Back from the almost dead. I am still, how did Hank so politely put it, fragile, and in my words, just weak and lacking in stamina. In any event, I no longer have to stagger from wall to wall to get across a room, am no longer going through the night sweats (my fever has gone down from 103 to normal), and can actually breath without reverberating through my hearing aids. We've actually managed to get out and do a thing or two, so time to catch up.
First, back to the King David in Jerusalem. It is hard to believe it was only a week ago - it seems forever. I promised a few pictures...
I wish I had more, but the pictures didn't do the great rooms - or even the bedrooms - justice. They were just too grand in the very Middle Eastern style. The Jews don't do human images any more than the Moslems, but they sure can do fine work with angles!
A few pictures of Masada....
...and clear markings of the fortress...
I don't know whether I attached a date to this, but it was 72 A.D. and just as the Roman's were bringing their battering ram over the ramp to the walls, well, you know the rest.
Once again,, I didn't even bother to mess with a lot of pictures. There is no way - at least with my cheap camera, to capture the sheer cliffs, and the feeling that the Roman 10th Legion is ....right there!
Some last words about Israel (and I speak here only for myself, not for Hank here) I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. It is true that a country run by and for (mostly) Jews is - I can't help it, it is genetic - a source of pride. But Tel Aviv is really a shabby - shockingly so - city, in spite of its excellent Bauhaus bones. Chic aand lively, all right, but it did not feel at all special to me. Now, admittedly our time constraints were such that we did not spend much time in the country, and although we did pass a few Kibbutzim, I didn't get that warm and fuzzy (and true, I might add) "we made the dessert bloom" feeling. As for Jerusalem, it was indeed more majestic, a white limestone city that inspires - awe? - and the Old City and, okay, the country, makes the Bible seem like a history book (and I for one do not doubt that these things occurred) . This is not say I am sorry for a moment that we came, and that it hasn't been a wonderful trip. It is just that I did not experience th "wow" factor I was expecting.
Which brings us back to Cairo. As noted, we arrived back in Cairo around mid-day on Sunday, the 14th, and I was soon esconsced on the balcony with my favorite mug. I was still to sick to face coffee, but soda was going down well...
Our most gracious host Ted, and, of course, Hank...
Meet the medical team! Trust me, miracle workers. The last time I had pneumonia, I was in the hospital for two months. Four days later, I was up and about - not quick, I'll grant you, and certainly not my usual stamina, but at least I didn't have to throw in the tourist towel.
Sunday and Monday were always meant to be "down" days, but by Tuesday, I was feeling guilty for holding Hank back. On Wednesday, he did agree to go see Coptic Cairo on his own (although I couldn't prevail on him to take the camera).
A word about food. I, of course, am patently uninterested in food right now, although the guys (rightly) are plying me with things such as cereal, rice, soup, etc. I thought I'd mention that everyone delivers everything, food included, of course. Whether it is because of traffic or because their houses ae more pleasant than the restaurants, I don't know, but eating in seems to be what's done, and I don't just mean ethnic food either.
Anyway, that bings us to Wednesday evening, and we've decided (Yeah!) that I am up to seeing the Pyramids tomorrow, and perhaps a Nile Dinner Cuise with belly dancer and whirling dirvish in the evening. And so this is a good time to close. Stay tuned - finally - for the Pyramids at Giza.
First, back to the King David in Jerusalem. It is hard to believe it was only a week ago - it seems forever. I promised a few pictures...
I wish I had more, but the pictures didn't do the great rooms - or even the bedrooms - justice. They were just too grand in the very Middle Eastern style. The Jews don't do human images any more than the Moslems, but they sure can do fine work with angles!
A few pictures of Masada....
If you look on the right, you can clearly see the Roman ramp
...and clear markings of the fortress... I don't know whether I attached a date to this, but it was 72 A.D. and just as the Roman's were bringing their battering ram over the ramp to the walls, well, you know the rest.
Once again,, I didn't even bother to mess with a lot of pictures. There is no way - at least with my cheap camera, to capture the sheer cliffs, and the feeling that the Roman 10th Legion is ....right there!
Some last words about Israel (and I speak here only for myself, not for Hank here) I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. It is true that a country run by and for (mostly) Jews is - I can't help it, it is genetic - a source of pride. But Tel Aviv is really a shabby - shockingly so - city, in spite of its excellent Bauhaus bones. Chic aand lively, all right, but it did not feel at all special to me. Now, admittedly our time constraints were such that we did not spend much time in the country, and although we did pass a few Kibbutzim, I didn't get that warm and fuzzy (and true, I might add) "we made the dessert bloom" feeling. As for Jerusalem, it was indeed more majestic, a white limestone city that inspires - awe? - and the Old City and, okay, the country, makes the Bible seem like a history book (and I for one do not doubt that these things occurred) . This is not say I am sorry for a moment that we came, and that it hasn't been a wonderful trip. It is just that I did not experience th "wow" factor I was expecting.
Which brings us back to Cairo. As noted, we arrived back in Cairo around mid-day on Sunday, the 14th, and I was soon esconsced on the balcony with my favorite mug. I was still to sick to face coffee, but soda was going down well...
Our most gracious host Ted, and, of course, Hank...
It's the tan, I guess - I look way healthier than I feel...
Sunday and Monday were always meant to be "down" days, but by Tuesday, I was feeling guilty for holding Hank back. On Wednesday, he did agree to go see Coptic Cairo on his own (although I couldn't prevail on him to take the camera).
A word about food. I, of course, am patently uninterested in food right now, although the guys (rightly) are plying me with things such as cereal, rice, soup, etc. I thought I'd mention that everyone delivers everything, food included, of course. Whether it is because of traffic or because their houses ae more pleasant than the restaurants, I don't know, but eating in seems to be what's done, and I don't just mean ethnic food either.
Anyway, that bings us to Wednesday evening, and we've decided (Yeah!) that I am up to seeing the Pyramids tomorrow, and perhaps a Nile Dinner Cuise with belly dancer and whirling dirvish in the evening. And so this is a good time to close. Stay tuned - finally - for the Pyramids at Giza.
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