Egypt

early morning over the Suez Canal

Although we loved (most of) our time in Jordan, we were excited to be going to Egypt to visit Cairo, with the Pyramids and the Sphinx, and Alexandria, with its library and Mediterranean seashore. We deliberately built in "days of leisure" so that we would have time to relax rather than continue to have days packed with sightseeing in crowds of other travelers.

We were thrilled to get to the Egyptian Museum and Giza.

This whole trip was based upon my desire to see the Pyramids and they did not disappoint. I was also more impressed by the Sphinx than I expected to be.

Then ended up having many days of "leisure", as first Barry and then I got covid. Although it was not required, we self-isolated so as not to be a danger to others and also to ensure that we were safe to travel home.

Cairo hotel room view- Nile River

traffic is constant- maybe not as bad as Amman,

but very noisy as horn-honking seems to be a national pastime

Alexandria was much quieter and the room service menu was great- important when you are self-isolating.

These two meals (accompanied by a plate of buns and breads) cost about $25,

delivered hot to our room.

After a few days of rest and some further testing, we had a brief tour of Alexandria on our way back to Cairo.

We walked around the Citadel, which was built in 1477 to1479 AD on the site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria which was destroyed in phases by several earthquakes.

We had a brief stop at the Roman Theatre. Yes, another one. This one stands out because the seats are constructed of Carrara marble.

Historically, the Great Library of Alexandria was one of the largest and most significant and housed perhaps up to 400,000 papyruses. The modern building is both an important library but also a cultural centre containing museums, art galleries, a conference centre, and more.