"Rest to the weary"

Well, we are getting on a bit, you know? And, at our time of life, we're allowed to take things as we do; slowly!

A short break at our favourite hotel was (is?) just the ticket. The Cataract beckoned!

As we prepared for our arduous 3 or 4 hour journey in a First Class Carriage on the VIP train up to Aswan, I had to do some shopping for essential supplies, biscuits and the like, for the trip. I got a great pic of the working at the Four Seasons whilst out and about:

I also had a rather frightening flashback when I passed a wagon near the station. Just look at this back spring, the very sight of it had all my weary old muscles aching at the thought of getting it out of there and then back in!

Thankfully, those days are now long gone, and only re-appear in the odd nightmare from time to time! They like their big Mercs here, and they always seem to be so high off the ground, that's because of those huge springs, of course.

Coming up here on the train I saw some great wagons! There were about 6 or 7 six wheelers with drawbar trailers and double height sideboards all together at one point, but I was too slow with the camera (OK phone camera!) but I did catch these at another place:

There are some areas of towns in Egypt which seem to specialize in certain trades. Close by to where I captured the tippers above, I also shot this:

Here, we have a little wrought iron workshop, as you can see by the lovely set of gates in the process of being made. But they also carry out vehicle repairs too, evidenced by the small tipper with the body raised and the short inspection pit to the right of the gates. Everything here is similar to what we see in our own countries, but on a different scale and usually with a lack of what we would term 'proper' equipment. The mechanics and artisans etc just get on with the job in hand, where necessity becomes, quite literally, the mother of invention!

We were allocated a room on the top floor of the Nile Wing of the Cataract, here's a quick panoramic view from our balcony, just to finish this little posting off|;

 That's the Mausoleum of the Agha Khan, the smallish looking square building towards the left and up on the desert sands, with the Coptic Cathedral behind the Old Cataract Hotel, to the right. Cracking view, eh?

Nearing the end of the Summer Season, but possibly the beginning of the Four Seasons?

Yes, Playmates, I was past the Iberotel last night as I went shopping at all of the supermarkets in the South of the town. I noticed the tower cranes, between Ibn Khalid Walid Street and the river, as I came along the Corniche on Mr Badawi's caleche.

I should have got him to stop earlier, as there's a gap between the old Novo and the new wall, where you can observe the whole site. But, I missed the chance. And so I ended up precariously balanced on the driver's seat of the conveyance, hanging onto the hood for grim death with my right hand, and trying to take a video with the phone in my left. Here it is for your delectation, Dear Reader:

They're certainly getting on with the job now! I hear a little rumour that some of Egypt's great hotels have been sold by the Government to the UAE! Of course, this would include our Winter Palace here in Luxor. We'll see, I suppose. 

If foreign governments are buying into Egypt's tourism sector, and foreign hotel chains are investing their cash here, maybe there's still a possibility for the Luxor population to rise from their torpor and to make tourists feel welcome again. I hope we can all hope and pray for such an outcome.

It's only by connecting with people from different cultures that we can possibly get to know what makes them tick. It's only then that we can begin to accept their differences, and admit that perhaps we shouldn't be trying to change each other's cultures, but to be fascinated and in awe of their otherworldliness!

This is what makes travelling worthwhile (to me, anyway) to find connections where we may not notice them in our hurriedness, and to just stop and admire 'le difference'. (My word, I'm getting a bit carried away here!)

Firstly, we went to the Forty Market on New Hospital St. All I managed to find there was the skimmed milk, fruit yogurts and crisps! Just along the way a little, is the fruit and veg bloke whom we know though our little (long dead now) mate, Mr Goma, for lemons and ginger. Next nearest was the little bakery where we get chocolate coated croissants and soft sweet buns for our cups of tea, and then on to the relatively new and flash Rayah market on Medina Street. I was looking for Lurpak butter, but I only found porridge there. I left the caleche while I walked back up the street to the Omar Market, we'd passed there on our way, but don't like to use it except in emergencies. (For historical reasons, which I won't go into at this juncture!) They had no Lurpak either, so it was back to the caleche and along the road to Kheir Zaman on TV Street. Now, of course we were on the wrong side of the dual carriageway, so Sayed dropped me outside of Mr Bahaa Sherif's underground (household goods) shop and left me to cross the road while he followed on up to the roundabout and came back down the other side. He arrived just as I emerged from the shop with two 200 gram packs of the beloved Lurpak unsalted butter!

During the journey, we encountered several folk to whom we had to have a natter, so it took quite a bit of time! On the way back, we were reminded of the very different culture yet again, this time one driven by religion. Coming up is the birthday of the Prophet (Muhammad), commonly referred to as the Moulid el Nabi. I'm not sure when it falls, as it's eleven days earlier every year due to them using the Islamic calendar! Anyway, here are a couple of the stalls selling the huge sugar dollies with their elaborate dresses, and the red sugar warriors. I'm sure that some of them have been in storage since last year, uuuurgh! Also the Turkish Delight, which bears no resemblance whatsoever to that which carries the Fry's name. (Could just fancy a bar of that now!)

Well that's about it for tonight I think, as it's shower time. Oooh, just in case you're the slightest bit interested, I bought another melodeon today! It's a 1 row Italian Busilacchio, possibly from the '30s. I hope it's as nice as it looks in the photo! 

                            I'll have to wait another 6 or 7 weeks to find out.

Friday Night's 'Amami' Night!

Is there anybody out there who is old enough to remember that TV advert? Ladies giving their hair a 'home perm' so they'd look their best for the weekend!  I doubt it, or at least that you'd remember it anyway, Dear Reader. 

Well here in Luxor (as in most of Egypt, and other Muslim countries as well I suppose) the ditty would be that, "Thursday Night is Wedding night!" It's thought to be a good omen to start your wedding on a Thursday night as, after sundown, it becomes Friday; and Friday is the Muslim Holy Day, when thoughts turn to Allah and his Messenger.

So, here we are on our first Thursday back in Luxor, and there's this wedding celebration across the school yard. thankfully, it only went on until about 1.30am or something, I'm not quite sure, as I eventually fell asleep. But, God bless them anyway, they'll need all the help they can get, getting married just now here in the Land of the Pharaohs!

Talking about weddings.....we've come back to the news that our neighbour and friend, Mr Adam (of coffeeshop fame) is preparing for his eldest son to be married! They're so far on that they are building on the roof across the alley, so that No. 1 Son, Hagagg and his new missus can move into the family building. This is the traditional scenario, the young wife moves into the family home and becomes the helper of the mother. (Or, I've been told, often the slave of the mother!!!) I've no doubt though that Mrs Adam will be a welcoming and loving Mother-in-law. God bless them all, as well. 

Here it is after the first day of building. Two labourers mixing and carrying all day, one (seemingly) apprentice bricklayer and one gaffer bricklayer. You can see the new brickwork against the wall of the next building, as well as that at the edge of the roof above the alley. 

I'm pleased to say that it looks as if it won't impinge on our still stunning view of the West Bank Mountains! I love to sit in my chair in our living room, where I can peer out at this view, day or night!!!

Now then, I know that one or two of you might be thinking that I've lost interest in blogging about our favourite place,  but I'd like to assure you that that's not the case! We've had a difficult few years recently; along with both of us catching (lol) cancer and being operated on to remove it (successfully in both cases, I'm very grateful to report) we've also had to nurse the other three members of my family as they all sadly died, I'm the only one left! 

Although we both love Luxor and wouldn't have missed our 15 years of being here for the world, we have been slowly coming to the realisation that as we get longer in the tooth, we cannot carry on indefinitely in travelling back and forth and looking after guests from all around the world. (Even though we'd love to!) So we are going to sell our beloved home here, and retire properly to our first home back in NE England, in good old Windy Nook.

So, if you're young at heart and fancy completely changing your life to one which delights you every day with new experiences and challenges, then we could help you achieve that for a surprisingly affordable sum of money. Drop us an email with any questions to ourluxor@yahoo.co.uk 

Oh, nearly forgot; we came via Hurghada and stayed at the Marriott hotel overnight. Come the morning, I thought that I'd almost persuaded Freda to jump into the water with me at the private beach, but then we came across this sign...... foiled again!

                                              It's no fun being orphans!

                                                             TTFN

 

Who's a clever boy then?

Yes, I have to admit, it's ME! I've figured out how to get videos from my new (to me!) phone. It used to belong to my No. 1 Son and it's a very fancy Google Pixel 4. I've only had it for about 3 months or something, and am ever so slowly getting the hang of it.  

I've started to use it instead of my camera; 'cause it takes better quality pictures, is quicker and it's also more convenient, in that I only have one piece of electronic wizardry to carry around. What's not to like?

I'm sure that there's some way of converting the videos it takes to the correct 'format' (see, I'm even picking up the jargon!) for the Blog to accept, like Wav files or mp4's or whatever. Our Richard (my recently deceased brother) knew all about that sort of thing, and would often show off and embarrass me with more jargon that you could throw a stick at! But I wish he was still here.

Never mind, I've just found out that I can load videos straight to YouTube, and then use the Blog to pick them out of there! So here are a few recent ones for your delectation...........

We'll start off with the two which I posted links to in the last post on here. It turned out to be a right mess, don't know how; couldn't have been anything I did, surely!!!

This is a taste of the 'Stick Fighting for Abu Haggag' which has been a tradition here at Al Hod (just outside of our building) since heaven knows when. It's a recognised part of the Moulid of the said Sheikh, which ends 15 days before Ramadan. I took this from the first floor of the 'Fat Brother's' building next door.

This next one is also a regular feature of the Moulid, but happens at ad hoc times and places with different people and styles, too. It's the same sort of thing as the Whirling Dervishes. who are properly a sect which is banned in some Muslim places. (And not just an entertainment of sorts on the Nile Cruisers.) The rhythmic movement (or so I'm told|) tends to alter the normal pattern of blood-flow through the brain, creating a trance-like effect where the participant feels in closer communion with Allah. It's obviously a very personal, if public, experience, and being so I asked if  was OK to film it before commencing. 

I'm absolutely fascinated by this sort of thing! This seems to me to be the same as what is described as a Zikr, in some of my elderly (19th Century) books about Egypt. But my neighbour called it something entirely different, which I couldn't get the gist of!

As you will remember, Dear Reader, I spent a lot of my life repairing road going vehicles, cars, wagons and buses, so the following vid is a bit of an indulgence. It's what we in England would call a "Back Street Garage" except that it's on a main road here.

Just one more, as it's time for my beauty sleep. This is a 'pop up shop' which is selling  Fawannies! Fawannies being the plural of Fanous, and the Fanous being the representation of the lights which were traditionally displayed to light the way home for the pilgrims returning from the Hajj at Mecca. In recent years, most of those I've seen for sale have been disgusting plastic things from China, but I'm delighted to see that these are proper, very thin and lightweight, tin plate examples, and probably made here in Egypt. Most homes which can afford one will have at least one hanging somewhere prominent for everyone to see. Rather like Christmas decorations in Christian countries. Anyway, enough rabbiting........

That's all folks!

See you all again soon, Insh'Allah.

Did I say, "The work is actually going along at quite a pace"?

 Actually, yes I did, I've just checked back!

Well, I went past the building site again on the local (1.75LE) 'bus, and was so surprised that I asked the driver to stop and got off, in order to have a better look. That shows real commitment in a "journalist" doesn't it? (You can reimburse me the fare when we next meet, Dear Reader.)

Here is another shot of the works:

I think that they've poured a lot of concrete in the past couple of days, and there are quite a few individual bases there now. Mind, I'm surprised that those rocks in the foreground haven't been dug out yet. It could be a serious task, though.

Anyway, from there, I walked up Ibn Khalid Walid Street a bit and then turned off to pass the, dead before it was finished, Morris Hotel (which is up for sale, if you have any spare sponduliks) and call to see our long-time friend and travel agent, Mr Bahaa, in his new office nearby. On the side road I couldn't help but notice the following:

I may have shown you these before (my memory, you know?) but that isn't just a roof, it's (I believe) Luxor's first attempt at harnessing the sun's power to create electricity. I seem to recall that the wiring wasn't up to the job, and burnt out with the intense heat. I cannot imagine that much electricity would be produced with that much sand on the receptors, what do you think, Dear Reader?

Another complaint I have is regarding what was formerly a lovely park area behind the Temple, opposite McDonald's. Years ago, it was a pleasant oasis in the heart of town, with trees and grass and lots of local families. Some just stopped to rest in the shade of the many trees, some had picnics others came with their children to just spend time with their neighbours or whatever. It was lovely!

Then, the powers-that-be decided to excavate what turned out to be some Roman remains, and the trees all went the distance! Now, the whole area has been fenced in, and it's become a haven for the flying rats (otherwise known as pigeons!) whilst local people now have nowhere to just chill. It's very sad!

Here are the pigeons, in their element it would seem:

You have to look through the fence to see them, as they all gather at this end, where people feed them!

I almost forgot! Some whizzkids were on with the fancy laser lights again last night, in the Temple, I presume. We were watching Netflix on our laptop on the roof terrace at the time, so I only got a couple of minutes of video for you. 

Ha! They're on my Google Pixel phone, and I cannot find a way to get them off and onto the Blog, sorry. Here's a taste, by way of a still picture: 

Sorry about that, it was a good little video as well. By the time I get up-to-date with technology, I'll be in my box.

See you later, alligator!

A posting of little observations and snippets from our favourite place; Luxor!

This visit, we went back to using EgyptAir for our travel. Although we found the TUI flight from Newcastle to Hurghada and coach across the desert very easy last time, EgyptAir's direct service was more cost effective for this journey, and it was a breeze! Even the BA flight from Newcastle and the treck between Heathrow's Terminals was hassle free. Of course, there was nothing to report regarding the actual flight, except that I managed a night time pic of somewhere in Egypt from the air:

I've noticed that whatever time of year it is, the farmers on the West Bank are forever burning stubble. Is this because they have several growing seasons each year? I hate it, as their fires always deposit large bits of burnt straw (or whatever it is!) on our nicely cleaned roof terrace and stairs, the beasts! Almost on the first day I noticed this as I made my way, by caleche, along the Corniche:

Mind you, and this is only really of interest to regular visitors, I was both surprised and pleased to see the following:

If I remember correctly, I snapped this on our first day back. It is, of course, the site next door to the Iberotel (Novotel) on Ibn Khalid Walid Street. The story goes that the Four Seasons group have had an option to build a super-duper hotel here for years, and it now, at last, seems to be coming to fruition! If nothing else, it goes to show that such a big concern believes that Luxor tourism is expected to pick up considerably, and that has to be good news for all. The work is actually going along at quite a pace, and much more groundwork has been accomplished in the last two weeks. It's really quite exciting to see!

Being Egypt, catastrophes (or catsaftermes, as friend Stan Laurel would have it) still occur regularly. And so I found myself, once again at the Awad's (the collection of plumbers shops just down our street) looking for bits and pieces! Whilst in the queue, I couldn't help but notice the following, just lying there:

If only I'd known about this in the '60's, when I was running those old rust buckets, it might have saved me a small fortune! Who else knew that Jaguar had produced their own anti-rust stuff for use on their cars?

This picture below is of something I was very surprised to see!

Yes, that's right; it's a rather portly Egyptian out jogging, complete with sweat gear and headphones, but with a rather large and hairy dog running alongside. Dogs here are usually only kept as watchdogs, because of them being ritually unclean they're not supposed to be kept as "pets". Perhaps the bloke's a Christian, as they may not have the same aversion, who knows?

When we were here in November last year, and the Kebash Road was officially opened, the floodlights on the West Bank mountains were either cleaned or replaced; it made a huge difference to the view from our terrace. Well, I'm pleased to report that they re still lovely and bright, what a difference to before the CoronaVirus pandemic:

We've had one guest while we've been here; a lady who was previously staying at the Winter Palace. Somehow, she hadn't originally booked the full length of her sojourn in Luxor, and the hotel was fully booked when she came to extend her stay there. Unusual, I think you'll agree, but never mind. Where else could she possibly upgrade to for the few days left to her in the "Largest Open Air Museum in the World", other than the splendid "Our Luxor"? Sadly, she could only enjoy the delights of our guest apartment for three nights, but she definitely appreciated our unmatched hospitality.

We also have another guest, but of the non-paying sort! (And, with a burgeoning family!!!)

Yes, there she is, ensconced on top of our bedroom air-con unit, as large as life! I spent ages screwing the non-aggressive anti-bird stuff all over the place to stop these little devils pooping everywhere, and still one of them finds a little chink in the armour where she can build her nest. What a liberty! Still, though, I can hardly turf out an expectant mother, can I Dear Reader?

Freda bought us a new tube of toothpaste;

The paste, more like a gel, is the same colour as the tube would you believe? Probably so that you don't notice the blood leaking from your gums, which, according to the scary ads on the telly, means that you're going to die of mouth cancer almost immediately! And I don't know why that couple are smiling so, could it be that they enjoy brushing their teeth with stuff that's obviously made from old Elastoplasts? That's exactly what it tastes like!

But maybe the tourists don't know about that yet, as they certainly seem to be here in increasing numbers. 18 balloons up for the first trip this morning, I know this 'cause we were up at the unGodly hour of 5.30, and watched them; rising like spectres from the gloom of the early morning mist and smoke on the Side of the Dead. I got a picture of a goodly number of them for you:

In the meantime, even here in Luxor, the acquisition of melodeons must carry on! I've bought two of them via eBay since we arrived. One is this old old Hohner:

It's obviously scrap. But at 99p I can find some useful parts from it, I'm sure. The other one was considerably more expensive, but I'll make something of it when I get back to good old Windy Nook. It's another Hohner, but an "Erica" this time, I quite like it.

I expect I'll find them both at Number 1 Daughter's shop when we return.

I think that's all for just now, but I will be back!

Keep well, everyone.