21:00 Quiz in the lounge bar
[This didn't happen.]
The above revised timing for breakfast was in response to the complaint from our party, but we went down for breakfast a bit after 7am. The shopkeeper showed us the photos that had been taken. We ventured out, because the Thomson rep had indicated that there were Bank of Cairo and Bank of Alexandria branches nearby. Once up the steps on street level, we were approached by a grey galabeya who wanted us to ride in his horse and carriage. We just couldn’t get rid of him; he followed us. He pointed out a bank but it wasn’t one of those two so we walked on. What to do in the Bank of Cairo wasn’t immediately clear, but I eventually found myself facing a teller who got me to address and sign a form and who issued me a thick wad of notes, which he told me to count in the seating area before leaving. The galabeya caught up with us, so I offered him the loose change I’d got with the notes. He wanted a note, but took the coins when I made it clear it was take-them-or-leave-them. We went down to pay our debt but were told the shopkeeper was asleep. In the cabin we realised that the boat was moving — changing its mooring — so felt fortunate that that didn’t happen while we were out. At 10am we assembled for a minibus trip, first to Karnak Temple — formerly known as Ipet-Ipsut, “the most perfect of places” — notably with its overwhelmingly huge hypostyle hall.
10:24:02 Karnak Temple
10:25:25
10:26:52 Avenue of sphinxes (head of a ram, body of a lion)
10:27:10
10:28:45
10:30:11
10:30:19
10:31:10
10:31:19
10:39:36
10:40:20
10:40:54
10:43:58
10:44:32
10:45:22
Photo by Mehran
10:46:08
10:46:24
10:46:46
10:48:42
10:51:26
10:51:56
10:52:48
Margaret and Mehran — taken by me with his camera, I think
