Two months of planning comes to a head tomorrow at 2:07 as I take off for Cairo and my tour of the World War 2 battlefields. I will be taking the leisurely route north to Seattle then to Istanbul and finally late Thursday night, Cairo. I’m sure there were more direct flights but I like flying Turkish Airlines and I probably would have flown to LAX or SFO, if I had flown United.

On T-1 day, I still have plenty of little last minute tasks. I have a post office run to pick up some luggage trackers. I get to figure out how to fit the Gimbal into my camera backpack. There will be some reconfiguration. I will also do some last minute Gimbal practice. Still not sure how I am going to actually make the Gimbal work on location. Batteries will be charged. Camera gear will be sorted. 

The debate still rages over whether I will bring two full frame cameras or one. I have this really beautiful 12-24 zoom lens that only fits the older camera body. If I use the zoom on the new camera body with the adapter, weird barrel distortions happen. Granted, I’m also bringing the two action cameras as well as having my iPhone. I travel light, goddammit. 

My desk is literally littered with little bits of gear that needs to find a home in the camera bag. Beneath the monitor are the spare batteries for the action cameras. I also have the ND filter pack for the GoPro Mission 1. Kicking around on the floor are the two selfie sticks. They are right next to the small tripod that is going. I also need to find the handle to make the bullet time shots. I’m also bringing the flexible arm that attaches anywhere that I can clamp.

I arrive in Cairo late Thursday night. After the long trip, I will be picked up at the airport by the tour operator and transported to the Sheraton Cairo Hotel and Casino. Fingers crossed I have a legal Visa. I will also remind myself not to complain about the length of the trip. The trip for my grandfather from the US to Cairo took 31 days aboard ship. They slept 4 to a stateroom. Small thanks he wasn’t down in the hold with the enlisted men. The US Pasteur was also attacked twice by U-Boats. 

After a night I am sure I get plenty of rest, I will arise early on Friday to go see the pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum. It’s part of a bonus excursion run by my tour operator. Except, I’m making my own way over to the Pyramids. At some point, I will find the rest of the tour on the 200 acre complex. The tour will take me on to the GEM. 

It has been drilled in to me on multiple occasions that sunrise is the best time to shoot. And from my experience, I know this to be accurate. The tour wanted to roll in around 9. I tried to cancel the tour but the tour operator said it would all work out. At this late moment, I’m still seriously considering cancelling and doing the day on my own.

Which is exactly what I am doing on Saturday. I am heading off by myself. I have arranged an early morning walk through Coptic Cairo with Guruwalks. I like how Guruwalks advertise the walks as free but the tour guides usually get between $15-$20 per tour. How does that make it free? It should be fun. At that price, it’s a pretty inexpensive tour.

For the afternoon, I will be hunting for my grandfather’s haunts. Papa mentioned a few places he visited like Shepherd’s Hotel and Casino Barina. Both are gone but I can film what stands there now. He talks about going to the Red Cross center which I think is in the Ezbekiah Gardens. I keep wishing there was a map of today that showed those places. The map I do have, called the Services Guide to Cairo, looks nothing like the Google Map representation. And it looks all the street names have changed.

One of the places in the book, but Papa never mentioned visiting, is Mary’sbordello. One of the pilots, Bob Barnum, mentions visiting Mary’s while in Cairo. Papa also writes about the German’s bombing the place. I’m guessing it was in the Red Light district called Wagh El Birket. No map for this district either. The army closed it down in May of 1942 but soldiers are soldiers and there was a need to be filled. Barnum mentions going to Mary’s in August of 1942. I will find what I can find. It’s also kind of awkward to talk about and ask the locals. I am still unsure of how they feel about World War 2.

In the evening I have another walking tour, booked through Guru walks, of the Islamic quarter and the Bazaar. I figure I am just going to be overwhelmed by the vendors in Kan el-Khalili. My whole aura will scream tourist to them. The walk is at night which won’t be great for photographs and filming, but I will see what I can do. Papa said he bought a cheap watch in Cairo. I wonder if he picked it up here.

The tour officially begins on Sunday October 18th. We head out into the desert to Meras Matruh along the coast. We visit our first battlefield along the way. Then we do the dreaded six hour drive south into the desert to Siwa Oasis. I’m trying to be positive about this leg of the journey but it’s a struggle.

After Siwa, we drive back north to El Alamein. The tour will be on the actual site on the 84th anniversary of the battle. Papa doesn’t have a lot to say about the battle. Basically, he mentions the boys are out doing a helluva job on the Germans. When the squadron moves to their next Landing Ground and travel through the area, he does mention all the destruction he spots.

Alexandria and the Cecil Hotel are up next. Papa spent a few nights in the Cecil Hotel. He even had to spring a Master Sergeant from the Mustappha Barracks after being arrested for urinating on the steps of the Cecil. The Hotel had denied the Master Sergeant entry. The Cecil was Officers only at the time.

I spend one more night back in Cairo. I don’t know how much time I’ll have left in the city when I return so I haven’t made plans for that yet. I might head to the Giza KFC for sunset pictures of the Pyramids. Supposedly the rooftop of the KFC is the premiere place to photograph the pyramids without going into the park.

The flight home should be equally arduous. My layover in Seattle is sixteen hours. I have booked a hotel for that stop.

But I am in the expectant phase. All the excitement and horror lay in front of me. I don’t know what is going to happen. The war in Iran is on my mind. It doesn’t help the Houthis are bombing Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. I was looking at the map and noticed Egypt is right across the Red Sea from The Kingdom. I’m sure it will be fine.