R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 2

Nile Cruise — Touring Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser

Cross Section of the High Aswan Dam

Our luggage was safely stowed aboard the Jaz Cruises‘ riverboat Jaz Celebrity in preparation for our voyage beginning the next day. But as for this day, Wednesday, 26 February 2025, we were out touring with our absolutely wonderful Luxor and Aswan Travel-assigned guide and expert in Ancient Egypt, Mohamad Salah. No. Not this Mohamed Salah, who spells his first name with an “e”:

Egyptian football hero Mohamed Salah playing for Premier League club Liverpoo...

Nile Cruise — Dining Aboard the Jaz Celebrity

Nile felucca in full sail

If you’re not that hungry, or if you’re just looking for something light to hold you until dinner in the main dining room, head on up to the Jaz Celebrity’s Sun Deck for an early afternoon snack of sandwiches and sweets:

Jaz Celebrity Sun Deck snacks — Sandwiches and cheese rolls Jaz Celebrity Sun Deck snacks — Cake slices and cookies

And, of course, don’t forget the views that come with the snacks:

Jaz Celebrity Sun Deck view

The main dining room is quit...

Nile Cruise — Our Accommodations Aboard the Jaz Celebrity

Flying the Egyptian Flag aboard the Jaz Celebrity

Before heading down to the cabin, let’s look around the top deck of Jaz Cruises’ River Nile boat Jaz Celebrity. Up here you’ll find sun lounges, a bar with lunch snacks (mostly sandwiches and some sweets), and a pool. That’s on top of the great River Nile views, so you’ll probably be spending a lot of time up here. And don’t worry about getting too much sun. There are tables and chairs beneath shades toward the aft end of the boat.

Jaz Cele...

Nile Cruise — First Look at the Jaz Celebrity and Meeting Mohamad Salah

Jaz Celebrity

Ursula and I left Cairo behind and flew south, reaching our next destination on this months-long trip, Aswan, on Wednesday, 26 February of this year. Here we were greeted by a driver from Luxor and Asway Travel, which would be supplying us the best guide we’ve ever encountered in all our travels. Not only would this guide, Mohamad Salah, meet us on our boat, he would sail with us in his own cabin and arrange travel and tours for us the entire cruise beginning with the day before...

Fun Photo Friday — Cairo Favorites 6; Finishing with Cairo

Cairo Color

Time for one last look at Cairo before we head south to Aswan:

It’s Nap Time, Doggonit! Pickled Rainbow Minaret Silhouette A Refreshing Pause Everything’s Just Ducky. Why Do You Ask? Rickety Ladder Cairo Laundry

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Cairo — The Sights, The Sounds, The Traffic! The Tuk-Tuk Transit of Total Terror

Khayamiya Tentmakers Souk

The problem with traveling through the bazaars along the pedestrian streets of Cairo is that you eventually run out of pedestrian streets in Cairo. That dumps you onto a frenzied world of motorized mayhem in which the First Rule of the Road is that there are No Rules of the Road.

When it comes to traffic laws, something smells fishy here

Question: What defect totals a car in Cairo?

Cairo above the streets

Answer: An inoperable horn.

Mosque-Madrasa of Sul...

Cairo — Walking the Streets; More Khayamiya

In the Khayamiya Tentmakers Souk

Today I’m going to continue with something I began last Wednesday, a look at the sights in the Khayamiya Tentmakers Souk (Bazaar), otherwise known as the Khayamiya Cloth Souk. The location is within easy walking distance of the previously covered Khan el-Khalili Souk (Bazaar) and is just south of the southernmost gate in the wall surrounding Historic Cairo, the Bab Zuwayla:

Bab Zuwayla Gate, Historic Cairo area

As you head south from the Bab Zuwayla gate,...

Fun Food Friday — Mar Charbel Hotel Restaurant

Fun Food Friday — Mar Charbel Hotel Restaurant

Be careful where you eat in Cairo. That’s no joke. When we took our children there in 1984, three out of the four of us got a severe case of Imhotep’s Revenge. From a salad bar, of all things. Making matters worse, there is only one toilet in a hotel room. First come, first served, and knocking on the door gets you nowhere. When you gotta go, you gotta runs, so to speak. By the way, did you know that diarrhea is hereditary? It runs in the jeans.

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Cairo — Walking the Streets; El-Khayamiya Cloth (Tentmakers) Souk

El-KhayamiyaTentmakers Souk

Within easy walking distance of the Khan el-Khalili Souk is the El-Khayamiya Tentmakers Souk. As you approach El-Khayamiya, if you’re on foot from Khan el-Khalili Souk, you’ll pass through Bab Zuwayla, one of Old Cairo’s three remaining gates within the historic city walls. The Bab Zuwayla gate is the southern gate of fortified Cairo, and it dates back to AD 1092.

Bab Zuwayla Gate

And if you want to know the exact foot route between these souks, here it is cou...

Cairo — Walking the Streets; Khan el-Khalili Souk (Bazaar)

Ursula loves souks, the mostly open-air bazaars (markets) in North Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the Arabic world. I say mostly because there are exceptions. For instance, in Istanbul I’ve shown you the Grand and Egyptian souks, which are indoor affairs. So, this week and next I’m going to present two Cairo bazaars, beginning today with the Khan el-Khalili Souk.

Mosque near Khan el-Khalili Souk

Now, as one would image, you are never far from a mosque in Old Cairo. And Googe ...