His sarcophagus was placed inside a gilded box which was put inside a bigger box which was put inside an even bigger box. I think were were a total of 6 boxes that we could see. The most amazing treasure was the burial mask of King Tut made of gold and precious stones which was an exact likeness of the king.