The Guy with The Glock

There were many who questioned our willingness to proceed with an Egyptian adventure this year. Planning the trip seemed foolhardy given the state of the country, but as events in Paris and San Bernardino unfolded, the world itself no longer seemed safe and Egypt became just one of many hot spots that sensible travelers should avoid. While we appreciated folks backing off, only cancellation of our tour would have kept us from the country that we had tried to visit on three other occasions. I do want to set the record straight. I am neither foolhardy nor brave, as a mater of fact I'm downright cautious. When I walk into a room, I make a mental note of exit locations and I don't leave home without a flashlight. There are places I will not walk, day or night, and my larder is always stocked with requisite emergency rations. The thing is, I won't let others dictate what I can or cannot see. I might live longer in my rocking chair, but I need the challenge and adventure unseen places provide and any type of travel, reduced to its elements, is a calculated risk that I am willing to take.

The company that planned our tour and the Egyptian Tourist and Antiquity Police - yes there is such an organization - made sure no incidents would mar our visit to the country. We were part of a group of 24 who shared a determination to see Egypt when tours for American groups were again available. Like Bob and I, these folks kept abreast of happenings in Egypt, and while the makeup of the group changed slightly in the days before departure, surprising few selected themselves out of the tour. Not only was ours the first large American group to tour Egypt since the revolution 3 years ago, tourism in general was way down. This is high season and ours was the only tour bus at Luxor and Valley of the Kings. While that was wonderful for us, numbers like that are devastating to an economy that is highly dependent on tourist dollars.

Suffice it to say, our satisfaction and safety was paramount in our hosts minds. Our guide was an Egyptologist and the steps taken to assure our safety throughout the country were amazing. At the airport, we met the first of the guards who would ride shotgun on our bus. Dressed in plain clothes, but packing a visible side arm, he took his place behind the driver and was always last on and first off the bus. More amazing was the police escort that accompanied us through the cities we visited on the tour. The police cars were replaced with armored vehicles or flatbed trucks as we convoyed through long stretches of dessert toward the end of the tour. While it may have been overkill, when we debarked for museum tours or a meal, bomb dogs circled the bus before we got back on, and our hotel and bus were changed three times while we were in Cairo. It took us a day to adjust to the safety precautions, but most of us were on a first name basis with the guards before the trip ended. And doesn't everyone wait for bomb dogs to finish their inspection before boarding a vehicle? I am happy to report that the guys with the glocks kept terrorists at bay and pretty much managed to scatter the one dolla' hawkers that swarmed whenever we got off the bus, and the escort sirens got us from one place to another in record Cairo time.

Egypt is an amazing country. If you visit you will be well-housed and fed and you will be safe to explore a country rich in layered and tangible history. If you decide to travel to Egypt, or any other country for that matter, there are steps you can take steps to assure your safety. The US Department of State provides travel advice and timely information about breaking news situations for citizens around the world. It offers a travel registration tool called STEP that allows you to enter the details of your trip so they will be able to contact you if there is trouble at any of the places you plan to visit. If the situation in a country becomes dangerous, by registering your trip in STEP, the State Department can contact you in the event of a disaster, emergency or other crisis, and give you instructions, including those for evacuation, if necessary. Remember, I'm cautious not brave, so I recommend that international travelers take advantage of the travel safety services offered by the Department of State. It beats the rocking chair.

Brief Encounters

"I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert.......on their base these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"

Egypt is many things to many people, but few would argue that it is the world's greatest open air museum. While it would take a lifetime to fully explore all of the monuments that house the tombs and temples of the pharaohs, at Luxor, the statue that inspired Shelly's "Ozymandias", actually that of Ramesses II, is a short paved walk from the parking lot. While some were more difficult to reach, a cursory glance of most Egyptian antiquities is nearly effortless and therein lies my problem. They are so easy to reach, that I suspect you've seen photos of all of them. So, determined not to bore you, I've decided to post blocks of those photos on Facebook and use the blog to highlight some brief encounters and musings we had on our Egyptian adventure.

Nile river cruises are less formal than ocean bound voyages. Despite that, two English women who sailed with us put aside their khakis and safari jackets and dressed for dinner. That made Iris and Maude standouts in the dining room. I sought them out one afternoon and over tea learned their story. The two had been childhood friends and remained in touch with each other over the years. This past year, they both lost their husbands and neither wanted to face the prospect of that first Christmas alone. Pooling resources, they put the names of places they wanted to see into a hat, and leaving their final destination to chance, pulled the name of the country where they would spend the Christmas holiday. They were wonderful traveling companions and save for an occasional catch in the throat, they made it through the season with no public tears. We parted company in Cairo. While we headed home, their adventure continued on to Jordan and Israel. I love people who inadvertently teach the art of gracious aging. Emails from both Iris and Maude have convinced me that I made a youthful mistake by not continuing on to Jordan and the wonders of Petra. I'll become smarter with age and experience.

Salma and Kasim, my plane seatmates, were both younger than me. As a matter of fact, they were younger than my children. I met Salma on the trip to Cairo where we both laughed at the passenger who was incensed when he learned no liqueur was served on Muslim airlines. She was lean and lovely and had that glowing skin that marks all the world's great beauties. She struck me as being quite modern and stylishly dressed. I was surprised her hair was covered with a traditional hijab. Apparently, she did not wear it at school but wore it when at home for her mother who would be upset by its absence. She, however, had no trouble wearing it. She explained that the veil symbolized what she believed, while her clothing was a statement of who she was. I met Kasim on the way home. He was American born but his family returned to Yemen when he was a toddler. He was returning to the United States in an effort to obtain visas for his wife and son because the Yemeni civil war was intensifying and he feared for their safety. While it surprises many American flyers, Muslim prayers are said on Egypt Air flights before take off. This was not my first rodeo, so I threw in a prayer or two of my own and struck up a conversation with Kasim when he finished his prayers. He was concerned that I would be uncomfortable sitting next to an Arab on the flight home. Nothing could be further from the truth. After the fact, I realized he had taken off his vest to assure me he was harmless. I insisted he put it back on. The plane was cold.

Then there was Sarah, an expat returning to the United States for the first time in better than 20 years. She was Brooklyn born and bred and a side trip from an Israeli vacation she had taken all those years ago landed her in Alexandria Egypt. She loved it so she never left and was coming back to New York to bury a favorite brother. Expats have always fascinated me and Sarah was no exception. Sarah, as surely as T. E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia, has fallen in love with the dunes and the rhythms of the desert and its flow.

I guess these folks, and all the others I've encountered as I travel, support my belief that they've been sent my way to share directions and keep me from getting lost as I work my way toward the light, should this per chance be my final stop. Tomorrow I'll be back with "The Guy with the Glock". See you then.