Honeymoon in Cairo

Cairo was a great starting point for our month long honeymoon in Egypt and Jordan. We spent four full days visiting the regular sights including the pyramids, sphinx, Islamic mosques, and the Egyptian Museum, but also got off the beaten track. We rode horses around the pyramids, visited 10th century churches in Old Cairo, shopped at Khan el Khalili bazaar and Kardassa village, traveled to the ancient capital Memphis, explored Egypt's first pyramid in Saqqara, and traveled by train to Aswan.

Egypt is a fascinating country to explore, but can be a frustrating place for those unfamiliar with foreign travel. Despite doing our homework and studying Arabic for months prior to our trip, we still found ourselves in a multitude of uncomfortable situations, scams and maddening schemes throughout our month-long adventure. During our travels, Cairo seemed easier for Americans to get around than any other area in Egypt. Here more people speak English, and seem more readily apt to honor your "La shukran" (no thank-you) instead of persistently hassling you to buy whatever wares or services they are selling. Maybe because tourists are so plentiful here.

Quick Tips:

Tipping is shockingly different in Egypt. You'll be expected to tip everyone for everything, from museum officials pointing to something you're already looking at, to bystanders opening doors you're already opening. You'll see the familiar extended hand, hear "baksheesh," and learn about the Egyptian practice of giving to those not as fortunate...thus tourists are heavily targeted, as we have the money to visit in the first place. In one month we tipped hundreds of American dollars, just tipping the typical Egyptian pound (.30 US) for most services. It adds up quickly. And if you don't tip enough, you will surely be reprimanded.

Never pull out a wad of bills looking for your Egyptian pounds. When American money is spotted, the prices suddenly double. Compartmentalize your money, storing Egyptian pounds in a separate pocket so you can easily reach in and grab a single pound for tipping.

There are no free gifts. Don't accept. Strings (requests for your money) are attached.

June is a slow month for tourism. Less crowds. Great photos. No crowds. Sudden panic. Think crippled canary at an cat convention. We often found ourselves the only tourists in a restaurant, shop, hotel, village...you get the picture.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you don't like to be hassled, then for heaven's sake don't travel independently. Join a large tour group. There are plenty available. We traveled by ourselves, hiring guides or taxi's as needed, and were harassed repeatedly. It's part of the adventure, just know that going in.

When staying at a hotel for several days, search out one taxi driver to use consistently. Request him by name. He'll appreciate your repeat business, and negotiate taxi fares easier. Fares cost us about US for a 15 minute trip to the outskirts of town, yet US to common tourist sites that were actually nearer.

When planning a visit to Saqqara or the pyramids at Giza it is best to hire a guide to share his infinite knowledge of the vast history and maneuver you through throngs of tourists. These guides will also provide transportation, usually in the form of an air-conditioned van.

The Wagonlit train was a great way to travel from Cairo to Aswan. We were served dinner and breakfast in our comfortable sleeper car. It cost Ef 293 (around US) for the one way trip. It left Cairo at 8:30 pm and arrived Aswan at 11:00 am.

The Oasis Hotel is a four star hotel in Giza near the pyramids. It was safe, clean and overall a good base in Cairo. But I also felt somewhat trapped here, always eating our meals on the premises to avoid the need to hire a taxi (and subsequent forceful invitations to visit carpet, perfume or papyrus shops), and not knowing where else to eat anyway. Our room had two double beds, a modern bathroom with a bidet, but a shower that took 15 minutes to warm up. Hotel grounds were fairly lush and well manicured by the employees. The pool was a refreshing necessity after long days in the desert sun, and it too was thankfully clean and well cared for.

The food overall was mediocre. We tired quickly of the menu, which offered mostly American choices such as steak, fish or chicken. I was hungry for Arabic food, but none was served here. Despite being careful about what we ate (no raw fruits/vegetables or unbottled water), we still managed to get sick. I think it''s pretty much inevitable and no reflection on the hotel food.

There are two restaurants on the premises:

The Bedouin Restaurant is located outdoors next to the pool, and serves traditional American fare for lunch and dinner. Breakfast, however, was an Eygptian styled buffet, which included meekly warmed runny scrambled eggs, warmed hot dog pieces, potato chunks, lots of bread, hummus, coldcuts, cheese, plain yogurt and odd fruits. For dinner fish and french fries was a popular choice. No matter what time we chose to eat, it seemed the scheduled time for the nightly bug spray, in which an employee would spray smelly chemicals (poison?) around the restaurant, pool, and manicured lawns completely fogging the air. "This can''t be EPA approved!" my husband would repeatedly grumble. At times, you could see the employee smiling at our obvious alarm as he nonchalantly sprayed and polluted the air.

The Italian Restaurant is upstairs in an enclosed room overlooking the pool. The menu was limited to either pizza or spaghetti dishes. It was, however, a welcome atmosphere away from the biting mosquitoes and bug spray. The pizza choices were interesting. We enjoyed both the Greek pizza and Chicken Cacciatore pizza.

Staff seemed eager to please and were helpful in seeking information about area attractions, such as the Light and Sound Show at the pyramids. Outside the front entrance, several taxis and their drivers were based, waiting for business. It was nice to see a familiar face since we could request the same taxi driver during our stay here. Just clarify which Mohammed you desire, since the name belongs to so many. We identified ours as Mohammed Renault, since that was the car he drove.

We had hired an official guide for our four days in Cairo. The responsibility was shared by two men, both named Mohammed. Each morning, one or both of them would appear in a van, ready with a driver, and whisk us off on another tour to visit the pyramids, Saqqara, or Coptic/Islamic Cairo. They both seemed knowledgeable, agreeable, and friendly, but also took advantage of us whenever they could.

One morning, skinny Mohammed asked us if we would like to eat authentic Oriental food for lunch. Oriental food? Why not Arabic, I wondered, tired of the American food we had been eating since our arrival. He assured us that it would be a treat to eat a typical Egyptian meal together. We agreed to pay him $25.00 US + beverages, and he settled happily back into his seat.

We arrived at the Pyramid Restaurant at 2 pm, and not another soul in sight at the empty tables. In the back of the restaurant, four women sat on the floor beside a brick oven baking pita bread. Intrigued, I wandered over. A woman motioned for me to join her, so I sat beside her and watched her extract the pitas and put them in boxes filled with cracked wheat. She handed me a wooden slab with a freshly baked pita on it, and pulled off a piece for me to eat. So sweet, puffy and warm. Delicious, "La Zeez" I told her.

Mohammed led us upstairs to eat. The restaurant had open walls allowing views of the pyramids beyond the billboards and city traffic. Our guide quickly brushed aside our menus, and spoke Arabic to our waiter, who efficiently scurried away. I was dying of thirst. It had been a long, hot morning at Saqqara. Our colas were brought out and easily downed in one gulp. Our guide didn't even take a sip until the meal arrived, and then barely finished his drink. It was always surprising to see how little Egyptians drink in that hot, dry desert environment.

Our meal consisted of a several small communal "salads" which included cucumber relish, hummus, a cheesy white sauce, tomatoes, calamari, and eggplant, in addition to warm pitas and a whole fish. The food was delicious, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that what they term Oriental food is actually Arabic. The only food we declined was the watermelon dessert, which is supposedly the kiss of death for "Pharaoh's Revenge" (intestinal sickness).

It was a tasty meal, although overpriced as the communal salads cost less than $1.00 US a piece. Obviously our $25.00 paid for our guide's meal and plenty of baksheesh for everyone. It is a common practice that we didn't catch on to until three weeks later in Jordan. Guides arrange for you to pay them directly, greatly inflating the price, and take you to their favorite restaurants. We finally wised up, requested restaurants described in travel books, and paid far less for much more satisfying food to boot.

Around 3000 BC, the city of Memphis was the glorious capital of Egypt, with beautiful palaces and gardens. Five thousand years later it is difficult to visualize the former grandeur. It looked tiny and dirty. All that remains from the Old Kingdom is a huge state of a reclining Ramses II, and smaller statues in an adjacent garden, including an alabaster sphinx.

The museum which houses the colossal statue of Ramses II and nothing else, is open from 8-5 and costs around $2.50 US, but transportation is the bigger expense, as there's basically no public transportation available. You need to hire a taxi or guide for the half day excursion to Memphis and Saqqara, which are located 25 km SW of Cairo.

In the thousand years that Memphis flourished as the capital, many temples and funerary monuments were buit in nearby Saqqara to house deceased pharaohs and sacred animals. The Step Pyramid is believed to be the first pyramid built in Egypt, back in 2630 BC for King Djoser (Zoser). His architect, Imhotep, broke tradition of that time by creating a stone mastaba rather than using a mud-brick masataba over an underground burial chamber. The pyramid began as a simple rectangular structure, but gradually grew upwards as Imhotep decided to extend five additional steps, reaching a height of 62 meters. A funerary complex included courtyards, temples, shrines and other monuments which were all enclosed with a massive wall.

We entered the walled structure (Zoser's Temple) lined with 40 papyrus-styled pillars, which are thought to be the inspiration for Karnak's Hypostle Hall. Workers gowned in their gallabiyyas were restoring the colonnade. The limestone temple opens up into a wide courtyard with unobstructed views of the Step Pyramid.

Part of the pyramid has been restored with polished smooth limestone casing covering the stone bricks. You can touch but not climb. Camels are all over the place, many of them decorated. For a fee you could take their photo or go for a ride. We declined the rides, preferring to wait for our camel trek in Sinai later in our trip. A camel came close to us as we listened to Mohammed explain something else in exquisite detail. Then the camel laid down on it's hunches and began making distracting gurgling noises, audible reverberations of water churning in his lungs. I couldn't concentrate on Mohammed's words with a camel aspirating beside me. Nevertheless, I learned a great deal that day about jubliees, festivals and traditions that former kings celebrated here at Saqqara.

Visiting Saqqara is just as important as visiting the Giza pyramids, and was more interesting, rewarding, and real to me. First of all, Saqqara is away from the busy city, so your first impression is the great expansiveness of the desert. The sands were strikingly bright. It looked and felt like old Egypt. Another bonus was the lack of crowds, and subsequent lack of hustlers, allowing us peace, relaxation and time to absorb ancient Egypt without the usual stress.

The Giza pyramids are impressive to see in person as the magnitude of size and engineering feat is hard to visualize until you're standing in the sand staring at them. Three pyramids were built for a family of pharaohs who ruled Egypt in the 26th century BC.

We visited the granddaddy of them first, built for Cheops. Up close, I was surprised to see that the "bricks" comprising the pyramid were actually massive limestone blocks three feet tall. We climbed part way up the pyramid near an old entrance where tourists were allowed to do so. Looking up toward the apex, I felt dwarfed. It took twenty years to erect the 146 meter pyramid. Unfortunately the interior was closed for renovations, so we moved on to Chephren's pyramid where we could enter.

Chephren's pyramid is unique because part of the original limestone casing still exists at the top. Inside, a dark tunnel slants downward with wooden planks to help establish footing. I had expected a maze, but the passageway was pretty straightforward leading us to the burial chamber, which was surprisingly small. A granite sarcophagus that once held the mummy of King Chephren stood alone in the chamber. It was extremely humid in there and somewhat claustrophobic. The stagnant air and body odor of unbathed guides running through yelling at tourists to follow them (unnecessary, as you cannot get lost) was a bit unsettling, but to realize where we were standing was astounding.

Our attempt to visit the interior of the 3rd and smallest pyramid was maddening thwarted by a camel hustler outside Mycerinus' pyramid. As we approached, he stepped in front of us and insisted that we take a picture of his camel in front of the pyramid. When we offered the usual tip in advance for taking a photo, the man brushed our money aside and told us "No need." Before David could click the photo, the hustler had wrapped his turban around David's head, grabbed our camera, hoisted David up onto the camel, and pushed me over to be in the picture. I did not want to be in the picture. "You not like your husband?" he asked me. We were disgusted for being so easily manipulated, and forced to be in such a staged photograph. But the maddening part was being forced to fork over ridiculous sums of money to get my husband down from the camel, and even more money to get back our camera! When David mistakenly pulled out an American $20.00 bill, the man's eyes lit up, and he began demanding even more money. (From then on, we kept a separate pocket stuffed with Egyptian pounds for tips.) Our guide looked alarmed, but didn't intercede on our behalf. We were all alone. Not another tourist in sight. Having felt hostaged, we stormed away in anger and left without seeing the pyramid.

Without a word, our guide followed us back to the van, and led us next to the sphinx.

Sphinx:

You pay around $20 US for admittance to the pyramids and sphinx, however, you are given separate tickets for each complex and will have to pay full price if you lose one of the tickets. Hours are from 8-5 daily. When you enter the complex of the sphinx, you will join throngs of people maneuvering through an adjacent temple before you come to the mighty sphinx. If you have a guide, he will likely give you a lecture about the unparalleled construction techniques used on the walls of the Valley Temple of Chephren. If you are like me, you'll want the briefer version so you can skip the twenty minute lecture and breeze through the temple to get to the sphinx. Tourists are forced to keep their distance from this "Father of Terror," as a gulf encircles the massive beast. An elevated platform enables curious tourists to view the sphinx closer, although at 22 meters tall, he is still not at eye level.

Controversy exists about the date it was built, and whose face it resembles. Some believe it is the face of Chephren. Indeed this lion-pharaoh sits high off the ground in front of Chephren's pyramid. But some scholars insist that the weathering patterns do not match that time period. I thought that the sphinx had an abnormally flat face with both his nose and beard missing (why is the beard in a Paris museum, and his nose in London?). But what was most intriguing to me was the fact that this massive structure was buried under shifting sand dunes repeatedly over hundreds of years, and discovered again in the 19th century. Makes you wonder what else is hiding...

Sound & Light Show:

The mighty sphinx is the narrator for the nightly Sound and Light Show held at the pyramids. It provides an entertaining history lesson for tourists. Children enjoyed hearing the booming voice of the sphinx as he told stories of the pharaohs and their pyramids, which correspondingly lit up in different colors beyond him in the far distance. The presentation lasted about an hour. There is one English presentation nightly except Sundays. Times are posted on a sign at the ticket office. Don't pay $25.00+ to your travel agent in the states to prearrange the show, as it only costs $10 US. You can easily purchase the tickets hassle- free prior to the show. There are a few souvenirs available after the presentation if you must send off a postcard pronto. All in all, it was a good introduction to the pyramids on our first night in Cairo. Our plane arrived late that afternoon, yet we had plenty of time to check into our hotel, eat dinner, change some money and catch a taxi to the pyramids for the 8:00 pm show. If you are like me, you can't wait to see them.

After seeing the Light and Sound Show at the pyramids, our taxi driver informed us he was taking us to see a papyrus shop. When we declined, he insisted. "Just a look. Not to buy. Just to see for a visit. Compare prices later." What the heck? Alright. We were ushered in, and immediately offered Arabic coffee in tiny little cups. Don't let the size fool you, it's thick and delicious but strong!

We were the only tourists in the shop. The shop owner, a middle-aged woman, began her presentation on how papyrus is cut into strips, rolled and soaked in water for six days before it is weaved into paper and decorated with paint. She led us around her shop in a certain order, requesting that we write down numbers of corresponding prints that interested us, softly placing notepads and pencils into our hands.

At the end of her presentation, she asked which papyrus prints we liked. There were two. We were pressured into buying them before we finished our Arabic coffee. When we weren't willing to pay the $180 apiece price, and she wasn't willing to negotiate, we attempted to leave. Not so fast. Her eyes instantly changed into dark, stormy beads when we explained it was our first night in Egypt and wanted to think about it and maybe come back tomorrow. Hey, it's hard figuring out what you're really paying in American money without whipping out a calculator. "What about $150?" she persisted. Quick mental calculation. Okay. We agreed to buy one. Not satisfied, she pushed us to buy the other at a discount of "half price since you buy one." We succumbed. She suddenly smiled and offered to write our names in hieroglyphic symbols "free of charge" and joined our names together with a lotus flower, to represent "your honeymoon love."

It was frustrating to be in that position. Nobody likes a hard sell, especially in a foreign country where you're isolated from other tourists, and have no idea what things are worth, especially such unfamiliar products. The Egyptian people seemed to assist each other by bringing tourists to certain shops, restaurants, etc. One guide later confided that they're either related, get a percentage of the total sale, or get some other favor in return.

Just be forewarned that when your taxi driver insists on taking you somewhere "Just for a look" you will probably end up buying, whether you want to or not. In this case, it didn't turn out so bad. For around $70 US, we have two authentic papyrus prints proudly displayed in our library. (I won't tell you what's in the attic.)

I loved visiting old Cairo! And almost missed it. In the States, I thought I would prefer a full day tour of Islamic Cairo, so signed us up for that instead of including Coptic Cairo. After visiting many mosques and the Citadel, I asked Mohammed if we could squeeze in part of Old Cairo that afternoon, and I'm so glad he agreed.

Old Cairo looked very medieval with it's cobbled narrow streets that led past ancient walled churches and homes. It reminded me of Ollyantatambo, Peru, with its narrow, walled "street" where no transportation other than donkeys or horses could travel.

To get to Old Cairo proper, we descended a stairway near the Babylon Fortress, and went through a tunnel to enter the ancient lower level. We passed remnants of old homes whose massive decorated doorways no longer functioned properly, warped over time. Walking here was a relaxing respite from the frenzied touristy places. People were laid back selling their wares, or sitting on benches, listening to music. Many would courteously say "Hello" as we passed, to which we replied "Sebaah ieh heer" or "A ha lan" which pleased them. We passed doorways leading to convent and churches from the 10th century, and went inside a few.

Church of Abu Serga was on our right as we continued down the cobblestone street. A picture of Mary with a place to light candles marked the entrance. This church was built in the 4th century over the crypt where Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus hid after they escaped King Herod's persecution and fled to Egypt. Peering into the crypt, I saw remnants of concrete and sand. I watched three little Egyptian girls quietly enter the room, remove their shoes (like Muslims do in the mosques) and sit next to the barred steps leading to the crypt in respectful silence. The church is very similar in design to the Hanging Church, with it's inlaid ivory, ebony, walnut and cedar patterned into crosses and pentagons. It also has three sanctuaries and two side aisles with pillars and a free standing pulpit. It is the oldest church in Cairo, and was rebuilt in the 10th century. Every June 1st a special mass is held to commemorate the Holy Family's presence.

After exploring a convent and Jewish synagogue, we walked back up to the main level of Old Cairo to see the classical ruin of Babylon's Fortress which was built in 1 AD. Drastically reduced from it's original 60 acre size, it now contains a tower, partial wall and a Coptic church. In the 3rd century, a church Al-Mullaqa was built over part of the fortress. This "Hanging Church" was at one time suspended 13 meters off the ground between two bastions of the fortress. Inside, there are beautiful icons throughout the church, with many symbolic features. The arched roof represents Noah's ark and salvation, 12 pillars represent the disciples, including a black marble one for Judas. Masses are held Fridays and Sundays at 11 am.

We hired a taxi ($7.00 US) to take us to the village of Kerdassa, about 15 minutes away from Giza. Tourist books claim that the many crafts sold in Cairo shops and bazaars are created and sold in Kerdassa. You can supposedly purchase scarves, gallabiyyas, rugs and weavings in addition to stuffed (real) animals, such as gazelles, rabbits and jackals. Thankfully, the illegal stuffed animal trade is a clandestine affair and we didn't see any. I was interested, however, in buying the same high quality merchandise sold at Khan el-Khalili for a lower cost. And felt almost smug about my insider knowledge.

Our taxi driver, Mohammed, was surprised at our request to go there, but eagerly agreed to take us. He appreciated our desire to see the real Egypt. When we arrived, the disappointment was apparently obvious on our faces. The village was tiny and filthy. Mohammed offered to wait for us, and pointed out the shopping area. There was one main street about three blocks long. Again, no other tourists.

We walked along the street, noticing the smelly, littered garbage scattered everywhere. Quaint? Locals stared at us as we smiled and kept walking, looking for shops to enter. Most were closed. We did go into the few that were open. There were gowns for sale in bright, loud colors and designs. When we came to a littered creek which emitted odors strong enough to make our queasy stomachs hurl, we turned around and headed back to our taxi. We attracted a group of boys who trailed us, laughing, pointing, curious why we were there. We practiced our Arabic on them, which led to more giggles, looks of surprise, then fast-spoken strings of Arabic replies that we couldn't begin to comprehend. When David said, "Mish Quas Ow Araby" (I don't understand Arabic very well), a man riding a donkey cart in the street began laughing out loud. It was a nice moment. Bantering back and forth with the boys was the most interesting memory I have of Kerdassa. We didn't buy a thing.

Our taxi driver suggested that he take us to a carpet shop in Giza. Having been to his aunt's papyrus shop a couple nights ago to "just have a look" we knew the visit would invariably conclude with a hard sell, and forcibly declined. Then he offered to take us to his favorite café "because you're my friend, you requested Mohammed Renault." He wanted to thank us for consistently requesting him for our taxi driver during our four day stay at the Oasis Hotel.

Mohammed brought us to a café in Giza where pastry shops and cafes sat side by side. Inside the dimly lit room, men sat solo at tiny tables holding water pipes to their mouths, making gurgling sounds (like kids blowing bubbles in soda pop). It was nice, sitting in that café, talking easily with Mohammed as a friend and enjoying the opportunity to see a non-touristy slice of life.

Our Islamic tour of Cairo included a lengthy visit to the Citadel and four mosques, accompanied by our official guide, Mohammed. We were careful to dress appropriately, covering our arms and legs out of respect. The exterior and interior features and designs of each mosque were unique, but all shared certain characteristics such as minarets, an ablution area in the courtyard, and domed ceilings and prayer rugs inside. Prior to entering, we removed our shoes as expected, and David was surprised that I knew to put the soles together. Some of the mosques provided turbans for tourists wearing shorts or skirts, so that they were covered shoulder to toe while inside.

The mosques were beautiful and unique. I found myself preferring to look at the artistic architectural details, absorbing the mosques visually, instead of listening to our guide describe each pattern on the ceiling, walls, dome, stairway and ablution area. At one ablution area, we sat for an hour listening to such details. Information overload. I found myself tuning out. (It didn't help that our tour zipped through lunch. No food or water in that hot sun until 4pm made me a little dehydrated and crazy.)

We spent most of our time at the Citadel, a fortress perched high on a hill overlooking Cairo. This walled complex housed those who ruled Egypt from 12th to 19th century. It contains three mosques and several small museums. Mohammed Ali was the last ruler to live in the complex, and his palace and mosque dominate the structures. Inside his Diamond Palace, his throne and furnishings still exist from 1811. The large reception room where Ali invited 500 of his allies, then slaughtered them after a celebration feast can be seen--even the massive wooden benches that concealed the weapons.

The Mosque of Mohammed Ali, built in 1830, was gorgeous. The interior (Prayer Hall) had elaborate patterns and decorations on the ceiling, which included five huge domes, fifteen smaller domes, and 365 lanterns. Expansive red carpet invited us to sit, relax and appreciate the beauty. Locals were seen praying on their rugs along one wall. The spacious courtyard outside contains an ornate ablution fountain, where Muslims carefully wash each body part prior to going inside to pray.

Mosque of Sultan En-Nasir, also located in the Citadel, dates from 1318. The most impressive feature of this mosque was it's unique wooden ceiling from India.

Next we visited Mosque of Ibn Tulun, on Kadri Street. Built in 876, it is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. This one looked and felt old. I liked the rather simplistic style and quietness that permeated through the massive limestone structures. No tourists here either. Just one person praying in a sun-filled courtyard decorated with colored, patterned tiles.

Hours are generally from 8-5, but visitors are not be allowed during the five prayer times each day, including a two hour block Friday afternoons. Admission to the Citadel was 20 pounds and 6 pounds for other mosques.

Our last day in Cairo we rode horses to the pyramids. It was incredible to take in the expansiveness of the desert - endless sand, limestone bluffs, ridges and Cheop's pyramid looming in the distance - from the unique perspective of a horse. No other tourists were in sight. Just a few locals on horseback or camel, wandering about the desert.

We rode behind the pyramids, seeing things most tourists don't get to see, such as the children of the sphinx (limestone columns behind Chephren's pyramid), tombs of the slaves who built the pyramids, and a Muslim cemetery. My favorite image was that of my husband flying across the desert on his dark Arabian horse, kicking a cloud of sandy dust behind him as he merged into the backdrop of the pyramid.

This romantic adventure was nevertheless disappointing, tainted by greed and deception. To begin with, negotiating the one hour ride was difficult, as the stable boys were demanding 70 pounds each verses the going rate of 12-20 mentioned in our guide books. We finally agreed on 30 pounds each ($10 US). Ten minutes into our ride we were required to bribe park officials who suddenly appeared from behind rocky ridges on the perimeter of the pyramids or we couldn't go through, even though this horse riding venture was permitted every day. Later, a man on a camel gave me a "gift" to which he then demanded a monetary gift in return for the lovely turquoise beetle trinket.

But most irritating was being stuck with a boy who tagged along beside me on foot, walking me around like a leashed dog at a snail's pace. His comprehension of English was deceptively selective. He ignored my requests to gallop and catch up to my husband. Yet, when totally out of my husband's sight he stopped my horse and began making demands in English, insisting that I hand over my watch, hat, sunglasses and money. Our standstill was frustrating and uncomfortable.

Later, when the boy asked, "You want to go fast?"(YES!), he tricked me yet again. He gave an Arabic command, and I trotted forward so freely for just a minute or two before coming to an abrupt halt at the voiced command of the boy. When I persistently asked to "go fast" again, he pretended to oblige, yet used noticeably different commands. "Your horse no go fast. He tired," the boy indifferently declared. At least David was having fun somewhere off near the pyramids.

Our final confrontation involved our guides who corned us before returning to the stables. The older one asked for much baksheesh for his dying mother and father... then, when David handed over some money, he gave back a ten, and told us to "Give to owner to give me at stable, and don't tell him you gave me other money, OK?"

The museum is a fascinating collection of over 100,000 stelas, statues, and treasures from Egypt's vast history. Exhibits are arranged chronologically, beginning with Old Kingdom artifacts on the main floor.

Mohammed, our guide from the pyramids, convinced us to hire him for the museum, which I regretted from the start. Save your money and time. Explore what you want to see. We never made it past the Old Kingdom with our guide. In my opinion, guides aren't necessary for the museum. Most exhibits are explained in English, and excellent reference books, such as the Blue Guide, explain the antiquities in detail. But official guides are available at the museum if desired for a fraction of the cost, $10 US verses the $40 US that we paid. Both give the same memorized presentation complete with pointer stick, and neither are allowed in special exhibits.

We only had two hours to explore the museum (don't ask). After an hour we were still in the first room, learning about the symbolism of every shape, creature, ornament, design, color and texture of different busts from the Old Kingdom. It takes supposedly nine months to see everything if you spend just one minute at each exhibit, yet our guide was selfishly spending ten minutes or more on a single exhibit, clearly zeroing in on his interests, not ours. I couldn't hide my impatience, knowing how little time we had to explore this magnificent museum, and finally drifted off to read and absorb exhibits that interested me. But we both missed over half the halls on the main floor.

With less than an hour left, I convinced David to head upstairs to see the special exhibits. WOW. King Tut's treasures were truly spectacular, but the highlight for me was the Mummy Room. Eleven mummies are on display in the only air-conditioned part of the museum. A guard enforces the "no talking" rule while you stare into the preserved faces of pharaohs who lived and ruled thousands, I repeat, thousands of years ago. Unbelievable! The great and mighty Ramses II, now reduced to a small, shrunken old man, still had a golden lock of hair visible behind his ear touching his shoulder. His arm bones looked to be only three fingers wide. Such a powerful king, yet surprisingly small in stature.

The most intriguing mummy to me was Merenptah, the 13th son of Ramses II, who ruled after his father died. Controversy exists about whether or not he was ruling during the Biblical exodus when Moses fled Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. In Exodus, it states that the Pharaoh and his chariots drowned in the sea chasing Moses. Indeed, the mummy of Mernatapah is noticeably whitened, with half-eaten toes and fingers, and it's speculated that he died by drowning. Hmmmm...

Hours are 9-5pm. Admission is $10 US. Special exhibits upstairs include King Tut's Treasures ($10 US) and the Mummy Room ($20 US), which close at 4:15pm. Don't miss them!

Khan el Khalili is the largest bazaar in all of Egypt. This busy, crowded maze-like market swallows several streets, with plentiful vendors selling gold, plastic ornaments, engraved silver plates, jewelry, spices, food, t-shirts, Egyptian clothing, perfumes, oils, and leather purses.

We spent an hour or so at the bazaar before we boarded our train. We were accompanied by a different guide, another Mohammed, who we'd become familiar with over the last four days. He was a big, muscular guy, one of Cairo's handball champions, friendly, and more relaxed than our official guide. I felt totally protected with him around. We wandered the chaotic narrow streets as vendors urged us to enter their stall to "just have a look, no obligation."

Although guide books suggest that tourists offer 1/3 to 1/2 of the asking price when bartering, vendors seemed unwilling to negotiate on anything. At one point, we wandered into a stall and offered to pay half of the asking price, to which the vendor countered with another amount. We looked to Mohammed, as if to ask if that was a good price. The vendor began yelling at Mohammed, and threw us out of his stall. Obviously the vendors don't want Egyptians to mix with the tourists and give them the inside scoop as to the real value of a given item, so Mohammed lagged behind when we entered a stall. He said his very presence would ensure that we would get a fair price over unassisted tourists. Interesting. We didn't buy much of anything. Just spices and aromatic wood pulp for our fireplace back home.

There were several little cafes scattered about the bazaar, and we had ahwa at the renowned Fishawi's Teahouse somewhere in the interior of the maze. I wandered around on my own for about 15 minutes, making my husband nervous as no other foreign (or Egyptian) women were solo. There was one man who began following me, and continued to walk boldly beside me, even with Mohammed at my side. Guess he was just curious. I held my pocketbook a little closer nevertheless.

The funniest memory I have of our experience at Khan el Khalili was watching our guide fend off harassing vendors who thought he was American (guess it was his khaki pants and golf shirt). They tried to push little trinkets into his hands as we passed "a gift for you, my friend." He'd get irritated and tell them to bug off in Arabic. When they didn't listen, he'd tell them sharply "I'm Egyptian, I'm Egyptian" (in Arabic of course). One vendor persisted and successfully shoved something into Mohammed's pocket, then pleaded for money. Mohammed angrily stormed ahead to another vendor's stall, shoved the trinket into a barrel of plastic ornaments, then kept on walking. It was a kick to see someone else get harassed for a change, ironically an Egyptian!

Overall, I have to agree with the Lonely Planet book on this, "a great deal of it is simply tourist junk."

The Wagonlit is a tourist train that travels at night from Cairo south to Aswan. Tourists can get off at either Luxor or Aswan, in the early morning, as there are only two stops. It follows the Nile through the heart of Egypt, allowing you to see cities and agricultural lands enroute. Our sleeper car for the 12 hour trip to Aswan cost around $100 US each. Accommodations were comfortable, padded bus-like seats that turned into bunks, a silver sink, and a picture window for watching people tending to their crops amid lush palm trees early in the morning. A truly great way to travel.

Unlike other trains, there was no dining or lounge car. Tourists stayed confined in their rooms while friendly, helpful stewards tended to our needs. Dinner was brought to us around 9:15 pm, and consisted of stuffed zucchini, pita bread and chicken. It looked good, but I couldn't eat. Hours earlier, we had gone to McDonald's to grab a very late lunch to eat in the van en route to the train station...and didn't notice the forbidden ice in our cokes until they were half consumed. Now we were paying dearly. Pharaoh's Revenge struck hard and fast. Judging from the sights and smells of the communal bathroom on board, other tourists shared the same malady.

You can't imagine what it's like to sit on a filthy toilet, your nausea building from overpowering smells of other people's excrement, dry heaving or vomiting between your legs as you will your body to hurry through it's disgusting business. All night long, I'd make repeated trips, returning to our sleeper car with tears in my eyes, and collapse on the bunk, wishing away my pain. The air felt stagnant and hot, even though it was air-conditioned. I craved fresh air, and wished the window opened. David laid in the top bunk, trying to sleep despite my many interruptions and his own abdominal pain. So much for the romantic train ride I had envisioned. I couldn't even look at breakfast the next morning.

Our train arrived Aswan at 8:30am. We were thrilled to see a real bed, private toilets and a shower in our luxurious accommodations at the Old Cataract Hotel. I enjoy traveling by train whenever I travel, and Egypt was no exception. I loved the rhythmic motion, the changing sights, the relaxing pace, and the romantic privacy all while being transported from one place to another. Just wish I hadn't been so sick!