Brief updates from me!

I have been very lax in updating my blog and I apologise for that.

It will be impossible to fill in all the blanks since my last post, but I will very briefly bring you all up to date.

Christmas was very quiet, and an extremely peaceful time. I actually found myself pickling some wonderful beetroot on Christmas morning. Not exactly a normal Christmas Day activity, but I enjoyed it!

Since Christmas, business has been pretty good considering the state of tourism in Luxor and I have spent some wonderful days with some wonderful people! We have had felucca sailing on Spirit, temples and tombs and one or two "off the beaten track" days, interspersed with lots of fun and laughter.

New neighbours have arrived in the flat upstairs. Fortunately they are friends and life in our little oasis promises to be pretty good indeed.

My Greek and Roman Mythology course ended, and elhamdulilah, I passed with a Distinction!  I then started an Introduction to Philosophy course, but never finished.  Work got in the way and I found myself getting further and further behind. So I let it go, and will sign up again in the future. Now I am onto my third course....... Ancient Greeks and loving it so far.

My laptop died a very sad death, but I am now the very proud owner of a new one! Much faster than my old faithful and with lots and lots of memory!

And the highlight of the last few months was a long overdue visit by my sister and her man! It was fabulous to see her, and finally meet the man who makes her happy. And we managed a whole week without fighting! How good is that!!

And finally, I have a couple of photos for you.....  

The first one is sunrise 2 days ago from the top deck of the ferry.

And the second is the following day, just yesterday, sunrise again from the top deck of the ferry.

A very different day!

And finally, one more picture at Karnak temple.....

See you all soon!!

Feluccas on the Nile

This week has been another busy week, but a fun one!
During the past week, I and my regular Egyptology guide have become more than a familiar sight at various temples and tombs, but I missed out on sailing as I got double booked and had to do Karnak Temple instead of sailing the Nile!  What a choice to make....... both are experiences I love, but needs must and one set of guests happily sailed on Felucca Spirit without me, and the other guests spent a happy afternoon in Karnak and Luxor temples.
Of course, I was pretty happy too!

So because I had to miss out on sailing, I had a nosey around my pictures and found a small video I made some time ago and I would like to share it with you now.

Summer Specials!

Summer Specials start with our May 2012 offer!

Book 2 half day tours or 1 full day tour and get a free sunset felucca sailing!!

We hope to see you soon!

Visiting kids!

Last week was a great week. Both of my kids were here at the same time!

Unfortunately, their flight was delayed because of the huge sandstorm we had. While we hung around Luxor Airport the kids were happily drinking coffee in Marsa Alam, where they had been diverted to, before the plane finally arrived in Luxor some 5 hours late!  But it was still a fantastic feeling to see them both walking through arrivals!

View at dinner

 We did not have a strenous week, a week is too short, so it was good to just catch up and spend time together.

We did, however, manage a fabulous day at the Red Sea and had some seriously good beach time.

Balloons on our early start

Red Sea, Hurghada

The drive back was a tad scary though....... Western Desert Road, in the dark with most Egyptians never using any lights!

Mini sand storm in the desert

Sunset over the desert

Sightseeing was minimal this time, although we did spend a great afternoon at the Valley of the Nobles, before heading to the Ramesseum Cafe for a beer.

Sailing of course........ and the last afternoon was spent on the river. Perfect wind, very relaxing and a gorgeous sunset.











We had lots of eating out and I was especially impressed with Pizza Roma. Great Italian food at reasonable prices.

Sadly, the week passed far too quickly,  and it was time to head back to the airport.

But I loved having them both here and I am hoping its not too long before they are back!

Yet another great travel report!

Yet another great travel report from the UK's Independent newspaper!

Alone on the Nile

At last there are some very positive reports coming through. Great to see!  

Feluccas on the Nile

I am so impressed with myself!  Despite the demolition of the balcony above me, the bricks being hauled up to the roof, and the big iron winch being dragged up the stairs at 7.30am, I have made myself a You Tube video!  It has taken me hours and hours, but its here!!  Enjoy!

am I am so impressed with myself

We need more blogs like this! A perfect time to come to Egypt

I have just read this blog. Great report on a trip to Egypt........ Cairo, Aswan, Abu Simbel and Luxor!  Great descriptions and it sounds like they had fun!
They also spent a couple of nights on a felucca from Aswan!  Don't forget we offer the same trips for anyone interested!  Camping on the River Nile!  Wonderful!

http://my.tntmagazine.com/blogs/15/177/egypt-a-year-after-revolution-b

Travel review: Egypt - the wonder of history - Travel Reviews - Yorkshire Evening Post

Nice little travel review from the Yorkshire Evening Post!

Travel review: Egypt - the wonder of history - Travel Reviews - Yorkshire Evening Post

Looking back at 2011

What an interesting year!

2011 has seen some major changes in the world, we have seen revolutions, natural disasters, royal weddings, financial upheaval, and a few miracles along the way.

For me personally it has been a challenging year in many ways. We began the year on a high...... business was good and we had the promise of a great season....... then we had January 25th and the Egyptian Revolution. I am proud to say I was here throughout this incredible change.  Yes, I was caught up in a small teargas incident, but nothing major happened here in my adopted town. I celebrated with my egyptian friends, I was glued to anything and everything on television, I spent hours talking, debating and explaining my own personal views. I even found a copy of the Egyptian Constitution and read it end to end.  On a personal level, yes, I suffered financially, but Egypt is more than one persons finances. I can only hope that 2012 will bring Egypt all that it so desperately needs.

2011 has seen a house move for me....with all its trials and tribulations including disappearing flying carpets, but it also brought a view of the River Nile from my balcony instead of a concrete building across the street. People moved in and out of my life, sometimes not in a good way, but sometimes in a marvellous way.  Almost like the move over the River Nile moved my life in an entirely opposite direction.

I have met some wonderful people during this year....... many guests who are now friends and many others who have come into my life and left again, but leaving behind them lots of warm feelings and happiness. Some older friendships have been renewed or become closer, others sadly have gone.

I spent time on 11.11.11 inside Luxor Temple with some great people. I started a group for Reiki and sharing our knowledge (although we do need to get back on track with that now that Christmas and New Year are over lol) and on a spiritual level, some fascinating people have dropped into my life. I hope they stay.

The felucca has been busy, well as much as she can be during a revolution and we have spent many happy hours sailing with guests or with friends. The drop in tourism has affected us, obviously, but we are all confident it will return to normal. But is it a case of quality over quantity? We have certainly had quality this year!

A year of contrasts, a year of excitement, a year of sadness at times, but always a year of learning to live my life as it is meant to be lived.

2011 has been interesting to say the least, now lets see what 2012 has to bring!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Very Happy, Prosperous and Joyful 2012 from myself, Saeed and all the team at Spirit of the Nile!

Happy New Year!!!!

Visiting son!

Last week I was delighted to have my son here for a week in sunny Luxor. It has been over 2 years since I last saw him in person (Skype video does not count!), so it was brilliant to have him come and visit.
We had a mixed week of sightseeing and chilling and I do have to say, it was great to just sit and chat. Mind you, we had no choice if we were home as we have had no satellite here for almost 2 weeks now (building on the roof is yet another story!).

I am not sure what my son thinks my life is like here, but on his first day here, he found himself on the felucca with a group of 7 French ladies!!! All of them wanted to kiss him (well they are French) and only a couple of whom speak any English. But he coped and I hope he enjoyed himself.  I am sure if they had all been very young women, he would have been far more happy with the kissing thing. The following day he sailed the River Nile again....... this time with some friends of mine who were celebrating their wedding anniversary!

Yet another day found us at Tod temple and then in Esna, where I was happy to see that they are doing a lot of restoration work on the temple there.... some of the colours they are finding under the soot are incredible! Myself, the son and a friend enjoyed our trip immensely. We finished off the Esna part of the day by a walk through the souk! Wonderful fresh veggies and fruit at a fraction of the Luxor price! I was in my element and completely forgot that my son maybe was not so comfortable with it as I was. Culture shock indeed! But he coped and eventually we found our way back to the transport where we headed back north having a stop at Moalla on the way back. After numerous childhood accidents involving falling and breaking arms.... I have to admit being a tad concerned at the deep holes in the tombs there and went all "mumsy" in case he fell in. But he didn't and we left in one piece. Elhamdulilah!  At every place we visited we were on our own...... tourism may be suffering but it is perfect for sightseeing if anyone is here! Empty temples and tombs and space to wander around..... wonderful.

We also managed a day on the West Bank involving the Valley of the Workers, Nobles tombs and a couple of visits to the Ramesseum Resthouse, where we bumped into friends and had an enjoyable beer or two. And then we WALKED home!  Ramesseum to the Ramla....... after sunset, in the cold, wrapped up like mummys, but thoroughly happy.

Our week together went all too quickly and before I knew it, we were heading back to the airport and his flight home. But he will be back soon, at least he said he would!

A Divided Egypt?

Just read an interesting article by tmideastposts.com regarding the current differences in thinking between Cairo and the rest of Egypt.  It reflects many of the views of the local population here in Luxor who simply wish to be able to move forward, regain their livelihoods and be able to live with peace and justice for everyone.


A Divided Egypt - Outside Cairo

These are 2 Americans sailing a felucca down the River Nile and blogging their journey! Great reading!

Felucca down the Nile.. Blog

Egypt Unveiled Photography

I have written before about Egypt Unveiled Photography...... great photographs by a friend of mine.

Helen Bailey lives here in Luxor, Egypt  (she is not related to David Bailey!) and I personally love her work.

She has now got herself online with a Flickr account

Flickr Egypt Unveiled

and a Blipfoto account

Blipfoto Egypt Unveiled

When you have a few minutes, check out her photographs, visions of my adopted home!  Enjoy

Hotel recommendation

Following my previous blog about self catering accommodation, I thought I would share a few more of my recommendations for somewhere great to stay.

This blog is about a small hotel on the West Bank of Luxor, the El Mesala.  Run by an Egyptian family, it has the perfect location, right on the banks of the River Nile with direct views of Luxor Temple on the East Bank.

Sit on your balcony and watch the river traffic as it wends it way up or down river while gazing at one of the most impressive monuments of Ancient Egypt.




Hotel El Mesala is currently adding 6 additional rooms, making the total number of rooms at 18. All have individual air conditioning, refrigerator and television.  The rooms are simple, but spotlessly clean.

A new rooftop restaurant is also currently being created and I do have to say the views from the roof are absolutely amazing, virtually the whole of Luxor lies in front of you!  And within the next couple of months there will be a brand new swimming pool for your enjoyment.

They currently have a small restaurant at the front of the building, with excellent egyptian and international food at great prices, and their onion bahjis are simply to die for! They even have a small selection of Indian dishes on the menu.

Give it a try if you are looking for somewhere smaller and more intimate than the large East Bank hotels, a hotel that is just a few minutes walk from the local ferry is a perfect place to combine peace and solitude with all the life that the East Bank has to offer.

Contact us at Spirit of the Nile if you want more information, alternatively check out the website Hotel El Mesala  but please mention Spirit of the Nile in your enquiry.

More small hotels and apartment rentals to come soon....... all personally known to me and highly recommended.

Living in a cocoon or Universal protection?

As you all know, I now live on the West Bank of Luxor, but I am beginning to think I am living in a parallel universe!

Recently, I seem to live my life saying just a few words such as "really? did it? who?"  I know nothing and I know no-one!!!  I see things posted on forums and internet sites, Facebook and other places and I have no idea what any of it is about!  Snippets of information find their way to me now and again, but its almost always hearsay and everyone else seems to know all the details, but this person living here has wandered around deaf and blind!

Or have I?  Maybe these things........ which are predominately negative are not meant to impact on my life. My life is meant to be happy, joyous and loving and I like it that way. Stress, trauma and negativeness have all been around me at some point or another, but recently they have stayed away. Ok, so I still worry about money, and I guess I will continue to do so until things improve with the tourism situation, but I am still here, still working, still paying my way and everytime I think "something needs to happen"....... something positive always does!

The Universe, the Source, God, the Creator, call it what you will........  keeps my life, in general, happy, joyous and positive.  I have sunshine every day, I have Spirit, I have the River Nile outside my door, I have temples and tombs a few minutes away, Ancient Egypt everywhere I turn. I have Reiki and crystals and the power of the Universe, good friends and wonderful family.  What more do I need?

Elhamdulilah!

Oh and I now have full satellite back!!  They just switched the cable with a dish belonging to an empty flat..... but the cable is still draped over the balcony!

Off now to sort out winter clothes, the nights are getting nippy!

And! Saw the crescent moon last night........ low in the sky and a gorgeous orange colour, I was on the ferry and watching the moon when a shooting star fell right over it!  A magical moment!

Satellite cables and "engineers"

Wednesday of last week, my satellite decided not to work anymore.  Subsequent investigations revealed that the holidaying Egyptian in the flat next door had used his own satellite engineer to fix his satellite. In the process he managed to take out all the satellites in the building! No-one had tv anymore except for the wonderful Egyptian channels which are obviously all in arabic!

The said engineer was fetched back, wandered around a bit scratching his head and disappeared, promising to return on Friday. Hmmmmm Friday? Like I believed he would return.

In the meantime I am unable to watch tv in English, hubby was away and I managed to read more books than I have ever done in my life!  The flat is exceptionally clean as well.

Saturday saw the landlord here with his own engineer. This one seemed to know what he was talking about, and apparently someone had been on the roof and messed around with all the cables, so the whole thing needed re-cabling.  And the dishes were being moved from the roof terrace to the roof of the studio apartment. But not on that day.

By yesterday, Wednesday, I was bored of reading, the flat was ultra clean, all ironing done and I threw a strop!

Today, (while being told the engineer would be here at 11am) the engineer arrived at just after 2pm.... ok, not bad for egyptian time. At least it is the same day.  He then proceeded to throw a new cable down from the roof, dropping it down over the balcony above me, and bringing it in through the patio doors! Hey Presto!  I have satellite back!!

But...... the cable....... all the cables are internally fixed into the walls. This one is outside and there is nowhere to bring it in. Now for me, it would make sense to drill a small hole and thread it through, or is that too much to expect?  No....... I now have a rather thick cable descending onto the balcony, tied around the wrought iron railings, draped across the middle of the balcony and in through the open patio door!

So in order to watch tv, we now have to have the door open and have to unplug the satellite so that we can close the door.

Supposedly, this is temporary until the landlord can come and look.  It will be interesting to see how long that actually takes.

Just thought I would also share this felucca convoy picture that I took on Monday while out walking with a friend. We were out for 5 hours..... walked along the River Nile on the West Bank, then cut inland to Esba before heading back through Tod and back down into the village and home.

Egypt's Nile cruises docked, awaiting tourism recovery

Interesting article from Al Ahram on the state of tourism in Aswan. Obviously what is happening there is being replicated here. No cruise boats in Aswan means none in Luxor either.

Quote
"Long an autumn tourism hotspot, Aswan is seeing only a trickle of foreign visitors in the wake of the revolution, leaving many workers anxious about their future livelihoods

Reuters, Thursday 20 Oct 2011

Traditional Egyptian 'Felucca' boats sail on the Nile river in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan.(Photo: Reuters)

The newly launched Al-Hambra cruise ship sailed only twice on the Nile before President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February and has been docked since then on the banks of the river, its plush fittings gathering dust awaiting the return of tourists.

Aswan, the site of majestic pharaonic ruins and one of the most famous stops on Egypt's Nile cruises, has few of the tourists who normally throng its tree-lined river banks. Instead, dozens of ships are moored waiting for customers.

Of the more than 300 cruise liners usually touring this section of the world's longest river, part of a tourist industry that is a major source of revenue in Egypt, not more than 40 are still setting sail, operators say.

"I'm keeping the boat open just to pay salaries, but not to make profit because that's not going to happen anytime soon," Albert Zakaria, manager of one of the operating cruises, Beau Soleil, moored behind the deserted ship, told Reuters.

Like many, Zakaria accepts he has to pay the bills and salaries even without revenues, so as to be ready once tourists return. He is not sure when that will be.

Tourist numbers have plummeted, dealing a blow to the millions of Egyptians whose livelihoods depend on the 14 million or more visitors who once came to Egypt annually, providing one in eight jobs in a country beset by high unemployment.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by more than a third in the second quarter of 2011 compared to last year. Some 2.2 million people visited Egypt in the second quarter of this year, down from 3.5 million in the same period in 2010.

In Aswan, in the far south of the country, high season doesn't usually start until fall when the weather is cooler.

Some tourists are returning but many cancelled after 25 people were killed in a fresh burst of violence in Cairo, when Christians protesting about an attack on a church near Aswan clashed with police.

"Tourism is dead. Thank God we still have jobs but every time we think it will get better, some catastrophe hits us," said Moustafa Ahmed, a hotel waiter, lamenting that tensions that erupted this week started over a row in the village of Marinab, just 150 km (90 miles) north.

Tourism is Egypt's top foreign currency earner, accounting for over a tenth of gross domestic product. The Tourism Ministry has said most arrivals now head to beach destinations.

The hotel occupancy rate in Aswan is now hovering around 15 per cent while cruise ships are at 30 per cent, said Abdel Nasser Saber, head of the Tour Guide's Syndicate of Aswan. They would normally expect to be full or even over-booked.

The tourism sector has been suffering since the uprising that ousted Mubarak in February, with brief months of relative relief, but matters won't improve, residents in Aswan say, until Egypt is stable and finished with its transition.

"This is a stark improvement from before. There have been long months when there was no one at all. Any clashes and spilled blood is going to keep the state of tourism like this," he said. "We have to take the effort to calm potential tourists and get these elections over and done with."

Egypt's ruling military council has scheduled parliamentary elections to start on 28 November for a staggered four-months-long vote but no date for the presidential vote has been set yet and serious haggling continues between opposition groups and the military over the process for transition.

Frequent protests and labour strikes, an eruption of sectarian tension and a lack of evident security is the complaint of many of the sector's employees.

"If you drop a dark spot into a glass of milk, you probably won't want to drink it. There has been no accident involving a tourist, but not everyone is ready to put themselves at risk in a country going through transition," said Maged Nader, manager of the Sonesta Cruise boat.

"With poor management by authorities and the continuity of chaos, a lot of people are losing faith in the revolution," Nader said, whose boat is now luckily running with 60 percent occupancy after Sonesta Cruise merged its lines.

Wide-spread disappointment among regular Egyptians with the way the military is handling the transition is also giving rise to concerns that civilians won't be taking over power soon.

"The idea of military rule scares tourists. Most of these worries will continue until the presidential vote and civilians take over," said Farid Farah, General Manager of Nubian Travel, warning "when tourism stops, everything does with it."

Tourists who have come say they aren't that worried.

"My friends told me not to go when they found out I was coming to Egypt but I told them I see no reason not to come here. Egyptians need our help and this is one way to do it," said Carrisse Young, 32-year-old American tourist.

"I haven't felt unsafe at all. Everyone is very friendly and we are having a fantastic time," said Young, who arrived the day after this week's clashes. She is like many tourists in the city, who were tempted by cheap rates and bargain prices.

Budget tourists don't bring in the same revenues, however. Tourist guides say they are less interested in expanding their travel plans and don't always tip well. Guides complain they get few customers. Some work once a month, if at all.

Any staff that join hotels and other places of business during high season have lost their source of income. For many more, their employers can't always pay their salaries.

"Salaries are sometimes late, because I pay when I have the money. We are all patient because there is nothing we can do at this point but the problem is we can't project when this dry spell will end," Beau Soleil's Zakaria said.

Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said in April he saw a rebound by the last quarter of the year, even if it still meant a 25 percent fall in revenues from 2010.

But that would be if there were no disruptions, workers in the sector say. After Sunday's clashes, nine of Zakaria's booked cabins cancelled their reservations.

Labour strikes and frequent protests are not popular here.

"People have to calm down and let the country regain its strength. Our economy is collapsing and if we keep going like this, we will have nothing -- no state -- left to fight for," said Bahaa Rabiey Mohamed, 26-year old salesman in Aswan's empty bazaar, where he now gets little or no business.

Ayman Tahano, a 42-year-old working with a free traders association for the Aswan bazaar echoed the sentiment.

"All these protests for pay hikes are absurd. They are taking all the money the government has and without working for it. They waited 30 years -- can't they wait six more months?" he complained, referring to the three decades Mubarak was in power.

"I told my children's school teacher who is striking for a higher wage that if this keeps up, I think we are going to have to rob them because they are getting cash from the government while I'm sure not getting any income from anywhere," Tahano said, bursting into a laugh."

Nile cruises docked

Back to blogging!

After a busy and sometimes weird few weeks, its time to get my blogging on the road again.

We have had a good few weeks with regard to business.  Not anywhere near back to normal, but its looking good and we are eating at least! Luxor is starting to come back to life, slowly but surely.

We have also had some wonderful visitors on the felucca and some great days with them on the River Nile, here in Luxor.

Fishing has recently been the order of the day and Saeed is now the very proud owner of a "real quality" fishing rod and tackle.  But he never got a chance to play with it before a guest beat him to it!  We had a full day out on Saturday, moored up at Bird Island while the crew got on with finishing off the cooking (meat tagine with all the trimmings, yummy). Obviously there is a small walk around we can do while waiting to eat, but the island is small and the fish were swimming around the boat.  So out came the rod and tackle!  In half an hour or so one of the men must have caught at least 12-15 small fish! He was trying to get some of the bigger ones that were close by, but they were having none of it and stayed well away from the bait.   Fortunately Saeed was able to have a quick fishing session while we ate the gorgeous food they had prepared.

This is the one that got away!


So a huge thank you to Terry!!  One of our amazing guests who gave the rod as a gift following a couple of days out fishing with Saeed.  It will be well used and next time you are all here, the fish dinner is on us!

So I guess we can now offer fishing days as an extra.

I am sorry I do not have photos....... I really should take my camera out with me every time!! I will do so in the future!

In the meantime........ what is it about mosquitos that means they only attack me?? Its the middle of the day, I am inside with the door closed and there is just one of them buzzing me!!

And!  My neighbours are building, maybe for the family or maybe to rent or sell.

Fortunately my view will not be obscured as the work is just to the left of me....

Thomson Holidays - scaremongering for profit!

Some friends of mine were here on holiday last week on a package booked with Thomson Holidays UK.

In their pre-holiday literature was one of the worse cases of scaremongering I have yet come across with regard to holidays in Egypt.

Basically they said


"the Foreign Office has instructed British tourists not to book excursions in Luxor except through representatives of their UK tour company."


I am appalled by this blatant lie!  There is nothing on the Foreign Office travel advise stating anything of the sort!  It is simply to line the pockets of the tour company and its reps! 


My friends spent a week in the Sheraton watching pretty much all the other holiday makers staying in the hotel unless they were on a Thomson coach!  They themselves had a brilliant holiday, all under their own steam and without any incidents whatsoever!  I met up with them twice, once at Snacktime overlooking Abu Haggag Square on Friday, immediately after Friday prayers...... and again for dinner and drinks on Monday night on the West Bank.  They loved Luxor and were upset that so many other tourists were not enjoying their holidays as they were too scared to go out of the hotel.


There is a link to the Trip Advisor hotel review that they did where you can see in Ben's own words what he thinks.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294205-d301831-r116958947-Sheraton_Luxor_Resort-Luxor_Nile_River_Valley.html 


Please share this with everyone you know, especially if they are planning a holiday to Egypt! They need to know this is a blatant lie!

Spirit of the Nile Website

Finally, my new website is live. It still needs a few tweaks here and there, but all the new packages are now available and online.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

Spirit of the Nile Website

Whatever your needs are while you are in Luxor, Egypt we will do OUR best to provide YOU with the very best.

We are now offering spiritual tours and workshops, in addition to the felucca packages and sightseeing packages.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

If you have any special requests, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We are not including external flights or hotels, so that you can have the freedom to choose a package holiday or independent travel. We can however, help with smaller hotel bookings or independent apartment rentals if required.

Egypt Unveiled Photography

We are also looking at working closely with a local photographer to offer courses on a daily or weekly basis and have access to egyptology courses for those who do not wish to partake of the spiritual aspects. A perfect solution for a couple with different interests!

We hope you find the time to check out the website. Please contact us if you require any further information.

Spirit of the Nile Website

Egypt Unveiled Photography

Trip Advisor Listing!

I am so happy! Finally I got a listing on Trip Advisor under Things to Do, Attractions! I had help and the listing is being changed to reflect all that I now do, but its on there and available for review!

Please if anyone reading this has sailed on Spirit or taken a tour with us,  could I ask you to write a review for me?

Spirit of the Nile - Trip Advisor