Trippe (FF 1075) - Naval Cruise Book

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advice on liberty and shopping. Fortunately, we had paced ourselves during the first visit and there was still plenty to do and see. We also repaid the hospitality of the local Americans with a cookout on the flight deck. lt was a big hit since sliders, dawgs, and beans are hard to come by in Egypt. Tours were arranged for Cairo, Alexandria, and the WWII battlefield at El Alamein. By far the most popular tour was to Cairo. The itinerary included such sights as the Sphinx, the great Pyramids of Ghiza, the Egyptian National Mu- seum, a papyrus factory, Anwar Sadat's Tomb, and the Step Pyramid. The pyramids and King Tut's Treasure were definitely the highlights. The local camel jockeys that operated at Ghiza were a sly bunch. They offered to let us take their picture with the pyramids in the back- ground or to take our picture with their camel. The first words out of their mouth were, no money for me. After the pictures were taken, the entire mood of the camel owner changed. He demanded money, not for himself but for the camel. Another ploy was to let us sit on a camel for free. But then we either had to pay to get off or to ,iump 8-10 feet while the camel was in a gallop. Everyone paid. All in all the tours were a nice way to see some of Egypt's ancient history. For those who remained in Alexandria, daily excitement was provided by taxicab rides. Traf- fic lights, one way streets and lane dividing lines were advisory only and were usually ignored by the average Egyptian driver. The taxi drivers take pride in their aggressiveness and many could probably drive on the Grand Prix circuit. The most used piece of equipment on their automobiles is the horn. They honk at eve- rything and everyone. Horse drawn buggies also provided transportation for anyone interested in a more sedate mode of travel. ' ' '------w--..-..,,,.......,. ... ,.uc.,....-V-.. - - M-. ,,,, '7' 1 -. -' 5 ty 'r ,. A Y ,Y -3- ijgfi, :-' ,N ' -rf 4, ' Q E' 44, rib,-wr4X ' . :W ,fs E ' 'i 4 .. , ' f ff VVT. T .ir jp I I 5 't ' 3- . . ,, ,.,.., fi-,. - .-.-,-,mm P - - 'L 34.5. ' buf ' i 'ire . .,, .-TT.,-, ff , it i' 'xi 1-7 i 3 3 , i W fx QM :SLM . T I V- 1 ,L f i . --,., A f ig . 4'-,Nw .I '2 ' -' I fy. . 2 'fc '7 , ,MN giililfia 7 ' B . Vl 7 Y ' i m Vyjfm. 'L 5 , . WTR .ii W. Aff-- . T345 - r . T ' tl' . i t A, -1, ' ' , '.f'-i ? '---. ---N ew xx dig ,wt , 1 . . ' fi -M-MQW i if ,nl - - wg, ,. ' . fy f 5 A .. i'rl tlirt 3' x ri i ff T' . ' 'fv' .,,..,. , I . A , .. gm. UU ,M ., . 'NNW .'l. ' , ' ' NIEDITERRANEAN SEA

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On 14 February we visited Alexandria, Egypt, 'The Pearl of the Mediterranean, when we anchored outside the harbor with NIMITZ and USS SOUTH CAROLINA. Alexandria is a city of four million people. It is the largest seaport on the African continent and the third largest in the Mediterranean. Water taxis and ship's boats were used to shuttle the crew between fleet landing and the ship. By now, most of you have received post cards or letters describing the tours, the sights, and the dust. All were im- pressive. Many of us enjoyed invitations to the homes of members of the local American com- munity. Finding desirable souvenirs was very easy in Alexandria. The merchants had set up their stands directly across the street from fleet landing. It was a mini bazaar. Purchasing the items for a reasonable price was a different story. Bargaining for a brass plate or kaftan could be a lengthy process depending on pa- tience, how badly we wanted the item and how much we were willing to pay. The true test of our bargaining ability came when we returned to the ship and found out how much our shipmates had paid for a similar item. We weighed anchor and led NIMITZ and SOCAR back to sea on 18 February for more readiness training. We finally parted company with NIMITZ on 23 February. About every three months all U.S. Navy ships participate in a maintenance availability in which we stand down for a week or two and get equipment fixed. Either a shore activity or a tender is assigned to provide dedicated assis- tance. We were assigned an availability out- board of USS PUGET SOUND in, just our luck, Alexandria, Egypt. This time we went into the harbor on 24 February where the SOUND was pierside and we were the third combatant out- board. This was the first time fires were secured in both boilers in 67 days. We were all Al- exandria veterans so the other crews sought our 1 t'il ' T ' f'-Q .Q W ...r -T-4--.anti-5. T wi- ' ff..,lf'fff at lax? -9.-pw .. . 2 In-l...i3,...QkIL: r n I1'fl.,,lgig -l '- tfiftziiirq .i.. ' '- r s 1749! - T 1 ? 1 . , . 1 i , - , tiff?-4 ' A 1 m A E?:iQ,,.Ei- 9 r qt .X e sti ff? N txt: N ,.l Q B its , , at A fl ' i 2?.'!3fJ'4l V ' lle, , A 'I 'JIIEH A L-'ffiqk' itll lffj1:,YiKBjs'j'l'lv . ll ' ' ja 5354941 -.n. IQ V5 U - i -, T1 . I if .. as t3'1'?f' . Vl2F3-5Af21f!i- i X . . '.'.,.. :fir ,M . ,'. ,Q ,Q .V .. , . . A Ji l A 'aziggg 'Q ,I -2 Q! AW llll .h1'1.5 ' THE PEARL OF THE it

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