Egypt 1996

We flew to Cairo on 15 November for 4 nights with Lufthansa via Frankfurt. The flights were really good, the only fault was that smoking was still permitted on aircraft, so even though we were in non smoking seats the smoking was blowing forward towards us. It is hard to imagine what it was like now when people could smoke on flights with the recycled air, it nearly choked us!!!!!
We booked into the Oasis Hotel in Giza near to the Pyramids. The Hotel is set in a lush forest surrounding and is 5 minutes from the Pyramids.

When we were booking this trip, we were originally going to stay in Cairo but everybody we spoke to told us it was dirty and a dump (and they were right!!!!!) so we found the Hotel Oasis and decided to stay there as it has a health club and spa and is like a resort. Even though it is a first class Hotel it was not too expensive and did not break the bank.

We had ordered a taxi the next day to take us to the Pyramids. The taxi driver was really good and we ended up hiring him for the full duration of our stay. He came and collected us whenever we wanted and waited for us day and night. He charged us about £15 per day but we ended up up giving him about £25 a day and he thought he had won the lottery!!!!! He ended up being our guide too and we saw so much more and learned a lot more than we would have if he was not there.

I don't know what I expected the area where the Pyramids to be like, but I was disappointed. You have these amazing Pyramids, but there are are lots of people pestering you to have Camel Rides and to buy cheap tacky replicas if the Pyramids and Sphinx. Lucky for us our guide and driver kept telling them to go away and leave us alone. We did pay to go inside the Pyramids and it was fascination. Obviously there is no air conditioning and natural light. They have tried to keep them as natural as possible so there are a few small bulbs inside, but it is very dark. There are lots of little pathways and most of the time you have to crouch down to get around, and there are are lots of very steep steps inside. There are rooms inside that have tombs inside also. It is something that I recommend you do, but not if you suffer from Claustrophobia.

I have heard a rumour and I do not know how true this is, but it would not surprise me that a McDonald's has sprung up by the Pyramids. If this is true, then it is so wrong. They should be kept as ancient as possible!!!!! It is bad enough that they have laser shows at night coming from the Pyramids. Why do people have to spoil things that are already great!!!!!! The Egyptian Pound is used in Egypt although they do like the US Dollar as well!!!!

We went to see the Sphinx and this is known as the symbol of Egypt. It is known as the Great Sphinx. There are a lot of tombs and tunnels behind walls with hieroglyphs carved into the walls. If there is one museum you should visit, it has to be the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Th Egyptian Museum has 2 floors of History and Artefact's including Jewellery, Sculptures, Tutankhamen and a funerary collection. No photographs are allowed in the museum and there are different collections borrowed so it is worth checking out before you go to see which new exhibits they have.

We didn't like Cairo much as I found it dirty and just a busy city, although there are many sights to see. Our driver did take us to some of the shops in Cairo as items like rugs and other Egyptian Souvenirs. Egypt is very cheap for food, drink and clothes, and pretty much everything. There are stalls and street vendors selling Burgers, Felafel's and sandwiches. We were taken to a couple of carpet and Rug factories to see how these were made and it was quite interesting.

Our driver took us to lots of different places and sights including the Solar Barque Museum this has among other things boats which were used to carry bodies across the River Nile. The Mohammed Ali Mosque is also worth a visit, as it is one of the most distinctive and ancient Mosquesin Cairo. If you decide to go to visit this mosque, make sure that you are covered up and not showing arms or legs as you will not be allowed in in any flesh is showing other than face!!!!!!

We visited a Papyrus Paper factory which was very interesting to see how it is made and you could buy prints on the Papyrus. There is a Papyrus Museum which we did not get to as we ran out of time. There are some mini Pyramids which we went to, unfortunately I can't remember the name of them but they reminded me of the Aztec Pyramids you can see in South America.

There was not much to do at night in Giza other than go to restaurants and there were a couple of bars and nightclubs in Hotels. There is a laser show at the Pyramids which is ok but I think it somehow makes them tacky!!!!

There were not that many Hotels when we were there, but now there are a few different chains such as Sofitel among others.Transport there is only really taxi unless you booked a guided tour and travel on a coach. The weather was warm and can get very hot in the afternoon. so you would be better doing Museums with Air Conditioning then.

I do think that the Pyramids are a must see and it is a shame, as people tend to visit the beach resorts of Sharm El Sheik. I would like to go back and see see the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. There is so much history and so much to see, you could spend a week and still not see everything. I believe that Giza has changed in the 12 years since I have been, so I just hope that it has not been made more tacky than it already was.