The Egyptian Trinity - Temples, Tombs and Touts

Back in Cairo

So, after another flight we found ourselves back in Cairo. We made straight for Ramses station where we purchased tickets for that nights train to Aswan. That done we stood around trying to decide what to do with the spare 14 hours before the train left. Coffee was first on the agenda and after some beautifully decorated cappucinos with "LOVE" and a teddy bear swirled on top (I think the waiters were trying to tell me something!) we decided to head off and have another look at the pyramids of Giza. This time we did it alone without the hassle of a guide. We headed off on the subway before jumping on a very cheap local bus which dropped us off right outside. We then fought our way through a group of touts who shouted at us and told us we were going the wrong way. They insisted the only way was very conveniently through their rather large stables where we could, if we liked, rent a horse or camel. Nice try guys!

We pushed on and found our way to the ticket booth, before heading in to have a proper look at these creations. Last time we hadn't been able to get up close to all of them. We were amazed, particularly on this visit to find how many touts are allowed in to the actual area. Every time we stopped to take a picture or have a look we were bombarded by postcard salesmen and horse and camel pushers. It was really very frustrating. What was also annoying was the convoy of tourist coaches noisily making their way past the pyramids making it feel like we were standing alongside a busy road looking at them. I don't see why they can't park outside and make them walk, or is that too insane to suggest?

Anyway, we wandered off to the viewpoint where hundreds of tourists were crowded taking pictures and such. After being pushed out of the way by some Japanese tourists with enormous cameras we had had enough and decided to check out the view from a nearby hill. The view was just as wonderful and even more so because we were the only two people up there. We celebrated the peace and quiet with a sandwich before walking over many more hills to see the pyramids from all angles. When we were satisfied we had seen them from every which way we headed down to have a good look at the Sphynx. Although the Giza Pyramids are the last remaining wonder of the world it is not being treated like it. It is disappointing to see the coaches, touts and above all, excessive amounts of litter surrounding them. We enjoyed our visit, but left feeling it could have been so much better.

We spent the afternoon wandering around, along the Nile and over to the posh island in the middle. It is a nice place to wander and offers quiet sanctuary from the mania of central Cairo.

Aswan

We boarded the train heading for Aswan in Upper Egypt and it was a reasonably comfortable nights travel. The only real problem is that they don't turn the lights off at night in the carriage making it harder to get some sleep. Aswan is a fairly small place in a nice setting beside the Nile. The desert is on the west bank and small islands lie in the middle of the river. Alongside the corniche (Waterfront road) there are an obscene amount of cruise boats that travel between Aswan and Luxor. I read that there are as many as 250. Yet they all seemed pretty full.

On our first day here we decided to take a ferry across to Elephantine island, home of the Nubian people. This ancient race have always lived on the island and on land south of Aswan. However they were relocated from their land after the high dam was built and lake Nasser flooded an enormous portion of southern Egypt. These days the island is a quiet retreat and it is actually possible to have a wander around without too much hassle. If you have ever been to Egypt you can appreciate that this is a rarity indeed. Elephantine island has some great little spots to just relax and absorb the views and calm of the river away from the cruise boats and Feluccas.

The following day it was time to begin sight seeing and we headed out on the 4am convoy to Abu Simbel, some 280km south-west of Aswan. Here you can find the great sun temple of Ramses ll, who was a bit of a megalomaniac and seemed to spend most of his time building and usurping temples and erecting huge great colossi of himself. The temple is an impressive sight and sits imposingly beside lake Nasser. It's mighty size can only really be appreciated when standing beneath it. Also the touts and sellers have been banished to outside the area allowing you to wander around in relative peace which makes the world of difference.

Our Posh Cruise

Returning to Aswan we asked around about getting a place on one of the nice cruise boats to Luxor. We ended up with two to choose from that were leaving the next day and of course we opted for the nicer one of the two. A bit pricier but it turned out to be worth it. We had a very nice room and thoroughly enjoyed sampling all of the great food on board. I think we both put on weight in the two days. The only real downside is that you feel like your part of a massive tour when the boats all arrive on mass to the temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu on route. On the whole it is the most relaxing way to explore the Nile valley though. Edfu temple was also worth a visit as it's in a good state of preservation but like most sights is crawling with tourists.


Luxor

Alighting the boat after a massive finale breakfast we sought accommodation and managed to find a nice place with a great view over Luxor temple and the avenue of sphinxes. We then set out across the river and negotiated a taxi to take us out to the valley of the kings. To say there was a little competition for our business would be a substantial understatement as the drivers almost came to blows before we finally departed. Of course this worked to our advantage and we managed to get a good price. The tombs themselves are too numerous and varied for one visit but we spent some time in three random ones. One Ramses, one Seti and a Tuthmosis I think. The whole valley is a bit of a heat trap but a stunning location and an eerie silence descends upon it when your out of earshot of the tour groups.

When it was time to leave we ran into a slight problem as we had arranged for our taxi driver to meet us at Hatshepsut temple over the other side of the hill, intending to walk. However the heat, steep slope and inappropriate footwear proved to much for young Browne who it must be said got into a major tizzy and threw a top draw strop half way up the hill, forcing us to backtrack and re-think our plans. This left us with a problem as we had the taxi details but not the phone number of the driver. Fortunately after a little waiting we got talking to some other drivers and one turned out to be a 'cousin' of our driver and called him up and informed him of our over ambition. Still a good afternoon anyway and we left the sprawling Theban Necropolis and returned to watch the sun go down on Luxor temple.

From Luxor we took a walk north to the enormous Karnak temple. This enormous ruin was one of the most visually impressive that we saw in Egypt. Gigantic pillars, mighty carvings and a not so sacred lake where just part of the vast site. A good couple of hours was plenty and we left the tour groups to it and returned back to town via a nice waterfront stroll.

The following day we got the train back to Cairo. At Luxor station we saw a tourist being charged 10 Egyptian pounds for a bottle of water! That's about 5 times the actual price if your wondering. We have heard many stories along these lines in Egypt and it seems to be a running competition for who can extort the most out of tourists. It is common practice to ask for at least 5 times the normal price to commence the 'haggle'. Occasionally it becomes exasperating when you have to haggle over every single thing. Anyway we made it back to Cairo, got some sleep and took the bus to Nuweiba in Sinai...

This was the route we had chosen in order to visit Petra in Jordan- A Jolly To Jordan

Returning back to Egypt our next stop was Dahab.

The Final Stretch

We spent a few days in Dahab, really not doing very much at all and enjoying the relaxation very much! We wandered around the area up and down the corniche several times so as not to seem too lazy and found a few cheap places to eat. There was a little Chinese place which promised cheap noodle dishes and we were distraught when we found it was never open. We returned with hopeful faces several times but were repeatedly disappointed. I suppose it just wasn't meant to be but Jed took it very hard.

From Dahab we returned once again to Cairo before heading out on the short 3 hour Journey to Alexandria the next day. We found Alex to be quite a relaxing place, sort of a Cairo by the sea and enjoyed our time there. We took a stroll along the seafront up to the fort where we watched the sunset amongst the crowds of locals. For some mad reason they have set up a stall renting out mini scooters to teenagers. They get up quite some speed and we witnessed a collision where two kids went flying after a badly planned game of chicken went wrong! I nearly lost my feet to one of these lunatic drivers and couldn't help thinking that this was probably the stupidest activity you could have on a pedestrian walkway.

We wandered out to the Roman theatre the next day, past cinema after cinema - why do they need so many? - and had a little look round. Alex was experiencing some seriously hot weather and going outside was a bit of a draining experience so we retreated to the juice bar for ice cold fresh mango and strawberry delights. We decided to head off to the Siwa oasis the following day.

We attempted to save ourselves some money by going on the tram to the bus station. This would have worked out fine except they have moved the bus station since our guide book was written. We walked in to the station with 10 minutes to spare and created quite a frenzy as we showed some guys our tickets and they flagged down a taxi for us amongst much shouting and pointing. We got in the taxi and realised that the bus station was now halfway across town. It took us 25 minutes to get there at white knuckle speeds and we were convinced the bus would have left without us. We arrived, leapt out of the taxi and pegged it across the station shouting "Siwa, Siwa!!" We were led to a bus, which was indeed the bus to the oasis and jumped on in a sweaty, shaking, relieved sort of way. Nothing like pushing your luck for time!

The bus journey was a bit of an uncomfortable one in the stifling heat with broken air-con for 9 hours, but when you consider it would have taken 8 days by camel in the past, I suppose we didn't have it too bad! We arrived at dusk and were greeted by lots of young boys offering their donkey carts to take us to a hotel. Not really necessary as it is such a small town everything is only a 5 minute walk away. We found a clean mozzy free room which was a bit of a revelation and went for a short walk around the town. We settled in at a restaurant which was justifiably popular and had ourselves a delicious meal of salad, veg and shish tawook! Yummy!

The heat in Siwa was really intense and the breeze was hot and if anything, made us even more uncomfortable. We attempted to venture out on our first day and after 10 minutes I was frazzled and ready to go back. We made our way back to the room with cold drinks and stayed there until 4pm when we decided it might be cool enough to give it another go. Armed with water and a very wet hat (in an attempt to cool my head) we went off for a walk to the Oracle temple. It was actually much more bearable and we enjoyed the walk. The temple is quite interesting to look at and worth a visit.

We had a sleepless night in the heat and I repeatedly got up to throw huge amounts of water over myself, managing to soak to bed in the process. Desperate to cool off we ventured out and found to our delight there was a much cooler edge to the breeze today. We had a wander over to the ruins in town and clambered about on them admiring the view from different places. In the afternoon we set off on the 12km round trip to Fatnis island, also known as Fantasy island. The road was nearly deserted apart from a few passing donkey carts and it was nice to have the place to ourselves. We walked through the palm trees and emerged out to the lake which is surrounded by red earth. It was very picturesque and calm and we enjoyed taking it in for a while before embarking on our return journey to town. Siwa is quite a quaint little place for Egypt and probably the least hassling of all the places we have been here.

Leaving Siwa we journeyed back via Alexandria to Cairo for the fifth and final time.

Well, in the words of the great Boyz 2 Men it was indeed "The end of the road"...

Our trip had now come to an end. As had our 15 months of travel. At this stage we both felt languid and mentally jaded and it felt like the perfect time to return home and stay put for a while where we can happily reflect on a year and a bit well spent. The experience has left us feeling like we have seen a good chunk of the world and with a healthy appreciation of other cultures and lifestyles. So home to family, friends, fresh air and reality. We have had a lot of adventures and fun on this trip and I would recommend the experience to anybody. So for now, we unpack our backpacks for one final time... until the next time that is!

Sam and Jed

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Part of trip: Africa

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