Egypt and the ancient lands of the pharaohs
A trip to Egypt is something that most people consider having. And why not? There is so much to see. However, I suggest you suspend the romanticism until you get there. Egypt is real and will both delight and disappoint…depending on your expectations..
Trip to Egypt
Ever watched those National Geographic or Discovery documentaries on Egypt and thought – Wow – I would like to see that? I certainly did and I have to tell you it is something I’ll never forget. and not for the obvious reasons.. In fact, I came up with a recount of those memorable take-outs from visiting Egypt. Things I will never forget after visiting the land of the pharaohs
Chaos in Cairo
My first experience of Cairo was a coach ride that started in Alexandria, the Mediterranean port city. It was a long journey all the way to the bustle of Cairo.
The scenery en-route was made up of mainly farm land, however the landscape was punctuated with tall towers. I was both puzzled and fascinated by these constructions that seemed so odd and alien to all us westerners on the bus. One of the passengers seated towards the front of the coach decided to end the debate about what these structures were and ask the driver.
Curiosity killed the…pigeon
I now wished we had not been so curious. I was comfortable in my naivety. Turns out these towers were pigeon farms. “Oh, they like pigeons” I said, smiling at the thought that the Middle East was a bird loving area…some home to an ornithologist fan base….duh! The anonymous response from the back of the bus was instantaneous “Yeah, to eat” .
I was stunned. The fascination with the towers became revulsion. Silly really, as we eat chicken but it was the first cultural clash in my trip to Egypt.
The second slam of foreign reality was a few miles outside Cairo when the coach slowed to a crawl. The heat was beginning to overpower the air-conditioning in the coach.
As the temperature in the vehicle rose, so did the annoyance and irritation of the coach occupants. I noticed that couples started to bicker and the observational commentary between tourists became increasingly negative.
No longer was it about Giza and the pyramids, or photos in the desert. It was about the chaos outside. Was that travel adventure trip to Egypt or a nightmare?
Pride and prejudice with a hefty dollop of ignorance
As we edged closer to Cairo central, the madness outside reached new heights. The noise of horns and voices were a constant dull monotone through the thickened glass of the coach.
Street vendors shouted their wares for sale, cars simply parked anywhere and any normality, from a western sensibility of lanes of traffic and orderly passage was a lost world.
The minutes dragged to over an hour as we crawled the streets to our first stop – the Museum of Cairo (aka Egyptian Museum). I have to say, once off the coach and entering the museum, mine and others moods lifted quickly. The place is stunning. The artifacts are amazing and in moments you are enthralled.
I hate to admit it but my then girlfriend and me had to sneak off after awhile as the tour hit the stage where you are tired of craning your neck for a view or straining to hear questions answered by the tour guide. In most cases you hear the disembodied reply to an unheard question and its relevance is lost.
Short on patience and the constant loitering too long at an exhibit, my partner and I defected from the horde and did our own thing. We probably lost a great deal of background to what we viewed, however I was happier going at my own pace.
Next stop Giza…
See the pyramids when you take a trip to Egypt
Sounds like a no-brainer but I have met many people who have visited Egypt for the beaches only and steered away from Cairo and Giza. This was worth the price of admission, in my opinion. A photo opportunity on a stinky and bad tempered camel was a bad start but it got better – way better!
Giza is located only a few kilometers south of Cairo. In fact, you see the famous site of these inverted triangular structures as you leave the city centre going south.
Unlike what I had imagined, Giza is not an isolated spot in the desert. It virtually borders on civilization, just several hundred meters from homes.
Giza can be subdivided into two groupings of monuments, clearly defined and separated by a wadi. The larger grouping consists of the three “Great” pyramids of Khufu, Khephren (Khafre), and Menkaure, the Sphinx, outbuildings and attendant temples along with the private mastabas of the nobility.
Giza is a wondrous place. You find yourself encapsulated by sheer history. It was a very long time ago that a certain historical figure stood where I was and uttered these words to his troops.
"From atop these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you."
I was mesmerized. The scenes were so magical – all the images remembered from boyhood learnings and adventure fiction. Suddenly the frustrations and shocks of the day were dim in the memory.
It was only on reflection, long after this experience that I realized that mine was the folly of many. It seems an ingrained diluted xenophobia that lurks in our souls – our cultural prejudices override our enjoyment of many things alien to our normal everyday lives.
Why do we tour and visit new places only to seek that which is familiar and discard that which we do not understand? Isn’t that what travel is all about? Isn’t it to learn of new things and experience the essence of the places we visit?
Time for honest self-reflection
How is it our right to stand in judgment and rob ourselves of the richness of other cultures. In our western minds of order, we seek what we call sanity and consider seeming disorder as something insane. We censor and define according to our reference and come away from places suggesting that this was not what we are used to…this is not a place to visit.
Why? Because in the chaos of Cairo traffic or the consuming of pigeons as a food source it should be so repugnant to our sensibilities we need to dismiss at will? Should I ever do a take-two of Cairo and Egypt, I would like to know that I have grown enough to be not only accepting of that which I do not understand, but to rejoice in its absolute contrary displays to what I know.
That is true acceptance. More importantly, that is true joy. This is the value of travel. These are things I will never forget when visiting Egypt. I was taught many lessons, far beyond the learning of an ancient and sophisticated civilization and the reign of the pharaohs.
I was taught about me and my fellow western travelers. A trip to Egypt, especially Cairo, will challenge your best intentions.This was what I had learned and will never forget after having an experience of visiting Egypt.
When to go?
Unlike Europe and other parts of the world, rain and the cold is not so much the challenge. Egypt suffers the ‘Khamsin” wind…blowing up a desert sandstorm that is never fun to be caught in.
This usually occurs in the months of March, April and May. July and August expect a meltdown with heatwave type temperatures. Cairo in the mid-summer I would highly recommend you avoid.
December and January will be cold. So, if I were choosing a time to go on a trip to Egypt I would choose anytime in February, March and April and take my chances about running into a sandstorm.
October and November are also good months to consider. Early May Ramadan starts and ends in early June. Why is this important? Many official buildings, banks and restaurants will be closed during this period.
Careful travel planning needs to accompany you preparations for this region of the world and it is vital you keep tabs on the latest security notices.
Daily costs of travel in Cairo
Cheap
Egypt is one of those few countries left that are cheap. Very cheap! You will love the prices when you get here. In fact, you will be stunned. Your travel budget will seem like you are a millionaire for the affordability – especially if you are going the hostel and street food route
Low end hotel or hostel – $6-12 USD per day
Food – $2-5 USD per day per person
2 drinks per day $0.50-2 USD
$10-15 USD: Suggested Daily Budget for ‘bare bones’ travel (hostel rooms, public transport, food from stalls or supermarkets etc) with a few sightseeing highlights per week
$25 – 50+ Suggested Daily Budget for ‘average’ travel (Mid-range hotels, food from the occasional restaurants and stores, sight seeing attractions and transport .
Looking for another place to add to the bucket list? How about a land of beaches, mountains, volcanoes and big surf? Yup, you guessed it! But Hawaii is much more than sand, lava and giant waves
