Abu Simbel .... back to Cairo & the Pyramids

The U.S. Embassy has requested an armed guard/police officer, for all U.S. citizens, part of a tour group, at all times when on a bus or boat!! (this evolved shortly after a German tour bus was attacked by a local group of hooligans five or so years ago, resulting in the death of several of the Germans) ...... not sure Canadian embassy has the same ruling, so glad we had the protection peripherally :) ....... got a kick out of our guard, certainly not into disguising his profession or his machine gun!! :) .... just a wee fellow, younger than my own son Tim, who I personally felt needed protection himself :)

Now, having said that, we all felt very safe in Egypt, whether we had a guard or not .... they are lovely people, and love tourists .... we are a big boost for their economy, particularly in these trying recessionary times.

Fellow Canadians, Malti & Abera checking out the Aswan Spice Market

Relaxing in Aswan .... Mohammed checking out the next leg of our journey on his laptop!!

Atalya dressed up for our "Arabian Nights" evening
Wall of Nubian Masks in Aswan Market
Abu Simbel Tombs

Rushawn, Colleen & Atalya in Abu Simbel

Rushawn & Colleen in quiet moment on the River Nile

As-salaamu alaykom ...... how can you not love a country that has this kind of greeting .... translated as,"peace be upon you" ......... We left behind our cruise boat, flew into Abu Simbel to visit the temples sitting on a hillside overlooking Lake Nasser .... home to all the endangered crocodiles in Egypt ..... the High Dam has cleared all of them from the Nile River over time and they are apparently alive and well in the lake ..... no time for a swim there unfortunately :) The last few weeks have been memorable and magical .... our little group of Prophet Conference attendees became like a family .... young Atalya had lots of moms and dads, all of us relishing her youthful perspective .... After a dusty camel ride through desert sand to the pyramids in Cairo, we dashed into our pool one afternoon for a rather refreshing swim .... seems we were the only two that could handle the cool air that day (oh my, almost forgot, as Robert did also jump in, swam a few lengths and shivered back to his room :) ..... it was a bit chilly actually, now that I think about it) ........ only a child such as Atalya would want to have a race to see who could "swim the slowest'' to the other end!! Totally reminded me of the fun and silly games Brian and I used to play with Sarah & Tim in their youth years. Children remind us that we too have little fun people living inside us that sometimes just want to come out and play!!! :) Atalya and I were quite hilarious, creating all manner of goofy movements in slo-mo ..... and of course neither of us remembers who won ... the whole point of the "race" ...... she is just such a dear old soul ........ Rushawn, her father, is one of the kindest, most patient parents I have ever run across ..... and he, only 31! When sharing time with such "together people" on my travels, my faith in the evolution of the human race is renewed!! So it was with this magical group of time travelers ...... al-hamdu I-illah! (praise be to God)