Buried in His Jammies

Africa » Egypt
March 22nd 2009

Published: April 7th 2009

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povertyjetset

Summit on a Cold Mt Sinai Sunrise

Mt Katherine in the background. Closed for trekking. Or not. Depends on with whom you are speaking.

Egypt is not just King Tut who didn't build much in the way of temples or lead great military campaigns like his predecessors. He is, however, renowned for inexplicably being buried with amazing treasures even though he was in reality a very minor ruler. I came back from Egypt a week ago. Spent 9 days there after a week in both Jordan and Israel. All are fantastic destinations and perfectly safe contrary to what is portrayed in the Western media.

After an overnight bus ride from Tel Aviv, Israel to the border at Eilat I found myself mucking around in Taba, Egypt, a town with a few resorts, a ramshackle bus station, and not much of anything else. The plan was to catch a bus to St Katherine's Monastery from where I would ascend Mt Sinai early the next morning. There was no such bus even though every Egypt guidebook mentioned a direct bus to the monastery. Plan B was to make my way, also by bus, to the backpacker enclave of Dahab about 100 miles to the south. Plan B didn't quite work out either as the next bus had broken down somewhere en route to Taba. Conveniently there

Rugged Sinai Interior

were a few "special" taxi drivers willing to take me and an Israeli on a charter for 200 Egyptian pounds (L.E.) or ~$35. We resisted their extortionate price until 4 other tourists crossed the border then we were off for what then became a reasonable 200 L.E. ride for the 6 of us. Beautiful ride along the coast which I mostly slept through since I did not sleep much on the previous night's bus ride.

Dahab is an interesting mix of independent travelers, locals running small businesses, and Russians looking to scuba dive or windsurf. Soon after arrival I made plans to ascend Mt Sinai which would necessitate an 11 pm departure for the 2 hour ride to the base of the hike. I reckon the drive would have been much shorter if not for the countless passport checks and roadblocks designed to protect foreign tourists. All this so we could make the 5:45 am sunrise from the summit. This would be the second night in a row spent somewhere other than asleep in a bed. The hike was not at all strenuous but took hours as we stopped every 10 minutes which seemed to coincide with a tea

Descending the 3000 Steps

shop. We got to the last tea shop a mere 3 minutes from the summit just after 4:00 am. Rather than freeze on the 2200m summit for an hour and a half I opted to take a short nap in the warm tea shop and scurried to the insanely crowded summit just in time for the sunrise. The remaining 3 days in Dahab were spent relaxing by the pool and getting much needed sleep.

From Sinai, I flew over the Red Sea from Sharm el Sheik to Luxor which is the location of ancient Thebes. There is so much to see there and I really maximized my 3 days there: Karnak, Luxor Temple, Valley of the Kings, Deir el Bahri, Medinat Habu, Deir el Medina, Ramesseum, Luxor Museum, sunset sailing cruise on the Nile, sheesha, copious quaffs of freshly squeezed OJ and Turkish coffee. Then flew to Cairo where I only had enough time for the Egyptian Museum and the Pyramids at Giza.

I'm keeping this one relatively short as I want to compose another blog for Jordan and Israel. And there are still dozens of pictures to process from last summer's trip to Botswana and Namibia.

St Katherine's Monastery

Quick tour after Mt Sinai summit.

Stay tuned...

Jon

Travel related details:

Eilat to Taba - taxi to border is an outrageous 40 NIS for ~8 km. Hourly bus from Eilat CBS is ~7 NIS but doesn’t start until 8 or 9 am. I took a taxi just after 5 am because I wanted to catch a 7 am bus from Taba to St Katherine’s but that bus has been cancelled as of a few weeks ago. 94.5 NIS Israeli exit tax. Can also change money at same booth but rates are poor and I was seriously shortchanged but didn’t catch it until later.

Taba to Sinai - buses at 9 am and 3 pm only. There are many taxis and minibuses available for hire but these only make economical sense if there are 4 or more people. As mentioned above, 6 of us paid 200 LE for a ride to Dahab with one disembarking in Nuweiba right at the door of his preferred hotel. I think there is also a bus around 12 pm to Cairo and there is definitely one to Suez around 7 am.

Dahab - Many places to stay and it was pretty quiet so I got

Red Sea Coral Reefs and the Resort Town of Hurghada

As seen from Sinai to Luxor flight on Egypt Air, commonly referred to as Egypt Scare.

a room for one night at Auski camp for 40 LE with a bathroom of dubious hygiene. Probably the cheapest rate in Dahab for a room with private bathroom. Switched to Bedouin Lodge, their adjacent, related, and nicer hotel for 3 nights (total 200 LE). One nice bonus was the free use of the pool at Octopus Garden which looked like a really nice budget hotel across from Penguin Village. Also took Auski’s Mt Sinai tour for 100 LE including transport, guide, and entry fee. If you are a keen hiker then I would suggest doing this on your own by taking the public bus to St Katherine’s and staying in the monastery guesthouse which is what I wanted to do but was thwarted in Taba. You don’t need a guide and it is not the most comfortable trip from Dahab. You can start at your convenience instead of with the guided groups at 1:30 am. In reality, the hike up should take an hour if you don’t stop every 10 minutes or have to fight your way past throngs of pokey Russians. It is cold and windy on the summit. Arranged a taxi for 140 LE through the hotel

Near Luxor on the Descent

Fertile Nile Valley. Desert encroaching all around.

to Sharm el Sheik airport for an 8:40 am flight to Luxor. Decent rate. I could have haggled a bit in the street and saved maybe 10 or 20 LE but felt more confident of the pickup by arranging through the hotel. The ride is a little more than one hour.

Luxor - maybe the best part of the whole trip. Flight was really nice in spite of Egypt Air’s reputation. Great scenery overlooking Sinai Mountains, Ras Mohammed, Red Sea, and the Nile Valley. Stayed at Princess Hotel in Luxor in a room with a shared bath and fan (didn’t need A/C) for 25 LE/night including a nice breakfast and airport pickup which was flawless. The hotel is a few blocks from the train station but away from the river which is full of touts and a phony soq. Fantastic local coffee shop next to the hotel where you can get a nice sheesha tufa for 1.50 LE. It was about the only place in Egypt where my meager Arabic came in handy. Getting around Luxor is easy. Can walk everywhere on the East Bank. Toured Karnak first day during and just after lunch when it’s not so crowded.

Ram Headed Sphinxes at Karnak

Ram represents ancient Egyptian god Amon.

Could have spent more than my 3 hours there. Go as late as possible in the day when the light isn’t so harsh. 70 (or 75?) LE entry fee was discounted for me to 35 because I had an official teacher ID card. Early evening (reopens 4 or 5pm) was spent at the small but well presented and uncluttered Luxor Museum. 80/40LE entry fee. Second day took the ferry to the West Bank (1 LE) and arranged a taxi on the boat for 100 LE to take me to Tomb of Ay, back to Valley of the Kings, and wait for me at Deir el Bahri (DB) while I hiked over from Valley of the Kings (VK). I think it was good rate (for Luxor) seeing as I hired the car from 8:30 am until 1:30 pm. I did not negotiate directly with the driver but you can ask for Ibrahim, car #20 at the ferry landing. There are cheap pickups and minibuses from the ferry terminal or Guhrna ticket office to DB but I’m not sure if there are any to VK. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken the minibus to DB first thing in the

Close up of Sphinx

Pharaoh under ram's head seeking protection from Amon. Not sure but I think it's an image of Ramses II.

morning (when the light is much better anyway), hiked over to VK, skipped Ay, and then tried to mooch a ride or share an already hired taxi back to the ferry. Buy the entry tickets for all three sights at the sights themselves, not the ticket office in Guhrna. Fees are steep. For me VK, Ay, and DB cost 40, 15, and 15 LE, respectively. ITIC discount applied. That was enough for one day on the West Bank. Arranged a sunset felucca trip through the hotel for 35 LE/person. There were 3 of us plus the captain and his sons. The cruise lasted 2 hours including a brief stop on Banana Island which, as the name indicates, is pretty much just a banana plantation. Costs an extra 5 LE but comes with lots of bananas to snack on. Third day was back to the West Bank by ferry. Caught direct minibus to ticket office in Guhrna for 2 LE for 2 of us. Bought tix for Medinat Habu (good), Deir el Medina (not worth it), and Ramesseum (also good). All 15 LE with ITIC discount. Can walk to all 3 sights from ticket booth. Afterward, walked to Colossus of Memnon

Inside the First Gate or Pylon

The last gate constructed as the temples were built inside-out by successive pharaohs. This gate is unfinished and the retaining walls used during construction are still standing.

then took minibus from there back to ferry for 50 pt. Then the highlight of Luxor - Luxor Temple at night (open til 9 pm). It is crowded but well worth it. Extra charge for tripod but it is almost mandatory for good pix. I was positioning my point and shoot on rocks and walls which was challenging. 7:05 am flight to Cairo meant 6:00 am departure from the hotel to the airport. This is the biggest scam in Egypt - 35 LE fixed price for the ride to the airport which could not have been more than 10 km. Compare that to the almost 100 km ride from Dahab to Sharm for 140 LE! Also a nice flight mostly over the Nile Valley then infinite desert as we got closer to Cairo.

Cairo - I must be in the extreme minority because I liked Cairo. But then again I was only there for 2 days. Arrived in Terminal 1 and it was a few minutes walk to the airport bus terminal. 2 LE on bus #356 for the 1+ hour ride to the city station just north of the Egyptian Museum. There were only a few of us

Taller Statue of Ramses II

Inside main court. Hypostyle hall in back. People in shadows give some perspective on the immense size of the surroundings.

so I was not charged extra for my backpack but the official policy is 1 LE for large luggage. ~20 minute walk from the terminal past the museum and Sadat metro stop to Juliana Hotel in Garden City. Very nice part of town. Very quiet. You should stay there. There was a screw up with my reservation but the manager, Hany, put me up in a nicer, nearby hotel (Garden City Palace?) for the same price. Spent the better part of the afternoon at the immense Egyptian Museum, entry fees 60/30 LE and no teacher discount as of this year. Walked to Khan al Kalili (lame, like the fake Luxor soq) then south towards the citadel through the real soq. Climbed a minaret in Islamic Cairo for great sunset views. Arranged a taxi through Juliana Hotel for 180 LE to take me to Giza, Saqqara, and Dashur. Giza is amazing and it should be for another 60/30 LE (also no teacher disc. as of this year). Get there early, 9 am when it opens, and the crowds aren’t so bad. Can walk around the whole place for a few hours. Alternatively, go late in the day closer to sunset but

Hypostyle Hall with 134 Columns

Roof was higher in the middle and windowed to allow in light.

I suspect it will be packed. I don’t think Saqqara is worth either the entry fee (60/30 LE and no ITIC disc) or the travel time through Giza’s brutal traffic especially after seeing Giza first. Had pyramid overdose so I bailed on Dashur and Hany was decent enough to knock the taxi price down to 150 LE. Also did the obligatory tours of the carpet, papyrus, and perfume factories but it was not mandatory and there was only a minimal hard sell at any of them. In hindsight, I wish I’d simply taken the public bus from Cairo to Giza, called it a day, and saved heaps in the process. Getting back to the airport was by public bus was also easy but late at night only the #400 skank bus runs. 1 LE (50 pt each for me and the pack), crowded, and breezy since the back door didn’t close. The conductor made me give up my bag’s seat but was nice enough to keep it near his seat. Left at 11 pm for the ride. It was less than an hour because it was late with little traffic compared to daytime. This bus also stops at the airport

Detail of Roof Columns

Higher columns are open lotus. Shorter are closed papyrus.

bus station near Terminal 1. Check in was a breeze. Just be sure to have a printout of your itinerary to be allowed in to the airport. Actually, that goes for all the airports where I transited.

Additional photos below

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