Day 1

Well, I have made it here - thank goodness my taxi was waiting for me. Cairo must have quite literally a hundred times more dual carriageways and flyovers than London but the traffic is still chronic!

Anyway, I thought today that I would go out to Giza (by public transport - underground, bus and then shared minibus) as I have always wanted to see the solar boat, and this is not on the schedule for our "official" visit on Friday. It is quite stupendous. My feeble brain just cannot get round how the great pharaoh could be brought here in this "ship of state" - am afraid it puts the jubilee royal barge (and the Gloriana) to shame, although if you try to imagine the style of the latter with the size of the former, you will get something of the right impression

There is the usual tourist shot of me on a horse (second time in my life and fist in nearly fifty years) and then a feeble attempt to show what I am prattling on about - google will no doubt have far more than I could ever say.

PS. I could of course bore you with how my wonderful iPad packed up in terminal 3 yesterday and I had to sort it out here by phone, but perhaps not.