Tag Archives: Cairo

Following in Neferteri’s Footsteps

Isn’t  it strange how  fiction can intermingle with our lives? I wonder if you have ever followed in the footsteps of a character you like?

 I have a great love of  Egyptian history  and decided that one of my characters in ‘A Jarful of Moondreams’ should make a trip there.

 I had visited  most  of the places I mentioned in the novel but I’d never been to Makadi Bay. That was chosen after Internet research for a beach location.

My husband booked a December Nile cruise and Red Sea holiday for us and I thought the resort name seemed familiar but it wasn’t until we were travelling there that it dawned on me; I was following in Teri’s Moons footsteps and going to Makadi Bay!

In ‘A Jarful of Moondreams’ Teri Moon decides to take an extended trip to Egypt and leave Alex,  her teenage dughter, with her older daughter, Cleo,  in the hope that they will stop sparring and start to like each other a little. The novel is mainly about Teri’s girls but her holiday adventures are a subplot.

Teri meets Greg, an archaeologist, on the plane out to Cairo and they visit the pyramids and Cairo museum together before Teri continues alone on her travels to Mount Sinai.

Extract:

Teri decided to take a beach break at Hurghada before the trip to Luxor and all its wonders. She was going to meet up with Greg again to explore Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. She checked into a luxury hotel, enjoying the air conditioning and the chance to skype her girls.  She had been delighted at how they both seemed to be comfortable in one another’s company. Even Pharos, her cat, seemed to be settled; perhaps her plan was working.

Greg had surprised her. He’d asked if she’d mind him joining her on the beach and arrived at Makadi Bay a couple of days ago. They’d had fun and relaxed and were very easy in each other’s company. But now Teri felt rather confused. They’d held hands walking along the beach last night and she knew they were getting fond of one another. Maybe too fond?

He’d told her he was forty, that was nine years her junior. Was it such a gap? That was the main thing stopping her from succumbing to a holiday romance. That, and the fact that Greg was the first man she’d looked at in that way since Mac. It must be the spell of Egypt.
Greg’s shadow stood in the way of the sun. He dropped an ice-cold lolly on her midriff.

‘Greg!’ she shrieked. He sat on the end of her lounger. Tall, tanned, long hair ruffled by the sea, who could resist him? He was thoughtful and caring too.

‘Teri, you’ve lain there long enough. When you finish that ice lolly, we should go for a dip, then a siesta.’

‘What do you mean, a siesta?’ Teri sat up.

‘A short sleep in the cool air-conditioned rooms that we’ve got. What did you think I meant?’

She was lost for words. He’d placed the beach ball firmly on her patch of sand.

Excerpt From: Bradshaw, Chrissie. “A Jarful of Moondreams.”

So, this month, I’ve followed in the footsteps of two Neferteri’s and had a fabulous time in Egypt.

It doesn’t have to be a place, though does it? You can follow in the life experiences of a character too. Don’t get me started on Bridgit Jones!  I’m sure that, if you think about it, you’d have a few of those moments. I’d love to hear them.

Henna design from a Nubian village near Aszan
Bedouin children greeting us when we stop for a break. There is a baby goat riding on the donket too. They are sharing out a bag of crisps.