La, Shukran - A trek through Egypt

La, Shukran means "No, thanks". This is the first thing you need to learn in Arabic when traveling to Egypt. This is applicable when you are approached with: 

Come in, very nice shop! 

Just to look, not to buy! 

You are English? You have English face! 

First time in Egypt? Welcome! Welcome to Alaska! 

Will you fit me in your suitcase? 

And last but not least…Will you marry me? 

This is not to say that you are harassed all of the time in Egypt – I would say it's only about 50% of the time! Most of the people are SO super friendly, and the trip has been an incredible adventure! So the trip started off in Detroit when Claudia and I boarded our plane to Amsterdam. I think everyone moaned when they got on the plane and saw that it was the same plane that would transport you to, say, Miami. Three seats in two rows, no TVs…it was squished for sure! We sat with a really nice Lebanese guy Emad who now lives in Dubai. Funny story – he had been fasting for Ramadan for the first two weeks but broke the fast while in the U.S.because he was so tempted by Cracker Barrel and White Castle. The finest of American cuisine, for sure. 

Once we got to Amsterdam after not sleeping even one minute, we had a ten hour layover. Ouch. We decided to leave the airport, board a train and head into the city. Well, we sort of fell asleep on the train. A ticket taker woke us up to see our tickets and we blearily noted the sheep and pastures out the window. We were nowhere near central Amsterdam! We finally switched trains at the next stop and hit the shopping district. 

It was literally all we could do to keep our eyes open but we made it through the day. And we had a very typical Amsterdam experience…we saw many pot cafes and hookers ☺ Once we got back to the airport, we were beyond tired. We boarded our plane to Cairo and it was a "normal" plane with tvs and everything. Claudia slept but I was too excited so I watched Knocked Up for the second time. It's just as funny the second time! And even funnier considering my VW colleagues watched it with the stuffy management since VW was a sponsor...apparently US humor doesn't always translate!  

Anyway, when we landed in Cairo at 1 am, there was a mad rush for passport control. We got in line but little did we know we had to buy a visa at the bank in the terminal. But $15 later we had a visa, went through passport control, found our bags and then saw our driver we had arranged with my name on a sign. Into the night we went! Let's talk about driving in Egypt for a minute here. No one uses their headlights except to flash them as they pass. People just honk incessantly. It was the first night of three nights of feasts to celebrate the end of Ramadan and there were a million people milling around. The road is shared by taxis, cars, buses, and outside of Cairo, the occasional donkey, camel and cart. As one guy put it, "Walk like an Egyptian. Cross the street and pray to God". He wasn't kidding! 

When we arrived to our hotel (and I'm using this term loosely) we loaded onto the most rickety elevator you can imagine! Look at the pic of poor Claudia in this thing.  I can't believe the two of us and our bags fit. We were shown to our room which was right off of reception. Reception is where the hotel clerks live in a chair for 48 hours at a time. It's like slave labor here – salaries are around $200 a month. Unbelievable. Our hotel was pretty much what you would imagine you would get for $20 a night. Enough said! 

I'm embarrassed to say we didn't wake up until 1:30 our first day in Cairo! That is how tired we were. But once we woke up, we showered and hit the streets. We were staying right in Central Cairo and we walked to the Egyptian Museum, which houses an incredible collection of ancient treasures – including items from Tutankhamun's tomb (like furniture, gold, lamps, statues, etc.). Unfortunately it's set up so haphazardly - some things aren't labeled and believe it or not you can practically touch every piece of history in there. Costco has more things off-limits than this museum did. After the museum, we strolled along the Nile but with 20 million inhabitants in Cairo, you can imagine it was a little smoggy. We decided to go book our sleeper train tickets three days in advance for our twelve hour trip to Luxor. In true Emily fashion, they were sold out. More on that fabulous trip later! That night we walked around, had dinner, and shopped. Shops are open until 11 or 12 at night. There were people everywhere. It is SUCH an exciting city! It's been the crown of the Middle East and Africa for the last millennium. Although the women on the streets are dressed in headscarves, the stores all sell very Western clothing, which is what is worn inside the home. 

We went to bed really happy to be there. Then we woke up. To no hot water. Pretty much what you'd expect on a trip of mine, right? But we showered anyway and were in a hired car by 8 am. It was a circa 1980 Polish Fiat. Quite an adventure. Our driver took us to Giza Pyramids, the only wonder of the ancient world still standing. These pyramids were literally built in the 26th century BC!!! They are breathtaking. I think I took 100 pictures – each layer of stone is like five feet tall.

Archeologists estimate that it took about 10,000 workers eleven years to build the biggest of the three pyramids – and used 2.3 million tons of stone. It's indescribable! The tallest is 137 meters tall. You'll have to see all of the pictures to even be able to imagine! While at the pyramids, a burro wandered up to us and Claudia climbed up on his back for a picture. It's amazing what a dollar can buy you in Egypt! 

Just below the pyramids sits the Sphinx – which was carved almost from one single rock! It's 80 meters long and 22 meters tall. He is called "Abu al-Hul" or the "Father of Terror" in Arabic. It is really disconcerting to see him.
After the Giza Pyramids our driver took us to Saqqara. One of the pyramids there is actually the oldest pyramid in the world. It was basically designed by the architect Imhotep by layering rectangular shapes on top of a larger rectangle. All pyramids after were a copy.


After Saqqara we went to Dashur. One of the pyramids there (Senefru) has a long staircase to about halfway up. We climbed up and were offered to climb 65 meters down a ladder to the inner tomb. I was way too claustrophobic but Claudia did it and finally emerged about half an hour later gasping for air. Apparently the tomb is filled with bat excrement and it's not pretty…and please remember that it was over 90 degrees and sunny at this point too…

That night was our first night out at a bar. Since alcohol is forbidden to Muslims we had to find an ex-pat bar. We were so tired we were pretty much comatose and went to bed decently early. The following day was our last day in Cairo, unfortunately. There is so much to see in that city and we didn't have time for everything. But we at least visited Islamic Cairo, which is a web of alleys and streets and shops. We went to the Citadel which is where the Muhammad Ali Mosque is which was constructed in 1176. Unimaginable to an American, let me tell you. Then we headed over to the souq Kahn al-Khalili, the largest and most notorious bazaar in Egypt that was established in the 1380s. The 1380s!!!! We spent the day bargaining and really had some great finds.

I don't really enjoy bargaining, to be honest, because I never know if I got a good deal or not. I mean, it's typical to be quoted 500 Egyptian pounds and they end up selling it to you for 150. We definitely learned that the key is to seem uninterested and walk away…they will follow. After having shopped in every city so far, we just hope we can fit everything in our bags to bring it home! 

That was the night we boarded our overnight train to Luxor. Here is where I have to explain bakhsheesh. Bakhsheesh is a tip and is expected EVERYWHERE. It is typically given as a tip for a service rendered (like a taxi driver). Some people point at the door to a mosque and expect a tip. That can get a little annoying. On the flip side, it can be given in order for you to be able to take pictures where cameras aren't allowed, for example. A little bribe goes a long way. So anyway, the train pulls into the station and there are so many people who want to "help" us. We are led to a compartment on the train, a man helps us with our bags, we tip him, and he leaves. Then another man comes and takes us to a different train car, so we tip him. Then, someone comes and has tickets for our seats, so a different man takes us to a third car. I

I swear to god, we saw the entire train. Our final seats were with a study abroad program of Americans and Canadians who are studying in Cairo and their program includes a month long trip through Turkey, Israel and Syria. I was so jealous…it made me want to go back to college so I could study abroad again. But then Claudia reminded me that I don't actually want to STUDY, I just want to TRAVEL. I guess she's right… 

We couldn't sleep the whole night on the train. Sometimes it was freezing cold, sometimes hot. It seemed like morning couldn't come soon enough! When we got off the train in Luxor, it was blazing hot. People were crowded all around trying to get us to come to their hotel. We had already called ahead for the Venus Hotel ($18 a night) and one guy said he was from there. We figured he had a taxi, but nope, he just led us there on foot. Picture Claudia and I loaded down with our backpacks after not sleeping all night and it's 100 degrees and we are trudging past horses and shopkeepers and camels and cars on dusty streets… 

The hotel was a dump, and that's the nicest possible thing I can say about it. We slept a bit and then walked around and visited the Mummification Museum. They actually have a mummy there! We took a slightly illegal pic (but without a flash - see the mummy in the picture?  We also toured the Luxor Temple which is this colossal temple built in 1380 BC. See, Luxor is the ancient capital of Upper and Lower Egypt – it was built on the site of Ta Ipet (Thebes). It's filled with sandstone temples and tombs. What I found fascinating is that the East side of the Nile, where we stayed, is home to the temples, and was the side of "life" since the sun rises in the East. The west side is where the tombs are, or the side of “death” since the sun sets in the West. 

You can actually FEEL the history in this town. It's like time stopped thousands of years ago. The hieroglyphics are amazingly intricate. The temples are magnificent. The statues are master works of art. I doubt the pictures can do it justice. That night we took a horse and carriage ride through the city. My favorite area of the market was the spice market.  The colors are so vivid and bright.  Our carriage ride cost $2. Really, you can live well with little money in this country. 

The following day we had a driver and a young Egyptologist as a guide who took us to tour the Valley of the Kings. It was so hot you almost couldn't breathe. The pharaohs were apparently terrified of death so they built these elaborate hidden tombs underground in the mountains on the west side of the Nile in Thebes. Many were robbed but no one could take the complex drawings on the walls. Although there are 64 tombs, we toured only three that were included in our entrance ticket. Imagine going down stairs and ramps and through corridors that have intricate hieroglyphic drawings all over the walls. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Following the Valley of the Kings, we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut. Also referred to as "Hot Chicken Soup" by many Egyptians trying to get a laugh out of us. Depending how you look at it, Queen Hatshepsut was either the most powerful woman ruler or a transvestite. She is literally the only female to ever become a pharaoh. She wore a false beard and the two crowns previously reserved for Kings. Her temple is this mammoth structure also on the west side of the Nile.

Her temple was much nicer than the Valley of the Queens, which we toured next, and is the burial place for pharaohs wives and children. We were allowed in to take pictures of the hieroglyphics on the walls (remember the concept of bahksheesh?). I think you need to see all my pictures to comprehend what these places are like! 

That night we went to Karnak Temple for a sound and light show. They did an amazing job – there is music and the entire history of the temple as you walk through the halls and temples and study the obelisks and complex drawings. Every picture has a meaning and a story. 

The following day was our last day in Luxor, sadly. We spent it lazily sailing down the Nile River on a felucca, which is a small private sailboat. We had three guides and the two of us, and it was so relaxing and peaceful. We made one stop on Banana Island and naturally drank tea with some guys on a nearby docked felucca. The hospitality is out of the world. And the day was perfect - I think we really needed it after all the walking and touring we had done up until this point. 

Being in Egypt, we absolutely had to see the Red Sea. So we debated over going south of Luxor to Aswan to see more temples and tombs, or to go to the beach. The beach won. Which is where I am writing from! We actually ended up taking a taxi for the four hour drive, with the same driver as our tour the day before. We went via police convoy, which consists of approximately 100 buses and 100 police checkpoints. Supposedly it's in case someone breaks down. I doubt that, but it was very safe for sure. We found a phenomenal hotel, the Steigenberger AL Dau Beach Hotel in Hurghada. This is ten times the price of our previous hotels and a hundred times nicer. Claudia feels at home at a five star resort, but I'm a little weirded out! We have been here for two days and our days consist of lying by the pool and sea. We swim. We order fresh juice. We've made a bunch of new friends – Germans and Egyptians. I have been speaking a ton of German, which is great practice for me. There are about a million Russian people here but they aren't too friendly to us. At night we go out into the city of Hurghada, where I feel much more at home. It's a little dirty, there is a lot of hassling, and it just feels like Egypt! The resort could be anywhere in the world. But after subjecting Claudia to the places we stayed before, I can indulge her two days of niceness. Our final night was spent once again in downtown Hurghada. We bought some perfume oils and did some shopping and went out for a nice dinner. When you're on the Red Sea you have to have seafood! 

Sadly, it all ends tomorrow. Because we have a six hour bus ride to Cairo tomorrow – we are going VIP class which sounds nice but is cheaper than 1st class so is sure to be an adventure! We just have one final night there and then it's off to Amsterdam and Detroit again. It will be so strange to go back to real life, as it always is after these insane vacations. Sorry this is so long (as always) and if you made it to the end, well, you have too much free time! Just kidding, but I will be really impressed. Wait until you see my pictures – they will explain all that is Egypt much better than my words will! I miss everyone and hope all is well! Talk to you in a few days once I'm stateside again! XO Em