Zambia World Wide

Chapter 5

The year is now 1977 and we are once again due for a holiday overseas. Although we want to see our families again, there are also other places we would like to visit. After some thought we decided to spend a week in Cairo which is the Capital of Egypt on our way to England and a week in Istanbul in Turkey on our return trip back to Zambia. At this time it was possible to pay overseas hotel bookings in Kwacha, before leaving Zambia. This is what we decided to do as it would save our foreign currency. Once again having obtained the necessary tax and customs clearance, and arranged with Richard to take care of Smokey, we were ready to leave. A week before we were due to leave we were approached by Eddie a building foreman that we knew, it appears he was divorced and his ex-wife decided their son could spent the summer with him. Unfortunately he lived in a flat in the town and hearing that we were going away for two months asked if it would be possible for him and his son to stay at our place. This seemed like a good idea at the time, as it meant there would be people living there while we were away and it would also be good for Eddie and his son, as they would have the use of the pool and braai area for the summer. Eddie offered to pay rent, this we refused as it was a company house and while we were away would not be paying rent. Eddie then said that he would have his builders break-up the pool apron and have them build a new one. It needed doing, so we accepted his offer.

We flew from Kitwe to Lusaka and then directly to Cairo, where we had booked accommodation at the Sheraton Hotel situated in the centre of Cairo and on the East Bank of the River Nile. I am not quite sure what we expected when we landed at Cairo airport, we ought to have expected miles of sand but for some reason didn't. We were quite surprised to find the airport surrounded by sand, as far as the eye could see. There was a breeze blowing across the runway, which meant keeping our faces turned sideways to prevent the sand stinging. The sand was white and the glare meant wearing sunglasses. Before leaving Zambia we asked the British Consulate if we required a visa for Egypt, we were told it was not necessary if we were travelling on British Passports. They should have told the Egyptians as when we entered the immigration hall there were posters all around the arrival area. The posters stated that all nationalities had to purchase a visa on arrival at the airport. Once we were out of the airport, we found a taxi to take us to the Sheraton Hotel, where our holiday would really start, plus the boys were feeling tired and were also over-excited.

There are times when I wonder if anything ever goes smoothly, we found a taxi to take us to the hotel. He asked if we had a booking, I said yes we had booked in advance, he then suggested that since the fare to the Sheraton was quite costly we should phone and confirm our booking. It was apparently quite common for hotels in Cairo to take the money for advance bookings, and then let the rooms to cash customer. When asked they would deny that the booking had ever been made. Sure enough the hotel said that we had made no advance booking, even though we told them the date of the booking and receipt number. Not a good start! The driver spoke to the hotel in Arabic, and after a heated discussion, rang off and said the hotel would be ringing back shortly. They now seemed to feel that they might have made a mistake. Apparently the driver told them that he had seen our receipt and booking confirmation and if they could not resolve the situation, he would take us to the Tourist Bureau and if necessary the British Embassy. The hotel phoned back and said they had found our booking but it was in another name not ours. Strange? The paperwork was in our name. We were now in a position whereby we could drive to the hotel and book-in. It had taken two hours to reach this stage since clearing customs and immigration at the airport. On arrival at the hotel we thanked the taxi driver for his assistance, without which we would have had a real problem. We offered him quite a large tip to thank him for his help, he refused to accept it. He said that if we required a taxi during our stay, would we give his company our business. This seemed fair, and so we agreed.

After all the hassle with the hotel we wondered if the holiday would be a disaster, it was not, all that could have gone wrong, had already done so. As usual we checked with the tourist desk about where to go and what to see. The Pyramids at Giza were of course a must! we went there on a tour bus the first time. We later returned by ourselves which was much better. We were quite amazed at how close the Pyramids were to the City, once again we were in a Country seeing sites we had heard of and seen on TV, never dreaming that one-day we would be there. Just to be able to walk around the Pyramids was an experience! however we wanted to see more, so we hired a guide. The guide took us into one of the Pyramids and was able to explain the purpose of the different rooms, and the history of the Pyramids. No visit to the Pyramids would be complete without a ride on a Camel (unless you had ridden one before) Jan couldn't wait. She had always wanted to ride on a camel and now she had the chance. We spent some time walking around the camels and the souvenir stalls, it was then time for Jan to have the camel ride she was looking forward to. The worst part of riding a camel is when they rise and sit, the actual riding is OK, just like being in a boat at sea. After Jan it was Gary's turn, he enjoyed the ride but was a little apprehensive, Craig being only three had a ride with Jan. Although they all enjoyed the experience none seemed too keen to have a second ride. On our way back to the City, we stopped to look around the Silent City, or City of the Dead, as it is sometimes known. No visit to Giza would ever be complete without seeing the Sphinx, which stands out from the landscape and could be seen from miles away. Considering the Pyramids, Sphinx and City were built using Sandstone it is surprising how little they have suffered from the weather over the years.

After leaving Giza we stopped at a Perfumery, which was an obvious tourist trap, but also a pleasant experience. We sat on small mats on the floor drinking mint tea, meanwhile a shop-assistant was passing a variety of perfumes around for the women to buy. It was very relaxing and although some of the women did buy perfumes, none felt they had been pressured into buying them. It was while we were in the shop that we found out there was to be a Son-et-Lumeniere (sound & light) two nights later at the Pyramids, so decided we would go if it was possible. In the meantime there was still much we wanted to see in Cairo. As we were walking through the city we came to the statue of Ramses II, it's enormous! We then went to the Egyptian Museum where we spent some time looking into the history of Egypt through the many artefacts' and historical data on display. We decided to skip the Mummy room, we had seen mummies before and it seemed like sacrilege to us to stare at what was in effect a person's coffin, however ornate it might be. We left the Museum and went for a wander through the modern city and along the banks of the Nile. While we were walking along the banks of the Nile, we saw a number of fishing boats on the river with their nets out. We asked one of the fishermen what sort of fish they were trying to catch. He explained that they were not fishing but gathering

Seaweed. They gather the seaweed then take it ashore, then lay it out to dry, once it has dried they take it to the local market to sell.

In the evening we had an early dinner and took a taxi out to the Pyramids to see the Son ET Lumeniere, we arrived just before sunset and then sat down to wait for it to start. We arrived early as we had been told there would be a large crowd later and seating would be hard to find. It was nice sitting in the warmth of the evening and watching the sun going down behind the Pyramids, and the shadows slowly creeping across the ground. In the distance we could see a group of Arab horsemen riding off into the sunset just as the show was about to start. I know I speak for all when saying it was a magical moment, the show was about the history of the Pyramids from the beginning. The voices seemed to come out of the Pyramids and the lighting was changing colour and shape in time to the music. It was so good that we had the feeling that we were there back in time when the events took place. In some ways we were sorry when the show was over, it had been a magical moment in time. An evening we would never forget. When we were driving into Cairo from the airport we noticed a Pyramid that was different to those we saw at Giza, so went back to have a look while we had the opportunity. It was a step Pyramid, where those at Giza had smooth sides, this one was built with sandstone blocks. The blocks were offset so it appeared to have giant steps from the bottom to top on all four sides.

Although our main reason for coming to Cairo was to see the Pyramids there was so much else we also wanted to see, while we are here. We found Cairo to be a city of two parts, the old and the new, the old city has narrow winding streets, bazaars' and many historic mosques. We spent one or two mornings in the old city which we found fascinating, the bazaars were interesting and the variety of goods sold plus the noise and smells were different to anything we had come across before. Bartering seemed to be the normal way to purchase goods, which of course Jan loved. It was during our visits to the old city that we noticed that Gary seemed to get a lot of attention, particularly from the Arab women. After a while we realized it was once again because of his blonde hair. Blonde hair is unusual anywhere in Africa and seemed to fascinate African women. Although no harm is meant it can be a nuisance and annoying to a young child. However Gary did learn to put up with the interest as he realised they were just being inquisitive and friendly. The new city is mainly wide boulevards and high rise buildings, there are of course many shops, museums and open air markets. The volume of traffic was unbelievable, the sounding of car horns constant. It's doubtful if the drivers would be able to drive if the car horns were removed from the vehicles. Although it seemed pure mayhem, we saw very few accidents.

We had a really great time in Cairo and found out a lot about the history, which fascinated us. Our time in Cairo has come to an end and it is now time for us to continue on to England. We would as before be landing at Heathrow, where our parent would once again be meeting us. This time they were travelling in two cars and we would have to split up for the trip to Great Yarmouth. It was decided that Gary and Craig would travel in each car for half of the journey, as both grandparents wanted their company. The boys have now reached the fun age, Craig is three and Gary is six. Having been away from their grandparents for such a length of time, they all had much to talk about.

This time we stayed with Jan's parents in Caister-on-sea which is about 3 miles from Great Yarmouth and close to the beach. This was good for the boys as they had only a short walk to the beach where they could play in the sand and among the dunes. They would also take the two dogs that Jan's parents had for walks along the beach. There was also quite a lot to interest them along the beach, at the South end was the lifeboat station and close by there were a number of long-shore fishing boats which they enjoyed watching when the boats brought the day's catch ashore. At the North end was the start of California Cliffs, where the boys would play, climbing the cliffs and following the sand tracks along the cliffs plus playing among the sand dunes. Great Yarmouth had not changed much since our last visit, so we had less trouble adapting this time than previously. Most of the places we visited around Norfolk and Suffolk have been mentioned in previous chapters, so I will move on. The sea front at Great Yarmouth had also changed very little since our previous visit but as the boys were now older they had more fun. When I lived in Great Yarmouth, I always enjoyed chips and chopped tripe with loads of mustard-vinegar from the stalls in the market-place. Jan and the lads didn't and couldn't understand my liking for it. There are quite a number of foods that we had as children but many would not eat today. Some of these are shellfish, cockles, mussels, whelks and winkles, to name but a few. There are other food items that youngsters don't eat today, one of which is Pork Dripping on bread or toast, another is Pork Cheese often known as Brawn, this we would often have for Sunday tea. There are others but they don't come readily to mind.

While in England there were a number of places we wanted to visit if we had the time, some we had been to in the past and others would be new to us. One of these was Stonehenge which I had seen years back with my parents, however Jan and the lads had never been there. Other places we wanted to visit were the Cheddar Caves and Wooky Hole. Jan's parents were also interested in visiting these places so we booked a caravan at Weston-Super- Mare as it was conveniently situated and also meant that the lads would have a beach holiday rather than just a sight-seeing one. We travelled overnight to Weston-Super-Mare and arrived at about 07.00, went to the caravan site to check in, only to find we were too early. We could not book in until 10.30 which left us quite a time to fill in. We parked the cars in the high Street and then found a cafe to have breakfast, after that we spent some time on the beach which the lads enjoyed. The following day we went to Stonehenge which is situated on Salisbury Plain and dates from about 2800BC, it is one of the oldest Prehistoric Megalith's known to man. On our arrival at Stonehenge, I was dismayed to find the site fenced in with car parks, gift shops and of course the inevitable entrance fee to pay. When we visited the site years earlier there was nothing, we parked at the side of the road and walked a short distance across the Plain. Now the site has been turned into a tourist attraction, nothing like my memories from the past. Stonehenge is constructed with granite pillars some vertical and others laid horizontal across the vertical ones, to build it at the time must have been a mammoth task. Even today I am amazed at the building of the circle, how did they get the pillars to the site and once the stones were there how did they manage to lift them and put them in place. There have been a number of theories mentioned over the years but it is still a bit of a mystery. In the 1960's and 1970's it was used as a gathering place for groups of people, this is why I suspect there was a need to fence it in. However I am glad that I had the opportunity to see it as it was before the changes took place.

We next went to the Cheddar Gorge, we had heard much about the caves over the years and were keen to see them for ourselves. While driving from Weston-Super-Mare to the Cheddar Gorge we saw a large rock at the roadside. We stopped and walked across to the rock, it was hollow on the inside, much like an archway. We then saw a small plaque inside, set in the rock. It appears that during a violent storm a priest had taken shelter, and while waiting for the storm to abate had the idea of writing a hymn. The hymn was written and because the idea came to him while sheltering in the rock he called the hymn "Rock of Ages", I am sure many people have heard of the hymn and also sung it at times during their lives. As we continued on our way to the Cheddar Gorge, the weather was all that one could ask, bright, sunny and hot. Driving through the hills and then down through the Gorge was both pleasant and interesting. The Gorge is about 2 miles long and drops about 300 feet from top to bottom, the sides are rugged and vey steep, the lads had great fun trying to climb them which of course they couldn't do. Jacob's Ladder is another attraction and from the tower at the top, there is a marvellous view across the countryside, especially if like today the weather is bright and clear. The Ladder was built by Roland Pavey and reaches from the bottom of the Gorge to a tower at the top. I can't remember in what order we went through the caves but I am reasonably sure that we started in Gough's Cave. There were many stalagmites and stalactites and all of the formations were impressive. From the Cheddar Gorge we drove on to Wooky Hole where we watched paper being made by hand in the Mill, and also Lady Bangor's Fairground Collection. We did visit other places around that part of the Country but none were as interesting as those I have mentioned.

Having left Weston-Super-Mare we returned to Great Yarmouth, we felt that we should spend some time here as our parents had not seen a lot of the boys since we arrived in England. The next week or two we spent going out around the broads and to other local beauty spots with our parents, who could now enjoy the company of their grandchildren. It was at this time we decided to drive to Yorkshire and see some of the places we had not visited for some years and which the children had never seen. We knew that if the weather was good, the boys would enjoy spending time on the moors and enjoy seeing some of the towns and villages. Often in the past we described places to the boys and when returning years later, these places had changed through the years and were completely different to the way in which we remembered them.

This is not so of the Yorkshire Dales, they still seem the same as I remember them from when I was a child. I am not going to mention all the places we went to as I have written of many in earlier chapters, and they have changed very little. The weather was brilliant and we had plenty of time to walk across the moors and visit some of the hillside towns and villages. We went to Stump Cross Caverns again but after seeing the caves in the Cheddar Gorge, although we enjoyed the visit, it was a little disappointing. Knaresborough we re-visited as we wanted to show the boys where Mother Shipton had lived, which was in a cave next to the Petrifying Well. Unfortunately it has all changed, today there are concrete steps, to and from the well, the entrance to the cave has been enlarged and there are now turnstiles and tour guides. It is today impossible to get a real idea of the way Mother Shipton lived. Knaresborough was just as we remembered it, we took the boys around the Castle which they enjoyed although it goes without saying that they spent more time in the torture chamber than any other area of the Castle. We also hired a rowing boat and took the lads boating on the River Nidd, which brought back many memories. This is a very historic part of Yorkshire and there are a number of quite famous people from around this area.

Probably the best remembered person born near here was Guy Fawkes who tried to do us all a favour but unfortunately failed. Blind Jack was also born near here, he was about 6 years old when he had small pox and lost his sight. He was quite an amazing man, he did many things which at the time were thought to be impossible for a blind person. He is best remembered for his road and bridge building across the North of England. While in Yorkshire we went to Leeds for the day to visit relatives. My parents were on holiday with us and wanted to meet family who were living in Yorkshire, around the Leeds area. My uncle and aunt (Leslie & Eileen) had lived in two cottages which had been internally converted into one. The cottages were part of a row along the canal bank called Dandy Row near the Mill and had been built for the workers back in the days when the Mill was a thriving industry. While we were away they had moved out of the cottages to a suburb of Leeds which is where we met them and other members of my father's family. My memories of the Mill are a little sketchy, my parents would spend the afternoon chatting with relatives and we lads would be free to roam along the canal bank and around the mill. I remember the Water-wheel inside the Mill and the Weir to the left of the Mill, there was a tractor and fire-engine parked at the front of the workshops, both were very old but in working order. The reason my Uncle and Aunt had moved to Leeds was because the Mill and Cottages were in such a bad state of repair, and the money was not available to renovate either as the Mill by this time was shut down, they could no longer compete against the modern manufacturing companies. I returned to Thwaite Mill which is now a working museum and was amazed to find it had been renovated and was now in full working condition. It is always nice to spend time in Leeds and meet relatives that we have kept in touch with, and catch up with all the gossip. It was a worthwhile trip as we visited places and met people we had not seen for a long time. It was good for the children as they got to see places and meet people that we had spoken of, but until now had not met.

Having returned to Great Yarmouth, it was time to start buying the clothes and Christmas present's for the lads we would need in the next two years. The present's we would hide from the lads until Christmas, which was no easy task. In all the years we had travelled between England and Zambia, I cannot remember a single flight when we have not been well over-weight with our baggage. How we got away with it I really don't know, it can only be the airlines understanding of life in a third world country. They were probably accustomed to people like us so turned a blind eye. This time Jan really went over the top, we were 40Kg overweight all of which we carried as hand luggage. There was so much that even Gary and Craig had to carry some of it. My parents drove us to the airport and having said goodbye we were off to Istanbul.

Having arrived at the airport in Istanbul, we took a taxi to the hotel which we had booked in advance. This time there was no argument about the booking as there had been in Cairo. Once again we went to the Tourist Bureau for information, and then sat down to decide what we wanted to see and where we would go. Istanbul is a very crowded and colourful city. It has seven hills within the city which does make sight-seeing hard work, particularly for young children. Probably because it is so crowded, it is a very vibrant and exciting city to visit. There is much to see and many places to go, and since we were only there for a week we had to work out some kind of itinery if we were to fit everything in. Istanbul is the largest port in Turkey and has spread from the old city which was on a peninsular jutting out into the Sea of Marmara into both the European and Asian areas surrounding the peninsular. To the North is the Golden Horn, to the East is the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara is to the South. Most of the population are either Turks or Muslims, there are other minority nationalities, Greek, Armenian, Christians and Jews to name but a few. The city was known as Constantinople until 1930 when it was renamed Istanbul.

Before I write of our holiday, I will explain why we were so excited at being there. Istanbul was founded about 660BC as Byzantium by the Greeks, after a chequered history it was renamed Constantinople in 324AD by Constantine I. even then it was subjected to many attacks by the Persians, Arabs, Bulgar's and the Russians. The city held out against all these attacks until the armies of the 4th. Crusade attacked and overpowered the city in about 1204. In 1261 the Byzantines regained control of the city but it was not to last, as in 1453 it was attacked and taken by the Ottoman armies. It remained under control of the Ottoman Empire until 1918. At the end of World War1 the allies took control until 1922 when Turkish Nationalists overthrew the Sultan and took control. It is because of the history that we are glad we came here.

There are so many Minarets and Mosques it would be impossible to visit them all, so we decided to visit the more well-known ones. We first went to the blue Mosque and then to the Mosque of Suleiman, both of which are beautiful buildings, and stand out against all the other buildings in the city. Both mosques are very large and circular, almost empty of any type of furnishing. Consequently every word uttered echoes through the buildings. One morning we took a boat trip down the Bosporus, the boat way moored at the quayside near a number of small fishing boats. Going along the river we passed the Okapi Palace, and went under the suspension bridge which now joins Europe and Asia. As we travelled along the river we saw many historic and magnificent buildings plus we had a different view of the city, and only then realised how large and crowded it really was.

As we returned to the quayside, we saw a small fishing boat moored a short distance along the quay. The boat was surrounded by seagulls which were diving and fighting one another, we decided to see what was happening. As we approached the boat we could see a charcoal grill on the quayside, and realised that the boat had just arrived with its morning catch. The fishermen were selling the fresh fish at the quayside and also were grilling fish to sell to the crowd passing by. As they gutted the fish they were throwing the roes, heads and bones over the side which explained the large number of seagulls. The smell of the grilled fish was very appetising and we started to feel hungry. We could no longer resist temptation. We asked for two of the fish rolls which were not really rolls but half a french stick split in two with the fish in the middle. Gary didn't want one and we thought Craig would only have a bite or two so I gave him my roll. We thought after trying it he would then hand it back, not a chance! He just kept eating and eating until there was none left. By this time Jan had eaten her roll and the fishermen were sold out and packing the grill away. I never did get to try those fish rolls although both Jan and Craig said how nice they were.

There were still a few places that we wanted to visit, which were the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. No visit to Istanbul would be complete otherwise, apart from which if I tried to keep Jan away, I would probably not live to see the sunset that evening. The Grand Bazaar covered an enormous area and was a maze of narrow walkways. The noise combined with the hustle and bustle made for an unforgettable experience. There were a large number of silver and gold smiths who would make items to order, but they also had many items on the stalls for sale. There were also tailors who had all kinds of clothing and materials for sale. Many stalls sold antiquities and other items, some of value, others for the unwary tourists who were often caught out, as many of the items were fakes. Naturally all items had to be bartered for, which can be fun, but it is possible to end up paying much more than the true value of the goods.

The Spice Market was also very interesting, and although the noise level was much less than the Grand Bazaar and it was not as crowded, it was nice to be able to walk round with a reasonable amount of space and not feel pressurised. I don't think we have ever seen so many different spices in one place, there were so many that the smells were mixed and it was difficult to pick out individual spices. It was however fun trying.

The hotel where we were staying served Western Food, which was disappointing as we like to try local food wherever we go. There were a large number of small restaurants and cafe's in the city, these served traditional food. It was fun and by the time we left we had tried many of the local dishes. Most of the food we tried was spiced and some of the dishes were very oily. The first cafe we went in had a display cabinet full of trays, on the trays were a variety of fish, meat, vegetables and salads. Having placed our order, the waiter would put half a loaf of bread beside the plate before serving us. We looked at each other and wondered what was going on, it was not long before we found out. On this occasion we had ordered a mutton dish plus vegetables, all of which was served soaked in oil. We now knew why bread was given with the meals. Wherever we ate it was the same. Once we became accustomed to the oil or grease we found the food very tasty, and I don't think any of us had a meal that was not enjoyed.

All things have to come to an end, and once again it was time to move on. We have seen and done most of the things we wanted to, however it would have been nice if we could have stayed longer. Istanbul we had wanted to visit and now we done so we are not disappointed. All that's left to do is pack up ALL our luggage and depart for our flight to Zambia, if they will allow us on the plane.