Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 11

Geo: 30.0982, 31.2461Wake up from what little sleep I managed at the 06:00 alarm and downstairs for a final cup of tea in bed. Down for breakfast by 06:30 then a final check of tickets, bags, etc - well, perhaps a penultimnate check ! Give sister Pam a call at 07:20 to find that she is just leaving home to come and pick us up. On the dot of 07:30 we have said our goodbyes to mum and are leaving for Gloucester bus station. Not using our usual Longlevens pick up today when I realised whilst checking for coach tickets that the extra 2 miles from Gloucester would actually save us about 15 pounds - more than the cost of our Bangkok hotel ! Coach 222 is waiting when we are dropped off behind a large ... read more

Well, well, well. Day Three in Egypt, Cairo only to be specific, and I'm still not bored. Although I've passed Tahrir Square a lot of times and it was my second time on a felucca, Cairo kept surprising me day after day. It's amazing how a city can make such a huge impact and makes you feel home, although that country looks nothing like your own. Today, I've been to Coptic Cairo. It's nothing like Islamic Cairo. Coptic Cairo was small, although, it looked like it was. The funny thing was that there was this little stair case that led you to a world down Cairo, as I like to call it. There were all narrow streets and you can't see anything interesting, untill you walk a little bit further and see churches and some synagogues. ... read more

Salam Aleikum readers, I can simply not explain how amazing I think the city of Cairo is. Immediately when I arrived here, the atmosphere and the people's faces warmly welcomed me. Our host and friend Shady's face was very friendly and himself was too. He picked us up from the airport and brought us to his nice and cosy house. You have to know that we arrived at 3 AM and I really can't sleep in airplanes. So, at his house, I slept for a few hours. That gave me enough energy to go through the day. First, we went to the Egyptian Museum by one of the main transports: the taxi cab. Hm, I have to say... Those Egyptians don't know any fear of death when it comes to traffic!!! Totally terrifying. But anyway, we ... read more

It's an ongoing joke that started last year that whenever I take a day trip I first listen to the Beatles' "Day Tripper." I know the Beatles probably weren't thinking of travel trips when they wrote this song, but that doesn't matter. What was even better today is that Ahmed knew and loved the song and he had an iPod hook-up in his car, so imagine this: driving out of Cairo to the desert at 7 in the morning with the windows down blaring Day Tripper. Ahmed knew all of the words. Kept on playing Beatles music for a good hour or so. Hilarious to hear an Arab man sing along. Alexandria is the premier Egyptian Mediterranean city, and is about 2 1/2 hours North of Cairo. It is I've found the favorite city for most ... read more

Last year the highlight was standing in awe under Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. But that was Number 2 on my long list of travel goals. Number 1 I did today: the Great Pyramids at Giza!!! By far the best, safest, and easiest way to get to Giza and around is by arranging a driver for the day. The hotel I'm staying at has a set number of drivers they trust and who speak English. You set a price and they take you wherever you want. Luckily, I had the same guy who drove me in last night, Ahmed. He's a very nice, very kind person, who actually just had a little baby boy. For the next couple of days he should most likely be my driver as well. Giza, where the ... read more