To Travel is Like Falling in Love

To Travel is Like Falling in Love

There’s something about traveling that’s like falling in love.  Everything is new and exciting, the people, the smells, the food, the architecture, the monuments, art, culture; immersing yourself in something so completely different from what you’re used to, from what you know, is akin to falling in love.  It’s exhilarating and defies description.  When I’m traveling I want to know the language, see how the people live, understand the customs, go to their markets, eat their food, see the artisans at work, lose myself in this foreign place.  It’s a high like nothing I’ve ever experienced. That I can share that excitement with my husband makes it all the more magical.

With my Husband in Wahtye’s Tomb

That he shares my love for travel, makes it all the more amazing. Together, we fall in love over and over again with the country we are visiting. This trip to Egypt has been no exception.  In the above photograph we are standing in front of Wahtye and his wife in the recently discovered Wahtye’s Tomb, which is also the subject of the National Geographic Documentary of the same name.

The young man on the left is who guided us just this morning into the tomb.  It was such a treat to meet him and talk to him about how it felt to discover such a treasure!  After the tour he and his director decided to show us something they had just uncovered an hour or two before we got there.

The top shape is a mummified lion cub discovered this morning by the same archeologists who discovered Wahtye’s Tomb!  I could barely contain my excitement.

The joy and sheer exuberance of being able to see things that I’ve only read about and seen pictures of is beyond anything else I know of.  It is to be transported to another time.

“Bent Pyramid” the 2nd attempt by Sneferu to build a pyramid with the calculations off and requiring a slight adjustment, hence the “bent” sides. 4th Dynasty, 2600 BC. His 3rd attempt was successful and became the template by which others were then built.

Along the way we passed this handsome fellow.

Look at his eyelashes!! Isn’t he beautiful?

Tomorrow we leave for Jordan, yet another opportunity to fall completely in love all over again, awaits us!

Special thanks to Nabil Ashour, Medhat Hafez and Abercrombie & Kent.

 

 

Egyptian Inspiration and Textiles

Egyptian Inspiration and Textiles

First things first.  We are in Egypt!  Yup, you read that right.  More specifically, at this very moment, we’re floating on the Nile, taking in the sights as we make our way toward Luxor.  Everything about Egypt is inspiring, the history, the beauty, the art, the textiles, the carpets, the people… amazing.  I’ll give you a pictorial summary of our first few days, but I have to tell you a quick story, so you get the backdrop for this trip.

When Richard and I got married, we pissed off a lot of friends and family when we announced we were planning on getting married on Christmas day.  Talk about young and foolish.  But friends and family balked at that idea, so we scrapped it and settled for the winter equinox, which was December 22nd that year.  We then planned our honeymoon.  We decided we would spend xmas eve and xmas day in Jerusalem at the King David hotel, New Year’s Eve was going to be in Giza, overlooking the pyramids, then a cruise along the Nile, ending in a quick flight to Jordan to take in the sights of Petra. Did I mention our son was 9 months old when we got married?  Never ones to go with convention, we did things our way and then often would remark to each other later that “our” way wasn’t necessarily the best way and there was a reason people get married, take a honeymoon and THEN have children.  But I was in my later 30’s by the time we decided to have children, and planning a wedding took a back seat.  So there you have it.  Anyway, the intifada broke out about three months before our wedding and as we were traveling with a small child we were advised to scrap our plans.  (We had reserved everything, right down to the guides.) So we did.  We canceled everything and ended up going to Mexico where all three of us got really, really, really sick.  So sick. You have no idea how sick.  We referred to it as “the honeymoon from hell.” Except that I have great memories from that trip even so.  But we always wanted to try and recreate our planned honeymoon.  Years ago I was fortunate enough to be sent to Jerusalem to cover a conference, and Richard tagged along, so we were able to do that part, but we never did get to Egypt or Jordan, until now, more than two decades later.

Okay, now that you have the backstory, let’s get on with Egypt!

On the Nile in Edfu

Our Cabin (and the artistry of the staff) as we float along the Nile. Those are bottle caps for eyes, by the way.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  I can’t write about Egypt and not show you a photograph of the pyramids.  So here you go.

The pyramids of Giza

And the camel ride that cannot be refused.

“Valentino, not the designer.”

Camels, or I should say, this camel was very sweet and friendly.  For some reason I had the idea that camels were ornery, like llamas, but I was mistaken.

And then there’s the sphinx.

The Sphinx

Outside the Egyptian Museum where 2/3 of the collection has already been moved to the new museum still being built.  And yet, it was still overwhelming!

Look at this cloth!

Embroidered Cloth

And this one, which is perhaps my favorite.

Indigo Cloth

The internet is spotty out here on the Nile, so I’m just going to end with a few more photographs.  More to come when I get the chance.

Abu Simbel

Ancient Graffiti

This last was one of my favorites.  I fell in love with the “graffiti” that peppers the temples.  This one is from around 300 BC.  Think about that.  It gave me all sorts of ideas for my next workshop, which I’ve already roped my friend, Pat Pauly into making linen fabric kits for.  More on that in a few weeks!

Onwards to Luxor!