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It Keeps Calling Me Back
A Childhood Desire
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You can open your eyes now and see your Christmas present! I dutifully obeyed, and saw the old Ford Fiesta belonging to a friend parked outside our house, gift wrapped in pink ribbon and tinsel. My heart sank as I tried in vain to hide my utter disappointment. For sure, I’d been complaining about my own old, unreliable MGB, but it was far superior to this heap of junk that I assumed Morty had bought from our friend as my Christmas present.
Look closer he said Open the envelope I hadn’t noticed the envelope wedged behind the windscreen wipers, for the barely held back tears of distress welling up in my eyes. Inside, to my sheer delight was a ten day holiday to Luxor and Cairo in Egypt, booked and paid for. Departure in eight days time! This time my tears were those of happiness! He had heard me and taken notice of my dream. A dream inspired, while a schoolgirl, by my favourite English and History teacher. She had filled my head with imagery and stories of Ancient Egypt, of pyramids and tombs, of culture and the Nile. At last my dream was to come true.
What Did I Expect from Egypt?
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What I anticipated and the reality of Egypt were entirely different. I had pictures in my head but nothing prepared me for the real thing, although, on arrival at Luxor after the five hour flight from Gatwick, I feared the worst. In the dawn light, as we made our approach to land, all I could see was desert, and I had dreadful images of a total lack of any sophistication and basic comfort.
Then, just as my teacher had described, we were flying low over the fertile land irrigated by the Nile, and it was as if an invisible line had been drawn. From mile upon mile of desert sand and rocks to instant greenery. Field upon field of well irrigated verdant crops either side of the still, silver meandering ribbon of the Nile, the most romantic river in the world.
My anxiety was again rekindled by the seething mass of local people complete with laden donkeys, camels and extremely large families bustling around in the exit lounge of Luxor airport. We hadn’t had time to buy our required visas before we left the UK, so queued for an age to get them before we could legally enter Egypt. This done, and a short coach ride into Luxor and our hotel, all my previous fears were dispelled. I knew this holiday was to be kissed by magic and the experience of a lifetime.
What Did I Get From Egypt?
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Although our booking details told us we were to stay in the Luxor Hotel, the faded writing on the hotel entrance said ‘The Hotel Wena’ It was like stepping back in time to the old Colonial days, and my initial thoughts were of faded gentility, with the large electric ceiling fans gently swishing, whilst the hotel staff dressed in Nehru style white cotton jackets. The traditionally decorated Christmas tree in the hotel lobby was unexpected until we discovered that there is a large number of Egyptian Christians who belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church and celebrate Christmas on the 7th January. Luxor has many modern five star hotels such as the Hilton on the banks of the Nile, but we loved the one hundred year old Hotel Wena! Air conditioning, rooms en-suite with balconies and most stunning of all, with a view of the ruins of Luxor Temple from our room.
The first time visitor to Egypt will be struck by the rich culture, tradition and customs and could feel overawed. I was daunted as we dumped our suitcases in our comfortable, rather antiquated hotel room and eagerly hit the streets of Luxor. The pavement coffee shops were full of men playing backgammon and smoking Shishas, Hukas or water pipes, and I was convinced they were smoking illegal substances. But as there were no women socialising in the street cafes we were far too timid to sit at a pavement table and ask for a cup of tea, so headed back to the hotel for an Egyptian beer. Tourists may well feel safer staying with the official guide offered with their holiday tour company. Our holiday included various prepaid excursions, but after the meeting with our tour representative and rest of our ‘gang’ in the hotel lounge we both knew we’d break free and go it alone. This was to happen sooner than we thought.
Boarding the coach early the next morning for our scheduled visit to the Valley of the Kings, I knew we weren’t suited to’ group’ tourism as Morty’s joke about having a ‘Tut-Burger’ for lunch, met with startled looks from our companions. Following our guide, who held a placard up high with our hotel name on while calling out ‘Thompsons’ with twenty strangers was pretty naff to us, so we soon lost them, or did they in fact lose us?
(Warning! The Egyptians understandably think all westerners are wealthy and will continually heckle, asking for money, gifts or attempt to sell you artefacts! Whether you give or not is entirely up to you. But it seems everybody expects baksheesh, or tipping, and bribery is part of the culture, even from the official guides, who for a small handout will show you artefacts previously forbidden!)
Luxor and The Valley of the Kings
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To the Ancient Egyptian, the world was a lush green ribbon cutting north and south through the desert. It was commonsense to live on the East Bank, where the sun rises, and bury your dead on the West Bank, where the sun is buried each evening. Therefore, all the tombs, pyramids, and burial art in Egypt are on the West Bank.
The town of Luxor stands on the left bank of the Nile on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, the capital of Ancient Egypt. I was knocked back by the sheer size of the Valley of the Kings. Set in a secluded valley on the west bank of the Nile, with hundreds of tombs belonging to royals and nobility. Once we were free of our group we bought an entry ticket for three tombs, including the then newly opened Tutankhamun.
The knowledge that Tutankhamun lay undisturbed for over 3000 years until the tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 and that the Pharaoh’s remains are still in the coffin is unbelievable. The full impact of the discovery Carter made was yet to hit us when we were to visit the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where we would see thousands of treasures and antiquities that were buried with the young Pharaoh, giving evidence of the culture, sophistication, social life and the belief the Ancient Egyptians had in the afterlife from 3500 thousand years ago.
As we had lost our return coach trip to Luxor, we hired a taxi from one of the ever entrepreneurial local drivers waiting for business, parked in the middle of the desert, from people like us. Ever eager to please tourists and earn a living, our driver persuaded us we couldn’t live without him, and that’s how it was that Mustafa became our own personal driver and tour guide for the remainder of the week! He was warm, friendly, amusing and spoke enough English for us to negotiate a daily rate for our trips.
(Warning! Any bargaining with taxis and fares on any local transport, then make sure it’s for the vehicle and not per person. Whenever you go to these historic sites, a local Egyptian will try to be your unofficial guide, some are excellent but not always wanted. One offered me a very unsavoury looking piece of his bread, which I thanked him for and ate, as to refuse the genuine offer of hospitality could be considered an insult)
But Then we Hired Bicycles!
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Morty believes I’m a big girl’s blouse when it comes to anything remotely adventurous, so when challenged I have to show him don’t I? Hence, in the early morning hours before it got too hot, we were to be seen cycling happily out of Luxor on two sturdy hired mountain bikes. The ride was level as we passed through fields with farmers working with donkeys and antique farm machinery. Everyone waved as we rode past and called out to us. The roads were very rutted, yet the rural scenery was so utterly beautiful. We came across a livestock market and stopped to look at all the men in robes, sitting under makeshift tents together with chickens, goats and other animals ready to sell.
We cycled through a village that looked like it hadn’t altered since Biblical times, with reeds, sugar cane, mud brick huts and date palms, while being excitedly chased by a friendly crowd of energetic, cheering children, though at the time I was petrified. We bicycled until lunchtime and wove our weary way back to Luxor, so delighted at the sights we’d seen by getting off the usual tourist track.
(Warning! Take bottled water as dehydration is a possibility and stay close together)
Two Temples and One Museum a Day Lamorna!
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‘Culture Overkill’ is always a danger, so we limited ourselves to one enriching feast a day, the Luxor Temple, the Karnack Temple and the Luxor Museum. When we didn’t need Mustafa and his taxi we rode together in style in a Calesche, a horse drawn carriage, having negotiated the fare. The size, sense of the past and atmosphere of the two temples at Luxor are beyond description. We noted that both temples had been buried in sand, thus avoiding the defacing of the hieroglyphics that the early Christians were so enthusiastic in doing. To them there was only one God so they destroyed any illustrations of worship and with them so much story telling and history.
The Luxor Museum is a gem with a carefully chosen and well displayed selection from all Egyptian periods. The modern building is humidified and has controlled temperatures protecting the treasures, just the opposite to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, as we were to discover.
The pleasant heat of the afternoons was spent having a siesta and a cold local beer by the hotel pool, before an evening stroll round the bazaar with the temptations of Egyptian cotton, carpets, leather, perfumeries and spice markets and then dinner and bed.
Alabaster and a Mixed Grill
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Mustafa met us in the cool of the early morning to take us across the Nile to the West bank via the local ferry to visit an alabaster factory and have a lunch together. You realise by now what a big baby I am, and one look at the huge flat bottomed local ferry and I wanted to scarper. It seemed to be held together with rope, string and elastic bands, was impossibly overcrowded with men, donkeys, goats, camels, cars, people squeezed on to dangerous proportions, plus a big regal looking coach containing an Egyptian Princess complete with entourage!
Alabaster rock has been quarried from the desert for thousands of years, and either hand crafted or, as now, machine made into vases, pots and statues. The finished product looks like marble, but the difference ends there as it is a very soft mineral stone. We were offered and drank, sweet strong Egyptian coffee from the owner of the workshop and I was given a smooth alabaster egg as a gift. The price of the hand crafted vase I wanted was astronomical even for Egypt, so I bought a machine made one and the base snapped off before we even got back to the hotel, but I have since stuck it together as a souvenir and memory, though I can’t put water in it!
Mustafa took us for lunch to his cousin’s restaurant in the middle of the desert, where for some strange reason I ordered a mixed grill. I still can’t imagine why I did this, and can only put it down to the midday sun. The peculiar shapes and sizes of the chops, cutlets and steaks on my plate were to my mind, goat, camel and horse, but there was no way I could insult the cook, so I ate it all, with no ill-effects whatsoever!
Our last evening in Luxor we leisurely cruised for an hour on the Nile in a felucca, a little like an Italian Gondola, and marvelled at our week in Luxor as we watched the sunset and wondered what Cairo would have in store for us.
And in Cairo I went Inside a Pyramid!
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The early morning internal flight from Luxor to Cairo took less than an hour, where we were booked for two nights in the Victoria Hotel, right in the centre of the city. If Cairo had been the first experience of Egypt and not the comparative calm of Luxor, I would have been scared witless. The manic, chaotic, suicidal traffic was unbelievable. The haunting call to prayer from the mosques carry through the air, as Egypt is predominantly a Muslim country.
Thankfully, the Victoria Hotel was yet another raffish Colonial haven of peace, with a very different view from our hotel room window! The roof tops opposite were running with goats, chickens, dogs and children rather than an ancient temple! So a refreshing local beer in the elegant hotel bar, and then to meet our guide for the next two days. To our great relief, we were the only people booked, which meant we had a mini-bus, a driver and an Egyptian female guide all to ourselves. Was it something we’d said?
How many of you imagine the Giza pyramids are situated miles from civilization, taking hours to reach by camel, donkey or jeep? We did, so what a surprise to find ourselves sitting in a restaurant with our guide, eating a light lunch with the three pyramids in view after a drive of less than half an hour from Cairo!
The three pyramids were a spectacular sight and I would have been more than happy to just look, but the trip included a ticket allowing us to go inside the second largest pyramid called Chephren. I could feel a big girl’s blouse moment coming on as I was trembling at the thought, but a deep breathe and we entered the narrow tunnel and climbed the stairway into the very depths of the tomb! As in all the tombs, cameras are forbidden as the flash damages the wall paintings, and even the tourists breath and touching the reliefs on the hieroglyphics wears them away. It was awe inspiring in the tomb yet I wanted to get out fast. I felt a presence that disturbed me deeply though not unpleasantly, so I was glad we moved on see the guardian of the pyramids, the Sphinx.
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo
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Our last day was to be spent here before we left for the UK. The treasures of Tutankhamun are well documented, yet I was more taken by the rooms containing artefacts used by the ordinary people in Egypt over three thousand years ago. Jewellery that wouldn’t be out of place worn now, thonged sandals, boomerangs, cosmetics, wine casks with named grapes, vintage and vineyards. But then I had a genuine reason to panic.
Rather than leave my hand luggage in the hotel room, I decided to take it with me in the mini-bus. It had all my personal belongings in it, including my passport and Rimmel. Our guide told me the bag was too big to be allowed in the museum because of the security precautions, and that it would be safe locked in the bus with the driver! Emerging three hours later, dazzled by the treasures we had seen, the mini-bus, the driver and my hand luggage had disappeared! Our guide said coolly he’d be back. One hour later I was considering the British Consulate, full of despair and disgusted at myself for being so naive. To our immense relief, he did return and still in time to make it to Cairo Airport and our homeward flight.
There is nothing based on supposition in Egypt. Everything is real, solid and proven, unlike The Holy Land, where the visitor is told that this is where Jesus ‘allegedly’ had the Last Supper, the alleged Manger, fed the five thousand with the loaves and fishes. No concrete evidence at all, but in Egypt it’s all there. Its carved in stone.
So What Did We Eat and Drink in Egypt?
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The history of Egypt is reflected in its cuisine, which dishes that originated in Greece, Turkey and North African countries. The food was spicy with plenty of vegetables and fruits, the preferred meats being lamb and chicken. The expensive hotels offer international menus. We had one luxurious French meal in a Hotel, but we both preferred the local cooking as it was cheap and interesting, although we didn’t eat from the street vendors even though the food smelt and looked wonderful, as the standard of hygiene may be alright for locals, but not for lily livered Westerners! Alcohol is served in the hotel bars and is very costly if imported, so we drank the local bottled Stella and wine and it tasted alright to us.
Is It Safe?
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Probably safer lately than our holiday was in 1993! I am informed that the security precautions the Egyptian government has had in place to protect tourists for the last 5 years are impressive. There are metal detectors at the entries to all the sites, and at the hotel entryways, you see the military presence everywhere and over-the-road travel between certain cities tourists frequent has been by army escorted convoy. Egypt needs its tourists, but in these uncertain troubled times I do wonder in the wisdom of going there.
(A warning! From the Gay Egypt website “The ongoing prosecution of the ""Queen Boat"" defendants has Cairo's gay community laying low” with several other sources warning gay visitors to be aware of the threat of arrest since the police raid on a floating night club, a popular meeting place for the cities homosexual community)
Ancient and Modern-My Lasting Impression
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Tired and happy with a head full of memories, we were waiting in the smart departure lounge of Cairo Airport for our night flight back to Gatwick. I made my way to the immaculately clean ladies cloakrooms. Investigating the cubicles I discovered there was no toilet paper in any of them. The robe clad lady attendant smilingly offered me one sheet of Bronco and held her hand out. Surely not more baksheesh I wondered? Yes it was. She took my English pound coin. At that price I asked for another sheet. She nodded encouragingly, and took another English pound.
Washing my hands at the long row of basins, I noticed a great deal of activity at the far end of the cloakroom. The attendant and several other women, plus half a dozen small children were huddled over a large cooking pot balanced on a portable gas ring on the tiled surface. They were laughing and stirring the contents of the steaming pot, obviously putting the finishing touches to the evening meal…in the Ladies Cloakroom of an International Airport.
I hope something of my experience and impressions of Egypt stay with you and that one day you will be tempted to visit this magical country. We most certainly will return. They say everybody does.
The Official Egyptian Website
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http://www.touregypt.net/
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