Our Favourite Place in Egypt

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On one of my first visits to Egypt in 2000, I became wearied by the constant harrassment by touts and pressure to buy souvenirs, tours etc. I longed to go somewhere quiet, with no tourists, no attractions, no hassle.. somewhere I could go to recharge. As I read in my guidebook about the troubles in Middle Egypt, I wondered if that might be the place to go. Not that I was looking for trouble, but that I was looking for a place off the tourist trail. The first thing I noticed in Minya was that hardly anyone speaks English. The second was the restrictions placed on me. There were armed police stationed outside the hotel, and every time I left the hotel I found myself with an armed escort. When I tried to visit local monuments using public transport, our minibus was escorted by armoured vehicles. When there was no public transport, police confiscated drivers' licences and made them take me places (this was highly embarrassing, and the drivers were too intimidated to accept any money from me). A couple of times I found myself in the back of the armoured vehicle or jeep with the soldiers. I asked if I could stick my head out of the turret but the officer said no. On the plus side, I found myself with people to help me do shopping, accompany me around town, play dominoes with. Later when I could speak some Arabic, I went back again for further visits, and at one time I stayed there a good three months. It was during this time that one of my guards insisted I meet his fiancee's family. The marriage did not eventuate, but I became firm friends with his fiancee's sister Leila. We visit the family every time we are in Egypt, and when I am back home we keep in touch via text messages.

Last time we visited, in 2007, she had had her first boy. He really took to Erin, even reaching out for Erin while his father was holding him! Now Ruhayim is almost 3 and quite a terror. We took them out to KFC for dinner and Ruhayim collected all the salt and pepper sachets and put them in his pocket. Later while we were sitting by the Nile, he opened the sachets and started eating, in spite of his mum telling him not to. To teach him a lesson, she poured the whole sachet into his mouth! When he still kept eating salt, she poured a sachet of pepper into his mouth!

We went on a short cruise on the Nile. At night, small boats are lit up with neon lights and play loud music, and take passengers on short trips on the river. The ones that look the most fun are the ones with large groups of young girls, who sing along and clap their hands.

A bit further down the Minya corniche were kiddies' rides and dodgems. Ruhayim wanted to drive but had to be content with his sister Hind driving. We saw him take off his seatbelt. Next thing, Hind crashed into another car, Ruhayim flew under the dash and hit his head on the dashboard on the way. Leila called out for Hind to put his seatbelt back on but she had had enough, pulling over to the side and demanding that Leila take him. When she didn't, Hind dumped him over the side of the car and drove off. It reminded me of the end of the Flintstones when Fred puts the cat out.

One day we took a trip to the Burnt Monastery, which is 50km or so north of Assyut. We went with Hussein, a tourist policeman who moonlights as a taxi driver. Hussein seems to get most of his business from the Akhnaton Hotel. I got the impression that he overcharges, but since we are "friends" I thought we'd be ok. The advantage of going with Hussein is that they don't make you take a guard or police escort. The drive down was along the agricultural road by the canal. We passed through the small villages and beautiful lush farmland of the Nile Valley. We saw interesting things like camels loaded up with sugar cane and live animal markets. The Monastery itself has two huge external walls and inside it is a peaceful haven with gardens, several churches and residences. The Monastery was built over the site of a cave said to have housed the Holy Family for 6 months after they fled from Herod. It was a very enjoyable trip, only marred by the argument I had with Hussein over the price. In the end I told him that money wasn't important, what was important was our friendship and that we had enjoyed the trip. However, I won't be making any trips with him again.

Each time we visit Minya we find the security restrictions have relaxed slightly. It has been several years since we have had an escort around town, or even out of town. For those who don't know, Minya is the closest major city to the sites of Beni Hasan (pharaonic tombs of nobles), Tel el Amarna (nothing left now but was the capital city of the heretic king Akhnaton) and several other less known sites. A new 5 star hotel has been built on the east side of the Nile and a new museum is being constructed in the same area. For the sake of the local economy, it would be nice to see tourism return to Minya. But does this mean its days as a quiet, hassle-free haven are numbered?

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Photos

Hind and Ruhayim
Ruhayim just after he clawed himself back up from under the dash.

Mel and Hind
On the Nile boat

Comments

[sharon]

i thought it was going to be a pile of charred rubble!

[kiwibyrd]

I assume you mean the Burnt Monastery?