Bee Travel
Dreams of Egypt
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Enthralled with the Sphinx and the tombs of Pharaohs, I did projects that included papier-mâché pyramids and required reading about Egyptologists. Nothing could stop me quicker than a magazine cover of the Valley of Kings. I remember reading in a 1960s-ish current events class about the Egyptian government's undertaking an enormous project - building the Aswan High Dam (about which I could have cared less). In flooding this section of the Nile (here comes the part that interested me), they would lose the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. This would simply not do (horrors!), so they moved it - 60 meters up the same sandstone cliff where it was originally built 3,000 years earlier.

It's quite evident I did nothing about becoming an archaeologist. It's 40 years later, and I still haven't even gotten to them - the pyramids, that is. So, it's time I did something about it. I have no intention of returning to school for Egyptology, much as that does sound enticing. I'm not certain my constitution could take endless days in blinding hot equatorial sun, amid the stinging of sand. I could still wield a paintbrush and shake the sluice free of sand. Anyway, now the quest is for something a little less - well, permanent.

And so the quest begins. And the questions: When shall I go? Exactly what sights are not-to-be-missed, and what's it going to cost? How long is long enough, and what can I expect to see with the time I will allot? Should I book a tour or travel independently? If I travel independently, should I travel alone or with a companion? Is it dangerous? What's the best time to go?

I could put all this to a travel agent, of course. Indeed, for those of us with limited time, little patience and scant resources, this is the single most expedient thing to do. I won't, of course, for to me, the process - this discovery - is part of the trip. It's participation in pretrip preparation, getting the anticipation off and running. The dream takes shape. It somehow makes the trip last longer; the impressions stay just a little clearer. Starting early and in steady time, it's far more feasible to assimilate information - relevant and irrelevant (but interesting) - that just wouldn't have opportunity to take up proper residence if it were handed to you all at once. (I've always rather quizzically wondered why certain tour operators give you a book list with your final documents - as if you've time, by then, to begin reading the weighty tomes suggested. I think they should give you the list as soon as you've booked your tour...just an observation.)

So, I've dusted off some of my own Egypt collection. I'm daily perusing Web sites. Tour companies have my name, and will court me well beyond my decision time. And waiting for me, the steady sentinel in all this, is the Sphinx...the Temple at Karnak...and the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. I'm coming!

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry in various capacities. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)