Yes Playmates, they certainly are! In our experience, both Luxor and Aswan are, as Bob Dylan's words truly foretold; a'changing, and quite a bit too.
You know, of course, that we're lucky people, don't you? Well, we've just done a little cruise up the Nile on one our friend's Nile Cruisers, again. The Royal Viking isn't the best ship (although I prefer to call them boats because of their more diminutive size) navigating the reaches of the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, but it is eminently suitable for our needs, i.e. it's relatively clean, hygienic, comfortable, reliable and with decent food which is well cooked. (But mainly because we are family friends of the owner and get a reasonable discount, to be perfectly honest!)
Never mind, we had a great few days spending our time either lazing around the sundeck, eating more than we should and "people-watching", which, as you know, is one of our main pleasures, hehe! Our fellow travellers were mainly British (50) and German (40) and then a mix of American and "others". Which made watching the differing manners and general behaviour etc of the different groups very interesting, especially at mealtimes.
Mind you, we didn't waste our time in Aswan, either. How could taking two or three hours over tea etc, two days running, at the Old Cataract ever be considered as a waste of time, I ask you? We spent an afternoon and the following morning there. The hotel is still as beautiful as ever, if not even more so! Happily, having a friend or two there was also very useful, I'll say no more on that subject, though. (Wink,wink!!!) Us invalids really need to be looked after in some style, you know.
Invalids? That reminds me of the book which I've just finished and am embarking on reading again, it was so good! It's a facsimile of a book, actually written in 1895, entitled "Wintering in Egypt, Hints for Invalids and Travellers" and was a Christmas present from my darling sister. (Written by A J McDonald Bentley and C G Griffinhoof and published by Wentworth Press.) It's a great book and I'd recommend it for anyone who knows modern-day Egypt, or for anyone who wants to come here for a holiday. It's full of (what are, with modern hindsight) amusing advices and explanatory background on why and how the modern Egyptian sometimes seems so strange to us foreign visitors.
Back, now, in the thriving hubbub which is Luxor.............you'll remember that building which so tragically collapsed last year? Well, it prompted the Governor to send out his minions to check the other, old and unloved (more to the point unmaintained!) mud-brick multi-story buildings for safety! Old Uncle Mohamed's house is such a building. You must remember him, surely? The old guide who lived his entire life at the closed end of our "haret" (alley). Part of it was two floors and part was three floors. Well, when we returned we found this:
In true Luxorian fashion, it's been knocked down and left! You can see the concrete framework of the building in the rear of the picture, which is how all domestic buildings seem to be constructed now. I've berated the family for leaving the place like a bomb site, and have been reassured that the rubble will be cleared away, but no actual date was given!!! We'll see (again!).
Just across our street, if you can give it such a grand name, the waste pipe opposite, from the toilets etc., has developed a leak; obviously it's not very pleasant. The workmen are there now putting up wooden scaffolding to replace all the old iron pipework with modern plastic stuff. Hurrah! It looks as if we'll eventually be a "twee" little alley! (A mews, even?) Even the old hardened earth footpath has been tiled over. Mind you, the only time the tiles become apparent is when our "cleaner" (that's what he's supposed to be, anyway) has swept and washed them!
Here's a couple of shots of the scaffolders at work, it's actually terrifying to watch them.
I braved walking beneath this lot to do a bit of shopping, as we were almost out of both milks, full cream and skimmed, and Mandolin biscuits (Cadbury's Egyptian equivalent to Twix). I took this snap just for those of you who haven't seen Egyptian cabbages, they're often huge! These are babies in comparison:
Anyway, I'd better let you get off and do something useful, for a change, as my editor says that I shouldn't make these posts too long, or you, Dear Reader, will get even more bored and click on something else!
So it's goodbye from her, and it's goodbye from him, goodbye.
You know, of course, that we're lucky people, don't you? Well, we've just done a little cruise up the Nile on one our friend's Nile Cruisers, again. The Royal Viking isn't the best ship (although I prefer to call them boats because of their more diminutive size) navigating the reaches of the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, but it is eminently suitable for our needs, i.e. it's relatively clean, hygienic, comfortable, reliable and with decent food which is well cooked. (But mainly because we are family friends of the owner and get a reasonable discount, to be perfectly honest!)
Never mind, we had a great few days spending our time either lazing around the sundeck, eating more than we should and "people-watching", which, as you know, is one of our main pleasures, hehe! Our fellow travellers were mainly British (50) and German (40) and then a mix of American and "others". Which made watching the differing manners and general behaviour etc of the different groups very interesting, especially at mealtimes.
Mind you, we didn't waste our time in Aswan, either. How could taking two or three hours over tea etc, two days running, at the Old Cataract ever be considered as a waste of time, I ask you? We spent an afternoon and the following morning there. The hotel is still as beautiful as ever, if not even more so! Happily, having a friend or two there was also very useful, I'll say no more on that subject, though. (Wink,wink!!!) Us invalids really need to be looked after in some style, you know.
Invalids? That reminds me of the book which I've just finished and am embarking on reading again, it was so good! It's a facsimile of a book, actually written in 1895, entitled "Wintering in Egypt, Hints for Invalids and Travellers" and was a Christmas present from my darling sister. (Written by A J McDonald Bentley and C G Griffinhoof and published by Wentworth Press.) It's a great book and I'd recommend it for anyone who knows modern-day Egypt, or for anyone who wants to come here for a holiday. It's full of (what are, with modern hindsight) amusing advices and explanatory background on why and how the modern Egyptian sometimes seems so strange to us foreign visitors.
Back, now, in the thriving hubbub which is Luxor.............you'll remember that building which so tragically collapsed last year? Well, it prompted the Governor to send out his minions to check the other, old and unloved (more to the point unmaintained!) mud-brick multi-story buildings for safety! Old Uncle Mohamed's house is such a building. You must remember him, surely? The old guide who lived his entire life at the closed end of our "haret" (alley). Part of it was two floors and part was three floors. Well, when we returned we found this:
Just across our street, if you can give it such a grand name, the waste pipe opposite, from the toilets etc., has developed a leak; obviously it's not very pleasant. The workmen are there now putting up wooden scaffolding to replace all the old iron pipework with modern plastic stuff. Hurrah! It looks as if we'll eventually be a "twee" little alley! (A mews, even?) Even the old hardened earth footpath has been tiled over. Mind you, the only time the tiles become apparent is when our "cleaner" (that's what he's supposed to be, anyway) has swept and washed them!
Here's a couple of shots of the scaffolders at work, it's actually terrifying to watch them.
I braved walking beneath this lot to do a bit of shopping, as we were almost out of both milks, full cream and skimmed, and Mandolin biscuits (Cadbury's Egyptian equivalent to Twix). I took this snap just for those of you who haven't seen Egyptian cabbages, they're often huge! These are babies in comparison:
Anyway, I'd better let you get off and do something useful, for a change, as my editor says that I shouldn't make these posts too long, or you, Dear Reader, will get even more bored and click on something else!
So it's goodbye from her, and it's goodbye from him, goodbye.
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