Today, we were treated to a wonderful visit to the General Women's Union of UAE, led by the visionary "Mother of the Emirates", Her Highness Sheikha Fatma Bint Mubarak ... yes, the woman most responsible for our visit to her country. H. H. Sheikha Fatma is the widow of the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed. Both of these people are much beloved here in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE. Sheikha Fatma (who also is the "First Mother", as in the "Queen Mother" or the Mother of the the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan (son of the founding president Sheikh Zayed).
This picture of our closing ceremonies is a bit blurry ... but that's fitting. We're all quite a bit "blurry eyed" - we've been working our heads and hands off for 3 days straight! Our students have been engaged as much in a professional development workshop as a dialogue (our cross-cultural [Arab - American] discussions continue apace). And their days have been quite full -- mostly spent doing research, preparing power-point presentations, discussing fine points of social, cultural, political and religious differences and similarities. (And the 33 Arab participants, from 14 different Arab countries/societies have their own considerable differences as well as similarities, and they, too, have intense discussions within and across their various Arab societies.)
okay, very different pictures ... one is of Joyce, walking among the headstones of al-Alamein's Allied/Commonwealth cemetery; one is of the beach at Marsah Matruh (yes, this was the view we all had from our hotel rooms); one is our "group shot" in the middle of nowhere! -- our bus broke down 1 hour away from Siwa, and our incredible students were all just so wonderful, not one of them complained one bit! And instead, we turned it into a chance for "fun in the desert" and on a deserted stretch of street, where hardly any vehicles - and no human beings, other than the bus/truck drivers - dared to venture; and the final one is our group shot in Siwa.
From Ibn Tulun mosque (constructed between 876-879 AD/CE: "Current Era") to the public fountain and library (Sabil-Kuttab) of Qaitbay (1479 AD) to the Citadel (constructed by Saladin/Salah ed-Din from 1176-82) and the mosque of Muhammad Ali (built between 1830-57), we wound our way through nearly 1,000 years of Islamic history, art, and architecture. Our guide and teacher today was Ms. Iman Abdel-Fattah (American-Egyptian, native of Manhattan, resident of Cairo), who worked our students hard - both on their feet, through the 5-hour walking tour, and in their minds, through Tulunid, Mamluk, and Ottoman styles, designs, and artistry -- Islamic throughout, with comparable and contrasting layouts for both the sacred and the secular structures we visited.
Overnight to Aswan
Visit to Sakkara (“Step Pyramid”), the first pyramid (dating some 5,300 years ago … yes, 5 thousand years ago!). Then to Dahshur and the “Bent” Pyramid. Students got to go inside Dahshur … and yes, they were glad to do it and they were under-whelmed by the inside but awed from the size and overall magnitude/majesty of the place. A few hours rest and we were off to Giza train station, to catch the overnight train to Aswan. The train ride was great fun for the most part; the ride was smooth; the food was horrible (I warned them in advance and most seemed to pick up some good food at a local grocery store); and 1 or 2 (only) complained of “bed bugs” … the rest of us slept on top of the sheets in the drop-down beds and had no problems with bugs.
May 6:
Arrived in Aswan – 3-4 hours late (Egyptian time, as we say). Checked in to our hotel (Isis Corniche) and let students have the rest of the day to recoup from the train ride … most spent it at the pool. We took a short felucca ride at dusk. This is the best thing to do in Aswan – drift on the Nile at dusk … catch an evening breeze after a hot day; enjoy the beauty of the sand dunes on the west bank of the Nile; sail past the Botanical Gardens (established by Lord Kitchener, I believe); whiz past the famous Old Cataract Hotel (site of many a mystery novel and the occasional Agatha Christie book/movie); and return to shore for a walk along the corniche. For dinner – “Chef Khalil” for most of us, a great fish restaurant in the suq (market). The suq has been greatly renovated – clean, wide walkway; nice shops overall.
May 7:
Up early ... visits to Unfinished obelisk; Philae Temple; Aswan high dam … all of which are engineering marvels and the Dam having great political history; afternoon-to-dusk boat ride through the first cataract, plus a visit to a Nubian home, then back to hotel. We spent an hour or so relaxing on top of the motorboat; then to a Nubian restaurant; dropped off at the corniche and walked back to the hotel.
May 8:
Aswan to Luxor – “caravan” of buses. We had to get up at 6:15-6:30 to pack, get breakfast, and meet our guide in the hotel lobby by 7:15. Then off to a “caravan” of tour buses which make their way to Luxor via Kom Ombo and Edfu. Afternoon/evening free in Luxor (yes, the pool again). We’re staying at a luxurious hotel, the Iberotel Luxor … a 5-star hotel with horribly slow food service.
May 9 (Jo’s birthday!):
Up at 5:30! Wake-up calls for 22 rooms, 40 people … breakfast (of a sort); assemble in lobby 6:30 … board the bus for Valley of the Kings – arrived to the Valley just before 8. The highlights were of course King Tut’s Tomb – and ‘the man himself’, all laid out in his regal mumminess (under a glass covering); Ramses VI Tomb (perhaps the best display of the Goddess Nuut); Tuthmoses III (the long hike!). Finished by 9:30 and then off to Hatshepsut. My first “act” was to assemble the group for a group shot with our NU flag/banner. We did this already at the pyramids at Giza … so, when security came up and tried to seize my camera unless I deleted the pictures, I was ticked-off to say the least. The security man said those were “propaganda pictures” and were not allowed, except of course if we got “permission” from (i.e., paid a fee to) Dr. Zahi Hawass himself! I tried the “I know Dr. Zahi, and he escorted Mike and Kitty Dukakis and me around the Sphinx” bit, but this security guy was not buying it … he made me delete all 3 pictures we took with our “propaganda flag” – even when I tried to trick him, he was wise to the ways of my digital camera and its playback features. So, up the ramp to Hatshepsut herself, and we did another group shot [see above picture] – which has nearly the same effect, since most of us are wearing our NU t-shirts … so, we still got our “propaganda” shot (but I was still ticked off).
Our time with the only female Pharaoh (Hatshepsut, the Queen who ruled as a King, i.e., ruled “as a man”) was well spent … then it was off to Medina Habu Temple, built by Ramses III on the sacred spot where the ancient Egyptians believed the earth was created. It is a remarkably intact temple, with vibrant colors in the ceilings inside the 2nd courtyard. (Oh, and I did manage another “propaganda shot” with the group, only to discover later that my camera went on the fritz … it’s now fixed, but there is some “evil eye” force working against my efforts to “propagandize” our NU program here in Luxor J ).
Enroute back to the hotel, we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon, the twin seated statues that once guarded a massive complex.
We gave everyone the afternoon off – for the pool, lunch, a rest, exploring Luxor … then off to Luxor Temple at 6-ish for a tour at sunset of the Temple that sits right along the Nile in the center of Luxor town.
