Expatriate Forums in Egypt

countessa · Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 10:52 pm Post subject: 10 Things I Learned in Egypt

10 things I learned in Egypt
Vacation of a lifetime leaves lasting impressions about history and humanity

I think everyone has one single place they want to go, somewhere they are determined to experience no matter what. For me, that place is and always has been Egypt. My best friend and I grew up fascinated by its ancient culture, adopting goddess names and having our own Egypt Club meetings in cardboard boxes in her garage.

When she and her husband moved to Kuwait in 2005 to take jobs at the American School, we began to talk about finally fulfilling a dream. We plotted and planned our two-week immersion into the culture. Still, it wasn't until we breathed the thick air of Cairo, walked among the pyramids, descended into the Valley of the Kings, that it became real. All I knew going into the trip was that I would learn something. And I did.

1. The Frankfurt, Germany, airport is the 10th circle of hell.

I had been warned that they took security seriously: You'd wander down the terminal, and when you came back the same way, you'd find that a checkpoint had been randomly set up in the middle. Plus, there's none of that walk-through metal detector stuff; they give everyone a nice, prolonged pat-down. They also have gatekeepers in the walkways to control traffic flow. If you have a six-hour layover and they're between you and your gate, be ready to doze in front of a duty-free shop until an hour before check-in.

2. You can never have too much toilet paper.

This was perhaps never more true than on the sleeper train between Cairo and Luxor, which featured the foulest bathroom this side of "Trainspotting." Using it involved holding my breath and liberally coating every surface with a travel-size roll of Charmin from my day bag. There seemed to always be a shortage of TP. Places that did have it — mostly touristy restaurants and hotels — had attendants to ration it.

3. Bargaining is a skill and an art, and the Egyptians will beat you every time.

Much of the time, shopping in Egypt required an elaborate dance that left us exhausted.Walk into store, find item, ask for price, offer about a quarter of that, wait for vendor to finish laughing and offer another price, trade prices again, pretend to leave. Vendor will pretend to be insulted and act like he's doing you the world's hugest favor by accepting the compromise.

4. Look up.

There's plenty of beauty and history in Egypt. But perhaps my favorite parts, the parts some people miss, came when I was wandering a temple and looked up at the right time. The millennia have worn ancient Egypt's buildings into the plain brown stone we know today. But back in the day, they were covered floor to ceiling in vividly colored, elaborate paintings and rows of hieroglyphs. The best place to catch a glimpse of the former glory is on ceiling fragments and the tops of walls, which area bit hidden from the elements.

5.Don't be afraid of going it alone.

Tour groups promise a lot in a small amount of time and there's safety in numbers. But independence was the way to go for us. We saw what we wanted to see and took as long as we wanted to see it. In Luxor we spent four hours finding the hidden treasures at the complex at Karnakor hiking over a mountain from the Temple of Hatshepsut to reach the Valley of the Kings, the final resting place of Tutankhamun and other pharaohs.

6.But sometimes, a convoy is the only way to go.

We wanted to see Aswan — specifically, the temple of Philae, on an island in the Nile near the High Dam — and were willing to hire a car. But tourists are "strongly encouraged" to join a tour group for travel south of Luxor.We signed up for a day trip in a minivan that included lunch and stops at a couple of temples along the way, then a train ride back. It was nice to have a guide to explain the significance of the sites. But after a week of doing things on our own, we didn't like being hustled through temples in 30 minutes.

7.Traffic laws? What traffic laws?

Lane markings are decoration and speed limits a suggestion. Cairo taxis do have a weight limit: four Americans, three large suitcases and three backpacks. Anything more will result in an extremely dubious ride to the train station in which you will feel the oil pan scrape at every bump.

8. The going rate for a woman on the Giza Plateau is 25 camels and two chickens.

It's odd being a Western woman in Egypt. When we were accompanied by the male half of our party, Jennifer and I received courteous comments. When walking or shopping alone, men calledus "sweetie" or made catcalls. Sometimes, camels were offered in exchange for our hands in marriage. A camel rider approached us one day and offered the dromedary in trade for me. I told him I was worth more than a camel. So he offered 25 camels and two chickens. Still low, I think.

9. When in doubt, wander.

We spent one morning wandering the back streets of Zamalek, a lovely Cairo neighborhood on an island in the Nile.

10. Have an open mind, and you'll have the time of your life.

Conscious of the Ugly American stereotype, we tried to be respectful and friendly, and the Egyptians returned it fivefold.When there's history around every corner, two weeks isn't nearly enough to see it all. But it was enough time to immerse ourselves in the culture of the past, to experience the adventure we craved in a vibrant, fascinating country.

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Source: Statesman, 20th May 2007
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www.luxor4care.org

Gina · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:40 pm Post subject:

sounds like you gals had a fabulous time