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Published: April 5th 2011
I suppose it's fitting to resurrect my travel blog from the Middle East since my last entry was from Jordan 2 years ago. Yep that's right I am back in the land of the Arabs for the next month and what an adventure it is going to be. Luckily for me my brother Stewart lives in Cairo and writes the Government travel advice so I am in good hands despite the current revolution unfolding within the region and our plan to visit Lebanon, Syria and Israel over the next few weeks.
Things actually seem pretty calm in Egypt (which is the only country I have been too so far) especially over the last 48 hours as things have started to get back to nomal with kids returning to school and the cewfew being lifted. Tourists are few and far between and we had the pyramids virtually to ourselves which was a real treat. We actually visited Tahir Square the other night and there are still thousands of people protesting. It's interesting to speak to the average Egyptian and hear their story. Everyone is open to talking about Mabarak and there's a real sense of hope and excitement for the country
Hope for Egypt
This little chap and his father were very happy but I have no idea what the sign says...which is great to see. Let's just hope it all works according to plan come the elections in September.
For those of you who haven't experienced Cairo, the place is a raw couldron of chaos. Yes it's polluted but it's alive and what it's you would expect from a developing nation. It's a sprawling metropolis with extreme wealth and poverty and a place which is lucky to have some things left behind from the past such as the Metro system which I was very impressed with - clean and cheap cheap cheap.
The pyramids were an amazing experience. They are so massive and the mind just boggles as to how they were actually built. Come to think of it, many things here in Egypt are mind boggling and don't seem to add up. Most people know Egypt to be the place where civilisation started and there are signs everywhere here to remind us of the fact. However, when I hear that a new building in Cairo has recently been built around the crane they used to build it with and therefore, it can't be retrieved without dismantling the finished structure, I do wonder what has gone wrong here.
The Sphinx
Stew, Aimers & me The rest of the world has learnt from the Egyptians and progressed at an incredibly fast pace but Egypt seems to have gone in the other direction. I mean, in 2600BC when the pyramids were built there's no way that kind of engineering mistake would ever have happened! Having said that though Egypt still has plenty of potential and with a new leader, things could improve fast.
For the past few days we have been following the magical Nile down to the south. The delta is so lush and green and the train trip from Aswan to Luxor was full of amazing scenery. In the middle of the desert it's hard to believe how green it really is. Abu Simbel was a big 6 hour return journey yesterday via police escort which I think could actually be missed especially after seeing much better ruins today in Edfu.
Due to the recent unrest there's close to no tourists and those that we do see are all on tour buses. I'm sure things will soon improve and if you are reading this wondering whether it's safe and to come or not, please do! The locals desperately need your business -
Aswan
Sailing down the Nile it's Egypt's biggest industry. (Mind you, we have been able to score some awesome hotel deals - we are staying at the 5 Star Sofitel in Luxor tonight for $60!!!!)
We leave Egypt on Thursday to hit Beirut for the weekend so until then and depending on internet access (it's terribly unreliable here) it's ma'a salaama (goodbye)!
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narelle
non-member comment
it looks so different without all the tourists in the background of all the photos! i barely recognized the place!! ;)