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Published: March 15th 2007
Hi guys!
It's just us again! Well, it's Toni anyway, slaving herself to death to provide you with yet another breath-taking & enthralling travel blog entry that will blow your mind. Maybe. We had heard all kinds of horror stories regarding Egypt - people bugging you 24/7 to buy their products, dishonest guides leading you out into the desert until you cough up more money to get back, people stealing your stuff & hassling you because you're clearly American (yes, clearly), the ever-present inability to communicate in English, & of course (my favourite), the inevitable extra 'taxes' you must pay at the end of each journey/tour/purchase which are over & above the original agreed price. Excellent! These rumours all contributed to us deciding that we would spend just a tad bit more on accommodation this time & stay in a resort (nice!), where we would be provided with all kinds of food & activity options in a safer kind of environment. We also organised a tour to the pyramids in advance so that it was all sorted out before we arrived. Vaughan seems to be having increasing trouble coping with people who don't speak English, & we decided it was
about time we deserved an easy & relaxing stay, rather than our own personal manic version of the Amazing Race, generally requiring us to stay in some two-bit flea-ridden 'hotel', & rendering us shattered & braindead after the first day. Mission: No Amazing Race type stunts, & no dodgy 1* accommodation, although sadly, the braindead status remains intact! Egypt turned out to be quite fantastic actually, & we were both grateful we had visited in Winter (minus the heatstroke & mosquitoes), & in general felt very safe & well taken care of. It in fact, was probably our most successful & relaxing trip yet, so read on if you want to hear all about it (or even if you don't).......
Day One - We left the house for Heathow at a ridiculous hour (4am), mainly because the flight to Cairo takes quite a long time, & 4 days is a short period of time to visit Egypt, so I had booked an early flight - whoops, my bad. We were flying Swiss Air, which stopped in Zurich on the way. We made pretty good time & arrived in Cairo at about 3pm - the landing was amazing, with
the runway honestly in the complete middle of sandunes. It was quite dusty & hazy, but over 20 degrees (C) - nice for us, cold for the locals who were all wearing coats! I had read that the taxi services weren't too bad so we managed to find a guide at the airport who had the job of sorting out the taxis - although he wanted a little tip, it was quite reasonably priced, & we headed off towards the hotel. Luckily for us, the exchange rate allowed us to actually have a virtual fortune to spend, which made a great change! It took about an hour to get to the hotel, as it was on the the other side of Cairo, in a suburb on the edge of town called Giza, where the pyramids are actually located. On the way we noticed that tourists seemed to have their own taxis (air-conditioned vans), whereas the locals rode in shoddy black & white ladas. There didn't seem to be any road rules at all, but it was surprisingly functional. You rode as many vehicles to a lane as possible, & when you came up behind someone who was going slower than
you, you gave a short honk of your horn & they moved over for you. If you noticed that someone was getting a bit close to your car & may not have seen you, you gave another short honk of your horn. Easy! Although in saying that, most cars had numerous dings, including the brand new ones, so perhaps it is not actually as functional as first thought. It was kind of fun though! It was delight to see the donkeys pulling carts along the road (although not so delightful for the donkeys, I'm sure). Many of them were carting produce to the market, & were integrated onto the street just like any other vehicle. It seemed like such a mix of old & new in Cairo!
We noticed immediately the number of mosques in Cairo, as they are quite easily identifiable (we are used to seeing them in London as well) - they were everywhere. Surprisingly there were also a few Christian churches around which were also easily identifiable - the architechture has a lot to do with it, even though the Christian churches were still built in Middle Eastern style. There were quite a few high rise
buildings in central Cairo, but many of them looked to be housing rather than business-orientated. Everything was dirty, but not in a grimy way as many other places we have been - more in a dusty kind of way (& quite frankly, who could be bothered to wash the outside of their highrise every few weeks, as it is dusty all year round!). There were palm trees everywhere, & we got to see the River Nile, which had loads of day-cruise boats on it. It wasn't as brown & dirty as I had expected though, although there was a fair bit of rubbish floating in it (no worse than the lovely Thames in London). Surprisingly, the areas on either side of the river were a lush & vibrant green, covered in various kinds of crops & trees, & very few buildings. The river supply allows some areas to seem about as far removed from our concept of a dry, barren Egypt as you can get, & it was an interesting journey. Shortly after crossing the Nile though, the landscape returned to a dry environment, although it was still heavily populated. This side of the river contained newer-looking budget brick high
rises - these were apparently built as an alternative to the decaying slums that had previously been there. There were miles & miles of this housing, all unfinished-looking, most without windows & doors, or any type of amenities running to them. I am sure it was better than the way they used to live. It was fascinating to see that the pyramids were actually very close at this point, & offered an interesting backdrop to these low-income buildings.
We finally made it to the hotel, which was even closer to the pyramids, although you couldn't quite see them for all the palm trees. We checked in, not sure of what to expect from the hotel, but were pleasantly surprised! We noticed several restaurants, cafes & bars attached to the main building, & when we exited this building to go to our room, we walked past a huge swimming pool, sun loungers, a poolside bar, gym & loads of other stuff. The rooms were all one-storied & quite spread out, so there were all kind of trees, grass & gardens between each section. It gave a real sense of relaxation & space - just what we were after. The complex
was quite massive, so our room was a few minutes walk away - no worries! Our room was fairly impressive, with a large bathroom attached & also sattelite TV (we usually forego these extras to save money). We had a bit of a walk around the place & found a basketball court & tennis court as well - nice! Because it had taken us a bit longer than anticipated to arrive at the hotel, we decided not to venture out & rush around back into town for the evening, or out on any tour. There were a few nice ones you could go on (a light show at the pyramids, a dinner cruise on the Nile), but we had come to relax this time, & relax we would! We had some drinks at the poolside cafe & eventually some dinner (kebab meals -what a surprise). Vaughan even had a shisha pipe, supplied to you by your very own Aladdin-style guy. The drinks & food were so well priced - the temperature was very pleasant & we just sat there for hours, enjoying doing, well, nothing really. Nice one!
Day Two - We had asked at reception the day
before if there were any tours available through the hotel to see the religious areas of Cairo. We were set up on a reasonably-priced tour with a company called Golden Sands Travel, not realising that the guy we were speaking to at reception also ran this company. I had wanted to visit the religious areas as there are a lot of places in Egypt considered to be holy (to many religions), & I was also interested in the architecture, as different religions had arrived in Egypt at different times. We set off at 10am on our own personal little tour, led by the guy we had met at reception (Hany). On the way we picked up a British lady called Sandy, who seemed to be one of the investors in the tour company, & she wanted to come along for the ride. I had not realised that the historical religious areas were basically all together in one area. There were quite a few tourists around even then, so I was glad that we had not visited in Summer. We began by visiting the Coptic Church (Hanging Church) - Coptic actually means 'old', as it is a part of 'Old Cairo'
dating from the 6th century. It is called the Hanging Church because it is built on top of a large rock, most of which is hollowed out underneath into large caves & tunnels. There was some really nice tile work on the outside of the building, & a service was going on inside when we arrived. When the servie was finished we had a look around inside - it was quite dark & interesting as Hany told us about it's history, & the history of the Coptic Cross design, which you can see in various things all around the city.
From there we went around the side to another church next door, which I think was known as St George's (the patron saint of England). The theory is that he didn't really slay a dragon, but that the dragon stood for all evil, & he was a major influence in bringing Christianity to Egypt, which had mostly been a Jewish country before this. Inside a small area to the side of this church were several items thought to have been used to torture St George into submission, as he was gaining more & more followers. These items are considered
holy in Egypt, & many locals were weeping & touching them, as well as lighting candles. There were all kinds of things, like a spiked wheel to pierce his body, & heavy chains to bind him - we also went into a tiny cell-type cave where St George was supposedly imprisoned. Outside the church was a graveyard in which you could see people of both the Jewish & Christian communities were buried - some of the headstones were engraved in Greek (Christian), & some in Hebrew (Jewish). It seemed as if the Jewish & Christian communities lived in a fairly harmonious way most of the time, as the majorty of their buildings & graveyards were built together, & are separated from the Muslim areas. Next door we visited another small church, where St George's torso was wrapped & on display, with the bodies of a number of other saints. This church also contained the cave in which Mary, Jesus & Joseph were meant to have hidden on their journey through Egypt, although it has been refurbished from the original cave into some spectacular marble-columned monstrosity, which the historians & locals are quite upset about. The church was built on top
of it to protect it & hide it, as it is another place considered very holy. Before leaving we ventured down a few charming historical street lanes, some of which had tourist hawkers selling their wares, but it wasn't too bad at all. The wee streets were so interesting, & led in various ways between all the churches at the back, as well as to some very old housing that must have existed at the time - it was all so ancient. We went into an underground area where there was a water well that Jesus's mother Mary had used. It is still full of water to this day (apparently unheard of), & no one can explain why, except to say that it is the holiest site in Cairo. I am not sure how true many of these stories were, but depending on your beliefs & the knowledge of the location of Mary, Jesus & Joseph through time, it is quite possible that these things are as people say. It was certainly interesting to see so many things that are important to so many people, & considered incredibly sacred by some. Most of the buildings & churches were very cool
& dark, & the graphic art within these structures was also amazing. They must be the oldest buildings we have seen so far on our travels. The funniest thing about being there was seeing all the local school children on their school trips, staring at Vaughan, & trying to say hello to both of us. They weren't out for money or anything, they just wanted to talk to us & have their picture taken (funny that we were the ones on show for a change)! They were so giggly & excited to see us - it was really cute!
After leaving the Jewish/Christian area we were to visit a large Muslim mosque, just down the road, behind it's own boundaries. Unfortunately, as this mosque is still in use & it was a Friday (Muslim Holy Day), we were told they did not let tourists in at this time (fair enough). It looked very busy with locals as we drove past. Instead, we ventured up onto the hill at the side of Cairo that looks out over the whole city, known as the citadel. In the middle of the citadel, behind the walls, was the Mohammed Ali Mosque, mostly now
used as a tourist destination, & the largest mosque in Egypt. It looked so massive sitting on the hilltop, & we were able to see it for quite some time before arriving there - very impressive! We stood for a while just looking down at the city while Hany told us about the history of the Muslim religion arriving in Egypt - it seems that the people from the Middle East wanted to have access to Africa & so they wanted to take over Egypt (the pivotal country that connects the Middle East to Africa) & move down the continent. But Egypt would not allow their country to be ruled by anyone else, so they struck a deal that the people from the Middle East could use Egypt as a gateway, but that they would not own it. In return, the Middle Eastern Muslims would be able to build their mosques in Egypt as well. Because Muslims did not have to pay taxes, many people quickly converted to this religion, where it remains dominant to this day, at about 85% Muslim, & 15% Christian. We had to take our shoes off & got to look inside the mosque - the
artwork was impressive, although there was very little inside save for some mats on the floor & a tomb in the corner. Mohammed Ali, the American boxer, named himself after the most famous Muslim leader from the past, as he had been thought to be extremely fair, giving & honest, & people thought highly of him. Once we finished there it was time to head back to the hotel so Hany could start work on the reception desk. The tour had been well-worth it though, as Hany had paid for us to get into all the attractions, & provided us with bottled water & the air-conditioned vehicle - we had been gone for about 6 hours, & found it far more interesting than we had anticipated. Hany was very good at giving us the history of Egypt & Cairo, but without being over the top or boring. It was a successful day & we headed back to the hotel to relax. We watched some TV & then had another couple of drinks at the poolside cafe & eventually went for a buffet dinner, which was quite nice, if a little mass-produced. A really good day!
Day Three -
The tour that we had pre-booked to see the pyramids had fallen through (so much for peace of mind - they had overbooked the tour!), so we organised to come along with Hany again, who was taking an Alaskan guy & his teenage daughter to see a variety of sights for the day. We started early (8am), but it was just as well, as we had not realised that only 150 people per day are able to get tickets to see inside the main pyramid (Khufu), which we would not have known otherwise. Before we went inside, Hany spent some time telling us the history of the pyramids, which was really interesting. I was more intrigued than I had thought I would be! The pyramids date back from around 2000BC or so. The Egyptian rulers (pharohs/kings) came from decendants of 30 royal families, each family ruling in turn (ending with Cleopatra, when she fell in love with a Roman Emperor, who saw an end to the family dynasties). All the 30 families did something special & great for the Egyptian people - for example, one family built the pyramids, one created written heiroglyphics, & so on. The pyramids were created
by the 4th dynasty, & it is still not known specifically how they were made, although there are several theories (I remember the 3 main ones, so ask me later if you're interested). Egypt originally had 110 pyramids in fact, but 11 have been destroyed over time. Although most people think (including both of us before we went there) that there are only 2 or 3 pyramids in Giza itself, there are actually 9 of them, all in various condition. The King of the 4th dynasty had the biggest pyramid built for him (Khufu), which measures 230m in height (I think). His son, not wanting to be outdone (although not allowed to build a pyramid larger than his father's) built his own one nearby on a small hill, so that it looked bigger from a distance - cheeky huh!? His own son also built a pryamid there when he later became King. Each of the three men built 3 smaller pyramids near their own one (known as the Queen's pyramids) representing the 3 most important women in their lives - this could be their mother, sister, wife, or whoever. Unfortunately 3 Queen's pyramids have been destroyed, leaving the 9 in
Giza you can see today. For some reason I had expected the pyramids to be smooth on the outside, but they are in a step-like formation. It is thought that over 5 million blocks were used to create the large pyramid alone! We were not able to take cameras up into the pyramid, but it certainly was not what I had expected! The pyramids are not actually full of tunnels as I had thought, but were used to bury a sarcophagi (stone container, often holding a mummy of some variety), & the often tiny tunnels were created to 'confuse evil spirits' from being able to find the location of the body after death. People did not actually go wandering through the pyramids (did any of the rest of you think that, or was it just me?). There were also a lot of rooms built inside the pyramid, to confuse the spirits about where the sarcophagus actually lay. So essentially, the tunnels were not created for humans, & are quite small & claustrophobic, offering very little oxygen as well. We eventually entered the pyramid & had to climb up this tight little tunnel on a kind of ladder thing (at a
steep diagonal angle) - it was so small & although I have been caving before, the lack of oxygen really got to me & by the time we were halfway I honestly thought I was going to pass out. Luckily there was a stopping point where you have to switch ladders & you can mill around for a second - it was a bit more open on the next section of ladder, but the top room was incredibly hot. We saw a sarcophagus (& a dehumidifier in the corner - nice to know the ancient Egyptians had electricity- haha!). Thankfully we did not stay long & it was time to go back down the way we had come (not as easy as it sounds) - I was just grateful to get outside & was glad that everyone else enjoyed their trek up inside the pyramid.
After that we just kind of had a look around the area, at the 3 Queen's pyramids near Khufu, taking photos of camels & helping some guy who had fallen & split his shin open on one of the big fallen stones (ouch!). There were rocks everywhere as some of the pyramids were not
in good shape, & walking was pretty tough going. Even when there weren't rocks there was sand. The surprising thing is that the pyramids are really close to Giza/Cairo - I had imagined them to be in the middle of nowhere but they are not at all. It was like visiting Stonehenge when you realise that the M1 motorway goes right past it & you can see it from your car. Sometimes I find these things the most interesting of all - I mean, of course you know what the pyramids or Stonehenge look like as we have all seen so many pictures. To me, the surrounding environment is usually the surprise, & you are able to put it in context a lot more. Anyway, we ventured over to a small series of tunnels nearby, which we were only allowed in because Hany knew the security guards (nice) & we got to see a lot of hieroglyphics on rocks & doorways. There are not actually any on or inside the pyramids. From there we ventured to a lookout area a small distance away where you could see the pyramids really well, & ride camels & buy your tourist junk (we
avoided the latter two, as we have been camel-riding before). We were not bothered by the hawkers even remotely compared to what I had imagined, although I did hear that it is much quieter in Winter. I could not believe the number of tourists that were still there despite it being the off-season. It was over 30 degrees (C) & I don't even want to think about what it would be like in the middle of Summer!
From there we ventured down to see the Sphinx, which looked as if it had needed a lot of restoration on it's body over the years. The Sphinx has the face of the Pharaoh & the body of a lion, representing the strength of Egypt. This actually seemed like a common theme in a lot of places that we went. It was quite impressive, although it was a shame it was missing it's nose (hehe!), which was apparently shot off in more recent times by Turkish soldiers. We climbed the path up to see it more closely & had a good look around, although the area was quite small so you felt a bit cramped & didn't want to stay too long.
From there we jumped back in the van & ventured down to a Papyrus Museum, where we got to see a demonstration on how papyrus paper is made, from the papyrus reed (which floats). The paper is so strong that you cannot tear it, & this is what the Egyptians used to paint pictures & hieroglyphics on. There was also a lot of Egyptian art for sale in the museum, which was fantastic & so colourful! Vaughan bought a couple of things after the owner told us we looked under 30 or perhaps like students, so we could get a 50% discount (the Alaskan guy only got a 10% discount) - thanks, I think. We got free drinks everywhere we went, & it was air-conditioned in there which was much needed at that point, & we enjoyed ourselves quite a lot.
After jumping back in the van it was time for lunch, & we drove out to a big, fantastic market-type place, in the nearby countryside. It was so colourful & amazing. Vaughan & I later agreed that it was probably the most enjoyable part of our trip. We tried fresh, local flatbread, made just for us by women
operating a huge kiln oven thing - they were churning them out for everyone by the minute. There was a big grass area & a few animals, including horses you could ride on, & a baby lion. There were loads of kids around & all kinds of music in a big stage area on the other side - local music blared out of the speakers & everyone was singing & dancing & having so much fun! We went into a large marquee-type area where there were dozens of huge tables, with a giant buffet of local food in the middle. Vaughan & I both took advantage of trying all kinds of things we had never had before & it was all really tasty! Each table was even supplied with it's own box of hot coals & a variety of sizzling kebab meat on top - really excellent. It was a really enjoyable time & it was great being with a decent mix of locals & tourists - everyone was excited to be there & the food was so good!
From there we drove a bit further out into the countryside, through a luscious palm area & up onto a
small desert plateau, where there was another pyramid (Sakkara), & an old temple. The pyramid was being used to illustrate how they used to bury the sarcophagus inside, by digging out special tunnels. The sarcophagus sat on top of where they wanted to bury it, & a hole was dug from the side, to remove sand or rocks from underneath, lower & lower, so that the container could slowly be taken down into the ground, rather than the hole being dug first & then dropping the container from a height, which would break it. It was quite interesting, but really hot on the plateau, so we didn't stay too long. On the way back we stopped off at a Carpet School, as we were not actually going to the main carpet market, Khan al Kaiek, & we wanted to see how these special mats were made. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it was really amazing - these wee kids, some as young as 8, were making knots with wool (or various threads) to create the mats that you & I just know as regular rugs for the floor. It was incredible to see the amount of work
that goes into them, some mats requiring 40 knots per square centimetre (on huge looms), which may take up to 2 years to make (just for one mat)! These kids sit there all day making mats as it's all they know how to do - it was kind of sad in some ways, but positive at the same time, as they were bringing in money for their families, & their work environment was clean & cool. Upstairs was the mat shop floor, which was a huge warehouse room filled with hundreds (if not thousands) of mats, of amazing varieties & colours - very impressive. It was crazy to think of the amount of days, weeks, months, years that had gone into all the mats that were for sale. Perhaps if I was going back to NZ then I would have bought some - all those times that such carpets seemed so ridiculously expensive were completely put in perspective when you realise that perhaps it was 2 years of someone's hard work. The moment was not lost on any of us. We were grateful to return to the hotel, to have a paddle in the pool & reflect on our day,
& the differences between African & Western life (what better place to do it than the pool, I say). We were very grateful for being able to have seen so much & had really enjoyed our day!
Day Four - We were leaving for London a bit later than we had originally thought & did not have to leave the hotel until 1pm. Nice for a sleep in & a relaxing breakfast. We had the opportunity of a morning mission to the Egyptian Museum with Hany, or a cruise on the River Nile - both great offers, but being after a bit more of a cruisy break, we felt like we had seen & done a lot with our time already. We had a last drink & a sit at the poolside cafe, & even had time to read a book (wow, time to read a book!?). We had been lucky enough to discover all kinds of things about Cairo: the poor marketplace sellers on the side of the road, with their donkeys & carts full of vegetables. Mud huts built on the side of the river, with just a firestack outside to cook on. The lush vegetation
(crops & palm trees) near the offshoots of the river. The sand dunes. The children begging for money while their parents sold fruit to cars stopped at intersections. And the pottery for sale on the side of the road, with a small family-owned clay/sand covered hut & tools of the trade in the background. It had at first seemed a bit like Dubai (not that Dubai is in Egypt, but it is in the Middle East), with the way that people dressed & the religion & cultural practices. However, in many ways it could not have been more different, as Cairo is filled with everyday people, not rich Sheiks working in the oil industry (although petrol was about NZ45c/litre in Cairo anyway) - many people wear westernised clothing but they are poor (or at least, not rich). Cairo had the contrasts of the slums & the middle-class, which Dubai did not. It was a blast - interesting, heart-breaking, hot, challenging. In some ways, perhaps it was a shame that we stayed in a resort, but that was what we needed at the time. We really did enjoy ourselves a lot, & would recommend it to anyone. We felt like we
dispelled the myths, rumours & stereotypes to a degree, although of course, I am sure many people do not have such a successful trip as ours. It really was fantastic! Nice one!
So that's it for now - I know it's a long one. Thank you, if you are still with me - I hope you enjoy the photos. Please email us as we miss you all. Until next time............later xxx
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Marianne
non-member comment
Yay Eygpt
Thanks for a great visit, sounds to be quite a civilized place to visit, hope there was none of that funny stuff in the pipe, did it change your hair colour Vaughan? think I liked your #4 over the top, the shaggy dog, John Denver look just doesn't do it. Good to hear that you took a bit more time to relax for this trip and had time to absorb the culture a little more. Thank you once again for my armchair/desk chair visit. Love Mum