It’s time to play a little catch-up. When it comes to writing, I’ve been a bad little monkey lately. So I’m finally going to take the time and get back on the wagon, starting with the tale of our vacation in Egypt.
Egypt is one of those places I’ve always wanted to visit. There’s so much history there, and it’s so vastly different from where I grew up. It’s a place that, to me, has always been mysterious and exotic, yet frighteningly alien. And discouragingly far away.
But that’s different now. Living in Warsaw has given me the opportunity to visit places I might never have otherwise been able to.
This past Spring (2009) my wife and I booked a last-minute deal vacation to Marsa Alam, at resort on the coast of the Red Sea, right on the reef.
The Resort
The resort was very nice, and relatively empty. It was a man-made oasis in stark contrast to the barren surroundings, situated right next to a beautiful coral reef.
It was a fun place to stay. It would have been more fun with more people playing games, or maybe a livelier "Animation" crew. But the meals were good, and the facilities very nice. And with fewer people, it was a very relaxing place to be.
There was a section of shops within the resort that we shied away from at first. We had a good time visiting the shops, drinking tea with the proprietors and chatting with them while browsing through their goods. It was unnerving and uncomfortable at first, but it wasn’t long before we were looking forward to our regular visits to the shops.
Camel Ride
One of the activities offered by the resort was a camel or horse ride through the desert. This was intriguing to both of us because neither of us have ever ridden a camel, and I’ve never seen a desert in person. Jess had been to deserts in the Mid-West, but they were very different than this.
We started out by riding up the coast to the next town. This town was still being built, and was still empty. It was strange to see a city in the middle of the desert with almost no people in it, but the main reason it was built was tourism, and it hadn’t been fully opened for tourists yet. Though there were some divers who were based out of there.
After that we arced around, crossed the highway, and headed into the desert. I’ve never seen anything so desolate and barren. With the exception of the trash, there was just sand. And not beach sand… it was like dead earth sand. The sun was relentless, and as far as you could see was all sand. It wasn’t long before we couldn’t see the sea or the resort anymore.
At one point the horses were given the opportunity to run. One boy riding either wasn’t able to, or didn’t want to stop his horse, so we had to wait on our loping camels while the rest of the horses chased them down.
It was very interesting and enlightening, but not something I think I’d like to do again. At least, not without a purpose. The desert is less than friendly, and the camels aren’t exactly comfortable, either. Though being so high up does give the advantage of being above the heat radiating off of the sand.
Cairo
Our next stop was an excursion we had booked to Cairo. Due to our still limited grasp of the Polish Language, we looked for an English group to go with. We left from our hotel around 1am, and didn’t return until the same time the next day. It was long, but worth it, despite the fact that on the bus ride to the airport I started to feel sick.
After a bus ride to Hurgada, and a short plane ride to Ciaro, we were on our way. Our first stop was the Mosque of Muhammed Ali (not the boxer). The Mosque is located within the fortress of Sala al-Din (A.K.A. Saladin). The mosque is very plain, as mosques tend to be to emphasize the focus on God, but still impressive.
From outside of the mosque, you could just make out one of our next destinations, the pyramids at Giza. If it had been less hazy, they would have been very visible.
Before that, though, we went to the National Museum. We had a quick tour up to the King Tut exhibit, which was really cool. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in the museum. Other exhibits included ancient artifacts that were so old it boggled my mind. It was incredible to be standing there, looking at something that someone made 5000 years ago.
We then took a bus right up to the pyramids. It was really impressive to see them up close. I knew they were big, but when you stand next to one of the blocks and it’s bigger than you, it’s pretty awe-inspiring.
Near the pyramids is the Sphynx. Something else I had always wanted to see, and I wasn’t disappointed. Though I would have like to have been able to get closer and really look at it, that’s reserved for the professionals, and opening it for tourists to climb all over is probably not a good idea.
After the sphyx we made a stop by the Grand Bazaar, but didn’t have enough time to really visit, and I was still feeling horribly sick. After a small stop at a papyrus shop, we were on our way home.
Snorkeling on the Reef
After visiting all of the ancient man-made artifacts, we spent some time enjoying the natural wonders. I’ve never seen anything like a reef, so for me this was another incredible experience. Luckily we decided to buy an underwater camera. It was amazing and really makes me want to take diving lessons, despite how much it hurts my ears.
We had an awesome time in Egypt, despite getting sick. I would definitely like to go back some day, and hopefully visit the places we missed the first time around.
