Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 14

Woke up in Aswan to a beautiful warm day, perfect for a slow sail down the Nile to Luxor aka Thebes. The Felucca was quite a bit larger than I had imagined, room enough for 13 passengers on the covered deck and a crew of three below. Since it was a cross wind we had to tack back and forth, not making much headway. Not really a problem since we weren't in a rush. That evening we moored on the shore and made ready to spend the night on the Felucca. Interesting to say the least. The next morning it was a short sail and a bus ride to Luxor. The Luxor museum was the next stop. Containing the best of the best it had statues that could take your breath away. After that it was ... read more

No one really knew what was going to happen. Were the military going to unleash a violent force crushing the revolutionists? or was it going to be a day of celebration? Were the Muslim Brotherhood and Liberals going to clash in the streets? or were they going to unite, forcing an end to emergency controls? As the people of Egypt prepared for another standoff with their military dictatorship, many feared for the worst as unprecedented numbers gathered in Tahrir Square, demonstrating, sending shock waves around the world. "CAIRO - Tens of thousands of Egyptians rallied Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the country's 2011 uprising, with liberals and Islamists gathering on different sides of Cairo's Tahrir Square in a reflection of the deep political divides that emerged in the year since the downfall of longtime ... read more

Having finally managed to pull myself away from Dahab, I got the nightbus with Josh who I had met at Penguin. The fact he has lived in Cairo definitely took the edge off arriving into this city of chaos after a nightbus from Dahab, which seemed like a dream after a few hours. I checked into the Canadian Hostel, which is just off Tahrir Square. We went for a look around Tahrir square, got some breakfast and then met up for coffee with one of Josh's mates. Later, I walked out to Islamic Cairo and checked out Khan El Khalili. Walking through Cairo is an adventure in itself. Crossing the street is taking your life in your hands, but I've become quite adept at using other people as buffers. Another thing about walking around Cairo is ... read more

I hoped today was not going to be a repeat of yesterday. I again, arranged things with Tareq, this time to visit the Egyptian Museum. We hoped that the entrance fee was the only thing we were going to have to pay Tareq came to get me from my hostel at midday. We set for a walking journey across the city. The museum was no more than a ten minute walk away, and crossing the streets and dodging the traffic proved to be fun. We got to the entrance of the museum, and prepared ourselves for any suspicious movement. Needless to say, there were indeed people approaching us, offering to be our tour guides. Our tactic; ignore. Simply ignore them. Don’t even say “no”, as that can bring the opportunity for them to harass you. Just ... read more

So it's time to hit the road again after a short break from travelling. I have been to Slovenia, Serbia and Greece just to stop by some of my good friends. After a little over a month, it was time to get into my travel shoes. My next destination was Egypt. Completely foreign land to me, and for the first time, I would be setting foot on the African continent. That makes five continents in total that I have been to. Egypt was going to be one of a kind. As soon as I landed, I knew I was already in a different world. I flew in from Athens today, and first things first, I had to buy my entry visa from the checkpoint before passport control. The visa and the stamp made a very good ... read more