September 21st, 2006, Back to the Hotel Longchamps
Today I am safe and sound in Cairo – home at the Hotel Longchamps, and loving it, though I have some sleep to catch up on. I flew in on EgyptAir, how I normally travel to Egypt, and it was a nice flight.
I have always enjoyed flying EgyptAir. Many years ago, when I first began going to Egypt, I flew KLM. That was nice, but then I took my first EgyptAir flight, non-stop from New York to Cairo, and since then I have never flown another airline to Egypt. There are several reasons for that. Of course, as Egyptians tend to be, the crew are great hosts. Egyptians are always great hosts. I have often thought that it is in their blood to be so, having greeted so many tourists for literally thousands of years.
Yet, what I like most about flying EgyptAir, is that, from the moment I step onboard, I feel like I am in Egypt, and that is nice. I do love Egypt, and flying EgyptAir allows me to stay a few hours longer. It all has a practical side though. I always meet Egyptians, and some of them have become good friends over the years. Frequently, before the end of a flight, I have been invited to dinner somewhere, or been told of a special place I must visit. Some of the Egyptians I meet on EgyptAir have even become important contacts. This time, for example, I met a Coptic priest from the White Monastery, who I am very sure will be an excellent contact, considering that I hope to do some updating of Egypt’s ancient Christian sites in the near future. Then, there are also my other fellow traveler – the tourists, some wide-eyed with excitement on their first visit to Egypt, a few seasoned visitors, but all of them fellow enthusiasts of this ancient land. It is always a joy to meet them, and once again, I end up making a few long term friends with people of a common interest. Anyway, there was bad weather about, but we had a very professional 
Captain aboard named Kareem Lalch who did an excellent job, and I have to say he was very gracious as well.
Landing in Cairo I was met by Ahmed, our truly remarkable manager in Cairo who makes things rock and roll. We’ve kept him darn busy lately arranging what is, after all, a reasonably difficult expedition, and as usually, he works miracles.
I spent the night jetlagged I’m afraid, at my home away from home, the Hotel Longchamps. I cannot call it all mine, as there are a number of Egyptologists, diplomats and savvy tourists who also make it their home as well. Now, its gotten a bit better though with free wireless internet, the first three star hotel in Cairo to use this technology.
I did manage to make it to my appointment with Zahi Hawass this morning, September 21, 2006. Keep an eye out. He has just been involved with a new book, big enough to build temples with, that documents the monuments all over Egypt. Looks like a remarkable work. However, I think the big news is that we will be working a bit more closely with the Director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. I have always been a fan of Dr. Hawass. I really do believe that he has made some outstanding improvements in the Egyptian antiquity front, some of which may or may not be obvious to the average visitor. For example, even though there remains some vendors and nonsense at the Great Pyramids, it is nothing like what was happening before his appointment to head the Council. Otherwise, I do believe that he truly cares, perhaps more than any of his predecessors, about the gifts from the past. Therefore, I am thrilled that Tour Egypt will be working with him much more in the future.
So tomorrow, my work really begins. We have, as is typical, had to adjust some of our schedules, but early in the morning, even before dawn, we will be approaching some of the more significant pyramids near Cairo from a very different prospective. Afterwards, I will probably spend the day in Coptic Cairo and perhaps some in Islamic Cairo before beginning our main push into the Delta. Stay tuned for some good photographs and some new info, and also keep in mind that tonight Egypt’s time will fall back one hour.