Egypt has been a whirlwind so far and we are really enjoying it. There’s so much to see and do in Egypt that we have had to cut back a little on our plans in order to fit in everything. Luckily we ran into someone here who has been a great help with the planning. I’ll explain more about him in a minute. First change we made was turning Alexandria from a 2 night stay into a day trip from Cairo. Our new friend arranged for our Egyptologist guide from the Pyramids and another private driver to pick us up around 7 am and off we went. It was a 2 hour drive north to the Mediterranean Sea. We started at the Pompey Pillar before exploring the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. Both were interesting and worth a quick visit. Next we headed to the shore where we saw the Citadel and the location of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was one of the original 7 wonders of the world and was destroyed in the 14th century. The citadel is now in its place. Our last stop was at the Library of Alexandria. The ancient library is now located inside a modern building and one of Egypts newest architectural highlights. As interesting as all of that was the best part of the day was by far lunch. Our guide brought us to a really popular local place and as soon as we arrived the owner came out to meet the only two foreigners around. He was so excited to see us that he dragged us from our table to show us inside his kitchen, meet his staff and explain all the foods he made there. By the time we got back to our outdoor table there was a giant mountain of assorted dishes waiting. More then we could have eaten in a week. From delicious liver and pepper sandwiches to sweet Falafels and some things we have no idea what they were. Everything was amazing but the people made it something we will never forget. The owner and our guide had so much fun laughing and joking with us. He wouldn’t charge us for anything so when we were done we gave the left over mountain of food to our driver to take home. Figuring that experience couldn’t be beat we decided to head back to Cairo to rest up for our next adventure. Plus leaving someplace on a high note like that is what I love to remember. More then the sites we saw I will always remember that meal when I think of Alexandria.
The next morning we caught a bus and headed 350km into the western desert of Egypt to find the Bahariya Oasis. Water is life in the desert and in the few places that water springs up Oasis’s form. Small towns build around the water source. We decided to see the 2 most famous in Egypt. This one and the most famous one , Siwa. Siwa is much further into the Sahara and we will be going there next week. The reason we decided to go to this one as well is because Bahariya Oasis is close to several hot and cold springs as well as the White and Black deserts and Crystal Mountain.
When we got there we had a local guide waiting at the bus stop to pick us up. He took us to his hotel where we had lunch before jumping in a 4-wheel drive jeep and heading out. Our first stop was at Black Desert National Park. The sands here are black from a volcano that erupted here 90 million years ago. We walked around a bit, took some pics and headed to the Crystal mountain. This mountain is a popular stop while traveling between the 2 deserts as the crystal rocks are rare and make for a good photo op. Next we stopped at the cold springs for a refreshing splash before finally venturing into the White desert. Here the sand turns from tan to white and white rock formations jet up everywhere. The landscape is like nothing anywhere on this planet. And to make it even more surreal we arranged to sleep under the stars. We were 2 hours from the Oasis when we stopped and set up camp. Our driver made us a Bedouin dinner over the fire, pitched a tent and we sat around the fire smoking a hooka and telling desert stories as we watched the stars shine in the dark desert sky. The morning came too soon and after breakfast and the sunrise we were off to a hot spring. The water was so hot we could barely dip our feet. Then on the way back we stopped for some sand surfing on one of the big dunes. This was probably the furthest off the beaten path we have ever been and oh was it so worth it. This was our type of travel. Just a note- There are no bathrooms once you leave the tiny Oasis town so for 24 hours you are well….. you get the idea. Wishing we could stay longer we caught our bus back to the hustle and bustle of Cairo for one night before we catch a sleeper train to Luxor for a Nile adventure. As epic as the Pyramids were this night was something we both really loved and will never forget.
About our new friend- When we researched this trip I spent several months looking up everything we wanted to do and how much it would cost. I always plan a budget in between backpacker and luxury. Some nights we stay in hostels when its convenient and other times we stay at 5 star resorts if we can find a good deal. And we enjoy both. Usually we prefer the less fancy option. I priced all the activities and transport in as much detail as I could. But we don’t usually book in advance so we can stay flexible. When we arrived and told our hotel manager we wanted to see the pyramids he offered us the same package as we saw on Viator plus he through in the private driver and transportation for half the price. I was skeptical but figured we would try it out and it ended up being legit and much easier having door to door transportation arranged. When we got back the hotel manager Shariff told us he thought we should speak to his boss about the rest of our trip so Alyssa and I went to his office down the street from the hotel at 9pm. His boss Khaled sat us in his office like a mafia boss and started asking what we wanted to do in Egypt and how much time we had. Within 20 minutes he had made 7 phones calls on 3 different cell phones and he gave us an all inclusive price. Everything sounded too good to be true so I defensively got up and excused us. He said he understood but hoped I would reconsider and fast because he needed time to get it all organized. Alyssa and I scurried home and decided to go it on our own. However when we got back and spoke to Shariff again he somehow convinced us to trust Khaled as “he was a man know all over Egypt as a good friend to have”. I can smell Mafia. So we had Shariff take us to Khaled’s travel agency. Apparently Shariff had phoned ahead and told him that I thought he was Mafia so when we walked in he had a good laugh at that. We arrived at 9:50 pm as they were closing and his employees were all sitting around eating something that smelled delicious. Alyssa recognized it as a dish we were looking to try so we asked for a taste and within seconds he had his people setting a place for us and laying out a spread. As soon as we said we wanted to go with him he had his entire staff jump into action. They were all given tasks. Some arranged our in country flights, buses, hotel transfers and private drivers. Others made all our activity plans. Every small detail worked out for us. He called the Nile River cruise people and insisted we get upgraded to the luxury package for free. He called the beach resort in Sharm El Shiek and told the owner he expected us to be upgraded to the 5 star honeymoon suite at no charge. He threw in a hot air balloon ride over the Luxor temple complex at sunrise for free. Our 15 hour bus ride through the desert to Siwa was changed to a private air conditioned car reducing the ride to 8 hours. All this and so much more including a surprise night out in Cairo for Alyssa’s birthday that he won’t reveal yet. His package price for all the upgrades came out to $400 more then I had figured. So with one swip of the credit card we had all our plans made for us and all the stress of traveling removed. His team made all the arrangements by 11pm while we sat around hearing stories from Khaled. 2 days later Alyssa and I were in downtown Cairo having lunch with a stranger we met in the street and he asked where we were staying and we told him with a guy named Khaled. The man knew instantly who he was and even told us a story of how Khaled had helped him and his family one time. I’m an Italian from NY and I know Mafia when I see it and this man is unquestionably Egyptian Mafia. Now everywhere we go people keep catering to us and calling us VIP’s. We both prefer the the slower paced backpacker style of travel but I think we could get used to this 5 star service.
Egypt has been a whirlwind so far and we are really enjoying it. There’s so much to see and do in Egypt that we have had to cut back a little on our plans in order to fit in everything. Luckily we ran into someone here who has been a great help with the planning. I’ll explain more about him in a minute. First change we made was turning Alexandria from a 2 night stay into a day trip from Cairo. Our new friend arranged for our Egyptologist guide from the Pyramids and another private driver to pick us up around 7 am and off we went. It was a 2 hour drive north to the Mediterranean Sea. We started at the Pompey Pillar before exploring the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. Both were interesting and worth a quick visit. Next we headed to the shore where we saw the Citadel and the location of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was one of the original 7 wonders of the world and was destroyed in the 14th century. The citadel is now in its place. Our last stop was at the Library of Alexandria. The ancient library is now located inside a modern building and one of Egypts newest architectural highlights. As interesting as all of that was the best part of the day was by far lunch. Our guide brought us to a really popular local place and as soon as we arrived the owner came out to meet the only two foreigners around. He was so excited to see us that he dragged us from our table to show us inside his kitchen, meet his staff and explain all the foods he made there. By the time we got back to our outdoor table there was a giant mountain of assorted dishes waiting. More then we could have eaten in a week. From delicious liver and pepper sandwiches to sweet Falafels and some things we have no idea what they were. Everything was amazing but the people made it something we will never forget. The owner and our guide had so much fun laughing and joking with us. He wouldn’t charge us for anything so when we were done we gave the left over mountain of food to our driver to take home. Figuring that experience couldn’t be beat we decided to head back to Cairo to rest up for our next adventure. Plus leaving someplace on a high note like that is what I love to remember. More then the sites we saw I will always remember that meal when I think of Alexandria.
The next morning we caught a bus and headed 350km into the western desert of Egypt to find the Bahariya Oasis. Water is life in the desert and in the few places that water springs up Oasis’s form. Small towns build around the water source. We decided to see the 2 most famous in Egypt. This one and the most famous one , Siwa. Siwa is much further into the Sahara and we will be going there next week. The reason we decided to go to this one as well is because Bahariya Oasis is close to several hot and cold springs as well as the White and Black deserts and Crystal Mountain.
When we got there we had a local guide waiting at the bus stop to pick us up. He took us to his hotel where we had lunch before jumping in a 4-wheel drive jeep and heading out. Our first stop was at Black Desert National Park. The sands here are black from a volcano that erupted here 90 million years ago. We walked around a bit, took some pics and headed to the Crystal mountain. This mountain is a popular stop while traveling between the 2 deserts as the crystal rocks are rare and make for a good photo op. Next we stopped at the cold springs for a refreshing splash before finally venturing into the White desert. Here the sand turns from tan to white and white rock formations jet up everywhere. The landscape is like nothing anywhere on this planet. And to make it even more surreal we arranged to sleep under the stars. We were 2 hours from the Oasis when we stopped and set up camp. Our driver made us a Bedouin dinner over the fire, pitched a tent and we sat around the fire smoking a hooka and telling desert stories as we watched the stars shine in the dark desert sky. The morning came too soon and after breakfast and the sunrise we were off to a hot spring. The water was so hot we could barely dip our feet. Then on the way back we stopped for some sand surfing on one of the big dunes. This was probably the furthest off the beaten path we have ever been and oh was it so worth it. This was our type of travel. Just a note- There are no bathrooms once you leave the tiny Oasis town so for 24 hours you are well….. you get the idea. Wishing we could stay longer we caught our bus back to the hustle and bustle of Cairo for one night before we catch a sleeper train to Luxor for a Nile adventure. As epic as the Pyramids were this night was something we both really loved and will never forget.
About our new friend- When we researched this trip I spent several months looking up everything we wanted to do and how much it would cost. I always plan a budget in between backpacker and luxury. Some nights we stay in hostels when its convenient and other times we stay at 5 star resorts if we can find a good deal. And we enjoy both. Usually we prefer the less fancy option. I priced all the activities and transport in as much detail as I could. But we don’t usually book in advance so we can stay flexible. When we arrived and told our hotel manager we wanted to see the pyramids he offered us the same package as we saw on Viator plus he through in the private driver and transportation for half the price. I was skeptical but figured we would try it out and it ended up being legit and much easier having door to door transportation arranged. When we got back the hotel manager Shariff told us he thought we should speak to his boss about the rest of our trip so Alyssa and I went to his office down the street from the hotel at 9pm. His boss Khaled sat us in his office like a mafia boss and started asking what we wanted to do in Egypt and how much time we had. Within 20 minutes he had made 7 phones calls on 3 different cell phones and he gave us an all inclusive price. Everything sounded too good to be true so I defensively got up and excused us. He said he understood but hoped I would reconsider and fast because he needed time to get it all organized. Alyssa and I scurried home and decided to go it on our own. However when we got back and spoke to Shariff again he somehow convinced us to trust Khaled as “he was a man know all over Egypt as a good friend to have”. I can smell Mafia. So we had Shariff take us to Khaled’s travel agency. Apparently Shariff had phoned ahead and told him that I thought he was Mafia so when we walked in he had a good laugh at that. We arrived at 9:50 pm as they were closing and his employees were all sitting around eating something that smelled delicious. Alyssa recognized it as a dish we were looking to try so we asked for a taste and within seconds he had his people setting a place for us and laying out a spread. As soon as we said we wanted to go with him he had his entire staff jump into action. They were all given tasks. Some arranged our in country flights, buses, hotel transfers and private drivers. Others made all our activity plans. Every small detail worked out for us. He called the Nile River cruise people and insisted we get upgraded to the luxury package for free. He called the beach resort in Sharm El Shiek and told the owner he expected us to be upgraded to the 5 star honeymoon suite at no charge. He threw in a hot air balloon ride over the Luxor temple complex at sunrise for free. Our 15 hour bus ride through the desert to Siwa was changed to a private air conditioned car reducing the ride to 8 hours. All this and so much more including a surprise night out in Cairo for Alyssa’s birthday that he won’t reveal yet. His package price for all the upgrades came out to $400 more then I had figured. So with one swip of the credit card we had all our plans made for us and all the stress of traveling removed. His team made all the arrangements by 11pm while we sat around hearing stories from Khaled. 2 days later Alyssa and I were in downtown Cairo having lunch with a stranger we met in the street and he asked where we were staying and we told him with a guy named Khaled. The man knew instantly who he was and even told us a story of how Khaled had helped him and his family one time. I’m an Italian from NY and I know Mafia when I see it and this man is unquestionably Egyptian Mafia. Now everywhere we go people keep catering to us and calling us VIP’s. We both prefer the the slower paced backpacker style of travel but I think we could get used to this 5 star service.
