Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 8

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

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

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

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

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