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Big long post about Egypt
This is rather late, but by the time I had 'recovered' enough to want to LJ the trip, LJ had started going wonky!
Sunday/Monday
Due to KLM changing the time of our flights because of the curfew in Cairo we left Leeds on Sunday afternoon, and arrived in Cario Monday lunchtime - with a night at a very nice hotel at Schipol airport inbetween.
My first impressions of Cairo mostly were the chaos and the constant beeping of horns. Nothing changed about this, except a bit better grasp of how the chaos worked.
Late afternoon in the hotel we had an Arabic lesson of useful phrases etc. Which I was mostly too tired to take in, but I did try to use some of the things we learnt.
We went to a local restaurant for dinner, and I was very impressed with the food and the prices. Cairo is an amazingly late night city, coming back from the restaurant everything was still open and the streets were really busy. A lot of things seemed to stay open all night, despite the curfew.
Tuesday
This was our first full day and we started off with Yasmina (English dancer who has lived there for 16 years) and Nibal (Cairo native, our tour guide) telling us a bit about the revolution and how it affected them. Kay (who organises the trips) and Nibal then gave us a walking tour of the area near the hotel - right up to Tahir Square, where all the demonstrations were. From the square we went on the Metro up to Hannan's (costumiers). The Metro was great, cheap and efficient, and the women in the women-only carriage were for the most part very welcoming, as were so many of the people we met.
Before we went to Hannan's we stopped off to try a local drink called 'Asab' which is made of crushed sugar cane. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but I am not sure I could drink too much of it.
It was fun being at Hanan's, and I bought a belt/skirt for practice, and ended up being given a veil, which was lovely. It was also fun to watch people try things on. We did end up spending ages there though.
In the evening we went out for Koshary (or any other spelling you care to use) which is a staple food in Cairo, consisting of rice, pasta, lentils, tomato sauce - with optional chickpeas, dried onions, garlic and or chilli. It was fantastic. I really must make this for myself. We then went for a trip on a Nile party boat. Party boats are small, open boats with flashing lights and big speakers, that you hire for an hour or so. Party on the Nile!
Wednesday
In the morning we had a 2 hour dance class with Kazafy. He is a fantastic teacher, and he needed to be as we learnt a very complicated step sequence. His studio definitely has too many mirrors!
We headed off to the Khan-el-Khalili market in the afternoon, but because the traffic was horrendous, even for Cairo, it took us ages to get there - it was absolutely fascinating watching Cairo happen around us though. We had a late lunch at Naquib Mafouz, which is defintely to be recommended, a nice oasis of calm (and air con) in the middle of the market. As our time was limited, after lunch we headed off to Mahmood's - a huge belly dance store in the market. I spent rather a lot there, but the selection and prices were so good.
That evening we went to a show near the market, that the Ministry of Culture put on. It was a Tannoura or Whirling Dervish show, and it was absoultely fantastic to watch - and as pre-show entertainment, there were kittens!
(incidentally that is bits of cold felafel that they are eating)
The show:
Thursday
I declined going to the Anglican Cathedral in Cairo so I had a leisurely morning at the hotel (much needed) before heading off to the Hamman with a few others of the people on the trip.
The Hammam experience was lovely, I was nervous about being naked in front of the others, but after a while you don't notice (and it is hard to see through the steam too), the whole experience includes steaming, and then being soaped and scrubbed by the women that work there (the amount of dead skin that comes off is astounding) - I paid extra to have my hair dryed, and they may even have converted me to the wonders that can be done with straightners (they used them to create curls) - not sure I have the patience though
It was particularly nice to go to the Hamman on this day, as that evening was the party night at Yasmina's that she hosts for every group Kay takes. Yasmina's apartment is amazing - and you can see the Pyramids from her balcony! Not that I got any decent pictures of them at night, as I would really have needed a tripod.
Still, what was going on inside was amazing. Her step-daughter Hebba danced for us:
Twice:
We also had Nubian dancers, and Saedi boys (Yasmina's son joined in the Saedi)
Friday
In the morning we went to the Pyramids
Nibal is very good at taking this sort of photo - as well all get one.
In this picture you can see both the original entrance to the Pyramid, and the one that was made later (not much later) - and the blocks on the original one are still too big to be moved!
I paid the extra and went in the Great Pyramid, and it was so worth it. As there were so few tourists in Cairo we had it to ourselves, we didn't see anyone else until we were coming back out. The climb up and down is very difficult, but it is worth making the effort if you can. No photos from the inside, you have to surrender your camera. I didn't go in the Queen's pyramid too, but stayed out and people watched.
Nibal is a fantastic guide to sites like this, it would have been amazing to record what she was saying.
We then went on to the Cheops boat museum, which houses an almost intact boat that is almost 5000 years old!
The ropes there are replicas, but they do have some of the originals:
On to the Sphinx next:
We had a late lunch at Felfellas Village, which is a large restaurant which has a friday caberet show - part of which is the Hasan Hasan show, which is what we went to see
The Hasan show has a bit of everything, comedy (slapstick and very visual, so not speaking Arabic was not a hinderance), belly dancing and more tannouras!
Beth was taken up on stage to join in (don't sit near the stage at cabarets)
Saturday
We started Saturday with a Felucca ride - a Felucca is open boat with a sail, and it is a lovely way to see the Nile. So peaceful
I then went on an optional trip to the Egyptian Museum (again no photos from inside), where I saw, amongst other things, the ultimate Egpyt shiny, the mask of Tutankhamun.
We spent about 4 hours here (I missed the singing lesson) and I could easily go back and spend that much time again and still not have seen everything. Nibal was a brilliant guide, and I am sure we would not have seen so much without her. I really enjoyed seeing the ancient papyri and textiles
Saturday evening was our first trip to the Nile Maxim - a restuarant boat which does actually sail. The food was amazing, but the dancing even more so. This time we saw Leila.
Before we saw Leila, we saw yet another Tannoura, only this one had a light up skirt (I apologise for the sideways video, photobucket won't let me flip, and these are the right way up on my PC)
Sunday
I went on another optional tour on Sunday with Nibal, this time to Islamic Cairo. We started at the fort of Saladin, and the Mohammed Ali mosque.
and then went on to another mosque, at this one the Imam sang the call to prayer for us, which was wonderful to listen to.
Just time for more shopping at the Khan before heading of to the Maxim again, this time to see Randa (and the light up Tannoura, again)
Randa was absolutely amazing, seeing her was a fantastic way to end the trip (more sideways videos)
Now for those of you who have made it to the end of this mammoth post, a couple of random treats
The inside of one of the taxis we used (this was at the extreme end of the scale, but not by much)
and the Cairo traffic, as seen from our balcony:
Sunday/Monday
Due to KLM changing the time of our flights because of the curfew in Cairo we left Leeds on Sunday afternoon, and arrived in Cario Monday lunchtime - with a night at a very nice hotel at Schipol airport inbetween.
My first impressions of Cairo mostly were the chaos and the constant beeping of horns. Nothing changed about this, except a bit better grasp of how the chaos worked.
Late afternoon in the hotel we had an Arabic lesson of useful phrases etc. Which I was mostly too tired to take in, but I did try to use some of the things we learnt.
We went to a local restaurant for dinner, and I was very impressed with the food and the prices. Cairo is an amazingly late night city, coming back from the restaurant everything was still open and the streets were really busy. A lot of things seemed to stay open all night, despite the curfew.
Tuesday
This was our first full day and we started off with Yasmina (English dancer who has lived there for 16 years) and Nibal (Cairo native, our tour guide) telling us a bit about the revolution and how it affected them. Kay (who organises the trips) and Nibal then gave us a walking tour of the area near the hotel - right up to Tahir Square, where all the demonstrations were. From the square we went on the Metro up to Hannan's (costumiers). The Metro was great, cheap and efficient, and the women in the women-only carriage were for the most part very welcoming, as were so many of the people we met.
Before we went to Hannan's we stopped off to try a local drink called 'Asab' which is made of crushed sugar cane. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but I am not sure I could drink too much of it.
It was fun being at Hanan's, and I bought a belt/skirt for practice, and ended up being given a veil, which was lovely. It was also fun to watch people try things on. We did end up spending ages there though.
In the evening we went out for Koshary (or any other spelling you care to use) which is a staple food in Cairo, consisting of rice, pasta, lentils, tomato sauce - with optional chickpeas, dried onions, garlic and or chilli. It was fantastic. I really must make this for myself. We then went for a trip on a Nile party boat. Party boats are small, open boats with flashing lights and big speakers, that you hire for an hour or so. Party on the Nile!
Wednesday
In the morning we had a 2 hour dance class with Kazafy. He is a fantastic teacher, and he needed to be as we learnt a very complicated step sequence. His studio definitely has too many mirrors!
We headed off to the Khan-el-Khalili market in the afternoon, but because the traffic was horrendous, even for Cairo, it took us ages to get there - it was absolutely fascinating watching Cairo happen around us though. We had a late lunch at Naquib Mafouz, which is defintely to be recommended, a nice oasis of calm (and air con) in the middle of the market. As our time was limited, after lunch we headed off to Mahmood's - a huge belly dance store in the market. I spent rather a lot there, but the selection and prices were so good.
That evening we went to a show near the market, that the Ministry of Culture put on. It was a Tannoura or Whirling Dervish show, and it was absoultely fantastic to watch - and as pre-show entertainment, there were kittens!
(incidentally that is bits of cold felafel that they are eating)
The show:
Thursday
I declined going to the Anglican Cathedral in Cairo so I had a leisurely morning at the hotel (much needed) before heading off to the Hamman with a few others of the people on the trip.
The Hammam experience was lovely, I was nervous about being naked in front of the others, but after a while you don't notice (and it is hard to see through the steam too), the whole experience includes steaming, and then being soaped and scrubbed by the women that work there (the amount of dead skin that comes off is astounding) - I paid extra to have my hair dryed, and they may even have converted me to the wonders that can be done with straightners (they used them to create curls) - not sure I have the patience though
It was particularly nice to go to the Hamman on this day, as that evening was the party night at Yasmina's that she hosts for every group Kay takes. Yasmina's apartment is amazing - and you can see the Pyramids from her balcony! Not that I got any decent pictures of them at night, as I would really have needed a tripod.
Still, what was going on inside was amazing. Her step-daughter Hebba danced for us:
Twice:
We also had Nubian dancers, and Saedi boys (Yasmina's son joined in the Saedi)
Friday
In the morning we went to the Pyramids
Nibal is very good at taking this sort of photo - as well all get one.
In this picture you can see both the original entrance to the Pyramid, and the one that was made later (not much later) - and the blocks on the original one are still too big to be moved!
I paid the extra and went in the Great Pyramid, and it was so worth it. As there were so few tourists in Cairo we had it to ourselves, we didn't see anyone else until we were coming back out. The climb up and down is very difficult, but it is worth making the effort if you can. No photos from the inside, you have to surrender your camera. I didn't go in the Queen's pyramid too, but stayed out and people watched.
Nibal is a fantastic guide to sites like this, it would have been amazing to record what she was saying.
We then went on to the Cheops boat museum, which houses an almost intact boat that is almost 5000 years old!
The ropes there are replicas, but they do have some of the originals:
On to the Sphinx next:
We had a late lunch at Felfellas Village, which is a large restaurant which has a friday caberet show - part of which is the Hasan Hasan show, which is what we went to see
The Hasan show has a bit of everything, comedy (slapstick and very visual, so not speaking Arabic was not a hinderance), belly dancing and more tannouras!
Beth was taken up on stage to join in (don't sit near the stage at cabarets)
Saturday
We started Saturday with a Felucca ride - a Felucca is open boat with a sail, and it is a lovely way to see the Nile. So peaceful
I then went on an optional trip to the Egyptian Museum (again no photos from inside), where I saw, amongst other things, the ultimate Egpyt shiny, the mask of Tutankhamun.
We spent about 4 hours here (I missed the singing lesson) and I could easily go back and spend that much time again and still not have seen everything. Nibal was a brilliant guide, and I am sure we would not have seen so much without her. I really enjoyed seeing the ancient papyri and textiles
Saturday evening was our first trip to the Nile Maxim - a restuarant boat which does actually sail. The food was amazing, but the dancing even more so. This time we saw Leila.
Before we saw Leila, we saw yet another Tannoura, only this one had a light up skirt (I apologise for the sideways video, photobucket won't let me flip, and these are the right way up on my PC)
Sunday
I went on another optional tour on Sunday with Nibal, this time to Islamic Cairo. We started at the fort of Saladin, and the Mohammed Ali mosque.
and then went on to another mosque, at this one the Imam sang the call to prayer for us, which was wonderful to listen to.
Just time for more shopping at the Khan before heading of to the Maxim again, this time to see Randa (and the light up Tannoura, again)
Randa was absolutely amazing, seeing her was a fantastic way to end the trip (more sideways videos)
Now for those of you who have made it to the end of this mammoth post, a couple of random treats
The inside of one of the taxis we used (this was at the extreme end of the scale, but not by much)
and the Cairo traffic, as seen from our balcony: