Egypt Holidays

Alexandria

2011-06-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

One one of our many Egyptian holidays we went to Alexandria by train, had a great two day excursion package before then returning to Cairo. We visited the War Graves at El Alamein but I seem to have misplaced the video footage I took there. I hope it turns up soon.

Luxor Streets, Temple, Brooke Hospital & Children

2011-05-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Life in Egypt is largely played out on the streets and that's where to go in order to see ordinary people going about their business. I used to love finding a suitable spot from which to record and then film little segments. The Brooke Hospital For Sick Animals has a clinic here to look after the many working horses pulling tourist caleches. The owners have traditionally abused their animals so the work done (free) by the vets here is extremely important. As always in touristy places the children want to be filmed and 'get in on the act'. Experience shows that once kids see you recording they will simply come up and ask to be on camera themselves.

Philae Temple Aswan

2011-05-23T10:05:00.001-07:00

Find out more about Philae Temple.

Feluccas In Aswan

2011-05-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

The felucca is so typical of the Nile in Egypt so any trip is not complete without sailing in one. They are everywhere at resorts like Aswan and Luxor. Haggling for the best price is compulsory and really irritating if you're not good at it (like me).

Overnight Train From Cairo To Aswan

2011-05-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

The most difficult part of a holiday in Egypt might involve overnight travel by train. In this case we went the entire way from Cairo to Aswan. By train that's an incredibly long way indeed. However, one of the great benefits of doing this is that you get to see how the River Nile changes as you move ever southward in the direction of Nubia. By the time you reach Aswan the desert comes right up to the very banks of the Nile.

The Sultan Hassan & Al Rifai Mosques Cairo

2011-05-23T05:12:00.001-07:00

The interesting thing about these two mosques which face each other, is their huge difference in age. Looking at them you could easily imagine they were constructed at the some time but nothing could be further from the truth. The really ancient one of the pair is the Sultan Hassan Mosque which started its construction in 757 taking just three years to build. The Al Rifai Mosque opposite was designed to compliment the ancient one but construction did not begin until 1869. The last Shah Of Iran has his tomb inside the Rifai Mosque.

The Corniche El Nil

2011-05-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

The Corniche El Nil is the name given to the wide pavement and road area adjacent to the River Nile. It is flanked by large hotels and government building and such like. Walking along the Corniche is quite pleasant.

The Ramses Hilton Cairo - Breakfast Bar & Coffee Shop

2011-05-23T02:47:00.001-07:00

It was always interesting to sit in the breakfast bar at the Ramses Hilton since you got great views of the Corniche just outside and the River Nile after that. It was always animated with traffic and the occasional horse and carriage passing by.

Helwan, The End Of The Cairo Metro Line

2011-05-22T15:04:00.001-07:00

The French style metro system ends in the suburb of Helwan. I went there one afternoon just to see what was there.

The Ramses Hilton Cairo

2011-05-22T09:03:00.003-07:00

In the early days we used to stay at the Ramses Hilton right bang in the centre of Cairo. It was so easy to walk to the Egyptian Museum and into Tahrir Square. Well, not actually 'easy' since the entire area is a melange of flyovers and incredibly busy roads. Many tour operators have now taken off Cairo central hotels and replaced them with very touristy ones safely out at Giza next to the pyramids. We have also been to a couple of these. They are lovely but there's no immediate access to Cairo itself.

Luxor and Aswan 2003

2011-05-22T07:45:00.001-07:00

Luxor And Aswan 2003 - slide show

Luxor is one of the places we've been to the most over all the years we've travelled. It has just about everything from superb weather to The Valley Of The Kings and some interesting mosques as well. This is THE place for those who want the real Egypt without the hustle of Cairo.

Sharm El Sheikh 2003

2011-05-22T07:02:00.001-07:00

Sharm El Sheikh - free slideshow

In 2003 we thought we'd like to see what Sharm El Sheikh was like so we did a three centre holiday to Sharm, Luxor and Aswan. Sharm is entirely purpose built as a Red Sea resort. It is of great interest to divers because of its lovely reefs and marine life. Other than that Sharm is a great destination for a totally relaxing hotel-based holiday but there is nothing of the 'real Egypt' at this resort.

The Citadel Cairo

2011-05-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Citadel and Mosque Of Muhammad Ali are always on the standard tourist visit to Cairo. It's fascinating to think that these walls were begun by non other than the famous Saladin( Salah ud Din ), the Muslim leader who defeated The Crusaders.

Read more about The Citadel and Salah ud Din's fortifications.

Gemal Abdel Nasser

2011-05-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Gemal Abdel Nasser was Egypt's second president. He was responsible for the creation of modern Egypt and is still hugely regarded in the Arab world today. I wanted to visit his tomb and mosque in Cairo. Here's the video:

More about Gemal Abdel Nasser.

Where Sadat Was Assassinated

2011-05-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by members of his own army for signing the Camp David Agreement with Israel thus making Egypt the only Arab country to have a peace agreement with the Israelis. I was keen to see the spot in Cairo where this happened so we went there on one of our earliest trips. Click this link to see the actual assassintation.

MamlukTombs In Cairo

2011-05-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

There are some very impressive Mamluk tombs in Cairo. This video just shows one small complex. The locale in full of them.

Everyday Poverty In Cairo

2011-05-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

For millions of Egyptians poverty is a fact of everyday life. In Cairo there are so many areas where the very poor live including The City Of The Dead. This huge necropolis houses the tombs of Islamic notables going way back in history and yet this is also the home of thousands of Egyptians today. They live with their families amidst the graves. There's electricity and basic domestic appliances.

Tomb of The Imam Al Shafi, Cairo

2011-05-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

The Imam Al Shafi was one of the four Islamic scholars whose work gave rise to the four recognised schools of Islamic jurispridence. His tomb can be found in Cairo.

Egypt In Our Hearts!

2011-05-20T04:53:00.001-07:00

Luxor 2004 - slide show

Egypt has always held a special place in our hearts since we made many journeys there in our younger days. In lots of ways Egypt was perfect since Janet loved the ancient history whilst I sought out the Islamic, being an RE teacher in a mainly Muslim school in Bradford.
Here's where we went over the years : CAIRO : LUXOR : ASWAN : ALEXANDRIA : SHARM EL SHEIKH : EL ALEMEIN

The very first time we went I had no video camera so we just took stills. A teaching colleague of Janet's had been with Hayes And Jarvis and she mentioned the price. We couldn't believe what good value it was. Well, that was it! We booked Cairo followed by a mini Nile cruise. The entire experience was surreal in the extreme and both of us will never forget our first experience of actually being there.