Easter Candy

Chocolate Jesus
By Cosimo Cavallaro (click)

Was just too sweet for the Catholics who threatened the artist and gallery director with death. Here's a holy response well worth pondering.

David Kuo: That Chocolate Jesus

David KuoFri Mar 30, 8:01 PM ET

The public won't see that "anatomically correct sculpture" of a fully naked chocolate Jesus with arms stretched wide as if on a cross. That's a shame.

I am generally pretty laid back about such things - artists should be able to do whatever it is that artists want to do. I may object, I may be horrified, but art and art and art should be as free as art can be. As such, let this "artist" do what he wants.

If art is free to express itself, however, so to the public is free to declare judgment. And so with this piece of "art" I can freely say that I think it is absurd... but also that in some ways it is actually the perfect piece of art for holy week.

Why? Because it reminds all of those who follow Jesus of how he was mocked and ridiculed, how he was scorned and beaten, how he was humiliated... and all because of his love for us. Those are good things for his followers to remember.

Jesus' story isn't nice, it isn't neat, it isn't comfortable. It is the opposite of all of those things. In so many ways those of us who say we follow Jesus actually want a sort of "chocolate Jesus" of our own - one that is sweet, one that demands little from us, one that we can mold into our forms - perhaps politically conservative, perhaps liberal, maybe happy with just a few of our dollars given to the poor every now and again, perhaps content with those who simply say they love him and then lead lives little different from anyone else.

It is easy for some religious leaders to decry a piece of art and say - as some have (apparently with a straight face) - it is "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever." (I suppose that genocide in Darfur is merely an "affront" to Christian sensibilities?) But instead of getting all amped up over this "art," Christians should be spending time facing the real and very challenging Jesus found in the Gospels and encouraging others to do the same. I know that is what I need to do.

Happy Easter (may your basket be full)

Jameson

Streetcar named Scarlett

Latest on Atlanta Streetcars:

Today's letter in the AJC:

ajc.com > Print Edition

READERS WRITE: A streetcar desire

By Fred Maidment, Thomas M. West, Jack Miller, Terry Cole, Marshall F. Akers
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/27/07

Responses to "Streetcar plan rolls today to next phase," Metro, March 26, and "Streetcars on Peachtree, y'all," @issue, March 26

An appealing plan

Is it possible that streetcars will bring the long imagined upgrade of Peachtree Street? Will a streetcar named Scarlett (after Scarlett O'Hara of "Gone With The Wind") make our premier thoroughfare grand once again?

The proposed look portrayed in the plan's sketch certainly is appealing. The wider sidewalks have already made a good start in the Midtown area. As springtime arrives in Atlanta, nothing is more attractive than the idea of strolling along a fine boulevard with flowering trees, enticing shops and cafes, and sleek light rail in the form of modern streetcars.

Let's keep this brilliant plan on track.

JACK MILLER, Atlanta

Dar points out that it was here at 13th and Peachtree that Margaret Mitchell was killed by an automobile. All the better to replace cars with streetcars named in her honor.

• Graphic: See the blueprint

And also today: Atlanta's Mayor,

Franklin rings bell for Peachtree streetcars



Trolly Good, Jameson

Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

What better time to explore the Yellow Brick Road (click) than Elton John's 60th birthday. In Elton's bitter song, so harmonious, the yellow road is the road of howling celebrity dogs, of penthouses, of vodka tonics, the opposite of the John Denver Country Road. Elton longs for the horny toad and the farm--
Singing in Madison Square Garden, partying in style in New York, Elton certainly hasn't given up the howl of society dogs for the howl of the old owl in the woods. If there is anything beyond the yellow brick road for Elton, it seems to be the streets paved with gold.

W.W. Denslow's drawing of Scarecrow hung up on pole and helpless, from first edition of book, in 1900


The Yellow Brick Road for me has always been more than Hollywood and fantasy land. Over the rainbow, curving back upon itself, rather than going straight; twisting, turning, it has no automobiles, and takes us into the world of wizards and witches. Those in a hurry use magic to get wherever they are going. But it is best to linger, to meet the others who wander this enchanted way.
The yellow brick road leads into Pan's Labyrinth, (read the review) removed from but not immune to the horrors of Fascist Spain. It leads to danger, down the rabbit hole, into the forest of Hansel and Gretel, or the forest of Red Riding Hood. Perhaps this is where Elton's old Owl howls best.

Sir Elton (right) and his partner David Furnish wore lavish costumes to a pantomime-themed party to celebrate Matt Lucas' civil partnership to TV producer Kevin McGee in 2006.

I'd not say Goodbye to that Yellow Brick Road so quickly. Its scarecrows and cowardly lions are our best hope of reaching the Emerald City.




Amazing Trails,

Jameson

Saint Patrick/ Savannah Encore

We March to Savannah Again:

We made a second pleasant weekend trip to Savannah, having brunch at the Firefly Cafe (click), visiting Johnny Harris on World Famous Victory Drive, Spending an evening at the usual clubs, including Blaine's and Chuck's (click) on Riverstreet. We celebrated the Old Snake Chaser and all things Irish.

Here are a few photographs:

Savannah '07

Happy Vernal Equinox and St. Patrick's Day (click)

Jameson

GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY

This weekend G.W. Bush is off to Latin America, supposedly to better our image there and to promote the use of ethanol. He has signed a deal, sweet as sugar cane, with Brazil (Rain Forest be damned). All the while, his visit raises the old debate: capitalism v. socialism.
On the eve of his visit, Bush invoked the name of Simon Bolivar (photo, left). Pres. Chavez holds Bolivar as a hero, and has claimed his socialism is based on ideals from Bolivar. Who is right? More importantly, which ideology has more to offer the people of Latin America?
Here is where history offers an answer. President Franklin Roosevelt understood how to combine socialist and capitalist principles into a working combination. Europe and Latin America have done so for decades. Roosevelt also changed our policy toward Latin America-- from one of intervention and imperialism to one of respect and cooperation-- the Good Neighbor Policy. Had we a president with the brilliance and insight of Roosevelt, we would be greeted not with protests but with cheers from the people of Latin America. We need leaders who don't name drop Simon Bolivar, but rather understand and believe in his ideals.

See also: Bush in Argentina (click)

Hasta Luego,

Jameson

Savannah Sojourn

March comes to Savannah

We made a pleasant weekend trip to Savannah, having brunch at the Firefly Cafe (click), visiting the Signature Gallery(click), Spending an evening at the usual clubs, including Blaine's and Chuck's (click) on Riverstreet. Dar dispensed gold and other gifts from the Orient.

Here are a few photographs:

Savannah '07

Happy Vernal Equinox and St. Patrick's Day (click)

Jameson

Found: Jesus... with wife and son.

Buddha had a wife and child before finding enlightenment. Maybe Jesus did too:

From the BBC:

Jesus tomb found, says film-maker

A documentary claims this is the ossuary of Jesus Christ

Jesus had a son named Judah and was buried alongside Mary Magdalene, according to a new documentary by Hollywood film director James Cameron.

Local residents told the BBC News website they were pleased with the attention the tomb has drawn.

"It will mean our house prices will go up because Christians will want to live here," one woman said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6397373.stm?ls


Look Deep Within.

Jameson

Last night, watching the ever provocative Bill Maher, I heard Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of his panelists-- whose new book, Infidel, is bringing her increased recognition--speak about the Islamic religion. Naturally, I agree with Maher, all religions are absurd and often preposterous. But her indictment of Islam as practised today in much of the world was as sharp as the knives her grandmother used to cut her genitals when she was five. This woman, recently a member of the Dutch Parliament, star of murdered Van Gogh's film, Submission, deserves our ear , if not our heart. Here are some details:


Photo from her WIKI Entry (click)

	Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ali, born in Somalia and raised in Kenya became a Dutch citizen and was a Dutch member of parliment from 30 January 2003 until 16 May 2006.
She is under threat from Islamists for her public rejection of the Muslim faith and its cultural practices which subjugate women.
In a BBC World Service radio interview [1] the week of June 19, 2005 Ali talks about the steps which led up to her rejection of Islam ...

I came to the conclusion [that] I do not believe in the existence of a god or in the hereafter.

She co-produced (with Theo van Gogh) the short film Submission, Part I on the lack of rights for women under Islam. Van Gogh was later murdered by an Islamic extremist in reaction to the film.

And from the current issue of Newsweek:

---

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Fighting Muslim Extremists

Threats and armed guards have followed provocateur Ayaan Hirsi Ali to America. But that suits her just fine.

By Eve Conant

Newsweek

Feb. 26, 2007 issue - Ayaan Hirsi Ali moved to the United States last September when she was invited to join the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. Last week her controversial memoir, "Infidel," was published here. With armed guards just outside her office, she sat down with NEWSWEEK's Eve Conant to discuss the Muslim extremists who have threatened to kill her, life in America and whether she's a "colonial feminist":

CONANT: Do you know how many fatwas are out against you right now?
HIRSI ALI: No. There is no official state fatwa, like the one Salman Rushdie had. Thereare simply individuals who think that by killing me they will go right to heaven. I can't live my life looking over my shoulder all the time and thinking, "Oh, my God, am I going to be killed now?"

Do you have to take extreme measures for protection?
The bodyguards [outside] are armed, yes, but I'm not allowed to go into too much detail. The Dutch government is responsible for the armed guards—they pay for them. The Americans provide intelligence gathering. I'm so, so sorry I can't tell you more; you can try talking to the two guys outside, but they won't tell you anything.

Have you felt threatened here in America?
Not threatened, but I've been recognized by some Muslim individuals who let me know they are not pleased with what I'm doing. That also happened in Europe, just people walking up to you and telling you, "Oh, you're that woman, I can't stand you." I just say, "OK, look, I'm eating now, please leave me alone."

You're at a conservative think tank. Does that reflect your position on American politics?
I consider myself a liberal, a classic liberal. The state should provide opportunity but not coddle you. I'm an atheist, but I'm not proselytizing atheism. I'm for equal opportunity for women and for gays. Some of my colleagues here don't agree with me on all issues, but that's good because you can sharpen your own thoughts that way. We agree to disagree.

You've been accused recently of being a colonial feminist.
Yes I have, but I also don't really know what that means. Look—what am I saying about Muslim women? Allow a Muslim girl to finish school, let a Muslim woman be financially independent and let her control her own body. Is that colonial feminism? Then fine, I'm a colonial feminist.

Some accuse you of being critical of Islam because of your rough childhood. What was the moment that transformed you into the person we see now—a woman more likely to wear Prada than a veil?
Let me tell you, I'm not wearing Prada today [laughs]. There are some 150 million women [of different religious backgrounds] who have undergone genital mutilation. When I was living in Africa I was not aware that this was a bad thing, because it happened to all the girls around me. And my arranged marriage: I wanted out of it, but I didn't blame it on Islam. What I tried to do in my book is explain the context in which these things took place. At that time Islam was absolutely not relevant as a source of pain to me. The real moment, for me, was after the 11th of September. I started to download bin Laden's propaganda and compare it to what was written in the Qur'an, just to check if it was really there. It was, and I was really disappointed and deeply disturbed.

Do you want to stay in the United States?
Yes, I'm happy here. The only thing that bothers me is when you go to a restaurant they put ice in your water.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17201010/site/newsweek/

Google her (news): every hit is fascinating...

Jameson

Tennessee Totality

From Lookout Mountain to Fall Creek Falls, we waltzed across Tennessee, eating Egyptian food at Starr's party, hiking the snowy trails to the highest waterfall (and icycles) east of the Mississippi, and enjoying the company of friends and family. Have a look:

Tennessee Totality

Happy Trails...

Jameson

Everlasting Boner

Whether they are 'Romeo and Juliet'
Or 'Two Gentlemen of Verona,'

Death could not part these two eternal lovers.




For Five Thousand years they have hugged within kilometers of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet embraced. Archaelogists have promised not to break them apart.


They prove that...

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of Doom.

Shakespeare, Sonnet CXVI

Their Story:

Scientists to save 5,000-year-old embrace

By Phil StewartMon Feb 12, 9:53 AM ET

Italy won't split up its Stone Age "lovers."

In a Valentine's Day gift to the country, scientists said they are determined to remove and preserve together the remains of a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, their arms still wrapped around each other in an enduring embrace.

Instead of removing the bones one-by-one for reassembly later, archaeologists plan to scoop up the entire section of earth where the couple was buried, they told Reuters.

The plot will then be transported for study before being put on display in an Italian museum, thereby preserving the world's longest known hug for posterity.

"We want to keep can them just as they have been all this time -- together," archaeologist Elena Menotti, who announced the discovery a week ago, told Reuters.

Their removal will be a relief for archaeologists who had to hire extra security to guard the rural site outside the northern city of Mantova after the discovery made world headlines.

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS?

More importantly, it will give scientists a chance to figure out what was has become one of Italian archaeology's greatest mysteries: the first known Neolithic couple to be buried together, hugging.

Was it a sudden death? A ritual sacrifice? Or maybe they were prehistoric, star-crossed lovers who took their own lives.

That is a crowd-pleasing theory in these parts, since Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was set in nearby Verona.

But scientists acknowledge they still know precious little about the now-famous Stone Age couple, whose embrace has become a subject of world newspaper headlines and chat shows.

Italians dubbed them the "Lovers of Valdaro" after the Mantova suburb of farmland and factories. But even their gender is a open question until scientists confirm the theory that they were a man and a woman.

Archaeologists seem certain the couple died young, since their teeth are intact and that they died during the Stone Age because of an arrowhead and tools found with the remains.

But new evidence indicates the couple were not alone and that the remains may have left been near a Stone Age settlement.

A CULT? DEATH GRIP?

Archaeologists on site showed Reuters photographs of another skeleton found nearby, suggesting the couple were in some sort of prehistoric burial ground.

While the single body was buried East-West, possibly following the daily path of the sun across the sky, the Stone Age couple were buried "the wrong way."

"They were buried North-South, and we don't know why," said archaeologist Daniela Castagna, standing over the grave site.

John Robb, lecturer at Cambridge University and an expert in Neolithic Italian remains, says the trouble with the Stone Age couple is the singularity of the find -- which makes it difficult to explain using known historic data.

He said Neolithic burials are almost always single burials.

"There are a couple of mass burials. There are couple of examples of heads being found under houses. And then, about one burial in every 20 or 30 sites is completely unique," he said.

"And these are probably things that have strange ritual circumstances of one kind or another."

But until scientists get a closer look at the bones, all anyone has are loose theories.

The discovery generated Internet conspiracy theories with some taking a darker interpretation of the hugging skeletons.

One reader on AOL, said it was absurd to assume "this couple is in eternal bliss."

"Maybe it is eternal hatred that had them locked together in a death grip," wrote another reader.

Other people have called for the couple to be left alone -- something that Italian archaeologists say would leave the remains vulnerable to looters, vandals and even bad weather.

There is also a practical reason, the owner of the land hopes to soon build warehouses on it.

"We say rest in peace -- unless you're dead long enough to be interesting," wrote another reader, Jim Noonan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070212/sc_nm/archaeology_italy_embrace_new_dc_1

Happy Valentines

Jameson

Good Training

Eurotram has won the hearts and minds of the people of Strasbourg - "it has given us back our city".

Is it too much of a fantasy to imagine light rail in Atlanta with a nice streamlined bullet train aimed for Savannah? Here is my letter to the AJC:


http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/strasbourg/strasbourg1.html



From The AJC:

READERS WRITE

By Mick Travis, Phyllis Lazarus, Ann Daiss, Jack Miller, Jim Dexter, Andy Kives
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/08/07

Transportation

Responses to Jim Wooten's column "Rail reversal may point us to better ideas," @issue, Feb. 6

Atlanta area needs 21st-century plan

Anyone who has traveled the world, including the finest cities in the United States, knows that rail is one of the essential components of success. Imagine Paris without the Metro, London without the Underground, Strasbourg without light rail. Imagine San Francisco without trolleys, cable cars and electric buses, not to mention its rapid transit system.

Rail is hardly the 19th-century relic Jim Wooten imagines. It is ever-wider roadways, jammed with traffic, that have become the 21st-century nightmare of which we need to rid ourselves.

Forget the 20-lane roads, and the tunnels choked with gas fumes. We need Georgia leaders who have the vision and courage to bring 21st-century rail to our state.

Wooten is right that such rail needs to go somewhere: Macon, Savannah, and ultimately Florida, the Northeast and the West. With a Japanese-style bullet train, we could get to Savannah in the time it takes to have lunch in the club car. That's what I call a future we can look forward to.

JACK MILLER, Atlanta

Tunnels won't fix traffic problems

Jim Wooten's column makes it clear why he and the rest of the "nothing-but-roads" crowd is so opposed to commuter rail. Instead of investing a few million dollars upgrading existing railroad tracks for passenger service, they want to spent more than $25 billion blasting huge tunnels directly beneath the city of Atlanta, primarily for the benefit out-of-town truckers.

I'd suggest that if Wooten likes blasting tunnels so much, we should start by blasting one directly beneath his house.

JIM DEXTER, Decatur

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/printedition/2007/02/08/edletts0208a.html



Stay on Track

Jameson

When in Rome (Updated Feb. 2)

What better place to stay in Rome than next to the Pantheon, dedicated to all the gods, a temple restored by Hadrian --in which he embraced Antinous, a god in human form.

The Pantheon
photo by Jameson

As Keats wrote, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Such is the Pantheon, such the sculptures of Antinous and of Hadrian. See Hadrian's Eye below.

Today Dar goes from the Pantheon to the Villa Borghese.

Dar's abode: Hotel Pantheon.

Top 100 Photographs of Egypt and Rome:

Egypt07

Ciao Bella!

Jameson

Tennis 2007 (Updated 1/28)

What a start to 2007 in Australia for the tennis season. Serena Williams shows tenacity and ferocity in winning her quarter-final match 8-6 in the third set and her semi-final match in straight sets.. Sharapova clobbered Clijsters and played Serena in Saturday's final. Serena rocks! She beat Sharapova emphatically.


















Andy Roddick, Serving.
His first tournament win.
Atlanta
Photo by Jameson

For his quarter-final match, Andy Roddick easily beat old roommate Mardy Fish but lost to the tennis Master and ultimate slam winner-- Roger Federer in 3 sets. Nadal lost to Gonzalez who beat Haas for a place in the final. This weekend raised quite a racket.

Check it all out at the

Australian Open Webpage.



Serve an ace.

Jameson

Why Write, Why Blog...

A little Essay from Newsweek puts it nicely:

Quindlen: Write for Your Life

Wouldn't all of us love to have a journal, a memoir, a letter, from those we have loved and lost? Shouldn't all of us leave a bit of that behind?

By Anna Quindlen

Newsweek

Jan. 22, 2007 issue - The new movie "Freedom Writers" isn't entirely about the themes the trailers suggest. It isn't only about gang warfare and racial tensions and tolerance. It isn't only about the difference one good teacher can make in the life of one messed-up kid. "Freedom Writers" is about the power of writing in the lives of ordinary people. That's a lesson everyone needs. The movie, and the book from which it was taken, track the education of a young teacher named Erin Gruwell, who shows up shiny-new to face a class of what are called, in pedagogical jargon, "at risk" students. It's a mixed bag of Latino, Asian and black teenagers with one feckless white kid thrown in. They ignore, belittle and dismiss her as she proffers lesson plans and reading materials seriously out of step with the homelessness, drug use and violence that are the stuff of their precarious existences.

And then one day, she gives them all marbled composition books and the assignment to write their lives, ungraded, unjudged, and the world breaks open.

"My probation officer thinks he's slick; he swears he's an expert on gangs."

"Sorry, diary, I was going to try not to do it tonight, but the little baggy of white powder is calling my name."

"If you pull up my shirtsleeves and look at my arms, you will see black and blue marks."

"The words 'Eviction Notice' stopped me dead in my tracks."

"When I was younger, they would lock me up in the closet because they wanted to get high and beat up on each other."

Ms. G, as the kids called her, embraced a concept that has been lost in modern life: writing can make pain tolerable, confusion clearer and the self stronger.

How is it, at a time when clarity and strength go begging, that we have moved so far from everyday prose? Social critics might trace this back to the demise of letter writing. The details of housekeeping and child rearing, the rigors of war and work, advice to friends and family: none was slated for publication. They were communications that gave shape to life by describing it for others.

But as the letter fell out of favor and education became professionalized, with its goal less the expansion of the mind than the acquisition of a job, writing began to be seen largely as the purview of writers. Writing at work also became so stylistically removed from the story of our lives that the two seemed to have nothing in common. Corporate prose conformed to an equation: information x polysyllabic words + tortured syntax = aren't you impressed?

And in the age of the telephone most communication became evanescent, gone into thin air no matter how important or heartfelt. Think of all those people inside the World Trade Center saying goodbye by phone. If only, in the blizzard of paper that followed the collapse of the buildings, a letter had fallen from the sky for every family member and friend, something to hold on to, something to read and reread. Something real. Words on paper confer a kind of immortality. Wouldn't all of us love to have a journal, a memoir, a letter, from those we have loved and lost? Shouldn't all of us leave a bit of that behind?

The age of technology has both revived the use of writing and provided ever more reasons for its spiritual solace. E-mails are letters, after all, more lasting than phone calls, even if many of them r 2 cursory 4 u. And the physical isolation they and other arms-length cyber-advances create makes talking to yourself more important than ever. That's also what writing is: not just a legacy, but therapy. As the novelist Don DeLillo once said, "Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals."

That's exactly what Gruwell was after when she got the kids in her class writing, in a program that's since been duplicated at other schools. Salvation and survival for teenagers whose chances of either seemed negligible. "Growing up, I always assumed I would either drop out of school or get pregnant," one student wrote. "So when Ms. G started talking about college, it was like a foreign language to me." Maybe that's the moment when that Latina girl began to speak that foreign language, when she wrote those words down. Today she has a college degree.

One of the texts Erin Gruwell assigned was "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank. A student who balked at reading a book about someone so different, so remote, went on to write: "At the end of the book, I was so mad that Anne died, because as she was dying, a part of me was dying with her." Of course Anne never dreamed her diary would be published, much less read by millions of people after her death at the hands of the Nazis. She wrote it for the same reason the kids who called themselves Freedom Writers wrote in those composition books: to make sense of themselves. That's not just for writers. That's for people.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16608254/site/newsweek/

Keep scribling.

Jameson

Land of the Pharaohs

After our trek to South Beach, last week:

J

Darryl has gone via Italy to Egypt. Here is his path along the Nile:

Egyptian Tours

Discovering Ancient Egypt I
January 16 – 26 , 2007

Join us on this customized tour of Egypt that is the result of research and experience on the part of our tour leader, Dr. Peter Lacovara.

Tuesday, January 16

Arrive Cairo airport, where you will be met by our representative who will help you with your immigration and customs formalities. Later you will be transferred to your hotel.

Marriot Palace Hotel

Wednesday, January 17

Buffet breakfast at hotel, we begin our visit to the famous Egyptian Museum, where you can see the world's greatest collection of Pharaonic art, including masterpieces from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms and the Greco-Roman periods. An in-depth visit of the famous Tutankhamon treasures is featured on this tour. After lunch at the Nile Hilton Hotel, we proceed to the Gayer Anderson Museum, known as Bayt Al-Keretliya. The Gayer-Anderson Museum was the residence of a British Major, John Gayer Anderson, between 1930 and 1943. Anderson was an art lover and a great admirer of Islamic Cairo. His house is loaded with Islamic artifacts, paintings (both European and Egyptian), sculptures and many private belongings of him and his wife. The house is very well preserved with interiors and furniture intact. It consists of two houses, one of the 16th century, the other of the 17th, each comfortable by the standards of their time, and have been delightfully joined together. Then, on to the narrow streets and alleys that form the Khalili bazaars where you can enjoy watching skilled craftsmen working with gold, silver, and brass. Here you can buy hand made souvenirs at bargain prices.

Return to hotel.

Marriot Palace Hotel (B/L)

Thursday, January 18

Buffet breakfast at hotel. Depart our hotel to visit the Pyramids of Giza, the tombs of the kings, Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. Continue to The Sphinx, the largest single sculpture of all time where you will visit the funerary Valley Temple of Chephren and, beside it, the temple to which the Sphinx stands guardian. The Sphinx was carved from one solid piece of limestone and measures 50 meters (164 Feet) in length and 22 meters (72 Feet) in height. Then on to the Boat Museum. The Ancient Egyptians carved chambers in the rock, near the Pyramids to hold the boats that were part of the funeral procession of the King. One of these boats was discovered disassembled in 1954 and has been painstakingly reconstructed. The boat was 43.5 meters long, the prow and stern were 5 meters and 7 meters high respectively.

From there we drive through the Egyptian countryside to the site of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt in Pharaonic times and the chosen city of the God Ptah. Although little remains of the ruins of this once mighty city, you will see the marvelous Alabaster Sphinx and the Collossus of Ramses II. Proceed to Sakkara, the necropolis or "city of the dead" near Memphis. Here you will visit the famous Step Pyramid of Zoser, which is considered the first stone building, as well as the first pyramid known to mankind! You will also visit its adjoining, fully restored, temples and the court for the ritual of the Heb Sed. Continue to visit the enormous Serapium, an underground tomb for Sacred Bulls, spreading for almost two acres under the ground. Finally a visit will be made to the Mastaba of Ti, a tomb with beautiful and well preserved scenes depicting ancient Egyptian daily life. We will also visit the brand new Imhotep Museum. Finally we will transfer to our hotel for check in.
Mena House Oberoi (B)

Friday, January 19

Buffet breakfast at hotel, start our day by visiting the Pyramid Of Meydum, which may have been the first Egyptian attempt at building a true pyramid. The pyramid was originally built as a step-pyramid, with over eight steps which were then to be filled in and covered by an outside layer. It was once thought that this outside layer, however, collapsed not long after it was built as a result of some errors in design, but now it is believed to have never been finished and the debris around the base are the remains of the original construction ramps. It is thought that the pyramid was built by King Huni or his son Sneferu, the 4th dynasty Pharaoh.

After Lunch we proceed to visit Dahshur, South of Saqqara and an extension of the necropolis. Here we discover the first true Pyramids in the history of Egypt, built during the reign of Snerferu, who was the father of Cheops, who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. Both pyramids date from the 4th dynasty. Both pyramids seem to have been built for the king, the imposing Red Pyramid, with its tint of reddish limestone blocks and the Bent Pyramid, which is probably the best example of the transition from step to straight pyramid.
Mena House Oberoi (B/L)

Saturday, January 20

Buffet breakfast at hotel. We will have the opportunity to observe the Delta landscape as we travel to Bubastis and Tanis, Zoan of the Bible and capital of Egypt during Dynasties XXI-XXII. Pharaohs of the period brought decorated stones and monumental sculptures from all over the Delta to embellish their temples. Today the site is an impressive outdoor museum. Lunch box will be provided between the visits. Back to Cairo.
Mena House Oberoi (B/L)

Sunday, January 21

Buffet breakfast at hotel, transfer to Cairo airport for your flight to Luxor. Arrive Luxor Airport. We will visit the Karnak Temple and the Open Air Museum enroute to our hotel for check in. Afternoon tea and tour of Chicago House, the headquarters of the University of Chicago's expedition to record and preserve the monuments of Luxor.

Optional: Sound & Light Show at Karnak Temple

Leave the hotel and drive to Karnak where you will attend the spectacular Sound & Light production. This 75-minute spectacle first takes you around the temple grounds, and finally the last act is played while you are seated along the Great Sacred Lake. The performance takes you through the temple and tells its history.
Old Winter Palace (B)

Monday, January 22

Buffet breakfast at hotel, cross the Nile to visit the Necropolis of Ancient Thebes, the city of the dead. Where the wealth of antiquities is outstanding. Explore the Valley of the Kings lying protected by the high Gurna Hills surrounding it. Here you will visit the tombs of Egypt’s splended Pharaohs. Deep-cut into the rocky mountainsides are the magnificent tombs of spellbinding construction and decoration. Visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, where the story of her Divine Birth is carved on the Walls of her temple, originally dedicated to the godess Hathor, deity of love and Beauty. The temple's 37 meter (121 Foot) - wide causeway leads us to three huge terraced courts; the Temple of Hatshepsut is as intriguing as the Pharaoh-queen herself.

Then we proceed to visit Tombs of the Nobles, these are the private tombs of dignitaries and priests during the New Kingdom and are remarkable for their colorful scenes of everyday life. Medinet Habu, the site is dominated by the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III (1194 – 1163 B.C.), the largest on the west bank and one of the best preserved. There are many fine paintings and reliefs bearing scenes of the King’s military exploits, including a unique portrayal of a sea battle.

Ramesseum Temple, the Mortuary Temple of Ramses II, although half in ruin, still has a romantic appeal due to the remains of a colossal statues of the king lying shattered in the first court. Reputed as the inspiration for Shelley’s well-known poem “ Ozymandias ”, it is as much a tribute to the superb work of the sculptors as to the king himself.

Then to the two Singing Statues of King Amenophis the Third, known as the Colossi of Memnon, facing the Nile. Box lunch will be provided today between the visits.

This evening we will visit the Luxor Temple and the Mummification Museum.
Old Winter Palace (B/L)

Tuesday, January 23

Buffet breakfast at hotel, we drive south by the Nile towards Aswan, and en-route will visit the Temple of falcon-headed, Horus – one of the finest examples of Ptolemaic art in Egypt.

70 km south of Edfu and 40 km north of Aswan is the Temple of Kom Ombo, also known as the dual temple of Sobek and Haroeris. Everything is doubled in this perfectly symmetrical temple: twin entrances, twin halls, twin colonnades, etc. This Greco-Roman temple is directly on the banks of the Nile.

Arrive Aswan, transfer to your hotel for check in.

Evening visit to the Nubian Museum, (the Nubian Museum is one of the most beautiful museums in Egypt and is the first museum to explore the rich Nubian culture). The museum features Nubian artifacts, weapons, pottery, utensils, paintings, and sculptures. Furthermore, it offers a show of Nubian dance and music.
Old Cataract Hotel (B)

Wednesday, January 24

Buffet breakfast at hotel, we start our day to the docks on Lake Nasser for a short boat ride to the island of Philae where you will visit the beautiful Temple of Isis. From there we proceed to visit Tombs of the Nobles in the west bank of the Nile. Finally we visit Elephantine and Sahel Islands. Group dinner at the hotel.
Old Cataract Hotel (B/D)

Thursday, January 25

Buffet breakfast at hotel, then we will transfer to the Aswan airport. On the way to the airport we will stop for a short visit to the unfinished obelisk, which was commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut, but abandoned after discovering a crack that rendered it unworthy for a queen's monument. We continue to Aswan airport for your flight to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo airport, we will transfer to your hotel for check in.
Le Meridien Heliopolis (B)

Friday, January 26

Buffet Breakfast at hotel, then you will be met by our representative and transferred to Cairo airport, where you will be helped with your check-in and immigration formalities for your flight back home. [Optional Lake Nasser Cruise January 25 – 30, 2007]
(B)

From Cairo, Dar will go to Rome for three days, staying next to the Pantheon.

(click)

Picture Gallery

Set Sail.

Jameson