On Saturday, November 21, at 1:30 AM, we arrive in CAIRO. It's easy to get a visa at the airport. Tourist visas cost around US$15. We enter the largest city in Africa, living off the River Nile, by cab. It's very quiet but Arco tells us that it has been otherwise a few hours ago. We go to Magic Hotel (10, El Bustan Street, Eltahrir Square) near Midan Tahrir. The hotel is on the third floor - so don't bother about the streetnoise - and looks very simple. You can get rooms for 2, 3 or 4 people. There are plenty of clean bathrooms and they also have a large living room with many seats and a television. The owners are very nice guys. One night costs about E£20, breakfast included (E£1 is about BF10,- or Euro0,25).

On the first day we scout the Islamitic part of Cairo by foot. It strikes us that there are so many policemen on each corner of the streets. Probably a way to oppose the unemployment rate. I guess it must be incredible safe! :-) In Cairo are some of the most inspiring mosques in the world, wealthy bazaars and, of course, the unmatched Cairo Museum where even the museum-allergic can find solace in the arms of the treasures of Tutankhamen and a host of other delights. And when you're thirsty, you can get fresh fruit juice almost in every street. It's really refreshing after a long walk. TIP 1 : "Keep on smiling" is the best way to survive the pressure in this big metropole. Let me tell you a little story. When we take a cab for about E£5 to the Mohammed Ali Mosque within the Citadel on the other side of town, the cabdriver keeps on driving. Cheap sightseeing! We explain him where we wanna go but he says there is no such mosque in Cairo. We all keep on laughing and after a while he stops and wants to go to the police. OK, why not, but we stay in the car, still laughing. He gets very angry and after some negotiation we're on the move again. A few blocks further his car breakes down. Hahaha. He says he hasn't got any fuel left. We keep smiling and still stay in the car. So he stops another cab and they start to transport fuel from one car to the other. Back on the road again the cabdriver wants to go refuel at a filling station. No no, we say, just drive to the Mohammed Ali Mosque. He gets angrier and then he starts to use all kind of short cuts to get us finally to the wrong entrance of the Citadel! Anyway, we have got a perfect theatre performance, front seats, for merely E£5! So, whatever stunt they try to pull, just don't get angry and keep on laughing... We didn't visit the mosque after all.
If you wanna have a typical Egyptian meal I would like to recommend you to eat koshari, a mix of macaroni, rice and brown lentils covered with fried onions and a (spicy) tomato sauce. The best koshari of all Egypt is served at Abou Tarek (Shampoleon Street) for merely E£2. So, it's a very cheap but tasty vegetarian dish. A traditional Egyptian dessert can be found at Groppi's on the Midan Talaat Harb. You can't leave Egypt without a sweet, delicious Om Ali, or Mother of Ali, a warm pudding of bread or pastry covered with milk, coconut, raisins and nuts!
If you don't have an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), it's best that you — TIP 2 — take an extra photo of yourself (or you can get one at Tahrir). You can buy an ISIC for E£35 in almost any hotel. The ISIC gives you special prices on all forms of transport (f.e. train) and 50% discount at the ticket kiosks of important monuments. And because the entrance fees can be really high at some places this is an easy way to save money.

The next day we hire the taxi of our hotel to make a day trip to the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and Memphis. The Pyramids look at lot smaller than I had imagined. It's a little bit disappointing. Lucky for us there are not so many tourists as normal. The hassling camel drivers are begging for a short ride but we prefer to walk. The Sphinx is recently restored and out of the scaffolding. The Pyramid of Cheops is closed down for public so we choose to enter the second largest Pyramid of Chephren. Claustrofobics should avoid the inside and little Egyptain boys like to pinch in the buttocks of women in the narrow decending passage. :-) At Saqqara, we visit the Mastaba of Mereruka with a number of well preserved paintings of contemporay life. The Pyramid of Teti has a fine funeral chamber in which the ceiling is decorated with stars. The oldest known imperial city on earth, Memphis, isn't so exciting. Sadly all that remains is a limestone Colosus of Ramses II.

We go to LUXOR by train. TIP 3 : It's recommendable that you reserve your seat at the railway station at least one day before. Our second class ticket with a/c from Cairo to Luxor costs E£28. It's also possible to travel first or even third class. If you wanna go to Luxor by car you have to drive in a convoy because the fear for another attempt. My idea is that driving in a convoy makes you even more a target for terrorism. The train is a perfect and interesting alternative and the view is beautiful.
When we arrive in Luxor a swarm of boys approaches us to recommend their hotel. TIP 4 : Just say you know your way around and that you've already have an address to pass the night. We stay at the Everest Hotel near Sharia Television (beware : there are two Everest Hotels). This hotel lies in a narrow street away from the busy streets. A perfect way to explore Luxor is to hire a bicycle (E£5 per day). There is very much to see in and around Luxor. We bike to the Karnak Temple (E£10), the largest pharaonic monument in the country after the Giza Pyramids. You can easily spend half a day wondering around in this enormous temple complex. The sound & light show is nice too.
There are two ways to go the West Bank and Theban Necropolis on the other side of the river Nile. One, you can hire a taxi — 7 km to the south of Luxor is built a new bridge — or two, you hire a bicycle and take the local ferry boat (E£1 one way). There will be plenty of people to convince you to take the tourist ferry or even a private motorboat. The choice is yours but I think it's more fun to enjoy the sphere on the local ferry (photo). It is very important to note that tickets for all the sites on the W bank of the Nile must be bought in advance at the main kiosk near the splitting. We've bought tickets for The Valley of Kings, the Tomb of Tutankhamen, the Valley of Queens, the Tomb of Nefertari and the Temple of Hatsephsut. If you don't have an ISIC you pay E£100 for the entrance of Nefertari alone! In the Valley of Kings you are allowed to enter three tombs with your ticket. Go very early in the morning, before the crowds arrive. I've visited the tombs of Ramses I (16), III (11) and VI (9) and also the tomb of Tuthmosis III (34). Yes I know, if you're smart enough it's possible to enter four graves. :-) Some of the tombs are closed for public because they suffered so badly from mass tourism that they have had to be resealed for restoration work. The reliefs and illustrations within these tombs and that of Tutankhamen (62) (E£20) are remarkable beautiful (flash photography is strickly forbidden because it damages the pigment). The Temple of Hatsephsut, the only female Pharaoh to reign over ancient Egypt, is less impressing as I imagined. Most parts of the temple are closed since the attempt. In the Valley of Queens you can also visit three tombs but — TIP 5 — the most famous and outstanding tomb is that of Ramses II's wife, Nefertari (E£50). It's recently fit to entertain and visitors to Nefertari's Tomb (66) are restricted to 200 per day!! Her tomb is decorated with 400sq m of the finest wall paintings. The vivid colours are splendidly preserved. This is something you certainly must have seen when visiting Egypt. Back home, I've read about and seen some amazing photographs of a few colourful tombs I didn't see. For example; the Tomb of Nakht (Tombs of the Nobles 52), the Tomb of Prince Khaemweset (44) at the Valley of Queens and the Tomb of Sennedjem (1), Deir El-Medina, a private tomb (photo).

A train ticket to ASWAN costs E£11. Travelling by train is a perfect way to see the fertile Nile valley and the traditional irrigations systems of the farmers. After the noise and crowds in Cairo and the over-commercialization in Luxor, Aswan is relaxing. We are now in the Nubian part of Egypt. The Nubian people have darker skin and are much more friendly than their northern Egyptian neighbours. Nubians are undoubtedly African rather than Arab. The most famous Nubian in history of mankind was Cleopatra...
We've spend a few nights in Horus Hotel near the Corniche where most of the tourist hotels are found. It's on the third floor of a building and it has a rooftop restaurant from where you have a beautiful sight over the islands in the Nile and all the white sails of the feluccas. If you are with a small group it's easy to hire a cab for half a day. You leave early in the morning for a visit to the Aswan High Dam, the Kalabsha Temple (E£6) and Philae Island (E£10). A relaxing felucca trip around and a visit on Elephantine and Kitchener Island is a perfect way to complete your afternoon program. TIP 6 : The New Museum of Nubian History has just opened and shows items from the Middle and New kingdoms, including pottery, combs and jewellery, as well as a series of human and animal mummies, very beautiful granite sculptures, interesting models and an impressive gold sheathed statue of Khnum. The museum is open daily from 08:00-17:00 and from 19:00-21:00, E£10 entrance. The museum is recommendable, so a nice way to end your day.
The next day we arrange a felucca trip from Aswan to Kom Ombo. If you walk on the riverside of the Corniche a lot of boatsmen will try to sell you a felucca trip. A friend of mine knew a guy on Elephantine Island, who also rents feluccas, so we take the local ferry boat and pay him a visit. Ask for the Jamaica Family and you are in really good hands. We've paid E£50 per person, three meals included, for one day one night. Make some photocopies of your passport because the boatsman will need them to go to the authorities with to obtain permission to travel. The felucca boat trip is very relaxing and peaceful and we've had excellent Nubian fuul (beans) for dinner.

From Kom Ombo we take a taxi back to Luxor. First we are obliged to drive in a convoy but after some argumentation and negotiation with the police we could leave solo, only we had to take an extra passenger with a machine gun! I guess it's a very dangerous ride. On our way to Luxor we pass Edfu and Esna and a lot of very small villages with almost the same architecture as the limestone houses in Yemen. I would really like to stop in one of these villages but the taxi driver gives full throttle. This must certainly be a nice, untouched part of Egypt. And maybe it should stay that way? After another day in Luxor we take the bus to Hurghada — not the place to be — and the next morning we take the boat to Sharm El-Sheikh on Sinai peninsula.

It takes about 8 hours to get from Hurghada to Sharm by ferry boat (photo). The Red Sea is very tempestuous so the boat goes up and down and up and down again. We are lucky, only one of us gets a little seasick. Take food and water for the day. I've heard there should be a much faster (more expensive) boat nowadays, only it doesn't go every day. As we arrive we hear that only one engine of the boat did it... This is typically Egypt! :-( We take a mini-bus to NA'AMA BAY. Arco, my friend, knows a good and nice place to stay. An old friend of his has her own hotel and it's called Oasis Hotel. It's not such a bombastic luxe hotel as the most around here but it has a very cosy garden with Bedu tents and a view upon the Sinai dessert. This is a good place to take a sun-bath! My sun-glasses and sunburn lotion suddenly are indispensable. There's very little to see in Sharm of Na'ama Bay and tourist life revolves around the diving and typical beach life. Therefore it has absolutely nothing in common with the rest of Egypt. It looks a lot like Hurghada, except that there aren't so many big hotels near the coastline yet and it is much cleaner! Just another place to feed massa tourism... The Gulf of Aqaba coast around Sharm El-Sheikh has become one of the world's finest diving and snorkelling grounds.

The next day we go to the highest place in whole Egypt, the centre of the Sinai, St. Katherine. We pay the taxi driver E£240 for the six of us and all our luggage. The road from Na'ama Bay to St. Katherine, which is generally very good with little traffic, takes about 3 hours. We have to pass one UN and two Egyptian check-points where we must show our passports. On the way, at the top of a steep hill the view over the rocky desert is breathtaking and extraordinarily beautiful. Most of the taxis stop here and Bedouin children attempt to sell fossils, and-roses and other souvenirs. At sunset the clouds are colourfully painted orange, red and rose.
Immense, beyond the reach of the eys, endless. There are no words to describe the extension of the desert. In Egypt, they just say: Sinai. And then they are silent, speechless, in admiration of the enormous, pastel coloured granite rocks which hide valleys, seeded with black rocks. For the first time in my life I notice that the moon comes up just after the sun disappears behind the rocks. Most of the cars drive without their light put on. Lucky for us, it's almost full moon so there's a lot of warm, yellow light. Although some hardy travellers wish to encounter the isolation of the harsh but stunning landscapes of the desert interior (and maybe it will be my dream too), most of the tourists come to the Sinai peninsula to visit the remote St. Katherine's Monastery.

ST. KATHERINE is a small village and there are not so many hotels. We go to Alfairoz Hotel. It has a great, sandy square with little, stone houses around. Because the wind blows heavely, it has become very cold so we're glad to enter our bungalow. I guess we are the only guests. For a double room you pay E£60, for a tripple E£70. After putting on some warm clothes we walk into the village, looking for a place to eat. As I already told, it is a small Bedouin village with a few shops and only two restaurants, the St. Katherine Tourist Village not counted. The first one is closed so we have to enter the second one, — TIP 7 — Elekhla Restaurant Bedouin House. We have to sit in the open on pillows, just like in a Bedu encampment. It's cosy but cold. Happily, the man makes very good food!

If time permits you have to climb Jebel Musa (Mt Sinai). It's the second highest peak — 2,285m — in Egypt, where Moses is alleged to have received the Ten Commandments. Because it is a stiff walk up we start at 3:00 am at our hotel. It's full moon so there's enough light. We follow the camel track, which takes about two and a half hours to the top (photo). It's quiet rough and stout shoes and warm clothing are essential. Although there are refreshment stalls on the way up, it is advisable to take enough water. As we finally reach the top at 5:30 am there already are a whole bunch of Italians waiting for the sunrise. Jesus, what can they make a lot of noise. We have to wait till 6:00 am to see the moon go down on one hand and the sun rise on the other (photo). The view is spectacular but it's freezing cold. Ann her thermometer shows us 7 degrees Celcius but with the icy wind it feels a lot colder. You've got to see this if you visit St. Katherine (photo). On the way down we wait until the noisy Italians are out of sight and we split up because some of us want to try the other way down. I prefer to go back the same way we came. I've been sitting on a rock for a long time until every human being disappeared from the scenery. Whauw, enjoy the silence and the beauty of this desert... We meet again at the Monastery but there are not so much quarters open for public at the moment (photo).
After a quick visit we walk back to town and because there's no breakfast served at our hotel, we return to the restaurant of yesterday evening for the best fuul — fava beans simmered slowly overnight — ever eaten on this journey. These are served in a thick spicy sauce either with scrambled eggs or within a sandwich. It's a cheap, but delicious meal. Equally cheap and popular are taamaya, deep fried balls of ground fava beans spiced with coriander and garlic, garnished with tahina (sesame seed dip) and pickled vegetables. I guess we've found a place to be for the days we stay in St. Katherina. :-)

And there is more to Saint Katherine than the Monastery and Mt Sinai. A wealth of cultural, natural and religious history awaits discovery within the 4350 sq km of the Saint Katherine Protectorate. The unique high attitude desert ecosystem and the religious landscape surrounding the Saint Katherine Monastery are intertwined with treasures of Bedouin life and culture. You can get guidebooks at the Saint Katherine Protectorate — TIP 8 — which cover half day walks in the areas around the Saint Katherine village and Monastery. Within the guide booklet the site numbers correspond to the numbers on the engraved sandstone markers located along the path.
All visitors to the mountain region must always be accompanied by a Bedouin guide. This Bedouin guide will share his knowledge of this area's rich environment, and help make the walk both safer and easier. It's possible to organise a guide at El-Milgah, about 750 metres west of the shops of Saint Katherine village (ask for Sheikh Mussa). Ensure that you carry at least 1,5 litres of water per person, and even more in hot weather. You may find potable water on the way, but water is generally scarce. Wear sturdy shoes and a hat.

Out of the several walks we've chosen to go for the Wadi El-Arbaein & Wadi Shrayj trail. The trail begins at Saint Katherine village, cutting south across Wadi El-Sheikh to the mouth of Wadi El-Arbaein. An established camel path wanders up Wadi El-Albaein for 3 kilometres until the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs, where the trail veers north-east into Wadi Ferrah. Continuing for 2 kilometres, we reach the beginning of Wadi Shrayj. The descent down Wadi Shrayj is moderately steep and rocky, but the Bedouin guide will lead you down the safest path.
The walk is framed by the high red granite columns of Jebel Ahmar (Red Mountain) and Jebel Safsafa (Willow Mountain). Those peaks provide a spectacular backdrop to the colourful and subtle activity of life in the wadis. If you look carefully, you will discover unique and interdependant relationships between the people, places, plants and animals. Smell the fresh scent of local aromatic plants such as wild oregano as it wafts through the wadi. On our way, we pass the stone-walled gardens. Wells up to 10 metres deep tap underground water sources and with the help of irrigation techniques it's possible to support apricot, almond, olive, pomegranate and fig trees as well as date palms and grape vines.

Wadi El-Arbaein seperates Jebel Musa (Mt Sinai) and Mount Katherine and is considered to be a holy tract of land. On the way we can experience the history of religious sites such as the Rock of Moses and the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs. Surrounded by a green belt of olive, cypress and popular trees, stands the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs which was constructed in the sixth century in honour of the forty Christain soldiers who died in Sebaste (central Turkey). Monks relate that forty Christain soldiers from the Roman Army in the third century were commanded to worship pagan gods. The refused and were put to death by being exposed at night to the bitterly cold winds off a frozen lake. Those who survived until morning were killed by the sword...
On our way, we visit the friendly Jebeliya family of Ramadan Musa Abu Sai'id. Ramadan has an enthusiastic interest in rock hyrax (wabr) and has constructed an enclosure at his home to observe and enjoy these rabbit-sized mammals. Beginning with four captive individuals, the hyrax have multiplied over the years. Ramadan occasionally releases the hyrax offspring once they reach maturity. They are very shy and reclusive but funny to see. They typically live in colonies in rocky valleys and feed on vegetation. Its closest relatives, by the book, are the elephant and sea cow but don't expect any likeness. Ramadan and his large Bedouin family are very hospitable and serve tea while we watch the hyrax. Show your appreciation by making a small contribution.
When we move on I am lucky to see a bright cobalt blue-coloured Sinai agama lizards basking on red rocks. When I call the others it has already disappeared between the rocks. Vistas of Mount Sinai and Mount Katherine, the highest mountain in Egypt, are awe-inspiring, and in the ancient ruins of Byzantine dwellings nestled in Wadi Shrayj we can imagine the life of the original inhabitants. The rocks are different from those of the other mountains nearby as it is composed of "young" ten million year old dark rhyolite, a volcanic rock, similar to granite but with a finer grain. The environment of the dark mountains is hotter and harsher, with little shade, and so the life cycle of plants is shorter than in the surroundings red Ikna granite areas. We also notice a lot of stripes of volcanic rock intrusions which sometimes strech for kilometres and can be a few metres in width. These stripes are so called dykes. Dykes are usually darker red or grey than the surrounding rock and are more permeable to water than the harder granite. Underground springs are more likely tapped here than anywhere else. Plants grow more easily along dykes and animals congregate to feed and take shelter here. Bedouin refer to the dykes as jidda, meaning grandmother — the nurturer, the nourisher.

The Jebeliya Bedouin are pastoral nomads and have a long history of grazing sheep and goats but grazing pressure has increased in the last fifty years with a rise in the local population. Because of the growth, pressure of the land has increased with plants being eaten before they can set seed. Nowadays there's a restriction on grazing in given areas, for a certain time, to allow for the regeneration of plants. We are lucky to see some shepherdesses in their colourful galabayas and black cloak and veil, with grazing sheep and goats on the rocky slopes of Wadi Ferrah and Jebel Safsafa. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to take pictures of this beautiful scene because the Islam prohibits to photograph Arabic women (photo). So, the only way you can enjoy the beauty of these traditional Bedouin clothing is to go to Saint Katherine yourself. For me, this half day walk is one of the most interesting things I did in the time I spend in Egypt.

After an overdose of culture near the Nile valley and the effort in the Sinai mountains it's time for relaxation. So, we go back to the coast for a few days to stay in Egypt's hippy capital, DAHAB. Dahab made its name which means 'gold' in Arabic, after Israeli troops started visiting the Bedouin village for rest and recreation on its golden beaches in 1960s. Nowadays, it's a rather commercialized shadow of its past but still a primary destination for would-be hippies and beach bums. Dahab is divided into three distinct areas. We prefer to stay in the Bedouin village, Asla, 3 km up to the coast. Here you can find lots of cheap beach campgrounds and many restaurants along the beach-front. Because Arco has already been here several times before we follow his nose which leads us to the OASIS Fighting Kangaroo Camp. They have stone-walled appartments which can be padlocked, simple double bedrooms for E£20 and very clean bathrooms with several showers and toilets. To mislead some tourist who've been here before, there are now two Fighting Kangaroo Camps, but only one of them is called Oasis! It's a nice and quiet place to spend a few days...

There is very little or nothing to see in Dahab itself, but you can organise camel trips to Bedouin villages or jeep and horse back safaris into the mountains. We prefer to relax and lay down on the beach (not a big sandy strand!), hang around in the many restaurants, play pool in the bar, etc. Many people also come to Dahab for a diving course in one of the beautiful reefs in the neighbourhood like f.e. the Blue Hole, 2 km N of the village. There are only four of us left, two who like to swim and two (myself included) who don't and to be honest, I don't like water. But this is the perfect place to snorkel and so my friends convince me to come along and I'm very glad I did because it is amazingly beautiful to see all those coloured coral-rocks and fish around you. I can only recommend you to do the same! It's been a great experience.
And if there's one thing you don't have to worry about in Dahab then it certainly is good food! You can eat almost everything in those restaurants near the beach. They serve plenty for cheap prices; fish, shrimpes, lobster, calamar, vegetarian dishes, Italian food, pancakes, ... you name it. There're also many shops to buy food if you want to cook yourself.

Before we take the bus back to Cairo we stay one more night at Oasis Hotel in Na'ama Bay. The next morning our bus leaves at 10:00 am. It's a very long trip — about 8 hours — and I get sick when we almost reach Cairo. The traffic in Cairo around 18:00 pm is a mess. There are traffic-jams everywhere. It takes the taxi driver one and a half hour to get us from the bus station to Magic Hotel. It's just unbelievable. I'm very glad to get out of the car and go straight into bed. Maybe it's a lot more interesting to take the airplane back home from Sharm El-sheik instead of going back to Cairo first. Anyway, we spend one more day in Cairo visiting the Egyptian Museum. It has an enormous wealth of materials covering early history, ancient Egypt and the Islamic period. The museum is a must, if only for a few hours. The gold mask and coffin of Tutankhamen are incredible beautiful. The special mummies room is also very interesting...

A few hours sleep and we're on our way back home.

This is a non-profit web page. All the establishments mentioned in this travelogue are places I've been to and which I would like to recommend to people who like to travel around in Egypt and the Sinai peninsula.

I would like to thank my dear friends — Lotte, Michel, Ann, Geertrui and especially Arco — who joined me on this trip.

Travelogue and photographs by Joël Neelen © March1999. All Rights Reserved.