Blogs from Saqqarah, Giza, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa

17 nov De sa voix monotone, Eslam du Freedom Hotel me présente Mohammed, lui qui fumait déjà dans sa voiture à mon arrivée. Le jeune chauffeur travaille habituellement 6 jours par semaine pour l'agence, mais m'avoue rapidement qu'il en travaille plutôt 7 depuis la reprise du tourisme en Égypte. ''Many tourists now?'' que je lui demande alors. ''No. I need the money, qu'il me répondra. No work in Covid time'' Sans attendre, Mohammed actionne la voiture, tire une bouffée de sa cigarette et puis, sur un coup d'accélérateur, nous injecte dans l'horrible trafic du Caire. Tour Privé: le chauffeur m'amènera aux trois sites des Pyramides dans la capitale aujourd'hui (Sakkara, Dashur et Giza) ''No Group Tour because of Covid'' que m'avait bien spécifié Eslam du Freedom Hotel (je croirai que c'est pour faire travailler plus de ... read more

They jut above the rooftops of Cairo (Giza) totally dominating there surrounds as they should. They are The Ancient Pyramids of Egypt. To get to them is (of course) not so easy, it never is. We have hired a car and driver for the day thinking naturally he will take us by car but to our dismay. Ha! Ha! He wants us to go by camel insisting this is the only way to see the pyramids. We stand our ground pointing out our hate for camels. He moves on to horses or maybe horse drawn carriages. Cost of course would be an additional 200 Egyptian Pounds each (6 to 1 conversion). We win this small battle and are driven right up to the first pyramid. Entry fee is 60 pound each plus 130 to go inside ... read more

Well after a week of mixed emotions, lots of eventful times and an amazing view, I have finally decided what to think of this place called Cairo. Everyday brought up a different emotion for me, some days I was very homesick, other days extremely happy and blissful. Overall, I really do like this place and am so happy I am here! The first thing you notice when you get here is the driving. There are no street regulations and it is a little bit insane, I have pictures of cars less than a foot away from ours, I can literally reach out and touch the other person in the car with the window down. There are no lanes and no crosswalks, people cross the streets at any time they want and its just CRAZY!! You almost ... read more

Wow. That'd be a pretty good description of day 1 in Egypt! We started off this morning with a quick breakfast in our hotel (for the most part breakfast was really good) before hopping on our bus to Giza. Suddenly, while we were driving along some random street, a pyramid jumped out of nowhere; a few moments later and a second one became visible. Now we have all seen the pyramids on TV, and know what they look like. We all also know that they are really big. Our first impression, though, wasn't that they are really big, it was the they are frickin' huge!  Absolutely magnificent structures! The pictures really don't due them justice, but we will post photos anyways.  In the vicinity of the pyramids there are many merchants trying either to sell you ... read more