TRIP REPORT
Turin Marathon
ITALY – 3/23 – 3/27/00
This was my fourth trip to Italy in the past year! Believe me, it’s not because it is my favorite place or that I want to keep donating to the thieves in Italy! On two of the previous trips I had run marathons in Italy but neither counted as a completion in Italy (Monaco and Vatican City). Therefore I decided to find a marathon in Italy to complete two goals at once. The Turin marathon enabled me to finally count a marathon in Italy and I also celebrated my 56th birthday by running my 157th marathon. Yeah, yeah! I know. The numbers should match and that is what the master plan called for –but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to run that extra marathon in Morocco. So I will learn to live with it!
Nicole and I left on Thursday so we would have plenty of time to explore the city. On Friday we met up with a friend from NYC who is a member of the 50 + DC club. We all took a city tour to get the layout of the land and history of the city. The tour took us through the old town, past many of the statues, palaces and museums and through some of the suburbs. The guide was proud to point out the original FIAT factory. A tidbit – FIAT- Fabrication Italian Automobile Turin (sounds much better in Italian). I never knew that the Fiat was started and is still built in Turin. Turin is a pretty city, not too large and easy to walk around. It was established about 1,000 years ago but the most significant period was the 17th century when it was rebuilt as the capital of the Savoy Duchy. Most of the buildings and architecture in the old town are from that period.
There are lots of museums in the former palaces from that period. The other major tourist attraction is the ‘La Santa Sindone’ or Holy Shroud that is kept in the Duomo or Church of Saint John the Baptist. Only an actual-size copy is on display most of the time but for those interested the real Shroud will be on display from Aug 26 through Oct 22 this year as part of the Jubilee Celebration.
We did a lot of walking and exploring. There are some great cafes and restaurants. And another interesting feature of the city that I liked were the 18kms of porticos or porches that cover all the sidewalks in the old town. The porticos even cross the roads so that you never have to step out into bad weather.
The city has two major rivers, the Dora and Po flowing through it. You can take a boat tour along the Po, which we had intended to do after the marathon but never did have the time.
The western edge of the city is flanked by the Piedmont Hills and beyond that lay the Italian Alps. Turin is the host city for the 2006 Olympics. Had I known that when I arranged the trip I probably would have extended the trip for a few ski days in the Alps.
On Saturday we explored the city some more and found our way to the Stadium to collect our race numbers and final instructions. It is a big race with several Kenyans and other elite runners. As fate always does, the weather was great on Friday and Saturday but on race day, Sunday, it was cool, cloudy, rainy and windy. However the rain let up about three miles into the race so it was not too bad after that. The course was fairly flat but had a lot more hills than described in the brochure. It was a 26-mile loop that started at the stadium and circled the suburbs of Turin but the last 10K went through the old town to finish back at the Stadium. The traffic control was good but the water stations provided sparkling water, which I hate. I hit the half at the exact same time as last week in Germany (1:50) but remember remarking to myself that I was doubtful that I could hold that pace for the second half. Thus I was surprised when I got a second wind or burst of energy around 17 miles and started to drop the pace. The last 10K were the fastest of the race and I managed to run a negative split by 90 seconds to finish in 3:38:30. Believe me, that doesn’t happen very often! So it looks like I am finally starting to get back into marathon shape but I expect it will take another sixty days before I will break 3:30 again.
After the race we had planned to take a boat cruise on the Po River but we had to wait over an hour to get a bus back to the hotel and that delay put a major crimp in our plans. Nicole had to leave Sunday night to get back for meetings at work so we just didn’t have enough time. My friend and I stayed over till Monday but the cruises didn’t operate on Monday. Unfortunately we discovered that nothing operated on Monday! All the museums and palaces were closed. I would have taken a train up to the ski resorts just to check them out but Edson doesn’t ski so we spent the day exploring the city and suburbs on the trams. Bottom line is that three days is all that is needed to visit Turin.
Finally my boredom was over and it was time to return home. And I was so pleased that Turin seemed like a nice quiet city without all the thieves/pickpockets common in the rest of Italy-until I arrived in England to discover that some A-hole in baggage handling had broken into my sports bag and stolen my heart monitor! When I reported the theft to the airport police at Stansted they just smiled and commented ‘Yes, there is a major problem in Turin. We keep asking the police there to help us stop it but there doesn’t seem to be much interest”! I wish they had told me that before I took the trip.
So another donation to the thieves of Italy! But these thieves are going to be a bit disappointed because they only stole the wristwatch and forgot the chest transmitter. All they have is a very ugly watch that is difficult to operate without the instructions.
Oh well. I am now looking for a place that staples all your valuables to your body before you take a trip to Italy? That way I will know when someone rips me off?
But I can’t let these A-holes get to me and spoil my fun! So I am getting back on the horse so-to-speak and going back to Italy tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for me!
Monday, March 27, 2000
Sunday, March 19, 2000
TR Germany
TRIP REPORT
Steinfurt Marathon
Burgsteinfurt,Germany
3/17 –3/19/00
This was another of those trips where the problems of setting up the trip were the most difficult aspect of the journey. However this time the problem was not travel agents.
Some of you should recall that I solicited the help of my running friends and family (especially those that had lived in Germany) a few months back when I hit a brick wall on the first step. Somehow I had discovered a marathon in the Steinfurt region of Germany but only had information in German. When I asked for assistance in translating the information so that I could figure out where and when I should go, all I got back was –NOTHING! To be fair, my brother-in-law, Tim did pass the email along to a colleague in Germany but by the time he got off his butt and asked what help I needed I had solved the problem. How did I solve it?
I persisted on the net until I finally located the race director (Ralf Kleeman) whom fortunately understood English. Ralf went over and beyond the course of duty in responding to my emails and assisting me. Once I decided on the closest airport (Dusseldorf), he got me train schedules, booked a hotel for me in Burgsteinfurt and even insisted on meeting me at the train on arrival. He took me to the hotel, helped me check in (nobody at the hotel spoke English) and then drove me on a tour of the course. That evening he and his wife picked me up at the hotel and took me to dinner. I have never been treated so royally at a marathon! As it turns out I was a bit of a novelty since I was the first and only American whom has ever entered and run the Steinfurt Marathon in its 17 years of history.
It is a small town marathon that caters to local runners and runners across Germany and neighboring countries. It is well organized and liked and thus they don’t advertise. I still can’t recall how I heard about it –must have been from another marathoner in my travels.
Because it is considered a runner’s marathon the turnout is good –1100 runners and the top two male runners had sub-2:20 credentials!
The race starts and ends at the fachhochschule (university) in Burgsteinfurt. Burgsteinfurt is a small university town located about 30km northwest of Munster and close to the border of Netherlands. It is only slightly bigger than Stortford and reminded me a lot of our new adopted hometown. The town is about 700 years old with a lovely castle –Furstl Schlob (Front Castle) on an island in the center of the town. The main street still retains its’ original appearance with cobbled streets and buildings that are several hundred years old. It was very pleasant walking around the town and sightseeing. The only drawback was that since it is a rural environment nobody spoke English. I went to the local tourist office to get information on the town and region but it was only available in German. I could not even buy a book or information in English –it just didn’t exist!
Other than Ralf and his wife the only other person I met in three days whom spoke English was a reporter from Munster. She grabbed me at the end of the race for an interview for the Munster paper.
So I had another one of those three-day language immersion lessons, only this time in German. I got to where I could understand the basic words and very simple sentences but I cannot speak it at all! And I still have difficulty with the menus.
Back to the race. The marathon started at 1pm on Saturday. I don’t normally like afternoon starts but since the weather was so cold it gave us a few more hours to warm up. The weather turned out to be miserable –cold, rainy and very windy. As I mentioned the race started and ended at the fachhochschule. The course was a 14km loop on the rural roads around the town that we had to repeat three times. Fortunately it was flat and fast but not very scenic as we ran past farms and through a few forests. But I did see several deer along the route. And of course we had to run through the university three times as we passed over the finish line on each loop. (Boy do I hate that-especially at the end of the 2nd loop). As usual they had water stations every 5 km that were well stocked with wasser (water), tee (tea?), electrolute (electrolytic drink like Gatorade), and bananas. One water station was serving local water but the other two were serving carbonated bottled water. I hate drinking that stuff at any time and especially during a race- but you have to do what you have to do! It sure makes my carbohydrate gel taste funny.
I was surprised and pleased to finish in 3:41:02 in spite of the weather and also the fact that I had been in bed for the three days proceeding the race with a flu. And it is one of the few marathons where I didn’t hurt (much) during the race. But 30 minutes after the race I couldn’t (and still can’t) lift my right leg. I must have pulled or overused some muscle. (I still think it all goes back to that damn hamstring injury!)
Hopefully some rest and massages will mend this injury quickly since I have another marathon next weekend.
After the race Ralf introduced me to a German running legend –Franz ?. He had just completed his 940th marathon so I looked like a wimp next to him. But he has completed most of his marathons in Germany and neighboring countries so I have him beat in continents and countries completed. He is in his late 70s and still runs 30+ marathons each year. He needn’t fear me catching him in number of completions.
The next morning turned out to be the nicest weather of the trip, cool but sunny. Since my train routed through Munster on the way back to Dusseldorf, I decided to stop off in Munster to visit the old historic part of the city. Having lived in Munster Hamlet, Ontario I was curious what Munster, Germany looked like. It is a very pretty city and the old historic section is very interesting. The buildings and churches have been restored to their original appearances circa 1600/1700s. Unfortunately it was Sunday and everything was closed so I could only walk around and enjoy the exterior views.
Now I am back in England hobbling around and frustrated that I can’t continue my training for next weekend’s marathon. And I can’t even get any sympathy from Nicole because she left on Saturday for a business trip to NYC. (Do I really believe I would get any sympathy if she were here? But I can dream can’t I?).
Life is such a bitch! Take care and stay tuned for the next episode- from ?????
Steinfurt Marathon
Burgsteinfurt,Germany
3/17 –3/19/00
This was another of those trips where the problems of setting up the trip were the most difficult aspect of the journey. However this time the problem was not travel agents.
Some of you should recall that I solicited the help of my running friends and family (especially those that had lived in Germany) a few months back when I hit a brick wall on the first step. Somehow I had discovered a marathon in the Steinfurt region of Germany but only had information in German. When I asked for assistance in translating the information so that I could figure out where and when I should go, all I got back was –NOTHING! To be fair, my brother-in-law, Tim did pass the email along to a colleague in Germany but by the time he got off his butt and asked what help I needed I had solved the problem. How did I solve it?
I persisted on the net until I finally located the race director (Ralf Kleeman) whom fortunately understood English. Ralf went over and beyond the course of duty in responding to my emails and assisting me. Once I decided on the closest airport (Dusseldorf), he got me train schedules, booked a hotel for me in Burgsteinfurt and even insisted on meeting me at the train on arrival. He took me to the hotel, helped me check in (nobody at the hotel spoke English) and then drove me on a tour of the course. That evening he and his wife picked me up at the hotel and took me to dinner. I have never been treated so royally at a marathon! As it turns out I was a bit of a novelty since I was the first and only American whom has ever entered and run the Steinfurt Marathon in its 17 years of history.
It is a small town marathon that caters to local runners and runners across Germany and neighboring countries. It is well organized and liked and thus they don’t advertise. I still can’t recall how I heard about it –must have been from another marathoner in my travels.
Because it is considered a runner’s marathon the turnout is good –1100 runners and the top two male runners had sub-2:20 credentials!
The race starts and ends at the fachhochschule (university) in Burgsteinfurt. Burgsteinfurt is a small university town located about 30km northwest of Munster and close to the border of Netherlands. It is only slightly bigger than Stortford and reminded me a lot of our new adopted hometown. The town is about 700 years old with a lovely castle –Furstl Schlob (Front Castle) on an island in the center of the town. The main street still retains its’ original appearance with cobbled streets and buildings that are several hundred years old. It was very pleasant walking around the town and sightseeing. The only drawback was that since it is a rural environment nobody spoke English. I went to the local tourist office to get information on the town and region but it was only available in German. I could not even buy a book or information in English –it just didn’t exist!
Other than Ralf and his wife the only other person I met in three days whom spoke English was a reporter from Munster. She grabbed me at the end of the race for an interview for the Munster paper.
So I had another one of those three-day language immersion lessons, only this time in German. I got to where I could understand the basic words and very simple sentences but I cannot speak it at all! And I still have difficulty with the menus.
Back to the race. The marathon started at 1pm on Saturday. I don’t normally like afternoon starts but since the weather was so cold it gave us a few more hours to warm up. The weather turned out to be miserable –cold, rainy and very windy. As I mentioned the race started and ended at the fachhochschule. The course was a 14km loop on the rural roads around the town that we had to repeat three times. Fortunately it was flat and fast but not very scenic as we ran past farms and through a few forests. But I did see several deer along the route. And of course we had to run through the university three times as we passed over the finish line on each loop. (Boy do I hate that-especially at the end of the 2nd loop). As usual they had water stations every 5 km that were well stocked with wasser (water), tee (tea?), electrolute (electrolytic drink like Gatorade), and bananas. One water station was serving local water but the other two were serving carbonated bottled water. I hate drinking that stuff at any time and especially during a race- but you have to do what you have to do! It sure makes my carbohydrate gel taste funny.
I was surprised and pleased to finish in 3:41:02 in spite of the weather and also the fact that I had been in bed for the three days proceeding the race with a flu. And it is one of the few marathons where I didn’t hurt (much) during the race. But 30 minutes after the race I couldn’t (and still can’t) lift my right leg. I must have pulled or overused some muscle. (I still think it all goes back to that damn hamstring injury!)
Hopefully some rest and massages will mend this injury quickly since I have another marathon next weekend.
After the race Ralf introduced me to a German running legend –Franz ?. He had just completed his 940th marathon so I looked like a wimp next to him. But he has completed most of his marathons in Germany and neighboring countries so I have him beat in continents and countries completed. He is in his late 70s and still runs 30+ marathons each year. He needn’t fear me catching him in number of completions.
The next morning turned out to be the nicest weather of the trip, cool but sunny. Since my train routed through Munster on the way back to Dusseldorf, I decided to stop off in Munster to visit the old historic part of the city. Having lived in Munster Hamlet, Ontario I was curious what Munster, Germany looked like. It is a very pretty city and the old historic section is very interesting. The buildings and churches have been restored to their original appearances circa 1600/1700s. Unfortunately it was Sunday and everything was closed so I could only walk around and enjoy the exterior views.
Now I am back in England hobbling around and frustrated that I can’t continue my training for next weekend’s marathon. And I can’t even get any sympathy from Nicole because she left on Saturday for a business trip to NYC. (Do I really believe I would get any sympathy if she were here? But I can dream can’t I?).
Life is such a bitch! Take care and stay tuned for the next episode- from ?????
Tuesday, March 07, 2000
TR Morrocco
TRIP REPORT
Gibraltar, Morocco – Part 2
03/02 –03/09/00
Now where did I leave off? Oh yes, I had booked a 3-day package to Casablanca and was getting ready to depart Gibraltar. It was only a one-hour flight to Casablanca and I arrived in the early afternoon. The airport in Casablanca is new and very modern. But that is where new and modern (and clean) started and ended in Morocco! I was not long into the 45-minute train ride into the city when I began to see the dirt, filth and poverty along the train route. And of course the most common mode of transport in the rural areas is donkey and horse carts. As we entered the city the scenery did not change except there were only a lot less donkey carts.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and is the financial and business center of the country. There are about three square blocks in the city center that contain the banks, business headquarters and the international hotels. This is the only part of the city that is modern and clean! The rest of the city is filthy and full of slums! There are only four major tourist attractions in the city. The Grand Mosque of Hassan II, situated on reclaimed land west of the port, is the world’s largest mosque outside Mecca. It can accommodate 25,000 people and is indeed a beautiful structure but the surrounding areas are some of the worst slums that I have ever seen.
The Medina or old walled city has been converted to souks or market places where you can buy anything you want or don’t want. On the outer edges of the Medina the shops and streets are fairly clean but as you delve into the bowels of the Medina, the area looks just like that –bowels! The filth and stench is unbelievable! I observed one old Arab sitting in the middle of the road with a pile of about 10 rotten oranges in front of him. He was trying to sell them for one Dirham (10 cents) each. I as told that he would sit there for 10 –12 hours trying to sell them because that represented his total income for the day!
The third attraction is the Place des Nations Unies, a grand public square surrounded by the city administrative buildings and includes a huge central fountain (that didn’t work?).
And the final attraction was the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, a large park in the center of the city. I was hoping to run there but it was the sorriest excuse for a park that I had ever seen and I refused to run in the filth!
At the end of my first day in Casablanca I had visited all four of the above ‘tourist attractions’. In addition to the filth and poverty, my other important observations were that nobody in Morocco spoke English and they had no concept of how to treat tourists.
Even the staff at my 4-star hotel, one of the French-Mercure chain could not speak English and the service was poor or non-existent. And I was still not sure or confident how the local people regarded tourists or strangers. Even though I had shucked my ‘American uniform’ for dull drab European clothes, I noticed that almost everyone in the streets would stare at me as I walked by? I quickly realized that I had made one mistake in my dress –I was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and everyone wears long-sleeve shirts and jackets. But even after I put a nylon running jacket on to cover my arms they still stared at me? Then I realized that with my fair complexion, blonde hair and blue eyes that I must have looked (because I certainly felt) like ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ walking through the streets! I did not see one other fair-haired Caucasian walking the streets in my three days in Morocco? But to be fair not once did I feel threatened, hassled or unsafe. And I walked into and through the Medina at night and through the slums to the Mosque and not one person approached me – but the stares and looks were difficult to interpret and did unnerve me a bit.
As I mentioned before, nobody –and I mean nobody spoke English! If you do not speak some French it would be very difficult to survive in Morocco! Fortunately my high school and college French gave me enough base to get by and I just considered the adventure to be a 3-day immersion lesson in French. I could get by well at the hotel and restaurants but had difficulty with the taxi drivers-especially when I needed to explain that I just wanted them to drive/tour me around to explore certain areas of the city.
So Casablanca was a big disappointment! I couldn’t find Bogey or Ingrid or their ghosts re-igniting their passionate love affair. Casablanca is certainly not beautiful or romantic.
There is no ‘Rick’s Place’. And the friggen airport is 45 minutes from the city – nothing like the movie. I don’t know whom to be pissed off at the most –Hollywood or Casablanca?
But it’s not time to jump ship yet? The next day I decide to take a train to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. It is about one hour north of Casablanca. On the way I stop off at a seaside resort town called Mohammedia that is supposedly a weekend retreat for the citizens of Casablanca. I walked around for about twenty minutes and then hired a min-taxi to drive me around for about 30 minutes to show me the beach (1 mile of nice beach with oil storage tanks at each end) and the golf course. In one hour I decide that the resort town is just a miniature version of Casablanca- filthy and slums! So it’s time to move on to Rabat after I pay the taxi driver 10 Dirhams ($1) for his 30-minute tour.
Upon arriving in Rabat I tried to find or buy a map of the city but could not find one. A helpful citizen suggested that I should go to the Ministere de Tourisme. Since Rabat is the capital all the government departments and buildings are located there. So I take a taxi to the Ministere. Are you ready? Not only did the Ministry of Tourism have no staff who could speak English, but also they had no maps or information for Rabat or even Morocco? And they are supposedly trying to make tourism the number 1 industry? Good luck- not in my lifetime! But you can’t keep a good man down so I found a large international hotel and surprisingly even a concierge whom spoke English and he gave me a map and information on what to see and do in Rabat.
So I spent the rest of the day visiting the tourist sites. Oudaia Kasbah, a 12th century fortress that has been converted into a residential quarter; the Medina, bigger and cleaner than the one in Casablanca and the Hassan Mosque and Tower and the Mausoleum of Mommmed V. He was the king who achieved independence for Morocco in 1956.
Rabat is smaller and cleaner than Casablanca especially in the section of the city where the government buildings are located.
My biggest dilemma at this point was that after two days I really hadn’t identified a site to accomplish my hidden agenda –to run a marathon in Morocco. I had considered going to the Ministere de Sports in Rabat and asking them for help but after my experience at the Tourism branch I figured that would be a waste of time.
So when I returned to Casablanca I stopped at the Hyatt Hotel and talked to the concierge (another person would spoke English) and asked his advice. He recommended an area called ‘Le Corniche’ that ran south along the Atlantic coast from the Grand Mosque. So I hired a mini-taxi to take me out along the Corniche and determined that it could work.
The next morning I started very early (5:30am) from my hotel. I carried three bottles of water with me to drop off at 20-minute intervals. It was only a mile from the hotel to the Mosque and when I reached it I met three army squads doing their morning run and ran with them for a few miles. After 5-6 miles I realized that the road continued further along the coast and decided to keep following it. I would prefer to run out 13 miles and then just turn around and head back if possible. Luckily I found a taverna open that early to buy 3 more bottles of water and continued out the road. Eventually the road turned inland to join the main highway south to El Jadida. There was very little traffic but I did have to share the dirt shoulder with some horse and donkey carts. Finally at 13 miles I turned around and headed back. By the time I hit Le Corniche on my return there were hundreds of local citizens out running and walking. Again the funny/curious stares. But then again I was dressed only in a flimsy T-shirt and shorts and they all wore sweats or jogging suits including hats and hoods. Some even wore gloves. I never did figure out why? Was the clothing to keep warm? (temps were in the mid-70s) -for modesty (the women maybe but the men too?) –or to prevent exposure to the sun?
And in spite of the stares many of them greeted me with a friendly nod and a “Bonjour – Ca va?” (Good morning-How’s it going?) That made me feel much more comfortable. So I continued to run easy and finish my Moroccan Marathon!
The rest of the day I toured around some other sections of Casablanca but just found more of the same old filth and poverty. I was not too disappointed to leave the next day. On the train to the airport I met a Moroccan who now lives in Montreal. He confirmed all my evaluations. They treat him just as bad or worse than tourists. They have no concept how to treat tourists or what good service is –and yes the country is filthy and poor! But he did indicate that Marrakesh is probably the best city for tourists and it is also the gateway to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. That will have to be another time and trip.
Back to Gibraltar to catch my plane back to England.
But first I need to finish my tour of the Rock. I still haven’t been to the very top! So I take the Cable Car to the top for some magnificent views of Gibraltar, Spain and Africa. There is a nature reserve at the top with trails and roads leading to many other attractions. On the walk to St Michael’s Caves I experienced my first encounter with the world-famous Rock apes. In fact, these creatures are not apes at all, but a species of tail-less monkeys known as “Macaca sylvanus”. The locals were amazed that I had not heard of these ‘world-famous’ apes until just recently. I learned about the Rock in school but I must have missed the lesson on the apes? There is an interesting story associated with the apes – “the Churchill story”. On a visit to Gibraltar Sir Winston Churchill, on learning that their numbers were diminishing ordered that they be replenished. So the saying now goes “Gibraltar will cease to be British on the day that there are no apes left on the Rock”.
St Michael’s Caves are natural limestone caves that are huge and have such great acoustics that they have built a 500-seat concert hall within the caves. A concert must be a breathtaking experience with all the magnificent stalactites and stalagmites lit up with colored spotlights. Then it was on to the North face to explore the Great Siege Tunnels, a vast network of defensive tunnels excavated during the Great Siege of 1779-1783 (so they could shoot cannons down at the Spaniards approaching across the isthmus). In all there are over 33 miles of tunnels honeycombing the Rock. Most were excavated during WWII and are not open to the public yet.
On my final morning I do one last run up and down, around, over and through the Rock for nostalgia. Then I do my last minute shopping for some souvenirs and booze. Gibraltar is a tax and duty-free port so the prices are very good.
Upon arriving back at Gatwick I am surprised to find myself converged upon by two customs agents whom stick to me like fleas while they search my bag thoroughly and ask lots of questions such as “where have you been”, why do you travel so much”? I find this strange since I haven’t ever seen a customs agent during all my trips in and out of England the previous 10 months? Fortunately all they can find is a deranged marathoner and they send me on my way. Passport control must have noticed the Moroccan stamps in my passport?
And now finally(since I know you have been holding your breath)– the results of the ‘Europe contest’.
For those who submitted entries you have some idea of the difficulties entailed in determining the answer and probably want to know how I resolved those?
1) Europe/Asia border. Even most World Atlases don’t agree on the boundaries since some show countries such as Cyprus and Georgia in Europe. I finally consulted the National Geographic World Reference Book that clearly defines the boundary as accepted by most world laws.
2) Small sovereign states. There are many small states/countries such as Vatican City, Sam Marino and Andorra that can be easily missed. Fortunately I had noticed an article in USA Today listing them all.
3) Heritage/Politics. The most difficult! World Atlases depict the UK as a country. But believe me the citizens of England, Scotland and Wales and even other European countries recognize those countries as independent. They have their own governments and represent themselves in all world sports events (except the Olympics).
With these facts/assumptions in mind the correct answer is --- 47! The actual list of countries is attached for your reference.
The winner is---Nada Rutka with the correct answer of 47! I don’t know if she had the same countries but she had the right quantity. Congratulations!
Gibraltar, Morocco – Part 2
03/02 –03/09/00
Now where did I leave off? Oh yes, I had booked a 3-day package to Casablanca and was getting ready to depart Gibraltar. It was only a one-hour flight to Casablanca and I arrived in the early afternoon. The airport in Casablanca is new and very modern. But that is where new and modern (and clean) started and ended in Morocco! I was not long into the 45-minute train ride into the city when I began to see the dirt, filth and poverty along the train route. And of course the most common mode of transport in the rural areas is donkey and horse carts. As we entered the city the scenery did not change except there were only a lot less donkey carts.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and is the financial and business center of the country. There are about three square blocks in the city center that contain the banks, business headquarters and the international hotels. This is the only part of the city that is modern and clean! The rest of the city is filthy and full of slums! There are only four major tourist attractions in the city. The Grand Mosque of Hassan II, situated on reclaimed land west of the port, is the world’s largest mosque outside Mecca. It can accommodate 25,000 people and is indeed a beautiful structure but the surrounding areas are some of the worst slums that I have ever seen.
The Medina or old walled city has been converted to souks or market places where you can buy anything you want or don’t want. On the outer edges of the Medina the shops and streets are fairly clean but as you delve into the bowels of the Medina, the area looks just like that –bowels! The filth and stench is unbelievable! I observed one old Arab sitting in the middle of the road with a pile of about 10 rotten oranges in front of him. He was trying to sell them for one Dirham (10 cents) each. I as told that he would sit there for 10 –12 hours trying to sell them because that represented his total income for the day!
The third attraction is the Place des Nations Unies, a grand public square surrounded by the city administrative buildings and includes a huge central fountain (that didn’t work?).
And the final attraction was the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, a large park in the center of the city. I was hoping to run there but it was the sorriest excuse for a park that I had ever seen and I refused to run in the filth!
At the end of my first day in Casablanca I had visited all four of the above ‘tourist attractions’. In addition to the filth and poverty, my other important observations were that nobody in Morocco spoke English and they had no concept of how to treat tourists.
Even the staff at my 4-star hotel, one of the French-Mercure chain could not speak English and the service was poor or non-existent. And I was still not sure or confident how the local people regarded tourists or strangers. Even though I had shucked my ‘American uniform’ for dull drab European clothes, I noticed that almost everyone in the streets would stare at me as I walked by? I quickly realized that I had made one mistake in my dress –I was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and everyone wears long-sleeve shirts and jackets. But even after I put a nylon running jacket on to cover my arms they still stared at me? Then I realized that with my fair complexion, blonde hair and blue eyes that I must have looked (because I certainly felt) like ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ walking through the streets! I did not see one other fair-haired Caucasian walking the streets in my three days in Morocco? But to be fair not once did I feel threatened, hassled or unsafe. And I walked into and through the Medina at night and through the slums to the Mosque and not one person approached me – but the stares and looks were difficult to interpret and did unnerve me a bit.
As I mentioned before, nobody –and I mean nobody spoke English! If you do not speak some French it would be very difficult to survive in Morocco! Fortunately my high school and college French gave me enough base to get by and I just considered the adventure to be a 3-day immersion lesson in French. I could get by well at the hotel and restaurants but had difficulty with the taxi drivers-especially when I needed to explain that I just wanted them to drive/tour me around to explore certain areas of the city.
So Casablanca was a big disappointment! I couldn’t find Bogey or Ingrid or their ghosts re-igniting their passionate love affair. Casablanca is certainly not beautiful or romantic.
There is no ‘Rick’s Place’. And the friggen airport is 45 minutes from the city – nothing like the movie. I don’t know whom to be pissed off at the most –Hollywood or Casablanca?
But it’s not time to jump ship yet? The next day I decide to take a train to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. It is about one hour north of Casablanca. On the way I stop off at a seaside resort town called Mohammedia that is supposedly a weekend retreat for the citizens of Casablanca. I walked around for about twenty minutes and then hired a min-taxi to drive me around for about 30 minutes to show me the beach (1 mile of nice beach with oil storage tanks at each end) and the golf course. In one hour I decide that the resort town is just a miniature version of Casablanca- filthy and slums! So it’s time to move on to Rabat after I pay the taxi driver 10 Dirhams ($1) for his 30-minute tour.
Upon arriving in Rabat I tried to find or buy a map of the city but could not find one. A helpful citizen suggested that I should go to the Ministere de Tourisme. Since Rabat is the capital all the government departments and buildings are located there. So I take a taxi to the Ministere. Are you ready? Not only did the Ministry of Tourism have no staff who could speak English, but also they had no maps or information for Rabat or even Morocco? And they are supposedly trying to make tourism the number 1 industry? Good luck- not in my lifetime! But you can’t keep a good man down so I found a large international hotel and surprisingly even a concierge whom spoke English and he gave me a map and information on what to see and do in Rabat.
So I spent the rest of the day visiting the tourist sites. Oudaia Kasbah, a 12th century fortress that has been converted into a residential quarter; the Medina, bigger and cleaner than the one in Casablanca and the Hassan Mosque and Tower and the Mausoleum of Mommmed V. He was the king who achieved independence for Morocco in 1956.
Rabat is smaller and cleaner than Casablanca especially in the section of the city where the government buildings are located.
My biggest dilemma at this point was that after two days I really hadn’t identified a site to accomplish my hidden agenda –to run a marathon in Morocco. I had considered going to the Ministere de Sports in Rabat and asking them for help but after my experience at the Tourism branch I figured that would be a waste of time.
So when I returned to Casablanca I stopped at the Hyatt Hotel and talked to the concierge (another person would spoke English) and asked his advice. He recommended an area called ‘Le Corniche’ that ran south along the Atlantic coast from the Grand Mosque. So I hired a mini-taxi to take me out along the Corniche and determined that it could work.
The next morning I started very early (5:30am) from my hotel. I carried three bottles of water with me to drop off at 20-minute intervals. It was only a mile from the hotel to the Mosque and when I reached it I met three army squads doing their morning run and ran with them for a few miles. After 5-6 miles I realized that the road continued further along the coast and decided to keep following it. I would prefer to run out 13 miles and then just turn around and head back if possible. Luckily I found a taverna open that early to buy 3 more bottles of water and continued out the road. Eventually the road turned inland to join the main highway south to El Jadida. There was very little traffic but I did have to share the dirt shoulder with some horse and donkey carts. Finally at 13 miles I turned around and headed back. By the time I hit Le Corniche on my return there were hundreds of local citizens out running and walking. Again the funny/curious stares. But then again I was dressed only in a flimsy T-shirt and shorts and they all wore sweats or jogging suits including hats and hoods. Some even wore gloves. I never did figure out why? Was the clothing to keep warm? (temps were in the mid-70s) -for modesty (the women maybe but the men too?) –or to prevent exposure to the sun?
And in spite of the stares many of them greeted me with a friendly nod and a “Bonjour – Ca va?” (Good morning-How’s it going?) That made me feel much more comfortable. So I continued to run easy and finish my Moroccan Marathon!
The rest of the day I toured around some other sections of Casablanca but just found more of the same old filth and poverty. I was not too disappointed to leave the next day. On the train to the airport I met a Moroccan who now lives in Montreal. He confirmed all my evaluations. They treat him just as bad or worse than tourists. They have no concept how to treat tourists or what good service is –and yes the country is filthy and poor! But he did indicate that Marrakesh is probably the best city for tourists and it is also the gateway to the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. That will have to be another time and trip.
Back to Gibraltar to catch my plane back to England.
But first I need to finish my tour of the Rock. I still haven’t been to the very top! So I take the Cable Car to the top for some magnificent views of Gibraltar, Spain and Africa. There is a nature reserve at the top with trails and roads leading to many other attractions. On the walk to St Michael’s Caves I experienced my first encounter with the world-famous Rock apes. In fact, these creatures are not apes at all, but a species of tail-less monkeys known as “Macaca sylvanus”. The locals were amazed that I had not heard of these ‘world-famous’ apes until just recently. I learned about the Rock in school but I must have missed the lesson on the apes? There is an interesting story associated with the apes – “the Churchill story”. On a visit to Gibraltar Sir Winston Churchill, on learning that their numbers were diminishing ordered that they be replenished. So the saying now goes “Gibraltar will cease to be British on the day that there are no apes left on the Rock”.
St Michael’s Caves are natural limestone caves that are huge and have such great acoustics that they have built a 500-seat concert hall within the caves. A concert must be a breathtaking experience with all the magnificent stalactites and stalagmites lit up with colored spotlights. Then it was on to the North face to explore the Great Siege Tunnels, a vast network of defensive tunnels excavated during the Great Siege of 1779-1783 (so they could shoot cannons down at the Spaniards approaching across the isthmus). In all there are over 33 miles of tunnels honeycombing the Rock. Most were excavated during WWII and are not open to the public yet.
On my final morning I do one last run up and down, around, over and through the Rock for nostalgia. Then I do my last minute shopping for some souvenirs and booze. Gibraltar is a tax and duty-free port so the prices are very good.
Upon arriving back at Gatwick I am surprised to find myself converged upon by two customs agents whom stick to me like fleas while they search my bag thoroughly and ask lots of questions such as “where have you been”, why do you travel so much”? I find this strange since I haven’t ever seen a customs agent during all my trips in and out of England the previous 10 months? Fortunately all they can find is a deranged marathoner and they send me on my way. Passport control must have noticed the Moroccan stamps in my passport?
And now finally(since I know you have been holding your breath)– the results of the ‘Europe contest’.
For those who submitted entries you have some idea of the difficulties entailed in determining the answer and probably want to know how I resolved those?
1) Europe/Asia border. Even most World Atlases don’t agree on the boundaries since some show countries such as Cyprus and Georgia in Europe. I finally consulted the National Geographic World Reference Book that clearly defines the boundary as accepted by most world laws.
2) Small sovereign states. There are many small states/countries such as Vatican City, Sam Marino and Andorra that can be easily missed. Fortunately I had noticed an article in USA Today listing them all.
3) Heritage/Politics. The most difficult! World Atlases depict the UK as a country. But believe me the citizens of England, Scotland and Wales and even other European countries recognize those countries as independent. They have their own governments and represent themselves in all world sports events (except the Olympics).
With these facts/assumptions in mind the correct answer is --- 47! The actual list of countries is attached for your reference.
The winner is---Nada Rutka with the correct answer of 47! I don’t know if she had the same countries but she had the right quantity. Congratulations!
Friday, March 03, 2000
TR Gibraltar
TRIP REPORT
Gibraltar, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Gibraltar
03/02 –03/09/00
As I mentioned at the close of my last report the weather in England was still cold, rainy and generally miserable when we returned from Cyprus so I decided to head south again until the weather turned good. I am happy to report that the daffodils are now up and blooming, the blossoms are in bloom on the fruit trees and the temperatures are in the low 60s.
Where did I go? When I made my month-long sojourn last November through Spain, Portugal, etc I had wanted to visit Gibraltar but did not have time. So I decided to check out the Rock and perhaps have a quick look at Morocco while I was in the vicinity.
I was not disappointed in the Rock – it is a majestic sight jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. What surprised me was how small the country is! The Rock is 3 miles long and ¾ miles wide with the highest point being 1396 feet. It has a total area of 2 ¼ square miles –the total country is only 4 square miles! The total population is only 30,000 that are a hodgepodge of English, Spaniards and Arabs. But the country is very definitely British!
Gibraltar has been visited since 950 BC but was not settled until about 414 AD. In 711 a Berber by the name of Tarik ibn Zeyad conquered the peninsula and the name Gibraltar is a corruption of the Arab words ‘Jebel Tarik’ (Tarik’s mountain). The Arabs and Spain fought over the Rock for centuries until England took control in 1704. And Spain has tried to get it back ever since and is still trying! The border with Spain is a very narrow isthmus. During WW II the British built an airport on this isthmus and reclaimed land from the sea. To get to Spain you must walk or drive across the airport runway!
There is very limited habitable land and that is all on the west side of the peninsula overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and Spain. The east side is basically sheer cliffs as the Rock rises straight out of the Sea. The main street of the town is a pedestrian mall about ¾ miles long. It gets very familiar quickly since you can walk it in 10 minutes. In fact you can walk to any point in the country within 45 minutes! And my hidden agenda was to run a marathon on Gibraltar! Gibraltar does not have an official marathon so I decided to exercise my rights and privileges as a member of the 50+ DC Club to set up my own course. Where possible, we are supposed to request assistance from a local running club but I could not find one. But I did contact the Director of the Gibraltar Sports Authority (government department) and met with her. She helped me lay out a course on a map that comprised the longest possible route around the country. She guessed it might be around 10K? She also told me that she was not aware of anyone who had run a marathon completely within the borders of Gibraltar.
Now it was time to check out the course for the inaugural ‘Maddog Gibraltar Marathon’. First problem. I need a car to drive and measure the course. There are only three rental agencies in the country and they all laughed at me when I said I needed a car for one day. They rent mainly to tourists flying into Gibraltar to drive to the Costa Del Sol in Spain so they rent for a minimum of 3 days and are booked weeks in advance. Next plan? Ummm! What is my next plan? I found an agency that rented bikes –motorbikes that is. Since I only drove a bike once in my life (through a neighbor’s flower patch after I lost control), I chose a powerful 50cc Moped. I had actually driven the kids’ Moped in Dallas ten years ago so figured I could handle that. So I set off with my new wheels. Next problem! The roads were laid out by the British for left-hand driving but Gibraltar converted to right-hand driving 12 years ago. Boy, does that ever make for some interesting intersections and ramps at the traffic circles. There were a few times that I would have had absolutely no clue which path to take if there hadn’t been another vehicle in front of me? But I was off to certify my course with my trusty Moped! Only 1 ½ miles into the course and another problem! They had sealed off a tunnel through the Rock where the road used to go? But I walk down to and along the beach and find the road on the other side. Just a slight detour! Now I must backtrack and rejoin the road on the other side and continue to the most southern point of the country that overlooks Africa. Then swing north again on the east side of the peninsula. Here a single lane road is cut into the sheer cliffs of the Rock and there is one long tunnel that climbs up into the Rock before opening out to a small fishing village called Catalan Bay. Final problem! The road is completely closed to traffic at this point because it is being rebuilt. Solution –cut down through a hotel property, along the beach and back up in the village to rejoin the road. Another slight detour! Now I have to go all the way around the country to get to that rejoin point and begin the measurement again. When it is all done I calculate that the course is 6.75 miles. Great! I only have to do this loop –FOUR TIMES!
Now that I have the course laid out and certified I spend the rest of the day walking around (took the Moped back before I killed myself on those roads!) and visiting some of the tourist attractions such as the 100 ton gun and several other defensive Batteries.
Saturday was M-Day so I got up early and started out on the marathon carrying three large bottles of water that I dropped off at 2-mile intervals. On the first loop I went counter-clockwise around the Rock and discovered that the three hills were much steeper in that direction so I switched directions for the next two loops. But on the final loop I felt strong and stupid and I decided that I could use some good hill work and reversed directions again. This put the steepest and toughest hill at the 24-mile mark! But since I was running easy and not competing against anyone or a clock the marathon was quite easy-and the scenery was fantastic! Now if anyone asks me if I have seen the Rock, I can reply “Not only have I seen it but I have run up and down, around, over and through it – FOUR TIMES!” I finished in 3:59:10!
After the marathon I decided to visit Spain. I considered visiting Marabella or Malaga on the Costa Del Sol but it was at least a 1-hour train or bus ride to those resort areas so instead I just walked across the border and caught a local bus into Algeciras. Algeciras is an industrial/port city across the bay from Gibraltar that serves as the major port between Africa and Europe. Ferries run between Algeciras and Tangiers and this is a major drug route into Europe! The minute that I crossed the border into Spain I was reminded what I didn’t like about Spain? I forgot to tell you about this little detail in my previous report on Spain. I think that every citizen of Spain owns at least two dogs and there are no laws or moral responsibility about cleaning up after them. So there are ‘messes’ everywhere – in the streets of Madrid, in the streets of Seville and at the border of Gibraltar! You really have to be careful where you walk in Spain! But the views of the Rock are great from Algeciras.
Another decision that I had to make was what to do with the remaining 4 days that I had planned for this trip? I decided that I wanted to check out Morocco in spite of many negative comments that I had heard from fellow travelers around Europe. So I went to a local travel agency and inquired what there was to do and see in Morocco. I ended up buying a 3-day package to Casablanca. Why Casablanca? Well if it was good enough for Bogey and Ingrid to have a passionate love affair in one of my all-time favorite movies, then it should be a great place to visit? And it is on the Atlantic coast so I was hoping (secret agenda again) that there might be a good place to run a marathon and mark Morocco off my list?
So I had a great dinner in Gibraltar and looked forward to my adventure the next day in Morocco.
That adventure will be continued in Part 2 along with the results of the ‘Europe” contest. See you then!
Gibraltar, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Gibraltar
03/02 –03/09/00
As I mentioned at the close of my last report the weather in England was still cold, rainy and generally miserable when we returned from Cyprus so I decided to head south again until the weather turned good. I am happy to report that the daffodils are now up and blooming, the blossoms are in bloom on the fruit trees and the temperatures are in the low 60s.
Where did I go? When I made my month-long sojourn last November through Spain, Portugal, etc I had wanted to visit Gibraltar but did not have time. So I decided to check out the Rock and perhaps have a quick look at Morocco while I was in the vicinity.
I was not disappointed in the Rock – it is a majestic sight jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. What surprised me was how small the country is! The Rock is 3 miles long and ¾ miles wide with the highest point being 1396 feet. It has a total area of 2 ¼ square miles –the total country is only 4 square miles! The total population is only 30,000 that are a hodgepodge of English, Spaniards and Arabs. But the country is very definitely British!
Gibraltar has been visited since 950 BC but was not settled until about 414 AD. In 711 a Berber by the name of Tarik ibn Zeyad conquered the peninsula and the name Gibraltar is a corruption of the Arab words ‘Jebel Tarik’ (Tarik’s mountain). The Arabs and Spain fought over the Rock for centuries until England took control in 1704. And Spain has tried to get it back ever since and is still trying! The border with Spain is a very narrow isthmus. During WW II the British built an airport on this isthmus and reclaimed land from the sea. To get to Spain you must walk or drive across the airport runway!
There is very limited habitable land and that is all on the west side of the peninsula overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and Spain. The east side is basically sheer cliffs as the Rock rises straight out of the Sea. The main street of the town is a pedestrian mall about ¾ miles long. It gets very familiar quickly since you can walk it in 10 minutes. In fact you can walk to any point in the country within 45 minutes! And my hidden agenda was to run a marathon on Gibraltar! Gibraltar does not have an official marathon so I decided to exercise my rights and privileges as a member of the 50+ DC Club to set up my own course. Where possible, we are supposed to request assistance from a local running club but I could not find one. But I did contact the Director of the Gibraltar Sports Authority (government department) and met with her. She helped me lay out a course on a map that comprised the longest possible route around the country. She guessed it might be around 10K? She also told me that she was not aware of anyone who had run a marathon completely within the borders of Gibraltar.
Now it was time to check out the course for the inaugural ‘Maddog Gibraltar Marathon’. First problem. I need a car to drive and measure the course. There are only three rental agencies in the country and they all laughed at me when I said I needed a car for one day. They rent mainly to tourists flying into Gibraltar to drive to the Costa Del Sol in Spain so they rent for a minimum of 3 days and are booked weeks in advance. Next plan? Ummm! What is my next plan? I found an agency that rented bikes –motorbikes that is. Since I only drove a bike once in my life (through a neighbor’s flower patch after I lost control), I chose a powerful 50cc Moped. I had actually driven the kids’ Moped in Dallas ten years ago so figured I could handle that. So I set off with my new wheels. Next problem! The roads were laid out by the British for left-hand driving but Gibraltar converted to right-hand driving 12 years ago. Boy, does that ever make for some interesting intersections and ramps at the traffic circles. There were a few times that I would have had absolutely no clue which path to take if there hadn’t been another vehicle in front of me? But I was off to certify my course with my trusty Moped! Only 1 ½ miles into the course and another problem! They had sealed off a tunnel through the Rock where the road used to go? But I walk down to and along the beach and find the road on the other side. Just a slight detour! Now I must backtrack and rejoin the road on the other side and continue to the most southern point of the country that overlooks Africa. Then swing north again on the east side of the peninsula. Here a single lane road is cut into the sheer cliffs of the Rock and there is one long tunnel that climbs up into the Rock before opening out to a small fishing village called Catalan Bay. Final problem! The road is completely closed to traffic at this point because it is being rebuilt. Solution –cut down through a hotel property, along the beach and back up in the village to rejoin the road. Another slight detour! Now I have to go all the way around the country to get to that rejoin point and begin the measurement again. When it is all done I calculate that the course is 6.75 miles. Great! I only have to do this loop –FOUR TIMES!
Now that I have the course laid out and certified I spend the rest of the day walking around (took the Moped back before I killed myself on those roads!) and visiting some of the tourist attractions such as the 100 ton gun and several other defensive Batteries.
Saturday was M-Day so I got up early and started out on the marathon carrying three large bottles of water that I dropped off at 2-mile intervals. On the first loop I went counter-clockwise around the Rock and discovered that the three hills were much steeper in that direction so I switched directions for the next two loops. But on the final loop I felt strong and stupid and I decided that I could use some good hill work and reversed directions again. This put the steepest and toughest hill at the 24-mile mark! But since I was running easy and not competing against anyone or a clock the marathon was quite easy-and the scenery was fantastic! Now if anyone asks me if I have seen the Rock, I can reply “Not only have I seen it but I have run up and down, around, over and through it – FOUR TIMES!” I finished in 3:59:10!
After the marathon I decided to visit Spain. I considered visiting Marabella or Malaga on the Costa Del Sol but it was at least a 1-hour train or bus ride to those resort areas so instead I just walked across the border and caught a local bus into Algeciras. Algeciras is an industrial/port city across the bay from Gibraltar that serves as the major port between Africa and Europe. Ferries run between Algeciras and Tangiers and this is a major drug route into Europe! The minute that I crossed the border into Spain I was reminded what I didn’t like about Spain? I forgot to tell you about this little detail in my previous report on Spain. I think that every citizen of Spain owns at least two dogs and there are no laws or moral responsibility about cleaning up after them. So there are ‘messes’ everywhere – in the streets of Madrid, in the streets of Seville and at the border of Gibraltar! You really have to be careful where you walk in Spain! But the views of the Rock are great from Algeciras.
Another decision that I had to make was what to do with the remaining 4 days that I had planned for this trip? I decided that I wanted to check out Morocco in spite of many negative comments that I had heard from fellow travelers around Europe. So I went to a local travel agency and inquired what there was to do and see in Morocco. I ended up buying a 3-day package to Casablanca. Why Casablanca? Well if it was good enough for Bogey and Ingrid to have a passionate love affair in one of my all-time favorite movies, then it should be a great place to visit? And it is on the Atlantic coast so I was hoping (secret agenda again) that there might be a good place to run a marathon and mark Morocco off my list?
So I had a great dinner in Gibraltar and looked forward to my adventure the next day in Morocco.
That adventure will be continued in Part 2 along with the results of the ‘Europe” contest. See you then!
Monday, February 28, 2000
TR Cyprus
TRIP REPORT
PAFOS Marathon
CYPRUS 2/24 – 2/28/00
Before I even start out on this trip I must take a minute to comment that for probably the first time in Europe I had a relatively easy time setting up this trip. The travel agency in Cyprus that worked with the marathon was professional and efficient and we only needed to exchange a few emails and faxes to set up the hotel, car and marathon entry. A few more calls and faxes to Cyprus Air and the trip was booked!
Why Cyprus? In case you hadn’t noticed I have been following the European Marathon Circuit and it moved south in the fall and has stayed south for the winter which is OK by me! But I have learned that the Mediterranean is not all that warm in the winter. It was cool in November and it was still cool last week in Cyprus; cool being high temperatures anywhere from the mid-40s to low 60s throughout that period. Many of the Mediterranean islands and resort areas are used as winter refuges by the Europeans but in my opinion I would go further south-to the Canary Islands, Madeira, etc. The weather is just not warm enough for my blood. Lido Key, Florida is looking really good to me now! It has as nice or nicer beaches that any I have seen in the Mediterranean, the water is just as blue and clear, it is a lot warmer and I can watch more than one TV channel in English. And most importantly I can follow the stock market in real time!
But the Mediterranean sure has lots of different cultures and interesting history! And Cyprus is no exception. Cyprus is the third largest of the Mediterranean islands (behind Sicily and Sardinia) and is considered to be at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa since it is a short distance to all three. Geographically it is in Asia but politically it is aligned with Europe and has applied for membership into the EU. (More about this tidbit later).
It’s history goes back to the Neolithic Period, 5800 –3000 BC and it has been conquered and ruled by every major empire throughout history and there are remains of each of those empires still spread around the island. The British administered the island from 1878 to 1960 when it gained independence. The Turks invaded the island in 1974 and still occupy the northern one-third of the island. There is a buffer or neutral zone occupied by UN forces that runs right through the middle of Nicosia. We did not visit the Turkish-occupied territory because of the difficulties crossing over the border.
Cyprus has two major airports but due to limited flight schedules in the low season we had to fly into the Larnaka airport which is the northeast and drive over 100 miles to our resort hotel in Pafos which is in the southwest. Fortunately the road system was built by the British and the major roads are in good shape and of course you drive on the left side! And we did get to see a lot of the country and landscape during our drive. It looks like a typical Mediterranean Island. Rocky, rugged, hilly with sparse vegetation except where it is cultivated and irrigated. The mountains are quite high, over 6000 feet and there is even a ski resort at the top of Mount Olympus. There are many banana plantations, orange and lemon orchards along the coastal plains and hundreds of vineyards and wineries on the mountain slopes.
The high tourist season is May through September but many Brits and other Europeans spend the winter in Cyprus because of the weather. In the resort and tourist areas you almost feel like you are in England. Everyone speaks English, the menus, etc are in English, and you drive on the left side-etc! But when you go inland and up into the mountains the English quickly disappears and only Greek is spoken and all the signs are in Greek. The road maps are very poor –the local excuse is that they don’t want to publish good maps for fear that the Turks will use them in another invasion? So when you get lost which is often you have to ask a local whom doesn’t speak English for directions. It’s lots of fun.
The marathon host hotel was a 5-star resort hotel in Coral Bay –and it truly was a 5-star destination resort with spa, etc. We had a great room with a patio overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with breakfast for two for $75/night. But that rate quadruples in the high season along with the number of tourists. Cyprus is not cheap! The prices are equivalent to US prices which are cheap compared to England or France but 50% higher than comparable resorts in Spain or Portugal. Nicole kept comparing Cyprus to Mallorca and said that she preferred Cyprus because it wasn’t quite as overrun with British tourists and there was much more local culture evident. But if you were only interested in a warm (or less cold) place to spend the winter I would go to Mallorca since it is much cheaper.
But now it is time to tour the island! There are literally hundreds of historical sites spread around the island so we could only hit the main ones. And we also wanted to enjoy some of the local culture. So we headed first into Pafos. Nea or New Pafos consists of the old town center of Ktima, 3km up the hill and Kato Pafos, -the harbor, archeological zone and hotel strip along the sea. The old town center has the market where we quickly picked up the necessary souvenirs and then headed down to the harbor. The harbor is the same one used by all the past civilizations and a very large archeological zone has been established in this area to prevent development over the sites of many ancient civilizations. They are still uncovering ancient Greek and Roman settlements. There are several Roman houses (built in the late 2nd century AD) that have been unearthed that contain very beautiful mosaics that are in good condition and still have their original colors and designs. Close by are the Tombs of the Kings, tombs carved into limestone outcrops in the 3rd century BC. Since there were no kings in Cyprus during that period they speculate that the tombs were for the rich and privileged classes of that time. They are similar to the tombs in Egypt but not as spectacular. Also in the same area are the Pafos Castle (1391) and the Saranda Kolones fortress (1222).
Then it was time to head further west towards the Akamas Peninsula, a natural and still undeveloped part of the island. After passing through the small fishing village of Latchi we parked and walked to the Loutra tis Afrodhitis –‘The Baths of Aphrodite’. In legend the goddess retired here to bathe before (and after) entertaining assorted lovers. Another legend states that if you are ‘pure and innocent’ and are splashed by the water from the Baths you will be transformed into a beautiful young nymph! I scooped up several handfuls of water and splashed Nicole but for some reason the magic spell didn’t work! But I’m telling you that I am now very popular with the boys in the changing room at the clubhouse. And Nicole is having fun teaching me how to coordinate my silk and lace underwear with my mini-skirts and see-through blouses. But I do have one question for the female readers of this newsletter. How the hell do I fasten this damn bra at the back???
But now it was time to explore the mountains of Cyprus and “Go where no tourist has gone before”. So we set off to find an old abandoned monastery on top of a mountain that had no paved roads to it! When we got to the end of the paved roads we got lost quickly and asked a farmer for directions and paid attention to the first 2 or 3 hand motions indicating turns, etc. We quickly found ourselves at the end of the good dirt road and on a 4x4 track going up the mountain –and we only had a Honda Civic! We made it over the first mountain and down the other side (after almost taking the bottom out of the car several times) before we came to a stream. At that point we wisely decided that the only course open was to retreat from whence we came! On the way back Nicole had to get out several times to move boulders of the track so we could make it back to civilization safely. Having got the ‘back-country exploration bug’ out of our system we then followed the paved roads around the mountain and up the Troodhos Mountains to the small mountain village of Panayai. We stopped at a café and enjoyed a wonderful local meal of stewed lamb washed down with a great red wine from the local winery. All-in-all it was a good day! But it was time to head back to Pafos and carbo-load for the race the next day.
Sunday. M-day! The race started in front of the Pafos castle at the harbor, ran north past the Catacombs of Ayia Solomoni, then turned west and ran up and down the hills along the coastal road to the Sea Caves at the start of the Akamas Peninsula where we had to climb a very steep hill. A few more miles, then turn around and retrace the route. The ‘gentle rolling hills’ described in the race brochure seemed like ‘big-ass mountains’ on the way back. Also race morning was the warmest day we had with temps hitting the mid-60s but fortunately they had water every two miles, which is unusual for a European race. I ran a much smarter race and kept the pace smooth and easy and did not really have any trouble but still hurt like hell the last 6 km. But I was much happier with my performance and time (3:48:37) and believe that my injury problems with the right hamstring are now behind me. Now I start the slow painful process of getting back in race-shape. It always amazes me how quickly and easy the conditioning goes and how hard and slowly it comes back? But nobody said life was fair?
We had planned to do some more touring after the race but the weather turned cool and started to drizzle in the afternoon so we found a nice café overlooking the harbor and sipped wine for the afternoon. I realized that I had made reservations and prepaid for the ‘Gala Celebration Dinner’ at the hotel. What a mistake! I won’t do that again and recommend that you pass also if you are offered such an opportunity. The meal was the typical bland buffet followed by some local musicians and dancers. Yuk! We could have had a great steak dinner for the same price!
The following day was time to leave but we still had lots to see. Fortunately most of the remaining tourist attractions were between Pafos and Lanarka. So we left early and planned our route to stop at Aphrodite’s Birthplace, The Tombs of the Kings, and several Graeco-Roman ruins in the Limassol area. One of the more interesting sites is a Graeco-Roman Theatre originally built in the 2nd century BC that is now fully restored and used for musical and theatrical performances. We also visited the Sanctuary of ApolloYlatis, the God of the Woodland, built circa 800 BC. Then it was time for a lunch break in Limassol, a large tourist resort area (yuk! too big, too much concrete, too many tourists).
But we did get to experience a Meze meal. This consists of 20 to 30 plates of appetizers or Greek finger food served with various dips. It just keeps coming and coming! Be forewarned and be hungry because it tastes great!
Our final stops were at the Kolssi Castle (13th century) and then the Neolithic ruins at Choirokoitia. The latter is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a settlement of inhabitants from the Neolithic Age (5800 –3000 BC). The foundations and walls of their round stone huts are unearthed and a few replicas have be built to show what they looked like. I found it very interesting since I was able to compare it to the Neolithic Temples that I had visited in Malta.
To summarize, Cyprus has many interesting things to offer a visitor. Five days were not enough to explore it in detail. One to two weeks is needed. If you want beach weather you have to go in the high season but I would recommend early or late to beat the crowds and prices. It is clean, safe and friendly!
Before I close I want to revisit the tidbit I left you with in the opening paragraphs. Is Cyprus in Europe or Asia? The answer is Asia. But what brought the question up to me was the bigger question “how many countries are there in Europe”? This is not an easy question. I have asked several Europeans and none know off the top of their head. And when they start to figure it out it becomes complex because of countries like Cyprus. When I researched the question I found that some World Atlases showed Cyprus in Europe while others showed it in Asia? And there are many other countries in similar question.
I believe after extensive research that I now have a correct answer. But I wish to present a similar challenge to my readers. And I am offering a prize or reward for your efforts. The first person to provide the correct answer to the question “how many countries are there in Europe” will win a bottle of European wine (probably French).
If nobody gets the correct answer then the closest (and first if there is a tie) will win!
What’s the deadline? I am leaving on Thursday for another trip to Southern Europe and Africa (still too damn cold, windy and rainy here!). I tentatively return on March 10th and will publish the correct answer and winner in that trip report.
Good luck to all!
PAFOS Marathon
CYPRUS 2/24 – 2/28/00
Before I even start out on this trip I must take a minute to comment that for probably the first time in Europe I had a relatively easy time setting up this trip. The travel agency in Cyprus that worked with the marathon was professional and efficient and we only needed to exchange a few emails and faxes to set up the hotel, car and marathon entry. A few more calls and faxes to Cyprus Air and the trip was booked!
Why Cyprus? In case you hadn’t noticed I have been following the European Marathon Circuit and it moved south in the fall and has stayed south for the winter which is OK by me! But I have learned that the Mediterranean is not all that warm in the winter. It was cool in November and it was still cool last week in Cyprus; cool being high temperatures anywhere from the mid-40s to low 60s throughout that period. Many of the Mediterranean islands and resort areas are used as winter refuges by the Europeans but in my opinion I would go further south-to the Canary Islands, Madeira, etc. The weather is just not warm enough for my blood. Lido Key, Florida is looking really good to me now! It has as nice or nicer beaches that any I have seen in the Mediterranean, the water is just as blue and clear, it is a lot warmer and I can watch more than one TV channel in English. And most importantly I can follow the stock market in real time!
But the Mediterranean sure has lots of different cultures and interesting history! And Cyprus is no exception. Cyprus is the third largest of the Mediterranean islands (behind Sicily and Sardinia) and is considered to be at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa since it is a short distance to all three. Geographically it is in Asia but politically it is aligned with Europe and has applied for membership into the EU. (More about this tidbit later).
It’s history goes back to the Neolithic Period, 5800 –3000 BC and it has been conquered and ruled by every major empire throughout history and there are remains of each of those empires still spread around the island. The British administered the island from 1878 to 1960 when it gained independence. The Turks invaded the island in 1974 and still occupy the northern one-third of the island. There is a buffer or neutral zone occupied by UN forces that runs right through the middle of Nicosia. We did not visit the Turkish-occupied territory because of the difficulties crossing over the border.
Cyprus has two major airports but due to limited flight schedules in the low season we had to fly into the Larnaka airport which is the northeast and drive over 100 miles to our resort hotel in Pafos which is in the southwest. Fortunately the road system was built by the British and the major roads are in good shape and of course you drive on the left side! And we did get to see a lot of the country and landscape during our drive. It looks like a typical Mediterranean Island. Rocky, rugged, hilly with sparse vegetation except where it is cultivated and irrigated. The mountains are quite high, over 6000 feet and there is even a ski resort at the top of Mount Olympus. There are many banana plantations, orange and lemon orchards along the coastal plains and hundreds of vineyards and wineries on the mountain slopes.
The high tourist season is May through September but many Brits and other Europeans spend the winter in Cyprus because of the weather. In the resort and tourist areas you almost feel like you are in England. Everyone speaks English, the menus, etc are in English, and you drive on the left side-etc! But when you go inland and up into the mountains the English quickly disappears and only Greek is spoken and all the signs are in Greek. The road maps are very poor –the local excuse is that they don’t want to publish good maps for fear that the Turks will use them in another invasion? So when you get lost which is often you have to ask a local whom doesn’t speak English for directions. It’s lots of fun.
The marathon host hotel was a 5-star resort hotel in Coral Bay –and it truly was a 5-star destination resort with spa, etc. We had a great room with a patio overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with breakfast for two for $75/night. But that rate quadruples in the high season along with the number of tourists. Cyprus is not cheap! The prices are equivalent to US prices which are cheap compared to England or France but 50% higher than comparable resorts in Spain or Portugal. Nicole kept comparing Cyprus to Mallorca and said that she preferred Cyprus because it wasn’t quite as overrun with British tourists and there was much more local culture evident. But if you were only interested in a warm (or less cold) place to spend the winter I would go to Mallorca since it is much cheaper.
But now it is time to tour the island! There are literally hundreds of historical sites spread around the island so we could only hit the main ones. And we also wanted to enjoy some of the local culture. So we headed first into Pafos. Nea or New Pafos consists of the old town center of Ktima, 3km up the hill and Kato Pafos, -the harbor, archeological zone and hotel strip along the sea. The old town center has the market where we quickly picked up the necessary souvenirs and then headed down to the harbor. The harbor is the same one used by all the past civilizations and a very large archeological zone has been established in this area to prevent development over the sites of many ancient civilizations. They are still uncovering ancient Greek and Roman settlements. There are several Roman houses (built in the late 2nd century AD) that have been unearthed that contain very beautiful mosaics that are in good condition and still have their original colors and designs. Close by are the Tombs of the Kings, tombs carved into limestone outcrops in the 3rd century BC. Since there were no kings in Cyprus during that period they speculate that the tombs were for the rich and privileged classes of that time. They are similar to the tombs in Egypt but not as spectacular. Also in the same area are the Pafos Castle (1391) and the Saranda Kolones fortress (1222).
Then it was time to head further west towards the Akamas Peninsula, a natural and still undeveloped part of the island. After passing through the small fishing village of Latchi we parked and walked to the Loutra tis Afrodhitis –‘The Baths of Aphrodite’. In legend the goddess retired here to bathe before (and after) entertaining assorted lovers. Another legend states that if you are ‘pure and innocent’ and are splashed by the water from the Baths you will be transformed into a beautiful young nymph! I scooped up several handfuls of water and splashed Nicole but for some reason the magic spell didn’t work! But I’m telling you that I am now very popular with the boys in the changing room at the clubhouse. And Nicole is having fun teaching me how to coordinate my silk and lace underwear with my mini-skirts and see-through blouses. But I do have one question for the female readers of this newsletter. How the hell do I fasten this damn bra at the back???
But now it was time to explore the mountains of Cyprus and “Go where no tourist has gone before”. So we set off to find an old abandoned monastery on top of a mountain that had no paved roads to it! When we got to the end of the paved roads we got lost quickly and asked a farmer for directions and paid attention to the first 2 or 3 hand motions indicating turns, etc. We quickly found ourselves at the end of the good dirt road and on a 4x4 track going up the mountain –and we only had a Honda Civic! We made it over the first mountain and down the other side (after almost taking the bottom out of the car several times) before we came to a stream. At that point we wisely decided that the only course open was to retreat from whence we came! On the way back Nicole had to get out several times to move boulders of the track so we could make it back to civilization safely. Having got the ‘back-country exploration bug’ out of our system we then followed the paved roads around the mountain and up the Troodhos Mountains to the small mountain village of Panayai. We stopped at a café and enjoyed a wonderful local meal of stewed lamb washed down with a great red wine from the local winery. All-in-all it was a good day! But it was time to head back to Pafos and carbo-load for the race the next day.
Sunday. M-day! The race started in front of the Pafos castle at the harbor, ran north past the Catacombs of Ayia Solomoni, then turned west and ran up and down the hills along the coastal road to the Sea Caves at the start of the Akamas Peninsula where we had to climb a very steep hill. A few more miles, then turn around and retrace the route. The ‘gentle rolling hills’ described in the race brochure seemed like ‘big-ass mountains’ on the way back. Also race morning was the warmest day we had with temps hitting the mid-60s but fortunately they had water every two miles, which is unusual for a European race. I ran a much smarter race and kept the pace smooth and easy and did not really have any trouble but still hurt like hell the last 6 km. But I was much happier with my performance and time (3:48:37) and believe that my injury problems with the right hamstring are now behind me. Now I start the slow painful process of getting back in race-shape. It always amazes me how quickly and easy the conditioning goes and how hard and slowly it comes back? But nobody said life was fair?
We had planned to do some more touring after the race but the weather turned cool and started to drizzle in the afternoon so we found a nice café overlooking the harbor and sipped wine for the afternoon. I realized that I had made reservations and prepaid for the ‘Gala Celebration Dinner’ at the hotel. What a mistake! I won’t do that again and recommend that you pass also if you are offered such an opportunity. The meal was the typical bland buffet followed by some local musicians and dancers. Yuk! We could have had a great steak dinner for the same price!
The following day was time to leave but we still had lots to see. Fortunately most of the remaining tourist attractions were between Pafos and Lanarka. So we left early and planned our route to stop at Aphrodite’s Birthplace, The Tombs of the Kings, and several Graeco-Roman ruins in the Limassol area. One of the more interesting sites is a Graeco-Roman Theatre originally built in the 2nd century BC that is now fully restored and used for musical and theatrical performances. We also visited the Sanctuary of ApolloYlatis, the God of the Woodland, built circa 800 BC. Then it was time for a lunch break in Limassol, a large tourist resort area (yuk! too big, too much concrete, too many tourists).
But we did get to experience a Meze meal. This consists of 20 to 30 plates of appetizers or Greek finger food served with various dips. It just keeps coming and coming! Be forewarned and be hungry because it tastes great!
Our final stops were at the Kolssi Castle (13th century) and then the Neolithic ruins at Choirokoitia. The latter is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a settlement of inhabitants from the Neolithic Age (5800 –3000 BC). The foundations and walls of their round stone huts are unearthed and a few replicas have be built to show what they looked like. I found it very interesting since I was able to compare it to the Neolithic Temples that I had visited in Malta.
To summarize, Cyprus has many interesting things to offer a visitor. Five days were not enough to explore it in detail. One to two weeks is needed. If you want beach weather you have to go in the high season but I would recommend early or late to beat the crowds and prices. It is clean, safe and friendly!
Before I close I want to revisit the tidbit I left you with in the opening paragraphs. Is Cyprus in Europe or Asia? The answer is Asia. But what brought the question up to me was the bigger question “how many countries are there in Europe”? This is not an easy question. I have asked several Europeans and none know off the top of their head. And when they start to figure it out it becomes complex because of countries like Cyprus. When I researched the question I found that some World Atlases showed Cyprus in Europe while others showed it in Asia? And there are many other countries in similar question.
I believe after extensive research that I now have a correct answer. But I wish to present a similar challenge to my readers. And I am offering a prize or reward for your efforts. The first person to provide the correct answer to the question “how many countries are there in Europe” will win a bottle of European wine (probably French).
If nobody gets the correct answer then the closest (and first if there is a tie) will win!
What’s the deadline? I am leaving on Thursday for another trip to Southern Europe and Africa (still too damn cold, windy and rainy here!). I tentatively return on March 10th and will publish the correct answer and winner in that trip report.
Good luck to all!
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
TR Egypt Part 2
TRIP REPORT
EGYPT – PART 2
2/7 –2/15/00
Now where was I? Oh yeah –getting ready to leave Luxor.
But I forgot to mention in the marathon section that the Egyptian Marathon was the 20th marathon/country that I had completed since moving to England. This brings my total country-marathons to 30 which is starting to be respectable numbers even in the 50+DC Club.
Now back to the current story. We arrived at the airport one hour in advance of our 3:45 pm departure on Egypt Air. Egypt Air has a monopoly on air travel within Egypt and their customer attitude and performance (or lack of) reflects it. We stood in line for almost an hour during which time several Egyptians butted into line in front of us until we realized that it is their nature and attitude to be rude and arrogant and to defend oneself you must be rude and arrogant back! Finally Egypt air admitted that the plane would be an hour or more late after a fiery redheaded American lass charged across the ticket counter and demanded information. She also put a few very shocked Egyptian men in their place when they tried to butt in front of her. She told them off in not-very-kind words. I thought they might find her later with her throat slit because women are supposed to know their place in Egypt and do not talk back to men!
When we arrived in Cairo, Gary’s driver was waiting to take us to their apartment that is located in Maadi. Maadi is an exclusive subdivision where most expats, oil company and embassy employees live. Carey took us out for dinner and gave us the lowdown on Cairo and a language lesson. Oh how I wish we had learned those few so-important words and phrases when we were in Luxor! Are you ready? Record these for future use. ‘La = No’.
‘Yella imshe (phonetically spelled) = Get lost’. Very, very useful. When we used this training later at the pyramids and other sites usually a harsh ‘La’ would stop the hawkers. In one case Nicole had to resort to the phrase and the hawker looked at her like he was hurt and said ”that wasn’t nice” – but left!
I also confirmed a suspicion that I had. The Italians must have taught the Egyptians how to drive because the first thing that you notice is that there are no rules! Every car in Egypt is dented. But the Egyptians throw a few more challenges into the game. In two days of driving around Cairo, a city of 18 million people, I saw a maximum of 18 traffic lights of which only two worked and everyone ignored those! And at night the Egyptians drive with their headlights off! They believe that using their lights will kill the battery so they do not turn them on but will flash them to warn another vehicle or pedestrian to get out of the way! It was quite unnerving at first to be driving down a dark road and nobody has their lights on. But they seem to handle it well?
Carey had booked a private tour guide for us during our stay. With a private driver and guide we were able to visit all of the major tourist sites in and around Cairo in the two days. And the tour guide only cost $100 for the two days and that included the $60 of entrance fees into all the sites. But that price is only available to locals –a tourist would never be able to book a guide for that price. Like everything else in Egypt it was half-price or more for a local!
So on Sunday morning we were off! First stop was the Cairo Museum. Our guide took us to all the major exhibits and explained the history and culture of Egypt while showing us statues of the Kings and artifacts from the different periods of history. I would definitely recommend that anyone start their Egypt trip with a visit to the museum. We also visited King Tut’s treasures. The gold mask and headdress fashioned in his likeness is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship considering it was made 3000 years ago. The coffin that contained his mommy was built of solid gold. When you consider that King Tut was only a minor king in Egyptian history it is sad to think of what treasures were buried with the other kings and has been lost forever to the tomb robbers. Our last stop was at a special room that housed many of the mommies of the kings and queens. They were interesting but kind of ugly and disgusting!
Then it was time to visit the pyramids at Giza. I always thought that the pyramids were far out in the desert and they were when they were built –but now the city has been built right out to them! The three pyramids of Cheops, Chepren and Micerinus and the Sphinx as well as other smaller pyramids can all be viewed from the comfort of a bar from across the street if you prefer. But we of course strolled around the pyramids and learned about their history from our guide –and practiced our Egyptian on the hawkers. I visited the burial chamber in one of the pyramids. They warn you not to go in if you are claustrophobic since the tunnels are very narrow and short and you must descend a few hundred feet through these tunnels. The sheer size of these monuments is difficult to describe – you must visit them sometime!
The next and last day we set out for the pyramids at Sakkarah. The largest pyramid is the step-pyramid of Zoser. It has six levels and is the oldest pyramid in the world, circa 2700 BC. The necropolis or burial grounds at Sakkarah are the largest in Egypt. On the way to Sakkarah our driver got lost and drove through the village of Sakkarah. I thought we had stepped back 1000 years in time! The village had no paved roads, only a rough dirt path down the middle of the village with an open ditch on one side that served as sewer, garbage dump, etc! On each side of the path were mud and mud-brick houses with roofs of straw or palm fronds. No electricity or water except for a central well. The village women were carrying water, stacks of vegetables and sugar cane on their heads and the men were riding donkeys. And this village is only twenty miles from the outskirts of Cairo! I told Nicole that we should move there for a month to understand what the priorities in life are!
In the afternoon we proceeded to the Citadelle, an old fort and mosque built by the Turks about 700 years ago. Tourists were permitted to visit the mosque and our guide whom was Muslim explained the Muslim religion to us. The fort is built on a hill overlooking Cairo so afforded a great panoramic view of the city. Our next visit was to ‘Old Cairo’, a section of Cairo built by the Romans during their rule. This area contains the original cobbled streets and several old churches. Of special interest was an old synagogue built on the site (as legend states) where Charleston Heston, er, Moses was supposedly washed ashore into the reeds of the Nile. (Read you Bible again!) Moses made this site into a religious site where he prayed each day and after he left Egypt the first synagogue was built on the site. Legend further states that this is the site to which Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to for refuge from King Herrod (I don’t recall that in my Bible studies). The crypt or tomb where they hid is still open for viewing as the current synagogue was built over the original site. How much is fact and how much is fiction or rumor- not for me to say?
Our final visit was back to the pyramids of Giza for another sound and light show. But this one was much better. The sphinx narrated a story while multi-colored floodlights played on the pyramids and Sphinx in synch with the music and story. And this time there were laser lights that displayed images on the walls of a temple and the pyramids themselves. It was very interesting and exciting to watch. But now it was time to go home! Back to the apartment for a short 3-hour nap before leaving for the airport to catch our 04:15 KLM flight back to merry England.
In summary the trip was very interesting and in spite of the hawkers and constant haggling, enjoyable. I would recommend that you visit Cairo first because the culture shock will be more gradual and you can learn more about the history and culture of Egypt with an initial trip to the Cairo Museum. But you should definitely proceed on to Upper Egypt or the South. An alternative to consider would be to take one of the many cruise boats that sail from Cairo to Aswan. They stop at all the historical sites along the way.
But definitely do take a trip to Egypt at least once in your lifetime to experience the history and culture that you learned about as a child!
EGYPT – PART 2
2/7 –2/15/00
Now where was I? Oh yeah –getting ready to leave Luxor.
But I forgot to mention in the marathon section that the Egyptian Marathon was the 20th marathon/country that I had completed since moving to England. This brings my total country-marathons to 30 which is starting to be respectable numbers even in the 50+DC Club.
Now back to the current story. We arrived at the airport one hour in advance of our 3:45 pm departure on Egypt Air. Egypt Air has a monopoly on air travel within Egypt and their customer attitude and performance (or lack of) reflects it. We stood in line for almost an hour during which time several Egyptians butted into line in front of us until we realized that it is their nature and attitude to be rude and arrogant and to defend oneself you must be rude and arrogant back! Finally Egypt air admitted that the plane would be an hour or more late after a fiery redheaded American lass charged across the ticket counter and demanded information. She also put a few very shocked Egyptian men in their place when they tried to butt in front of her. She told them off in not-very-kind words. I thought they might find her later with her throat slit because women are supposed to know their place in Egypt and do not talk back to men!
When we arrived in Cairo, Gary’s driver was waiting to take us to their apartment that is located in Maadi. Maadi is an exclusive subdivision where most expats, oil company and embassy employees live. Carey took us out for dinner and gave us the lowdown on Cairo and a language lesson. Oh how I wish we had learned those few so-important words and phrases when we were in Luxor! Are you ready? Record these for future use. ‘La = No’.
‘Yella imshe (phonetically spelled) = Get lost’. Very, very useful. When we used this training later at the pyramids and other sites usually a harsh ‘La’ would stop the hawkers. In one case Nicole had to resort to the phrase and the hawker looked at her like he was hurt and said ”that wasn’t nice” – but left!
I also confirmed a suspicion that I had. The Italians must have taught the Egyptians how to drive because the first thing that you notice is that there are no rules! Every car in Egypt is dented. But the Egyptians throw a few more challenges into the game. In two days of driving around Cairo, a city of 18 million people, I saw a maximum of 18 traffic lights of which only two worked and everyone ignored those! And at night the Egyptians drive with their headlights off! They believe that using their lights will kill the battery so they do not turn them on but will flash them to warn another vehicle or pedestrian to get out of the way! It was quite unnerving at first to be driving down a dark road and nobody has their lights on. But they seem to handle it well?
Carey had booked a private tour guide for us during our stay. With a private driver and guide we were able to visit all of the major tourist sites in and around Cairo in the two days. And the tour guide only cost $100 for the two days and that included the $60 of entrance fees into all the sites. But that price is only available to locals –a tourist would never be able to book a guide for that price. Like everything else in Egypt it was half-price or more for a local!
So on Sunday morning we were off! First stop was the Cairo Museum. Our guide took us to all the major exhibits and explained the history and culture of Egypt while showing us statues of the Kings and artifacts from the different periods of history. I would definitely recommend that anyone start their Egypt trip with a visit to the museum. We also visited King Tut’s treasures. The gold mask and headdress fashioned in his likeness is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship considering it was made 3000 years ago. The coffin that contained his mommy was built of solid gold. When you consider that King Tut was only a minor king in Egyptian history it is sad to think of what treasures were buried with the other kings and has been lost forever to the tomb robbers. Our last stop was at a special room that housed many of the mommies of the kings and queens. They were interesting but kind of ugly and disgusting!
Then it was time to visit the pyramids at Giza. I always thought that the pyramids were far out in the desert and they were when they were built –but now the city has been built right out to them! The three pyramids of Cheops, Chepren and Micerinus and the Sphinx as well as other smaller pyramids can all be viewed from the comfort of a bar from across the street if you prefer. But we of course strolled around the pyramids and learned about their history from our guide –and practiced our Egyptian on the hawkers. I visited the burial chamber in one of the pyramids. They warn you not to go in if you are claustrophobic since the tunnels are very narrow and short and you must descend a few hundred feet through these tunnels. The sheer size of these monuments is difficult to describe – you must visit them sometime!
The next and last day we set out for the pyramids at Sakkarah. The largest pyramid is the step-pyramid of Zoser. It has six levels and is the oldest pyramid in the world, circa 2700 BC. The necropolis or burial grounds at Sakkarah are the largest in Egypt. On the way to Sakkarah our driver got lost and drove through the village of Sakkarah. I thought we had stepped back 1000 years in time! The village had no paved roads, only a rough dirt path down the middle of the village with an open ditch on one side that served as sewer, garbage dump, etc! On each side of the path were mud and mud-brick houses with roofs of straw or palm fronds. No electricity or water except for a central well. The village women were carrying water, stacks of vegetables and sugar cane on their heads and the men were riding donkeys. And this village is only twenty miles from the outskirts of Cairo! I told Nicole that we should move there for a month to understand what the priorities in life are!
In the afternoon we proceeded to the Citadelle, an old fort and mosque built by the Turks about 700 years ago. Tourists were permitted to visit the mosque and our guide whom was Muslim explained the Muslim religion to us. The fort is built on a hill overlooking Cairo so afforded a great panoramic view of the city. Our next visit was to ‘Old Cairo’, a section of Cairo built by the Romans during their rule. This area contains the original cobbled streets and several old churches. Of special interest was an old synagogue built on the site (as legend states) where Charleston Heston, er, Moses was supposedly washed ashore into the reeds of the Nile. (Read you Bible again!) Moses made this site into a religious site where he prayed each day and after he left Egypt the first synagogue was built on the site. Legend further states that this is the site to which Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled to for refuge from King Herrod (I don’t recall that in my Bible studies). The crypt or tomb where they hid is still open for viewing as the current synagogue was built over the original site. How much is fact and how much is fiction or rumor- not for me to say?
Our final visit was back to the pyramids of Giza for another sound and light show. But this one was much better. The sphinx narrated a story while multi-colored floodlights played on the pyramids and Sphinx in synch with the music and story. And this time there were laser lights that displayed images on the walls of a temple and the pyramids themselves. It was very interesting and exciting to watch. But now it was time to go home! Back to the apartment for a short 3-hour nap before leaving for the airport to catch our 04:15 KLM flight back to merry England.
In summary the trip was very interesting and in spite of the hawkers and constant haggling, enjoyable. I would recommend that you visit Cairo first because the culture shock will be more gradual and you can learn more about the history and culture of Egypt with an initial trip to the Cairo Museum. But you should definitely proceed on to Upper Egypt or the South. An alternative to consider would be to take one of the many cruise boats that sail from Cairo to Aswan. They stop at all the historical sites along the way.
But definitely do take a trip to Egypt at least once in your lifetime to experience the history and culture that you learned about as a child!
Tuesday, February 15, 2000
TR Egypt Part 1
TRIP REPORT
EGYPT 2/7 –2/15/00
Ahhhh! Another trip and lesson in the history of civilization. I am really beginning to tie together all the information and knowledge that I learned as a youth in school and even from Sunday school! But they never did explain how difficult it can be to arrange the trips to expand and confirm that knowledge.
And believe me, this trip is firmly at the top of my list for difficulty and frustration in setting up. Travel agencies (and in fact most companies in Egypt) are very inefficient and incompetent and when you try to explain to them that their service is such and recommend some solutions to improve their service and business, they just simply ignore you. My only travel tip in this regard is to arrange as much of the trip as possible with your travel agent in N America.
But after months of frustration, unanswered phone calls and emails, I finally got everything arranged and confirmed and Nicole and I were off to Cairo on KLM via Amsterdam. We arrived in Cairo at 01:20am, purchased our two visa stamps for $15 and proceeded through customs. We were surprised to find my cousin Gary Troke and his wife Sheila waiting for us in the Arrivals Hall. They have a business in Cairo and have lived there for the past six years. The plan was to visit them on our way home but an unexpected business issue required that they go to the US later that week and they explained that they would not be back in time to host us. However their son Carey would be at home and would host us and they offered us the use of their home and car and driver during our visit. They felt bad about the change in plans so wanted to spend some time with us. They drove us to our hotel at the airport where we had hoped to get about four hours sleep before catching a connecting Egypt Air flight to Luxor. But after a few drinks and lots of conversation we ended up getting only two hours sleep. If I had known they would meet us at the airport I would have cancelled the hotel and saved $140 for two hours of sleep.
So finally at 07:30am we arrived in Luxor! On our drive from the airport to the hotel we noticed that at least half the vehicles on the roads were pulled by donkeys or horses! Donkey carts are the main transport for cargo and horse carriages are as plentiful as taxis for carrying people. And the taxis are all at least 20 –30 years old, completely dented front to rear and held together with wire and rope! The only modern and well-constructed buildings in Luxor are the international hotels and a few government buildings. Even new apartment buildings look like slums and like they are ready to fall down. Poverty and filth are everywhere. But there are no beggars. The Egyptians prefer to work and hustle tourists rather than beg. After two days of relentless hustling by every taxi and carriage driver and every street hawker I was thinking that I might prefer begging! The upside was that everyone was very friendly and eager to provide service (and take some of your money in return). We quickly learned not to make any eye contact, show no interest in anything and firmly reject even innocent (?) offers of assistance or help. Egyptians expect payment for any service provided. If you take a picture of an Egyptian or his donkey he will demand payment. If he takes your picture with your camera he will demand payment! Payment may be 1 or 2 Egyptian pounds (LE --1 LE = $.30). But believe me you can get 1 LE’d to death very quickly if you are not careful! And they have more scams than you have ever seen to suck you in for that important 1 LE tip!
Our hotel was the Luxor Hilton, a supposedly 5-star hotel located on the East Bank of the Nile, but I have stayed in 30-year old Holiday Inns that were in better shape. Thirty years was also the approximate age of our TV set and the telephone system in the hotel. We foolishly dragged Nicole’s computer along thinking that she could stay in touch with the office and I could monitor the stock market – after all we were staying at a 5-star international hotel! Wrong! She couldn’t even reach her office using her MCI/NT calling card and had to make calls using the hotel’s long distance network @ $6/minute! I took taxis to an internet café and kept current on the stock market for 4 LE/15 minutes. The hotel was selected by the travel agency managing the Egyptian Marathon and our rate was very inexpensive -$80/day including breakfast and dinner for two!
Upon arrival we met up with a friend from NJ who is a member of the 50+ DC Club. The three of us ventured out by foot to visit the Karnak Temple that was only a mile from the hotel-but a gauntlet of dozens of hustlers wanting to drive us there by horse carriage or taxi. And our history lesson on Egypt began.
Luxor is part of the ancient city of Thebes. It contains two temples. The Karnak temple that was dedicated to the God Amon is the largest temple supported by columns in the world and is so vast that it could cover half of Manhattan. The Great Hall contains 134 columns 75 feet tall with a top circumference of 45 feet. When you look at the architecture you wonder how they built this structure 3600 years ago. The Karnak Temple is linked to the Luxor temple via an avenue about one mile long that is lined on both sides with sphinxes. The entrance to the Luxor temple is flanked by a giant statue of Ramses II and a tall obelisk. There used to be two obelisks but the second one is now in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. We spent the first afternoon just wondering around the Karnak temple and listening to various tour guides explain the history of the temple and period.
The next morning we took a guided tour along with some other marathoners to the West Bank of the Nile. The Bible’s description of the Nile and the Nile Valley are pretty accurate. The Nile runs from Southern Egypt-called Upper Egypt in ancient times to the Mediterranean Sea in Northern or Upper Egypt. The Nile Valley is very fertile due to the annual flooding of the Nile and both banks support lush vegetation and agricultural crops for about two to three miles inland all along the river. Once you get past that point it changes immediately to desert. On both sides of Luxor there are small limestone mountain ranges that rise about 800 feet above the Nile Valley.
Our bus joined a second bus to form a convoy that was escorted by an armed police vehicle to the tourist sites on the West Bank. On the trip we passed through armed police barricades about every two miles on the road and at the only bridge over the Nile in the area there are gun towers at both ends armed with machine guns. This very visible security is the Egyptian response to the terrorist attack two years ago in Luxor where 57 tourists were killed! Our first stop was the Colossi of Memnon, two giant statues of a Pharaoh. Then we traveled on through Medinet Habu and past the Temple of Ramses III to the Valley of the Kings. After I got over the surprise of seeing an armored troop carrier with a machine gun turret guarding the entrance to the valley (this is the location where the terrorist attack occurred) we proceeded with some more history lessons.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the East where the sun rises represented birth and the West where the sun sets represented death. Thus all their burial tombs were always located on the West Bank. In the ‘Old Kingdom’ which had its beginnings around 2700 BC the burial tombs were in the Pyramids that are located on the West Bank around Cairo. During the ‘Middle and New Kingdom’ periods, from 2060 to 900 BC, the kings realized that the Pyramids made great monuments but were easy to find and loot. So they decided to move their tombs to the limestone mountains on the West Bank opposite Thebes. Here they dug huge tombs into the solid limestone mountains and then tried to hide them. It should have worked because the area is very rugged and desolate (reminds me of Utah or AZ) but the legend is that the workers and their descendants went back and looted the tombs in later years. This also killed the legends/stories that they always killed the workers to keep the location secret!
Because women could not be buried with the men, they chose one valley to bury the kings-The Valley of the Kings and another for the queens –The Valley of the Queens. A third valley was chosen to bury the Nobles and workers. In the Valley of the Kings they have discovered 67 tombs to date. All had been looted of their treasures except for the actual mummies. Only one, that of King Tut, remained intact and unlooted until it was discovered in 1922. The treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum. But the tombs themselves contain many chambers that are covered in hieroglyphics and paintings. And because of the depth that they were buried inside the mountains and the dry climate they are in excellent condition. Even the colors are virtually unchanged from when they were finished 3000 years ago! It is quite spectacular. And some are very difficult to get to since you must climb up or down a small tunnel for several hundred feet inside the mountain. We only had time to visit 4 or 5 tombs.
Then it was on to Deir El-Bahari with our police escort to visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This temple is built into the cliffs of the limestone mountains between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and faces due east towards Karnak Temple. At one time a road connected them on both sides of the Nile. Since it was not acceptable for a queen or woman to rule Egypt by herself at that time, Queen Hatshepsut used to dress as a man and even wore the false beard used by the kings- and she ruled for 23 years!
After we returned to the hotel we decided to attend the sound and light show at the Karnak Temple that evening. It is a one-hour show in which you visit various parts of the temple while music and the history of the Temple is narrated over loudspeakers and spotlights are used to highlight the features of the temple in synch with the story and music. It was OK but we had heard that they used laser lights to reflect beams and images off the Sacred Lake within the Temple and none of that happened?
The next day turned out to be cloudy with some rain showers even though everyone assured us that it never rains in Luxor. We canceled a planned lunch on a felucca –a small working sail boat that carries cargo and passengers on the Nile- and instead just strolled along the streets of Luxor. By then we were completely fed up with the street hawkers and also the fact that you have to negotiate for everything you buy. Only restaurants and tourist sites had fixed prices- everything else had to be negotiated. Even in the fancy shops within the hotel –you had to negotiate. Egyptians negotiate price on everything they buy and consider anyone foolish who does not! But it does get tiring.
Finally it was M-day (marathon day)! It was held on a Friday which is their main religious day. They bussed about 1000 runners –200 marathoners, the rest 10K’rs- in a large convoy escorted by several police vehicles to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple on the West Bank. Since there were many foreigners and Egyptian dignitaries at the race there were more police and machine guns visible than I had ever seen in my life! The course started and finished at the temple and consisted of a 10K loop past most of the tourist sites I described earlier. So YES, we had to do it four times and it got very boring. Plus we had to endure fumes from the tourist buses, dodge donkeys, donkey carts and an occasional camel and the worst obstacle was the peasant kids who ran beside us begging for money or gifts. But I felt very protected since there were armed police at every intersection and two armored pick-up trucks with six police armed with machine guns continually cruising up and down the course!
Unfortunately I started too fast and my right leg (hamstring) began to hurt about 10K. So I slowed down a bit but not enough because by twenty miles I was a ‘hurting puppy’- my right leg hurt, my left leg hurt-my whole damn body hurt! I went into survival mode; e.g. just try to finish without dying. But it was difficult to focus on willing the pain away when you have peasant kids still running along begging for your headband, your watch and even your running shorts! During the first three loops I could put on a burst of speed and leave then but now there were no bursts left and I had to listen to their constant begging and almost tripped on them several times! But finally the finish line was in sight and I struggled over in 3:49:38 –a very disappointing time!
Nicole had hired our favorite taxi driver, Allie, to bring her to the finish so that she could take some pictures and we could go back to the hotel immediately and not have to wait for the buses. That turned out to be a wise plan since I was totally beat and in no mood to wait around.
After a good sports massage and hot bath I was ready to face the world again. We hired a felucca for a private sail and lunch on the Nile. We had a crew of two, a captain and a cook/waiter who grilled us an excellent lunch that was served with wine and beer as we cruised along the Nile for two hours. This was a most pleasant and memorable activity.
The next day, Saturday, was time to leave Luxor and return to Cairo for the final leg of our trip. Since our flight did not leave until 3pm we hired Allie to drive us into the Luxor Museum . We toured the museum and then did a final stroll around the city before Allie took us to the airport. We had developed a friendship with Allie because we soon trusted him to charge a reasonable rate for a ride without having to haggle. He would drive us anywhere we wanted to go and wait for several hours to take us on to another place or back to the hotel –for the same price as one-way trips! When I asked him why he insisted on waiting he explained that he was at least assured of another fare for that day. He looked about 60 years old but told Nicole that he had just turned 35 – a pretty tough life!
When he dropped us off at the airport I tipped him 30LE- about three day’s wages for him!
I am going to close this off for now and write a second section for Cairo so that y’all have time to rest.
EGYPT 2/7 –2/15/00
Ahhhh! Another trip and lesson in the history of civilization. I am really beginning to tie together all the information and knowledge that I learned as a youth in school and even from Sunday school! But they never did explain how difficult it can be to arrange the trips to expand and confirm that knowledge.
And believe me, this trip is firmly at the top of my list for difficulty and frustration in setting up. Travel agencies (and in fact most companies in Egypt) are very inefficient and incompetent and when you try to explain to them that their service is such and recommend some solutions to improve their service and business, they just simply ignore you. My only travel tip in this regard is to arrange as much of the trip as possible with your travel agent in N America.
But after months of frustration, unanswered phone calls and emails, I finally got everything arranged and confirmed and Nicole and I were off to Cairo on KLM via Amsterdam. We arrived in Cairo at 01:20am, purchased our two visa stamps for $15 and proceeded through customs. We were surprised to find my cousin Gary Troke and his wife Sheila waiting for us in the Arrivals Hall. They have a business in Cairo and have lived there for the past six years. The plan was to visit them on our way home but an unexpected business issue required that they go to the US later that week and they explained that they would not be back in time to host us. However their son Carey would be at home and would host us and they offered us the use of their home and car and driver during our visit. They felt bad about the change in plans so wanted to spend some time with us. They drove us to our hotel at the airport where we had hoped to get about four hours sleep before catching a connecting Egypt Air flight to Luxor. But after a few drinks and lots of conversation we ended up getting only two hours sleep. If I had known they would meet us at the airport I would have cancelled the hotel and saved $140 for two hours of sleep.
So finally at 07:30am we arrived in Luxor! On our drive from the airport to the hotel we noticed that at least half the vehicles on the roads were pulled by donkeys or horses! Donkey carts are the main transport for cargo and horse carriages are as plentiful as taxis for carrying people. And the taxis are all at least 20 –30 years old, completely dented front to rear and held together with wire and rope! The only modern and well-constructed buildings in Luxor are the international hotels and a few government buildings. Even new apartment buildings look like slums and like they are ready to fall down. Poverty and filth are everywhere. But there are no beggars. The Egyptians prefer to work and hustle tourists rather than beg. After two days of relentless hustling by every taxi and carriage driver and every street hawker I was thinking that I might prefer begging! The upside was that everyone was very friendly and eager to provide service (and take some of your money in return). We quickly learned not to make any eye contact, show no interest in anything and firmly reject even innocent (?) offers of assistance or help. Egyptians expect payment for any service provided. If you take a picture of an Egyptian or his donkey he will demand payment. If he takes your picture with your camera he will demand payment! Payment may be 1 or 2 Egyptian pounds (LE --1 LE = $.30). But believe me you can get 1 LE’d to death very quickly if you are not careful! And they have more scams than you have ever seen to suck you in for that important 1 LE tip!
Our hotel was the Luxor Hilton, a supposedly 5-star hotel located on the East Bank of the Nile, but I have stayed in 30-year old Holiday Inns that were in better shape. Thirty years was also the approximate age of our TV set and the telephone system in the hotel. We foolishly dragged Nicole’s computer along thinking that she could stay in touch with the office and I could monitor the stock market – after all we were staying at a 5-star international hotel! Wrong! She couldn’t even reach her office using her MCI/NT calling card and had to make calls using the hotel’s long distance network @ $6/minute! I took taxis to an internet café and kept current on the stock market for 4 LE/15 minutes. The hotel was selected by the travel agency managing the Egyptian Marathon and our rate was very inexpensive -$80/day including breakfast and dinner for two!
Upon arrival we met up with a friend from NJ who is a member of the 50+ DC Club. The three of us ventured out by foot to visit the Karnak Temple that was only a mile from the hotel-but a gauntlet of dozens of hustlers wanting to drive us there by horse carriage or taxi. And our history lesson on Egypt began.
Luxor is part of the ancient city of Thebes. It contains two temples. The Karnak temple that was dedicated to the God Amon is the largest temple supported by columns in the world and is so vast that it could cover half of Manhattan. The Great Hall contains 134 columns 75 feet tall with a top circumference of 45 feet. When you look at the architecture you wonder how they built this structure 3600 years ago. The Karnak Temple is linked to the Luxor temple via an avenue about one mile long that is lined on both sides with sphinxes. The entrance to the Luxor temple is flanked by a giant statue of Ramses II and a tall obelisk. There used to be two obelisks but the second one is now in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. We spent the first afternoon just wondering around the Karnak temple and listening to various tour guides explain the history of the temple and period.
The next morning we took a guided tour along with some other marathoners to the West Bank of the Nile. The Bible’s description of the Nile and the Nile Valley are pretty accurate. The Nile runs from Southern Egypt-called Upper Egypt in ancient times to the Mediterranean Sea in Northern or Upper Egypt. The Nile Valley is very fertile due to the annual flooding of the Nile and both banks support lush vegetation and agricultural crops for about two to three miles inland all along the river. Once you get past that point it changes immediately to desert. On both sides of Luxor there are small limestone mountain ranges that rise about 800 feet above the Nile Valley.
Our bus joined a second bus to form a convoy that was escorted by an armed police vehicle to the tourist sites on the West Bank. On the trip we passed through armed police barricades about every two miles on the road and at the only bridge over the Nile in the area there are gun towers at both ends armed with machine guns. This very visible security is the Egyptian response to the terrorist attack two years ago in Luxor where 57 tourists were killed! Our first stop was the Colossi of Memnon, two giant statues of a Pharaoh. Then we traveled on through Medinet Habu and past the Temple of Ramses III to the Valley of the Kings. After I got over the surprise of seeing an armored troop carrier with a machine gun turret guarding the entrance to the valley (this is the location where the terrorist attack occurred) we proceeded with some more history lessons.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the East where the sun rises represented birth and the West where the sun sets represented death. Thus all their burial tombs were always located on the West Bank. In the ‘Old Kingdom’ which had its beginnings around 2700 BC the burial tombs were in the Pyramids that are located on the West Bank around Cairo. During the ‘Middle and New Kingdom’ periods, from 2060 to 900 BC, the kings realized that the Pyramids made great monuments but were easy to find and loot. So they decided to move their tombs to the limestone mountains on the West Bank opposite Thebes. Here they dug huge tombs into the solid limestone mountains and then tried to hide them. It should have worked because the area is very rugged and desolate (reminds me of Utah or AZ) but the legend is that the workers and their descendants went back and looted the tombs in later years. This also killed the legends/stories that they always killed the workers to keep the location secret!
Because women could not be buried with the men, they chose one valley to bury the kings-The Valley of the Kings and another for the queens –The Valley of the Queens. A third valley was chosen to bury the Nobles and workers. In the Valley of the Kings they have discovered 67 tombs to date. All had been looted of their treasures except for the actual mummies. Only one, that of King Tut, remained intact and unlooted until it was discovered in 1922. The treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum. But the tombs themselves contain many chambers that are covered in hieroglyphics and paintings. And because of the depth that they were buried inside the mountains and the dry climate they are in excellent condition. Even the colors are virtually unchanged from when they were finished 3000 years ago! It is quite spectacular. And some are very difficult to get to since you must climb up or down a small tunnel for several hundred feet inside the mountain. We only had time to visit 4 or 5 tombs.
Then it was on to Deir El-Bahari with our police escort to visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This temple is built into the cliffs of the limestone mountains between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens and faces due east towards Karnak Temple. At one time a road connected them on both sides of the Nile. Since it was not acceptable for a queen or woman to rule Egypt by herself at that time, Queen Hatshepsut used to dress as a man and even wore the false beard used by the kings- and she ruled for 23 years!
After we returned to the hotel we decided to attend the sound and light show at the Karnak Temple that evening. It is a one-hour show in which you visit various parts of the temple while music and the history of the Temple is narrated over loudspeakers and spotlights are used to highlight the features of the temple in synch with the story and music. It was OK but we had heard that they used laser lights to reflect beams and images off the Sacred Lake within the Temple and none of that happened?
The next day turned out to be cloudy with some rain showers even though everyone assured us that it never rains in Luxor. We canceled a planned lunch on a felucca –a small working sail boat that carries cargo and passengers on the Nile- and instead just strolled along the streets of Luxor. By then we were completely fed up with the street hawkers and also the fact that you have to negotiate for everything you buy. Only restaurants and tourist sites had fixed prices- everything else had to be negotiated. Even in the fancy shops within the hotel –you had to negotiate. Egyptians negotiate price on everything they buy and consider anyone foolish who does not! But it does get tiring.
Finally it was M-day (marathon day)! It was held on a Friday which is their main religious day. They bussed about 1000 runners –200 marathoners, the rest 10K’rs- in a large convoy escorted by several police vehicles to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple on the West Bank. Since there were many foreigners and Egyptian dignitaries at the race there were more police and machine guns visible than I had ever seen in my life! The course started and finished at the temple and consisted of a 10K loop past most of the tourist sites I described earlier. So YES, we had to do it four times and it got very boring. Plus we had to endure fumes from the tourist buses, dodge donkeys, donkey carts and an occasional camel and the worst obstacle was the peasant kids who ran beside us begging for money or gifts. But I felt very protected since there were armed police at every intersection and two armored pick-up trucks with six police armed with machine guns continually cruising up and down the course!
Unfortunately I started too fast and my right leg (hamstring) began to hurt about 10K. So I slowed down a bit but not enough because by twenty miles I was a ‘hurting puppy’- my right leg hurt, my left leg hurt-my whole damn body hurt! I went into survival mode; e.g. just try to finish without dying. But it was difficult to focus on willing the pain away when you have peasant kids still running along begging for your headband, your watch and even your running shorts! During the first three loops I could put on a burst of speed and leave then but now there were no bursts left and I had to listen to their constant begging and almost tripped on them several times! But finally the finish line was in sight and I struggled over in 3:49:38 –a very disappointing time!
Nicole had hired our favorite taxi driver, Allie, to bring her to the finish so that she could take some pictures and we could go back to the hotel immediately and not have to wait for the buses. That turned out to be a wise plan since I was totally beat and in no mood to wait around.
After a good sports massage and hot bath I was ready to face the world again. We hired a felucca for a private sail and lunch on the Nile. We had a crew of two, a captain and a cook/waiter who grilled us an excellent lunch that was served with wine and beer as we cruised along the Nile for two hours. This was a most pleasant and memorable activity.
The next day, Saturday, was time to leave Luxor and return to Cairo for the final leg of our trip. Since our flight did not leave until 3pm we hired Allie to drive us into the Luxor Museum . We toured the museum and then did a final stroll around the city before Allie took us to the airport. We had developed a friendship with Allie because we soon trusted him to charge a reasonable rate for a ride without having to haggle. He would drive us anywhere we wanted to go and wait for several hours to take us on to another place or back to the hotel –for the same price as one-way trips! When I asked him why he insisted on waiting he explained that he was at least assured of another fare for that day. He looked about 60 years old but told Nicole that he had just turned 35 – a pretty tough life!
When he dropped us off at the airport I tipped him 30LE- about three day’s wages for him!
I am going to close this off for now and write a second section for Cairo so that y’all have time to rest.
Wednesday, January 19, 2000
TR UAE & Malta
TRIP REPORT
UAE, BAHRAIN & MALTA
1/11 – 1/19/00
I wasn’t planning on a trip to the Middle East until H.H.Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum sent me an invitation to run the inaugural Dubai 2000 Marathon. So I figured “why not”- ‘haven’t been there, haven’t done that yet’!
However the Sheikh only sent me an invitation –he didn’t send me the $65 entry fee for the marathon or the $50 fee for a visa to enter his country. He also didn’t meet me at the airport at 1:30am to provide a red carpet or even assistance to enter the country when my visa wasn’t waiting for me as it should have been. And even though UAE is probably the most liberal Middle East country to enter with regards to visas, you do not get into the country without a visa which must be sponsored by an individual or company. The tour agent was supposed to meet me at the airport with my visa. Fortunately he had faxed me a copy and I was eventually able to convince customs to let me go to my hotel after they confiscated my passport and told me to return within 24 hours with the original visa. I did get it straightened out quickly the next day but it was just another example of how useless and unreliable travel agents are on this side of the globe.
The travel agent did give me a free private city tour the next day to make up for his error. And I started my education. UAE was founded in 1971 and is a federation of seven emirates. Abu Dhabi is one of the emirates and also the capital. Each emirate is still ruled by the original sheikh and his family. The sheikh above is the ruler of Dubai. The city of Dubai has a population of 700k, which is about 30% of the total population of the country. Dubai reminds me a bit of Dallas because they have torn down almost all buildings older than 20 years and replaced them with new modern skyscrapers. But the landscape is more like Vegas since there is virtually no grass or green and all vacant lots or ground is desert or sand! The only public transportation is a bus system that is not very efficient. But taxis are very cheap- you can go across the city for about 10 Dirhams or $3.
There is a mosque on every block and the Muslims must pray five times a day. And believe me, everyone in the city has to listen since the prayers are broadcast over loudspeakers at each mosque starting at 6am! You do not need an alarm clock in Dubai!
I was fortunate to end up with private tour guides for both tours I took so they opened up to me when I asked questions about the social and political climate. And everything you have heard or read about the Middle East is probably true! There are two classes of ‘locals’- the Arabs who are born there and are the only ones that can be citizens and the Immigrants whom are brought in to do all the work. The immigrant locals can become residents but never citizens and are only allowed to own one car and personal belongings. The immigrant locals are divided into the following social structure: executives (oil and financial) that are normally Caucasian and there are not that many. They enjoy many privileges not offered to the other classes. Customer service employees such as tour guides, shop clerks, waiters, bankers, etc are usually from India or Sri Lanka. Manual laborers are from Pakistan. The police and army are brought in from poorer Arab countries such as Egypt and Morocco because they speak Arabic and are Muslims.
The citizens do not work! Work is beneath their status! They may occupy top-level positions like the chief of police or Director of the hospital, etc but they do not work! They own the Emirate. All buildings, apartments, hotels, homes, etc are owned by citizens. Non-citizens cannot own property -they must rent forever!
One tour guide opinioned that the Arabs (Emirites?) made these rules to keep absolute control of the country and to be able to expel a resident quickly and without recourse when they felt like it. He also believed that eventually the oil money will dry up and the country will implode because the Arabs won’t or can’t run the infrastructures such as electricity, transportation, banks, etc.
I never did meet any Emirites because there is no opportunity. Yes I saw lots walking around and shopping –they are easy to spot in their bedsheets; white for men and black for women! The women got screwed (again or still?) because black has got to be real toasty in the summer when the temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius! The men wear a headdress that is held in place by a band. The color and type of band signifies which tribe or region they come from. The women also wear a headdress that includes the expected veil. When they come in contact with a stranger, especially an infidel, the veil goes over the face immediately. Normally there is a small slit left over the eyes but in several cases the veil completely covered their face –I don’t know how they saw through it?
Since no Emirite made an effort to start a conversation with me I figured it was impolite to initiate a conversation- and besides I was afraid if I did they might cot off my tongue (or some other appendage) for making improper advances?
So when I state that I found all the locals very friendly and courteous you now know whom I am talking about. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that they go out of their way to provide friendly and good customer service. What a pleasant change from Europe!
But enough about culture. What are Dubai and UAE like? Thought you would never ask.
Dubai is a major trading city of the Middle East. It has a tidal saltwater river from the Gulf called Dubai Creek that splits the city in half. This area is the hub of the city with all sizes of Dhows moving up and down the river and being unloaded. There are even small Dhows that are used as water taxis that take you across the river for 10 cents. There are three Souks or markets located close to the river: the Textile Souk where the locals buy textiles or cloths imported from all over the world; the Spice Souk that contains hundreds of small stalls or shops with barrels and bags of spices –what a great smell walking through here; and the Gold Souk. In fact Dubai is often called the ‘City of Gold’ because of the Gold souk. There are hundreds of shops with gold jewelry displayed. I have never seen so much gold and jewelry in my life. There were necklaces and belts of such intricate design and so BIG that I can’t believe people wear stuff like that? And it is very cheap! Of course they start out at a high price and will gladly take your money if you don’t object but if you negotiate the price comes down to the spot value of gold plus a small fee for a ‘making charge’. And the shops were very busy. The locals, both citizens and residents, view gold as a prestige item to own and a sign of wealth so they buy lots of it.
The other interesting attractions in Dubai are the buildings-if you are interested in architecture. My guide took me past the Jumeira Beach Hotel that was built by the Sheikh. It is a spectacular building. It is supposedly rated the #1 hotel in the world. I only saw it from the outside since a room starts at $850/night and there is a $50 charge to visit the hotel (but they do include a snack and beverage for the $50!).
Then we went to the camel races. The camels are the one-hump variety and the racing camels are young and small. There are about 40 camels in each race and they race an 8-Km course. The drivers are all young (10-12 years) residents. Gambling is illegal in UAE so you cannot go to a betting window. However the spectators do bet among themselves and that is overlooked by the police.
Friday, which is their main religious day, was race day. The marathon started at 7am because of the heat. Even though Dubai is 4 hours ahead of London, I didn’t have any difficulty getting up because my morning prayers started at 6am. After prayers I took a taxi to the start/finish area which was at a Sports Club on the outskirts of the city. The marathon ran through and around the city to finish back at the Club. There were only 200 runners. Half were runners whom came to Dubai just for the race, and the other half appeared to be Caucasian residents since I overheard some of them talking about local politics. I don’t know if there will be second race if they don’t get a better turnout. The temperature was a mild 70 degrees F at the start but had to be in the mid-80s when I finished. It’s the first time I have been truly warm since I left Dallas!
I started out with a running friend from NY city –a member of the 50+DC club -but had to let him go at 3 miles when my leg started to hurt. At 10K I felt a sharp pain and thought someone had run up from behind and stuck a dagger in my right leg! Needless to say I had to stop, stretch, massage and walk for about 5 minutes. Miraculously, all of a sudden it felt like the dagger had been pulled out and replaced with a –huh- knitting needle! And any old fool can run the last 20 miles with just a ‘little ole knitten’ needle sticking through his leg! Heck, I even managed to drop the pace down to a blazing 9 min/mile which allowed me to finish in just under 4 hours! (3:58:24)
This race is not high on my list of great courses. The course is not scenic nor pretty and traffic control varied from good to I almost got ran over twice by cars! But all the volunteers along the course including the police were enthusiastic and supportive. There were very few spectators with only 200 runners.
After the race my friend and I walked around the Souks and I helped him negotiate the purchase of a solid gold chain necklace. He paid spot value plus a making charge of $15!
The next day I had a tee time at the Emirates Golf Course where the PGA Desert Classic is played. It is a beautiful course, similar to an AZ desert course except more water, higher sand dunes and probably more grass. There were only two holes that had long desert stretches off the tee. The last time I held a golf club was in Ireland so the first 5 holes were disasters. My lowest score was a six as I lost two balls to the water Gods and one to the Sand dune God! Since I had only taken six balls with me I figured that I had better settle down and concentrate or it would be a short game! Fortunately I got my game back together and should have broken 100 but fell apart again on the last hole. But who cares – I had fun!
Golf is one of the few things that are not cheap in UAE. Green fees, rental clubs and cart were about $160.
The other things that are not cheap in UAE are international hotels. Rooms, food and booze are all expensive at these hotels. And unfortunately you can only buy booze at one of these hotels! For example a hamburger at the Intercontinental costs $21. The same hamburger at a local restaurant costs $1.25! Not hard to guess where the oil and financial businessmen stay on expenses?
My final day in UAE I spent walking around in the morning while waiting for my desert tour in the afternoon. At 3pm my guide picked me up in a Toyota Land Cruiser and we drove about 30 miles out of the city into the desert. Then we went sand dune bashing. We drove like hell across and over sand dunes and he scared the crap out of me the first time he flew over a dune and I realized that it was an 80 to 100 foot drop down the other side –at a 60-degree slope. I thought for sure we would flip over but the car just sinks into the sand and slides down the slope! After a few more I decided it was fun and was urging him to go faster!
After an hour of bashing dunes we joined a group of German tourists at an oasis where we all rode camels off into the desert to watch the sun set. A few teenagers were snowboarding or should I say ‘sandboarding’ down a 100-foot sand dune next to the camp. Then we sat in Bedouin tents, ate, drank beer, and watched a belly dancer while we smoked a bubble pipe. Boy, there were a lot of firsts for me on that tour!
All in all it was an enjoyable trip and a new and great adventure. I now know for sure that I wouldn’t want to live there but I am glad I visited! Now it was time to move on to my next country and adventure.
But I didn’t expect to get a third country thrown into the trip for free? I thought that I was flying direct from Dubai to Malta but the Air Malta flight stopped in Bahrain. I was only there for an hour but from what I could see Bahrain is just a smaller version of Dubai. Then we flew for 2 hours across Saudi Arabia and believe me it is the biggest sandbox that I have ever seen.
Finally six hours later I arrived in Malta. Malta is composed of the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino all of which are inhabited, and the smaller islands of Cominotto, Filfia and St Paul. Malta is the largest island and most densely populated. The islands look like typical Mediterranean islands, rocky and rugged. The islands are limestone so there are lots of cliffs with caves and rock formations carved out by the sea. There are only a few sandy beaches. The official language is Maltese – a mixture of Phoenician and Arabic but the second language is English. Everyone spoke English but the only English station I could find on TV was Euro Sports! The people are very friendly and helpful. When I got lost and needed directions to some ruins a gentleman insisted on getting in the car and driving to the ruins with me since it was only a few blocks out of his way?
My first day I just drove around to get the layout and find a hotel. I finally settled on the resort village of Sliema. Because it was off-season, a 3-star hotel with a sea view was only 15 LM ( 1Maltese Lire = $2.50US). It seemed strange converting currency the other way and prices were strangely low: a beer – 40 centsM, pasta dinner 1.60LM, etc. I rented a car because I wanted to be free and flexible but I would not recommend this approach unless you have left-hand driving experience. There are few roads and they are narrow and in bad shape –I think the Romans made the last road repairs? And there are even less road signs and you can’t understand the ones you do find –so driving was not fun! I got lost a thousand times in 3 days but fortunately the islands are so small that you just keep driving until you recognize a landmark.
Malta has been inhabited for the past 5000 years but the country’s history seems to focus on two periods: the Neolithic period and the period of the Knights of St John. I found the former to be the most interesting!
The country’s symbol, the eight-pointed Maltese Cross was the emblem worn by the Knights. If you are interested in history you could easily spend a week or two in Malta instead of the short 3 days that I had.
And as usual I had to use half of the second day to run the Malta Marathon. Because of limited roads the course was laid out on an 8-mile loop from the capital city of Valletta along the sea to the resort village of St Julians. I ran the loop three times and finished with a two-mile loop around Fort St Elmo on Valletta. The weather was sunny, cool but very windy. It didn’t really matter because with only 3 days rest and not knowing how my leg would stand up I started slow. But surprisingly it only hurt about the same level as the last 20 miles of Dubai so I was able to run a 9 minute pace to finish under 4 hours again. (3:54:24)
Now it was time to explore again.
As I mentioned previously the Neolithic period interested me the most. There are numerous Neolithic temples and catacombs spread over the islands and I wanted to explore them. I will describe a few of the most important ones. The Temples of Mnajdra on Malta were constructed and oriented according to the equinoxes using only stone tools –similar to Stonehenge but 1000 years earlier!
The megalithic temples of Ggantija on Gozo are recognized as the oldest man-built freestanding structures in the world. They were built circa 3600 BC in comparison to the pyramids of Egypt (2800 BC) and Stonehenge (2400 BC).
Also nearby on Gozo is Calypso’s Cave, assumed to be the cave referred to by Homer in the ‘Odyssey’. This is the cave where the beautiful nymph Calypso kept Odysseus as a ‘prisoner of love’ for seven years.
Don’t you love it when a story, legend and history all come together?
There are many many other attractions to see on Malta but I just want to wet your appetite so that you can visit and enjoy them yourselves. I would guess that the spring-to-fall seasons are the prime time but I would hate to think how crowded it could be then?
Malta was certainly worth the visit but now it was time to head back to England. However when I stepped off the plane at Gatwick and saw my breath and heard the temperature was only 2 degrees Celsius I almost turned around and headed back to Dubai. Hopefully the folks in Dallas will greet me with some warm weather next week?
I now have three weeks to rest my leg up before the next marathon and I think I need all of it. Stay tuned for the next adventure. It should be a good one!
UAE, BAHRAIN & MALTA
1/11 – 1/19/00
I wasn’t planning on a trip to the Middle East until H.H.Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum sent me an invitation to run the inaugural Dubai 2000 Marathon. So I figured “why not”- ‘haven’t been there, haven’t done that yet’!
However the Sheikh only sent me an invitation –he didn’t send me the $65 entry fee for the marathon or the $50 fee for a visa to enter his country. He also didn’t meet me at the airport at 1:30am to provide a red carpet or even assistance to enter the country when my visa wasn’t waiting for me as it should have been. And even though UAE is probably the most liberal Middle East country to enter with regards to visas, you do not get into the country without a visa which must be sponsored by an individual or company. The tour agent was supposed to meet me at the airport with my visa. Fortunately he had faxed me a copy and I was eventually able to convince customs to let me go to my hotel after they confiscated my passport and told me to return within 24 hours with the original visa. I did get it straightened out quickly the next day but it was just another example of how useless and unreliable travel agents are on this side of the globe.
The travel agent did give me a free private city tour the next day to make up for his error. And I started my education. UAE was founded in 1971 and is a federation of seven emirates. Abu Dhabi is one of the emirates and also the capital. Each emirate is still ruled by the original sheikh and his family. The sheikh above is the ruler of Dubai. The city of Dubai has a population of 700k, which is about 30% of the total population of the country. Dubai reminds me a bit of Dallas because they have torn down almost all buildings older than 20 years and replaced them with new modern skyscrapers. But the landscape is more like Vegas since there is virtually no grass or green and all vacant lots or ground is desert or sand! The only public transportation is a bus system that is not very efficient. But taxis are very cheap- you can go across the city for about 10 Dirhams or $3.
There is a mosque on every block and the Muslims must pray five times a day. And believe me, everyone in the city has to listen since the prayers are broadcast over loudspeakers at each mosque starting at 6am! You do not need an alarm clock in Dubai!
I was fortunate to end up with private tour guides for both tours I took so they opened up to me when I asked questions about the social and political climate. And everything you have heard or read about the Middle East is probably true! There are two classes of ‘locals’- the Arabs who are born there and are the only ones that can be citizens and the Immigrants whom are brought in to do all the work. The immigrant locals can become residents but never citizens and are only allowed to own one car and personal belongings. The immigrant locals are divided into the following social structure: executives (oil and financial) that are normally Caucasian and there are not that many. They enjoy many privileges not offered to the other classes. Customer service employees such as tour guides, shop clerks, waiters, bankers, etc are usually from India or Sri Lanka. Manual laborers are from Pakistan. The police and army are brought in from poorer Arab countries such as Egypt and Morocco because they speak Arabic and are Muslims.
The citizens do not work! Work is beneath their status! They may occupy top-level positions like the chief of police or Director of the hospital, etc but they do not work! They own the Emirate. All buildings, apartments, hotels, homes, etc are owned by citizens. Non-citizens cannot own property -they must rent forever!
One tour guide opinioned that the Arabs (Emirites?) made these rules to keep absolute control of the country and to be able to expel a resident quickly and without recourse when they felt like it. He also believed that eventually the oil money will dry up and the country will implode because the Arabs won’t or can’t run the infrastructures such as electricity, transportation, banks, etc.
I never did meet any Emirites because there is no opportunity. Yes I saw lots walking around and shopping –they are easy to spot in their bedsheets; white for men and black for women! The women got screwed (again or still?) because black has got to be real toasty in the summer when the temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius! The men wear a headdress that is held in place by a band. The color and type of band signifies which tribe or region they come from. The women also wear a headdress that includes the expected veil. When they come in contact with a stranger, especially an infidel, the veil goes over the face immediately. Normally there is a small slit left over the eyes but in several cases the veil completely covered their face –I don’t know how they saw through it?
Since no Emirite made an effort to start a conversation with me I figured it was impolite to initiate a conversation- and besides I was afraid if I did they might cot off my tongue (or some other appendage) for making improper advances?
So when I state that I found all the locals very friendly and courteous you now know whom I am talking about. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that they go out of their way to provide friendly and good customer service. What a pleasant change from Europe!
But enough about culture. What are Dubai and UAE like? Thought you would never ask.
Dubai is a major trading city of the Middle East. It has a tidal saltwater river from the Gulf called Dubai Creek that splits the city in half. This area is the hub of the city with all sizes of Dhows moving up and down the river and being unloaded. There are even small Dhows that are used as water taxis that take you across the river for 10 cents. There are three Souks or markets located close to the river: the Textile Souk where the locals buy textiles or cloths imported from all over the world; the Spice Souk that contains hundreds of small stalls or shops with barrels and bags of spices –what a great smell walking through here; and the Gold Souk. In fact Dubai is often called the ‘City of Gold’ because of the Gold souk. There are hundreds of shops with gold jewelry displayed. I have never seen so much gold and jewelry in my life. There were necklaces and belts of such intricate design and so BIG that I can’t believe people wear stuff like that? And it is very cheap! Of course they start out at a high price and will gladly take your money if you don’t object but if you negotiate the price comes down to the spot value of gold plus a small fee for a ‘making charge’. And the shops were very busy. The locals, both citizens and residents, view gold as a prestige item to own and a sign of wealth so they buy lots of it.
The other interesting attractions in Dubai are the buildings-if you are interested in architecture. My guide took me past the Jumeira Beach Hotel that was built by the Sheikh. It is a spectacular building. It is supposedly rated the #1 hotel in the world. I only saw it from the outside since a room starts at $850/night and there is a $50 charge to visit the hotel (but they do include a snack and beverage for the $50!).
Then we went to the camel races. The camels are the one-hump variety and the racing camels are young and small. There are about 40 camels in each race and they race an 8-Km course. The drivers are all young (10-12 years) residents. Gambling is illegal in UAE so you cannot go to a betting window. However the spectators do bet among themselves and that is overlooked by the police.
Friday, which is their main religious day, was race day. The marathon started at 7am because of the heat. Even though Dubai is 4 hours ahead of London, I didn’t have any difficulty getting up because my morning prayers started at 6am. After prayers I took a taxi to the start/finish area which was at a Sports Club on the outskirts of the city. The marathon ran through and around the city to finish back at the Club. There were only 200 runners. Half were runners whom came to Dubai just for the race, and the other half appeared to be Caucasian residents since I overheard some of them talking about local politics. I don’t know if there will be second race if they don’t get a better turnout. The temperature was a mild 70 degrees F at the start but had to be in the mid-80s when I finished. It’s the first time I have been truly warm since I left Dallas!
I started out with a running friend from NY city –a member of the 50+DC club -but had to let him go at 3 miles when my leg started to hurt. At 10K I felt a sharp pain and thought someone had run up from behind and stuck a dagger in my right leg! Needless to say I had to stop, stretch, massage and walk for about 5 minutes. Miraculously, all of a sudden it felt like the dagger had been pulled out and replaced with a –huh- knitting needle! And any old fool can run the last 20 miles with just a ‘little ole knitten’ needle sticking through his leg! Heck, I even managed to drop the pace down to a blazing 9 min/mile which allowed me to finish in just under 4 hours! (3:58:24)
This race is not high on my list of great courses. The course is not scenic nor pretty and traffic control varied from good to I almost got ran over twice by cars! But all the volunteers along the course including the police were enthusiastic and supportive. There were very few spectators with only 200 runners.
After the race my friend and I walked around the Souks and I helped him negotiate the purchase of a solid gold chain necklace. He paid spot value plus a making charge of $15!
The next day I had a tee time at the Emirates Golf Course where the PGA Desert Classic is played. It is a beautiful course, similar to an AZ desert course except more water, higher sand dunes and probably more grass. There were only two holes that had long desert stretches off the tee. The last time I held a golf club was in Ireland so the first 5 holes were disasters. My lowest score was a six as I lost two balls to the water Gods and one to the Sand dune God! Since I had only taken six balls with me I figured that I had better settle down and concentrate or it would be a short game! Fortunately I got my game back together and should have broken 100 but fell apart again on the last hole. But who cares – I had fun!
Golf is one of the few things that are not cheap in UAE. Green fees, rental clubs and cart were about $160.
The other things that are not cheap in UAE are international hotels. Rooms, food and booze are all expensive at these hotels. And unfortunately you can only buy booze at one of these hotels! For example a hamburger at the Intercontinental costs $21. The same hamburger at a local restaurant costs $1.25! Not hard to guess where the oil and financial businessmen stay on expenses?
My final day in UAE I spent walking around in the morning while waiting for my desert tour in the afternoon. At 3pm my guide picked me up in a Toyota Land Cruiser and we drove about 30 miles out of the city into the desert. Then we went sand dune bashing. We drove like hell across and over sand dunes and he scared the crap out of me the first time he flew over a dune and I realized that it was an 80 to 100 foot drop down the other side –at a 60-degree slope. I thought for sure we would flip over but the car just sinks into the sand and slides down the slope! After a few more I decided it was fun and was urging him to go faster!
After an hour of bashing dunes we joined a group of German tourists at an oasis where we all rode camels off into the desert to watch the sun set. A few teenagers were snowboarding or should I say ‘sandboarding’ down a 100-foot sand dune next to the camp. Then we sat in Bedouin tents, ate, drank beer, and watched a belly dancer while we smoked a bubble pipe. Boy, there were a lot of firsts for me on that tour!
All in all it was an enjoyable trip and a new and great adventure. I now know for sure that I wouldn’t want to live there but I am glad I visited! Now it was time to move on to my next country and adventure.
But I didn’t expect to get a third country thrown into the trip for free? I thought that I was flying direct from Dubai to Malta but the Air Malta flight stopped in Bahrain. I was only there for an hour but from what I could see Bahrain is just a smaller version of Dubai. Then we flew for 2 hours across Saudi Arabia and believe me it is the biggest sandbox that I have ever seen.
Finally six hours later I arrived in Malta. Malta is composed of the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino all of which are inhabited, and the smaller islands of Cominotto, Filfia and St Paul. Malta is the largest island and most densely populated. The islands look like typical Mediterranean islands, rocky and rugged. The islands are limestone so there are lots of cliffs with caves and rock formations carved out by the sea. There are only a few sandy beaches. The official language is Maltese – a mixture of Phoenician and Arabic but the second language is English. Everyone spoke English but the only English station I could find on TV was Euro Sports! The people are very friendly and helpful. When I got lost and needed directions to some ruins a gentleman insisted on getting in the car and driving to the ruins with me since it was only a few blocks out of his way?
My first day I just drove around to get the layout and find a hotel. I finally settled on the resort village of Sliema. Because it was off-season, a 3-star hotel with a sea view was only 15 LM ( 1Maltese Lire = $2.50US). It seemed strange converting currency the other way and prices were strangely low: a beer – 40 centsM, pasta dinner 1.60LM, etc. I rented a car because I wanted to be free and flexible but I would not recommend this approach unless you have left-hand driving experience. There are few roads and they are narrow and in bad shape –I think the Romans made the last road repairs? And there are even less road signs and you can’t understand the ones you do find –so driving was not fun! I got lost a thousand times in 3 days but fortunately the islands are so small that you just keep driving until you recognize a landmark.
Malta has been inhabited for the past 5000 years but the country’s history seems to focus on two periods: the Neolithic period and the period of the Knights of St John. I found the former to be the most interesting!
The country’s symbol, the eight-pointed Maltese Cross was the emblem worn by the Knights. If you are interested in history you could easily spend a week or two in Malta instead of the short 3 days that I had.
And as usual I had to use half of the second day to run the Malta Marathon. Because of limited roads the course was laid out on an 8-mile loop from the capital city of Valletta along the sea to the resort village of St Julians. I ran the loop three times and finished with a two-mile loop around Fort St Elmo on Valletta. The weather was sunny, cool but very windy. It didn’t really matter because with only 3 days rest and not knowing how my leg would stand up I started slow. But surprisingly it only hurt about the same level as the last 20 miles of Dubai so I was able to run a 9 minute pace to finish under 4 hours again. (3:54:24)
Now it was time to explore again.
As I mentioned previously the Neolithic period interested me the most. There are numerous Neolithic temples and catacombs spread over the islands and I wanted to explore them. I will describe a few of the most important ones. The Temples of Mnajdra on Malta were constructed and oriented according to the equinoxes using only stone tools –similar to Stonehenge but 1000 years earlier!
The megalithic temples of Ggantija on Gozo are recognized as the oldest man-built freestanding structures in the world. They were built circa 3600 BC in comparison to the pyramids of Egypt (2800 BC) and Stonehenge (2400 BC).
Also nearby on Gozo is Calypso’s Cave, assumed to be the cave referred to by Homer in the ‘Odyssey’. This is the cave where the beautiful nymph Calypso kept Odysseus as a ‘prisoner of love’ for seven years.
Don’t you love it when a story, legend and history all come together?
There are many many other attractions to see on Malta but I just want to wet your appetite so that you can visit and enjoy them yourselves. I would guess that the spring-to-fall seasons are the prime time but I would hate to think how crowded it could be then?
Malta was certainly worth the visit but now it was time to head back to England. However when I stepped off the plane at Gatwick and saw my breath and heard the temperature was only 2 degrees Celsius I almost turned around and headed back to Dubai. Hopefully the folks in Dallas will greet me with some warm weather next week?
I now have three weeks to rest my leg up before the next marathon and I think I need all of it. Stay tuned for the next adventure. It should be a good one!
Wednesday, January 05, 2000
TR Vatican City
TRIP REPORT
Italy and Vatican City
12/29/99-01/05/00
Well, contrary to all published concerns we did not notice or experience any Y2K problems in Italy!
Millennium celebrations are well under way in Italy, particularly in Rome where most of the scaffolding has come down from all the ancient ruins. If the mass of people and tourists in Rome over New Years are any indication of things to come during the year, I pity those that are to follow!
But there were not as many as expected because they had jacked the prices up to ridiculous heights. The marathon organizers had expected 30,000 runners –there were only 5,000! Maybe if they hadn’t charged $500/night for a hotel they would have attracted more runners!
I had to arrange our own air and hotel to circumvent the high prices that they were charging. I think that it hurt them but they came to their senses at the end because we checked a 4-star hotel in Central Rome while walking around and the prices had dropped to $225 and rooms were available for New Years!
The weather was pleasant, sunny, but cool during the whole week. Nicole, Chris and I arrived on Wed afternoon. We discovered that our hotel, the Sheraton Roma, was located about 5K from central or downtown Rome, which caused some inconvenience. But they had a free shuttle to the Piazza Venezia and there was a metro station only a quarter-mile away. But it is definitely much easier if you are located in central Rome.
We spent the rest of that day exploring Rome on our own. From the Piazza Venezia which is in the center of Rome you can walk to almost all the other main tourist sites except the Vatican and the Catacombs. There are two metro lines but they only get you to the edges of the old city and the Vatican and you must walk to most of the sites anyway.
The next day we took one of the Get-on, get-off bus tours to learn the layout of the city and where all the major attractions were. Rome reminds me of Athens in that no matter where you walk you seem to run into an old ruin or column sticking up out of a vacant lot. We saw old ruins that we could not even identify with the Guidebook!
There is too much to see and do in Rome in a 4-day visit. You need at least a week to visit the city. But we tried very hard and toured for 10 to 12 hours each day! We walked by all the sites but only spent time in the Coliseum and the Vatican. Since 2000 is designated a Jubilee Year by the Vatican there are many special programs going on and many ‘pilgrims’ visiting Rome. The Pope had opened the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day and it will remain open through 2000. Apparently it is only opened on special occasions. The last time was about 25 years ago! We got to pass through the door during our visit to the church. We also visited the Vatican Museum that includes the Sistine Chapel. They had just finished 20 years of restoration work on the paintings in the chapel so it was very impressive! But we only spent a few hours in the museum whereas you really need at least a day. Chris and I were impressed with the Coliseum. It still puts a lot of modern-day coliseums to shame! I could describe all the other tourist sites, the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, etc but it wouldn’t do them justice. Rome is truly a city that you must visit personally to enjoy the many sites and culture!
It is a bustling city and the traffic is crazy. Like the rest of Italy there are no traffic rules and everyone drives or crosses streets based on the ‘chicken principle’ –the bravest one wins! It took a few days before we were ‘brave enough’ to step out in front of cars going at 30 mph. Some you have to dodge, others stop! It is almost impossible to get a taxi and if you aren’t going in a direction they are going they won’t take you! Prices were equivalent to those of a big city in the US –expensive but not as bad as most cities in Western Europe.
New Year’s eve turned out to be a bust for us unfortunately. The main problem we had was lack of information and thus where to go and what to do. There was zero/zilch information in English on what activities were happening on New Year’s eve. I tried asking at the tourist information booths. Nicole asked the guides at the Vatican (they only spoke Italian and French). Even the clerks in the hotel were not much help! But we did determine that there was a concert in St Peter’s Square as well as concerts or festivals in almost every major piazza or square in Rome. But we couldn’t get solid information on how to prepare for these events –do you go early, do you eat there, can you buy booze there or do you take your own? As a result we winged it and took nothing! And that was the wrong decision.
I also decided that since there were going to be millions of people/drunks/thieves in central Rome that we should take as little as possible with us because there was a strong probability that we could lose it! Boy was that a right decision! So I put all our valuables, passports and extra money in the safe deposit in the hotel and took only enough cash to get us through the night plus one credit card for back up. That decision saved the day and trip for us but I made one small error! Instead of carrying the day’s cash in my trusty money belt I felt it would be wiser to carry it in my jeans pocket so it would not be so obvious every time I needed to access the money. Wrong decision! That money never even made it to St Peter’s Square which was our initial destination! It was picked/stolen before we got off the metro! I wasn’t even upset because I just had a feeling that such a thing might happen but I was really surprised at how easy it was and how helpless I was to stop it during the act! When we arrived at the main metro station to change lines there were thousands of people trying to get on and off the trains. Everyone was shoving, pushing, etc and your main priority became survival. If you fell or got pushed down you were dead! So you had to push back etc while hands and bodies were pushing you all over. Several times I felt hands pushing and probing and was able to keep one hand near my pocket/money. But when the final push came to squeeze people on to the train all hell broke loose and we literally had to fight and push back to prevent from being knocked down or trampled. That is when it happened! After we were on the train and the doors closed I realized the night’s cash was gone! Fortunately the credit card was hidden in a jacket pocket and survived. But barely. I felt a hand inside my jacket! Yep, the guy squeezed between Chris and I was trying -damn not trying, he had his hand inside my jacket! I couldn’t even get my arm up to hit him so I shouted at him to get his GDAMN hand out of my coat. Chris later said that the same guy tried twice to lift his jacket to get access to his jeans pockets! When the doors opened at the next stop he was gone like a flash!
Hopefully my story will give you some insight into how easy it is to rob you and how helpless you can be. But I could have prevented the robbery if I had just used my money belt. But I believe that even that has to be concealed because it would have been vulnerable had it been exposed!
But that was only a temporary setback because the credit card replaced the money at the nearest ATM and only $10 went into the jeans pockets this time! Upon arriving at the Vatican we quickly determined that almost all the restaurants were closed and the few that were open would not let us past the front door without a reservation. So much for dinner! Even more surprising was that only a few bars were open. Everyone in Rome including those who worked at the bars were partying! So much for buying a drink! We walked around St Peter’s Square for awhile trying to figure out what the agenda was for the evening. It was 8:30pm, cold and the band was not even on the stage yet. It would be a long, dry and cold wait!
We decided to take the metro back into central Rome to check out some of the other Piazzas. When we arrived back at the metro station we discovered that they were closing the metro down completely at 9pm. All the notices stated that the metro would close at 01:00am but they decided to close it early! So we caught the last train back to central Rome which meant we had to taxi home. But that also meant that 2 to 3 million other people would be fighting for the same taxi!
We did find a few of the other Piazzas with hundreds of thousands of partygoers in each and several hundred thousand flowing out into the side streets. The police had essentially cordoned off Central Rome to traffic and there were over two million people partying in the streets.
We decided: a) we weren’t in the mood for partying-especially with no booze; b) we didn’t want to stand in the cold for another two hours watching everyone else get drunk; c) we didn’t want to have to wait until 3 or 4am to get a taxi after the party broke up. So we made our way out of the downtown core and caught a cab back to the hotel where we watched the concert and show at St Peter’s Square on TV and the fireworks from the comfort, warmth and safety of our room. We must be getting old!
And I mustn’t forget –we enjoyed our New Year’s Eve dinner –Mars bars and coke!
The upside of that evening was that I didn’t have the expected hangover for the marathon the next day. I left Nicole and Chris sleeping off their Coke hangover and made my way to the Vatican. The marathon started in St Peter’s Square. Like everything else the Italians do, the race organization was chaotic and screwed up! About the only thing that happened as planned was the blessing by the Pope at noon and he even gave a special blessing to the runners. Then it was off! The weather was sunny and cool –great running weather. The course was fairly flat and passed by all the main tourist attractions to finish next to the Coliseum. It should have been a good day. Unfortunately I had torn a muscle in my right hamstring two days before Christmas and in spite of massages and a week’s rest to let it heal it had not! I started slow and at 3 miles had to slow down. By 5 miles I was visiting my first medical station to get the hamstring wrapped. And it only got worse from there. Had the race not started in Vatican City I would have dropped out for the first time in my life. But the rules of the 50+DC Club state that if the race starts and finishes in different countries we can pick either (but not both) to count as the country of the race. Thus even though I only ran 200 yards in Vatican City, I intended to count the country as Vatican City since it is considered a country. And since there may never be another opportunity to do so –I had to finish this marathon! So I jogged, walked, stretched and visited medical stations for 26 miles –but I finished (4:17)! My primary goal was to finish without causing further damage to the hamstring. Time was not important. I hope I was successful in my goal but I have not tried to run in the 4 days since the race. I am now starting to get concerned because I have two more marathons in January. I go for another massage today and then I will try to run tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!
Now it was time to move on. Although we would have liked to spend more time in Rome we were looking forward to getting out of the city and the crowds. On Sunday morning we picked up our rental car and headed for Sorrento. We stopped in Pompeii so that I could give Chris a quick tour of the ruins. It was much easier walking around in Jan than last Aug when the temp was 100+ degrees.
Finally we arrived at our hotel in Sorrento. The Bel Air is a 4-star hotel built into the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples with fantastic views of Sorrento and Naples and a 200 foot drop from the patio into the Tyrrhenian Sea. (Do I ever spoil my family –I am not used to this luxury on my travels!)
Surprisingly there were lots of tourists in Sorrento and Capri but most were Americans on excursions from Rome. The next day we took a hydrofoil over to Capri, a funicular from the marina to the village of Capri, a bus up a very windy and steep road to the village of Anacapri and then Chris and I took a chair lift up to the top of Mount Solaro for some fantastic views of the island and Sorrento across the bay! Capri is a very scenic island but you had better be in shape because all the roads on the island only go up or down!
Finally it was time to head home so we drove the scenic route along the coast through Amalfi to Solerno to pick up the motorway back to Rome. What a beautiful but scary drive! It is basically a single lane road with multiple hairpin curves which become really challenging when you meet a tourist bus! Then you hit the motorway where you damn well better get out of the way if you are only driving 100mph!
But all in all a great trip with lots of history, lots of scenery and interesting things and even some exciting stories to tell our grandkids –someday?
Take care and stay tuned. Hopefully the next trip and marathon is only a week away?
Italy and Vatican City
12/29/99-01/05/00
Well, contrary to all published concerns we did not notice or experience any Y2K problems in Italy!
Millennium celebrations are well under way in Italy, particularly in Rome where most of the scaffolding has come down from all the ancient ruins. If the mass of people and tourists in Rome over New Years are any indication of things to come during the year, I pity those that are to follow!
But there were not as many as expected because they had jacked the prices up to ridiculous heights. The marathon organizers had expected 30,000 runners –there were only 5,000! Maybe if they hadn’t charged $500/night for a hotel they would have attracted more runners!
I had to arrange our own air and hotel to circumvent the high prices that they were charging. I think that it hurt them but they came to their senses at the end because we checked a 4-star hotel in Central Rome while walking around and the prices had dropped to $225 and rooms were available for New Years!
The weather was pleasant, sunny, but cool during the whole week. Nicole, Chris and I arrived on Wed afternoon. We discovered that our hotel, the Sheraton Roma, was located about 5K from central or downtown Rome, which caused some inconvenience. But they had a free shuttle to the Piazza Venezia and there was a metro station only a quarter-mile away. But it is definitely much easier if you are located in central Rome.
We spent the rest of that day exploring Rome on our own. From the Piazza Venezia which is in the center of Rome you can walk to almost all the other main tourist sites except the Vatican and the Catacombs. There are two metro lines but they only get you to the edges of the old city and the Vatican and you must walk to most of the sites anyway.
The next day we took one of the Get-on, get-off bus tours to learn the layout of the city and where all the major attractions were. Rome reminds me of Athens in that no matter where you walk you seem to run into an old ruin or column sticking up out of a vacant lot. We saw old ruins that we could not even identify with the Guidebook!
There is too much to see and do in Rome in a 4-day visit. You need at least a week to visit the city. But we tried very hard and toured for 10 to 12 hours each day! We walked by all the sites but only spent time in the Coliseum and the Vatican. Since 2000 is designated a Jubilee Year by the Vatican there are many special programs going on and many ‘pilgrims’ visiting Rome. The Pope had opened the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day and it will remain open through 2000. Apparently it is only opened on special occasions. The last time was about 25 years ago! We got to pass through the door during our visit to the church. We also visited the Vatican Museum that includes the Sistine Chapel. They had just finished 20 years of restoration work on the paintings in the chapel so it was very impressive! But we only spent a few hours in the museum whereas you really need at least a day. Chris and I were impressed with the Coliseum. It still puts a lot of modern-day coliseums to shame! I could describe all the other tourist sites, the Trevi Fountain, the Roman Forum, etc but it wouldn’t do them justice. Rome is truly a city that you must visit personally to enjoy the many sites and culture!
It is a bustling city and the traffic is crazy. Like the rest of Italy there are no traffic rules and everyone drives or crosses streets based on the ‘chicken principle’ –the bravest one wins! It took a few days before we were ‘brave enough’ to step out in front of cars going at 30 mph. Some you have to dodge, others stop! It is almost impossible to get a taxi and if you aren’t going in a direction they are going they won’t take you! Prices were equivalent to those of a big city in the US –expensive but not as bad as most cities in Western Europe.
New Year’s eve turned out to be a bust for us unfortunately. The main problem we had was lack of information and thus where to go and what to do. There was zero/zilch information in English on what activities were happening on New Year’s eve. I tried asking at the tourist information booths. Nicole asked the guides at the Vatican (they only spoke Italian and French). Even the clerks in the hotel were not much help! But we did determine that there was a concert in St Peter’s Square as well as concerts or festivals in almost every major piazza or square in Rome. But we couldn’t get solid information on how to prepare for these events –do you go early, do you eat there, can you buy booze there or do you take your own? As a result we winged it and took nothing! And that was the wrong decision.
I also decided that since there were going to be millions of people/drunks/thieves in central Rome that we should take as little as possible with us because there was a strong probability that we could lose it! Boy was that a right decision! So I put all our valuables, passports and extra money in the safe deposit in the hotel and took only enough cash to get us through the night plus one credit card for back up. That decision saved the day and trip for us but I made one small error! Instead of carrying the day’s cash in my trusty money belt I felt it would be wiser to carry it in my jeans pocket so it would not be so obvious every time I needed to access the money. Wrong decision! That money never even made it to St Peter’s Square which was our initial destination! It was picked/stolen before we got off the metro! I wasn’t even upset because I just had a feeling that such a thing might happen but I was really surprised at how easy it was and how helpless I was to stop it during the act! When we arrived at the main metro station to change lines there were thousands of people trying to get on and off the trains. Everyone was shoving, pushing, etc and your main priority became survival. If you fell or got pushed down you were dead! So you had to push back etc while hands and bodies were pushing you all over. Several times I felt hands pushing and probing and was able to keep one hand near my pocket/money. But when the final push came to squeeze people on to the train all hell broke loose and we literally had to fight and push back to prevent from being knocked down or trampled. That is when it happened! After we were on the train and the doors closed I realized the night’s cash was gone! Fortunately the credit card was hidden in a jacket pocket and survived. But barely. I felt a hand inside my jacket! Yep, the guy squeezed between Chris and I was trying -damn not trying, he had his hand inside my jacket! I couldn’t even get my arm up to hit him so I shouted at him to get his GDAMN hand out of my coat. Chris later said that the same guy tried twice to lift his jacket to get access to his jeans pockets! When the doors opened at the next stop he was gone like a flash!
Hopefully my story will give you some insight into how easy it is to rob you and how helpless you can be. But I could have prevented the robbery if I had just used my money belt. But I believe that even that has to be concealed because it would have been vulnerable had it been exposed!
But that was only a temporary setback because the credit card replaced the money at the nearest ATM and only $10 went into the jeans pockets this time! Upon arriving at the Vatican we quickly determined that almost all the restaurants were closed and the few that were open would not let us past the front door without a reservation. So much for dinner! Even more surprising was that only a few bars were open. Everyone in Rome including those who worked at the bars were partying! So much for buying a drink! We walked around St Peter’s Square for awhile trying to figure out what the agenda was for the evening. It was 8:30pm, cold and the band was not even on the stage yet. It would be a long, dry and cold wait!
We decided to take the metro back into central Rome to check out some of the other Piazzas. When we arrived back at the metro station we discovered that they were closing the metro down completely at 9pm. All the notices stated that the metro would close at 01:00am but they decided to close it early! So we caught the last train back to central Rome which meant we had to taxi home. But that also meant that 2 to 3 million other people would be fighting for the same taxi!
We did find a few of the other Piazzas with hundreds of thousands of partygoers in each and several hundred thousand flowing out into the side streets. The police had essentially cordoned off Central Rome to traffic and there were over two million people partying in the streets.
We decided: a) we weren’t in the mood for partying-especially with no booze; b) we didn’t want to stand in the cold for another two hours watching everyone else get drunk; c) we didn’t want to have to wait until 3 or 4am to get a taxi after the party broke up. So we made our way out of the downtown core and caught a cab back to the hotel where we watched the concert and show at St Peter’s Square on TV and the fireworks from the comfort, warmth and safety of our room. We must be getting old!
And I mustn’t forget –we enjoyed our New Year’s Eve dinner –Mars bars and coke!
The upside of that evening was that I didn’t have the expected hangover for the marathon the next day. I left Nicole and Chris sleeping off their Coke hangover and made my way to the Vatican. The marathon started in St Peter’s Square. Like everything else the Italians do, the race organization was chaotic and screwed up! About the only thing that happened as planned was the blessing by the Pope at noon and he even gave a special blessing to the runners. Then it was off! The weather was sunny and cool –great running weather. The course was fairly flat and passed by all the main tourist attractions to finish next to the Coliseum. It should have been a good day. Unfortunately I had torn a muscle in my right hamstring two days before Christmas and in spite of massages and a week’s rest to let it heal it had not! I started slow and at 3 miles had to slow down. By 5 miles I was visiting my first medical station to get the hamstring wrapped. And it only got worse from there. Had the race not started in Vatican City I would have dropped out for the first time in my life. But the rules of the 50+DC Club state that if the race starts and finishes in different countries we can pick either (but not both) to count as the country of the race. Thus even though I only ran 200 yards in Vatican City, I intended to count the country as Vatican City since it is considered a country. And since there may never be another opportunity to do so –I had to finish this marathon! So I jogged, walked, stretched and visited medical stations for 26 miles –but I finished (4:17)! My primary goal was to finish without causing further damage to the hamstring. Time was not important. I hope I was successful in my goal but I have not tried to run in the 4 days since the race. I am now starting to get concerned because I have two more marathons in January. I go for another massage today and then I will try to run tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!
Now it was time to move on. Although we would have liked to spend more time in Rome we were looking forward to getting out of the city and the crowds. On Sunday morning we picked up our rental car and headed for Sorrento. We stopped in Pompeii so that I could give Chris a quick tour of the ruins. It was much easier walking around in Jan than last Aug when the temp was 100+ degrees.
Finally we arrived at our hotel in Sorrento. The Bel Air is a 4-star hotel built into the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples with fantastic views of Sorrento and Naples and a 200 foot drop from the patio into the Tyrrhenian Sea. (Do I ever spoil my family –I am not used to this luxury on my travels!)
Surprisingly there were lots of tourists in Sorrento and Capri but most were Americans on excursions from Rome. The next day we took a hydrofoil over to Capri, a funicular from the marina to the village of Capri, a bus up a very windy and steep road to the village of Anacapri and then Chris and I took a chair lift up to the top of Mount Solaro for some fantastic views of the island and Sorrento across the bay! Capri is a very scenic island but you had better be in shape because all the roads on the island only go up or down!
Finally it was time to head home so we drove the scenic route along the coast through Amalfi to Solerno to pick up the motorway back to Rome. What a beautiful but scary drive! It is basically a single lane road with multiple hairpin curves which become really challenging when you meet a tourist bus! Then you hit the motorway where you damn well better get out of the way if you are only driving 100mph!
But all in all a great trip with lots of history, lots of scenery and interesting things and even some exciting stories to tell our grandkids –someday?
Take care and stay tuned. Hopefully the next trip and marathon is only a week away?
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