Stan, for goodness sakes take care of yourself or you might never go to Egypt (or anywhere else) again!
As nice as the warm water and beaches sound, there is no way I am going to Egypt without seeing the antiquities. That's what the trip would be all about for me. I get plenty of warm weather here in Texas and we go to some beachy place at least once a year...so I get my fill of sun and swimming. It's the old stuff I am after when I look toward Egypt. That does sound like a good price for your Egyptian vacation, though. Is it typically that inexpensive there?
Thank you for the advice, I suppose one day I will have to start taking the good advice I get but so far it has created a bit of "excitement" in my life. I've gotten so used to mild weather in California that when in potentially dangerous weather conditions I am pretty lax.
I understand completely about the antiquities. Together with the British Museum, the Museum in Cairo, ancient Egypt is one of the most collected and researched civilizations. The Egyptian Museum is worth the trip to Cairo by itself( in fact it is the only reason I go to that crowded , noisy, dusty city) and it right up there with the great museums of the world. Built originally in 1835, it is also one of the oldest major museums.
The reason I did not get into sight seeing or exploring this last visit was that I had done a lot of that in the past in Egypt, including a "dig" with a National Geographical Society sponsored research project back in 1975, but what I hadn't done much of lately is see the sun or feel warm sand. In the winter here the sun barely raises above the horizon at mid day and sets into total darkness by 3:30pm. So it is entirely possible to spend months here and not see the sun one time. If that sun was available anywhere it would have been just as welcome a destination. That lack of sun might be why this is festival and party central during the almost all night sun of White Nights in early summer, when you can still read a newspaper by skylight at 3:30 in the morning. No one sleeps for this period, roaming the streets, attending festivals, strolling the parks, canal cruises and just plain socializing all night. I guess we save our energy all winter and expend it during the early summer. No one sleeps fearing missing out on some exciting events occuring without them.
Cruisers who come here miss out on some of that because they arrive from normal daylight cycles and tend to get to bed at normal times. Cruising the river on a riverboat/jazz cafe sipping wine and talking at 4am is a pretty pleasant activity. Every morning the great draw bridges raise at about 2am and that event has special meaning particularly for young lovers who believe the person they watch the bridges open for the first time of the season with will be the person they will be wth all year. Thousands stroll the canals, parks and river embankments until sun up. Outdoor cafes are all open and filled, bands playing along the river, and countless festivals occuring make up for the long winter with no sun. After a long explanation, that is why I sought to do nothing in Egypt except eat, swim and lay on the sand;>)
Stan,
I was a bit confused at first with your references of the long nights in winter and long days of summer when I first read your last post. Couldn't figure out what you were takling about until I realized it was home and not Egypt that you were referring to. That also caused my mind to skip a beat since I knew St. Petersburg was in Florida which also has fairly standard days in the summer and winter.
Reading back through your messages I quickly realized you are referring to St. Petersburg, Russia. It is marvelous having a global community here and I really appreciate your "non-American" insights. Thanks for your posts!
I've been to Egypt a couple of times, and it was an amazing place to visit. I never thought I would actually ever make it there, but when I worked onboard the Legend of the Seas we visited Port Said twice, Safaga twice and Sharm El Sheikh twice.
In Port Said, we went on a trip to the Giza Pyramids & Sphinx...and then finished the day at the Cairo Museum. The pyramids were awe-inspiring (except for the Pizza Hut across the street) and the museum was unreal. Every piece in there could have been the centrepiece of any other museum in the world.
Tip for the pyramids...go early to get into the Great Pyramid. They only allow a few to enter it each day, and it fills up very quickly.
Safaga was nothing really all that special, but we went to Hurghada and spent the day lounging at the Hilton's pool. Nice...nice twice.
We also took a trip from there to Luxor, and visited the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnak (not Johnny Carson's Karnak). It was beyond incredible, and I actually enjoyed the temple more than the Pyramids.
Sharm El Shaikh was beautiful, and swimming/snorkeling/diving in the Red Sea is very incredible. The water was very clear, and there was lots to see in the sea (hehe). I also had some very good Lebanese food, and smoked a hookha (shisha) in a really nice bar with pillows on the ground overlooking the town.
We transited the Suez twice, and that was nothing really all that special. The biggest thing I remember from that was the flies! There was a barbeque arranged on the pool deck, and it was SWARMED with flies (black cloud was a good description). We all ran for cover, and the barbeque was pretty much over.
All in all, I really enjoyed Egypt and would go back again in a heartbeat. I have included a couple of photos in this post, and there are more on my website...including a great shot of the Pizza Hut across the street from the Pyramids.
Photo 1 - Looking out at the desert from the Pyramids
Photo 2 - King Tut's Burial Mask
Photo 3 - Sharm El Shaikh Beach
Photo 4 - Temple Of Karnak, Luxor
Photo 5 - Suez Canal
Stan,
I was a bit confused at first with your references of the long nights in winter and long days of summer when I first read your last post. Couldn't figure out what you were takling about until I realized it was home and not Egypt that you were referring to. That also caused my mind to skip a beat since I knew St. Petersburg was in Florida which also has fairly standard days in the summer and winter.
Reading back through your messages I quickly realized you are referring to St. Petersburg, Russia. It is marvelous having a global community here and I really appreciate your "non-American" insights. Thanks for your posts!
Hi Neal
I guess I could have been more explicit but someone has to keep everyone on their toes;>) I have a very Non-American point of view because it has been so confused from going just about everywhere and not having been back "home" near San Francisco is a long time. I think in metric and have to convert mentally to inches and lbs:>0, that is being gone a long time;>) Actually I am a 5th generation Californian and just happened to fall in love on one of my adventures years ago and finally moved to my be with my love 3 years ago. That love is St Petersburg. One place I have not been to however is St Petersburg Florida.
Since St Peterburg Russia is a favorite destination for cruisers I thought I would hang out here and see if I could get a few others to fall in love with it also. If there are any questions about this area I am probably the one to ask since few foreigners know the city and its history like I do. Studying something for 27 years does that. Part of that results in me being familar with all the tour companies and their shore excursions also.
Thanks for having me.
From the pictures I have seen, St. Petersburg is beautiful. We keep looking at the European cruises and dreaming about going there eventually.
My daughter was able to go to the Ukraine on a high school trip 11 years ago. It was the middle of winter but they loved it. Most of the kids were shocked at the cold, but since we had just moved to Texas from Minnesota, it was not that big a deal for her.
But Southern Russia in the summer must be fantastic!
Hi Neal
The photos do not lie. It really is beautiful and most of it has been carefully restored to the original colors and condition of the first designers plans. In the last 4 years, over 600 buildings in the city center have restored, sidewalks repaved in Finnish Red Granite, like all the canals and rivers are lined with. You ought to come on the Baltic cruises that are so popular now. A little under 1,000,000 people arrive by ship or river boat each year between May 12th and September 18th. Yes despite the numbers, there are so many museums and palaces that they are no overrun. There are 255 museums, and more palaces than most of Europe put together in this one city. There are dozens of major cathedrals and hundreds of churches of historic and architecural interest. ....Well, you get the idea, it is a pretty cool place for sight seeing or experiencing culture, with more ballet theaters and schools than anywhere on earth, 54 concert halls and art everywhere.
Hope to see you here.
I've been in Egypt twice, both visits entirely too brief. I sailed on a freighter from Mombassa, Kenya, to Alexandria, including a south-to-north Suez Canal transit. I spent two days working hard for long hours in Alex. I then had three days as a real tourist. The United States Army had contracted for a car and driver for the use of two other Naval officers and me. After the job was over we still had time before our homeward flight and before the end of the driver's contract. Our driver, who along with two-thirds of the Egyptian men I have ever met was named Mohammed, was a Cairo resident so he was very happy when we said we wanted to go to Cairo instead of staying in Alex. He was then our tour guide as well as driver for three days.
We saw the pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, The Mosque of Pasha Mohammed Ali and the Military Museum adjacent to it, various suqs (or souks, if you prefer) and lots of people and traffic. We asked Mohammed to take us to a restaurant where all of the other diners would be Egyptian, and he did. The Andrea was an outdoor restaurant with a Greek accent, but it was fine. Mohammed said it was the location at which he proposed marriage to his wife. We ate messa (hors d'oeuvres), kabob, and chicken at picnic tables under mimossa trees with Egyptian children, cats, and dogs running around. The pita, formed on a flat rock and baked in an open-air oven, was the best I have ever eaten. And, of course, we washed it down with Stella Local beer.
My second trip was as part of a Holy Land tour. We spent two nights and one full day in Cairo, and it was too rushed and not too satisfactory. Being an escorted tour, we wasted too much time at the obligatory shopping opportunities. But from Cairo to the Gaza we rode a bus through the Sinai, including a ferry ride across the Suez Canal from west to east. Just before reaching Israeli territory we made a rest stop at the Oberoi Al Arish Resort. We were not there long, but long enough to see that it was a desirable spot for a holiday. Earlier poster mentioned the Red Sea beaches, and Al Arish has a beautiful Mediterranean beach.
There. I've told you more than I know about Egypt.
Hi Neal
The photos do not lie. It really is beautiful and most of it has been carefully restored to the original colors and condition of the first designers plans. In the last 4 years, over 600 buildings in the city center have restored, sidewalks repaved in Finnish Red Granite, like all the canals and rivers are lined with. You ought to come on the Baltic cruises that are so popular now. A little under 1,000,000 people arrive by ship or river boat each year between May 12th and September 18th. Yes despite the numbers, there are so many museums and palaces that they are no overrun. There are 255 museums, and more palaces than most of Europe put together in this one city. There are dozens of major cathedrals and hundreds of churches of historic and architecural interest. ....Well, you get the idea, it is a pretty cool place for sight seeing or experiencing culture, with more ballet theaters and schools than anywhere on earth, 54 concert halls and art everywhere.
Hope to see you here.
I tossed the idea to my wife tonight but since she only has 7 days vacation this year and since she does not get the vacation until early fall, I don't think the Northern Atlantic will be a possibility (sigh). Maybe next year if all works out okay....
I spent six weeks in Egypt several years ago when my nephew and his wife were living just outside Cairo -- he was with an American oil field supply company.
With them, alone and with a small tour group, I got around most of the country. all I can say is -- it is stupendous!
Be sure and stock up on Lomotil and don't drink the water or the ice and don't eat anything fresh unless you can peel it. Pharoah's Revenge is nothing to fool around with!!! I am speaking from experience here.
Most of antiquities lies in a very narrow belt centered by the Nile. Cairo is a good starting point. The big pyramids are just outside the city. The Cairo museum is fabulous.
But don't miss the Kahlili (sp) shopping areas, the old Jewish and Coptic quarters, the City of the Dead. And the belly dancers. You have to see the belly dancers.
There is a golf course in the shadow of the Great Pyramid, and agood hotel there. It is great to sit at the 19th Hole, sip a tall cool one and look out at the sands on which sit both the Pyramid and the Sphinx. So much history flashes by!!!!
Do take the Nile cruise, because you can visit all the old temples like at Abidos, and the magnificent ruins at Luxor and Karnak,Valley of the Kings and then the runis at Aswan and the High Dam. l
Nowhere ion the world is there anything to compare with the size and grandeur of Luxor and Karnak temples!!!!
You can also take a train up the Nile, getting off at each of these places. There are some good hotels along the way, so you won't be far from modern amenities even as you wander through centuries past.
Just don't go in the summer months. It is hot, hot, hot in May, and even worse later.
Back to Cairo,you may want to hop over to Alexandria on the Med sea. It is full of ancient stuff too. Get a good gujide book.
The desert is something else. I crossed the Arabian desert from Israel aboard a bus, took a ferry across the Suez. Fabulous trip, but strenuous and it is something you want to do only once.
Good luck. I envy you your first thrill of Egypt!!!
Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers
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Centrum Deck
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Cruise Places
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Africa
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Who's been to Egypt?
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