New Year Trip

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Egypt Trip
Cairo & Sharm Sheikh
29/12/2005 till 4/1/2006



Thursday 29 December 2005:

Our 304 flight on MEA departed from Rafik Hariri International Airport at 10:45 it was not a smooth flight since we experienced some severe air turbulence. We arrived to Cairo at 1:20 and a minibus drove us to Zamalek to Ranwa & Ali's house. The driver of the minibus was very brave in driving “a la egyptienne” and the road took us less than an hour which opened the discussion between Ali and I about driving rules in Egypt.

Since me & Ali visited Egypt several times and specifically Cairo, we know all the tourist attractions in this city like the pyramids, the museum, the tower etc… we wanted to have a local view of Cairo or in another way to see it through the eyes of its citizens.

Around 2:30, we arrived at Ranwa & Ali house in Zamalek area. I got introduced to Hussein Abou Kharroub, a photographer who will be with us in the trip to Sharm Sheikh.

The meaning of Zamalek derives from Zomlok, a Kurdish word meaning straw hut. Zamalek is an island in the Nile that basically lies between modern downtown Cairo and Giza. It seems that Khedive Ismail popularized the island when he built his summer palace there (now Marriott Hotel), and a number of royal families followed suite. Zamalek is a fashionable garden area with a number of attractions as well as many embassies. The nice thing I liked about Zamalek is the flourishing trees overgrowing streets.

Ranwa & Ali house overlooks the Chinese Embassy with its wonderful garden. The house is decorated in a stylish and elegant way. If I can say one can see a Palestinian touch in it through some of the décor and the wall paintings.

We went for lunch walking, something rare in Egypt, because the restaurant we chose was close to the house. While walking, I noticed small laundries every 300 meters for blocks of buildings. It is the “Makwaji” since no one irons in his home to cheapest price and competitions between these makwajia….

Every building has a concierge or a “ Bawab” usually from the “ Sa3id “ of Egypt and wear the Egyptian traditional cloth. He is like a Umda and helps everyone for direction and addresses.

Our lunch was at Sequoia restaurant, a chic venue with wood-paneled flooring and rustling canopies. The restaurant has a sailing ambiance with pleasant music and delicious food. A thing I liked at Sequoia is the display of the different types of tobacco “Mouassal” for the Hubble bubble in a tray. The “Mouassal” is of all kinds and colors and odors. The “ Narbish” of the Hubble bubble is a disposable one, the idea Hussein liked much.

In the evening, I went with Ranwa to Alpha supermarket to buy some more food for the camp and some more sleeping bags. Alfa is considered one of the best supermarkets in Cairo however, the display of food on the racks are not as organized as in Lebanon. There is no chronology of the items & places are changed all the time with some products you can miss on your second visit.

Afterwards, Ranwa decided to do for me a small car tour around Zamalek. We passed by the Gezira Club, a country club originally built by the British, the modern Cairo Opera House and landmarks such as the Cairo Tower . On the Nile side, we came across Oum khalthoum (the diva of Arabic song) hotel. The hotel is built on what is used to be Oum khalthoum villa. The sad thing is that her heritors did not invest in the house and open it as a museum instead they turned into something commercial. While driving we came across the Meraashli street and the AUC hostel.

Moreover, we passed near the fabulous Marriott hotel which used to be a palace of the khedive. There are several legends’ surrounding Ismail’s palaces. One is that he built it to house three of his 14 wives, but probably the most popular story is that he built it to accommodate the Empress Eugenie during the inauguration of the Suez Canal. Certainly Eugenie and other guests of the Suez Inauguration stayed in the palace. Other royal residences were also converted for other uses. These include the place of Price Amr Ibrahim, which is now the Ceramic Museum where we passed near several times.

The evening ended with a gathering in the salon and an open political discussion until 2 am in the morning.

Friday 30 December 2005
At 11:00 am in the morning we were all set for the 500 kilometers ahead. Food in the cool boxes, sleeping bags and tents in the trunks, we waited a bit in the street for the whole group to be completed. All were hungry so Amr & Mustafa went & brought foul and Taa’mia sandwiches for all. It was the first time I eat foul in a sandwich. I liked the experience.
We were a convoy of 4 cars. The funny thing is that Ali S. made a draw for driving the cars and the seating. Thus, Ali S. had the rented Cherokee ( all of us wanted to ride in this brand new car!!!!!) with Zeinab. Hussein had the Daewoo with Ola and Nadine. Ranwa had Mustafa and Amr in the Mitsubishi, Ali M. drove Ghada’s Hyundai car with the two kids Adam and Nabil. The idea of this draw is to let the group mingle with each other and open the way for discussion. It was a good idea to know the person you will spend with New Year eve before hand.
We left Zamalek to Masr EL Jedida, then to the highway to enter the Suez province after approximately 130 kilometers.
Our first stop was at Ras Sedr, a beautiful beach on the Suez Gulf at Manta rest house where we ate the famous hot dog dish everybody advised us about.
Ras Sedr is the nearest part of South Sinai to Cairo, Delta and the Nile Valley. It is easily accessible through Martyr Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel. The tunnel provides a crossing under the Suez Canal for motor vehicles. It was originally constructed as a shield tunnel by the British government. It is 1.63 km long and has an outside diameter of 11.6 m. Leakage of salt water through the reinforced concrete lining of the tunnel was discovered very soon after construction was completed. The salty water quickly corroded the steel and degraded the concrete, leading to serious deterioration of the tunnel lining. In 1992, construction commenced on a Japanese government grant aid project to rehabilitate the tunnel. NCC and Nippon Koei formed a joint venture and were engaged by the Japanese government to provide the engineering consulting services for the project.
It was a nice experience to pass under Suez Canal. Personally, heaving heard and read about the importance of the Canal throughout history and the Arab Israeli wars, it was exciting for me to pass under it and to cross from Africa to Asia.
Due to the terrorist bombings in Sharm Sheikh last year, there was some security stops on the road. In one of the stops Hussein had a ticket because he was not wearing the seat belt. As he was driving Amr car they took off Amr licenses. The thing that Amr kept repeating during the whole trip when someone talk to him or ask him to do something

Although the road may appear boring and monotonous to some, there are some breathtaking views when u can see sea &desert at the same time and the changing colors of the sky upon the sunset. In fact, it is a creation of the Red Sea beauty and the special mountain nature of Sinai.

We arrived to Sharm Sheikh at 6:30 PM . The city was illuminated when we reached its borders. Sharm El Sheikh often considered the pearl of Sinai was just a tiny settlement on the Red Sea. Sharm el Sheikh experienced in the last 15 years a booming development in the tourist sector which has completely changed its identity. The region of Sharm EL Sheikh is actually a series of bays with numerous and extraordinary coral reefs. It is located on the east shore at the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

Sharm el Sheikh has developed into a luxury holiday resort most treasured by divers and sun-lovers. Yet, the first time Sharm el Sheikh made its way into the world’s media was in 1967, when Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser blocked the Strait of Tiran, cutting off Israel’s access to the Red Sea. The blockade of this strategic point led to the six Day War and the occupation of the Sinai by Israel.
When it was occupied by the Israelis, there were settlements there. When the Israelis withdrew, they destroyed the settlements despite the fact that Egypt offered to buy them. The only thing remaining after the liberation of Sharm el Sheikh was the Hilton hotel as it was an international chain. It still exists and is functional).

Veronique, a Belgian real estate agent was waiting for us to show us the villas we rented in the compound. Ali M. , Ola, Mustafa & Zeinab were in one villa. Ali S, Ranwa, Amr, Hussein Ghada and the kids in the duplex villa.

After a little bit of rest we went for dinner in the old market to “safsafa” restaurant where we had a delicious seafood dinner. We started by the “(Gandoufli” (Shells), the fillet, the Shou3our fish and the Gambari. The Old Market consists of restaurants, cafes, bazaars & some supermarkets. Actually, this market is not old -as the whole city- is but since tourist like the word “old” therefore, it was named the old market.


Afterwards, we went to Neama bay which is truly the center of all activities. Neama has 2 meaning in Arabic according to how it is pronounced. It can mean blessing "????" or an ostrich ."?????" Neama bay consist of a footpath linking all hotels to the sea. The main street is where all the restaurants and pubs are.

After many negotiations with the security officer we could enter to Bus stop night club to have a look on this famous club. The real red double-decker bus attached to the building and serving as the Bus Stop’s main entrance became a landmark in Neama Bay. Tony Blair the British PM was supposed to celebrate his New Year eve there. This is the night club in the Sanafir Hotel. This bar does not fill up until late and goes on until the very early hours. The Bus stop is licensed with the pasha club of Ibiza.

Before leaving Neama we had tea with mint “ Shay bil ne’naa” in one of the cafes.. All were tired and sleepy from this long day and a good night of sleep was a must.

Saturday 31 December 2005

Desert is something that most people would associate with two words: boring and dead. In fact, people who have ever been to Sinai are convinced of the very contrary. Sinai is probably one of the most beautiful deserts in the world. Considering that 3 of the 5 major religions in the world have their origin in this peninsula, there must be some special magic about it. Having this in mind we were ready to leave for the desert to celebrate New Year eve.

Before leaving “civilization” what about a delicious breakfast at Makani, located in the centre of Hadaba. Makani Bakery is a vibrant and popular meeting place with the residents of Sharm offering delicious croissant & mille feuilles.

Our guide was Ahmad El Sherif. El Sherif knows the desert by heart. His specialty is environmental documentaries. We took the airport road and entered in the desert for about 30 minutes to reach the camp site. The “big weight” (Ali M. - Mustafa- Ranwa were in the Cherokee driven by Hussein), the light weight with Ali S. Mitsubishi, yet the car was sticked in the sands. Ghada’s car sticked too but the children were brave and removed the sands from the tires.

We arrived to the camp site, took out our stuff and as tradition say men did the tents and women unpacked the food. The kids were very excited to lighten the fire but it was too early so Ali S. proposed an activity for them to put candles in the mountain behind us and illuminate them.

Around 6 O’ clock, Adam and Nabil illuminated the fire. The kids started their dinner where they ate most of the meat ribs!!!!!

In all Sinai, there are approximately 80.000 Bedouins, from which only perhaps 30% have found a touristic related occupation. These Bedouins are mostly found between the Monastery of St. Catherine and Sharm El Sheikh. Five Bedouins were with us on this camp site. They were present for our protection from robbery or an attack by another tribe.

In this camp site we were several groups all of whom entered to this site with the help of our guide.

The sky was so clear filled with hundreds brilliant stars. One can enjoy quiet and relaxation of the city at last and feel one with nature.

All of us gathered around the fire. When it became too dark we took the flash light sticks Ali S. offered for the whole group. In fact, the grown ups enjoyed these sticks more than the kids!

We started to put more layers of clothes since it became colder. Yet not as cold as it used to be the past years.

Ali S. was the barbecue men. On the menu: chicken, meat and fish. Hussein decided to discover what the other groups were eating and he went and brought us a large bowl full of “Lebba” bread from the Bedouins. The Lebba bread is a bit similar to the markouk but thicker.

Around the fire we decided to play some song games. We were divided into 2 groups and we choose theme songs for the competition. (For reference: Some of the songs are all recorded on DVD).

After discussion in various subjects, almost all of us slept by 2-2:30 am. It was my first experience in sleeping in a sleeping bag. It was not that comfortable due to some backache in the morning thus here an advice for campers…… Buy the Coleman air mattress !!!!!




Sunday 1 January 2006

Ranwa and Ali S. were the first to wake up and they watched the sunset together. I woke up at 6:30 and had an idea to go to the bathroom while everyone is sleeping!! Ali M. was snorting. What about recording his voice!!!

Ranwa, Ali S. and I went to the Bedouin for a hot cup of Nescafe since their fire was not down. It was my first contact with them. The Bedouins are nice and kind, with a nice skin color. We met some of the other group member and I sat on a bean bag… Ohh God comfort at last in the desert!!!!!

We had a Lebba with cheese breakfast after we enlighten our fire again. It was too hot so some of us wanted to leave but not before Ali S. played backgammon with Ahmad El Sherif. El Sherif was not ready to leave yet thus he drew for us a map consisting of trees and stones. It was a bit risky but we made it and left the Sahara around 11 directly to the villas.

After quick showers for some, we headed to the beach and specifically to Sharq’s bay. The kids swam while Zeinab, Ghada, Suzan, Adam and I went for a glass boat ride. The men stayed on the beach relaxing. The view from the glass boat was astonishing. The reefs, the corals, the marine life and the various colored fish were amazing. However, the guide was not that good in explaining. In the last part of the trip we went to the deck to enjoy the scenery where we could see the beach front of the various resorts and among them the wonderful Four Seasons.

Around 4 o’ clock we had a lunch facing the sea. Ali S. wanted to have a “Shisha” in the Bedouin tent (with Ka3de Arabiye) so I joined him in drinking Shisha. Ali M followed us. The sunset at sharq bay was very romantic.

The whole group needed some rest so Ali S extended the break time to 3 hours….. After some sleep and relaxation, we all met in the duplex villa to watch the news.
Ranwa , Ali S. and the kids stayed home whereas the others wanted to go out. We had to drive Hussein to the bus station to return to Cairo since he had a plane to catch. We went to the Old Market where we had tea in a café . We were served by a dwarf and I learned 2 Egyptian words there. He told me do u want tea ‘Fatla’ or ”koushari” ie Lipton tea or tea baladi.

On the way back, we missed the correct road and we had to ask for directions but finally Hussein catched his bus at the last minute.

It was 1:30 by then, no place would be livelier than Neama bay so we choose an Italian restaurant for our dinner where we hanged out till 3 am.

Monday 2 January 2006

Our last day in Sharm started with breakfast at Makani bakery where we enjoyed the sun and the nice weather on its wooden balcony. A final look to Sharm was from the cliff “hadaba” where we enjoyed some breathtaking sceneries.

Veronique the, agent came to take the villa’s keys and did her inspection (the thing some of us did not like).

Heading to Cairo we passed by the gas stations but none of them had oil so we had to wait for an hour and finally w left Sharm around 4 o’ clock.

Ali M. had a bit difficulty in driving at night so I kept singing all the way to keep him distracted. After our stop at Manta rest house, I slept till we arrived to Cairo while Mustafa sat besides Ali M. and kept him awake with discussions.


Tuesday 3 January 2006:

Ranwa wanted from our last day to show us “her Cairo”. We had breakfast at the Marriot hotel in its 6 acre of lush tranquil garden. The weather was very pleasant. Next, we headed to Mouhandeseen area (built under Nasser for the engineers) to Azza Fahmi store. Azza Fahmi was born and raised in Sohag, in Upper Egypt. She graduated in interior design from the Faculty of Fine Arts and studied jewelry craft at the City of London Polytechnic before becoming the first female apprentice to several of the best jewelers in Cairo. She now makes and markets her own jewelry internationally. Her store contains some very nice but expensive silver jewelry she designs herself. A large amount of souvenirs, special and unique art crafts are present too.

In Mouhandeseen, I got introduced to the” Sayess concept” in Egypt where the unemployed take control of a sidewalk and reserve parking for the cars and take from 1 to 3 Egyptian pound on every car…

While strolling around Cairo streets, I noticed that the butchers were decorating their shops and a lot of meat was hanged from the wall . This is because Adha was nearby and the Egyptians call the Adha “ Eid el Lahma” ……

Extensive water systems have allowed Cairo to expand east into the desert. Bridges link the Nile islands of Gezira and Roda, where many government buildings are located and government officials live. Bridges also cross the Nile attaching the city to the suburbs of Giza and Imbabah (part of the Cairo conurbation). The several bridges or “koubri” tend to reduce the traffic.
The thing is most bridges are named after military victories, national holidays and military leaders such as ( Kobri Kasr El Nil with the 2 famous lions on its beginning, Kobri 6 of October, Kobri 15 Mayo, Kobri 26 Youlio, Salah Salem). Kobri Kasr EL Nile is so famous that brides and grooms come to take photos before their wedding on it.

Then, we went to AL Hussein mosque and we passed near al Azhar, the largest Islamic university, to a store called “Abed el Hafez Ibrahim” . It is a store that produces and sells local agendas, calendars and albums made by Egyptian papers and designs. The store is 700 years old and we bought several calendars where they in scripted our name on the agendas using the old technique of “ Saf el Ahrouf”

While walking, we met a very nice old man who showed us the “ rouwak el shouwam” where the students of Azhar used to sleep in the early 1900’s .

Through the narrow alleys of Islamic Cairo, we crossed several old Ottoman and Mamluk Houses apart from the many monumental Mosques and Madrasa’s (schools). Though many of those houses have disappeared over the years, some were conserved and restored by the French Conservation Committee of Arab Art during the 1900’s which realized the importance of the survival of those great architectural assets.

Most of those houses - called in Arabic "Manzil" or "Bait"- had the same architectural design composed usually of a central open courtyard around which the rest of the house chambers are distributed, including the main spaces such as the "Salamlik" (men’s quarters) and the "Haramlik" (women’s quarters).

Manzil Zeinab Khatoun is one of the most remarkable houses left nowadays. Named after its last owner, as was the custom for Islamic houses in those days, it occupies a distinguished location at the back of Al-Azhar Mosque in "Atfet El-Azhary" (Azhary alley) in Darb Al-Ahmar district, once the finest and richest neighborhood of Islamic Cairo.

The Manzil is like a gallery store now. They sell curtains, lamps, wall paintings, crafts, jewelry….. where Ali choose a wooden red box with a picture of Roushdi Abaza on it and I chose a wall painting written on it ??? ??? ??? ???? ???

We were running out of time so we could not enter to the Azhar garden. The catalyst for its creation was the Aga Khan, who first mooted the project in 1984. the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) worked closely with the Egyptian Government and the local community. The park is on the site of an earlier garden made during the Fatamid reconstruction of Cairo in the late 10th century. For 500 years it was a rubbish dump, causing technical challenges during the new park’s construction: over 1,300,000 m3 had to be removed and over 605,000 m3 was cleaned. The park has some spectacular views out over modern Cairo and over the ‘City of the Dead’. The city of the dead is the cemeteries where hundreds of poor people live in deprived conditions.

I have never in my life seen people or actually heads of people as I saw from one of the bridges when we were above Midan el Ataba ! It is a district of central Cairo that marks the transition between the "modern" Cairo of Midan Tahrir and the Downtown district, and the area of medieval Cairo. It is mainly a fresh food market. Traders set up beneath the arcades of the ancient buildings and sell all types of bric-a-brac.

We needed rest so we went to Arabica café in Zamalek where we ate “Feteer” . Every table here is covered with a huge piece of drawing paper instead of the customary tablecloth. As you take the stairs up to the second floor, you will notice the tens of drawings made by some of the customers. Most are really childish, but there are others which are actually good enough to be displayed in some sort of amateur art gallery.

At 8:00 Mustafa and Zeinab came to Zamalek to take us for dinner in Masr El Jedida. Our dinner was at a Swiss restaurant “Chantilly” where we enjoyed meat and chocolate fondue.

On our way to dinner we passed near the Baron's Palace. The palace is subject to more fables, legends and rumors (presence of ghosts) than any other monument in Egypt. The Palace’s builder was the Belgian-born industrialist, Baron-General Edouard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929) who became one of Europe's greatest colonialist entrepreneurs of the 20th century. The palace now is being renovated under the patronage of the Egyptian first lady.

Mustafa insisted of doing us a car tour after the dinner and since it was 1 am there was no traffic so we had a good ride. From the Citadel of Mohammad Ali, the Rifai mosque where the shah of Iran is buried to Sabil oum abbas, to Ibn Touloun mosque, to Sitt Roukaya & Sitt Aicha mosques, to Sayeda Zeinab mosque where we saw some of Majazib el Sayeda. We had quite a ride in Islamic Cairo with some interesting explanations from Mustafa.

We continued our way from Berkat el fil to Manchiat al bakri ( where President Nasser is buried) to Madinat Nasr and specifically to the “Minassa” where President Sadat was assassinated and buried.

We thanked Mustafa and Zeinab for this wonderful evening and nice tour and headed to Zamalek for a good night of sleep before the travel day tomorrow.

Wednesday 4 January 2006:

Our MEA 305 flight to Beirut was at 13:20, before heading to the airport with Mohammad the driver we went to Jabal el Moukattam to drive Ali S to his office. I finally saw Moukattam (sort of a mountain overlooking Cairo) which is mentioned a lot in Egyptian movies.

This trip was unforgettable to all of us at all levels. Whether you enjoyed the scenery or perceived the sounds or liked the taste of food, Sharm sheikh is a golden destination. Mingling with a group of people, one can learn from other people experiences, take advice on parents-kids relationship, husband-wife relations and career advancement.

Every one of us returned home finally with new-found friends, hundreds of photographs, plenty of stories to tell, and wonderful memories.

So for those who enjoyed this trip with us and for those who just read the journal and want to be part of it next year ………Prepare yourself !!!!!!!!

For those who read the journal and wanna be part of it next year, prepare your sleeping bags, camping material and join us.....

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