Archive for the 'Egypt' Category

Khan Al Khalili

Cairo: THE mega city!

So it’s 12:00am, and I have just gotten off the plane that brought me from Casablanca to Cairo. I have two enormous suitcases since I have just moved out of my Moroccan apartment, where I had lived for the past six months. I have no cell phone, no money, and worse, no reservations. Did I think of booking a hotel in advance? NO.
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Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel: A day amongst giants

Waking up at 4:00am was definitely worth this trip! In preparation for our trip to Abu Simbel, we made arrangements with our hotel to borrow a pillow, arrange transport that could meet up with the early morning police convoy, and take a continental breakfast (which was packed in a cute little box) with us. Now, police convoys always make me
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Homestay on Elephantine island

Nubian Nights: homestays and felucas

Before I embarked on the “feluca” (described later on), where I was to eat, sleep and live for the following two days while sailing down the Nile, I had the pleasure of being the guest of a homestay on Elephantine Island. A “homestay” is literally what its name implies: a local family open their doors to you for a very
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From Giza to Saqqara

On my first day in “Misr”, the word used by Egyptians when referring to their own country, I decided to dine alone at the top of the Cairo Tower. The view from where I sat showed the entire city, and behind a slight haze were three distinct peaks: the Great Pyramids of Giza.