Blogs from Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 79

Baksheesh, it has become the backbone of my distress here in Egypt. You see, baksheesh is tipping and well everyone wants baksheesh for absolutely anything, and I mean anything. I do not mind tipping at all if I feel it is warranted but it's ridiculous here. People will point you in the direction of a cafe and then ask for baksheesh. I was walking down the street the other day and this 9 year old boy stops me and asks if I want to ride his bike and I oblige but after 30 meters he says STOP and then asks for baksheesh. The worst thing is that often you give people money and then they say they want more. On the other hand I had a very good experience yesterday when I gave one of the ... read more

Ah, Egypt, where the Nile flows north to Lower Egypt and we headed south upstream. We were confused too. We took a day train from Cairo to Luxor (9 hours for a whopping $6) to get a feel for the Nile Valley landscape. Egypt's geography is comprised of only 4% fertile land--mostly this narrow strip of palm trees and crop fields along the Nile through which the train tracks and the highway run. The remaining 96% is desert, broken by the occasional oasis. From the Nile we could almost always see sand dunes or barren rock in the distance--a reminder of the desolation that dominates the vast majority of the country. We rode past small villages of mud huts and thatched roofs, where women gathered along the river to wash pots, rugs, and colorful clothes. Every ... read more

I'll tell you the facts as they were told to me, or as best as I can anyways, can't guarantee that they are correct though, as our tour guide tends to repeat himself at least 3 times and often with story corrections further more I also think that some of the details are a matter of opinion as you can hear different versions of the stories being told when you stand near the other tour guides.... so here goes.... Spent the next day cruising the Nile whilst I sun baked again all day before arriving at Luxor - The ancient city of Thebes, which has a population of about 500,000. As we arrived we took a brief tour and you see all of the farming land and donkeys and sheep roaming around the streets. We visited ... read more

Ok, getting back to the story!! So I arrived in one peice to Aswan, 800 miles south of north Cairo. it's very hot, about 39 degrees at 9.30am. However they tell me during July and August it can get up to 50 degrees in the shade!! thank god my tour got put back to now instead of next month! don't think I would have made it! There is no humidity here. Our guide said that it rained for about 10-15 minutes just once this year. Aswan is surounded by the Sahara Desert and is a prodominately African city. Most of the buildings are made of stone and cement. Aswan has the biggest granet quarry in Africa. It has been running for 5,000 years so far and they say that is it an endless quarry as they ... read more

Our trip to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens was great. We got up early to beat the heat and the other tourists! Althought it being the summer and very hot, there were not as many tourists as there are in the other seasons when it is cooler. We went first of all to the Valley of the Kings, you are allowed to go into three tombs. Our guide pointed us in the direction of the tombs of three different Ramses - Ramses I, Ramses IV and Ramses IX. The Valley of the Kings has about 63 known tombs - most of which are not open to the public. Tombs are closed for restoration and to rest them from the erosion and ruin that tourism brings, that is the sweat of visitors and the air ... read more