See them all at once
Look at thumbnails of all the
photographs from this country.
Each picture was made with the Agfa
ePhoto 1280 digital camera.
Cairo
Tiresome. Maybe I had been on the road too long. Maybe I had become
used to prices clearly marked in stores. Maybe I had become at home with
the ability to blend in with the crowd in London. So when I arrived in
Cairo, and everyone wanted to be my friend, buy me some tea, show me their
shop, or take me around town, I was no longer ready for the energy needed
to deal with it all. "Hello my friend, where you come from, are you married,
how old are you, do you need some spices? A girl? Where you go now? Please,
I just have some questions." Cairo is a jumbled city filled with dust,
traffic and smog. Despite this I did have some very interesting days about,
but mostly I hid in the confines of my hostel.
Citadel - Home of Egyptian rulers
from 12th to 19th century
Citadel Mosq - Inside Mosque
of Mohammed Ali at Citidel
Mosque Ceiling - Ceiling
of Mosque of Mohammed Ali
InPlane - Sundown from my plane
arriving in Cairo
Mosque - Mosque near City of the
Dead
Mummy - Egyptian Museum Seti
I mummy
Scarg - Egyptian Museum Sar
MusTufFace2 - King Tutankhamun's
mask
MusTut - King Tutankhamun's mask
MusTutFace - King Tutankhamun's
mask
MusTutLie - King Tutankhamun's
coffin
MusTutNeck - King Tutankhamun's
mask
MusWarGuys - Diorama of Egyptian
soldiers in 6 day war
Birqash Camel Market
When in Egypt, do as the Egyptians. My faithful friend Robert and I
hired a driver and went off the the Camel Market in Birqash. It's just
like any used car stip in the United states, lots to choose from, questionable
quality, and arguing salesmen. Our driver was not pleased when we suggested
buying a bby camel and strapping it to the roof of the car. You can, however,
fit up to four camels into the back of a pickup truck for transport to
your place of buisness. they don't go in easily, but folded up they take
up less space than you imagine.
Camel Bound - Bound so
it won't run away, a three-legged stance
Camel Eat - Dinnertime at the
market
Camel Leg - Strange shapes,
these camels
Camel row - Just like a used
car lot
Camel Sales -
Camel Sellers - looking
like regular guys about town
Men - business men without the suits
Cairo, the Pyramids
When you first see the top of the pyramids peeking over the roadside
trees you are forced by sheer human nature to press your face against the
glass and gasp at the size of the things. Then you meet the hoardes of
hawkers, camel guides, and perfume dealers. Tough to concentrate on the
actual experience of being there when you're slapping away mercenary pests
as thick as mosquitoes in an Alaskan springtime. The three main pyramids
are Cheops, the oldest built around 2600 B.C., Chephren and Mycerinus.
Corner Rubble - Corner of Chephren
with Mycerinus in back
Three on view - Queens pyramids
near Mycerinus looking northeast
EgCai_PyrBobby.jpg - Bob Demaria
on camelback
EgCai_PyrLong321.jpg - Telephoto
image looking Northeast from dunes
EgCai_PyrNHorses.jpg - Horse
tourists with pyramids behind
EgCai_PyrPizzaHut.jpg - The
view from the Giza Pizz Hut restaurant across the street from the pyramids
EgCai_PyrSelfPor.jpg - Me
in front of the pyramids
EgCai_PyrSunsetSphi.jpg
- View from the sphinx at sunset
EgCai_PyrTele21.jpg - Closeup
of the stones on edge of Cheops
EgCai_PyrTourists.jpg - Photo
ops with tour guides
EgCai_PyrWCamel.jpg - Local
posing on camelback for cash
EgCai_PyrWDead.jpg - City of
dead with pyramid background
EgCai_PyrWDeadOff.jpg - City
of dead
EgCai_PyrWSphi.jpg - The sphinx
Port Safaga, the amusement
park
This is an industrial town on the Red Sea coast, mostly concerned with
exporting Potash by ship to the rest of Egypt and the Middle East. In the
middle of the one-road downtown there soared a rickety old ferris wheel,
sitting empty in the mid-day sun. Myself and my friend Robert were stuck
waiting for a convoy to get us to Luxor, so I went over to photographs
the strange juxtaposition of an amusement park in a desert. About ten minutes
after I started exploring, two small beat-up busses arrived at the gate
and out piled sixty or so schoolkids. They were as happy and excited to
be at this little rat-trap amusement park as most school trips running
through the gates of Disneyland in California. It was one of the most serene
sensations of enjoyment watching these kids shrieking and smiling and staring
at the tall white photographer tracking them down.
Bucket Carny - The ride operator
sits bored as the kids swing around
Bucketride - Fear and joy
spinning in the bucket
Bulbs - Stark strings of lights
try to denote the carnival atmosphere
Carny - Proud of his ancient motorcycle
death ride
Ferris Girls - Schoolgirls
in uniform lining up for the rides
Ferris Whee - Abstract of
the ferris wheel against the clear blue Egyptian sky
Lightpost - Abstract of lightpost
with bulb stings
Girls Smile - Curious girls
smiling at the foriegner
Schoolgirls - Blue and whit
clad schoolgirls waiting their turn
Swings - High-tech thrill ride
in Safaga
Desert, between Hurghada
and Luxor, and Sinai
Though it shouldn't surprise me, Egypt is dry and hot. I expected sand
dunes and camels, but on my trip through I was amazed by the mountains
and vast, empty flat areas. The desolation was wonderful, and made it especially
interesting that the government doesn't allow foreigners to pass through
without a convoy. We had four sub-machinegun toting guards with our single
taxi the entire 6 hour trip.
Cafe Sign - Signpost to nowhere
Driver and Escort -
Our driver's head and a view to our guard's pickup truck
Gas Station - brand new,
but not running
Gas Station 2
Bike - At a roadside eatery in
Sinai
BusStop - Local woman waiting
for the bus with the mountains behind
Downtown - High noon, probably
Abu Zenima sinai
Lone Woman - Local woman
waits for bus with mountains behind
Shade - hiding out from the sun
in the desert
Luxor
This is the place where the tomb-seekers flock. Luxor sits on the nile
and is home to the worthy Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple, and Karnak,
some of the best-restored examples of ancient Egyptian architecture and
culture. Geared for tourism, but only just hiding a thriving local city,
Luxor allows access to the wondors of ancient kings, if you can just get
through all the local entrepreneurs trying to bring you special places
and selling you special things.
Luxor
Face - Sphinx face at Luxor Temple
entrance
Night Pillars - Pillars
of the temple
Pylons - Pylons at night
Sphinxes - Row of sphinxes
at Luxor Temple
Sunset - Sunset view from southwest
Trio - Statues of Ramses II
Advertising - Homegrown advertising
for travel, downtown Luxor
Nile Sunset - Sunset over
the Nile
Karnak Temple
Dark Heiros - Hieroglyphs
at night
Duck Heiro - Hieroglyphs
with animals figures at night
Heiro Flat - closeup of
shallow hieroglyphs
Heiros - Stones covered with
writing
Horses L - Statues of horses
Horses R - Statues of horses
King Rock - Yellow stone
carving of king
Night Pill - Colonnade at
night
Pillars - Great Hypostyle
hall
Pylon - Obelisks of Hatshepsut
Pylon Twins - Obelisks
of Hatshepsut
Pylon View - Obelisks of
Hatshepsut from Hyposstyle Hall
Pylon Vert - Obelisks of Hatshepsut
alone
Ruins - The Great Court
Sphinx - Central Court Sphinx
Stone Face - Detail from
First Pylonding
Valley of the Kings
Hatshep - Detail from Queen
Hatshepsut's temple
Land - The mountains around
the Valley of the Kings
Negotiate - Robert negotiating
with taxi drivers on the Nile West Bank
Ram IV Co - Interior of
King Ramses IV tomb
Ram IV Ent - Enterance
walkway inside King Ramses IV tomb
Ram IV Int. - King Ramses
IV tombding
Ram IV Line - King Ramses
IV tomb detail
Soldier - Armed soldier
protecting tourists in Valley of Kings
Aswan
A bustling city far south on the Nile Aswan was a stopover for merchants
from the south of Africa. Now it's main business is tourism, and sections
of the city crawl with vendors eager, very eager, to sell you spices, perfume
bottles, drums, just about anything. And they are the most persistent salespeople
I encountered in the country. Aswan is also home to the Temple of Philae,
rescued from the rising waters of the dammed Nile between 1972 and 1980
by moving it block by block to a higher island, and reassembled for the
tourists and historians.
Man - Traditional everyday wear
Market.jpg - Downtown Aswan
Woman.jpg - At the marketplace
Cols - Colonnade at Philae
American students - Courtney
Sarah, Corey Marissa, and Brantly studying archeology at Philea
PhilaEntr - Gate of Ptolemy
Relief - Inside Temple of
Isis
Relief 2 - Inside Temple
of Isis
Felluca trip, the Nile
The felluca boat is the local method of navigating the Nile. For centuries
this simple wood-hulled, single sail boat has been used to transport people,
livestock, and goods throughought Egypt. Shile still functioning as local
transport, the felluca tourist trip is a staple of the riverside communities.
My trip piled 25 backpackers into two boats for a three day trip down the
Nile from Aswan to Luxor. My time was short though, so I had the boat pull
over after two days and drop me off in Kom Obo and continuing
on my own.
Aussiegirl - Unknown
woman from down under
Aussieman - Unknown man from
down under
Capt Sleep - Our faithful
captain at 4:40 am
Drop off Me - Dropping me
off in Kom Obo
Dung Beetle - Dung beetles
were everywher on our dinner stop
Farmer - Farmer boy and his donkey
hang out at night
Fellucca Rest - Felluca on
the shore
Feluccas - boats in the water
Felucca Desert - Boat against
a hughe sand dune
Luxury Beds - Luxury backpacking
beds on boat
Sail - Felluca sail
Shade - Hanging out during the
day's long ride
Sharm El Sheik, Sinai, and
Hurghada
One of the premiere dive destinations on the planet, Sharm is coated
edge to edge with western-style beachside resorts and restaurants. The
diving was wonderful, but the encroaching construction threatens to kill
the very reason people come to visit. The coral reefs that line the coast
are under constant seige from construction refuse and uncaring divers.
Despite these difficulties, Sharm and the dive boats offer up a wonderful
selection of shapes and colors to photographs.
007 Sunset - David Page, Dive
Instructor, on bow at sunset
Anchor - Anchors
Blue Wedge - Abstract of
boat wall
Capt - Boat captain
Captain Stripe - Abstract
of shadow and captain
Chair Floor - Boat deck
abstract
Feet - Diver's feet on green
mat
Floor Rail - Abstract of
ladder
Ladder - Same
Roof - Striped roof abstract
Tanks - Sixty dive tanks awaiting
loading to dive boats
Top Deck Leg 2 - First
Mate driving the boat
Anja - Dive Instructor Anja, Red
Sea Diving College
Anna - Dive Instructor and competitive
bowler, Anna, Red Sea Diving College
Boat Bows - Two dive boats
moored at lunchtime
BSAC Diver - Mammothly equiped
British Sub Aqua Club Dive Instructor
Butts - Lovely women on boats
Deck Sleep - Post-lunch napping
diver
Dock - The madness of Sharm's pier
in the morning
Flag - Egyptian flag on dive boat
Lighthead - Me wearing a three-flashlight
dive helmet from BSAC diver
Lobby1 - Red Sea Diving College
Lobby2 - Red Sea Diving College
Shark Jaws - Jaws collection
on local dive boat
Shor Const - Some of the forty
miles of shoreline resort construction
Shore Const 2 - Some more
Shore Const 3 - Even more,
now you might see how the reefs are being damaged
Sophie - Dread-wearing English
diver Sophie
Steve - Dive Instructor Steve,
Red Sea Diving College
Top Dec kLeg - The captain
Trouble Girl - Just to piss
off one of my diving buddies
Tuna Floor - We caught Tuna
with a hand line for lunch the next day
Tuna Hand - they look great
under water too
Tuna Throat - A quick tear
of the Gills keeps the Tuna fresh
White Suit Lie - Robert's
dream girl at rest
White Suit Sit - Robert's
dream girl sits
Wreck - Freighter wreck Straits
of Tiran
Aboudis - Internet cafe owners,
the Aboudi's, in Hurghhada
Grand Hotel - Opulence on
the Red sea coast, The grand Hotel at night
Grand trees - Too many string
lights, The Grand Hotel
Roof Angle - Abstract of roofs
Steps - Abstract of Steps
Naama Bay, Sinai
Neighboring village to Sharm El-Sheik, Naama Bay is where the luxury
resorts first popped up under Isreali rule before the Egyptians got it
back. Perched on the sea just inside the mountains of southern Sinai, it's
a wonderful place, but doesn't feel much like the rest of Egypt, just a
fun beach town for Italian tourists and divers.
Bike Convoy - Quad motorcycle
desert convoy at night
Bikegirl - Janet relaxing on
auadrunner in desert
Scary Spice - Janet after
three hours on a motorcycle in the desert
Danger Sign - I don't know
what's behind the door, only that it's bad
Desert - Mountains and sand
Hotel Work - Unfinished hotel
in Naama
KFC Logo - Kentucky Fried Chicken
in Arabic
Mountain Set - Sunset in
the desert
Pizza Hut Logo - Pizza
Hut in Arabic. Same food though
Umbrellas - Beach relaxation
view above
4windows - Hotel construction
windows
Cow Truck - Cows on their
way to the dinnertable
Empty Outback - Empty
new buildings looking for tenants
Empty Street - Empty downtown
Sharm El-Sheik
Hot Const - Hotel construction
everywhere you look