Egypt - 12 October 2010 (1)

Monasteries of Wadi Natrun

Loading the bus next morning took slightly longer than usual.  I made sure that my case was at the front so it would be one of the first to be loaded.  I had borrowed my mum’s case and did not want to return it in a damaged state.  As it was, I did panic a bit.  It was getting a bit empty now and the weight of the case on top caused it to collapse slightly.  Luckily, when I got back to my mum’s, I was able to restore it just by rolling the top back.

We left at 08.40, during the rush hour, which meant that it took quite a while to get out of Alexandria.  An urban sprawl lay along the main road.  We passed a Carrefour and a McDonalds on our way out.

Although we were heading into the desert, the effect of the Nile was evident and this was one of the greenest drives of the tour.  We passed many green fields and even green central reservations in the road, some with bushes bearing lovely pink flowers.

Entrance to a Wadi Natrun Monastery

Then a police motorcyclist overtook us sounding a strange low level siren and, soon after, we hit organised chaos. We were approaching an overpass which crossed a railway line and a road junction and there must have been an accident ahead.  The slip road ran alongside us, so all the traffic, including us, was soon reversing in a surprisingly orderly way until we could slip through a gap and get onto the side road.  Inevitably this was much more congested than usual, with vehicles in every lane sounding horns to proclaim their existence.  Even so, pedestrians were happily walking across the road, quite unruffled and secure in their knowledge that no one would hit them.  Just as we approached the railway line, Kim pointed out a policeman who was keeping his cool in the confusion.  He was sitting on a chair and playing with his mobile phone, showing not the least concern for the traffic jam.  Perhaps he was right because, not long after, the traffic thinned and we were back on the main road, zooming south.

Monk and Lawn Mower

We turned off the main road and passed a sign welcoming us to Wadi Natrun City.  We drove to the far end of town, which meant negotiating a poor, very sandy road, and saw a sign to some monasteries. We visited two of them.  I stayed outside and watched the passing life while the others went inside.  At the first monastery, a monk was busy mowing the grass verges on the approach road.  There was a mini-supermarket across the car park, so I walked over and bought some water and an orange juice.  The shopkeeper was stroking a small kitten, which he kept in the drawer which served as his till.  It was so cute that I just had to tell Sue when she came out.  While I waited, monks kept emerging from the monastery to pop to the supermarket.

Deir Al-Baramus Monastery

Everyone I saw at both monasteries said hello or waved or otherwise acknowledged me as they passed in either direction.  At the second monastery, I sat on a marble bench just outside the door.  I was not sure if I was supposed to, but no one told me to move.  While I was sitting there a man came out and shook my hand.  He was carrying a child and was followed by his wife and two other small children.  Anne later told me that the wife had been pleading for some assistance when they were inside.  I wished I had given them some of my spare pounds.