TRIP REPORT
France and England
4/6 – 4/16/00
The planning for this trip started over one year ago. As soon as we confirmed that we were moving to England a few of my running buddies from Dallas stated that they would run the London Marathon if we were still here in April 2000. After we arrived in England, I discovered that the Paris marathon was to be held the weekend before London so I asked or challenged them to run back-to-back marathons with me.
These runners are part of an informal group in Dallas called the ‘BrookBachRock’ or ‘BBR’ which is an abbreviation for Brookhaven College, Bachman Lake and White Rock Lake – the three locations in Dallas where we would meet for our training runs. The group has run together for over sixteen years and has added and lost various members throughout that period as some runners quit running and new runners joined the group.
When I left Dallas the group had dwindled down to about five members of which only two were from the original group. But those two, Fred Giles and John Hubbard, plus another ‘original’, Dick Ballinger, whom had retired and moved to Connecticut, accepted my challenge. Another member, Holly Moshier, also accepted the challenge.
Now to put the mentality of these runners and good long-time friends in perspective I must point out that these are the same group that gave a demure, non-competitive, non-obsessive person -‘moi’- the nickname “Maddog”! How was such a name derived? Surely it could not have been as simple as trying to denote that the owner was crazy?
Everyone already knew that fact? No, the explanation I prefer came from a sports article that was written when I completed the 50 + DC challenge. One of my esteemed colleagues/friends provided the following quote: “We call him Maddog because he is so tenacious. When he is in a race he will not give up no matter how difficult the obstacles or conditions are!” I accepted that comment as a compliment and have used the nickname proudly ever since.
Our initial plan was to submit our entries through the normal lottery for the London Marathon and use the ‘Wallace Hilton’ as our base. Since London gets over 200,000 entries for only 30,000 slots they use a lottery system. Many local runners here in England have to try their luck for years before they ever get accepted. We had expected/hoped that overseas entries might get special treatment but no way! We combined our entries under one check, which meant all or nothing, and we were both surprised and disappointed when we received a rejection notice. But not to be daunted we decided to buy our way in by purchasing a race package through Marathon Tours in Boston. The marathon tour operators get guaranteed entry slots for overseas runners to combine with travel packages. The advantage is that they provide all the travel arrangements and guarantee an entry. The disadvantage is the added time and cost because you must accept their travel itineraries and this factor caused Holly to drop out.
But the others were still game and indeed decided to use Marathon Tours to book both London and Paris for them. I had already sent my entry in for Paris but now I had a small problem –no entry for London! I called Marathon Tours and spoke to the owner and reminded him of all the money I had spent with his firm (Greece, Antarctica and London in 86). And since I was sending him three customers for Paris and London, the least he could do was sell me an entry slot. He finally agreed to sell me a slot – for $180! That’s the most I have ever paid for a marathon entry but I was not going to leave London after living here for a year without running the local marathon! So the BBR were on for back-to-back marathons!
The plan was to meet the BBR in Paris, run the marathon and return to our home for a few days before they moved into the package hotel in London. Nicole coordinated a business trip to Paris so we could take our car and make a final wine run also. In the final few days there was a surprising but pleasant change in plans. Holly decided to come to Paris just for the Paris Marathon and John brought his wife Debbie along also for the Paris portion of the trip. Thus there were five members of the BBR and three spouses in the final count when we met in Paris a few days before the marathon (Dick’s wife Sue had always planned to come on the trip).
To say it was a fun time would be putting it in very simple terms. We explored Paris together - well some of us. John and Nicole had to go off to work on Friday while the rest of us explored Paris (or shopped). But we terrorized Paris together the rest of the time. We did the city tour thing and wandered around the Louvre. Some ventured off to explore the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame and MontMartre. But we always met up for dinner including a great dinner cruise on the Seine on Friday evening. It just happened to be a birthday weekend for John and Dick. So everyone adopted the Maddog marathon diet – lots of food washed down with copious amounts of beer and wine! But we did get serious the night before M- Day, eating pasta and going to bed early. And M-Day turned out to be a fine day. The weather was cool and sunny.
The marathon started on the Champs Elysees next to the Arc De Triumphe. Fortunately the hotel selected by Marathon Tours was right next to the Arc so that we were able to walk to the start. The course passed through or by most of the major tourist sites in Paris such as Place De La Concorde, Jardin Des Tuileries, the Louvre, Place De La Bastille, through the Bois De Vincennes and past the Parc Zoologique and the Hippodrome de Vincennes, back along the Right Bank of the Seine past Notre Dame, the Grand and Petit Palais, Tour Eiffel, Palais De Chaillot, and through the Bois de Boulogne to finish on Avenue Foch next to the Arc De Triumphe.
We had decided before the race that it would be all or none; i.e. we would all finish together or not at all and the latter was not really an option! With 30,000+ runners and the narrow streets of Paris the race was very crowded and it was difficult at times trying to stay together. But we eventually worked out a system to keep each other in sight especially at the water stations and even for ‘relief’ breaks. Our goal was to finish in 3:45. We ran at an almost perfect pace except when Fred took the lead so we fired him quickly. And even though all of us went through a typical lull at some point during the race we pulled each other along to cross the finish line hand-in-hand in 3:45:12! Time to celebrate! So after our showers, rest, etc. we met and headed down the Champs Elysees to celebrate and enjoy a victory dinner.
On Monday the group had to separate and go different ways. Nicole had business meetings in Versailles on Monday and Tuesday so we decided to move to a hotel in Versailles. Since Dick and Sue were returning to England with us they accompanied us to Versailles. That gave us the opportunity to explore Versailles while Nicole was working and made it easier for her to get to her meetings. The rest of the group stayed in Paris because they planned to take the Eurostar direct from Paris to London on Tuesday. While they shopped and continued to explore Paris, Dick, Sue and I explored the Chateau Versailles and the town. As it turned out the Chateau and most of the town were closed on Monday but we were able to walk around the gardens or Parc of the Chateau and visit the Grand and Petit Trianons. The Grand Trianon was a ‘small’ castle or retreat built by Louis XIV in 1687 at the far end of the park to get away from the constraints of power and the crowd of courtiers at the Chateau. The Petit Trianon was built for the private use of Louis XV in 1760 and is situated in the middle of a botanical garden. It took us all afternoon just to walk around the park and to explore the old quarter of Versailles. We arrived back at the hotel about 6pm – and no Nicole? Nine PM and no Nicole and no message? I figured that she probably had to go to dinner with the NT people but normally she would always leave me a message. So finally we went to dinner and when we returned about 10:30pm –still no Nicole? I waited another hour and was in the process of demanding that the front desk contact the police when in walks – Nicole! She had left a message but the hotel had lost it! And they didn’t even offer us a bottle of wine or a drink to sooth our nerves?
The following morning Dick and I did an easy run through the gardens and park of the Chateau. They are so vast that we figured that you could run a 10K within the park without ever having to loop on any of the dirt paths. While Nicole was wrapping up her meeting, Dick, Sue and I visited the Chateau Versailles. It is the biggest palace I have seen in Europe –and I have seen a lot of them. Although it is grand and some rooms such as the Hall of Mirrors are definitely decadent, I have visited other castles such as the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia that are more gaudy and decadent!
But now it was time to make the long drive back to England. But first we made a stop at a local wine shop in Versailles where we bought four cases of excellent and high quality wines such as Margaux, Pauillac, St Emillion and Medoc to take back to our wine cellar in the US. We also bought four cases of inexpensive red wines to carry us through our final six weeks in England. Then it was a long 7-hour drive around Paris, across France, through the chunnel, across England, around London and back to Stortford. The rest of the BBR were already on their easy 3-hour Eurostar journey from Paris to London – but they didn’t have eight cases of great French wine with them!
And I guess I need to split this report into two sections to give everyone a rest. Rejoin us in England!
Monday, April 10, 2000
Saturday, April 01, 2000
TR San Marino
TRIP REPORT
Italy- San Marino - Italy
3/29 –4/1/00
I had decided to book this trip on a spur-of-the moment whim a few weeks back. I realized that I would have a marathon-free weekend after Turin and did not want to sit around idly. So I figured that I could (should) explore one of those small countries on my European list. It is unlikely that I would ever want to fly all the way from the US just to visit one so what better time than now? I narrowed the list down to Andorra or San Marino and chose the latter since I figured the weather would be better there. If I hadn’t already purchased my tickets for Turin I would have just continued on from there last week by train. Now I had to fly to Bologna, rent a car and drive 135 km to San Marino. But it was a very pleasant drive since the highway passed through several vineyards and orchards and the blossoms were in full bloom.
San Marino is a small country in the heart of Italy about 22 km from the seaside resort of Rimini (10 km as the crow flies from the Adriatic Sea). It is shaped like an irregular quadrilateral with a total area of 60 sq. km. It is a very hilly country dominated by Mount Titano – 750 m high and in the center of the country. On the southwestern side of the mountain stands the town of San Marino, the capital of the Republic. Scattered in the hilly countryside surrounding Mount Titano are eight townships called Castles. The total population is only 23,000. The main highway approaching from Rimini has a large arched gateway but no border guards or custom agents. Other border crossings only have a road sign indicating that you are leaving one country and entering the other. The main road climbs from about 100-foot elevation at the border to the top of Mount Titano over 10 km (6 miles). It is a narrow two-lane road that twists and turns. I watched many cyclists tackling it during my three days there and it did not look like fun. No, I did not attempt to run it!
San Marino claims it is the oldest and smallest independent state/country in the world. Oldest maybe since it was established in 3 AD. But they conveniently omitted Vatican City and Gibraltar from their comparison list? I read in one of the tourist brochures that San Marino is hosting the ‘Games of Europe’s Small States’ in 2001. The participants are Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco. See what I mean?
I think that I finally understand European politics. For thousands of years European countries have ignored or altered history and facts to suit their own selfish purposes and inflated egos! The main reason that there has never been (nor will be) a unified Europe is not the differences in languages or culture – it is because it is impossible to fit all the BIG egos in each small country into even one large country! ----- And I don’t even get paid for all this research and analysis!
But I do get to enjoy the research and San Marino is a pleasant country to visit. It reminds me of a combination of Gibraltar and Toledo, the medieval walled city south of Madrid. Mount Titano is similar to the Rock. The east side facing the Adriatic Sea has sheer and spectacular cliffs and what makes it even more spectacular are the three castles or defensive towers built on the edge of the cliffs at the three highest points. The First Tower or Guaita was built in the 10th century with a defensive wall around it on the west slope. The Second Tower or Cesta was built in the 13th century with a second defensive wall to expand the town. The Third Tower or Montale was built later (year unknown). As stated before, these towers were built on the highest peaks of the cliffs and were never taken in battle throughout their history. There is a man-made path called the ‘Passo delle Streghe’ or ‘Witches Pass’ along the very top of the cliffs that connects the three towers. Talk about some magnificent views and scenery! But one wrong step and you fall about 500 feet –straight down!
The towers were defended mainly by ‘Balestrieri’ or crossbowmen that were renowned for their courage and accuracy. There is still a regiment of sixty balestrieri in the San Marino military that compete throughout the region and the world in archery. And you can buy a crossbow almost anywhere- the price goes as high as $1000 depending on size and accuracy.
The old walled city is interesting but not as old or as spectacular as Toledo. There are several good cafes and restaurants and of course a million souvenir shops. It was one of the few places in the country that I could speak English. Other than the shopkeepers I was on another of those 3-day language immersion courses –in Italian! Even though the hotel had satellite TV, there were no English stations and I could not buy an English newspaper anywhere in the country. Just as well since I have now discovered that the stock market was not doing well and that would have just upset me.
All the time that I was driving around the country I kept visualizing and wondering “Where could one run a marathon in this place”? I mean –there was not a flat piece of land or road anywhere in the entire country! The best choice would be the road from Rimini to San Marino but that was a 4-lane highway with no shoulders and too much traffic. So I drove over to the stadium in another Castle (township) where the ‘Games’ are to be held and managed to locate one of the sports administrators. Surprisingly she was an American from NYC. Her parents had moved back to San Marino when she was sixteen and she had stayed to raise her own family there. She confirmed what I had already discovered but did suggest that I check out a walking path in a local park near the border. It was flat, safe from traffic but only 1 km in length. That meant 42 ---FORTY-TWO loops to complete a marathon! That did not appeal to me. I desperately drove around the other Castles looking for a flat road that was longer. But it just didn’t exist!
But later that day as I was reading some tourist brochures I noted that one mentioned a nature trail in Faetano Castle. So I drove over to check it out. Hellaluah! There was a dirt trail running along a small creek that had a few small hills but most importantly it was about 4 km in length. And by jumping up on a side road, a 2-lane country road that crossed over into Italy, I was able to continue another 6.5 km into Italy before the road merged with a major highway. I had laid out a 10.5 km path with only a few minor hills! And that meant only FOUR loops! I’ve done that before.
The Maddog Marathon was on! The next morning I drove back, laid out some water bottles at 2-mile intervals and started the marathon in Faetano. It was without a doubt the most boring marathon I have ever run. Even though I was running easy since I wasn’t competing against runners or a clock I hurt much more than last week in Turin where I was racing very hard? But I finished in 3:59 and have marked San Marino off my list. And that also represented the fourth time in the past five months that I had run a marathon (or part of) in Italy!
After the run I went back to the old walled city to explore some more and have a good lunch and a few beers while looking out at the magnificent views from the top of Mount Titano. Two days is plenty of time to explore the whole country!
The next day I had a late flight out of Bologna but I decided to leave early so that I could drive into Rimini and up along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. But there were so many beach huts, amusement parks, cafes, etc along the beaches that I could hardly see the beaches or the Sea. So I cut back to the tollway and proceeded on to Bologna so that I could have some time to explore that city also.
Bologna is a very interesting city that dates back to the Etruscans during the 6th century BC. But it was not until the Romans established a Latin colony called ‘Bononia’ in 191 BC that the city started to flourish. It experienced many wars and finally became a Papal State in the 15th century. There is an ‘old town’ or historic region in the center of Bologna that dates back to the 10th century. There are several unique and interesting buildings and tourist attractions centered around Piazza Maggiore in the old town such as the Neptune Fountain. It was built in 1563 and represents the symbol of papal power: Neptune rules the seas just as the Pope dominates power over the land. At the foot of the God Neptune are four putti which represent the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon and the Danube, that were the rivers of the continents known up to that time. Just off the square are the “Le Due Torri’ – ‘The Two Towers’ that are the symbol of Bologna. The Asinelli Tower was constructed in 1120. It is 97 meters high. The Garisenda Tower was constructed in the same period but construction was halted at 47 m because the ground was unstable and the tower started to lean. It leans more than the Tower of Pissa and is therefore under constant care and maintenance. There are several palaces and churches in the old town that date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
The old town also has the porticos or porches built over the streets like Turin which came in handy since there was a light drizzle most of the morning. I stopped at a restaurant in old town for lunch and had –guess what? - Spaghetti Bolognese. I don’t know what secret ingredients they use but the spaghetti sauce was without a doubt the most delicious that I have ever tasted anywhere in the world!!! I wish that I had had another day to explore the city. But it was time to return to cold, cloudy and dreary England.
Fortunately my 5th and final visit to Italy in the past eight months had no bad incidents or events so I at least left Italy with pleasant memories and a wonderful taste of that delicious Bolognese sauce.
Italy- San Marino - Italy
3/29 –4/1/00
I had decided to book this trip on a spur-of-the moment whim a few weeks back. I realized that I would have a marathon-free weekend after Turin and did not want to sit around idly. So I figured that I could (should) explore one of those small countries on my European list. It is unlikely that I would ever want to fly all the way from the US just to visit one so what better time than now? I narrowed the list down to Andorra or San Marino and chose the latter since I figured the weather would be better there. If I hadn’t already purchased my tickets for Turin I would have just continued on from there last week by train. Now I had to fly to Bologna, rent a car and drive 135 km to San Marino. But it was a very pleasant drive since the highway passed through several vineyards and orchards and the blossoms were in full bloom.
San Marino is a small country in the heart of Italy about 22 km from the seaside resort of Rimini (10 km as the crow flies from the Adriatic Sea). It is shaped like an irregular quadrilateral with a total area of 60 sq. km. It is a very hilly country dominated by Mount Titano – 750 m high and in the center of the country. On the southwestern side of the mountain stands the town of San Marino, the capital of the Republic. Scattered in the hilly countryside surrounding Mount Titano are eight townships called Castles. The total population is only 23,000. The main highway approaching from Rimini has a large arched gateway but no border guards or custom agents. Other border crossings only have a road sign indicating that you are leaving one country and entering the other. The main road climbs from about 100-foot elevation at the border to the top of Mount Titano over 10 km (6 miles). It is a narrow two-lane road that twists and turns. I watched many cyclists tackling it during my three days there and it did not look like fun. No, I did not attempt to run it!
San Marino claims it is the oldest and smallest independent state/country in the world. Oldest maybe since it was established in 3 AD. But they conveniently omitted Vatican City and Gibraltar from their comparison list? I read in one of the tourist brochures that San Marino is hosting the ‘Games of Europe’s Small States’ in 2001. The participants are Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta and Monaco. See what I mean?
I think that I finally understand European politics. For thousands of years European countries have ignored or altered history and facts to suit their own selfish purposes and inflated egos! The main reason that there has never been (nor will be) a unified Europe is not the differences in languages or culture – it is because it is impossible to fit all the BIG egos in each small country into even one large country! ----- And I don’t even get paid for all this research and analysis!
But I do get to enjoy the research and San Marino is a pleasant country to visit. It reminds me of a combination of Gibraltar and Toledo, the medieval walled city south of Madrid. Mount Titano is similar to the Rock. The east side facing the Adriatic Sea has sheer and spectacular cliffs and what makes it even more spectacular are the three castles or defensive towers built on the edge of the cliffs at the three highest points. The First Tower or Guaita was built in the 10th century with a defensive wall around it on the west slope. The Second Tower or Cesta was built in the 13th century with a second defensive wall to expand the town. The Third Tower or Montale was built later (year unknown). As stated before, these towers were built on the highest peaks of the cliffs and were never taken in battle throughout their history. There is a man-made path called the ‘Passo delle Streghe’ or ‘Witches Pass’ along the very top of the cliffs that connects the three towers. Talk about some magnificent views and scenery! But one wrong step and you fall about 500 feet –straight down!
The towers were defended mainly by ‘Balestrieri’ or crossbowmen that were renowned for their courage and accuracy. There is still a regiment of sixty balestrieri in the San Marino military that compete throughout the region and the world in archery. And you can buy a crossbow almost anywhere- the price goes as high as $1000 depending on size and accuracy.
The old walled city is interesting but not as old or as spectacular as Toledo. There are several good cafes and restaurants and of course a million souvenir shops. It was one of the few places in the country that I could speak English. Other than the shopkeepers I was on another of those 3-day language immersion courses –in Italian! Even though the hotel had satellite TV, there were no English stations and I could not buy an English newspaper anywhere in the country. Just as well since I have now discovered that the stock market was not doing well and that would have just upset me.
All the time that I was driving around the country I kept visualizing and wondering “Where could one run a marathon in this place”? I mean –there was not a flat piece of land or road anywhere in the entire country! The best choice would be the road from Rimini to San Marino but that was a 4-lane highway with no shoulders and too much traffic. So I drove over to the stadium in another Castle (township) where the ‘Games’ are to be held and managed to locate one of the sports administrators. Surprisingly she was an American from NYC. Her parents had moved back to San Marino when she was sixteen and she had stayed to raise her own family there. She confirmed what I had already discovered but did suggest that I check out a walking path in a local park near the border. It was flat, safe from traffic but only 1 km in length. That meant 42 ---FORTY-TWO loops to complete a marathon! That did not appeal to me. I desperately drove around the other Castles looking for a flat road that was longer. But it just didn’t exist!
But later that day as I was reading some tourist brochures I noted that one mentioned a nature trail in Faetano Castle. So I drove over to check it out. Hellaluah! There was a dirt trail running along a small creek that had a few small hills but most importantly it was about 4 km in length. And by jumping up on a side road, a 2-lane country road that crossed over into Italy, I was able to continue another 6.5 km into Italy before the road merged with a major highway. I had laid out a 10.5 km path with only a few minor hills! And that meant only FOUR loops! I’ve done that before.
The Maddog Marathon was on! The next morning I drove back, laid out some water bottles at 2-mile intervals and started the marathon in Faetano. It was without a doubt the most boring marathon I have ever run. Even though I was running easy since I wasn’t competing against runners or a clock I hurt much more than last week in Turin where I was racing very hard? But I finished in 3:59 and have marked San Marino off my list. And that also represented the fourth time in the past five months that I had run a marathon (or part of) in Italy!
After the run I went back to the old walled city to explore some more and have a good lunch and a few beers while looking out at the magnificent views from the top of Mount Titano. Two days is plenty of time to explore the whole country!
The next day I had a late flight out of Bologna but I decided to leave early so that I could drive into Rimini and up along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. But there were so many beach huts, amusement parks, cafes, etc along the beaches that I could hardly see the beaches or the Sea. So I cut back to the tollway and proceeded on to Bologna so that I could have some time to explore that city also.
Bologna is a very interesting city that dates back to the Etruscans during the 6th century BC. But it was not until the Romans established a Latin colony called ‘Bononia’ in 191 BC that the city started to flourish. It experienced many wars and finally became a Papal State in the 15th century. There is an ‘old town’ or historic region in the center of Bologna that dates back to the 10th century. There are several unique and interesting buildings and tourist attractions centered around Piazza Maggiore in the old town such as the Neptune Fountain. It was built in 1563 and represents the symbol of papal power: Neptune rules the seas just as the Pope dominates power over the land. At the foot of the God Neptune are four putti which represent the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon and the Danube, that were the rivers of the continents known up to that time. Just off the square are the “Le Due Torri’ – ‘The Two Towers’ that are the symbol of Bologna. The Asinelli Tower was constructed in 1120. It is 97 meters high. The Garisenda Tower was constructed in the same period but construction was halted at 47 m because the ground was unstable and the tower started to lean. It leans more than the Tower of Pissa and is therefore under constant care and maintenance. There are several palaces and churches in the old town that date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
The old town also has the porticos or porches built over the streets like Turin which came in handy since there was a light drizzle most of the morning. I stopped at a restaurant in old town for lunch and had –guess what? - Spaghetti Bolognese. I don’t know what secret ingredients they use but the spaghetti sauce was without a doubt the most delicious that I have ever tasted anywhere in the world!!! I wish that I had had another day to explore the city. But it was time to return to cold, cloudy and dreary England.
Fortunately my 5th and final visit to Italy in the past eight months had no bad incidents or events so I at least left Italy with pleasant memories and a wonderful taste of that delicious Bolognese sauce.
Monday, March 27, 2000
TR Turin, Italy Marathon
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!
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!
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.
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