Category Archives: Jordan

Egypt and Jordan – Day 18- Feb 19, 2026


Well yesterday was Amazing – between the Treasury, the Royal Tombs and the insanely beautiful Siq – Petra was clearly worth the trip.

But now we’re heading out. Again it’s an early start – but since I managed to look at the map, and realize how far we are down South in Jordan – I’m not surprised. It’s early because we have a very LONG way to go.

But first an aside. We all know that Moses spent 40 years wandering the desert, but unfortuately – he didn’t leave a map of his journey. So there are countless places in Jordan that assure tourists that “Moses Slept Here”.

In fact – the town that we spent the night is in is called Wadi Musa – Valley of Moses. And there are apparently endless number of towns with similar names – the idea is that this is where Moses struck the stone that got him in so much trouble – he was supposed to ‘Speak’ to it – not ‘Hit’ it!

Osama tells us that while we could visit some of these towns – it’s rather fruitless – there’s no evidence to suggest exactly where this happened – but we are very sure where Moses went up the mountain to get his peak at the Promised Land before he died – and that is Mount Nebo.

Osama told us the first day that he rates toliet stops – from 1 to 5 stars, with 6 stars reserved for the really over the top options. And we have a 5 star version at the halfway point of our trip North to Mount Nebo.

It turns out that this is exactly the same place we stopped on the way from the airport to Petra – and it does deserve the 5 star label. Lovely bathroom. But more importantly to me – it also has really really good Coffee.

Victor and I managed not to get coffee before the bus pulled out of Wadi Musa – and I’m feeling the need for some caffine – and this lovely bathroom/Coffee Shop fits the bill. Yum.

Not surprisingly but reminding me strongly of those gift shops in Disney World that you have to walk thru when you exit a ride – to get to the toilets from the front door you have to walk the sales option guantlet.

The trick – don’t touch anything. If you even stroke a rug, or finger a gold plated dish, or pick-up a figurine – a salesman will appear like a geni out of a lamp. It’s Jordan, not Egypt – so they are very polite – but very present. You touched – you must want to buy. So moral – don’t touch. Walk straight to the toliet (and it is 5 stars – which means it’s clean, there is a seat on the toilet, the flush works – and – the best part – there’s toliet paper. And they don’t even charge!), do what you need to do – and walk straight back out.

I had to detour for my coffee – but that didn’t set off the sales team. It’s when I touched a lambs fur coat wondering who would wear such a thing here in Jordan – where in the dead of winter it gets down to say 70 degrees – or maybe even a frightening – don’t let the kids out – 50 degrees. Sigh – I touched – and had to tell the very cute, very pleasant salesman – I just wondered why anyone would buy such a thing.

Of course I led with “I’m sorry” – I am Canadian after all.

Back on the luxury bus – we continue to drive North – admiring the numerous small and mid-sized businesses along the way. They look modern, and busy. What a change from Egypt where the only ‘businesses’ we saw were run by the Military. I looked it up – apparently 75% of the GNP of Egypt is generated by Military related businesses – leaving the middle class in Egypt without work. Officially Egypt has a 6.1% unemployement rate – but that doesn’t seem correct when you see the number of men just hanging around. In Jordan – we haven’t seen unemployed men just ‘hanging’ – everyone – including the omni-present vendors – seems gainfully and in many cases rather joyfully employed. It’s a huge and obvious difference between the two countries. That and the garbage. Almost none in Jordan, and the garbage is piled deep in Egypt. But back to the bus ride.

Osama shows us how to put the red and white shemagh. This is a large square piece of cloth with a distinctive pattern and often seen with tassels on the corners. It is generally worn wrapped around the head and sometimes held in place by a black cord. It is considered a national symbol of Jordan, representing pride, heritage, and the Bedouin culture. Osama goes on to tell us that it is extremely popular in Jordan because King Hussein wore it, as does his son (the current King) and his grandson (the future king). Odessey bought one for each of us – and lots of us are sporting it today. I bet that’s why the lesson – we really had no idea how to tie it. I continue to wear it as a scarf. The last thing I want is a large cotton cloth wrapped around my head. How can this be cooler?

As we get closer to Amman, the traffic gets a bit more intense – and we start passing sheep and goat herders minding their flocks. Some are flocks are small, some flocks are a tad larger – but all the animals look very healthy – and there is lots of greenery for them to eat. Osama explains that Northern Jordan gets anywhere from 14” to 24” of rain a year – a very good thing since the only other sources of water are natural springs. Further North Jordan borders the Jordan River and of course the Dead Sea – but neither is a really good souce of fresh water. They rely on those springs and the rain.

On the top of all the houses and appartment buildings in Amman are white tanks for water. Once a week for 2 hours everyone gets their share of water from the springs and it is piped directly into those tanks. Then each home must ration the water for the week. If they run out – they will need to buy water (expensive) – or do without.

Osama is very proud of his country – and shares with us their medical success story. They have a free public heath system for all Jordanians – but there is a private health system that caters to folks from the other Gulf States. He thinks their medical system is 4 stars – and says – yes you might have to wait 30 minutes to see a Doctor – but the care is very good.

The compares incredibly favorably with what we learned of the Egyptian medical system where much much longer waits are the norm. And honestly – the difference in the appearance of the hospitals is remarkable. In Egypt they are older buildings with hundreds of folks standing around outside – simply waiting. In Jordan, the hospitals – public or private, are modern – and we never saw any waiting lines.

After our 4 hour ride – we arrive and Mount Nebo. Fortunately, we don’t have to climb it like 100+ year old Moses did. The bus drives us up and we are in a huge parking lot (I think they are expecting lots of visitors). There is a tiny museum, and then we are in the courtyard of a beautiful church. Osama takes us around the side – and there – directly across from the entrance to the church is the view of the Promised Land. It’s not terribly clear today – but we can easily see the top of the Dead Sea, and beyond it the hills and valleys of Isreal.

The symbol of this place is a staff with a serpent coiled around it – the universal sign of healing – and indeed my Doctor’s buttons (1812 Regency Period) feature exactly the same coiled snake.

Inside the Basilica of Moses there is a fabulous mosaic that was saved from the destruction of all images during the Iconoclasm in 754. The priest got word of what was happening to all the mosaics and painted icons and got the brilliant idea to save this mosaic by covering it up with sand and then having another mosaic with just simple patterns put on top.

Then folks seemed to have forgotten that the priest had made this happen – and the mosaic remained hidden until work was done on the church floor in the 1800’s.

Imagine their surprise!

The mosaic is simply stunningly beautiful. It tells the story of what life was like before and after the birth of Jesus. Before Jesus, man hunted animals freely – you can see the blood from a Lion being speared. Then there is a gap indicating the birth of Jesus, and the Mosaic afterwards shows a very different world. Animals and Man live in peace under the trees of peace – the Pomegrante and the Olive tree. There is even a very detailed image of two men, one white, one black. Independently they are both leading animals, a camel, a horse, an Ostrich. Osama uses that image to explain that he thinks there is room for everyone in the world.

Then he takes us to a place that actually makes Mosaics today. We go into the Mosaic’s workroom where 8 folks are seated carefully putting tiny stones one by one into a frame that will become the desired image.

Our host explains the technique. You start with the drawing of the finished design reversed onto a piece of cloth. The cloth is put into a frame that hold the cloth stiffly and the artist creates the design by using tweezers to pick up each stone, dip it into a paste of water and flour that is sticky, and then places the stone. Repeat again and again and again. It can take several months to create a really large, very small stone design like a tree of life, or only a hour to create a smaller design using larger stones. The stones are all Granite, gotten from folks who make kitchen counters and the like – left over pieces work just fine. Before the artists start, the large stones are cut into thin strips with a stone saw, and then the artists creates the smaller pieces using the same cutting tool I used when I was doing Stained Glass.

When the piece is done – you are looking at the back of the Mosaic, and it’s very bumpy since the pieces aren’t even close to exactly the same size. But that helps make the finished piece last. The next step has someone taking the finished art, spreading a really good glue layer on a proper frame, and then carefully flipping the art so the ‘top’ lines up within the frame.

Wait until the glue dries, then carefully remove the cloth by adding water to disolve the sticky layer. You reveal the Mosaic – right side up this time!

Our host explains that this workshop and the rug making workshop are all part of buisnesses started in Jordan by Queen Noor with Foreign help, primarly USAid. They are extremely proud of their connection to the US – and display the brand IDs of some of their sponsors. Because of their relationship with DHL – they can even provide free shipping. This is important because rugs and tables are very heavy!

Now we are led into their sales room. If you show any interest at all – a lovely sales person is quickly glued to your side. They work on commission of course – and we were quite taken with the young woman (single mother, 2 kids) who wants to help us pick something to send home.

Yeah – we folded. Come visit us in NOTL if you want to see what we bought.

We leave the shop – and finally enter Amman proper. It’s the capital of Jordan, and a much smaller city. But it is also a very very lovely city cascading as it does over 7 hills. I actually think that number is wrong – it’s more like 14 or more hills – but Osama defends their use of 7 by saying is a lucky number – like the 7 hills of Rome. So just let it go.

We are staying in a lovely Hyatt for 2 nights – and tonight we are on our own for dinner. There are options in the city and in the hotel – but Victor is still feeling under the weather, and I’m not exploring on my own – so we opt to just eat a quick dinner in the hotel lounge (steak sandwhich – I’m so happy).

Tonight is the first night of Ramadan. Osama explained this on our bus ride as well. The muslims follow the lunar calendar with no corrections – so Ramadan moves about 10 days a year. The start of Ramadan is determined by when the head Iman of each country sees the Cresent Moon – and it was overcast just a bit around the part of the sky where the moon would appear the first night we were in Jordan, so Ramadan didn’t start. It did start in Egypt and Saudi Arabia because their Imans could see the cresent moon. Jordan’s Iman only saw the Cresent moon the night before – so today was the first day of Ramadan.

When we drove thru the city of Amman – I saw crowds of men buying what appeared to be pancakes from bakeries. I asked Osama and he confirmed my guess – these pancakes are special for Ramadan. Naturally – I want to try some.

He’s going to see what he can do tomorrow. He’s also going to try to get Victor and I into a proper grocery store. We love walking the aisles of a grocery store – so I’ve definitely got my hopes up for tomorrow.

Tonight it’s that Steak Sandwich and bed. How can riding all day in a bus tired you out so much? Mystery to me.

Signing off – the Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 17 – Feb 18, 2026


Petra! I can’t believe it. I’ve been dreaming of going to Petra forever – long before Indiana Jones made the Treasury famous in the Movie.

And now, finally – I’m going to do it! I’m completely excited, thrilled, and a bit nervous about the walk. But hey – I climbed into and up the Great Pyramid – I can do anything.

Unfortunately, Victor wakes up feeling very poorly and tells me that he’s rolling over and going back to sleep. I tell him – it’s Petra! You sure. He’s sure. So I go down to the lobby and explain to Osama that Victor’s not coming. He insists on calling up to the room to explain that Victor can take the cart option – but Victor says no – but thanks. He’s going back to sleep.

We walk across the road, Osama explains the layout of the Park – and then tells us that he plans on doing the walk very slowly, timing it so we get to the Treasury when the sun hits the face perfectly. I’m relieved. A nice slow walk – that I can do.

There are other options of course – some folks jog down as fast as possible. Other folks take a cart. And there’s even a horse riding option. Osama makes sure that no one wants the other options – and that folks know that it’s really easy to just do the carts back in case they get tired.

I’m not sure at this point that I realized that the Treasury isn’t actually in ‘Petra’ the city. It’s part of the Petra Momument of course – but it’s 1/2 way to the city. You must walk another mile and 1/2 to get to the city itself – and that’s where we’re having lunch. So basically it’s 3 miles down and 3 miles back from our lunch stop.

Completely innocently – I follow the leaders down the gravel, but relatively flat path past vendors (1 dinar – just 1 dinar), past folks hustling for horseback rides (want ride – horse ride), and past incredible views. Then we arrive at the entrance to The Siq – the canyon of the moon as per Indiana Jones. There’s a flat part, some bathrooms – and about 12 Roman Reactors! They do a quick formation march – then stand at attention as we walk down into the Siq.

As promised, Osama takes it slowly. He points out the elaborate water system that provided the city with water from springs up in the surrounding mountains, the dams that are part of that watering system, and a place where there’s a carving, now very eroded of a Roman (based on the Toga he’s wearing) leading several Camels. Once pointed out – you can’t miss it.

The pass thru the red rock canyons – colored magnificantly by nature in Red, White, and Black – curves and winds. This was the way Camel teams – 100 camels long – would get into Petra. Their goal – as ours is now – was the city. It’s an Oasis in the middle of the desert – right on the crossing of numerous trade routes North, East, and West.

Pictures simply do not do it justice.

Nah – not good enough. It is absolutely the most amazing thing.

And it’s not just the Treasury – although that’s staggeringly beautiful. There is so much more. Some of it easy to get to, some of it a lot more challenging. For example – there’s the Monastery – so named because folks who originally lived in the Siq and knew no archology – didn’t realize it was a tomb. Ed and Todd galloped up and down the 900+ steps, and could easily have done more. Me – not a chance!

Compared to the Tombs and Temples of Egypt, the city of Petra is relatively young – only about 2300 years old, compared to 4000 to 5000 years for the Egyptian Monuments – but the beauty can’t be understated.

It was a popular spot for 270 years (170 BC to 106 AD) for Camel Carvans because it had water year round. And it had water year round in the middle of a desert with maybe 14” of rain a year because the Nabataeans – a Bedouin Tribe out of Saudi Arabia – were amazing water engineers. They managed to get so much water to flow year round into the city that the Romans when they took over the city actually built a Nymphaeum, a quite elaborate public fountain.

In addition to the basic 3 mile walk – from the Entrance to the Treasury and on to the city of Petra itself, I’m considering a slight detour. It’s an easier walk amoung the options – up to what are called the Royal Tombs – although there are no records of any Royal folks living here. Then my phone bings – I get a message from Victor to let me know he’s feeling a lot better.

Osama says – we’ll do lunch down here as planned – it’s a magnificant buffet of Egyptian delights, you will love it. Then I’ll go back, pick him up and take him down to the Treasury in a cart. Odessey has already paid for the ticket so it’s just the cost of the cart extra. Naturally – I’ll go with Osama – and that means everyone else is on their own after lunch.

Plan made – I let Victor know that Osama and I will pick him up at around 3:00 to go see the Treasury.

After a deliciou lunch I hoof it back up the path (yes – 3 MORE miles) from the city of Petra, past the Royal Tombs, Past the Treasury and up, up, up to the Monument exit. Meanwhile Osama gets everyone else organized and then probably runs up to the Exit. Sigh – Oh to be young again.

I stumble back into our hotel room at 2:15 – quite proud of myself if a bit sore, and when Osama calls us at 2:30 PM – he’s ready to head back down – both Victor and I are ready to go. We enter the park again, and thank goodness – this time we are taking a cart down to the Treasury. I’m not at all sure I had another 3 miles in me. Victor admires the carving, the colors of the rocks, and some of the additional carvings, and then we take a cart back up the hill.

In addition to the expected hustle of ‘ride my camel’ – we are treated to a wonderful display of tourists behaving badly. To take the cart back – you have to line up and wait your turn. On large group of about 8 tourists – with their guide – ignore the line and try to push their way ahead of folks – including Victor and I – who have been waiting our turn to get on a cart very politely. I’ve having none of that I tell you – so I explain to them – there’s a line – and they are NOT getting ahead of my husband’s trip back to the hotel. And they aren’t getting ahead of those people who were waiting with us – or that guy that was also lined up before they so rudely decided to stand on our right rather than wait their turn.

To applause from the other folks patiently waiting – we are seated in the next cart to make the journey back thru the canyon. On our way up – we spot at least 5 carts heading back down empty – I guess the word got to the Powers that Be that folks were getting unruly at the cart stop.

Victor goes back to our room to rest – I do the Petra Museum. It’s actually a lot larger than it looks and covers the entire history of this part of Jordan. As I enter the museum, I run into Andrea who tells me to be sure and see the introductory movie. It’s all about water – and how the Nabataeans ruled for 270 years because they understood how truly important it was!

Just FYI – (I had to look this up on a map) – Petra is in the middle South of Jordan – well below the end of the Dead Sea and about 1/2 way from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. Definitely in the middle of the desert.

It’s easy to imagine 100 long camel carvans going up and down – destination Petra and water. The high period of Petra ended when the last of the Kings died without an heir and the Romans decided they would rule Petra.

Fortunately – they improved, not destroyed the carvings in the soft Limestone done by the Nabataeans. But they did force them to stop carving tombs, and eventually they were absorbed into the Roman culture. In the city of Petra there are huge Roman ruins including a giant Temple which had it’s own swimming pool and garden, a multi-story building, traditional entrance arches, and of course the Nymphaeum.

I suspect that the Siq even impressed the Romans as they didn’t really widen it – but left it as this magnificant entry way into another world.

Dinner is a group affair – more mezze for me – and we are fairly early to bed. Thank goodnes. My watch is very proud of me – I did over 24,000 steps – and I’m pretty well done in. I just hope Victor continues to feel better in the morning.

Signing off to pass out – the Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 16 – Feb 17, 2026


6:00 AM – time to get up, grab coffee and breakfast – and get to the airport. I’m quite excited – While I couldn’t wait to see the Pyramids and Egypt – Petra was huge on our bucket list – and finally we are getting to go.

Thank goodness for the Odyessy folks. They do a tag team to get us into the airport, thru the layer upon layer of security checks including another full body pat down and to our gate in plenty of time. That seems to be an Odyessy objective. Make sure they are never late to anything!

Andrea and I decide to walk the airport – and find the most interesting thing – Two white modular ‘containers’ that hold a bed, a mirror, a shelf and a bit of space for a carry-on. Emergency sleeping arrangements in the airport. Perfect!

Even more interesting – because we are so close to Ramadan – there are folks of folks heading to Mecca. They are dressed all in white, and many of them are wearing cloth signs that say things like “Heavenly Tour”. We smile and wave, they smile and wave back.

When we get to Jordan, Osma – our Odessey Guide for the Jordan portion of the trip explains that going to Mecca on Pilgramage is one of the 5 pillars of Islam.

Our flight goes painlessly – and we are met as soon as we clear the security area of the airport. So much better than our arrival in Cairo. I’m already loving Jordan.

As I mentioned – our new guide is Osma – and he seems really nice. And quickly tells us – I’m Jordanian – I always have a Plan!

His plan for today is for us to get on our bus (which is ours for our entire stay – so we can leave stuff inside), and start heading out of Amman. Our first stop is Madaba – a favorite stop for pilgrams to the Holy Land starting around 100 AD. There is a mosiac map of the sites of the Holy Land – including the Dead Sea, Jalem, Bethlehem, the Jordan River, Jericho, Jocob’s Well, Mount Sinai, the Nile Delta, Karak, St. Lot’s Monastery and Hebron. About 1/2 of it was destroyed in an earthquake in 790 AD, which is often the reason for destruction in Jordan. That was some Earthquake for sure.

The map is – as advertised – marvelous. It’s in Greek because that was the common language of tourists at that time. And it’s of course vividly decorated except for the places that were considered ‘offensive’ by the Catholic Church when it was decided to destroy all the icons and all recognizable figures for fear that they would distract men from their worship. We’ll hear more about both the earthquake and the distruction of icons later.

It’s finally time for lunch – and it is in a marvelous restaurant. Family owned and operated – the mother who was a good home chef but not a restaurantur by any means – got a grant from USAid. They trained her how to run a kitchen, bought her the equipment to make her recipes in larger quantities, helped her enlarge her restaurant to seat over 100 – and publish a cook book. The food lived up to Osama’s description – yummy! Victor was particularly fond of the Zatar coved crisp Pita strips and he of course bought her cookbook after checking out several of the recipes. I’m looking forward to some really interesting meals when we get home but first Victor says we’ll have to find some Zatar. Putting that on the shopping list.

After lunch we continue our drive to Petra. We arrive just in time to check-in and go for dinner in the hotel. We are staying in the Movenpick – and it’s right across the street from the entrance to Petra. I’m getting excited.

Time for bed – it’s another early morning tomorrow, but at least there’s no bus or plane ride to take.

Signing off to sleep! The Soup Lady

Egypt and Jordan – Day 1 – Feb 3, 2026


Yes – it’s been a long time since I picked up pen and pencil (well, computer and keyboard) to write a blog post. Ignore the last one of course – I was finishing up Santa Fe, but a Turtle doesn’t get ahead unless they stick their Necks out – so I’m fulfilling my promise to my daughter Adrienne – I’m blogging my trip with Victor (husband of 55+ years) to Egypt and Jordan.

The idea for the trip has always been on our bucket list – but wars kept interferring. Our timing was pretty horrid to be honest. And we didn’t want to commit to this kind of a trip without some positive feelings – so we kept delaying and dodging and avoiding.

But then Tufts sent us a brochure for their trip to Egypt and Jordan for February 2026 – and the fire got re-ignited. It turned out that the Tufts trip was fully booked, but the same travel company – Odysseys Unlimited – had exactly the same trip planned – but without the ‘Tufts’ ID. and the dates worked. So we took the jump – and booked the trip with Odyssey.

Odyssey specializes in small group travel (max of 24), and focuses on specific destinations. The trips are ‘all inclusive’ – or what passes for ‘all inclusive’ these days – most meals, all hotels, most travel. And their offering for Egypt and Jordan covered everything on our bucket list. And we wouldn’t have to do any planning – they had everything planned for us (almost).

So we booked the trip – and figured out the missing pieces, primariy the Air Fare arrangements and how to spend extra time at the GEM (Great Egypt Museum) which just opened 2 months ago (November 2025).

The tour starts Feb 4th – a travel day – so there’s nothing planned.

But we had to get to Egypt. And while Odessey which do the airplane booking for you – they won’t give you your flight points, and there’s a surcharge for Premium Economy which Victor prefers. So I went flight hunting – and found that if we flew out of Canada – there were heavily discounted Business Class tickets available – and when crossing ‘The Pond’ – there were lie-flat beds.

Challenge #1 – Victor was going to be in STX on Jan 31, and I was going to be in Utah. Hmm. Best bet seemed to fly to Miami, spend the night there – and then start our trip to Cairo from Miami. Crazy thing – to get the discounted Business Class seats – we had to fly Miami and spend the night. Then the next morning, we’d board an AC flight to Toronto, change to the long haul to Vienna, then change to a short haul on Austian Airlines to Cairo.

I’m not generally a fan of having to change planes twice, let alone thiree times – but the appeal of a lie-flat bad on the long (8 hr) haul for barely more than economy was insanely appealing.

Next – dates. I didn’t want to have to hit the ground running – so we decided to arrive in Cairo the day before everyone else. Odessey agreed to arrange for someone to meet us at the airport in Cairo on Feb 3, and we opted to spend an extra night in the Kempinski Nile Hotel. That allowed us to go to the GEM museum the next day (Feb 4) which I hoped would mean I’d have more time to actually see the museum than the tour was allowing.

Planning done – the hard part was simply waiting for Feb 1 to arrive.

As I mentioned in my last blog – I was very sick (Flu-A, then Pneumonia) for the month of January – so instead of flying from Salt Lake city to Miami – I went back to my sisters home in Columbia to be nursed back to health (thank you Cathy) – and from there went with my sister and her husband Bob to a week long Tai-Chi retreat in Dunedin. On Feb 1 – instead of flying from SLC to Miami as originally planned – I flew from Tampa to Miami and then sat at the airport waiting for Victor to arrive.

For the record – this is during that insane cold snap in the Southern US – and it was cold. Tampa was expecting Snow – and the hotel we selected in Miami had no HEAT! I forgive them that – who thinks you’ll ever need to heat a room in Miami – but I have to tell you – it was just above freezing – and it was COLD in Miami and COLDER in our room. I needed 2 extra blankets – and my winter coat from Montreal.

Not a great start I must tell you. We decided that the hotel we’d chosen near the Miami Airport was the pits – even though it was hardly their fault that for once in 10 years they needed heating in the rooms. But a cold room is a COLD room.

Next morning we are up, I take a hot shower to warm up (the room is still COLD – and we get out of Dodge. Since we’re flying Business Class – we have access to the Lounges at the airport – and we figure that will be the better Breakfast.

And it was great. I had oatmeal, some delicious Turkish Cookies, and 2 cups of Latte! I’m a lot happier – and Victor too is feeling better about this ‘traveling’ thing. At least we are both finally feeling warmer.

When we check in – I have – to the staff’s amusement – a serious talk with our luggage. I want to be sure they know that they are going to Cairo. I always fine that making sure your luggage is aware of the correct destination helps cut down on the possibility of lost bags. And it does seem to help. Of course I also use that time to check the luggage tags!

Flight from Miami to Toronto – Great. I eat a lovely lite lunch – Victor sleeps. In Toronto – we go to the Air Canada Signature Lounge and have the best meal I’ve had in an airport in forever! Seriously. It was table service, and the Tuna Sushimi and the Alberta Beef (severed medium Rare) were both excellent. We were greeted with Champagne, and Victor opted for wine with his dinner.

Then we boarded the flight from Toronto to Vienna. Air Canada Business Class – even with lie flight beds – is not the Emerites. It’s worth what we paid for it – but just barely. Not the most comfortable of beds, and the service was hit and miss. Sometimes quite lovely – sometimes as if we’d tried to make their lives tougher than necessary. But still – a bargain is a bargain and I did have a bed, and I did get at least 3 hours of sleep. Totally worth it!

Transfer from Air Canada to Austrian Airlines went swiftly – with no border to deal with. In fact – we only saw border folks once, and that was in Miami. After that – it was free sailing all the way.

We arrive in Cairo thinking – Whew – good job. Even get both our suitcases (see – talking to them worked) – and it is only as we’re leaving baggage claim that we realize that we didn’t see anyone with a sign with our names.

Oh dear. Did I manage to NOT arrange for a pickup from the airport? I just can’t remember. So we call the Kempinski Nile. They tell us that they have no record of us arranging to be picked up – but we can just take one of the taxi’s on offer. And then we get the best advice ever – the fellow from the hotel tells us – it should be 15 to 20 dollars US – 25 at most.

The challenge for us as Canadians arriving in Cairo is simple. We don’t normally bargain for taxis. In Canadian airports – random folks coming up to you to ask if you want a taxi is not only frowned upon – it’s forbidden. So to be suddenly flooded with at least a dozen different men and women asking us if we need a taxi, and they will help us – give them our phone, we’ll call a taxi for you… ya da ya da – it’s scary.

But once we knew the correct price range – it was a lot easier. One guy was sticking with us like glue – so we finally asked how much. He said $40. Victor says no – $15 to $20 – finally they agree on $25. He uses his cell phone to call a driver (very nice chap) – and tells him – $25 and the name of our hotel.

Being nervous nellies – we track our driver’s path thru the city – but he is going to our hotel. Much comforted I start looking around and notice that many buildings just don’t look occupied. In some cases – there are no windows at all – in some there is a floor or two or three with no windows – and the rest looks normal. A building that’s occupied and a building that’s not looks very different. Tomorrow I’m going to ask that this is about.

Most of the buildings I see are clearly appartment buildings – maxing out at maybe 12 floors which makes me wonder about the popularity of elevators. And most are a rather uniform drap light brown or beige. Often folks have put up a curtain to protect their balcony space from too much sun, and there are lots of laundry hanging out to dry.

Like areas of India that I was driven thru – there are market areas with folks selling what ever they can sell – sometimes from tables, often with just a piece of cardboard under the goods.

The traffic is insane. The city scape a dreary beige, folks seemingly everywhere – jay walking across 8 lines of traffic the norm, police cars every where, and in the more popular areas – police standing behind bullet proof shields on major corners.

I’m reminded of when I first saw Bangcock – dirty and noisy and loud and scary. Too many cars, too many people.

But I also know I’m tired – and I need to get to the hotel and stop.

And our driver does exactly the right thing – he gets us to the Kempinski Nile – and we over tip him we are so relieved to be where we know there’s a restaurant and a bed with our names on it.

The hotel is stunning – our room is lovely, the food was quite good – and maybe I had a bit too much wine. But tomorrow is another day!

Signing off – The Soup Lady