Egypt Explorers: Crazy Driving

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We finally made it to Cairo. We started at 8:00 p.m. yesterday and have arrived at 11:00 p.m. tonight. At the airport, we were hurried to get scanned for swine flu by a infared thermometer. I am very glad we were not running a temperature because I would hate to think what would have happened to us if we were. Remember all those poor little pigs in Egypt! Then, we went to get our visa and our tour company met us in that line. Mikkah discretely disappeared with our passports. We were worried about if we could trust him, but he did reappear with our visas, so we were able to bypass the long line. They took us to our hotel which was about an hours drive. I was amazed at how much traffic was on the streats at midnight and how people drove here. Michele and I surrived the long plane rides, but we thought we would die in a car crash tonight.

This was a good introduction to Cairo! Road rules appear nonexistent. There was weaving, darting, and the occassional braking, while traveling 100 miles per hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Oh yeah, there is a constant chorus of beeping horns. If people drove like this in America, there would be a lot of road rage incidents. People seemed very understanting of this chaos and would just wave or nod as some other driver cuts in front of them. All the vehicles on the road were cram packed with people. The majority of vehicles consisted of large passenger vans that were overflowing with people. It was rare to see just one or two people in a car.

At our hotel, Michele and I reviewed our itenerary for the next 12 days i Egypt:

Day 1 Arrive Cairo
Arrive in Cairo.

Day 2 Cairo
Visit the breathtaking pyramids in Giza, the Sphynx, or get lost in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, a shopper's paradise. Have an authentic Egyptian dinner at a farm on the outskirts of Cairo.

Day 3 Alexandria
Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt is known as "the pearl of the Mediterranean." Visit Pompey's pillar, the catacombs, then stroll around Bibliotheca Alexandria after a seafood lunch. Visit the library of Alexandria.

Day 4-6 Aswan
Travel 14 hours by sleeper train to explore Egypt's southernmost city, Aswan, set along the Nile. Visit the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel built by Ramses II in the 13th century BC by plane. Stroll the broad corniche, get lost in the lively market, venture out by camel to St Simeon's Monastery or cross the river to the old Elephantine Island and visit a nubian village and have dinner with a family there.

Day 7-9 Nile Cruise
Enjoy the scenery on our Nile cruise ship en route to Luxor, the ancient capital of Egypt. Visit Kom Ombo, the temple dedicated to the crocodile god and the falcon gods. Another excursion in Edfu takes us to the Temple of Horus.

Day 10 Luxor
Luxor is often called the world's greatest open air museum - indeed it is. Visit the exciting ancient sites on the west bank, two mammoth statues of Amenophis II at the Colossi of Memnon and at the Queen Hatshepsut Temple and the Tomb of Tutankhamun. The Valley of Kings is a must.

Day 11 Cairo
See the Egyptian Museum, with its most significant showpiece, the magnificent Tutankhamun (King Tut) collection. Shop at the largest souk in the Middle East, legendary for copper, perfume, silver, gold and start. Enjoy an optional dinner and show in a floating restaurant to cap off your trip.

Day 12 Depart Cairo

By Missy

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Photos

Map of Egypt
Here are the places we will visit in Egypt.