Arrived in Mexico City this evening, and met up with my friend Berni. She spends about six months of the year down here in Mazatlan. We went out for a delightful walk around where our Airbnb is and were able to find a nice restaurant. I’m just going to post some pictures of our walk… Read More Arrived Mexico City

I’ve had a really delightful stay in Frankfurt with my friend Tamar and her partner Rafi. When I arrived on Tuesday, we went out for Indian food. It had to be some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. I spent Wednesday and Thursday, working on all the blog entries that I missed because… Read More My time in Frankfurt

After my Roadscholar tour ended, I stayed an additional day to take a private tour to Alexandria. The driver picked me up at 7 o’clock and unfortunately we hit fog so it took five hours to get to Alexandria. I happen to wind up with a female guide which gave me a chance to talk… Read More A day in Alexandria

This was my second trip to Egypt. My first trip was in 2001 and I only stayed a few days. I am very glad I came back. First of all the people of Egypt are incredibly friendly. It was a joy to talk to them, and to learn about their culture and country. Luckily, we… Read More My thoughts on Egypt

Today we explored the Islamic heritage of Cairo. Islam came to Egypt and 641CE. Islam spread quickly because people were given the choice of conversion or serving in the army. The Ottomans arrived in 1514 CE. We visited a number of mosques and concluded our visit on El-Moez Street, the most important street of Islamic… Read More Exploring old Cairo

Today we flew back to Cairo for the remaining part of our tour. Upon arrival we went to an area called Masr Al-Qadima or old Cairo. This area has been a strong hold of Christianity since the Roman period and is known colloquially as Coptic Cairo. We visited two churches. We then visited Ben Ezra… Read More Back to Cairo

In Luxor, we spent two nights in the Pavilion Winter Luxor Hotel which is part of a historic British colonial era, five star luxury resort located on the river Nile. Agatha Christie wrote the Death on the Nile while staying at the hotel. Before breakfast three of us took a balloon ride over the valley… Read More 3rd Day in Luxor

The valley of the kings on the West Bank of the Nile has been the home to royal burial since 2100 BCE, but it was the pharaoh‘s of the new kingdom, 1550-1069 BCE, who began to construct elaborate tombs to reflect their newfound power and prosperity after the reunification of Egypt under Theban rule. The… Read More 2nd Day in Luxor

During the morning of our first day in Luxor, we visited the temple of queen Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Queens. Hatshepsut was the great royal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and served as the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. She initially reigned as a regent for Thutmose III but assumed… Read More 1st Day in Luxor