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Blogs from Cairo, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa
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April 25th 2013
Getting into Cairo the second time around was quite a bit more chaotic than the first time we arrived. A hired van met us at the train station and took us to the Citadel, but being daytime the traffic was insane! I have to say, I would never want to drive in Egypt. It takes forever to get anywhere because every three feet someone is blocking the way. There are lanes painted on the roads, and I did see a couple of traffic lights..but nobody pays any attention to that sort of thing. At one intersection there was actually a traffic cop standing in the middle of the chaos trying to direct people where to go. That's a brave guy and I don't envy his job. Eventually we made it to the Citadel and our guide ... read more
April 21st 2013
Ah we had such a good sleep last night! We hit the sack at 10pm at the latest and slept through till 9.30 this am! So good to not have an alarm set at the crack of dawn! We threw some clothes on and went down for our last breakie in Egypt. Had some croissants and waffles and some amazing pineapple juice, then headed back to our room to skype home! We tried Bens parents but it just rang and rang! So we missed you! :( But managed to get a call with nanny, gramps, mum and dad all in one call which was so lovely as we havent really had any wifi all week so was good to catch up with them. This took us till about 11.30. We got our togs on even though ... read more
April 20th 2013
We arrived into Cairo at about 7am from our overnight bus from Hergada. To say we were a little tired and agro is an understatement. The bus ride was horrible...9 of us crammed into a little mini-bus, the air con was on half the night, and the driver hit every pothole and speed bump from Hergada to Cairo. Rach got an 'ok' sleep and I was on and off for about 4 hours. We got to our hotel, had a shower to freshen us up and commence our day of tours at 8am. The first stop was the Egyptain Museum. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take cameras into the museum and we didn't risk sneaking them into my day pack as they were checking everyone's as they came through. Our guide showed us a replica of ... read more
April 14th 2013
We started our first full day in Cairo with a trip out to Shakkra, the site of some of the very first pyramids. Being on the roads in Cairo is an experience in itself! There are literally no road rules, except for anything goes if you can stick your vehicle into a gap. Pedestians walking across highways, cars driving down the wrong side of the road, honestly, I don't know how people get a licence let alone get around in place! On arrival at Shakkra, our guide, Michael, gave us the first of many warnings about the local hastlers, seedy looking Egyptain men that try to sell you crap as soon as we walked off our bus. Even as Michael was trying to tell a story, there was a muppet in the background trying to flog ... read more
April 13th 2013
We thankfully woke up after both sleeping relatively well considering the racket outtside! I woke up at about 1 or 2 with a prayer being blasted from one of the nearby mosques which seemed to last forever but then went straight back to sleep. We both got up and had showers which flooded the bathroom due to the no sided shower! But there was hot water which was good! We had a morning of skyping our families as we don't know the next time we will have wifi and be able to skype, which was lovely! Really good to chat with everyone and hear about whats going on at home. We had organised a transfer from this hotel to our hotel where the tour was starting, however we hadnt heard anything from anyone about what time ... read more
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April 6th 2013
Prior to leaving for Egypt I had a vague idea that I wanted to go there on this particular holiday. I debated about Japan or Cambodia and Vietnam but Egypt was calling me. I was nervous about the political situation there, but having read a few blogs from other travellers to Egypt I decided it was safe enough. Now was the time. I definitely procrastinated about booking, so everything was left to the last minute. Like visas. Information on whether or not Canadians need a visa is remarkably hard to find, and what I did find was often contradictory. I live in Alberta, and would have had to send my passport via purolator to Ottawa in order to get a visa through the consulate in time for the trip...at least in time if there were no ... read more
April 1st 2013
OK so let's get a few things straight right from the start. Firstly, Egypt is absolutely safe to travel. (Disclaimer:that's just an opinion, should you get taken hostage or injured in Egypt that'd be a blow, but please don't try and sue me!) The Arab Spring of 2011 swept across some 16 countries or so and is still continuning now, and it seems the constant media attention showing the melting pot of anger has blurred the lines between countries, protests and repurcussions, which has resulted in the vast majority of tourists being scared to travel to the entire region. Great news for us as less queues, but bad news for countries like Egypt who are so reliant on the income of tourism. It needs to be put in context: the people were tired of being ruled ... read more
March 13th 2013
I'm finding it difficult to find time and access to update this while I'm travelling as our pace is pretty crazy. We've been here a little over a week and have gone from Cairo to aswan to luxor and in a couple of hours we head back to Cairo on an overnight train. The pyramids were amazing and with the lack of tourist s it was even more enjoyable because we could admire them in relative peace...minus the people trying to sell you stuff! That is a bit overwhelmi g here because with so few tourists around they really are desperate to make deal with you. I will be brief for now, but we are having a great time and really enjoying how frie dly the eEgyptian people are. Pictures will come eventually :)... read more
February 11th 2013
Español / Català I may imagine Naguib Mafuz sitting in a table at Fishawa Café. Holds a cigarette between his fingers. Leafing through his notes. A little bit further, to the right, his cup of coffee. Occasionally lifts his head and looks carefully at his thoughts perhaps searching a particular recall. A waiter, attentive, renews the ashtray. Mafuz lowers his head and looks at his notes, after a puff of his half-smoked Kent. Probably a common scene in his favourite coffee in Jan al Jalili before a brainless assaults him with a knife injuring his neck and his hand. Nearly two millennia before Mafuz sit on his Fishawa corner, Rome established a bit further south along the Nile, a fortress that was called ... read more
January 16th 2013
Yalçin met us at 9.00am this morning for our last half day of sight-seeing in Turkey before we fly to Cairo this afternoon. Because the Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays it was not included in our city tour last Monday so our driver took us back to Sultanahmet so that Meredith and Alex could see the Hagia Sophia and we could revisit with the benefit of Yalçin's commentary. We stayed with the group while we explored the ground floor and, as expected, Yalçin shared a wealth of information with us; who knew that the crosses on the floor aren't just random tool marks, but markers that reflect the circumference of the dome overhead?!Rather than re-visiting the galleries we teed it up with Yalçin to go across the road to visit the Basilica Cistern while he ... read more
