Escape to Egypt
When it comes to exotic getaways, few places can match Egypt...
Article: Prudence Goredema
With it's unique blend of antiquity, archaeology, cultural wealth and exciting contemporary lifestyle, this fascinating country on the tip of Africa offers unforgettable experiences.
By 4500 BC, people had long settled along the River
Nile's banks. Over the next millennia, a highly
advanced livelihood was enjoyed by one of the
world's greatest civilisations. The country is still
steeped in culture and its history continues to
fascinate people from every corner of the earth.
Stepping into Cairo while still warmly armoured against the
Johannesburg winter makes for a bit of a shock. It's 6.30am in
land where it rains perhaps twice a year and static, dry heat
greets us, along with a welcoming face from Peace Tourism.
Dorah Sitole, True love's food editor, and I are on a mission
to explore the culinary and holiday delights Egypt has to offer.
Cairo is one of Africa's largest cities with a bustling population
reputed to be 17-million. Driving its streets isn't for the faint-hearted.
It seems the carriageway markings and lanes are there
to straddle and although the avenues are wide and the billboards
covered in Arabic scrawl, one thing is clear: we're still in Africa.
The familiar, inventive driving of the minibus drivers makes
us feel instantly at home! Every car from every era you can think
of still cruises Cairo's roads and we're later told the country has
more BMWs than Germany.
We meet Aladdin, known as "Alaa", our trained Egyptologist
and guide. He explains many things to us: for example, why all
the buildings look so dusty and derelict, yet still have laundry
– suggestive of occupation – flapping about the windows. Cairo
is subjected to endless desert storms, particularly before the
summer, which apparently make adding a coat of paint a futile
exercise. This hardly accounts for the broken windows, but the
shabby-chic feel of this North African city mesmerises us all
the same.
Egypt enjoys a flourishing tourism industry and Abdel Aziz,
the Minister of Tourism, later tells me it's a land of diverse
cultures and recreations. It's also a land of extreme beauty, and
glaring economic division. The divide between the wealthy
efendi) and the peasantry ( falach) is clearly visible: one has
only to drive from the wealthier suburbs of the suburb, with its
luxurious homes, to the homeless people living in cemeteries in
Cairo's poorer areas.
Picture-perfect memories lurk at every corner, so much so that
photographer Vanessa keeps shouting "Stop!" so we can capture
yet another image. In tea shops so busy that the tables spill onto
the pavement French-style, men smoke water pipes ( shisha ), black
and white taxis pick up and drop passengers, and street vendors
parade their wares – plump red dates, limes, chillies and an
assortment of exotic spices. If you're prepared to wade through
the legions of flash-happy tourists at the Egyptian Museum, you
can marvel at the mummies, statues, Tutenkhamen's treasures,
golden trinkets and countless other objets d'art.Sadly, numerous
artefacts are in European and North American museums, a long
way from home.
It would be sacrilege not to cross the Nile to visit Giza, that
most revered of sites, home to the pyramids (or ahram , as they're
known in Arabic). The Sphinx, embodying the wisdom of man
and the power of a lion, guards its ancient wisdom. The Great
Pyramid was built for Cheops, Pharaoh in the fourth Pharaonic
Dynasty ( circa 2 650 BC), as his haven in the hereafter. His
insolent son, Chephren, unable to build a pyramid higher than
his father's, deceived him and had his own built on higher
ground. For an extra 10 Egyptian pounds, you can give lazy
limbs a work-out by entering the underground burial chambers
of these awesome structures.
The little suburb of Nezleth-el-Samman (meaning "Village
of the Quail") is a stone's throw from Giza. It's both sad and
intriguing that many more priceless archaeological treasure
troves may be buried beneath its foundations.
Cairo's streets have just as much to offer as its antiquities. We
stop at the Oriental Carpets and Tapestry School, where nimble-fingered
boys – who're apparently done with school for the day
– work the looms. The finest Egyptian silk is woven into wall
hangings and rugs of Bedouin, Moroccan and Eastern designs,
so intricate, imaginative and unusual that the eye doesn't know
where to rest.
Nearby is Siwa Perfume Palace, which – as its owner, Ahmed
Abo Talib stresses – is actually an essence refractory. Because
of the sweltering heat, regular perfume with its volatile alcohol
content soon wears away, but Egypt's women douse themselves
with pure, undiluted essence, distilled from an assortment of
flower petals. After splashing ourselves liberally with Lotus
Flower, Gardenia and Thousand and One Nights, we depart for
our next port of call.
Most of the people we meet are extremely friendly and
demonstrative. Despite the devout Muslim lifestyle followed by
most of the city's inhabitants, Cairo's night-life is alive and well.
The parties only really begin at 11pm. From a 19 th -floor window,
we watch a spirited group play soccer under the night's neon
lights. The hotel becomes flooded with a salsa-like sound – music
to belly-dance to.
A city of God
Egypt had its place of prominence in Biblical times and it's
said that Mark, the disciple of Jesus, brought Christianity there
in its earliest days. The streets of Christian Old Cairo are a lot
like those of Montmartre in Paris, but with curio pedlars, not
painters, jostling for your business. Sites sacred to Muslims, Jews
and Christians alike abound here. One fascinating example is the
Hanging Church, a Coptic establishment virtually suspended
on a couple of pillars. Then there's St Sergius, one of the world's
oldest churches. Legend has it that the crypt beneath this church
sacristy is the place where the Holy Family hid away from
Herod, when he sought to murder the eldest son of each Jewish
family. It's a humbling place to visit.
The monuments are countless. After inching our way across
the city's crowded streets and watching trams, cars and the
speeding Metro occasionally emerging from underground,
we visit the Citadel, a 12 th century fortress built by Saladin,
Sultan of Egypt, and housing a mosque from Ottoman Viceroy
Mohammad Ali's time (1769-1849). It looks rather like a Gothic
cathedral since at the time, Egyptian architecture was heavily
infl uenced by European designs.
While in Cairo, another suburb worth visiting is Nasr City
in Heliopolis.
Dorah and Mrs Selma, an art critic and ardent cook, are
engrossed in conversation about the best way to cook "albino"
aubergines, okra, marrow and giant pumpkins. Egyptian cuisine
is essentially a mélange of the best of Middle Eastern and North
African, delicately seasoned to produce a unique taste. At El
Bahrain Fish Market you can buy fresh crabs, mussels, sea bass
and other species. If you like, the fi shmonger will cook it for you,
while you wait.
Like us, the Egyptians love their bread! Pan-fried or baked, baledi bread stuffed with falafel (fried chickpea balls), beans
and watercress leave no room for the main course! For dessert,
we head to Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Said Abed El Gamy and
Mahmoud, two shopkeepers there, persuade us to sample
folyah, a nougat-like sweetmeat, as well as meshapk and melban,
walnut-studdied delicacies.
Later, we enjoy a memorable dinner at the Cairo Marriott
Hotel and the food is sumptuous.
Luxor
About 676km south of Cairo, and nine hours by road (or one
drink and half a nap by air), Luxor was known as Thebes in
ancient times. Crammed between the modern buildings is
the magnificent Luxor Temple, dedicated to the god Amon
and built by Ramses II. The splendour of the construction is
staggering, but there's more to see on the west bank of the city.
Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and an
ancient, well-preserved village where artisans lived will fill you
with wonder.
In the Valley of the Kings, 64 known Pharaohs – including
Tutankhamen, Ramses III, Amenhotep II and Thutmoses III
– had their tombs tunnelled into the mountainside. It boggles
the mind that ancient engineers had the skills to hew solid rock
without disturbing the mountain. The mural artwork adorning
the passages tells of Egypt's ancient religion and rites, and
the still vivid shades of yellow, blue and orange depict the
splendour of the Egyptian court.
The evening finds us driving past El Zanakta Camel Market
and out to the desert, where sand dunes have been lit Survivor-style
and an open-air Bedouin feast – complete with cushions
for seating – awaits. The waiters are dressed like Ali Baba
and, in between courses music and dance displays enchant
the diners.
On Sunday mornings hot-air balloons hover over the
placid Nile, ferries and barges drift on its waters and skippers
assemble for another day's work. We accompany Dorah to
the market, where she stocks up on ingredients for a cook-up
with the hotel's chef. We're all in love with Luxor. We need
our "Nile fi x", so we venture out to find a falluca (rowing
boat) whose skipper, Mohammed Mahmoud, is happy to take
us closer to the western shore.
Several little boys, their half-
naked Nubian bodies splashing about in the water, call to us:
"Baksheesh! Baksheesh!" ("Tip! Tip"), so we oblige. It's a cry
we hear continually in Egypt, from taxi drivers, porters and
guides to waiters, merchants or simply passers-by. Tourists are
considered a lucrative source of freebies, and the locals aren't
shy to exploit it.
Egypt can offer an exhilarating family holiday where both
parents and children can look, learn and enjoy. It's reasonably
safe and inexpensive, and its awe-inspiring beauty will leave
you mystified and pensive.
Image: The Citadel in Cairo - Vanessa Grobler/ Fairlady magazine
- True Love