The Camel-Lot World Wide Tour is entering the final stages. On Wednesday we joined our friend Lobna at Montazah. Montazah is a large complex surrounded by great walls from the south, east and west, and with the beach on its north side. This area used to belong to the Mohamed Ali family, which ruled Egypt from the mid XIXth century until 1952. The construction was started in 1892 by King Abbas II, who built a large palace inside the complex called the Salamlek. In 1932 King Fuad built a larger palace and called it the Haramlik. Montazah Palace was the last residence for King Faruk I before he abdicated in 1952. At one time deer and gazelles roamed the vast grounds. Much of the area is occupied by beautiful gardens. Palm trees and flower beds cover the area. Lobna has a “cabana” near the sea with a wonderful view of the Mediterranean. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon of good conversation with the sounds of the sea in the background. These cabanas are family owned and are passed from generation to generation. We traveled to and from Montazah in two cabs. Traffic was very thick at times – one of the best descriptions the Camel-Lots heard while they were here from one of the guides was that the drivers “fill in the gaps”. The taxi rides are always an experience. One of the taxis had no working gauges and a steering wheel that was barely attached to the steering column.
In the evening we power walked down to San Steffano for a movie. Pat and Diane went to “My Mother’s New Boyfriend” while Linda, Ruth Ann and I went to “Slumdog Millionaire”. Ticket prices for the 7:00 PM show was 30 LE while popcorn was 5 LE.
Today we rode the tram down to the Roushdy area to visit the Sacred Heart School (an all girl’s school with nearly 700 students). We have wanted to visit a local school since we have been here to see how it compares with Schutz. The style of education is different. Students are tested each month and ultimately how they do on these tests determine their placement later on for their studies. Class size was very large in the school with between 45 and 60 students. As we walked into the classroom, all of the students stood in unison and welcomed us. We observed several classrooms and were very impressed with how orderly and polite the students were. School is over each day at 3:00 but many students stay after as well a come in on weekends for extra help. The school is considered a private school but it is still under control of the Ministry of Education. The tram ride to and from Roushdy was very interesting. People of all ages will converse with us and help us out with the stops to make sure we find our way. Diane and I were having a conversation with two young men and according to local customs; there is a possibility that Diane became engaged! We hope Dave will understand.
We visited the adjacent church to the school. They are in the process of refurbishing the interior. One of the areas they are working on is painting the ceilings and archways. We met the artist and observed his work. Notice the details in the photo of the ceiling. The work he does is truly amazing.
We have just a few hours left with the Camel-Lots – what an experience for all of us. It has been a wonderful two weeks sharing our life here with them. Someone said that your life will be different when you view a sun set from the other side of the world and for the Camel-Lots that is probably true. They also have been wonderful ambassadors for America as our other visitors (my sister Eileen and her husband Bryan, our son Aaron and our daughter Angelia and grandson Nick) have been.
