January 12 - 22, 2011

There is so much to see and experience in a country with such rich history, culture and great eating. Spending three days in Cairo was a whirlwind tour pack full of nonstop pleasure. Everywhere we went people were friendly, engaging and eager to share their country some of the best food I have ever tasted.

There were many firsts on this trip to Egypt. We even happened to be there when it rained and hailed for most of one day in Cairo. This was the first rain they had in a year and our guide told us it had been about seven years since she had seen hail.

There were five of us who had the good fortune to accompany Dr. Robert Weiss, a prominent plastics and ocular surgeon, from Chicago. He was an invited guest speaker for sixty surgeons in Cairo. They were gracious and welcoming to all of us and took our visit to their country quite seriously when Tunisia began its revolution. They were concerned that it might affect Egypt. And as it turned out, it did. We left Egypt a day and half before they too experienced the beginning of a revolution.

These photo images only begin to express the wonders of this great civilization. The Egyptians are the most talented engineers and architects of all time. It's hard to do justice to this historical venture into the ancient world in only three days in Cairo and four days cruising up the Nile. But we made great use of our time there and covered a lot of ground visiting many temples, tombs, mosques, museums, churches and a synagogue, plus reveling in some of the current cultural experiences in the bazaars, a shopping mall and a place where the ancient art of rug making is still taught.

This is definitely a country in which I hope to return some day. Before we left, we were already planning our next trip. Unfortunately it might be some time before stability returns to Egypt. Whenever that happens, I will be booking another flight to explore more of this wonderful country.