Dr. Fred Turpin of Ridgefield atop a camel in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Dr. Turpin is organizing a two-week trip to the Middle Eastern country in late February that would include sailing the Nile River, visiting Alexandria and Cairo, and riding through the desert to the ancient temple of Abu Simbel.
Touring the Great Pyramid of Giza on the back of a camel or sailing up the Nile River to the ancient temples of Abu Simbel in the Sahara Desert — Dr. Fred Turpin wants to take a group from Ridgefield and the surrounding area back to Egypt with him this winter.
“The theme of the trip is building bridges — building bridges between the United States and Egypt, building bridges between our people and their people and building a deeper relationship between Republicans and Democrats,” Dr. Turpin said.
To achieve the latter, he hopes to convince town officials to come along. He’s already signed up Lewisboro Supervisor Peter Parsons.
“The bonding experience everyone will share on this trip will be extraordinary,” Dr. Turpin said.
Dr. Turpin, who’s lived in town for 20 years and practices psychotherapy from his home on Lakeview Drive, was moved to organize the trip after visiting Egypt this past winter. He’ll be hosting a public meeting Thursday, Sept. 18, in the town hall annex from 7 to 8:30 p.m. about the two-week trip.
“No date has been set yet; I’m thinking we’ll depart around Feb. 15 and we’ll return between March 1 and March 3,” he said. “We’ll be gone 14 or 15 days and it should only cost around $2,300 — that includes airfare and most meals and the cruise and all the other transportation along with the guides.
He said the trip will be perfectly safe.
“We’re not within 500 miles of the conflict areas where safety is a risk,” he said.
He hopes the rich experience will be enough to outweigh any trepidation.
“We’re talking about 5,000-plus years — it’s an amazing history,” Dr. Turpin said. “Egypt was the first civilization to conceptualize the afterlife; they were the first to have a royal court and a standing army; and, of course, they built the pyramids and developed a flourishing empire thanks to the Nile.”
Itinerary
The trip is a mix of luxury, culture and history, starting off with arrival in Cairo and staying at a five-star resort, then heading to the pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza.
“Everyone will have a chance to ride a camel around the pyramids,” Dr. Turpin said.
A cruise will leave from Luxor for seven days, then later the group will travel by bus to the Valley of the Kings, where tombs of the ancient of Pharaohs were built from the 16th to 11th centuries BC.
“The murals and the hieroglyphics on the ceilings tell so many stories — it’s all very breathtaking,” Dr. Turpin recalled.
The trip will include a visit to the temples of Abu Simbel built by Ramses II around 1265 BC and a few more days in a five-star resort in Alexandria.
12 to 20 people
He’s capped the trip at 20 people; if he can’t get more than 11 to sign up, then he’ll call it off.
“Twelve to 20 would be great,” he said. “Any more it will feel like I’m a second grade teacher.”
Speaking of teachers, he’d like to extend a special invite to them and other school administrators in town.
“One of my goals is to connect it to the world history class at the high school,” he said. “I’d like to go in and talk to the students about the country and what it’s like over there today.”
He said the misconceptions about Egypt are easy to hold onto and much more difficult to break down.
“I’ve been to 35 different countries all around the world and my three favorites are northern Italy, Scotland, and Egypt,” he said. “And that’s because of the people — they’re generous, kind and receptive.”
For more information about the trip, email Dr. Turpin at FHT8@aol.com.