Return to Cairo from Luxor

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We say goodbye to Luxor and the Upper Nile region

We had a great visit to Luxor. We saw and learned many things that will keep us occupied for a long time after this trip is over. The best thing - we got to sleep in this morning! We had breakfast and were picked up at 9:30 for the flight back to Cairo which has become our second home in Egypt after initially arriving there, returning from Alexandria by train and now returning from Luxor by plane...home sweet home.

The Luxor airport is very nice, an international airport as it is only a 4 hour flight from the UK and many Europeans vacation in Luxor to escape cold winters. As we took off it was very evident that the Nile, the longest river in the world that flows over 6,000 kilometers north to the Med and traverses through nine African countries, has been and still is the center of human life in this area. You can clearly see the greenbelt on both the east & west sides of the river where it dissolves into desert.

As we approached Cairo we got the chance to say goodbye a second time to the Pyramids of Giza and John was able to snap a shot of downtown Cairo with the Nile flowing through the business district.

One thing we haven't talked about but feel it is necessary to mention is the amount of begging that goes on in Egypt. As we have noted, the economy is pathetic which draws more and more people into Cairo and Alexandria to look for work. When we say begging, we have seen the obvious - we had a man come up to our car while traveling holding a young toddler with a leg cast banging the cast on the window - our driver did not like that at all.

But it is the more subtle begging we are talking about. When traveling it is important to know if tipping is expected or if it is factored into some services. In Egypt, personal services (from the obvious luggage portage to waiters doing you favors such as bringing more food to your table from a buffet, taking your coffee cup over to a self-serve station to pour a second cup, constantly asking you if you are happy and is there anything else they can do for you...essentially positioning themselves in whatever means possible for a tip. Egyptians dominate all public restrooms putting themselves between you and the paper towel dispenser. At first we tipped an Egyptian Pound or two, then we just stopped. We recognize tourism is key for Egypt but we feel targeted with everyone going for every cent while we are here. That has become a big turnoff for us.

But it is now time to say goodbye to Egypt this afternoon and fly to an overnight in Vienna, Austria before traveling to Rome to start the European segment of our journey.

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Photos

The life giving Nile River
The overwhelming majority of Egyptians live in the greenbelt that binds itself to the Nile River as it courses through Egypt.