Buckle up and settle in – you’re about to go on a ride to Egypt. Admittedly is has been months since my daughter and I went to Egypt in October 2017. So, thank you for your patience regarding this blog. I hosted an Egyptian Meditation and Healing Retreat in partnership with the wonderful Leisa from Pink Lotus Egypt Tours. Lesia and her company are based on the Gold Coast (Leisa’s home, even though her heart belongs in Egypt), but they predominantly run their business from Cairo in Egypt as that is where all her beautiful ground staff are located. It is thanks to Leisa, Haytham, Ossama and Mohammad that I still hold every moment we spent there in my heart.
The journey from the onset to the end ran smoothly. We were literally catered to for every need and want, literally from pick-up of the airport to drop off at the airport and everything in between. We experienced mind-blowing lessons on the culture and history of Egypt and the people. I did not realise how old their history is and how far it truly goes back! Egypt, what can I say? To be honest I did not have any expectation, so I could not be disappointed no matter what. This is something I have learned in life and try to teach others, but that’s a story for another ‘blog’.
However, even if I did have expectation I could not be disappointed as I found that in the small amount of the country we visited, it was amazing. We has so many adventures, we tasted so many foods, we saw so many incredible sites, we learned so much about history, culture and spirituality! We rode camels through the Sahara Desert past the Pyramids of Giza, we rode in a Hot Air Balloon across the Nile River and the Valley of the Kings, we swam and cruised down the Nile River, we climbed inside the Kings Chamber in the great Pyramid and visited King Tut’s tomb. It was the most spectacular experience I could dream up. In truth I found all the people we had contact with to be polite, friendly and wore huge smiles (teeth or no teeth). You could not meet a friendlier group of people. Although some people did not make eye contact being for cultural reasons, you could still feel the brightness and vibrancy of their personalities because that’s exactly what it is.
Egypt is true vibrancy of life, love, celebration, culture, food and history. It is rich and runs deep through the veins of Egyptians, almost like the Nile runs like a vein through Egypt, giving life to Earth round it. The country and its people are all truly spectacular and full of life. We had two Egyptologists as our guides on the trip, our main guide Ossama (who became quite like the Father on the trip and very protective and caring) and our second guide Haytham (our barterer, problem-solver and go-to guy for any queries or issues) who joined us halfway into the trip. Both men were so wonderful and quickly became our good friends.
Our wonderful main guide Ossama, with his big cheeky grin, hilarious one liners, appetite for delicious food (you won’t go hungry on this trip) and absolute adoration and love for his country made the learning experience the most wonderful I’ve ever had on a tour. I was there learning with my students as much as they were learning to. Every location we stopped at he would run us down with the deep history, sometimes I’d get lost in his knowledge (and gorgeous accent) but he would answer any question we had at any point of the trip. I am still floating from the journey. We were indeed lucky and blessed with the most divine group of students who flew from all over Australia and New Zealand for my first Egypt Retreat. We met in Cairo together and all I can say is ‘WOW’, I could not have met the nicest group of guests. Anne, Caroline, Deane, Hedy, Janelle, Sandy, Anne and Debbie.
It was a pleasure to spend 16 days with you all. Janelle, Janelle, Janelle…she was the comedian on the trip, she made us laugh with her everyday antics especially on finding a husband, she found many! I think she was up to trading something like 16 sheep or goats for herself by the end of it! Debbie, who is as graceful and sweet as they come, sang for us on many occasions; we were blessed with your beautiful voice and presence throughout the trip. Caroline and Deane were our resident healers and historians. Caroline was inspired and open to learning and growing and Deane revelled in the history. To top off what was already an incredible trip for them, Dean decided to mark it in the stars forever and these two love birds got engaged in the Tomb of King Tut! The celebrations that night was beyond anything I’ve had in Australia or any other part of the world yet. We were treated to dinner that night and had a local band playing music as we made our way to the restaurant to celebrate Deane and Caroline!
We danced in the street as the band followed us playing their instruments. The locals around the town joined us, dancing and singing as we literally danced our way into the restaurant where the dancing and singing continued. It followed by a banquet of delicious Egyptian food and many congratulations to Caroline and Deane. It was something out of a Bollywood movie – my daughter has it all on video and will make a video of it when she can because it was the most joyous time! I felt like I was living out my Bollywood fantasy. Something that would only happen with a culture as deep and rich as Egypt’s! It was perfect for them both and a spectacular way to begin an engagement. Then we also had beautiful Sandy who transformed her self right in front of my eyes, she was finding herself and I think she did! She was just gorgeous from the inside out. Anne, who flew over from Christchurch in New Zealand, was innocent on a spiritual journey. She was there to learn, and she possessed strength that I have not seen in a person in a long time. I could see it come from within her when she joined me in class as often it is confronting, but she did not fear once.
She had so much kindness to give. And, Hedy who I decided not to call Hedy as she hit her head too many times in those pyramids. Something in me could not call her by her name! Hedy was a strong and determined woman, but with so much kindness in her heart. The mix bag of people we had on the Retreat made it such a learning experience for everyone. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we sang, we danced, and we just had such a fantastic time. Thank you I am blessed to have met you all. Going to Egypt could have been frightening because people often hear of the reports but as soon as Jas and I arrived we felt safe and somewhat at home. When we landed in Cairo we had Mohammad there to great us and we instantly felt safe. He is a true gentleman and so loving. I will admit he was not hard to look at, a bit of eye candy really! He was a real treat! We told him he was spunky, and he thanked us so sincerely, we then asked him if he knew what it meant. He dipped his head sheepishly and said ‘ah no, what does it mean?’ My daughter then told him we thought he was sexy! His blushing made it funnier! He didn’t mind being called that then, Spunky Mohammad, as we call him.
So here we are in Egypt all new and wonderful, meeting each other and settling into our grand hotel. The first four days we visited so many sites, being Temples and Pyramids, including stone carving shop a local alabaster factory where we could purchase the most gorgeous carvings up to 150 years old. A place not to be missed! The pyramids you can’t imagine until you are standing in front of them. Being so blessed we even got to climb one. I even climbed a pyramid, which I thought I would not but as the others went up, I felt I needed to face a fear head on and go for it, which I did. I stuffer from vertigo so looking up instantly placed fear into my body and mind, but I am so excited still by the thought of overcoming my fears. I had the support of the group, especially Deane, he reminded me to think of what I teach and I did it. The applause at the end as we all reached the top was a nice finish. We did a small silent meditation at the top and took in the views of the Sahara Desert and Cairo in the distance. It’s something you read in books and see in movies but you need to experience.
It’s phenomenal. I absolutely love the markets! The picture below is of a market filled with local people. You can get the most beautiful things for such a cheap cheap price. Bartering with local stallholders is half the fun. People everywhere offered coffee (Turkish being the most common and it is deliciously sweet and strong) in their shops, a smile and mind you they are very good at bartering. The markets were one of my favourite locations because we were amongst the locals, doing what the locals do which was a huge buzz to my energy. I so loved and enjoyed all the sites that we went to. However, being amongst the locals and part of their daily lives is an experience I will never forget. You truly feel that you are a part of the community. You see the kids playing, the men smoking their shishas, the women drinking their teas and coffees and bartering their jewellery down. It’s just so much fun and makes you feel alive! I suppose though you can’t escape the fact you are a tourist in a foreign country, so barter well and stay safe with your cards. Ossama and Haytham assure this anyway.
I don’t barter so well when shopping, but my daughter is ruthless, in a fun way. The men kept saying to her ‘oh you Egyptian woman! You Egyptian woman! You kill me with your low prices!’ but they’d give in and often or not ask her cheekily to be their wife after she bought her goods. During the Retreat (which turned more into an adventure of culture, food, history, friendship and spiritual learning) we went from land to the Nile River. This was amazing! Three days travelling down the Nile, how often does one do that? Not many times if you are me, which is sad but if you can experience it then you MUST! We even swam in the Nile! We sat on our cruise boat watching the land go by, the sun beaming gently on my face as all time disappeared. One must visit Egypt or the Middle East at least once in a life time with Leisa and her team. Mind you it was not all visiting Temples, markets and the amazing pyramids we had fun, so much fun with music in the air, dancing with the locals, relaxing by the pool and eating delicious food which I enjoyed immensely. In saying that we did not have to be concerned about gaining weight due to all the walking we did.
Although any weight we did gain was totally worth the fresh homemade and grown dips, meats, salads, falafels, rice, pita bread, iced teas, chocolate covered dates and fresh mango juices! While remembering my journey it brings a smile to my dial and warmth into my heart, so thank you everyone who joined me in the beautiful country of Egypt. Jasmine my daughter, I am so heart warmed that you could come along for this experience. And, thank you to my students/guests who came to class to learn a little about yourself and spirit. I write a ‘little’ due to having an enormous amount of knowledge concerning the spirit world. Now everyone should book and come on the next retreat, it is worth its weight in gold. It’s a life changing experience and that is what life is about, experiences.
Take the leap, you will not regret a single moment or dollar! You will not think twice when you’re having a realisation in class with me, or riding on a camel through the desert in front of the Pyramids of Giza, or swimming in the cool ancient Nile River. Please come, and change your life and outlook. The next one will be running in April 2018! So if you’re interested head to Leisa’s website www.pinklotustours.com or email her at leisa@pinklotustours.com for further info or click directly to the information page about our next retreat: http://www.pinklotustours.com/packages/experience-egypt-with-deb-webber Thank you for taking the time to read this and I’ll blog you soon.
Love of Oneness,
Deb xx