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Well up bright and early......sailing into Alexandria Harbour, very calm and hazy....definite smell in the air.
Breakfast line huge, everyone leaving at the same time of course......squillian buses lined up......logistics of getting 2000 passengers on the correct buses a nightmare but it is done well and in a very orderly fashion.....11 buses staying o/night.
Armed guard escort for the convoy....3 hr drive to Cairo. Police and plain clothed guards with machine guns!
Feel like Obama..... Or who ever. They will probably leave us to get back to the ship alone once they have our money!
Wow, never visited a 3rd world country before.....so dirty and derolect...rubbish everywhere, garbage piled up on the side if the street, very sad
Egypt's economy is seemingly the result of a corrupt government....Mubarack finally resigned in Feb'12 as a result of an uprising early 2011. Democratic elections due 24May 2012.
Traffic is caos, they drive like mad men and anywhere, horns blowing constantly, no lines on the road. No road rules it seems. Donkey driven carts amongst the traffic.
Smashed or broken down cars left on the streets, up to 6 people sitting across the front seat if the trucks....amazing sights......blokes sitting on truck loads of fruit or veges!
Definitely no seat belts or child restraints!
None the less the people are friendly, all waving at the bus loads of tourists....guess they have to seeing as tourism 40% of GDP.
Went to Muhamad Ali Mosque....learned a little more about the Muslim faith.
Egypt has 85 mil population....95% muslim.
They raise and eat pidgeons as a delicacy!
Drove through downtown Egypt.....what an eye opener, shopkeepers have their wares on the street, and they sit and smoke their bong style pipes with supposed floral fragrances in it waiting for customers. Even furniture and food on the street.
We have been constantly hasseled by hawkers, bought a bit of stuff from the poor things.
Egyptians are a very attractive race, men and women....seem to have a certain charm about then. They are welcoming and do not appear to be agressive natured at all. They are also very clean and well dressed.
Had a lovely lunch at the Marriott...used to be an old castle, great Egyptian food.... Flaming GF diet is sure a curse!
Constantly satitising with waterless hand gels.....some people from the ship went on private tours, hope they get back safely!
Off to the Museum......an extraordinarily priceless collection in an almost 3rd world building.....apparently they are building a new one near the pyramids, thank heavens. The current museum is right next door to the political building that they burned last uprising.... The Museum and it's contents came close to destruction.
Tutankamun Artifacts unbelievable, from the only tomb found (1922), in the Valley of the Kings that had not been disturbed.
1350BC - Tut ruled from age 13 -20 (3rd period in Egyptian history). Extraordinary what those Egyptians took with them to the afterlife!
Off to an organised shopping spree.....felt like the Japanese tourists on the Gold Coast who used to be taken to Japanese owned shops!
Next the Sound and Light show at the Giza Pyramids....very well done.....beautiful balmy night, with Jupiter setting between the pyramids.......wow!
400 of us decend on the Meridan hotel....overlooking the pyramids......feel very guilty staying here after seeing such poverty in the streets today......lovely dinner....off to bed, have to be up early tomorrow.
Must sat Cairo was the biggest surprise of the trip so far.....very sad.....Such a hovel but the people seem so sweet.
Hot day but not horrible.
Roger's thoughts on the day.....
Everyone is uptight in the breakfast queue....we remain cool...getting very well seasoned travellers.
Amazingly they shifted 2200 people off the ship and through security in an hour!
They use $ and € here, always a concern in each country, don't want to be caught with a heap of currencies.
Egypt has has corrupt politicians, stealing money from Gas projects...$1 for Egypt....$3 for 'my' European bank acct! Hundreds of millions stolen by Murbarack, ex-president. In jail now.
Gas contracts cancelled, hopefully start up with new govt.
Museum very interesting..Tut's mask weighs 7kg, solid gold.
Gold charriots, 3 gold coffins for him, each one larger, and placed inside each other. His solid gold chair and 150 of his servants were burried with him.
25mill live in Cairo, 5m travel into work each day.
100's of 6 story buildings unfinished, usused.
There are no lines marked on the road, they just drive anywhere.
Just saw a guy bang into the car in front, they just waved at each other and hardly paid any mind.
6 seater buses have 12 to 14 people in them. Kids running along side the bus right now waving.
Our hotel is directly opposite the pyramids, with a view of 2 of the from our room. Such a contrast to the locals.
Food at the hotels is wonderful, even got free wine and beer. Sure we paid for it in the cost of course.
- comments
Scott Really interesting reading about Egypt, I wonder where all the rubbish ends up if it isn't collected, the river?