egypt - where all it takes is a little baksheesh

ahhhh the serenity of Frankfurt. we spent 3 days eating, sleeping, and doing odd jobs like laundry and buying film. walked along the rheine, saw a movie (the wedding crashers), and spent a night at a jazz club.

rested, rejuvenated, and clean we got back on the road and headed to egypt. our first few days were spent in cairo figuring out how it all works in this country. we were pleasantly surprised to find the touts average one per 2 blocks which is significantly less than in previous countries. combined with the fact there are sidewalks it makes it very easy to walk about town. the biggest challenge is the constant battle with the money. there's one price for everything and it's 'whatever we can get out of these tourists'. even the smallest of transactions like buying a bottle of water is a negotiation. and the constant baksheesh - the term refers to a tip and everyone wants a piece - is trying at times. the guy who tells you to take your shoes off at a mosque, the security guard collecting tickets into a tomb, at one point our taxi driver paid off a security guard at the side of the road. no idea what service he rendered but he got his take.

the cairo museum was first rate and our first glimpse of ancient egyptian history. the dates with each exhibit indicated how old it all was but we both found it didn't really impact us until we got to the pyramids and the reality of all this being built thousands of years BC truly sank in. spent an awesome day at the pyramids - scorching hot and desert all around us as we wandered around and climbed down into one of the tombs. a hot steep descent down a makeshift ladder into an airless tomb meant we didn't stay long before climbing back out. after visiting the Giza pyramids (the most popular ones) we drove to dahshur about 20km down the road. a tour bus was just leaving and by the time we climbed down to the bottom we were the only ones there which made it very peaceful and just a little spooky.

also spent a day in islamic cairo in a couple of mosques and wandering through the market. in the main mosque we climbed the minaret and had a view of the whole city. walking down an alley way we found a smaller mosque that we ducked into and found it much nicer with its stained glass and hanging lanterns. by this time we were a little savvier so when the guy at the door told us to pay the entrance fee we refused until he could produce a ticket. not surprisingly there was no ticket and he was just some guy working his territory. we agreed on some baksheesh on the way out and walked in. spent another day in the old coptic area to visit the fortress town of babylon, where the holy family is thought to have taken refuge.

saw one of the best live performances of all time. a troupe of whirling dervishes were in town and performing at the citadel. loud music played on ancient instruments and then the dervish comes onstage in his colourful skirts. he twirled for 1/2 hour without stopping and the skirts are moved around and he sort of dances to the music all while twirling.

signed up for the one week tour up and down the nile. usually we travel independantly but we decided a week of 'scooby doo' travel and following the pink umbrella sounded kinda nice. the overnight train from cairo to aswan was the usual sleepless night in cramped quarters. arriving in aswan we had a couple of days and for sightseeing. highlight was getting up at 3am to join the convoy of vehicles going to the sun temple of abu simbel and the neighbouring temple of nefereti. best baksheesh story yet - i'm in the bathroom and kirk is waiting just down the road by the curb. standing there waiting and a military officer comes up to him and says 'give me a pound' and keeps repeating it until kirk walks away.

we decided to take a cruise down the nile instead of the local felucca boat. traded adventure for comfort and very happy we did as the cruise was so much fun. very relaxing as we drifted down the nile watching it all roll by. amazing to see the greenery right on the shores of the nile and then just brown desert as far as the eye can see. docked in town on the last night we got off the boat to find some reasonably priced beverages. bought egyptian gin which takes suspiciously like rye. mixed with a little coke or 7-up it kinda smells like turpentine and tastes like generic moonshine. our last night we sat on deck sipping our cheap drinks and overlooking the nile.

have now spent a couple days in luxor. yesterday we visited the valley of the kings and went in a few of the tombs. was the first time we'd seen hieroglyphics with the original paintwork still intact. didn't go in king tut's tomb as it was a hefty extra charge and our guide said was not as nice as the others since it had been prepared so quickly. just kicking about town today sorting out our next leg to tanzania. tomorrow we head up the coast to hurghada where we hope to find some beach time and snorkelling.

until next time...

k & k