Egypt: Shopping & Markets
It’s inevitable. Every country with a major tourism industry produces innumerable tacky and useless souvenirs that are good for nothing more than a brief reminder of where you had been before they are chucked into the deepest recesses of the long-term storage area. That, or sit on some shelve or display cabinet where it collects dust. These were things I would have bought in my early twenties, but I’m now older and wiser… just about!
Posted on May 8th, 2004 by jl
Filed under: The Egypt Holiday | 4 Comments »
Egypt: Food & Drink
Our first “proper” meal in Egypt was in a restaurant (catered for tourists) just outside Sakkara on our way there from Cairo. We had a selection of (basic) mezzes for starters and kebabs with rice and chips for mains. The food was good, but not fantastic. The highlight of the meal was the freshly baked breads that came out of a traditional wood-fired stone-oven. A lady was sitting on the floor (in a thatched hut) shaping the dough and chucking it into the oven throughout the lunch-hour. Our tour guide took a few of the breads straight out of the oven and brought them to our table. They were absolutely delicious - warm, moist and fresh! Perfect with the mezzes!
Posted on May 1st, 2004 by jl
Filed under: The Egypt Holiday | No Comments »
Egypt: The Hassling and Tipping
If you’ve never been there, and if you’ve never heard the experiences of former travellers to Egypt, you would not believe how much, how often and how persistent you can be hassled in Egypt by not just shopkeepers but also taxi drivers, travel guides, guardians at mosques/museums/sites/toilets… in fact by just about everyone. And I am not exagerrating.
The Egyptians are infamous for hassling tourists. It begins from the moment you arrive in the country and it doesn’t stop. It happens everywhere you go. Once they know you’re a tourist, and it’s not difficult to assume that everyone who doesn’t look like a Middle Eastern is a tourist, they will hit on you, and not in a welcome way.
Taxi Driver: You want taxi?
Me: La, shukran (no thank you).
Taxi Driver: Where you want to go?
Me: La, shukran.
Taxi Driver: Taxi? Very cheap!
Me: Shukran.
Taxi Driver: You want to know how much?
Me: (shaking my head) Shukran
Taxi Driver: Only 5 pounds anywhere you want. Very good price. Today’s special.
Me: La shukran
Taxi Driver: You want taxi?!
And this is repeated everywhere! Over and over again. I’ve been hassled:
* in souqs (bazaars) in Aswan, Luxor and Cairo;
* in every single tourist site I went to, including places of worship;
* by a representative of my travel agent in Cairo;
* by taxi drivers everywhere;
* and even in toilets!
Posted on April 26th, 2004 by jl
Filed under: The Egypt Holiday | 2 Comments »
random photos
