Riding in the Eqyptian Desert- Freedom!

My first sighting of the Pyramids on "Sugar".

After getting fired from my job exercising racehorses in Ireland, I spent a week working for a different trainer and then decided it was time to leave cold, damp, sleeting Ireland. Although I was just planning on going home, my mom told me that as long as I was over 'there' I might as well go visit my uncle who was working in Egypt.

My uncle Keith had been living and working in Maadi, Egypt (an expat suburb of Cairo) teaching Choir at Cairo American College. CAC is a K-12 school for kids who plan on attending college in the States, the student body is a real mix of expat's kids and locals. When I got there I found out I could substitute teach and make $50 a day. (Even though I SWORE I would NEVER set foot in another classroom after my student teaching experience). Fifty bucks was a lot of money at the time and I ended up staying from January until school got out in June. In June I accepted a half-time position the following school year teaching elementary P.E.

One of my favorite parts of Egypt, and the reason I would return in a heartbeat, was riding the incredible Arabian horses through the sands of the Sahara Desert. Endurance? Check!!! We would drive through the complete mess of traffic that was Cairo- cars, busses, donkey carts, and motorcycles packed like sardines and constantly honking and fighting for space on the road. There are no lines on roads in Cairo, everyone drives with inches of each other.

Once you get over the bridge that goes over the Nile things thin out a bit. You drive by the Sphinx and the Pyramids down the last dirt road before the city ends and the desert starts. Along this road are stable after stable of horses for rent. All of the stables have 2 letter names, like "FB" stables or "MG" stables- usually the initials of the owner.

My friend Barb and I drove out to the horses and on the recommendation of a friend rented horses from FB stables. You ride out into the desert, then gradually work your way to the right until you see the Pyramids off in the distance. Just ride towards the Pyramids and then complete the loop back. There are no roads or trails.

Cario

The Sphinx is always being repaired.

How big are the blocks that make up the Pyramids? This big.


Zeeku! This was one of my favorite horses, and I pretty much exclusively rode him the first 6 months I was there. One of the best parts about the desert is that there are no fences. Or trees. Or anything else that you would have to watch out for in a full-on gallop with tears streaming out of your eyes.

Zeeku.
Look at all that galloping space!



Baby camel making ungodly noises. Some of the stables in the background.

Cairo American College campus. It was surrounded by a high concrete wall and 'protected' by Egyptian soldiers with guns.

My second year and one of my second grade P.E. classes. Swim unit.


The all-day ride to Sakkara. It was 3-4 hours one way. At first when we would do this ride a guide would come with us but after a while they let us go on our own. I have absolutely no sense of direction and it was disconcerting to me to not have a guide. We rode under power lines for quite a while.

One of my friends rode a new horse that the stable hadn't named yet. When she was done she said that she'd been through the desert on a horse with no name...


A boy holds some of the horses for us at Sakkara while we eat lunch and explore the step pyramids there.

My friend Mike on a feluca ride on the Nile- relaxing! Just don't touch the water.

Aseala and her groom Abdu Nabi. Oh Aseala. I ended up leasing her my second year in Egypt. She was one of the most amazing horses I have ever ridden. Her endurance and speed were beaten by none. Often we were asked to race while riding, usually friendly "you wanna race?" type deal. She blew every single other horse out of the water.

This was the area where there were more hills and varied terrain.

Aseala jumps over the sand bank.

One of my favorite pictures ever.

Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.

The Red Sea has some of the best snorkeling in the world. In Dahab (little hippie town) I rode a camel into the water much to the owner's aggrivation. I could only get him to trot for a few steps at a time.

Me and Bob Marley.

Life on the Autostraud- the main highway to the Airport.

Donkey cart.

Mom comes to visit! Just leaving the stables. The little mare they gave her (because she was a beginner) was slow and stubborn. We ended up switching horses half way through and mom had a great time walking through the desert on Aseala.

Donkey

Aseala
It was really cool riding at night because everything was dark and the horse's shoes would send off sparks when they stepped on the rocks.

Next country: Hungary! (A short one).

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