We were delighted to discover that we weren't going to share our Egyptair flight with goats or chickens! Although it was a little disturbing to hear some mullah bellowing over the p.a.system before take off! The flight was a little cramped and reminded us of Tiger Air before they were banished from Aussie skies. Cairo is a huge city of 19/21 million people. It is congested, chaotic and the dust is unbelievable , it is everywhere. We soon had dry throats and coughs and felt like showering all the time. It's still a fascinating city though it has a look of being permanently unfinished with buildings completed up to the 3rd or 4th floor then supporting columns erected for the next floor but no brickwork!! There were thousands like this which gave the impression of abandonment. Nevertheless the Pyramids and Sphinx were awe inspiring and to hear our guide describe the construction of these and other artefacts makes you realise what skills, intelligence and innovation existed about 3500 years ago. Our visit to the Egyptian museum was disappointing in respect to the way the pieces were kept and displayed. From our visit to see the Tutankhamun exhibition in Melbourne we expected the home of the artefacts to be at least as good if not better. The place was run down, dusty and badly in need of some T.l.c. As with the Louvre you would need a week to do it justice. Our hotel, the Marriott, was excellent, an oasis of luxury on the Nile. With over a 1000 rooms, 15 restaurants, pool and many outside bars it rivals anything we've got. Our room had a large balcony overlooking the Nile and was quite spacious. Our guide, Khalid was very knowledgable and very passionate about everything. Passion in Egyptian men comes across as anger with raised voice, gesturing and finger pointing the way they express themselves, so when I asked about the political situation he was very scathing about America and the Muslim Brotherhood because it is affecting the tourism trade very badly. Unemployment in Egypt is estimated at 50 percent so people are very concerned about Egypts' image abroad. People in the industry rely very much on tips for their income.
During our time in Egypt we have never felt threatened or in any danger, the Media have a lot to answer for in portraying the events as more than they are. We joined our cruise ship after two days in Cairo and a flight to Luxor. Our boat, the Crown Jewel was well appointed our cabin's picture window looked out over the river, beautiful scene to wake up to! The temp has been around 40degrees every day, the heat is relentless we thank Allah for the air con in our room. The scenery is quite spectacular with the lush greenery extending up to 2 klm from the Nile then sand and rock. From the air it is more apparent why the Nile is the life blood of Egypt!