Forks in the Trail: Egypt

April: Wow, there is so much I could say about Egypt, I hardly know where to begin. We flew into Cairo, Egypt from London, England on British Airways (the service was very good). After spending 5 hours in the Cairo airport, we hopped on a flight to Aswan. Once settled into our hotel, we caught up on our sleep and then explored Aswan. Because it was Ramadan, we did not see many women out, and it was next to impossible to find food until 5:00 pm. While in Aswan, we took a felucca ride around Elephante Island, had tea in a Nubyan village, rode camels to the Tombs of the Nobles, saw the Damn, toured the Temple of Isis, and negotiated a 3 night felucca ride with Amada on the Golden Arrow.

Our Felucca adventure with Captain Sarwat and Amada was one of the highlights of our Middle Eastern trip. We slept, ate, and rode on the sailing vessel for 3 nights and 5 days. We danced and had tea one night in a Nubyan village, chatted with local children, had dinner with Amada's family, rode donkeys, and just absorbed Egyptian culture. I felt bad that Amada and Sarwat prepared our meals during the time that they were not allowed to eat. They said it made them "stronger with their god and better Muslims". We learned a lot from Sarwat and Amada and enjoyed our time with them.

We departed the Golden Arrow in Komombo and rode in the back of a truck to the bus station. Our goal was to catch a bus to Marsa Alam. We were luckily able to get seats and endured a rough 5 hour ride through the desert. We had a near bus accident when the bus driver fell asleep, so it was a relief when we arrived at our destination. We ended up riding with 6 other Egyptians in a small car to our hotel. We stayed at an Italian resort on the ocean, called Amardya. It was very westernized and had satellite TV, nice bathrooms, and a pool. We normally would not stay at a place like this, but thankfully we did, because that afternoon Royce got sick. He had got water up his nose while swimming in the Nile the day before and it caught up with him. He was very ill for 2 days...the worst I had ever seen him! We spent our time at the resort reading, relaxing in the sun, snorkeling, and admiring the view of Saudi Arabia just across the ocean. Once Royce was well enough, we continued our travels across the desert to Luxor.

After 3 very crowded bus rides, 4 taxi rides, 1 crazy ferry ride, and 12 hours later, we were in Luxor. We met a feisty German gal on our journey that recommended a quaint little hotel on the West Bank. We stayed at the El-Gazira, where they served wonderful dinner meals, were hospitable and helpful. While in Luxor, we visited the Temple of Karnak, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and the Habu Temple. It was amazing to see how well the tombs were preserved inside and how ornate and ancient everything was. On our last day in Luxor, we decided to visit Club Med for some R&R before our train left for Cairo. We talked with a French tourist for awhile about traveling and politics, read, and layed in the sun.

So, I am not sure which was more miserable and disgusting, the Luxor train station or Cairo. Cairo was grimey, polluted, and just gross! If it were not for the pyramids and Cairo Museum, I would not recommend anyone visiting. While in Cairo the first time, we took the metro (which is surprisingly clean and well kept) to the pyramids of Giza. After we walked away from the crowds out into the desert, I felt a lot better. We hiked up onto a sad dune and enjoyed the spectacular view of the majestic Great Pyramids and Sphinx. It was sad though to see how much damage had been done to these amazing structures by man.

I was relieved to leave Cairo! We almost did not go however, after Royce lost our bus tickets. Of course we could not get replacements, even though the guy who sold us the tickets recognized us from the previous day. He made us buy 2 more tickets! Finally, we were on our way to the Baharian Oasis, which was a 5 hour ride. Once there, we walked around town, found a hotel, and arranged for a guide to take us on a desert safari. The following morning, we packed up our things into the Land Cruiser and headed out to the Sahara with our guides Ahmad and Iman. Ahmad was a crazy driver and we had to tell him to slow down several times. We explored the Black Desert, Old White Desert, and New White Desert. It was all amazing! We saw billion year old fossils left from when the Mediterranean existed there, enormous urgs that were created by wind erosion over millions of years, Bedouin mummies, and loads of iron ore protruding from the ground. We slept under the stars for 2 nights, and even spotted a rarely seen desert fox one night. He decided to take our leftover grapes at 2:00 am one morning. Overall, it was a fun experience...Despite the driving.

We caught a bus back to Cairo, where we checked into our hotel, ate cup of noodles, and fell fast asleep. The next day, we walked to the Cairo Museum. On the way, we stopped for a cappucino at the Hilton and checked our email. At the Museum we saw the display of King Tut's possessions, the mummies of ancient leaders, mummified animals, ancient pharohnic technology, as well as many more ancient ruins and artifacts.

We only spent 2 nights in Cairo before heading to Nuweiba, which is a small town along the Red Sea. We spent 3 nights there and had an amazing time. It is a clean city, with kind people, and comfortable and peaceful accommodations. We met Dr. Shesh kebab there, who owned a restaurant with the same name. We ate there every night and had a wonderful conversation with him each time. The food was excellent and we enjoyed talking about Egypt and America with him. I wish we would have had more time to spend in Nuweiba and would highly consider going back there.

Although I was relieved at the thought of eating food without sand in every bite, and excited about continuing our journey, I was sad to leave Egypt. Overall, the people were very kind and the culture extremely interesting. I have a different view and new found respect for the Muslim religion, and am so grateful to have had this experience.

Royce and I riding camels in Aswan.