Egypt will change your life

I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt, ever since I was a little kid. I think I’ve watched every show about the Pyramids or the Sphinx that comes on the Discovery Channel. After doing some research on Egypt Tourism, I decided that just booking a flight and “winging it” like I normally do would not work. First of all, Cairo alone is a city of more than 20 million people. (I’ve read 17, 18, and 20 million, and while I was there the guide said 24 million.) After looking around at some of the other places I wanted to go, I learned that part of the travel would need to involve an armored convoy and that Americans in particular were the most prized target for would be terrorists. Now, nothing of the sort has happened in a long time so the risk is fairly low, but whoever is in charge decided that it was enough of a risk to publicize and to arm the convoy. So I decided to book a tour. I must have looked through every possible organized tour of Egypt and the one I picked was the King Tutankhamen Tour from www.onthegotours.com. I have to say, I was very impressed and it was well worth the money. The company took care of everything; all we had to do was be on time. It was a perfect combination of roughing it, tours, culture, and down time. When we were in hotels, they were 5 star and they all had great food and swimming pools to escape the 120° F heat. Our tour guide was a brilliant Egyptian named Bishoy who had a degree in Egyptology, which means he spent 6 years learning about everything we were about to see. He was a fantastic tour guide. He was great at explaining everything to us and knew the answer to every question we could ask. On top of that, he was very friendly and fun to hang out with during our down time.

My travel buddy was Thuong, you might remember him from the ski trip, and we had pretty much an entire day of traveling to get to Cairo. We left Dublin just before lunch and arrived in Cairo just before midnight, with a short layover in Paris. We could feel the heat as soon as we stepped off the plane. We were greeted at the airport by a rep from the tour company who sorted out our visas for us and transferred us to our hotel.

Once we got to the hotel we checked in and decided to see what was going on at the hotel bar. I went to the ATM machine to get some Egyptian Pounds and was surprised to see that my 400 pounds was dispensed in all 10s. You get about 8 pounds for 1 euro so I was only holding about 50 euros but I still felt rich. Things are pretty cheap in Egypt. We heard some music from the piano bar so we decided to check that out but they were wrapping up as we got there. We had one beer and decided to walk down the street for some snacks before we went to bed. On our way back we were corralled into a Papyrus shop by the ambitious but friendly shopkeeper, Farook. I blame Thuong, I tried to keep walking, but I knew I could say no so I decided to see what was going on. It was here that we first learned that the Egyptians, especially the shopkeepers, are very friendly and hospitable. Once he got us inside he offered us a drink. When we said we’d have a beer, he said “sure” and then walked out the door, got in a car, and disappeared. We were confused but curious so we waited it out. He was back in just a few minutes with a bag full of beers. We sat in his shop for about half an hour, mostly talking about his papyrus and the meanings behind the paintings. It was when I stood up to leave that he turned on his sales game. Once we had established an opening price for a piece of papyrus, it took about 2 seconds to get him to cut that in half. I made it clear that I wasn’t interested so he gave up on me and went to work on Thuong. I genuinely felt guilty that we had spent all that time with him and he even bought us beers and we didn’t buy anything, but we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Once we got out of there we just went back to the hotel room and went to bed.

The next morning was a big day: the Pyramids and the Sphinx, as well as Saqqara. We went out to the tour bus in the morning and met the rest of the travelers on the tour. There were about 20 Aussies, 1 Kiwi, 2 from London, and us two Americans. We also met our guide, Bishoy. The bus was one of those large, air conditioned coaches with plenty of room for everyone. Our first stop was a shop so that we could all get some cash and grab some water and snacks for the day. I must have gone through at least 3 liters a day, sometimes 4. This was the first we got to see Cairo in the daytime. Very busy, very crowded, and very dirty. I don’t know if waste collection is the problem or if people just don’t care, but they seem to just drop trash where they are. There is also a ton of dust but that was expected.

We drove from there out to the Pyramids and I was shocked to see that the city is built all the way up to them. One second you are in town, and you just take a left and there you are at the pyramids and the cameras went crazy. It is impossible to look away from the pyramids. They look much different than I expected. When you see them on TV they seem relatively smooth and uniform, but they are actually very rocky and jagged. I expected all the blocks to be the same size and that was not the case. Look closely in some of the pictures and you will see what I mean. That being said, pictures will not do them, or anything else in Egypt, the justice they deserve. You will only be in awe like that when you are standing in front of them. The middle pyramid, Cephren, still has some of its smooth surface near the top, but the rest was robbed away long ago. We were able to go inside this one. You go down a short and narrow corridor; I had to bend all the way over to walk. You go down a ways, then it levels off, then back up a bit to the burial chamber. There is still a stone sarcophagus inside and nothing else. All the treasures were stolen long before the chambers rediscovery. It was a very small space and it was very hot.

Outside the pyramids there were many locals selling cold drinks and camel rides. They were always begging you to take their picture, which we were told to avoid because once you give them that much attention, they will not leave you alone and try to sell you camel rides. They tell you it’s free but it’s a trap. They will let you up and then make you pay them to let you off. Be warned, nothing is free no matter what they say. At the very least they will hassle you for a tip.

Once we had a good look around we took the bus up the hill a bit to a place where we could get a good view of all the pyramids at once. Here we took a group photo and started our camel ride. It was basically a short journey from the hill down to the foot of the pyramids. My camel’s name was Michael Jackson according to his handler. The camel ride was short but it was very cool. I recommend it if you go and you shouldn’t have to pay more than 50 Egyptian pounds for it.

After that we went right around the corner to the Sphinx. There is a temple there that was used as part of the funeral before the ultimate burial inside the pyramid. The Sphinx has the body of a lion, to symbolize strength, and the head of a man, to symbolize the wisdom of man. It is still a mystery of how the nose was destroyed. The most popular theory is that it was shot of for fun by Napoleons soldiers but there are painting of the Sphinx with no nose from before Napoleon ever arrived, according to Bishoy.

Our next stop was the papyrus institute, where they make and sell real papyrus. The papyrus plant grows in the waters of the Nile. It is the first paper that humans ever made and they have sheets of it in the Egyptian museum that are over 3,500 years old that still have paintings on them. They showed us how it is made and how durable it is. You can get it wet and be fairly rough with it and it will not rip. They had many paintings available. You have to watch out for fake papyrus that is really banana leaves, so make sure if you get any that it has a certificate of authenticity. Papyrus is actually regulated by the government there to try to prevent counterfeiting.

Once we left the institute, we headed west to Saqqara, which is the home of the oldest pyramid in Egypt, the Step Pyramid. When this was built, it was the first time the Egyptians used stone in construction. It was originally one layer, and the other 5 were added later. The pillars in the temple there resemble papyrus stalks tied together and are believed to be the first stone pillars constructed by man. From this site, we could also see the so-called bent pyramid a few miles away at Dahshur. Halfway through construction they realized that it would fall over, so they changed the angle from 54° to 43°, thus the bend in the middle.

By this time we were all hot, tired, and hungry. We got back on the bus and didn’t really know what was up next, we just knew that we were getting on a train later that night. It was only about 3pm and Bishoy told us that they had arranged for us to hang out at a hotel pool nearby and they had arranged a BBQ for us that evening. This was exactly what we all needed. The hotel pool was great and, best of all, it had a swim up bar. As we were all lounging about and just getting to know each other, a man walked around the corner with a lion cub in his arms. For just a few pounds he would let you hold it and take your picture. I’m pretty sure he was sedated but he still wasn’t happy. By the time I held him he was growling quite a bit and he even had a nibble on my arm as I was passing him back, but luckily they had removed his sharp teethe. It was kind of sad to see the lion like that but, hey, I’m only one man and what could I do?

That night the food was glorious. I didn’t recognize anything on my plate but it was all great. After we ate we all headed for the train station for our overnight, 14 hour journey to Aswan. While we were waiting for the train, it rained for about 5 minutes. According to Bishoy, this only happened a few times of year so it was wild to be there when it did. We all got on the train and I was able to sleep most of the time. The temperature on the train went from freezing cold to burning hot and back again several times on the way so it was hard to stay asleep.

We arrived in Aswan around midday. Aswan is in the south of Egypt and is where the dam is. It is considerably hotter in the south, about 125°, maybe a hit higher during the hottest part of the day. The first thing we did was check into our hotel, which was by far the nicest in Aswan. It was a 5 star on an island in the middle of the Nile. We had some time to kill before our sightseeing so we all hung out by the pool and had lunch. Around 3 we got back on the bus to head to the high dam. It was quick; we basically just got out and took a few quick pics. From there we went to our first temple, the Phillae Temple. We took a little boat out to the temple, which was also on an island. It actually had to be moved several years back when the dam was completed, otherwise it would be underwater. They actually disassembled it brick by brick and put it back together at the new site. It was here that we learned the reasons for the layout of the temples and the genealogy of the gods. I won’t ruin it for you, its better to hear while you are there. Plus I don’t remember all of it. The temples are amazing. They all still have hieroglyphs that look like they were carved yesterday. Some still have paint on the walls, though this one did not. Bishoy was able to explain most of the carving and tell their stories. Some of the hieroglyphs have been vandalized by the early Christians, who were persecuted and had secret worship services in the abandoned temples. You can also see many crosses that they carved.

From there we headed back to Aswan where we wandered through the market for a bit before heading back to the hotel. We had seen everything the markets had to offer by then. Another dip in the pool before dinner, which was an authentic Nubian dinner and dancing at a restaurant up the Nile a ways. The meal was good, basic spiced meat with rice and vegetables, not as scary as I expected. The dancing and show were wild to see. There was some interaction with us and at one point we were all involved in a Nubian-style conga line that snaked its way through the whole restaurant. When we got back to the hotel we had a few drinks at the bar and went to bed.

Day three we got a much needed sleep in. Some of the crew bought an optional side trip that took the whole morning, so we slept late and had a nice breakfast and then hung out at the pool again. This was to day that we started our sailing journey up the Nile to Luxor. Feluccas are sailboats that are much the same today as they were in ancient times. It’s basically one big deck with a mattress and canopy, and you just lounge in the shade as you sail. There were ten of us on each boat, plus 3 Nubian sailors who did all the work, including cooking our meals. The first thing we did on the boat was eat lunch. They served us platters of good things to stuff inside pitas, such as potatoes, cucumbers, feta, and humus. We also had some fried sausage and watermelon for dessert. The watermelon in Egypt was the best I’ve ever had, though I suspect it had something to do with the stomach bug that went around. We set sail just after lunch but the wind was too strong so we had to take down the sails and drift. We didn’t have far to go that day anyway and drifting is still pretty quick. On the boat we all had a good time relaxing, chatting, and having a few beers from the ice chest. By the time we docked for the night we were all a bit tipsy.

That night we were invited to the home of a Nubian family to relax and smoke their hookahs. They had a nice area in the courtyard set up and we listened to music and smoked. Hookahs are usually filled with flavored tobacco of some kind. I think ours was apple but not quite sure. Hookahs amplify the affect of alcohol if you’ve been drinking, so it turned into quite a party. I’m pretty sure there was some salsa dancing involved.

At the end of the night we all went back to the felucca to sleep. This was the night that I first began to feel the stomach bug, along with several other members of the group.

This is as good a time as any to get real about what will happen to you in Egypt. I can’t remember one person from the group not being affected. I’m going to be very blunt and disgusting here so if you’re not up for it, skip to the next paragraph. Ready? You WILL get diarrhea. I was prepared and had enough Imodium to stay plugged up for a month under normal circumstances, and I even took a few BEFORE I ever felt sick, but to no avail. I thought a pre-emptive strike on my stomach would help prevent something, but my stomach was no match for the demon bug that crept inside us all. The next morning I could barely move because I was afraid I would shit the bed. I eventually worked up enough courage to head back to the Nubian house, where we were welcome to use the toilets and showers. My first experience was as close to a religious awakening as you can get without getting baptized. I thought about my whole life while I was in there and prayed for 45 minutes straight. The shower/toilet was in one stall – it was basically a toilet with a shower head over it. So, picture me in a run down Nubian village in middle of nowhere Egypt, in the most disgusting shower/toilet combo you can imagine, sitting on a 3 inch thick layer of TP protection, crying, sweating, praying, convulsing, and panting, with all my clothes thrown out of the stall and the shower running on top of me, which served to both cool me off and muffle the most peculiar sounds I’ve ever heard come out of a human body. This, with the exception of the shower part, happened to me 5 more times over the next 3 days, which was essentially every chance I got. The severity of the situation gradually decreased, but let’s just say that if I had used as much concentration in college as I did to not ruin the felucca for everyone else, I would have gotten a law degree in 4 years. And I’d be a doctor. So there it is, and I didn’t have the worst of it. One of the Aussies was so bad that he didn’t move for 2 days and actually went into a village to get a shot, which he declined once he got there because he didn’t feel so comfortable in that clinic.

That being said, the felucca sailing was great. All of the second day was spent cruising down the Nile, watching the desert and the farmlands go by. We stopped at one point on a little island to go for a swim. There are only certain parts where you can swim where it is safe, and I was surprised that the Nile is actually very cold because it moves so fast. If you aren’t careful, you can get caught in it and end up in the Mediterranean before you know it. After the swim we drifted a bit further before docking again for dinner. The place we stopped had 9 other boats tied up so there were a lot of people around. A soccer game was set up and it was all the Nubian sailors versus all the tourists. I didn’t play for reasons stated above, but it was very cool to see. Nubians won, but not by as much as I thought they would. During the few hours of daylight that we had left we all swam a bit and played cards or backgammon. I had played Uno with our sailors the first night and from then on they invited me to play every time they did, which was anytime we stopped. After the sun had set we all had dinner on our boOnce that was over, all the Nubians got out their bongo drums and built a bonfire. They all drummed and sang and a few of them got the crowd dancing a bit. This was one of my favorite parts of the sailing trip, it was totally tribal. That lasted a little over an hour and then we untied the boat and drifted a ways further in the dark. I really liked this part as well; you don’t see that many stars in Dublin.

When I woke up we were tied in at our last stop where the bus was waiting for us. We were just outside Luxor and the first thing on the agenda was the Kom Ombo temple.

I won’t go into too much detail on the temples. I wont be able to do it much justice and it’s more fun you learn it yourself when you are there. The Kom Ombo temple is dedicated to two different gods, Haroeris on the left side and Sobek on the right. Sobek was the crocodile headed god and they had a couple of mummified crocs there. From the Kom Ombo temple we went to the temple of Horus at Edfu. Horus was the falcon headed god and this temple is one of the best preserved.

After the two temples we arrived at our hotel in Luxor, which was again 5 star and well received, especially after the three days on the Nile. We spent more time at the pool; this one overlooked the Nile and also had a bar, yes! Once we were all sunburned we had a shower and a rest before a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the hotel and then to bed.

The entire next day was spent around Luxor. We had a 4:15am wakeup call so that we could get to our hot air balloon ride in time to watch the sunrise from the flight. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. There were around 20 balloons in the sky and the sun was just coming over the horizon was we got into the air. We could see the entire Nile valley and endless desert. It is amazing to see where the fertile soil stops and the desert begins. We could see mountain and temples below, as well as the whole city and the farms. I was able to get some good pics and video, which are on my Flickr site.

Once we landed after about an hour, we headed to the Valley of the Kings. Once the Egyptians realized that pyramids were a bit conspicuous and that every tomb would be robbed, they began to hide the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. So far 62 tombs have been uncovered there, and there are plans to begin digging for more this year. We went inside three of these tombs, (sorry, cameras weren’t allowed), and they were all very well preserved. Unlike the temples which had reliefs carved into the walls, the tombs were all painted on the inside. The paintings looked like they could have been painted yesterday. Most of their meanings still remain a mystery.

Just outside the Valley we stopped to visit a family who made their living selling carvings made from alabaster, granite, basalt, flint, and onyx. They showed us the difference between these and the cheap plastic or chalk carvings that they try to sell you around all the sights. They had everything from statues of every god to vases to cups and bowls.

The next temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut. This one has a much different structure than the rest and has many columns on several different levels. There are chapels on each side that still have painted walls and ceilings. Just around the corner from that we saw the Valley of the Queens.

At last the final temple! They were all interesting in their own right but were starting to blend together. The last one, though, was probably my favorite: Karnak. This one is by far the biggest. In fact, it is the biggest religious sight in the world, even bigger than Vatican City. At one point there were over 400,000 animals inside. The pillars here had to be the biggest I’ll ever see, and one section alone had 134 of them. The first part of the temple at the entrance was left unfinished, and you can still see the mud ramps they were using to build it. Since it never rains down here, the ramps are just as they were left. There are two obelisks still standing, one turned over, and a scarab statue the size of a VW Beetle. We spent about an hour walking around inside, it was truly amazing.

After we had visited the last temple we were all spent. 4:15am was starting to catch up with us. It was mid afternoon and we didn’t have to be anywhere until the train left at 9pm, so we relaxed and napped by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. The next part of our journey was a 10 hour night train back to Cairo, which I slept the whole way through.

Once back in Cairo, we checked back into the same hotel as before. This time we had a room in the newer wing, which was considerably nicer than the previous room. Once we were checked in we hopped on a bus to the Egyptian Museum. Unfortunately again, no cameras were allowed inside. By far the most interesting thing inside was King Tut’s treasure, including the famous mask that his mummy was wearing. Tut’s tomb was the only one that had not been raided when it was discovered in 1922. All the treasure was still inside. When a king was crowned, they immediately began to dig his tomb. Therefore, the longer a kind ruled, the bigger his tomb. Since Tut died at 19, his tomb was very small. To make up for the lack of space that they needed for all the necessary artwork, they built several boxes inside of boxes, and every square inch of the inside and outside was engraves. The boxes were wood covered in sheets of gold. There were 4 total and inside was the mummy, which was also covered by several different coffins, all inside each other. The mummy was covered with many layers of gold and jewels, topped off by the mask.

Inside the museum also made me realize how many things the Egyptians came up with several thousand years ago that are still used today. They had umbrellas that fold out exactly how modern ones do. They used surgical tools that closely resemble the ones used today. They even had board games. We also got to see plenty of mummies in the museum, including many animals such as crocodiles, cats, dogs, horses, monkeys, jackals, fish, and snakes.

After the museum we went across town to the Cairo market. It was a madhouse of shops and stands selling everything Egyptian. They had a souvenir of everything you could think of, clothes, hats, scarves, jewelry, hookahs, masks, and general junk. We spent about an hour looking around, I bought a hand carved Nubian mask, and headed back to the hotel. A few of us had dinner together and it was time to say goodbye as we all went our separate ways.

Egypt now ranks as the coolest place I have ever been. I highly recommend that you go there at some point in your life. I’ll understand if you skip the felucca trip for obvious reasons, but you have to see the pyramids, temples, and museum. As I said before, my words and pictures will not do it justice.