Big in Egypt: Five things you can do in Egypt that don’t involve Pyramids

by Matthew Firestone on

This week, Big in Japan is on vacation in the Middle East, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood region.

Home to the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, namely the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt is the original tourist destination. While the Greeks were writing epics and the Romans conquering civilizations, powerful Egyptian dynasties had long come and gone. Indeed, ancient Upper and Lower Egypt were some of the most sophisticated and complex civilizations to have ever existed on the planet.

The Great Pyramids are nearly always at the top of the most tourist itineraries in Egypt. Indeed, a camel trek through the desert plains of Giza is a memorable experience, assuming of course you ignore the fact that pyramids themselves are now located across from a KFC!

But, there are plenty of things you can do in Egypt that don’t involve pyramids. Although this list is by no means expansive, here are our top 5 suggestions for getting the most out of your Egyptian odyssey.

1) Cruise the Nile – The lifeblood of Africa is the Nile River, which has fostered civilizations for several millennia. Generally regarded as the longest river in the world (though the Amazon may in fact have it beat!), a cruise along the palm-fringed banks of the Nile is a quintessential Egyptian experience – particularly memorable is the stretch from Aswan to Luxor.

2) Visit Abu Simbel – While you’re down in Aswan, don’t miss Abu Simbel, two massive rock temples that were carved out of a mountainside by Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari in the 13th century BC. Remarkably, the entire complex was relocated in 1the 960s following flooding caused by the construction of the Aswan dam. The temple is also located near the Sudanese border, which definitely gives you some serious travel bragging rights!

3) Summit Mt. Sinai – Regardless of your religious beliefs, few can resist the magnetic attraction of the fabled mountain where Moses is reported to have received the Ten Commandments. Start your climb in the late evening (bring a flashlight!) so that you can reach the summit in time for what will most likely be the most spiritual sunrise of your life!

4) Dive the Blue Hole – Also on the Sinai Peninsula is the backpacker friendly town of Dahab, which has been dubbed the ‘Koh Samui of the Middle East.’ Even if you’re not a die-hard fan of banana cakes, the SCUBA diving here is tops, especially the infamous Blue Hole. The site of an enormous limestone sink hole, the Blue Hole drops to dizzyingly deep depths that challenge even the most advanced divers.

5) Visit the Pyramids – OK, we lied…well, not exactly. While most tourists in Cairo are dodging touts at the Great Pyramids of Giza, savvy travelers are exploring the ‘Other Pyramids,’ namely the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dahshur. Located in the Giza Plateau beyond the Cairo city limits, these remote pyramids are virtually untouristed, yet in many ways are more striking than their more famous counterparts.

Intrigued by the Middle East? Want to know more about this often misunderstood region? Check out previous posts on the top sights in Dubai, a how-to-guide for would-be travelers in the Palestinian West Bank, reasons why Jerusalem is holier than thou and how to reenact Indiana Jones at Petra in Jordan.

** Big in Japan will soon be returning home to Tokyo, so stay tuned for more on the weird, wonderful and wacky world of Japanland **

Egyptian host family starves student

by Martha Edwards on

The term ‘starving students’ took on a whole new meaning during a recent exchange to Egypt for one American teenager. Jonathon McCallum, once a healthy 155 lbs, recently returned home to his family–or, at least half of him did–weighing only 97 lbs after spending a school semester with a family in Egypt. So weak that climbing stairs and carrying baggage were a struggle, McCallum’s emaciated appearance stunned friends and family members in Maine when he returned home recently.

What’s the reason behind the dramatic change? McCallum’s host family. Practicing Coptic Christians, they traditionally fast for 200 days out of the year, and when they weren’t fasting, they doled out only meager portions of food to their charge. Although classmates urged McCallum to request a new host family, the 17-year-old was determined to stick it out.

However, McCallum’s host father, Shaker Hanna, is denying the teenagers claims, calling them a lie. He goes on to say, “The truth is, the boy we hosted for nearly six months was eating for an hour and a half at every meal. The amount of food he ate at each meal was equal to six people.” Right. Because this looks like the body of someone who eats like a pig.

Budget Fares from New York to Egypt

by Grant Martin on

Airfare Watchdog is reporting the latest in a string of strange USA-LON-XXX flights that are remarkably cheap for this time of year. This week, the Egyptian port of Sharm el-Sheikh is on sale from New York City for the paltry sum of about 600USD.

Availability appears to be anywhere between November and March, and AFWD has created a series of handy dandy links to help you search throughout an entire month of availability. The trick with booking this flight is to be flexible. Most dirt-cheap tickets are going to require a little bit of leeway on your part — leaving on a weekday or flying out of your way to get to where you need to be. Just remember that you’re getting a steal on airline tickets and any deal you can work out and book is a gift.

Another thing to remember is that deals like this often don’t last long. Gadling readers searching for this fare on Wednesday may already be too late; often times you may have a few hours to research, book and confirm your tickets. I won’t advocate making any snap decisions on international travel, but it may be a good idea to check the cancellation policy on your favorite booking engine’s FAQ. Many have a clause where you can cancel a ticket within 24 hours without penalty. That way you can book a ticket for you and your girlfriend from work right now and ask for her permission when you get home.

Trans-Atlantic legs appear to be mostly on British Airways, a oneworld alliance member earning you miles on American, British, Cathay and Quantas among others.

With regard to Egyptian travel, you can pay for a visa at the border (nifty postage stamp visas that you can paste into your passport yourself) for a reasonable price. Sharm el-Sheikh is a fabulous city at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula well known as a tourist destination and home to excellent scuba diving and western hobnobbery.

Don’t forget your Cipro.

Snakes on a Plane — Almost

by Catherine Bodry on

The campy movie “Snakes on a Plane” played up a common phobia of many people — that’s right; snakes. But it was just a movie, right? Surely with modern airport security no one could get on a plane with a suitcase full of reptiles, right?

Right — so far. But a 22-year-old Saudi passenger in Cairo, Egypt made it all the way to his departure gate before officials stopped him to check his suspect suitcase. Inside, they found baby crocodiles, chameleons, and several snakes, including “at least one cobra, squirming to escape.” The man claimed not to know about any rules disallowing reptiles, and that he was transporting them to a Saudi university for research.

In May, another Saudi was caught at the airport with 700 live snakes in his carry-on luggage.

Samuel L. Jackson, this is not a dress rehearsal.

Photo of the Day (07/30/07)

by Iva Skoch on

This picture was taken by Alexia Etsios in Cairo, Egypt last week.

Stark and impersonal, nothing says “urban struggle” better than this apartment block. The only indication that a lot of people must live there is the amount of laundry hanging up. The satellite dishes are a nice touch, too. It seems that the poorer the country, the more satellite dishes. What do they watch, I wonder. Soccer, CNN, Al Jazeera?

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr site and post it.***