A Trip to Egypt and Jordan, Ahead of the Revolution

Chuck and Ilona Lindauer are members of the Los Altos Sister City Committee, a nonprofit organization that fosters global links with communities around the world to promote lasting friendships.

The committee hosts a series of photo screenings of trips that members take, both to Los Altos' four sister city communities and to other locations. It is also looking for host families who can put the city's best foot forward when visitors from Bendigo, Australia, to Syktyvkar, Russia, come calling.

On Sunday, the Lindauers talked about their trip to Egypt and Jordan. 

Los Altos Patch: You're members of the Sister City Committee. What do you get out of your involvement?

Chuck Lindauer: I joined Sister Cities, because its charter is to bring the world closer together, one person and one family at a time. Plus, my wife and I love to travel.

My favorite experiences on trips to our sister cities is living with a home host family and really getting to know them. When I went to Syktyvkar, I lived for three days with a retired director of mining in the Komi Republic and loved it.

Patch: Where did you go, when did you go in Egypt, and how long were you there? 

Lindauer: My wife and I went there at mid-November 2010. We started in Cairo and spent three days there touring the pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum. We then flew to Abu Simbal in the south of Egypt and saw temples that were relocated, stone by stone, from where they would have been flooded out by Lake Nasser, which was formed by the building of the Aswan Dam.  

We then drove to the dam and from there took a three-day cruise up the Nile to Luxor. More temples, etc. Then flew to Jordan (Acaba) where we drove north the see Mount Nebo, Petra (amazing) and the Dead Sea.

Patch: In the short time between November and now, Egypt has virtually transformed. Did it surprise you?

Lindauer: Yes, the people we saw in Egypt were very friendly and focused on making tourism money. They were obviously poor, for the most part, and we could see the GIANT gap from rich to poor in the country. Soldiers were everywhere and seemed to have things under control. I guess there was a lot of stuff stewing under the surface.

Patch: How did you follow the events since Jan. 25, and what did you say to each other as this was unfolding?

Lindauer: We followed the news both online and on TV. We were amazed and surprised at how quickly it all took place. We are both crossing our fingers for the people of Egypt that they get what they want (whatever that exactly is) and not an "unintended consequence," as so ofter happens after a revolution.

Patch: Los Altos doesn't have a sister city in Egypt or Jordan; what is the idea behind the series at which you showed your slides?

Lindauer: We are a group that likes to connect with the world. Any travel helps with that. Of course, when we go to one of our four cities, we are also excited to have a slide show on that. It also serves to energize our "base."

Patch: Do you think Los Altos could have a sister city in Egypt or any of the cities you've traveled?

Lindauer: Probably not—but clearly, I am not the last word on this. Our sister cities are chosen to have common interests with us, and I'm not sure that Egypt or Jordan qualify in this way. Most of all, they require a champion in the community (both sides). The people we visited have other things on their minds right now—perhaps at a later date?