Thoughts before travelling

• The Egyptian tourism trade has been decimated since the revolution: Although tourists are starting to return, I found that independent travellers were rare.
• The lack of tourists have added desperation to the famous hassle of the Egyptians. Although salespeople here have a reputation for being pushy, I experienced a few cases of hostility when I didn’t buy something.
• Egypt is very cheap – I averaged £28 a day. I had plenty of luxury that could be avoided if you want to visit even cheaper.
• If going when I did, in March, sandstorms can grind the country to a halt.
• Sorry for the crap pictures, I uploaded them to Google and must have clicked the “awful quality” button.

Bare all this in mind and prepare yourself for the challenges ahead. Do this and I promise that you will find Egypt to a wonderful; after all with great challenge comes great reward.

Whistle stop tour of Cairo

As my plane approached Egypt, it was easy to see the importance of the Nile to and how it made their civilisation so powerful for thousands of years. For trade and farming, and  to transport the granite and sandstone for its famous tombs and temples; the Nile was crucial.

The greenery followed the Nile down from Alexandria, splitting the desert and winding all the way down until the Pyramids – what a view to start the trip!

I arrived in Egypt via an overnight stop in Istanbul, so went straight to my accommodation ; The Dahab hostel near Tahir Square in the Downtown area. It is a nice hostel with a great rooftop to meet other travellers. As far as meeting independent travellers and backpackers, this place was fairly busy.

On my first day I’d planned to visit the nearby Cairo museum and leave the Pyramids for my second day. I’d always heard great things about the museum so I was excited to finally see the treasures it holds. It is located at Tahir square so I walked from my hostel to see where the revolution  had begun in 2007, grabbing a 10EGP Egyptian Pizza on my way. The revolution was in fact the starting point of the collapse in the tourist industry and the Egyptian economy; As one Egyptian  told me over a coffee later in the trip, “the revolution failed”. Most others I met were more optimistic than he was, but with the stationing of the army and police throughout the square I couldn’t help but think that nothing much will improve in the near future. To enter the museum  you must pass through a police checkpoint – once inside you can buy a ticket (120EGP- half that with a valid International Student Card – This applies at all sights) and pass through yet more security. This security is required at every place that has an entrance fee. The Cairo museum contains some of the most fascinating relics and heirlooms from every era of ancient Egypt that you could wish to see. So it is a shame that it is the worst signposted, least informed collection in any museum I’ve visited. I walked around on my own, gawking at the hieroglyphics, trying to understand the story they were telling. And I was in awe of the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamen.

Unfortunately almost everything but King Tut’s treasure seems to have been randomly placed as if it just an ordinary object and not a thousand year old relic. I still found it incredibly interesting just looking at the collection, which includes everything from Ancient Egyptian Mummies and Sarcophagus to jewellery and pottery. But if you want any deeper understanding of what you are looking at then you’ll need a guide. Fortunately there many of them vying for your custom outside the building. I’m told that there is a new museum due to open in Cairo to replace the current one, so hopefully soon they will be able to do justice to the thousands of objects on show there.

How to get to the Pyramids – Scam free!

The next morning, armed with directions to reach the Great Pyramids, I left the hostel early and headed to the metro to go to Giza, the home of the Pyramids. Except it isn’t . You might expect that having something so grand, so unique and so historically important that it’d be easy for tourists to get to. Not in Egypt! Some people I met took Uber to save bartering with a taxi, others took tours; both options cost more than going it alone but are more convenient and it skips most of the local scams. If you know where to go from Giza metro to catch the bus then it isn’t hard to reach the Pyramids, but there are no signposts to the buses from the metro and asking a local just leads to a scam. But don’t worry, I’ll tell you how – if you do not have a local simcard I recommend downloading Maps.me app first; From the metro head to the opposite side of the tracks from where you arrived and you’ll see mini buses stopped all along the road, which is called El Haram. The buses will be facing the opposite direction to the Pyramids, but they turn around here. The Arabic word or Pyramid is Haram – say that and they will quickly let you know if they are going there. The drive is about 10 minutes, depending on traffic. It isn’t obvious where to get off of the bus because they can’t drive right to the entrance. You need to take a short walk from the road to the ticket office, so ask the driver to let you now where to get off. The bus costs 1.5EGP. Don’t do what I did and ask a local; you see there are two entrances to the Pyramids, the main entrance and also the Sphinx entrance. Unless you want to ride a horse 12km along the dunes to see the Pyramids from afar, it is best go to the main entrance. This is because at the main entrance you can buy all tickets – entry to the site and additional tickets for entering two of the Pyramids and for the boat museum; the Sphinx entrance only sells site entrance tickets. Do not let anyone tell that it is cheaper from one entrance or that it has changed since the lonely planet was printed, it is complete rubbish. I asked a local for directions to the bus and spent half an hour of him trying to convince me to go to the Sphinx entrance and me saying no. Finally he gave in and passed me off to a man from Alexandria who was with his teenage son. He assured me he was gong to the main entrance and I assumed as he had a child with him I could trust him, but one bus and one tuk tuk later I was at the Sphinx entrance and sat on a horse. I explained why I was unhappy and why I was so, so annoyed with him and went through on foot to the Sphinx entrance before having to walk all the way to the main entrance for the extra tickets. Overall, it took me more than 3 hours to make the 30 minute journey and collect my tickets. Please, learn from my mistakes.

The scamming doesn’t stop once inside; don’t let anyone who asks take a picture of you with your camera and don’t show your ticket to random people who ask as you walk by, they are guides and they’ll all want tips. You’ll be hassled a lot at the Pyramids which can make the whole experience less enjoyable, but there is no avoiding it. The collection of the nine pyramids at Giza are a fantastic sight, but overall I was a little underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, they are some of the most impressive structures you’re likely to ever see, being that the are thousands of years old an still standing strong. What I did find underwhelming was the inside of the Pyramids. It costs more than twice the entrance fee of the site just to enter the Great Pyramid. You climb a steep staircase in a stuffy tunnel leading to an empty tomb. Sure it is amazing to see the structure on the inside but other than that there is absolutely nothing to see. I had heard this was the case from other backpackers, but thought to myself ‘I’ve not come all he way to Egypt to not enter the Great Pyramid‘ and I expect you to think that too – but if you do spend 160EGP on it, remember I warned you  What is a better idea is to visit tomb of Queen Hetepheres which is of the smaller Pyramids. It comes as part of entrance fee and is a better example of the layout of the tomb – the guards are pretty clear that you can take a picture if you warm their hands with a 10E£ bribe. You can also enter Menkaure’s Pyramid which is the third largest Pyramid. It is distinguishable from the huge chunk of stone missing from its front; this costs 60EGP, a fraction of the Great Pyramid. Don’t miss the tomb of Hermon before leaving which is north of the second pyramid, it has some fantastic hieroglyphics  which I found to be one of the most interesting parts of the site. To get back wait where the last minibus dropped you off, say Giza and they’ll say yes or no.

I’d only planned to stay one night and two days in Cairo as I’d heard lots of negativity about the city from people who had visited before, and all the things I’d been told were true; it is loud, chaotic and dirty. Tourists don’t stay long before setting off to Upper Egypt and I was no exception. Did I hate it like everyone who I knew who had been before? No, I’ve certainly been to worse places. But I also had no desire to stay and see anywhere else in Cairo. I was already fed up with the scammers, its polluted air and besides, I’d come to see Temples and ancient carvings telling stories of Gods and Pharaohs and there wasn’t much more of that to see in a big city like Cairo. I wanted to follow the Nile south to Aswan and it was here where I really found out the effect the bad tourist trade was having.

The journey to Upper Egypt

I had pre-booked the overnight sleeping train to Aswan from back home. The train was delayed and arrived late, which isn’t unusual . In total it took 14 hours.

For those interested in the sleeping train book tickets here. For any other train information go here this website is the most informative place for train travel anywhere in the world – backpackers bookmark it! This is one of the costs you can cut down on by taking the seater train or the Gobus from Tahir square for a fraction of the price.

In the station I met and drank tea with a Egyptian doctor; his goodwill and kindness for the hour we chatted had cheered me up and by the time my train arrived I felt more positive about the rest of my trip. We spoke about his life, Egypt, the revolution and of course, footballer Momhammed Salah. He listened out at the Arabic station updates and made sure I got my train. The sleeper train in Egypt is very comfortable, each compartment has just two beds, a sink with a mirror and a lockable door. It was one of the more enjoyable sleeper trains I have taken.

In the morning rows of vibrant green palm trees, a colour so scarce in Cairo, shaded my window. The only time their line broke it showed the Nile reflecting the morning sun; The train follows the Nile for the entire route making for beautiful scenery. I couldn’t help but smile, this was the Egypt I had imagined; The Egypt I came to see.

Aswan

I found it difficult to find anywhere cheap to stay in Aswan, so against my better judgement I stayed at Yassen Hotel. It has pretty bad reviews online which are accurate, but it is very close to the train station and the cheapest in town.

The hotel was run down and empty of guests just like the entire city. Occasionally Id spot a tourist, but rarely. I booked a trip for Abu Simbel for the next morning for 150EGP – you can get it for as low as 120EGP if you shop around – and went to find a Felucca to take me on a three day and night trip to Edfu via Kom Ombo. This was something I struggled to get up to date information about both online and via Lonely Planet and although you’ll be offered everything from Felucca to drugs on the riverside, no one ever offered extended trips to me. So here’s what I discovered, there are not enough tourists in Aswan to make it worth the cost. Most captains declined to even price the trip, others asked for hundreds of US dollars. The lowest price I had quoted was 3000EGP for a Felucca; including food but sleeping on the deck of the boat and not at homestays. The captains won’t even bother trying to find anyone else to join because they know they won’t find anyone, they leave that up to you. I sat with one Captain at the Aswan Moon who showed me his book of reviews. There were hundreds, all in different languages. But only one since 2011. Looking over the Nile I would perhaps see one or two felucca taking tourists to Elephantine Island or catching the sunset, but hundreds moored up. I didn’t want to pay that amount of money. I’d met a fellow backpackers so we decided would have to try and recruit others ourselves which wouldn’t be easy. Luckily, at Abu Simbel we were given a very intriguing offer.

Abu Simbel (entry 200EGP) is a 3 hour drive south towards Sudan and for that reason you have to up and ready to leave by 4am. The journey there was OK, a smooth road splits the desert and the sun slowly rises for most of the trip, turning the sand different tones of orange as it does. Abu Simbel itself has been moved from one location in 1979 to its current one to save it from being swallowed by the Nile. That in itself sounds impressive, but once you see it the thought of it being moved and still being so epic seems an impossibility. It was chopped up into over 2000 pieces are reassembled!

There are actually two temples at Abu Simbel; The Great Temple of Ramesses II and the smaller but still impressive Temple of Nefertari, his wife. Both have huge statues guarding their entrance and artwork throughout their chambers. They were originally built in 1264BC – making them 3282 years old at the time of this post! Although you can comfortably get around the site in 30mins I’d say that this is a must see and justifies its 6 hour round trip and 160EGP entrance fee.

On the return leg to Aswan, now that everyone was awake, we tried to recruit the two girls in front of us for the Felucca. They were the only ones young enough to want to rough it on a sail boat. We got chatting and when we asked one girl replied, “Oh I wish you asked me earlier, I booked two nights on the cruise ship to Luxor now.” I was intrigued. Out of my price range though, surely? No. Sharing a twin room with all meals included was $30 each a night. We joined the girls and went to meet their tour agent and booked a room on the same ship. I’ve since met some people who have gone to the ships docked in Aswan direct instead of using an agent and picked which ship they preferred, although the price didn’t change.

That afternoon we took the ferry to Elephantine Island which is where the ruins of Abu and a new museum are. Abu is an ancient trading post which dates back 3000 years. Expect to be shown around the small museum and the ruins for Baksheesh (tip) you have to be firm if you don’t want their help or they will walk behind you continuing to be your guide. The ruins themself are mostly rebuilt but in a way which really allows you to visualise how the place would have looked without pretending that everything is original. They do this in many of the temples in Egypt; they use a technique whereby they rebuild the missing sections in with the original but draw on the new parts what would have been there thousands of years ago when it was built, rather than sculpt them. I really like this, you can see these great structures in their original glory without it feeling like an imitation. Something that has unfortunately happened in other parts of the world. This island is inhabited by Nubians so on the way back to the ferry we stopped at a locals house for a cola and had a chat. He showed us his baby crocodile from Lake Nasser and told us about his life, which is very poverty stricken. Afterwards we walked to the unfinished Obelisk (60EGP) which would have been larger than any other obelisk I saw on this trip. It is in an area of town with nothing else around so if you are pushed for time maybe give it a miss.

Cruising The Nile in style

The next morning we had breakfast and then went to our ship – The Monte Carlo. It was a two day and night journey and took us all the way to Luxor; further than Esna, the furthest a Felucca can travel and one night faster. The cruise ship would also take us to Edfu and Kom Ombo temples and had a pool. It was 5 star luxury compared to the Felucca, if not a little less fun. It gave us a chance to relax and watch the banks of the Nile, where farms and locals made the most of the gift of the river. One disappointment in the cruise ship was its timing. We arrived late at Kom Ombo, walking though the entrance as the sun set, and for Edfu they woke us up at 5.30am which was an hour earlier than planned.

Kom Ombo is on the waterside, next to where you dock. We arrived as the sun was setting and from the ship it took on the glow of the low sun. By the time we had walked through the stalls and purchased a ticket it was dark. This didn’t actually make the temple any less awesome, although I’d have preferred to have seen it in day light. Kom Ombo was illuminated fantastically, the hieroglyphics and the sections of painted ceiling above its pillars stood out against the black sky. Entry is 80EGP and it is a must see if you are travelling between Aswan and Luxor.

Temple of Horus at Edfu requires a horse carriage which should cost 20EGP, but barter is required. We didn’t want to make a horse pull us the 2km to the temple, but lack of any other transport meant we had no choice. This temple is one of my favourite in Egypt – the flat front is chiselled with the two pictures of the God Horus. Going through its doorway leads to some of the best hieroglyphics outside of Luxor. We were rushed around this as the horse can take ten minutes each way from the ship, but ideally you would want 45 minutes here at least to appreciate all the inscriptions and art.

That night there was a party on the boat aimed at the demographic of the middle aged French and Polish tour groups that made up the bulk of passengers. And then we were in Luxor, my favourite city with by far the most to see. But with that comes more hassle and pestering for tourists; luckily by now I had become good at dealing with it.

Luxor – and the scams that come with it

There are lots of scams to watch out for in Luxor, here are the ones they tried on me;

If anyone approaches saying they know you from the hotel, they are lying. Usually they say they are the chef and they are going to the Souk to buy spices or want to show you the one day only Souk that tourists don’t know about. All nonsense. If you speak to them long enough they will start offering you beer and marijuana. Do not trust these people. If you want a beer there is a Drinkies shop besides the railway station. I don’t need to tell you why buying drugs off of a stranger on the street is a bad idea, don’t even contemplate it. I normally began taking about my hotel and making things up until about their ‘job’ until they got fed up and go away. Taxi drivers and even sometimes people on the street will tell you about local places tourists don’t know about – lie, again. Another word of warning, in the Souks on two occasions I was sworn at and even called racist because I didn’t want to do business with an Egyptian. Obviously it was nonsense I just didn’t want to buy what he was selling. People I travelled with were also grabbed by the arms as they walked past stalls here which they did not appreciate. I also felt some animosity from some younger men in the Souk, trying to play harmless tricks because you are a foreigner, such as chasing you to tell you that you have dropped money and then laughing at you when you look. Basically you have to be savy in Luxor and, unfortunately  not trust anyone. Otherwise Luxor is great, I promise.

There is so much to see in Luxor and I am ashamed to say that I didn’t have time to see it all. On the first day I walked to Luxor temple in the centre of town. You can walk around the outskirts without paying but it really doesn’t do it justice. Entry is 100EGP and it is really worth it. We all commented on how much bigger and more grand it was inside than we were expecting. At the main gate there is the best example of an Obelisk that I saw in Egypt and as you walk through, large pillars and sections of wall still stand. Luxor Temple actually has written description throughout its sites which was brilliant as you could read about everything from the wall structures to the uses of the Temple. Like everything else its about 3000 years old. No matter how many temples I see of this age, I’m always shocked at how amazingly preserved they are. Directly opposite the main entrance is the Avenue of Sphinx which originally went all 3km to Karnac temple but only a small amount remain. They are in the process of rebuilding the whole pathway but it doesn’t look like it’ll be done anytime soon.

The next day we had booked a Valley of the Kings tour with the hostel for 50EGP per person. With hindsight we should have hired a taxi for the day for 250EGP as our tour didn’t include the Valley of Queens, Tombs of the Nobels or …house. It did include he Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Hatshepsut, Medinet Habu and finished with the Valley of the Kings. We also had a guide which I think is essential at these places. Factor in at least another 300EGP for entry.

We first visited the Colossi of Memnon, which is road side on the way to the Valley of the kings and free to enter. The statues are 18 meters high and do have some damage, but that is what happens when you are 3400 years old. No part of these statues has ever collapsed, considering they once stood as the entrance to Amenhotep’s mortuary temple of which nothing remains is remarkable. Next we went onto Medinet Habu – The mortuary of Ramesses III. As our guide explained, the Phaeroes built these huge complexes just for the process of mummification after they died. This temple had no other use whatsoever. The temple entrance fee is 80EGP. This was my favourite part of the day – yes I preferred this to the Valley of the Kings. The temple is preserved fantastically due to it being mostly swallowed by the desert. More elements took its toll here though, flooding also washed away many of the colours on the walls which is why they are only visible  past a certain point. The entire place is decorated beautifully  and there are lots of hieroglyphics of the God of Fertility, Min, who almost certainly had exaggerated manhood.

Next was the Temple of Hatshepsut (80EGP), of course another mortuary for the Pharaoh of the same name. Built into the cliff side I suppose after a few thousand years it is inevitable that rock fall and earthquakes would almost completely destroyed it. The top two stories have been entirely rebuilt, but because of this it is a better example of the lay out of one of the mortuary temples than the others. On the other hand it doesn’t feel like an ancient site, more like a museum example of ancient times. Its setting is stunning, with cave holes from the Tombs of the Nobels beside it and the mountain towering over it. But it was no where near as interesting as Medinet Habu in my opinion.

Then, after a detour to an alabaster shop, we went on to the Valley of the Kings. I’d been looking forward to this all day; finally I was going to enter these tombs of ancient Pharaohs. However, like the Pyramids I was a little underwhelmed. I don’t want to take away from either of these places; The Valley of the Kings an the Pyramids are both astonishing, unique places with such an important place in the history of Humankind. But I think the Legends of the Ancient Egyptians and the mythology I’d learned about as a child wasn’t matched by the tombs. There are three tombs included in the 160el entrance fee, by far the best is tomb 11 – Ramesses III. The Tomb was actually started by a different Pharaoh before breaking into another tomb. Ramesses III continued the tomb later for himself in a different direction. The corridor leading to the burial chamber is by far the most colourful and best decorated of the three tombs. Other Tombs included in the price are Tomb 6 – Ramesses IX which is actually quite interesting because of what it doesn’t contain. The Pharaoh died before it was finished so there are sections of the tomb which are not decorated at all. Seeing this next to the decorated walls shows how much time and effort was put into the wall art. The last tomb included in the price is Tomb 8 – The tomb of Merenphat which is the only one of the three to still contain a sarcophagus.

Outside of these there are more tombs you can pay extra to enter; Tutankhamun, Seti I and Tomb 9. The general consensus is Tutankhamun’s tomb is not worth the high fee; it is quite ordinary and although it contains his mummy in his sarcophagus, everything else is housed in museums. Seti I is by far the longest and deepest tomb at 137 meters and is also supposedly beautiful, but costs 1000EGP. I did enter Tomb 9 – Ramesses V & Ramesses VI for an extra 80EGP and it was worth it. The story of this tomb is famous as Ramesses VI stole the tomb from his dead father, Ramesses V. The art work was originally depicted V, but his son had it all changed to resemble himself. He extended the Tomb and the burial chamber now contains both his and his fathers sarcophagus. It was interesting as his fathers sarcophagus is pyramid shaped, not at all what I expected to see whereas Ramesses VI has a more traditional square one made from stone. As well as the amazing burial chamber with intact sarcophagus, the tomb is decorated with splendour that the others were not. Look closely and you’ll see scenes from the Book of the Dead, where the Pharaoh is transported to the afterlife by gods. After what disappointed me a bit, this tomb was really the only I saw that was what I expected from the Valley of the Kings.

Next on the list was to visit Karnak Temple and then the Luxor museum. Karnak Temple (120EGP) was the busiest place I visited in Luxor, although the lack of tourists in Luxor did mean it still wasn’t that busy. Karnak is a vast complex made up of halls in states of decay, obelisk, and even a huge lake at the end. The site is truly massive, but no part is greater than that of the Hypostyle hall which is held up by 134 inscribed pillars ranging between 10 and 21 meters tall. As with all the great Egyptian monuments it is hard to imagine how these went up and how many people must have died in its construction. The complex seems to be a great mix of everything an amateur Egyptologist would consider Egyptian and this is because it was built over a long period and added to by various different Pharaoh’s . As I mentioned earlier, the avenue of the Sphinx used to run here all the way from Luxor temple, but now the entire complex seems to be out on its own, away from the main area of Luxor. You’ll probably want to taxi here rather than walk along the busy roads and it shouldn’t cost more than 30EGP from Luxor temple. Visit in the morning or late in the afternoon if you also want to watch the night light show. It’ll be quieter at these times and gives you plenty of time to stroll around the complex without rushing. The light show has three shows per evening in different languages; these are listed at the complex but they do not change so your hotel should also know.

It is just a short 10 minute walk from here to the Luxor Museum. I cannot give this museum enough praise; it is everything that I wanted from the Cairo museum. It is a great deal smaller but what it does contain is placed logically and has a so much information you could easily spend an hour or more learning about Luxor. I suggest, if time allows, you make this the first place you visit in Luxor. It is so informative about the city and its remarkable ruins, it’ll make you much more aware of what you are seeing when them. I honesty regret making this my final place to visit in Luxor. One particularly fascinating section is about the Pharaoh mummies that were found hidden in the Tombs of the Nobels. I won’t give too many details, but they have one of these mummies which was found in a curiosity shop at Niagra Falls, USA, in the late 1800’s. It also has statues and gives clear and detailed information as to how they were restored and also some everyday items you won’t see in Cairo, such as beds and furniture. It also has a great collection of weaponry, including long bows from Tutankhamun’s.

So, this is the end….

And that was almost the end of my trip, I said goodbye to my travel companions. After experiencing the lack of backpackers here I feel lucky to have met them.

This left me with a day alone. The sandstorms and salesmen had started to take its toll so I decided a day of luxury was needed. If you too feel like this in Luxor I happened to find a way where you can do this without breaking your budget; The Eatabe Hotel, next to the Luxor Museum, will let you use their pool for the entire day for 75EGP. Poolside is really nice here, although I don’t recommend staying here overnight as the rooms are very run down for a 4 star hotel.

Pool shot

My final evening was met with a once in ten year sand storm which crippled Luxor and transport countrywide for the night. I’d had a couple of small sandstorms, but this was more like a Pharaohs curse. My friends who had left that day had to sleep on roadside on the bus. Fortunately for me it had cleared up for my flight to my next destination Jordan.

So, to sum up Egypt. I’ve enjoyed myself so much here, despite the challenges it presents. By challenges I mean the people who are constantly lying to you to force you into situations where you will end up spending more money, or the overbearing salesman. These people will waste so much of your time over the course of your trip. And I know this part of the world has a bartering culture, but this was more aggressive than I expected. Hopefully anyone reading this doesn’t take that to mean the place is unsafe for tourists; I have at no stage felt unsafe or in danger here. I think the lack of tourism here, especially by independent travellers, is partly because Egypt is deemed a dangerous place. This is not my experience. If they aren’t trying to sell you something, the people of Egypt are some of the kindest and friendliest you will meet. But those who are selling or attempting to convince you to do something different to what you want, be firm and if you have to walk away and ignore them. They will only cause you trouble. I really hope that Egypt can bring tourism back, for the sake of its people who had a huge cut in their income after the revolution which has still not come back after more than 10 years. I know that the revolution, and then the plane incident in Sinai, made me choose other destinations over Egypt in the past. If there is anything I would like the reader to get from this blog post, it is a desire to visit Egypt again, but armed with some knowledge about the difficulties and scams that are bound to come their way. It is a country that has some much to offer; it straddles north Africa and the Middle east, has perhaps the greatest collection of remains from an ancient civilisation and the longest river in the world which gives life to not only Egypt, but also large swathes of Africa.