15 Day trip to Egypt - the travel notes, by Seafun

[texancruzer]

We visited the museum gift shop on the way out.....we bought a wonderful coffee table book of the sites there. But nothing compares to when you walk in ;) Stuff crammed everywhere, dusty, musty and oh so wonderful ! I loved the Cairo museum just as it is, and I, for one, will be sorry when the new one opens. And I am not really a big museum person. I know they have a ton of stuff that they don't have room to display but the whole ambience of the museum as it is now is one of the best things about it ! I know they will keep all TUT things in the old one and everything else goes to the new one.....but it won't be the same. Of course we were not there in the heat of the summer (it is not air conditioned) so I guess that would have changed the whole experience. You will enjoy it I'm sure.

 

PS: We also visited the Luxor museum. Just not the same experience. Very modern, stark and cold. Some nice pieces there tho.

Edited December 3, 2010 by texancruzer

[Pirateskigirl]

We had bathrooms on all the buses we used on my Gate 1 tour in April. It's a bathroom on a bus, so nice is relative. Enjoy Egypt.

[Phoenix cruiser]

The guidebook I got for the Cairo Museum says cameras are allowed if you pay a small fee. Most of the posts say no cameras are allowed. Can anyone verify which is correct?

 

I know in Cairo I will be lucky to see the sky at all, but was wondering when cruising on the Nile near Luxor and on Lake Nassar whether light pollution is low or not. I haven't seen the milky way since a trip to the Grand Canyon 15 years ago. On our transatlantic we had fog and clouds every day and thus saw no stars. :(

[WeBeGone]

The guidebook I got for the Cairo Museum says cameras are allowed if you pay a small fee. Most of the posts say no cameras are allowed. Can anyone verify which is correct?

 

I know in Cairo I will be lucky to see the sky at all, but was wondering when cruising on the Nile near Luxor and on Lake Nassar whether light pollution is low or not. I haven't seen the milky way since a trip to the Grand Canyon 15 years ago. On our transatlantic we had fog and clouds every day and thus saw no stars. :(

 

When we visited the museum there was a fee for video cameras but not still. The air pollution was only bad in Cairo. Saw lots of stars on the Nile cruise.

[texancruzer]

We were just there last month. No cameras. You can check them at the door (I wouldnt) or leave them in the bus or at the hotel. We left ours on the bus as it was safe.

 

Also no cameras at the Valley of the Kings. OK pretty everywhere else.

 

I have to say I was ready for alot more smog/pollution than we had while in Cairo. And Giza was even better. But once out of the Cairo area, there is little to no pollution. Luxor is much smaller and very cool place. Aswan is very pretty. Our resort outside of Hurghada was really beautiful and of course clear clear skies there. While on the Nile cruise it was clear but to be honest - I don't remember the stars being particularly bright and visable. And dh and I had discussed before we even left for Egypt. I even checked to see if we would have moon or not...... funny but I think we were so busy doing other stuff.....we forgot :rolleyes:

[dileep]

I even checked to see if we would have moon or not...... funny but I think we were so busy doing other stuff.....we forgot :rolleyes:

 

 

We had close to full moon in Luxor and Aswan 2 weeks ago around Nov 20.

[seafun]

Lisa, thanks for the comments on my photos --I hope you find your way here, to the journal entries you wanted to read.

[seafun]

Lisa, thanks for the comments on my photos --I hope you find your way here, to the journal entries you wanted to read.

[Phoenix cruiser]

I have uploaded part 1 of my review of the Viking Pathways of the Pharoahs cruise under the River and Canal Cruises section. More to come.

[cruisemom42]

The guidebook I got for the Cairo Museum says cameras are allowed if you pay a small fee. Most of the posts say no cameras are allowed. Can anyone verify which is correct?

 

I know in Cairo I will be lucky to see the sky at all, but was wondering when cruising on the Nile near Luxor and on Lake Nassar whether light pollution is low or not. I haven't seen the milky way since a trip to the Grand Canyon 15 years ago. On our transatlantic we had fog and clouds every day and thus saw no stars. :(

 

I don't particularly remember starry skies on our Nile cruise, but perhaps they were there -- after all, Egypt was one of the first civilizations to study the stars!

 

I will say that there often seems to be a haze around the Nile River. I don't think it's pollution, necessarily. Instead, I'd guess it's the water evaporation....after all the Nile is basically the only source of water in an arid, desert country. Anyway, it can make for some very atmospheric photos in early morning or at sunset:

 

 

 

We had close to full moon in Luxor and Aswan 2 weeks ago around Nov 20.

 

The moon shining on an obelisk at Luxor on November 23, 2010:

 

[Phoenix cruiser]

We did see the stars quite well when docked Wadi el Seboua, including the Milky Way.

[manoftheworld]

8:15 pm the next day…

What a long, full day of incredible wonders it has been!

(I’m currently waiting for my dinner to be delivered in the upstairs “Fusion” restaurant here in the Swiss Pyramids hotel, after just getting back here from the Pyramid Sound and Light Show at the Sphinx, with the pyramids, all lit up in various combinations, as the background.)

The day began early… at 5:00 am, as I was awakened by the call to prayer, broadcast 5 times a day, everywhere in Egypt it seems, from their tall, beautiful minarets and mosques. The almost-hypnotic, sing-song chanting of the prayers came as a shock the first few times -- especially that “early national wake-up call” at the crack of dawn! We all got used to it fairly quickly in the first few days; for me, it seemed not so much an intrusion, but a reminder of my good fortune, blessings, karma, or whatever you want to call it, and a reminder to savor each new experience in the coming day.

My day officially began a little later, with a “real” wake-up call from the front desk at 6:00 am, followed by a nice, hot shower in my lavish “shower for four” as the first light of dawn appeared. Very nice bathrooms in that hotel…

I pulled myself together for the day, slightly self-conscious of what to wear – knowing full well that whatever I chose was going to be in a lot of photos that day – today was Pyramid and Sphinx Day, and that was just for starters! I ended up wearing all “sand-colored” clothes, trying to blend in, to not look too touristy -- ultimately looking a bit too much like an Indiana Jones-wannabe, but very comfortable for the long day ahead.

There was a fairly lavish breakfast buffet at 7:00, with lots of freshly baked pastries and breads, butter and jams, yogurt, scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausages (“Don’t ask, don’t tell” what kind of meat they were made from, but they tasted pretty much like sausage…) I steered away from the fruit, but then wondered later about the two kinds of fruit juices, with refills, that I had filled up on from the juice dispensers – had they been made from concentrate? With bottled water, or not? (The first few days were filled with lots of stewing about what was and wasn’t “safe” to eat or drink.) Several of us from our tour group, at the buffet, just getting to know one another, had an instant, bonding topic of conversation – “What have you heard is safe to eat and drink? “Oh, I’d stay away from the ….,” or “I think the …. is safe.” Great conversation starter… Anyway, we each chose our respective breakfasts, some safer, some more daring, and then all grouped together, for the first time, at 8:00 am in the lobby to find our way to the tour busses.

We were divided into two groups -- “Gate 1, Bus One,” “Gate 1, Bus Two,” was to become one of our mantras for the next two weeks – not so much a herding call, but a comforting reminder that perhaps there was safety in our numbers as we wandered about Egypt, eyes wide open in wonder, absorbing everything we could – experiencing everything we could on our own, but comforted by belonging to a group, safely guided and tended to like a little flock. And yes, the similarity to a flock of sheep is somewhat appropriate, given that we were all so far away from familiar home bases and customs, and pretty open to following a “shepherd.”.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the division into two groups. Since there were only 30 or 35 of us, we would have easily fit on one full size bus, which is what I had expected from the size of our group, and what I had expected when I signed up for the trip. With two groups, each having their own full sized bus, we had lots of room to ourselves – as opposed to almost every other bus I saw today, which were all full, cramped, and judging by the faces on them later in the afternoon, hot. So our big, spacious air-conditioned busses were much appreciated and quite luxurious compared to most other vehicles on the roads.

So, up at dawn, fed, divided up into manageable groups, and away we went on our busses, getting to know our guides better, on our first full day with them. Our guide was “Sam,” a shortened, Americanized version of his real name, which has already escaped me. The other bus’s guide was “Mo” – short for Mohammed (as opposed to “Mohammed #1” who had met us at the airport…).

The first stop was the famed Giza plateau, to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Words can’t quite do them justice. Well, my words anyway. I see why much better writers than me have stumbled over descriptions of them for more than 4,000 years. The sheer size of the pyramids is breathtaking. I remember thinking “a picture is worth a thousand words,” as I begun taking what would end up being a thousand pictures over the two week trip! I recall taking many, many photos, some regular snapshots, some self portraits with my Quikpod camera attachment that lets me get into the picture when using the self-timer feature. I knew I needed lots of pyramid pictures -- normal, artsy, creative, plain, complicated, simple, in the sun, in the shadows, with the sun peeking over the top of the pyramids, with people in the background, without people in the background, with camels, without camels --- click, click, click – knowing that the more photos I took, the higher the chances of getting some good ones, and maybe even a few great ones!

The early morning sun at Giza was beautiful – not too hot, not too cool, and the sky behind those ancient monoliths (hmm, wrong word … monolith, one piece of stone; pyramids, many pieces of stone…) the sky was amazingly blue, even with being that close to Cairo’s air pollution.

It wasn’t horribly crowded when we arrived. I vaguely remember our guides presentations, some of the facts and a few of the dates. All of their presentations were great – they both spoke English very well, and certainly knew all their history backwards and forward; it’s just that the sights before us were somewhat overwhelming. I was greatly comforted by occasionally catching the same looks of awe and wonder on everyone else’s faces – knowing that I wasn’t the only one at risk of sunburned tongue from having my mouth hanging wide open in admiration of all that was laid out before us.

As we further explored the Giza plateau, more people arrived, and soon the water vendors, the postcard hawkers, the camel drivers were all operating at full steam – offering us literally everything under the sun, for a price, of course.

Amid the barrage of offers of camel rides, photo opportunities, items for sale and a bit of old-fashioned begging, I easily spent an hour – walking around the site, physically touching the giant blocks of stone, marveling at their size, climbing up on them a bit, taking photos, admiring the workmanship from 2,600 B.C. that had survived this long – this pile of giant blocks of stone that together form such an awe-inspiring achievement.

The hype and anticipation were all worth it – I was duly dumbstruck, lump in the throat, chill up the spine, shivers and goose bumps, dazzled by being there, and very, very grateful.

My mindset for taking photos kicked in, as I explored all over the site – among other things, walking all the way around the great pyramid of Cheops, which took 20 minutes --longer than I imagined, making me the first one late for the bus in our tour! (Only 2 or 3 minutes, but late nonetheless!) Quite an embarrassing distinction, for which I profusely apologized, but fortunately, we were all still pretty much in awe at that point and no one seemed to mind too terribly much.

As far as physical descriptions – as I said – my words can’t do my first visit to the pyramids justice; I’ll have to let my photos speak for themselves.

I climbed up to the entrance of one of the pyramids. For years I had always assumed that I would be among the first of my group to climb inside, personally explore those passageways and experience the whole mystique of being inside one of them (even though I knew they were long ago emptied of any treasures.) But after reports from my fellow travelers of claustrophobia (which I don’t suffer from), sore backs from stooping over in the 3 foot-something high ceilings, inadequate lighting, bumped heads, “thigh muscles on fire,” from stumbling up and down the steep ramps while bent over – using muscles none of us are used to using! – and most importantly, the perceived lack of enough air to breathe deep inside, I chose – wisely – not to crawl inside and take the plunge. I congratulated myself repeatedly for that decision over the next three days, as my fellow travelers who’d gone inside suffered through sore backs and devastated thigh muscles, with a few bumped heads thrown in for good measure as they hobbled around.

The experience of visiting these literal wonders of the world, from the outside, all around them, and up to the doorway, was completely satisfying and awe-inspiring, and the first of my “truly unforgettable Egypt moments.”

By the time we had finished our slightly-further-away photo opportunities (all three pyramids together in one picture), the visit to the obligatory souvenir stands, some quick refreshments and a short camel ride for some of us, it was time to head down from the top of the plateau to the Sphinx.

After getting bogged down in the now-busy traffic around the pyramids, which slowed to a crawl, and occasionally stopped, it took a while to get down the hill to the Sphinx. More tourists had arrived by then, and it was crowded – probably one of the most crowded spots in the whole two week trip. A sea of humanity from many nations, speaking many languages – pressed together as one, inching forward a few at a time to see this famous half-human, half-lion statue that had survived the shifting sands for so long.

Still a gorgeous day, still amazingly beautiful, but noticeably less magical when bumped and pushed and prodded by many hundreds of others clamoring to see the same thing, and all having to pass through the same narrow passageways.

Once again, I was able to get more than enough photos to satisfy me, and now had a frame of reference that made me grateful every time we visited something that wasn’t as crowded as the Sphinx – which was almost everything!

 

(4:00 am, the next day – Cairo Airport, Departure Lounge…. ) I’m waiting for our flight to Luxor – once again, at the crack of dawn – 2:45 am wake-up call! I’ve just passed through security, and have learned that since our luggage is all lumped together as a group, the weight limits that were threatened for our suitcase and carry on, do not apply, so I guess that’s a good thing… woo hoo! More shopping!

I now have an hour or more to wait for my flight, after careening through (even busy at 3:30 in the morning!) Cairo traffic, way before dawn. But at least I can catch up a bit on the journal. Let’s backtrack a bit – back to the pyramids..

 

After being awed by their size and majesty, I was further impressed, thinking of the “invisible guest book” of visitors, pharaohs, dignitaries and luminaries that had preceded me throughout the ages – Anthony and Cleopatra, Herodotus, Alexander the Great – the list is a pretty long one of folks that have dropped by for a visit in the last, oh, 4,000 years or so.

From the Giza plateau, and the small sea of people at the Sphinx, we reboarded our nicely air-conditioned coaches, and passed by the tourist spots of Giza proper – including the Hard Rock Café, and a very out-of-place looking KFC – which prompted the Kentucky Fried Camel jokes… We headed for downtown Cairo, through the teeming, seething mass of humanity that is normal Cairo traffic – clogged with unbelievable volumes of cars and trucks, some new, most of them old and bellowing exhaust, horns constantly creating a nonstop symphony, moving sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly through the avenues and streets, through the traffic and the donkey carts and occasional camels and horse drawn carriages, and vendors pulling or pushing carts by hand. What a rich tapestry of life!

And that seems like a good place to stop for now…

 

hi seafun , i enjoyed reading your review and it brings good memories i had in Cairo during my last land excursion. it seems that you have a sophisticated descriptive style that kept me reading in a non-stop rhythm.

[seafun]

The current demonstrations in Egypt have certainly made me appreciate the fact that none of that happened during my trip. Selfish... yes, since government reform is long overdue in the Egyptian government. But it makes me grateful that I was able to see and do so much without civil unrest going on.

Hopefully the disturbances won't ruin too many peoples' "trip of a lifetime." And obviously, I send up hopes for significant improvements in living and economic conditons for the Egyptian populace.

Egypt was, and is, a wonderful place to visit.

[MVPinBoynton]

I couldn't agree more. I have also worried about those that were planning on seeing this amazing country and will now miss out. I am also so grateful we got to experience Egypt in a peaceful time.

[cruisemom42]

While it's a shame that some will no doubt have their plans disrupted, I feel for the Egyptian people. Anyone who has traveled to Egypt has seen the decay in the country that has not been addressed in a meaningful way by the current regime.

 

The people in Egypt are protesting the fact that they are slowly starving to death, from the immediate effects of higher food prices and the longterm effects of jobs that barely pay enough money to sustain life. It's not some sort of organized uprising but a people saying "We have had enough."

 

I sincerely hope better things are ahead for Egypt, but I fear that they may overthrow one "dictator" only to find themselves led by another. :(

[texancruzer]

Dh and I have also been watching the recent developments in Egypt since our trip was so recent.........

 

I can't help but think that the people are stepping from the frying pan into the fire. IF, and I say If, the radical Islamics are "stirring up the pot" I can't help but think it will only get worse for them if they go that route and put a radical in charge ........ NO ONE will travel to Egypt, and that will be devastating. Tourism is the third highest form of income for Egypt.

 

Even in poverty we found the people to be warm and friendly, helpful and always with a smile. I have them in my prayers.

[energizer bunny 7]

The current demonstrations in Egypt have certainly made me appreciate the fact that none of that happened during my trip. Selfish... yes, since government reform is long overdue in the Egyptian government. But it makes me grateful that I was able to see and do so much without civil unrest going on.

 

Hopefully the disturbances won't ruin too many peoples' "trip of a lifetime." And obviously, I send up hopes for significant improvements in living and economic conditons for the Egyptian populace.

 

Egypt was, and is, a wonderful place to visit.

 

We had just planned our trip. Had a 48 hour hold when all this broke out. So thankfull we didn't have all that money tied up, but oh how I hate it if we never get to go. Had read everything on this blog and we were so excited.

[sandyj55]

:( As bad as I hate to wait, I don't think this is not the time to try and plan a trip to visit Egypt. I do hope the unrest works out to a peaceful settlement in the very near future. Best of luck to everyone concerned.

[MSMcDuffy]

While it's a shame that some will no doubt have their plans disrupted, I feel for the Egyptian people. Anyone who has traveled to Egypt has seen the decay in the country that has not been addressed in a meaningful way by the current regime.

 

The people in Egypt are protesting the fact that they are slowly starving to death, from the immediate effects of higher food prices and the longterm effects of jobs that barely pay enough money to sustain life. It's not some sort of organized uprising but a people saying "We have had enough."

 

I sincerely hope better things are ahead for Egypt, but I fear that they may overthrow one "dictator" only to find themselves led by another. :(

 

I share your sentiments. I was fortunate to be able to visit Egypt on a land tour a few years ago. The Egyptian people were very warm & friendly, but the living conditions so poor and the people oppressed (on different levels-economically, spiritually, etc). I didn't mind all the tipping at every turn because I knew they really needed it for their daily necessities. It was disheartening to see a place that has so many ancient wonders, such an advanced civilization for it's time now living in such conditions. I knew something needed to change so was not surprised by these protests.

 

I'm following this closely and hoping things turn out well.

[seafun]

Gosh, it's hard to believe it was two years ago today that my Egypt trip was coming to an end.

So many memories, and so many developments since then.

A quick thanks to all who have joined me on this thread. :)

[seafun]

Thanks for your inquiries! Here's the thread. I hope your trip is as wonderful as mine was. I think that in spite of current unrest, with a tiny bit of common sense, you can have a wonderful (and safe) experience.

Tom

[seafun]

The political climate has changed, but I think you'll still find lots of relevant information in my notes. Enjoy your trip!! :)

[seafun]

This is my Egypt "travelogue" you asked about.