T'Egypt

Sharm el Sheikh

Happy Reunions, Whenwe were all firm

A week in Sharm was supposed to involve a week of relaxation with my parents. It was supposed to allow me to rest after the first half of the trip and give me the energy to complete the second half. However it gave me food poisoning. And I spent much of the week either using the toilet or being very aware where the closest one was. Luckily it wasn’t only me and we all took it in turns to get a bit better and get a bit worse again. The chemists here must make a fortune of us tourists and our dodgy stomachs. I tied a concoction of different antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and pain killers in my quest to feel normal again. Eventually either they worked or someone got bored of playing with me because, it didn’t kill me! It was good however to catch up with my mum and dad and as we had an apartment there was plenty of room for one of us to be dyeing quietly at a safe enough distance from the others.

We stayed in Naqb Bay which was a lot quieter that Na’ama Bay. I like it there. Our apartment was on the outskirts of the town. Even though we were all ill, we managed to have a good time. Days were spent by the pool or the beach (always within spitting distance of a good clean toilet) and then followed by a nice meal at night and obviously a few drinks.

Our Pool

On one of the ‘firmer’ days we became quite confident and hired bikes to cycle down to the town on. Having spent 7 months with good cycle paths in Italy I didn’t expect much from the Egyptian equivalents. Although to be fair apart from the regular missing paving stones the cycle paths weren’t that bad. They even had a little detour to a hotel reception at one point. And like any good cycle path, there has to be pedestrians walking along them looking at you blankly as you try to cycle past them. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the look of shock on people faces when they see a person on a push bike on a cycle path. Maybe I’ve been away from England for too long.

We visited ‘Soho Square’ which we were told is the ‘up and coming’ area. It was very nice. We found a restaurant that specialised in Indian, Egyptian, Thai and Chinese food. As much as I wanted a curry, I knew it wasn’t in my best interest so I opted for something I knew my stomach could contain. Chicken noodles, no spice, no chillies. It was good, in fact it may have been because I had been living of crackers and crisps but it may have been the nicest noodle dish I’d ever had.

We also found ‘The Queen Vic Pub’ It had the name from Eastenders but it didn’t have any likeness to it, not that I really care, I’ve never liked Eastenders is always doom and gloom. It was a nice place to sit at during the day. We came back later in the week and it was here I had chicken goujans, although I think that something was lost in translation as when my food arrived it was 2 huge breasts of chicken. Not one to complain (as they tasted good) I ate them down and tested how good my Egyptian pills had been working. They passed the test and I managed to feel normal all day after :-) Unfortunately the same can’t be said for my dad, who’ turn it was to make friends with the toilet bowl.

As the week drew to an end, and our health began to return to normal we realised how little time a week is when you factor in all the health complaints we had all had. On our last day we all got a transfer to the airport at the same time. I was flying to Cairo, my parents back to Manchester. We said our good buys as I went through security and I began to realise that I’m going away for a long time (if all things go well). It’s something that I don’t really allow myself to think about, because I know I can always come home if I want to. 

My Best Friend In Egypt

Cairo

18^th November

So I’ve had three nights in Cairo and I think I have gone against what one feels is expected of them in a city. I have relaxed and recharged my batteries. After my bout of stomach problems in Sharm el Sheikh I was grateful to feel like myself again and I decided this was the perfect time to recuperate. I arrived after my relatively short (not as short as Tel Aviv – Amman flight) flight in the late afternoon, early evening into Cairo to a nice taxi driver waiting to take me to my hostel. Within 5 minutes of being in the car I had learned a few words in Arabic (sorry they’ve all gone now) and my little tour of Cairo had begun, all to the back drop of sunset. Quite emotional really, or maybe that was because I’d just said goodbye to my parents in Sharm?

Baron Palace

Once at my hotel I was impressed by my room, I even had a balcony and best of all the wifi connection was strong. After a week without it I cannot believe how much of a slave I am to modern technology. At some point in time I may want to detox but that certainly isn’t going to happen any time soon.

I arranged for the next day to be taken on a tour of Giza the site of the pyramids I associate with Egypt and to Sakara. This was the site of the first Egyptian pyramid and it was designed as a step pyramid and not as a smooth front as the ones I think of when I think of pyramids. My guide Ahmed and my driver Ahmed took very good care of me and after the initial introductions we were heading through morning traffic toward Sakara. I was surprised how green Cairo is; I guess being so close to the river (biggest in the world) has its benefits.  Once in Sakara I was given a brief history of the place. The king of the third dynasty of Egypt had decided that he didn’t want is body to be left in a normal tomb which his previous kings had had. He wanted something that would provide safety for his possessions and so carry them forward with him into the afterlife. I’m presuming that you know that in Egyptian times it was common knowledge that you actually could and did take wealth with you when you died and so tombs which contained a person’s earthly treasures was the standard way to leave this mortal world. It also provided tomb raiders with a steady flow of income.

Foot step in the Sand

This new king didn’t want the same to happen to his wealth once he passed so he sought someone to design a tomb structure which would be secure enough to prevent tomb raiders from having their wicked way. The design was a pyramid 60 meters high which gained height with every step. 6 steps took the pyramid to its summit. Happy with the design the king decided he liked it and he’d have it, he changed a few things as you can do when you are buying of plan so to speak and the result was the step pyramid at Sakara with we see today. Due to thousands of year’s worth of decay the Egyptian government is spending money on restoration of this pyramid in the hopes it’ll last for a good few more years.

We had a quick visit to a pyres ‘museum’ which turned out to be more of a shop where they showed you how pyres paper was made and then you could buy some authentic government priced (but still up for negotiation) pictures hand painted on pyres paper. I must admit the process was quite ingenious and it is much stronger than the paper which my flight details are printed on to but having no home as such the idea of buying one was the furthest thing from my mind. However the shop worker didn’t seem to accept that I had no need for any pictures as he kept telling me how small they could make them or that they could ship it to my home address.  Eventually I found my guide and we left, I understand that this is how people make money, commissions and such, but just wish it wasn’t.

Next stop was Giza. The crowds were huge. If it hadn’t been for Ahmed going buying my entrance ticket then I wouldn’t have gone in the crowds were so bad. Once inside again Ahmed gave me a brief history of the different pyramids. About how each king/pharaoh had they designed for themselves for after they’d died. How the three grand pyramids in front of me actually belonged to father son and grandson and that the small pyramids around the basis of each pyramid each belonged to the wives of the pharaohs. He also explained that the biggest pyramid was the oldest and his son (I forget his name but I’m sure it was a girl’s name) wanted a pyramid to show his wealth and power but decided to have one slightly smaller than his father’s out of respect. The third and most distant pyramid in the picture is the smallest and belongs to the grandson pharaoh. Turns out by the time he came to die Egypt didn’t have as much money as it was (credit crunch seems to have happened before) and so an extravagant pyramid was out of the question, it is also said that he didn’t see himself as a god as his father and grandfather had done he just saw himself as a king and as such did not need such a large pyramid and he settled for a small one. Quite cute really. The Sphinx is also there as you can see, by the time he was explaining the history of the sphinx I was being irritated by kids selling postcards so I began to lose concentration on the story. All I can remember at this time is that it’s a mixture of a lion and the head of the owner of the middle pyramid. If you want to know more I’d recommend googling it, I’ve done it once or twice and it’s amazing what you can find there.

I don't like Crowds

No I dont want a Camel

Hard to Believe thats the best view. And it's from KFC

Obligatory Picture

That night I had a walk to the local KFC and had myself some fried chicken. It was nice and this along with a diet of antibiotic and codeine had prevented my stomach from repeating the illness I suffered in Sharm. I know Cairo has this image of being chaotic and disorganised, and it is, I felt much safer at night there than I do walking even around Manchester at night. I’m sure it was safe and I’m also sure I stuck out like a sore thumb, being blond and all, but I think this feeling of security was born from the fact that no one was trying to get me to buy anything from them. They were happy for me to just walk past; either that or they could tell I had no money.

On my third and final day in Cairo I met Mohammed, a friend I had found on couch surfing who had invited me for a coffee and a chat, and so we did. We went to a coffee shop which I would never have known about had it not been for him and we spoke about everything. Turns out he’s been out of work due to the global recession for 3 years and although he spoke many languages had never left Egypt, although he desperately wanted to do, and soon. Turns out we both love Whoopi Goldburg films and apparently Mr Been has an Egyptian following too. After eating at a place which wasn’t an American Franchise for the first time in 3 days I tried some authentic Egyptian cuisine, I was told what I had eaten in Sharm was Middle Eastern and not Egyptian. I tried some of his Egyptian pie, it was like a sandwich made with flour tortillas, it was good, think a bit of meet and mushrooms would have done it some good. But being cautious of my stomach I settled at only one piece and then continued to drink my coke and eat my burger.

The Nile not looking so Great

The evening came and I felt as though I was finally getting an idea of the way Cairo works. The next morning was my flight to Istanbul and so I did all I could do which was set my alarm, utilise free wifi and then went to sleep, ready for an early start and the reintroduction to wearing a coat again.