Our travel – Page 25 – World-Wide Matel

January 15, 2008July 28, 2020

Heliopolis

I was interested in seeing Heliopolis because I am interested in planned communities from the “garden city” era in the early 20^th Century an era and concept that produced some of the most livable cities. Many of the places where people want to live today, but usually cannot afford – Beverly Hills, Grosse Point, Chestnut Hill & Coral Gables – started out as garden cities. Unfortunately, the idea fell out of favor with planners and architects by mid-century and we were building some of the ugliest and most dysfunctional communities in human history. The hideousness was worldwide. It is hard to believe that someone created places like Nowa Huta, Cabrini Green or Brasilia on purpose. I think we can learn from successes and failures.

Heliopolis is still relatively more livable than the rest of Cairo, but the population and squalor of the larger city have overwhelmed it. In theory you can walk around, but the Cairo driving habits make that dangerous. The inhabitants and authorities are making efforts to clean up some of the squalor, but a prerequisite for a livable city is control of traffic & overcrowding. Unless you do that, it is like cleaning the birdcage w/o feeding the bird.

The most interesting book I read on this sort of topic was “A Pattern Language”. The authors went around the world to compile the factors that people want in their cities. Galleries or porches are one of the important factors they found. Heliopolis has them. Another factor was access to shops. These are also present. I think if they got the traffic problem under control, this place would be just fine. From the guidebook I thought this would be a more pleasant place. I guess in a city with nearly 20 million people packed so tightly together, that is something you just do not get.

Some of the shopkeepers & taxi drivers we met alluded to this. They complained that their upscale customers were disappearing, drawn out of Cairo to the controlled and agreeable resorts. At first, people went to the resorts when they visited Egypt. More and more, however, they are just going to resorts that happen to be in Egypt w/o regard to the rest of the country. The Red Sea resorts are where they are because the sun shines every day not because they are in Egypt. They could be anywhere in the world.

The take away lesson from this is that if you do not provide people with the pleasant amenities they want, they will find them someplace else, and the most influential people will leave first.

January 9, 2008July 28, 2020

Great Pyramids

We saw the pyramids. They are magical and more impressive than you would think from pictures. The sphinx is smaller, however. We rode up on camels to see these wonders. It cost more, but it was a good experience and now that I have done it I will never have to do it again. The camel is a horse designed by a committee. They are truly odd looking and unpleasant animals. They burp, spit and stink.

We had a good guide who had relationships (i.e. gave money) with the guards to let us “park” near some of the pyramids and we had the pleasure of being almost alone in the quiet near some of the smaller pyramids. It makes a big difference. We could see the thousands of people in the distance touring the macro sites. When we went down to see the sphinx we had the crowd crush experience. There is always somebody around who wants money. It detracts.

Below I am sitting with our guide. He spoke good English and claimed to have spent his whole life near the pyramids, at first as a child selling little tokens.

January 9, 2008July 28, 2020

A Long Way From Graceland

Memphis was the capital of Egypt for hundreds of years. Today there is nothing but palms trees and a big monument area in the nearby desert. This is Saqqara. In some ways it is more interesting than the pyramids at Giza. The first pyramids are here. At first they are just a pile of rubble, but then you get a step pyramid (pyramid of Djoser) that is the precursor of the pyramids we all know.

We got to Saqqara early enough to avoid the crowds. In fact, we were just about a half hour ahead of a bus caravan of Germans. They were hot on our heels throughout the area. Going in tour groups has some advantages. You get some lecture by the guide and the numbers help dilute the effect of the ubiquitous pseudo guides who show you how to get into a monument or point you to the clearly marked path and then want money.

I do not believe that the average guide furnishes accurate information. Just listening to those around me I heard all sorts of conflicting stories. The guides’ main goal is to make the listeners happy so that he will get a bigger tip, so he tailors history to suite what he thinks the audiences wants to hear or a narrative that is easier to tell. I am not sure it really matters very much anyway. I cannot believe I just wrote that. Those who know me know that I am very particular about historical accuracy, but in this case the person is going to remember only that he saw something very old. The details will be buried in the sands of time, shrouded in the mist of antiquity or lost like a drunk’s car keys on a dark night, depending on the metaphor you like best. This is tourism, not scholarship.

After Saqqara we went to the probable site of Memphis. Layers of mud had covered the place, but they still sometimes dig out interesting things. There was a giant stature of Ramesses laying on the ground and they built a viewing area around it Ramesses was evidently the vainest man in world history. He wrote his name on everything, including the statues of previous pharaohs, but this was supposedly really him. We got to Memphis a few minutes ahead of the Germans, but that is about all the time it took to see the place.

Our driver took us to a carpet “museum”, i.e. a place where they show you an exhibit of carpet making for a minute and then try to sell you carpets for the next hour. Drivers get a kickback and I don’t begrudge them this. We went to a papyrus museum yesterday, same thing. And they tried to draw us into a perfume factory. We were immune to these enticements, however, having already been already fleeced at papyrus and perfume museums near the Egyptian museum.

For me the most interesting part of the day was a visit to the Coptic area. Copts still make up about 10% of the population. The churches are reminiscent of the Romans & Byzantines. I like that history. According to the narrative at the museums, Egypt has more relics of early Christianity than anyplace else because the climate preserves them. Besides, Egypt was a center of early Christianity. It is interesting to see how Islam so obliterated Christianity in all but a few pockets in what really was its homeland in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor and of course the Holy Land itself.

We wanted to go to a nearby restaurant, but the driver told us that we would get food poisoning if we even walked in. He took us to an authentic tourist buffet restaurant. Those Germans who, had been just behind us all day, were now in front and already sitting at the restaurant. We had the Egyptian meal auf deutsch.

It was a busy day. Back at the Marriott we went to the restaurant that called itself Egyptians and called ourselves content. Then a strange thing happened. It rained. People are accustomed to water flowing in the river and are a little surprised to see it falling from the sky. The waiters were all exercised & talking about it. After living in Al Anbar for a couple of months, I understand.I will post pictures of all the things above when I get back to Al Asad.

January 7, 2008July 28, 2020

First Day in Cairo

Above is Alex at the Hotel with Cairo behind

Egyptians have been very friendly. Some are just the trying to sell something, but others seemed genuine. We are staying at the Marriott, where I stay whenever I can all around the world. The Cairo Marriot is more opulent than most. It sits in a beautiful garden area on an island in the Nile in a palace built by the Egyptian Khedive to host Euro-Royalty during the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Among the guests were Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Eugene, wife of Napoleon III. I suppose they had really nice rooms. Today the rooms are typical Marriott. I like that. I feel at home.

Alex & I walked to the Egyptian Museum, which is just across the river not far from the hotel. It is full of artifacts, perhaps over full. The place has a little bit the feel of a warehouse, with artifacts stacked in rows. After you have seen one mummy, you have pretty much seen them all, kinda dry and depressing. But I enjoyed seeing all those things I have seen pictured in history books. We saw the King Tut stuff, for example.

The desert preserves things that would have long ago turned into dust or compost in any other environment. I especially like the little wooden figures showing ordinary life and people working in brewing, baking and textiles. I prefer these kinds of things to the death obsessed culture of the tombs. How they lived in more interesting than how they died. The gold and art from the tombs is spectacular, but it was a waste of for the people of the time to literally slave away their lives to fill monuments to the dead. I don’t much like the jackal-headed gods either.

We tend to think of Egypt only in relation to those who built the pyramids but there is a lot more. Roman and Greek history was always my specialty and I am more interested in Egypt under the Greek Ptolemy and the Romans. This period lasted more than 1000 years, but we often telescope history and move from the pharaohs to the caliphs, with only a brief glace at Anthony & Cleopatra, usually even forgetting that Cleo was a nice Greek girl descendents from one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Cairo was built on a Roman city called Babylon. It is a little ironic that I had to travel FROM the country of the original Babylon to see one. The Christian Copts, descended from the original inhabitants, still live on the site.

This is one of the narrowest buildings I have seen.

Parts of Cairo are pleasant, but it is never peaceful and walking around is not much fun. Drivers pay no attention to crosswalks or signals. You have to run for you life to cross busy streets and there are lots of busy streets. As Alex and I waited to run across one busy street, some guys on the other side actually mocked us for being timid. The funniest thing I saw was a bus turn a corner too sharply and three guys literally fell out. They landed on their feet and just chased the bus to get back on. Cacophony is the word to describe roads. Everybody feels it necessary to beep his horn just like a bored dog has to bark at everybody who passes. We did a lot of walking nevertheless. It seems like everybody wants to talk and invite you back to their shop for free tea. Of course, it is not really free. If you stop more than a few seconds, taxis pull up and ask if you need a ride I have to admire their energy, but I would prefer to have a little more peace.

January 6, 2008July 28, 2020

Note on Pictures

I am traveling in Egypt. I have my camera and I plan to take lots of pictures, but I forgot to bring the cable to load them onto the computer, so I will not immediately be able to post them. I will still post texts and will amend them with pictures when I get back to Al Asad.

I also have some old pictures I can use AND the Internet is so fast here compared with Al Asad that I might take advantage to post some old odd things.

October 6, 2005July 24, 2020

Visit to Holland & Belgium

I went to Brussels and the Hague to consult with the people at the posts there. I have been to Brussels many times. It is a pleasant city in many ways, but not really beautiful. It does have its beautiful parts, however. There are different layers. The center is a late Middle Ages guild city. Up the hill a little is the late 19th early 20th century art deco city. Nice neighborhoods from about 100 years ago (above).The art deco part of the city starts with this arch (below). I think it was once in a better location. Actually same location, but the rest of the city changed around it. The city has grown a lot when it became EU capital. Most of the growth was not good.

I stayed in the Courtyard Marriott. It was located in the middle of a park and running was good. I enjoyed my time in Holland. It was not exciting, but very pleasant, a nice place to relax.

December 12, 2004October 29, 2020

Barcelona, Spain

Chrissy & I went to Barcelona. Compared to Poland in December, it was warm and pleasant. We needed only light coats. The big downside was that I got pick pocketed. The guy who did it was a real pro. He told me there was dirt on my coat and then he and a friend “helped” me. I suspected they were crooks, but when they left I still had my wallet. Unfortunately, when I tried to use my credit cards, both were gone. Even with that, the trip was worth it. Barcelona was fully of gaudy architecture.

Streets were lined with sycamore trees. They made the whole place much more pleasant.

The thing I liked about Barcelona and the thing I like re Europe in general is that the streets are alive with people walking and living. Chrissy and I had a really good time in Barcelona. It was not what I expected. The medieval part was like France and the people looked as I would expect Germans or French, not Spanish. I guess Spain is a big and diverse country.

July 27, 2003July 23, 2020

Manassas, VA

We got back “home” to northern Virginia yesterday. We are staying at the Courtyard Inn at Manassas battlefield. In the South they call the battles first and second Manassas. In the North they are better known as the battles of Bull Run. The Rebels tended to name the battles after nearby cities. The Yankees favored geographical features. Bull Run is a creek that runs through the battlefield. Since it is located in Virginia, the National Park Service uses the local name – Manassas. The big battle that took place in September 1862 in Maryland is called Antitem. Southerners call is Sharpsburg after the town. In Maryland, the National Park carries the Yankee name.

Alex and I went to the battlefield. First Manassas, the first big battle of the Civil War took place right about this time in 1861, so we were feeling similar weather and seeing similar sights. I thought about Wilbur McLean. He lived on what became the battlefield before the war. The Rebs commandeered his house as an HQ and it suffered severe damage. After the battle, Wilbur decided he didn’t want to be in such an action filled area, so he moved south to a peaceful little place called Appomattox. When Generals Grant and Lee came to terms in April 1865, they commandeered his parlor to sign the armistice. Trouble just follows some people..

Peaceful farmland of N. Virginia, site of the first battle of the Civil War. It was hazy. On clear days you can see the Blue Ridge. This part of Virginia is one of my favorite regions in the world. It is not breathtaking, but it is green and pleasant. During the Civil War there were not so many trees, as you can see from old pictures. Horses needed pasture.

“There stands Jackson like a stonewall. Rally behind the Virginians!” This is the place where Thomas Jackson, later always called stonewall, stopped a Union victory at first Manassas. I don’t suppose he was as muscular as the statue implies. The terrain is rolling and large numbers of troops can be concealed in the undulations. The Yankees were surprised when they ran into the Rebs behind the hill. Jackson was an instructor at VMI in Lexington. He studied the campaigns of Napoleon and believed in the bayonet. He had trained his men well in its use. The Civil War was a time of technological change, as the rifle was replacing the smooth bore musket. Bayonets and even pikes were still effective weapons at the start of the war and both sides were fond of the charge. Unfortunately, the longer range of the rifle was making this a deadly – if heroic – anachronism. The next year, at Fredericksburg, not far from here, the Union spent many thousands of lives charging entrenched Southern positions. The Union paid them back in kind at Gettysburg in 1863. Southerners boasted of Pickett’s charge for the next fifty years, but it was a mistake.

July 26, 2003July 23, 2020

Nashville, TN

It is a pleasant place. Nashville looks more Midwestern than southern, although there are the magnolias. We went to see the Parthenon. Nashville has the only full sized replica of that building. It is nicer than the original, which was famously destroyed by the Venetians during a skirmish with the Turks, who used the building as a power storage facility. Although this one is more complete, it is made of concrete instead of marble. It was built in 1892 for the Centennial of city of Nashville. Surrounding the Parthenon is Centennial Park. Across the street is Vanderbilt University, the “Harvard of the South”.

We are staying at Marriott Courtyard. It is a suite hotel, but with smaller facilities than Residence Inn. We had planned to stay at KOA, but the hot weather in Arizona convinced us that we did not want to spend another night in a hot cabin. Ironically, it is cool today. I was a little chilly sitting out near the pool supervising the boys. The boys played football with some other guests. It was not a fair game. Alex was much stronger than anyone else in the pool. He could just muscle through the lines.

July 25, 2003July 23, 2020

Memphis, TN

We went to see Grace Land – home of Elvis yesterday. It is a big house, but except for the 13 acres it sits on, there are many larger homes in the neighboring suburbs. It goes to show how much our expectations in housing have grown. In 1957, this was a big mansion; now its just a big house.

I am not a big Elvis fan, but I have to say, he was unique – without a doubt the most significant entertainer of the 20th Century. We shall not soon see his like again. More than thirty years after his death, thousands of people visit his house showing more reverence than they would at St. Peter’s. My kids were not born during “the King’s” lifetime, yet they and billions of people all over the world recognize him, or at least his caricature. I am convinced that one reason Bill Clinton was elected president is that he reminded people of Elvis because of his accent and some of his mannerisms. The tour of the house is well done. It is done via recordings. You push the number when you get to the appropriate display. You can’t bring your digital camera into the building, so I have no picture. Suffice to say that it is very 60s or 70s. After the tour, we had down home southern barbeque at the Elvis restaurant. The grounds at Graceland are very pretty with lots of nice trees. It is characteristic of the region.

Memphis in general is a nice southern city, with lots of big trees. I ran today through the green suburban streets shaded by oaks, tupelos and magnolias. It is much like tidewater Virginia or Carolina. You can recognize southern cities, from Virginia to east Texas, by the broad tree filled lawns and smell of the typical plants. I had to jump over a lot of debris. One reason the grass is so green is that there has been horrendous thunderstorms over the last week that dumped torrents of water on the region causing floods in low-lying areas. We missed it all, but benefited from the aftermath. Not only is everything green, but also the rain brought lower temperatures. Last night it got into the 60s, which is rare for the mid south this time of year. This morning, when I went running, it was about 80.

We are staying in the Residence Inn. It is much like the others, but not as nice. We are next to the railroad tracks. About ½ kilometer from us, the tracks cross the street at grade. It is dangerous for the cars and the trains, so the engineer sounds a warning a good ways before he reaches the street, about a ½ kilometer before in fact. Trains must have rumbled by at least ten times during the night. I tried to incorporate trains into my dreams, but it still caused me some unrest.