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Egypt…what can I say about Egypt? Well, basically, I thought the men in Doha were pretty bad until I got to Turkey. Then I thought the men in Turkey were pretty bad until I got to Egypt. I think I can now safely say I have seen men at their worst. If anyone has been to Egypt and can think of a country with worse men, please warn me if I ever talk about visiting said country.
Although it pains me to admit it, my mom was right that it’s probably not the best idea for two young girls to go to Egypt on their own. Bombs aside. Yes, we learned about the bombings in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, oh, about 15 minutes before we headed to the airport to go from Turkey to Egypt. Fun, fun.
Luckily, we didn’t have plans to go to the Red Sea; we decided to go to Alexandria first before conquering Cairo to enjoy the Mediterranean (as we were told that Alexandria was much more Mediterranean than Middle Eastern and it’s referred to as “The Pearl of Egypt”). After a two hour train ride in first class for a whopping $5 USD, we arrived
in Alexandria and didn’t seem too convinced of the city’s moniker. Luckily, we stayed at the Hilton, which was a very nice hotel for a very cheap price (I’ll give Egypt that…it’s cheap). Since we arrived at night, we decided to wait until the day to go and explore.
The next day we took a cab to the Corniche and got dropped off at the famous Alexandria library. Although it’s the one of the oldest recorded library, it was renovated a few years back and the architecture is now quite modern. It was not really my Turkish cup of tea. After a few photos, Kristy and I decided to walk along the Corniche to the end where there was a fort. Well, during that 45 minute or so walk, we probably had at least 100 men approach us, touch us, and follow us using every kind of pick-up line imaginable. Let’s just say it wasn’t the most enjoyable walk. After our afternoon stroll, both of us were ready to hide out in the hotel for the rest of our time, but we took our cute little cab driver up on his offer to take us for a tour the
The Pearl of Egypt
Here is a beautiful shot of Alexandria, the Pearl of Egypt...okay then. next morning before we caught our train back to Cairo. This cab driver was probably the only man we encountered that had zero creepiness in him whatsoever.
We are quite glad we did the tour. We were able to see parts of Alexandria that we wouldn’t have explored on our own. Our cabbie was also very enthusiastic about pointing out buildings, especially universities (we think he had a thing for higher education). We went to a tomb, a palace, and a very, very tall tower.
Later that day, we arrived in the beautiful city of Cairo. If you suspect a slight hint of sarcasm, you’re correct. What the city lacked in beauty, air quality, and permissible smells, though, the pyramids more than made up for it. They were literally in the backyard of our hotel. Again, the hotel was pretty great for the price we paid and was well worth the view.
Learning from our experience in Alexandria, we hired a driver for our two days in Cairo to take us to the best places and ward off the camel and postcard hawkers. This worked out well and we enjoyed our time in Cairo, aside from the
pungent smells and the lovely humidity that caused us to be soaked from head to toe in our conservative clothing (I.e., long sleeved shirts and pants).
The pyramids are truly breathtaking; when you consider their age and the ingeniousness behind them, they become that much more amazing. After visiting the pyramids and checking out some pretty cool statues, we went to a carpet school and learned about handmade silk and camel hair carpets. I got suckered and purchased a teeny tiny little silk carpet with Nefereti’s face on it. It will be a great keepsake, but it was definitely my big purchase of the trip. After the carpet factory, we went to a Healing Centre and learned all about essential oils. After smelling about 20 or so different scents, I chose an Egyptian blend for my mom for Mother’s Day. I obviously helped our driver out because, you see, there were quite a few carpet schools and essential oil and perfume stores, but we went to ones that our driver was quite friendly with, so our guess is that he benefited from a few kickbacks here and there, and I guess I was the tourist he was hoping for!
We were trying to get to the market in Cairo, but there was some miscommunication with the driver, so carpets and perfumes were all we were going to see.
That night (our final night), in true Middle Eastern style, we sat on a rooftop terrace at our hotel that overlooked the pyramids and smoked some sheesha. We tried cappuccino, which was quite enjoyable. We were going to go to the light show at the pyramids, but decided that we didn’t want to do the pyramids Disney style so passed and watched them light up from our terrace. Well, I was quite excited to get a photo and asked Kristy for my camera, as she was scrolling through my photos. Kristy finally gave the camera back to me and I went to the railing to line up the perfect night shot of the lit of pyramids. Isn’t it a beautiful shot? Oh, wait, you can’t see the photo? Hmm, wonder why? Oh yeah, because just as I was about to point and click, the pyramid lights went out and the light show was over, so all we could see were blurry outlines of the pyramids in the darkness. GRRR. Kristy
thought it was hilarious and, now, looking back, I think it was pretty funny too. I’ll probably remember not being able to get the photo more than if I was able to get it.
On our final day, we went to the Egyptian museum. Kristy and I realized we are perfect traveling companions when both of us were capable of conquering a massive museum filled with thousands of years of history in, oh, about an hour. Really, when you’ve seen one mummy, you’ve seen them all 😉 Actually, we did see King Tut’s burial casket, which was the definitive highlight of the museum. I believe he had four or five burial caskets actually, with each one proving more ornate than the last. If you are familiar with those Russian dolls that reveal smaller dolls when you crack them open, that is essentially what it looked like, but much more grandiose. Unfortunately, I don’t have photos to show as the silly museum confiscated our cameras upon our arrival.
So, that was Egypt in a nutshell. Overall, I’m glad I went because the pyramids are a must-see; however, I’m thinking that I won’t be back anytime soon. We actually almost
The Famous Library
I expected something much older, but I guess the library was renovated and now has quite a healthy dose of modernism. weren’t allowed to leave the country, as Kristy didn’t have proof she was leaving Qatar the next day, which is mandatory for non-residents. Crazy Qataris. After a lengthy fight with Emirates Airline, we were on our merry way. Oh wait, until Kristy lost our tickets from Dubai to Doha. Luckily, the tickets were recovered and the rest of the trip went smoothly. Oh wait, until I left my favourite hoody on the plane from Cairo to Dubai. GRRR.
Next stop: Muskat, Oman. I also have some exciting news that I will tell you in the next blog.
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