Monthly Archives: January 2021

Egypt’s oldest Pyramid and Memphis, the former capital

Post No. 11 — Looking back forty-years to 28 January 1981

Saqqara is on the west side of the River Nile, just a few miles south of Cairo and even fewer from the much more famous pyramids at Giza, but the so-called Step Pyramid has the privilege of being the oldest of them all, as it’s six-tiered design helps show.

The Step Pyramid of Djoser, at Saqqara, is the oldest colossal stone building in Egypt. [Copyright image, 1981.]
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Mosquitos, plans for a Two-week ‘Excursion,’ and a Citadel

Post No. 10 — Looking back forty-years to 27 January 1981

Our cheap hotel was right next to a mosque where very loud loudspeakers were used for the ‘calls to prayer,’ the first of which was in the small hours, each morning.

Street scene on our walk to the Citadel. [Copyright image, 1981.]
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The River Nile and the Cairo Tower

Post No. 9b — Looking back forty-years to 26 January 1981 (Part 2)

With two Aussie friends, Phil & Joe, I walked to Talaat Harb (street), through the square of the same name, and into El Tahrir Square. Then the street of that same name — El Tahrir — took us to the Qasr al-Nil Bridge, over the River Nile.

The view looking north, down the River Nile, from the Qasr al-Nil Bridge towards the 6th October Bridge. The road along the right-hand side of this photograph is the Nile Corniche. [Copyright image, 1981.]
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Traffic and Market Sellers in Cairo

Post No. 9a — Looking back forty-years to 26 January 1981 (Part 1)

A walk to the Main Post Office took me through traffic and among some random market stalls. The first two photos are among my favourite shots I took in Egypt, but for very different reasons.

An accurate but uncomfortable title for this photo would be ‘spit & polish,’ which is exactly what he was doing! [Copyright image, 1981.]
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Ancient History, Colourful People, and Stunning Generosity

Post No. 7 — Looking back forty-years to 24 January 1981

The road back into Alexandria took us past a large graveyard (see photo below) that surely must suffer the same problem from drifting sand as the El Alamein Allied War Cemetery that we had visited the previous day.

A widow’s walk, perhaps? The dark figure — up and left from the middle of this photo — is a woman walking back from a large cemetery behind the dark trees, top right. [Copyright image, 1981.]
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A Visit to the World War II Allied War Cemetery, El Alamein

Post No. 6 — Looking back forty-years to 22 January 1981

Looking back forty years to our full-day visit to the El Alamein War Cemetery, it is bizarre to realise that more years have now passed since that visit than had elapsed between the actual battles and the day we were there… Tempus fugit, and all that!

Quite rightly, all war cemeteries are sobering and saddening places to visit, but the barrenness of the setting at El Alamein, together with harsh winds constantly blowing sand in from the Sahara, makes this very under-visited memorial all the more poignant. [Copyright image, 1981.]
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