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| EGYPT 1999 |
| The ship arrived Port Said early in the morning, and the security control before entering Egypt was not so thorough as it was in Israel. There were 10 - 15 buses to take the passengers on the tour to Cairo. In addition to the guide, each bus was manned with a guard to see us safely through the check point of Port Said, and on the tour. Port Said is a tax-free area within Egypt, and all locals and everybody travelling on their own had to got through "customs" checks when leaving the city. The bus transfer to the pyramids at the Gizeh plateau outside Cairo took about 2.5 hours. During the bus ride, the guide presented us with pamplets, from which we could order T-shirts and cartouches with our names written in hieroglyphics. When coming through Cairo towards the plateau, the pyramids appeared through the haze, being an impressive sight. At the plateau we could walk around the pyramids for about 45 minutes. We were warned not to take camel rides, as the camel owners were known to cheat the tourists. The guide told us about the tourist who bargained� down to 1 Egyptian pound for his wife to sit on the camel, and then had to pay 25 EGP to get her down again. The local police rode around on camels, chasing the owners when they became too demanding to the tourists. From the plateau the buses took us down to the Sphinx. We could not go too close to it, but were able to see it and take pictures from a distance. Then we went to a papyrus factory and shop, where we were shown how the papyrus was prepared. We� could also buy pictures made from papyrus in different sizes. Lots of nice handcrafted items. Next door was at "the most expensive souvenir shop" in Africa, where we were to pick up the goods we had ordered on the bus. |
| The last stop in Cairo was the Egyptian Museum, with Tut-Ank-Amon's sarcofague and golden mask. |
| Even though the guide had promised me a good price since I had ordered so much, 3 golden cartouches and 5 T-shirts, the owner said that he had no agreement with the guide that she could bargain for him, so I had to pay full price for the items I had ordered. I was anxious to cancel the whole deal, but I knew Cathrine would be mad if I did. After some arguing with the owner, he ended up giving Cathrine an extra gift if I paid my bill. |
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| After a tour in the museum lasting 1 - 1.5 hours, it was time to board the buses to go back to the ship. Both Cathrine and I found the country and its history very interesting. we agreed, though, that 1 day was far too little to see Cairo, and we plan to go back there later, then spending at least 2 weeks in the country. |