- Egypt
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Tourists to Egypt hear much of Akhenaten, the probable father of Tutankhamun, who tried to replace worship of the traditional Egyptian gods with a sort of monotheism devoted to the sun-disk.
Objects from his reign form one of the most spectacular displays in the Cairo Museum but few ever visit his short lived capital city at Tell el-Amarna (which gives its name to the period and the artistic style of the times). Little remains of the city itself (although the setting is highly atmospheric) but the tombs of the king and his courtiers in the cliffs and wadis to the east are among the finest in the country, and mercifully free of marauding tourists – I was the only person at the site the day I visited.
A visit requires several hours and is probably best arranged as part of a stop-over in the nearby city of el-Minya (150 miles south of Cairo) which has several comfortable hotels. A military escort is required to travel through this part of the country although there is no real threat – it’s more like getting the VIP treatment.
There are actually a handful of modern engineering wonders scattered around Egypt, for fans of that sort of thing.
The Aswan High Dam and the Bond-villain-style ‘false mountain’ built for the relocated Abu Simbel temples are two obvious examples.
Another is this ‘Friendship Bridge’, built with largely Japanese money, spanning the Suez Canal and carrying the road link to the Sinai peninsula. Our coach from Port Said to Ismailia (going alongside the canal) took a diversion just to go over the bridge, turn right around and come back across.
The main span over the river is only a few hundred metres, but there is a ‘run up’ of almost two kilometres on either side. The bridge looks cool rising out of the desert as you approach and then the crossing gives you – briefly - a chance to look directly out over the length of the Suez Canal.
Often overlooked in favour of Giza, Saqqara is a far more varied archaeological site, and is much less crowded, both with tourists and the tat-hawkers that tend to go with them.
Here, you get to see the earliest pyramid – the so-called ‘Step Pyramid’, which is still impressive in size and is set in a partly-restored ‘complex’ of buildings. Various other pyramids in more or less romantically-ruinous states are scattered around the site, together with some of the most wonderfully decorated private tombs in Egypt.
With these, though, as with lots of sites in Egypt, it’s almost impossible to say what will be open and what won’t, because that information seems to change rather haphazardly. Get here under your own steam by a taxi from Cairo to make sure you can wander around the many acres of ruins without worrying about getting back on to a coach.
One thing not to miss is the pyramid of Unas – start at his pyramid and then walk down its ‘causeway’, which has private tombs built all around it.
For non-beach orientated things to do, the size and decoration of the Kom el-Shuqafa catacombs will remind you of a Spielberg film.
As for food, the Kadora (pronounced A-Dora) and the fish market offer some of the best seafood in Egypt.
A pleasant way to end a day's exploring is to take a calèch ride from near the Cecil Hotel, along the Western harbour, and then retrace your route on foot for a bite to eat at the fish market.
If you can afford it, I would suggest splashing out and getting a room at the Sheraton Montazah.
The fact that it's on the edge of town might make it inconvenient for
some, but I found it eliminated most of the noise from the downtown
area, while still providing a major thoroughfare for catching a cab.
Its private, wonderfully under-populated beach, and a room with a balcony overlooking both the Montazah Palace gardens and the
Mediterranean were also welcome perks.
www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=438
Giza can be a nightmare. Its atmosphere has been ruined by the road, the coaches, the thousands of tourists and a seemingly equal number of Egyptians offering tacky souvenirs and camel rides at inflated prices. This is no coincidence however, it being the site at which the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty at last nailed the art of pyramid building.
One of their predecessors, Sneferu, did much of the ground work however. He erected two monuments of his own at the much quieter site of Dahshur, a few miles south of Giza.
The earlier of the two is the ‘bent’ pyramid, so-named because the king’s architect got his sums wrong and had to change the angle of incline halfway up. The second, the ‘red’ pyramid was an unqualified success: a straight sided pyramid, smaller only than the great pyramid itself.
The interior of the red pyramid with its corbel vaulted ceiling is well worth a look, and the bent-pyramid preserves much of the outer casing that was stripped from the Giza pyramids centuries ago. The lack of tourists gives you a chance to take in the immensity of these monuments.
Although you kind of have to go to Giza, I highly recommend seeing Dahshur as well – it’s what Giza ought to be like.
Although millions of tourists visit the west bank at Luxor every year the area is so rich in archaeology that it is not difficult to find quiet and equally spectacular monuments away from the hordes.
Just across the road from the bazaars and the coach-park at the Hatshepsut temple a jumble of mud-brick remains marks the cemetery of el-Asasif, site of some of the largest and most spectacular tombs anywhere in the country.
Three of its tombs are open to the public: that of Kheruef of the 18th Dynasty, and those of Pabasa and Ankh-hor of the 26th. Their subterranean ‘sun-courts’ are unique to this area, and each of the tombs preserves beautiful relief decoration of varying styles.
I would highly recommend taking a walk from here back to the road through the crumbling remains of tombs yet to be investigated; at the road I recommend hailing one of the local service taxis and riding back to the river with the locals for a few piasters, rather than taking a private car for 100 times the price.
Egypt decided some years ago that it was relatively unsafe to allow tourists to travel outside the established tourist centres; as a result several isolated, but nonetheless spectacular sites in between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan are infrequently visited.
For those looking for archaeological adventures away from the hordes, I highly recommend making arrangements (in hotels or with taxi drivers) to join the daily convoy down-river (north) from Luxor to see Dendera and Abydos. The former is the site of one of Egypt’s best preserved monuments, the Ptolemaic and Roman temple of Dendera, with scenes of Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra) and her son Ceasarion; at the latter the atmospheric temple of Sety I and his son Ramesses the Great features some of the most beautiful relief decoration anywhere in Egypt.
The drive is fairly lengthy but provides an excellent opportunity to see the Egyptian countryside.
The Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre is absolutely amazing. When you see the tapestries and the batik you will not believe that it's all created from the mind, no pictures at all. Truly amazing. They also have wonderful pottery.
You have to try the homemade lemonade here and also speak to the owner's grandson Wani Dossl.
He will be able to answer most of your questions about Cairo and tell you of good events that tourists will not know about.
If you want warm water and easy snorkelling, the best time to visit the Red Sea is in October or November before the sea temperature drops. If you go in February or March you are likely to get cooler sea temperatures requiring wet suits, and the water may well be too choppy to see much.
You can easily rent a boat and a shipper, just ask in a tourist bureau in Hurgadha and go out free diving among the beautiful coral. The sight is marvellous, almost 30 m.
Hurgadha, the market
Great restaurant for Egyptian food: trendy, beautiful setting and tasty food. Also ideal for after-dinner relaxing, drinking & smoking shisha.
On 26th of July av., Zamalek quarter.
This magnificent place called Ghannah Lodge is situated in Dolphin village near Nuweiba port. It is a project for sustainable development build by a Belgian non profit organisation.
The place earns its name: Ghannah which means paradise. The accommodation is clean, spacious and with a magnificent sea view. The sanitation is better than in any other place I visited in all Egypt.
The Bedouin atmosphere is real, it reflects exactly what people are looking for when they visit the Sinaï to meet the local people and to experience the real taste of the Sinai Desert.
The lodge offers every a meal every evening in a Bedouin tent in the oasis. In the morning, the smell of the bread on the fire made by the bedouin women wakes you tenderly and prepares you for taking breakfast near the sea.
Ghannah Lodge left me with very wonderful memories: people with a very big sense of hospitality, a place of peace on earth, the memory of something real without the feeling of being only a tourist! I think it is a place you can recommend to anybody visiting Sinaï.
www.ghannahlodge.net
Nuweiba bus station (10 min walk)
Nuweiba port -(Egypt-Jordan) (10 min walk)
situated in the middel between Dahab and Taba
Sharm 180 kg
Dahab 80 kg
Cairo 465 kg
This cafe in Mohandeseen area has very good Egyptian food. The atmosphere is warm and decor upbeat and attractive.
You MUST meet the owner, Mahmoud. He is very colourful and has a great sense of humour. He makes you feel like a long lost brother. Enjoy!
#40 Kahn Younes Demesk St. which is off Shebab St. 1 block from Radio Shack
I would like to recommend a restaurant I discovered in Luxor. It is called Sofra Restaurant & Café. Both food and ambience were excellent and it was the highlight of the trip to Luxor for some people I was travelling with. We were so impressed that we went there four times in one week.
90 Mohammed Farid street, El Manshia
and near by the train station in Luxor
Phone 095 2 35 97 52
www.sofra.com.eg
Fabulous food, great staff, well stocked bar and spotless kitchens!
We enjoyed many a night here in February this year. Try the duck or kebabs. Tell them Caroline and Paul sent you, they assure us you will get a free drink!
Opposite Meridian Hotel, next to Murphys Irish bar. Passport Office Street.
Private double sleeping berth, with dinner and breakfast, for $60 each way. It is fantastic to watch Egypt go by in the night and very romantic though the train is a bit 'grubby' but after a bottle of wine (sold on board!) you won't notice!
It is cheaper to book it yourself than through the travel agents in Luxor itself. The train leaves Luxor around 9pm and gets into Cairo at about 7am.
Email to reserve - www.sleepingtrains.com
And specify you want to pick your tickets up in Luxor (the office is on Platform 1). You have to pick up/pay for your tickets the day before (sometimes 24 hours).
SPARE maps of the old Islamic city are head and shoulders above any other maps available on the market.
Available at Lehnert and Landrock and decent bookshops like Diwan.
If you want to do something different in Cairo, get a SPARE map (there are at least 4), take a taxi to Khan el Khalili and go for a walk. All of the relevant buildings are marked in the maps, together with a bit of history. Take yourself back to the 1400s.
Cairo was one of the most important cities in the world in the late middle ages and the architecture in Islamic Cairo proves it.
When you're finished, treat yourself to a bowl of kushari.
Diwan, Lehnert und Landrock
For a romantic sunset over the Nile it's hard to beat the Movenpick. Situated at the far southern end of the resort there aren't any other hotels nearby to spoil the view.
The sunset concert mixed with the sound of the evening chorus of birds and the sight of fellucas sailing gracefully by is hard to beat. It's open to non-residents so just turn up and watch the sun go down with your partner.
Movenpick, Crocodile Island, Luxor
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