Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 12

Just a few hours and I'll depart for my flght back home. I'm coming home early to prepare for my studies, and because the money has run out! Egypt and I are once again friends, and it is largely due to a friend I have made here and because of Cairo. You know me, I'll tell everyone when you are visiting a country get out of the city and go to the countryside, where the real people are. Cairo is my one exception so far. Cairo is massive, polluted, confusing and awesome. I do like this city. Yesterday a new found friend and I went and saw MIB3 in 3-D at this sophisticated shopping mall that was over 6 floors tall and had every store you can imagine, Timberlane, Fuddruckers, Claires, Baskin Robbins, Chilis, etc. It ... read more

Cairo, primarily the pyramids of Giza was our next destination. Arriving in Cairo at peak hour gave us a nice taste as to what madness Egyptian traffic can be (including people driving in our lane towards us) and after two and a half hours we arrived at our hotel. The Egypt, Israel and Palestine part of our travels would be taken with a tour group and we were excited to meet everyone and check out Cairo nightlife. We were surprised to hear that our tour group were in another city and would be meeting up with us in Luxor for the remainder of our Egypt trip. What was more surprising was that there were only five in the group and no one would be taking part in the Israel/Palestine part of the tour. Considering recent events ... read more

Yesterday was very quiet in Egypt. Everyone in the country except those in toursism, were off so they could vote. Those who weren't off yesterday are off today so they can vote - yes they get 2 days to vote. Our Egyptologist who is from Luxor and the owner of Quest travel who journeyed on his boat with us to Aswan, are all VERY hopeful and excited about the new possibilities. We are now in Giza again. We had an incredible night last night - a private visit into the kings chamber of the Great Pyramid. We have just finished a very delicious breakfast and we part ways with our travelling companionions this afternoon and eveing. We were sad to leave the boat yesterday, the Egyptian crew were so full of love and heart and we ... read more

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain Cairo is a city that wants to make a good first impression on tourists. Exiting the shiny new airport, the first suburb you come to is where the "rich" live. Palaces, converted to museums, sprawling well lit gardens, home to many government employees, ex-home to ex-president Mubarak. Impressive and modern. Not the city of antiquities that most come to see. Driving through Cairo at night is overwhelming. Next to its shining brightness, the cities and monuments of the last two weeks in Morocco appear a poor cousin (though not without ... read more

Dear All First of all, a Happy Easter to everyone reading this! Hope it is being celebrated well wherever this is being read. Greetings from Cairo! Humungous and hot metropolois of 20 million, the largest both in the Arab world and on the African continent, and a teaming, stressful, polluted and chaotic place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to visit and has some seriously stunning sights to see, but after 3 days here I am ready to get out. Yes, the city Cairenes call “The Mother of the World” has seen enough of me, and tomorrow morning I catch a bus to hopefully quieter destinations. I must admit, I am a little hot and bothered right now, as the temperature has hit just under 40 degrees every day since I’ve been here, so ... read more