Blogs from Egypt, Africa - page 293

Today I found my worth measured in camels and t-shirts as Paul (our sole male companion) was offered a wide assortment of goodies in exchange for his women (aka us). "Lucky man" they say...I think it's getting to his head. :) I recently heard a story about a man who accidently sold his girl friend to a foreign man for a camel...we've been warned by Paul that if we act up he might do the same. ;) We finally went to the Egyptian museum today to pay King Tut a little visit. There was so much gold everywhere you looked! We had heard that the museum was almost like taking a trip to a very big attic and we found that to be fairly true--relics and ancient artifacts are somewhat haphazardly strewn about. My favorite exhibits ... read more

Welcome to Egypt... The three pyramids of Giza are simply incredible! The sheer scale of these monuments leaves anyone breathless, everything about them is huge! The Great Sphinx watches over the pyramids, and once again, the size is awe-inspiring! Various other pyramids and tombs surround the city of Cairo, each ancient site has a magic of it's own. The stepped pyramid of Saqqara pre-dates the Giza pyramids, and at 4500 years old, it's one of the oldest standing monuments in the world. Underneath Cairo's thick blanket of smog lies bustling markets, colourful streets and chaotic traffic. The mosques tower above many streets and and the sound of car horns are deafening! And of course there's the Egyptian museum, floor after floor of mosaic and wall after wall of religious and historic paintings. The golden possessions of ... read more

Last weekend I took a quick two-day trip up to Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast. So much history, and yet... Alexandria has a lot of history behind it. Unfortunately most of it no longer exists. The great lighthouse (Pharos), one of the seven ancient wonders of the world? Gone, destroyed by an earthquake and replaced by a fort. (Supposedly some of the granite blocks in the fort were salvaged from the destroyed lighthouse). The great library, once the largest of its kind in the world, and a vast storehouse of human knowledge in ancient times? Gone, though there's a new library, with very modern architecture, that attempts to recapture some of Alexandria's past glory. The tomb of Alexander the Great, who founded the city? No one knows where it is located. The palaces of Cleopatra and ... read more

Second Day Cairo, or Al Qahirah in Arabic, boggles the mind and the senses. The first impression simply overloads the brain; too much is happening in too many places too fast to make any sense of it. The insane traffic bound by no rules mixing with masses of apparently suicidal pedestrians, both dogging the donkey carts wondering the streets seemingly ignorant of the 20th century heap of humanity and technology surrounding them. Then as your eyes slowly adjust to the cacophony that surrounds them you begins to hear to the music of Cairo, a symphony composed of a thousand car horns, the vibe of a million pedestrian lost in their individual conversations, competing with hundreds of taxi radios blaring the latest Amr Diab or local Qu’ran reading while their drivers yell out their window, all beautifully ... read more

On 17 December we headed to Egypt for some sun and culture over the Christmas break. Our tour took us from Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza, to Alexandria, Luxor, Kom Ombo, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Hurgada, Dahab and Mt Sinai. We've uploaded a few photos to gallery, and will add more soon.... read more