My first trip to Egypt

I was 17, 30 years ago, if I remember myself well..)) Made my first trip to Egypt. In fact, we, my friend Han and I, bought an inter rail ticket, which means: one month free traveling by train in Europe. But we already had our plans; straight to Athens, and then check how we could go to Egypt.
We left on a sunny Saturday morning from Utrecht, all the way to Athens, where we arrived the next Monday, late at night. Two and a half days by train...


After we checked in at a hotel in downtown Athens, we looked for a flight to Cairo.
We knew that IPEC (a student organization by then) offered one way tickets to Cairo from Athens. But, both of us were no students then. Anyway, Han 'seduced' the front office employee of this organization and we got our tickets: 25 USD each...

Our first visit in Cairo was of course to Gizeh.

See the pictures.


One of the most interesting part was 'climbing' in the pyramid, all the way up to the Kings' Chamber....



It is still a mystery, how this could be built....

More about my trip later...

I am a REDHEADED person

"Hans, since u are a christian man married to a Muslim woman, then u actually do not know what u're talking about!! this marriage is not right according to both Islamic and christian rulings, which means that u don't respect neither ur religion, nor the other's religion.Hans, do u believe in justice, and freedom ,or u're like those redheaded in turkey?!! '

I made a comment about the Muslim Brotherhood on Sondos' blog, and got this (anonymous) reply back. When I first saw it, I thought: wow, how nice. Then, I saw that this person writes Muslim with a capital and Christian without. The hate over there in Egypt against Christians (especially Copt) is obvious.
Although I think that 'Sondos' is a witty and intelligent woman, she defends the Muslim Brotherhood as they are like some kind of peacemakers. And in the meanwhile, she defends that violence against the 1948 'invaders' (read Jews) are legitimate. In my humble opinion: The Arabs invaded Jerusalem!
Sondos, I have Turkish Muslim friends who are married to Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Jews, Protestants, Bahia's, Atheists, Armenian Orthodox and Buddhists. Do you have them as well? Or are the MB and Hamas their racist ideology your only guidance?
Ever notice that a civil marriage is legal?

Sondos: Do you want to convert Julius Cesar and Shakespeare to Islam too?.....Oops, I get emotional, but insults and stupid comments like the one above are not for us, we, me.
And don't use Turkey as an example a proxy for your blood hunt against everything who is non Muslim.

Inquisition in Egypt

According to many Egyptian writers, intellectuals and bloggers, there is a real witch hunt going on in Egypt. Lawyers like Nabih el-Wash, try to prosecute everybody and everything who is not praising Allah and see the poems of the Egyptian poet Abdel Moati Hegazi (picture above) as sacrilege. He, Abdel Moati, compared the arch conservative 'sjeikh' Yusuf el-Badri not as a scholar but opportunist, who wants to make easy money. Yusuf el-Badri is one of the the people who filed complaint after complaint. In the mean while he is getting rich with the money he gets by the court decisions.

Yusuf el-Badri after a court case with one of his fans.
The lawyer El-Wash sees the highlight of his career when an Egyptian movie producer was convicted to 80 whip layers when she stated that many girls were not virgin anymore.

Ten years ago, the academic Nasr Hamid Abu Zeid and his wife were forced to divorce since he was not a 'Muslim' anymore, so he can not be married to a Muslim wife. One of the complainants was Yusuf el-Badri. In the end, Abu Zeid and his wife asked for political asylum in the Netherlands. Currently he works as a Professor at the university of Leiden and Utrecht.


Kareem is imprisoned since he discussed and criticized the Egyptian government.

Gizeh (Cairo), Egypt and Teotihuacan, Mexico

Reading books about history and mystics, I was always intrigued by the pyramids.
I visited Gizeh in 1977 and Teotihuacan in 1983. Just 21 years old, since they told me if you visit both, you will be part of a Golden and Heavenly triangle..))
Will put pictures of Gizeh, Asam (Egypt) and Sudan later here. And will ask a German photographer to allow me to use his beautiful pictures taken in Mexico on this blog.
I have still some nice stories about Mexico to tell.