Egypt - 10 October 2010 (1)

El Alamein

We both woke up early the next morning, so turned the lights on at 06.00.  We chatted for a while and Caroline asked me what I had not liked about the holiday so far – apart from the food poisoning of course.  Mostly the holiday had lived up to expectations, but there were a few disappointments.  This hotel was an example.  It was a very nice hotel, but we had arrived fairly late the previous evening and were due to head off after breakfast, so there was no time to enjoy the facilities.  That was true in Benghazi too.  By contrast, we had a lot of time in the poor quality hotels in Tunis and Tripoli.

Before we set off, every bag was loaded onto the roof of the bus, including Caroline’s small bag.  Ruth said that there should be a tarpaulin to protect the bags, but they were secured just by pulling the ropes really tight.  There was a real problem of communication in Egypt and I felt that the management of the local organisation was making savage cuts to its costs at our expense.  Not only was the bus much smaller than those we had enjoyed in Tunisia and Libya, but there was no English speaking guide accompanying us.  Hadi, who had picked us up at the border, had left us when we reached the hotel and we did not see him again.  That just left Mahmoud, our driver, and Ruth admitted that it was difficult to communicate with him.  Sometimes she had to resort to ringing the local office to get someone to interpret for her.

Despite everything, we set off soon after 09.00 as planned.  The first stop was yet another supermarket to buy supplies for lunch.  I was extremely lucky to have an empty seat next to me so, to ease my conscience, I got everyone to put their purchases on there.

After a very welcome coffee stop, we approached El Alamein.  The first stop was the German war cemetery, which was a building and nothing like the other cemeteries we had visited.  I stood at the doorway and felt very uneasy, so I sat outside and waited.  I tried the nearby toilets which came highly recommended.  I too would have awarded them “douze points” – until I tried to get out.  My yells of panic alerted Vic, who was nearby.  He promised to help as soon as he was able.  I tried to use my skirt for extra leverage to get the lock to turn and then tried the handle.  Miraculously, it opened!  Meanwhile, Vic had found himself truly trapped and was frantically banging on the door.  I went for help and a small army of guides and tourists gathered to try to release him.  Finally another tourist used his knife and successfully effected a “breakout from Kolditz”.  Vic gave me a hug – he was so glad to be free.

Tanks in El-Alamein Museum

After all that excitement, it was time to head to the museum and the Commonwealth cemetery.  I walked round the museum but, lacking knowledge of and enthusiasm for things military, I got round in no time.  I did enjoy looking at the displays of the uniforms worn by the different nationalities, ranks and roles.  Unlike some other museums, the models had rugged male features.  In at least one museum we had visited on the tour, the models used for Arab soldiers were somewhat disconcerting as they were both unmistakeably female and extremely white skinned and had probably been borrowed from a ladies’ clothes shop.

Tank in El Alamein Museum

Once out of the museum, I went for a cup of tea in the nearby café and then explored the outside exhibits.  There was a display of desert vehicles behind the museum, mostly tanks and a few guns.  Then it was time for more tea and some crisps, after which I sat on a wall outside to wait for the others.  Werner came and sat with me.  He said that he thought he had recognised an old friend in a photo in the BBC History magazine.  He wanted to show it to his friend’s son, but had left the magazine somewhere in Libya.  He was so scatty!  I said that I had nearly finished a third magazine.  He could write to the address in that and order either a replacement magazine or, perhaps, a copy of the photo itself.