Sorry for the delayed posting recently, but I was a little preoccupied during my visit to Egypt! A friend of mine (and former professor) was visiting Cairo this past week for business, so I traveled to Egypt a little early to see some sights on my own, then met up with my friend a week later.
Getting to Egypt from Jerusalem is an adventure in and of itself. I had to take a bus to the Jerusalem Central Station, then a four hour bus ride from there to Eilat where I went to the Egyptian Consulate to get a visa for Egypt and for the Sinai. From there, I took a 15 minute bus ride to Taba (on the boarder) and proceeded through two boarder crossings (one for Israel and one for Egypt).
Once in egypt, I walked to the East Delta bus company and took an eight hour bus to Cairo. One thing to note is that Egypt, especially Cairo, is extremely chaotic and unorganized. For instance, the bus that was supposed to leave at 12:30pm from Taba to Cairo, never showed up. Instead of using another bus at the station, the manager there had the group of seven wait two hours until a taxi was willing to take us all to Cairo.
Lines in Egypt are no more than massive groups of people pushing their way to the front. Driving is another experience; picture the description of lines and apply that to vehicles. Cars are all over the road facing every direction and traffic is a constant nightmare. The traffic itself has a language of its own as each vehicle has a distinguishing honk and everyone is constantly putting theirs to use, whether there is a reason or not. On the roads, there is never a silent moment.
Before meeting my friend in Cairo, I spent three days, not including traveling, split between Dahab (a dive town along the Red Sea) and the desert mountains of St. Catherine. The Red Sea is absolutely beautiful. The water is so clear and blue, perfect for snorkeling and diving. Dahab was my first stop, then I ended up staying in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of the desert near the St. Catherine monastery (about two hours away from Dahab). This experience was particularly amazing as I was able to camp and explore with the Bedouins who have made their homes amongst the rocky mountains. Observing their authentic and humble lifestyle while avoiding the regular tourist experience was something to be cherished.
I've posted pictures below of the towering rocks and ancient buildings the Bedouins still frequent, but it really doesn't do this place justice. Hiking amongst the mountains, you realize how small you are and yet there is such an immense feeling of empowerment. It is so spiritual and powerful here; I found myself in an almost constant meditative state.
After saying my goodbyes to the Bedouins, I went on my way to Cairo. A large taxi (in place of the bus that never showed up) was shared by myself and six other foreigners around my age. I posted a picture of our lively crew two thirds of the way through the journey. We were all melting from the desert heat. I represented the US, but Poland, Germany, France, Japan, and Guatemala were also accounted for in our small vehicle. The seven of us all took the metro station to our own separate destinations once in Cairo, but it was fun to converse with fellow travelers with similar interests. There's something about the experience of traveling together, even for short intervals of time, that bonds people quickly; a feeling of camaraderie in our case, perhaps.
Cairo itself is extremely polluted and dirty, but filled with such life and history. Egyptians seem to do what they can to survive as the government doesn't take an active role in the lives of the people and is, from what I understand, a pretty corrupt institution. When I was with a fellow couch surfer from Egypt, he was pulled over by a police officer for no apparent reason and the officer, after confiscating his lisence, would not return it to him until he paid him 50 Egyptian pounds. According to my couchsurfing buddy, this was a very common occurrence.
The residents of Cairo tend to be pretty poor and some areas I went through were downright destitute. However, I loved the ancient buildings, mosques, towers, and churches that surround the city. You can get a feel for how old this place really is when you look at the pictures I took from visiting Islamic Cairo and Old Cairo. Of course I also visited the pyramids at Giza and the sphinx. These areas, while covered with tourists even in the hot summer season, are still incredible sights. It is amazing to be at the foot of the pyramids trying to fathom how such a remarkable structure could be man made with the limited resources available so long ago.
Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the Egyptian museum, but there are enough incredible artifacts, mummies, and sarcophagi to stay preoccupied for days. After four hours of perusing around I had to call it quits, although I did make it through the entire museum.
There is far too much to say about Egypt and the stories it gave to include in just one posting and I've already been extremely brief in the details I've described thus far. Other activities in Cairo included a felucca ride down the Nile, walking through local towns such as Doqqi and Tahrir, visiting Al-Azhar Park, the Citadel and other ancient mosques and churches as well as the famous shopping market, Khana Khalili square and a Papyrus factory. One thing I'm already missing are the juice stands that litter the streets of Cairo. My personal favorite is sugar cane (juice literally squeezed in front of you from the sugar cane stalk) followed closely by mango. For one Egyptian pound (about 20 cents) you can buy sugar cane drink while the mango juice is a little more expensive costing about two pounds.
Getting to Egypt from Jerusalem is an adventure in and of itself. I had to take a bus to the Jerusalem Central Station, then a four hour bus ride from there to Eilat where I went to the Egyptian Consulate to get a visa for Egypt and for the Sinai. From there, I took a 15 minute bus ride to Taba (on the boarder) and proceeded through two boarder crossings (one for Israel and one for Egypt).
Once in egypt, I walked to the East Delta bus company and took an eight hour bus to Cairo. One thing to note is that Egypt, especially Cairo, is extremely chaotic and unorganized. For instance, the bus that was supposed to leave at 12:30pm from Taba to Cairo, never showed up. Instead of using another bus at the station, the manager there had the group of seven wait two hours until a taxi was willing to take us all to Cairo.
Lines in Egypt are no more than massive groups of people pushing their way to the front. Driving is another experience; picture the description of lines and apply that to vehicles. Cars are all over the road facing every direction and traffic is a constant nightmare. The traffic itself has a language of its own as each vehicle has a distinguishing honk and everyone is constantly putting theirs to use, whether there is a reason or not. On the roads, there is never a silent moment.
Before meeting my friend in Cairo, I spent three days, not including traveling, split between Dahab (a dive town along the Red Sea) and the desert mountains of St. Catherine. The Red Sea is absolutely beautiful. The water is so clear and blue, perfect for snorkeling and diving. Dahab was my first stop, then I ended up staying in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of the desert near the St. Catherine monastery (about two hours away from Dahab). This experience was particularly amazing as I was able to camp and explore with the Bedouins who have made their homes amongst the rocky mountains. Observing their authentic and humble lifestyle while avoiding the regular tourist experience was something to be cherished.
I've posted pictures below of the towering rocks and ancient buildings the Bedouins still frequent, but it really doesn't do this place justice. Hiking amongst the mountains, you realize how small you are and yet there is such an immense feeling of empowerment. It is so spiritual and powerful here; I found myself in an almost constant meditative state.
After saying my goodbyes to the Bedouins, I went on my way to Cairo. A large taxi (in place of the bus that never showed up) was shared by myself and six other foreigners around my age. I posted a picture of our lively crew two thirds of the way through the journey. We were all melting from the desert heat. I represented the US, but Poland, Germany, France, Japan, and Guatemala were also accounted for in our small vehicle. The seven of us all took the metro station to our own separate destinations once in Cairo, but it was fun to converse with fellow travelers with similar interests. There's something about the experience of traveling together, even for short intervals of time, that bonds people quickly; a feeling of camaraderie in our case, perhaps.
Cairo itself is extremely polluted and dirty, but filled with such life and history. Egyptians seem to do what they can to survive as the government doesn't take an active role in the lives of the people and is, from what I understand, a pretty corrupt institution. When I was with a fellow couch surfer from Egypt, he was pulled over by a police officer for no apparent reason and the officer, after confiscating his lisence, would not return it to him until he paid him 50 Egyptian pounds. According to my couchsurfing buddy, this was a very common occurrence.
The residents of Cairo tend to be pretty poor and some areas I went through were downright destitute. However, I loved the ancient buildings, mosques, towers, and churches that surround the city. You can get a feel for how old this place really is when you look at the pictures I took from visiting Islamic Cairo and Old Cairo. Of course I also visited the pyramids at Giza and the sphinx. These areas, while covered with tourists even in the hot summer season, are still incredible sights. It is amazing to be at the foot of the pyramids trying to fathom how such a remarkable structure could be man made with the limited resources available so long ago.
Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the Egyptian museum, but there are enough incredible artifacts, mummies, and sarcophagi to stay preoccupied for days. After four hours of perusing around I had to call it quits, although I did make it through the entire museum.
There is far too much to say about Egypt and the stories it gave to include in just one posting and I've already been extremely brief in the details I've described thus far. Other activities in Cairo included a felucca ride down the Nile, walking through local towns such as Doqqi and Tahrir, visiting Al-Azhar Park, the Citadel and other ancient mosques and churches as well as the famous shopping market, Khana Khalili square and a Papyrus factory. One thing I'm already missing are the juice stands that litter the streets of Cairo. My personal favorite is sugar cane (juice literally squeezed in front of you from the sugar cane stalk) followed closely by mango. For one Egyptian pound (about 20 cents) you can buy sugar cane drink while the mango juice is a little more expensive costing about two pounds.
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