By Ed Boitano, photographs by Deb Roskamp noted in the text.

After our UNIWORLD Nile riverboat arrived in Luxor, we flew back to Cairo and then to Sharm El Sheikh International Airport on the Asian side of Egypt. To say we were sleep deprived and weary was an understatement; we were overwhelmed by all the knowledge which we had enjoyed and absorbed, but the daily 5 a.m. wake up calls on the Nile riverboat had clearly taken its toll.

As our van arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, we were weary no more. For we were greeted with something which we found to be profound and very much more; the Icon of Peace, the symbol which serves to remind us that someday the world will no longer live with senseless wars. The Icon of Peace is the tallest and largest peace icon in the world, which stands at 113 feet. It consists of three parts; the middle has Welcome, written in many languages, the right bears a map of Sharm El-Sheikh, while the left displays a map of the nation, in which we currently stood.

After we checked into our suite at the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheik we were impressed with its spaciousness, amenities and tasteful design. Our balcony garden seemed more like an open-air room for a Saudi prince, complete with fire pit, lounge chairs and couches, and large colorful pillows. But, we had had an unrealistic vision of what our time at a real Sharm El Sheikh luxury resort would really be like; imagining that we could simply jump from the balcony of our suite and charge into the Red Sea with snorkeling gear and towels.

The Red Sea was in the distance, and we were able to catch a few glimpses from the shore, though we weren’t actually sure where it parted for the prophet Moses who escaped the wrath of the pharaoh’s soldiers. Some believe the date is in the 13th century B.C.E., and the pharaoh was Ramesses II, who is often regarded by Egyptologist as the greatest, most celebrated and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt. After ruling Egypt for 66 years, he left a legacy of new cities, temples and monuments, along with the slaves and bounty he had collected from other empires. The warrior pharaoh had also been busy, winning 15 military campaigns, but not too busy to father over 100 children and have 200 concubines and wives, which included his favorite, Queen Nefertari, still regarded as the most beautiful woman throughout Egypt today.

And now back to the man we call Moses and his crossing of the Red Sea, which is defined in the Book of Exodus as the liberation of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery. And it was God’s plan for Moses to find the Promised Land; a name often used as a metaphor, for the promise of better things still yet to come.

A few things we learned

But the Israelites failed to obey God, almost immediately breaking commandments by indulging in idolatry. Because of their lack of loyalty to the God who had just liberated them from tyranny, he punished them with 40 years of wandering through desert wilderness before being able to enter the Promised Land. – Attributed to Bible Tools.

It took Moses 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil – Attributed to Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974.

After upacking, we took comfort in our suite at the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheik, we were surprised that walking to the beach, or going to restaurant, required a pickup by a golf cart driven by a polite member of the staff. We had no choice but to embrace this new world of luxury and golf carts, driven over intricately designed cobblestone paths. We were clearly outside of our element, but it became something we struggled to endure. And by the mention of a restaurant, our well-versed driver would not hesitate to drive us there.

We were awestruck by the themes of the many restaurants, which ranged from Lebanese, Japanese and Mediterranean to morning breakfasts and starlight feasts, all on the edge of the Red Sea. We noticed one was named, Waha, believed to mean mouth in English, or, in my case, a rather loud one.

Arabesque served unique Egypt dishes, many of which were unknown to us. And our palates were not disappointed when we sampled many of the new recipes; Warm Rahe, made with charred aubergine caviar, red capsicum, lemon confit, aged homemade pomegranate molasses, roasted walnuts, and pomegranate kernels; Muhammara, which includes mild spiced red capsicum, breadcrumbs, garlic, chili paste and nuts; as well as Zitounia‘s, onions, sweet capsicum, Roma tomatoes, marinated crushed olives, pomegranate, almonds, pine nuts and lemon dressing.

In one early morning, as I returned to our patio table after one too many trips to its buffet breakfast bar, it was easy to marvel at the tranquil surroundings of well-manicured vegetation and palm trees, set in traditional Egyptian décor. With a fragrant soft breeze gently blowing from the Red Sea, we felt as if we were in an Arabian fairy tale. But then realized, that this could pass for a fairytale setting at many other five-star resorts – like the one in Tahiti, where we once paddled and swam, or in South Beach, Florida, or at the beaches in Ecuador – before the realization struck me that I should simply seize the moment, where deep contemplation should be ignored, and continued to bask in the restaurant patio’s new found world of luxurious galore.

Sharm El Sheikh (Bay of the Senior) is also known as the City of Peace, due to the many International Peace Conferences that have been held within its boarders, which has included the U.S. Commander-and-Chief, the very active and never sleepy, President Joe Biden. Apparently, it’s still yet to be determined if America’s last and final emperor’s invitation was lost in the mail.

As one of the Egypt’s important Asian cities, Sharm El Sheikh is a vastly growing one with international five-star resorts on southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, along the Red Sea.

It was easy to notice many Russian tourists in its coastal towns, which I had assumed were primarily from landlocked Russian states, where it is considered a good deal for a two-week vacation without a visa at $1500 U.S., or with something less than palatial, for $500. As for our own lodging at the Four Seasons Resort, my photographer gently informed me, it seemed a little bit more than we thought.

Outside of the resorts, Sharm El Sheik pulsated with nightclubs, light shows, golf courses, world-class shopping and handicraft stands. In a sense, Sharm El Sheik defined consumer consumption, with tourist who were more than ready to hand out their money. This we understood, for statistics indicate that a tourist’s favorite past time while on vacation, is simply doing that.

The city fathers have devoted time to conservation where the southernmost tip of the peninsula has been designated as a national park, protecting the area’s wildlife, natural landscape, shoreline and coral reefs.

Sharm El Sheik also serves as an important component for tourism outside the resorts – tourism is Egypt’s third largest industry – with treks to St. Catherine’s Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai, and considered the world’s oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery.

But Who Are The Bedouin?

I and my brother are against my cousin, I and my cousin are against the stranger. – A widely quoted Bedouin apothegm.

As we continued our trek deep into the Sinai Peninsula’s endless desert sand, I noticed the remnants of many Bedouin camps.

But exactly who are the proud people in this waterless desert land? Our all knowing guide, Salaam, replied, “The Bedouin originated in the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and soon spread across the rest of the Arab world, primarily in West Asia and North Africa due to the advent of Islam. They consist of nomadic Arab tribes who live in the desert regions. Bedouin means desert dweller, and they are traditionally divided into tribes or clans, sharing a common culture of herding camels, sheep and goats. And also adhering to a culture of poetry recitation, music, religious festivals and sword fighting rituals. There is a Bedouin expression, a knife is never just a knife; for it serves as a symbol for their love of country, home and lineage. Unlike Western civilizations, courage is not defined just by prowess in battle, but also in patience, suffering and dedication to the sacred rules of one’s own tribe.” It occurred to me that the tribe of the January 6th rioters at the U.S. Capitol might have overlooked that sacred memo.

Camels, regarded as a gift from God, serve as a main form of transportation and are often eaten when wounded or close to death due to age. The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years. Mansal is considered the Bedouin’s most famous dish, made with goat or lamb cooked in a soup, which consists of Jameed (a dehydrated salted Labneh made with goat’s milk), but is generally only served for celebrations. Their daily diet is a simple one, primarily of beans and vegetables, grown in al-sidda, between two hills, in the open air, and watered by rainfall.

Salaam contradicted the quoted Bedouin apothegm about strangers, and explained, that the Bedouin People are renowned for their hospitality, to the point of having three-day-long feasts for complete strangers without even knowing their name. I asked him, what about this stranger who is currently speaking with you now? He smiled, You’re not a stranger, Ed… and by the look of you, it appears you’ve never missed a meal in your life. I forced a smile back to our guide, who had patiently explained many things to me which I should have already known.

He continued with his narration, Bedouins remain Muslims, who observe the “Call to Prayer,” and will face Mecca from the desert. But with the scarcity or complete absence of water, they still manage to obey the Muslin traditions of cleanliness and respect, and will cleanse themselves with sand.

Since the mid-1980s, the Bedouins have no land rights of their own coastal properties as they were sold by the Egyptian government to hotel operators, such as our own five-star lodging at Sharm El Sheikh.

As our van continued its route to Saint Catherine’s Monastery, I could see camps with empty homes of concrete and stone made by the Egyptian Government for the Bedouins to live for free. And Salaam explained, “The Bedouin People are humble and frugal, and not comfortable with handouts and a life on the government dole, preferring the comfort of liberty, living in open-air traditional shelters of yarn, palm fronds and mangrove poles, constructed by themselves.” Amazing, I thought, how very different than my own nation’s billionaire clans, who always appeared to be so fond of receiving handouts from select government clans.

But where are all the people?

Salaam replied with a shrug, They are in a world without time.

And finally, at last, we took our first look at the handsome Bedouin People, whose life still remains a mystery to us. They were at the gates of Saint Catherine’s Monastery to greet us, with an offer for a slight fee, to take escorted camel rides to Sinai’s mountain top. But the cheapscape inside of me, realized that cost of admission to enter the monastery, included the treasures inside, which seemed more important than an authentic Bedouin camel ride.

And, with apologizes to the gallant Bedouin People, who were simply trying to earn an honest dollar in order to survive in the cruel and unforgiving desert land, which the world calls the Peninsula of Sinai.

Related Articles:

• Part Three: Saint Catherine’s Monastery, more Russians, Bedouins and camels, a redefining seafood meal on the Red Sea, Back to Sharm El Sheikh for an undersea adventure in the Red Sea.
• Egypt: A personal interpretation of its land, people and antiquities, Part 1

The post Egypt, Part II: The Sinai Peninsula appeared first on Traveling Archive.

While driving deep into the desert of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, we sat three hours in a van, which was part of a convoy, apparently to assist other vans in case of mechanical failures or possible attacks from terrorists or unknown assailants. There were many checkpoints along the way, guarded by soldiers and policemen. With us were two very nervous U.S. tourists who spoke ceaselessly of the nearby war that was geographically close, but emotionally felt light years away. The other occupants in the van consisted of a well-versed driver, an official policeman and our highly educated guide, named Salaam, who seemed indifferent to the two very nervous U.S. tourists’ ridiculous rants. After noticing a lone man in the distance, Salaam began a narrative of the harsh desert landscape of endless sand, and the fractured boulders and craggy mountains, which the nomadic Bedouin People call home.

Salaam told us a story, a story which he claimed to a be true: A young Muslim Arab man arrived at the edge of the Sinai Peninsula, and began a trek into the desert. Partway through his journey he took a reprieve upon reaching an older Arabic man. They decided to walk together. The older Arab man asked who the young man was. He replied, ‘Father, don’t you recognize me… I am your son.’ And he really was his son, the 16th son from one of the man’s four Muslim wives, which Salaam reminded us again that the story was true.

But, I’m getting a ahead of myself, for I had spent ten days earlier on the North African side of Egypt, cruising the River Nile on a river boat and touring Cairo’s many museums: the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, also known as the Cairo Museum, which holds the world’s largest collection of pharaonic antiquities, the recently renovated National Museum of Egyptian Civilization that showcases over 50,000 artifacts from all areas of Egyptian civilization, from prehistoric times, through the pharaonic era up until today. And the new Grand Egyptian Museum, overlooking the Three Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza. Also in the mix was the Mosque of Muhammad Ali and Citadel, and the City of the Dead.

When speaking with other tourists, I noticed their excitement when they spoke about the main reason why they had traveled such a distance to Cairo. It was generally for these two things…

THE CAIRO OF NOW

Now, back on the first leg of my tour, I was anxious to experience the grandeur, the blemishes and the contradictions of the Cairo of today. With a population of over 22.1 million people, Greater Cairo is the 12th largest city in the world. The high birth rate in Egypt, especially among low-income families, is attributed to Cairo’s growing population. Egypt’s capital city is a major economic hub and attracts people from all over the country, people who are looking for job opportunities and a higher standard of living. The city’s economy is based primarily on governmental institutions and services, along with a modern productive sector, which includes developments in textiles and food processing, in particular, with the production of sugar cane. Sadly, hyper-urbanization has resulted in homes, roads, electricity, telephone services and sewers at an unacceptable Western World level.

As our van drove to the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, we passed Tahrir Square, the site of Egypt’s Arab Spring, also known as the Egyptian Revolution, where a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions had spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. Millions of Egyptians had taken to the streets against then president Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted, arrested and his government was overthrown. The revolution was led by Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a former field marshal, which cemented the Egyptian military’s political dominance, with the controversial, hardliner, el-Sissi himself, as president and dictator for life. The Draconian harshness of el-Sissi’s reign is often ignored by the U.S. government; for after all, we are Egypt’s leading trading partner, and commerce is always more important than human rights in any dictatorial realm.

Today, Tahrir Square remains a symbol of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, with annual democratic celebrations and visits from foreign dignitaries. Yet, as we passed the site, it seemed gentrified and depoliticized, with a smattering of a few Egyptian locals, sitting on benches, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. As our tour bus rounded the corner, a British member of our group gave me a nudge, They looked bored and apathetic, didn’t they… with expressions that said, “Was it really all that necesarry to make such a big fuss?”

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali

The Muhammad Ali Mosque is situated on the summit of the Citadel (fort) of Cairo. Considered the father of modern Egypt, Muhammad Ali (Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī) built the Muhammad Ali Mosque between 1830 and 1848 in memory of his eldest son. It holds ranks as the most visible mosque in Cairo, and is considered one of the city’s most important tourist attractions. Muhammad Ali was a military commander in an Albanian Ottoman War who defeated the army of Napoleon I during the French occupation. Ali then rose to power through a series of political maneuvers, and in 1805 was named governor of Egypt, where he and his descendants were granted hereditary rule over Egypt and Sudan. Their rule ended with the revolution of 1952 when King Farouk was overthrown by the Free Officers Movement led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Adbel Nasser, establishing the Republic of Egypt.

As our group entered the mosque, we took off our shoes in observance of the Islamic purification ritual of Wundu. Yet, how really pure was it when Wundu requires washing your face, hands, arms and feet. But, I took it as a tribute to Moses, who is mentioned more than any other prophet in the Muslim Quran, who some believe wandered the Sinai Desert for forty years without sandals, for it was God’s command to not have any substance between his feet and his holy land. I would learn much more about the prophet Moses later at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, which houses the remnants of the purported Burning Bush, on the Sinai Peninsula.

The Citadel and Mosque of Muhammad Ali overlooks The City of the Dead, a series of Islamic necropolises and cemeteries spread over four miles, considered one the largest of its kind in the world. Throughout its history, the necropolis has been home to various inhabitants, including religious scholars, gravediggers, and common urban settlers; as a city-within-a-city where people lived alongside the dead. The necropolises and cemeteries felt a little unsightly, almost ram shackled, due to the improvised housing within the mausoleums, as Cairo contiunes to face urbanization and housing shortages.

Since 2020, the Egyptian government has demolished some historic tombs in the cemetery for the purpose of building new highways and infrastructure, eliciting protests and objections from locals and conservationists. Egypt is known for its antiquities of the past, but also keeps its eyes on the future, as it continues to forge ahead into the modern world.

Fast Forward to Luxor: once the capital of Upper Egypt 

The Egyptian school children on field trips were inquisitive and far more polite than what we have in the U.S. They seemed proud and enamored that tourists would choose to visit their country. Instead of asking for money for a photo taken of them, they would excitedly ask permission to take a photo of us, which would be displayed later in their classrooms. I remembered my previous trip to a Muslim nation, where the snake charmers in Morocco’s Marrakesh Bazaar would demand money when there was even a hint of snapping a photograph of them. The youth literacy rate in Egypt today (people aged 15-24) is at the growing number of 92.24 percent. In the U.S., one in four children grow up without learning how to read and write, primarily due to poverty, homelessness and the inaccessibility of many schools for the poor.

As we continued our march, our trustworthy guide, Wael, informed me that, The Valley of the Kings in Luxor is an area where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and powerful nobles under the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. I masked my ignorance and pretense of being the all knowing journalist, and replied, You know, Wael… I think you might be right.

It was the ram-headed creator god, Ptolemy VI Philometor, the Macedonian King of Egypt (180-45 B.C.E), who gave birth to the world’s first creation of a humankind realization, which was completed on his potter’s wheel at the Temple of Khnum.

Witnessing the symbols at the Temple of Khnum was akin to taking a one-way ticket into the ancient past; apparently in a period when written script had not yet been invented — but, it occurred to me that today, written text does exist, yet many of us prefer to use emoji memes to get our messages across. One picture is worth ten thousand words is often regarded as an ancient Chinese proverb, attributed to Confucius, but it’s really taken from an article in a trade journal by the often overlooked, English illustrator, Fred R. Barnard. While trying to understand the history of Egypt, I think of Barnard, and realize it can be difficult to determine what is the truth or what is the false.

Upon leaving many historical sites, our group would walk through the Valley of Vultures, a derogatory name given by tourist to flocks of street merchants, who would grab hold of your arms, desperately trying to sell you a trinket or shirt. I was not annoyed by their presence. In fact, it was fun, colorful and part of the experience. My only annoyance was directed at a few members of our tour group who found it necessary to laugh when I paid one dollar too much for a couple of shirts. I also noticed they felt lofty enough to laugh at the vendors, vendors who called Egypt home, who might be selling their wares to feed their children and families, who may also live in squalid homes. I realized that I would never be able to explain to them, particularly the one wearing an orange baseball hat, that I really wanted to pay that extra dollar too much. Plus, the 100% Egyptian cotton shirts, proved to be a far better substitute for the Sunday best clothing I had packed in my lost suitcase. And all that unnecessary ruckus for just one lousy U.S. buck. (Spoiler alert: my suitcase was found and returned about a week letter).

UNIWORLD’S 10-day Nile Riverboat Cruise aboard the SS Sphynx followed the above attractions, as well as the Sinai Peninsula’s Sharm El Sheikh, Bedouin camels and people, and St. Catherine’s Monastery, but I’ll share my experiences in the next two installments.

Wael: UNIWORLD Tour Guide, Extraordinaire

Our tour guide, Wael, held our hands throughout the North African part of our tours. This included the pre-embarkation on the SS Sphynx with museum tours, the riverboat journey on the River Nile and its many land excursions, and the debarkation of the Sphynx, with more museum tours and a day at Giza. Wael was both thoughtful and patience, explaining important information to our group, information which we should have already known.

When my missing suitcase did not appear three-days later on the SS Sphynx, Wael did something that I will never forget – after conducting an all consuming six a.m. dawn to dusk land tour, rather than relaxing and taking a well-earned break, he accessed a car where we drove to an Egyptian clothing store at night. It was not the store of a mysterious cousin; it was a well-known and particularly high-end one, where all garments were made in Egypt with 100% Egyptian cotton from the Nile River Delta.

A few mornings later, I woke up feeling a bit ill, no doubt due to the over-consumption of tasteful barbecued pigeon, a first for me. Wael called and expressed his concern, and was also sad that I would miss that day’s tour. He even suggested that perhaps we could do the tour in the future, with just the two of us. In the evening, and in the next morning, he called me again, for no other reason than to see if I was feeling better.

And this is why I refer to him as, Wael: Tour Guide, Extraordinaire.

POSTSCRIPT

But, before I tackle Installment, Part II, I couldn’t resist including the above photo taken while I was on the Nile riverboat journey. I was surprised that I didn’t see locals swimming and treacherous crocodiles snapping at their heels. An employee on the upper deck held back a smile, Come on, Ed… look at a map. It’s winter down here and nobody swims. And crocodiles can’t make it here because of Nasser Dam.

Later, I really did look at a map, and realized that crocodiles only exist south of the equator, and alligators at its north. Yes, still very much to learn.

Read more about our Egypt adventure:

• A personal interpretation of its land, people and antiquities, Part II.
• Egypt, Part III: Saint Catherine’s Monastery

For more on Egypt, visit Fyllis Hockman’s Egypt: 6000 Years of History Come Alive Throughout the Country – Traveling Boy.

The post Egypt: A personal interpretation of its land, people and antiquities, Part 1 appeared first on Traveling Archive.