We took off out of Mersa Matrouh with Egyptian heart surgeon Yasser joining the rally in his Cessna 172 a little after 9 am and headed along the coast towards Cairo. Our destination airport was 6th of October Airport. The name commemorates the Arab-Israeli war -- also known as the Yom Kippur War which began on October 6, 1973. Our flight took us over the vast desert of dunes and mesa-like plateaus past famous El Alamein and angling down to the airport about 20 miles south of Cairo.
Crowds and vintage cars met us. School children in their uniforms bunched in groups hoping to get up close to the airplanes.
Cedric and Alexandra were dealing with the disappointment of a decision made the previous night. Weeks earlier they learned that they won a drawing to be the only rally vintage aircraft to land at the base of the pyramids of Giza. It had been 90 some years ago that an airplane had done that. They anticipated this with great enthusiasm. Before retiring in Mersa Matrouh they were told that Alexandra would not be able to go; an Egyptian had to go in her place. On this day, a compromise was reached after we all got to 6th of October: Yasser would fly with Cedric and land at the pyramids; Alexandra would be allowed to take-off with Cedric from there for the flight back to 6th of October. It was slated to be a big media event.
With Alexandra joining everybody on the coach bus to Cairo (leaving Cedric and Yasser behind to prepare for the flight to Giza) we drove through awful Cairo traffic to get to the pyramids before Cedric landed there. Cairo's population is 20 million and it would appear that a very small percentage of those people value a clean city. Mounds of trash and plastic litter as well as concrete rubble from crumbling walls, and median dividers stretched for miles throughout the core of the city and its surrounding neighborhoods. It was a depressing sight as I was expecting the exotic charm of what I guess is now a bygone era. Without ancient Egyptian antiquities, Cairo, sad to say, is not much more than a man-made disaster area. The government is planning to build a new Cairo further west. New apartment complexes have been constructed. The new Cairo will be the seat of government with all administrative offices and service departments relocating there. With the technology to move water where you want it, desert real estate on the western fringes of Cairo is more desirable. My question is what will happen to the Old Cairo? Money and resources will go into the New Cairo and the 20 million people in the Old run the risk of having to sustain themselves and their crumbling city while the government is picking out wallpaper for its new home.
News came that the Antonov -- a large single engine, Russian made biplane carrying our A boxes (containing personal items we would need at destinations but could not carry in our own planes) was still on Crete and would hopefully catch up with us on Tuesday. So, no vintage dress clothes for the gala dinner. It was fun anyway. Dignitaries from the Aero Club of Egypt as well as from government transportation offices presented each rally member with a certificate and medallion. Found out later, we made news in The Guardian and ABC News. We also learned a TV news segment from Brussels was aired showing Cedric and Alexandra being interviewed about their flight to and from Giza.
Routing to 6th of October airport. Actual route was modified from what this photo shows.
The Stampe at our 3 O'clock enroute to Cairo area.
Team Barnstormers with Keith and Colin over desert on way to Cairo. Colin sits in the front - the usual seat for passengers in these types of planes. They are not as close as this photo implies. In any case, flying close only works in ideal conditions. When it's windy/turbulent, we don't even consider it. My job is to keep a vigilant eye out for all the aircraft in our particular 'formation'. Visual contact with all of them is required before doing any steep turns or other maneuvers.
Nick enjoying the warm welcome and greetings of some of the locals who came to see us.
One of about 15 vintage cars that also came out to greet us.
One of several school groups who came to be part of the welcoming committee. These were a spirited, bright bunch of teenagers. I told them their country and indeed the world needs them. I was so impressed with their energy, enthusiasm, and intelligence.
After long drive from outskirts into Cairo, we got our first glimpse of the Great Pyramid. Truly breathtaking when seeing it for the first time. Was struck by the number of somewhat fading apartment complexes practically across the street from the pyramids with incredible views which the residents probably don't think twice about after years of seeing them every time they open their doors.
Cedric and Yasser standing in front of the Stampe after their somewhat hair raising landing by the pyramids. Sam and Beatrice are on the left.
The "runway" is really a narrow road with small ditches on either side. Cedric did a great job maintaining directional control. We know this from what others said as we didn't get here in time to see him land.
Cedric being interviewed by the press. He is here with one of the government ministers who came to witness this historic event.
Team Alaska taking time to be caught up in the romance of Egyptian antiquity. Want so much to go back and spend more time here.
Alexandra and Cedric getting ready to take off. It was 30 minutes back to 6th of October and they wanted to get going well before dusk.
Taxiing out. Crowds were still milling around and Cedric had to rely on rally people to shoo spectators away from a moving airplane. You see, a propeller you can't see when it's doing what propellers do can't possibly hurt you.
Teams Alaska and Barnstormers enjoying the pyramids. We went inside this one to see the bare, empty crypt of the pharaoh Cheops. The walk up a steep, cramped shaft was quite an experience. If the walls we touched could have talked!
The lobby of our hotel. 5 star in every way. Too bad some of our group started coming down with Tutankamen's Revenge. The food was excellent. Armed guards at the entrance, however, was a little off-putting. I understand why they do it, but it is a sad reflection on the rather turbulent undercurrent of tension in a city with mounting social problems.
The next morning -- pilots walking out to the aircraft to get ready for flight to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast, then on to Luxor. Blowing dust in the far distance casts an interesting veil on the scene.
Our routing from 6th of October to fuel stop at Hurghada.
Mark catching up to us enroute. The Red Sea is in the background.
Looking down on resort city of Hurghada.
Hurghada airport is not set up for servicing small aircraft. The fuel for us is ordered ahead of time through the military much of the time. This lot was delivered in dented, rusty drums. The fuel seemed a little sketchy, so we passed around the only two funnels with filters for everyone to use. Mark is using the big one. Usually the hand pumps have built in filters, but not this one. The process to fuel all 17 aircraft took forever. Then came the paper work.
Sitting around and waiting for paperwork to get done. Too late by now to fly on to Luxor. Would not get there before nightfall. We stayed the night in a very nice resort hotel, but it was a sad exchange for the day in Luxor we all looked forward to.
No comments:
Post a Comment