Experiences with ARAB Countries, Klaus Metzger, Jutta Hartmann-Metzger [nonfiction book recommendations .txt] 📗

1 Introduction

From 2003 to 2018 we visited three interesting Arab countries: Egypt, Morocco and the OMAN. Each time, we gained new experiences that shaped our image of Islam. In Egypt, it was the alleged threat of terrorism that defined everyday life during the trip, because the armed police were everywhere. A special experience was the armed police convoy that escorted our motorcade on its way through the desert to Luxor.

 

The Egyptian people behaved very friendly towards us. Especially the children we found very pushy. They begged until we tipped them off with a tip. Sometimes the escape to our Nile cruise ship waiting for us in the harbor was the last resort. The kindness of my wife, Jutta Hartmann-Metzger, found its limits in Egypt. Perhaps it was also the long experience with tourists who wanted to visit the Egyptian antiquities, which was responsible for the behavior of the locals.

 

In Morocco, we were surprised by the unprecedented unfriendliness that resulted in some incredible hostility. It started with the fact that our bus driver could not (or did not) find our well-known hotel on arrival. Only after an involuntary city tour we landed at the destination. The following morning at the hotel we continued: We had got up early. The wait staff was standing around - but showed no interest to serve us. This succeeded only with the help of a gentle pressure (an energetic complaint).

 

On walks on the beach of Agadir, JUTTA felt again this hostility, which was also paired with a mischievous behavior of men (four years later, this behavior was again on New Year's Eve in front of Cologne Cathedral, especially when young Moroccans have behaved very conspicuously). In the old Portuguese fortress on the Atlantic, Essaouira, photography became a very daring endeavor. Only with a telephoto lens and a very cautious manner, JUTTA got impressive pictures about life in this unique city. Strict religious restrictions, such as pork and alcohol prohibition did not exist in Morocco.

 

On the other hand, we had to pay attention to the strict regulations even before traveling to the OMAN. At our family doctor we got a bilingual certificate for our medications. It should be ensured that these were not drugs that are severely punished in OMAN. But we were not checked at the entry into this regard. The food in the hotel was the pork ban very consistently maintained. Alcohol was only available there in a limited amount (the high price already being a regulating factor).

 

The contact with the Omanis was characterized by a great friendliness - what you could expect from the staff. With the locals we observed a great mutual respect and also a certain pride. This impression was made by the young families who walked through the resort on Friday (the Arabian holiday). We considered the continuous veiling of girls and women as part of Arab culture. Interestingly, there are efforts in Saudi Arabia to lift the obligation to disguise or leave the decision to each woman. We did not notice anything about the devastating war in neighboring Yemen. We found the OMAN to be very stable and balanced.

2. EGYPT - history and present!

                                  The Valley of Kings

 

For a long time it has been the dream of my wife to visit the ancient Egyptian sights in this fabulous country on the Nile. It took more than a year to prepare for the 14-day trip at the turn of the year 2003/2004. The booking was made through a travel agency, which was only represented on the Internet and of course represented a certain risk. We were not disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

 From Hanover we flew in about 4 hours to Hurghada on the Red Sea. In our very hospitable and comfortable Moon Valley Hotel we felt immediately very well. The special arrangement of the hotel rooms resulted in a garden with a turquoise swimming pool, which reminded me in their harmonious arrangement of an oasis with a colorful variety of plants and flowers. With my camera I have literally conquered this little paradise. Just as I enjoyed myself as a photographer on the decent and slim domestic cats.

 

So we were able to acclimatize in Egypt for three days and adjust to country and people. We were very pleasantly surprised by the '' enterprising '' friendliness and took for the obvious protection measures of the Egyptian tourist police gladly in purchasing. It gave us a relative sense of security as we in the police convoy through the eastern desert in a hurry the distance from Hurghada over Safaga to Luxor covered.

 

 

 

 

 

Checking into the four-star Nile cruise ship, CORAL I, which was waiting for us in Luxor, began the historic adventure that was to last for over a week, leading us to the ancient Egyptian temples on both banks of the Nile on the way to Aswan. For the good luck was a young Egyptian tour guide (the German excellent) responsible. He accompanied us throughout the journey and willingly answered our many questions.

 

 

 

To get in the mood for ancient Egyptian history, we visited the Valley of the Kings located in West Thebes on the western bank of the Nile north of Luxor. There we were able to visit several royal tombs, which were created deep in the rock during the New Kingdom. As a very imposing building we got to know the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which lies at the foot of the steep rock face of the desert mountains. From this complex you have a very good view of the opposite side of the Nile, where the huge temple complex of Karnak is located. We visited them the next day. Alabaster vessels were found in many tombs of ancient Egypt. The ancient production of Old Egypt can still be admired today in numerous alabaster workshops located in nearby El Quorna.

 

 

 

 

 

Karnak is the largest temple complex in Egypt and is located 3 km north of Luxor. It mainly includes the Great Amun Temple, the Sanctuary of the Chons, and a rock temple Thutmosis'lll. The pylons (the grand entrance gates) are just as breathtaking as the enormous 134 pillars in the Great Hall of the Amun Temple. A real contrast are the two obelisks of Queen Hatshepsut, which allow very beautiful motifs with individual palms in the background. The famous Pharaoh Ramses 11th (1290-1224 BC) built the Column Hall, one of the greatest works of architectural history.

 

 

 

The Temple of Luxor is located in the middle of Luxor and lies on the eastern bank of the Nile. Originally it was connected by a sphinx avenue with the temple complex of Karnak. The remains of it are still to be found near both sights. It is noteworthy that one of the two obelisks, which were located in front of the entrance pylon of the Luxor Temple, was erected by the French in 1836 on the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After these impressive lessons in ancient Egyptian history, our hotel ship was able to drop off in Luxor and drive upstream - past the locks of Esna and Edfu - towards Aswan. In front of us was a distance of about 200 km. The bustle on the banks of the Nile and the Flying Dealers on the Nile were as surprising as the visit to the Arab Bazaar in Aswan, and of course the temples of Ptolemaic times (332-30 BCE), such as Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae Our interest continued to grow on an island in Lake Nasser near Aswan, but more and more people were captivating us in their poverty, as evidenced by the begging children in particular, who accompanied us on land at every turn. 'Photo Motives', as I encountered in South America more than 30 years ago, and selected examples can be found in "Old Egypt"

 

 

 

 The tour of the two dams near Aswan and Lake Nasser showed us the technical excellence of modern Egypt. The attempt to get out of obvious poverty is obvious and is reflected in the great efforts to promote tourism and to make the visitors' stay in Egypt - despite the alleged threat of terrorism - very pleasant. It also struck us time and again how many school classes and in part also children from kindergartens with their tutors and teachers, who provided themselves free of charge, visited the ancient Egyptian monuments. The educational interest of the Egyptians is obviously very large and is thus certainly in contrast to that of the black Africans.

 

The journey home from Aswan to Luxor was relatively quick. We were offered as a special highlight the elaborate New Year's Eve dinner with the corresponding supporting program on the Nile cruise ship CORAL I. In the same way through the Eastern Desert we arrived in the police convoy back to our hotel MOON VALLEY in Hurghada on the Red Sea. There we spent another three relaxing days, before we flew full of enthusiasm about our Egyptian experiences and with almost 400 DlA shots to Hannover. Since we had put our first priority on the ancient Egyptian history, unfortunately came the snorkeling and diving in the Red Sea a bit too short. Therefore, in a few years we plan to spend the winter in the friendly hotel MOON VALLEY, as the location in the city center and the nearby beach with the inexpensive diving school will be ideal for our planned activities.