Egypt

Egyptian License plate

 

 

BUREAUCRACY PERFECTION

The British may have invented bureaucracy but the Egyptians perfected it.

This is a story of going through immigrations and customs when entering into Egypt. Something we had done on each entry into every country but Egypt was different.

DAY ONE, ARRIVING IN ASWAN

After 2 nights and 3 days sailing from Wadi Halfa on the cement barge, we were all very tired, dirty, and covered with cement dust. We arrived
Aswan Port Discussions at port of Aswan late morning. It is a grubby port filled with cargo boats, ferries and barges all seemingly in a sad state of repair and neglect. Boats were anchored alongside each other and there was no place for our cement barge to dock. With tensions running high and shouting loudly in Arabic the men on both the barge and the dockside were obviously arguing. Our barge continued going until it rammed a boat, the captain repositioning our barge, and rammed it once again. The men on our barge jumped across to the other boat. Against protests and shouting, they untied the boat from its anchoring. The captain of our barge rammed it repeatedly until he had managed to wedge the cement barge between the dockside and the other boat.

Once we were tied up, the crew scrambled a shore, yelling at Tom to get our car off the boat. There were no ramps and he was expected to “launch” the car off the cement barge across the gap between the barge and the dockside. Tom
Nile River in Aswan inspected his options. The barge was actually lower than the dockside, and the danger lay in ensuring he had enough power to launch over the low barrier. There was the risk of the power of the car when striking the land to actually push the barge further away from the dockside. Our beloved Land Cruiser would then fall into the water and become a fixture of the port of Aswan.

Tom was now been told to hurry, “We can not be here, we must get the cars off quickly,” they informed him as they began to untie the ropes holding the car onto the barge.

Tom was now told to hurry, “We can not be here, we must get the cars off quickly,” they informed him as they began to untie the ropes holding the car onto the barge.

Tom was furious, “I will not be rushed. This is dangerous, and my car is heavy,” he shouted.

“But we have to move before the owner of the boat (they had pushed away) returns,” they replied.

Aswan Roof Tops

“That’s not my problem, this is unsafe and I will do it on my time, when I am ready,” responded Tom firmly.

Mark, Ivan, Henning, and Tom discussed the precarious situation and with some more maneuvering done by the captain of our barge, Tom was ready to reverse the car off the barge. Ivan, Henning, and Mark were providing direction as Tom could not see, where he was going. I held my breath.

Tom climbed into the car and there was a silence by all watching, on both the barge and the dockworkers. Tom turned the ignition and gave full acceleration when Mark shouted, “Now.” All around people were screaming “Go, go, go”

Friendly Egyptians

I watched in disbelief as our car seemed to smash into the land and then with full power go over the barrier- he had landed on land. Cheers rang out and there were many congratulations. However, the task was not over yet we still had three more vehicles to disembark. The captain had to maneuver the barge for each vehicle. It was an agonizing while waiting and watching until finally Henning, the last one to disembark, was safely on land.

We were then escorted out of the dockside and into Immigrations and Customs. While waiting for all the vehicles to be off loaded a man took all passports and then disappeared. We are all focusing on get safely off loaded.

Salumen and Hadija

A carnet is an expensive and essential document if bringing a vehicle into a foreign country and is required in most African countries. This document is an insurance against one selling the car while in the country without paying the required duties and taxes, and is required for clearing the vehicle through customs.

We were ushered into “Mr. Carnet’s” office. He welcomed us warmly and invited us to sit down. He has a reputation of paying particular attention to details and the first customer officer who we had met who did not require any assistance in completing the carnet. He spent well over an hour going over all the documents, stopping only briefly to make himself some tea while the eight dusty and tired onlookers all watched in silence. He completed some forms,
Tourist at Last stamped the forms, stamped the carnets, and continued to read all the details on each carnet. It was a painfully slow process for us.

Breaking the silence, Henning asked, “I need to change some money, is there a foreign exchange somewhere near here?” We were all required to pay Egyptian pounds for the carnet paperwork.

Mr. Carnet glanced up and said he could arrange it for us. He made a phone call and shortly afterwards a man arrived. Much confusion ensured as we wanted to know the different exchange rates of the US$ and Euro. With our non-existent Arabic his non-existent English and Mr. Carnet as translator, we were finally able to exchange some money.

Mr. Carnet turned his attention back to the carnets and we once again waited in silence.
Anyone for Shisha Finally, it was time to pay Mr. Carnet for charges before we were lead off to the Immigration office to get our passports. With passports stamped and customs cleared, all that is usually required is a cursory check by the police before being allowed into a country. We were soon to learn that there is no such thing as a “cursory check by police” in Egypt.

We were handed our passports before returning to Mr. Carnet to get a letter from him. The letter addressed to the traffic police in Aswan declared our vehicles had cleared customs. As there are no traffic police at the port, we are required to take a cab for the 8km drive to the little town of Aswan. By now it was too late in the day to finish all the paper work required so we decided that we spend the night in Aswan and return the following day.

Aswan Cateract Hotel

The vehicles would have to be left at customs so we returned to the vehicles to collect some toiletries and clean clothes. Waiting for us at the vehicle were the Port Police who informed us that they wanted us all to unpack our vehicles so they could be searched. It had been a stressful day; we were exhausted and in no mood to unpack any vehicle, especially since our vehicles are all so packed with stuff. It would take us hours to unpack and repack all our stuff.

We simply refused. The arguing began, with lots of gesticulations, arms waving, confusion, and frustration on both sides until Mr. Carnet arrived on the scene. He once again was required to do the translating,
Aswan Coptic Monestary but we were not changing our minds. He said we have to have everything searched in case we were carrying bombs. Again, we all refuse. The Port Police then suggested we would have to have everything x-rayed, but we were not budging we did not want to start unpacking the vehicles. Finally, in desperation the Port Police disappeared to discuss the situation with the boss and returning shortly, and after a visual inspection of each vehicle they to tell us we are free to leave.

We take a cab and hit the town and a hotel for hot shower and a bottle of wine. Life is great.

DAY TWO -ASWAN

Cab ride To Traffic Police

• The following morning Tom, Ivan, Henning, and Mark take a cab to the traffic police department in Aswan. The day would be spent organizing Egyptian insurance and Egyptian license plates for the cars. Local plates were required not in any other country any of us had traveled through.
• At the Traffic Police station they each are given four forms and then taken to cashier pay LE11 for the forms

CAIRO Overlooking the NIle

Cab Ride 8km to Port

• Back in cab with traffic police and return to the port
• Arrive at port; traffic police ask for one form back
• Take rubbing of engine and chassis number

Cab Ride 8km to Traffic Police station

• Take cab back to traffic police station
• Hand all forms back to police, who then get them all mixed up.
• Takes all forms and go to a lady she hands us another new 8 forms
• Gives back the 4 forms we now each have 12 forms
• New police officer arrives he wants all the passports and carnets. He then runs outside with all the documents and Ivan takes off in hot pursuit. Travelers golden rule never let your documents out of your sight even with police.
• Ivan returns with passports and carnets
  Go back to cashier and pay LE30 and another LE11 for Egyptian number plates
• Give cashier 4 forms
• Go across the road to get photocopies of all passports and carnets and return to police station

Camel Saddle

Cab Ride to Insurance Company

• Take cab across town to the insurance company.
• Give one form to insurance and photocopies of passports and carnet
• Fill in another insurance form and pay LE60

Cab Ride to Police Station

• Get back in cab and go back to traffic police
• Handed in all forms
• Wait for an hour as everyone is at lunch.
• While waiting man arrives and says, we have to pay him LE 50 each. Not aware he was not a policemen just a hustler
• Had little discussion amongst decided to pay only LE20
• Finally called given license plate, insurance sticker for window and an Egyptian driving permit.

Dahab Bedioum Child

Cab Ride 8km to Port

• Cab back to port to attached license plates and sticker
• Port authorities wanting to drill holes for their license plates we refuse and attach them with wire and duct tape.
• Mr. Carnet arrives and says we need to see him as we need a letter from him to say we have cleared customs.
  

 

Arrive at port gate with letter and we are told to pull to the side of the road.

Dahab Traffic

On alighting from our vehicles, we are informed we have to pay for port parking. That was it, the final straw. After all the costs involved and two full days of bureaucracy at its absolute best, the group validated the reputation of overlanders driving across Africa South to North. They are traveled fatigued, tired of bureaucracy, and running out of patience and money .

I am not sure who hit the wall first but the group refused to pay for parking. The port police knew only very limited English, which added to the confusion about the amount we had to pay. The amount being asked was changing as fast as tempers were flaring. Our argument
DASHUR Bent PYRAMIDS was that we had no options; we had to leave the cars at the port because of the costs, time, and amount of paperwork required to clear customs.

Finally, the chief arrived and Mark then announced we are not paying and will block the exit with our vehicles. As he started driving towards to exit barrier gate he murmured to us “Get behind me as we need to be together on this one.” I pulled in behind his vehicle and I saw the barrier being raised, they had decided just to let us go. However, I did leave wondering if this near international parking riot was going to come back to haunt us. We would just have to wait and see.

Dashur STEPS PYRAMIDS

ASWAN

After crossing Lake Nasser, we decided to spend several days at the little port of Aswan. It is a quaint little village on the shore of the Nile River. Once a little fishing village it is now busy port of call for large luxurious cruise barges which sail the Nile River from Luxor or Abu Simbel. Despite being a busy tourist town, it has managed to maintain a charm of its own. We spent hours exploring the colourful souk (open-air market), where friendly Egyptians hustled us to buy aromatic spices, fresh vegetables and fruit, kitschy souvenirs, semi-precious stones or simply join them for a coffee and a shisha. As we strolled along the corniche, watching feluccas sailing, we were constantly invited to take a “felucca for only five Egyptian pounds.”

Edfu Temple of Horus

Colourful flags and banners fluttered in the air welcoming the Coptic Pope who happened to be in town visiting the same time as us. We celebrated our entry into Egypt with sunset drinks on the porch of the old Cataract Hotel, famous as the place where Agatha Christie stayed while writing her book, “Death on the Nile.” It was all so civilized.

WHERE YOU COME FROM WHERE YOU GO?

Security is tight in Egypt especially in touristy areas. Roadblocks are frequent and a police escort is required when driving between certain
Aswan Roof Tops tourist destinations. It was a 3-hour drive south of Aswan to Abu Simbel, the famous temple that Ramses II built, and we were not keen to travel with the police escort. We heard that keeping up with the escort was impossible due to the speed at which it travels. We left Aswan and headed south with some trepidation unsure if we would be able to avoid the police escort to Abu Simbel. It was not too long before we arrived at the first roadblock and we were questioned. These questions would be asked of us many times, a scene that would be played repeatedly. What is your nationality, where you go, where you come from? On replying “Canadian” to the first question, we always received a smile and “Canada good.” This confirms that Canada’s foreign policy seems to be working.
GIZA PYRAMIDS Often we were given the quote “Canada dry never die.” They must have picked this up from some commercial, and they had no idea what it means. At this is the point the conversation would become hieroglyphics to both them and us. No matter how good their English or our Arabic (which is limited to a vocabulary of 20 words) we were never able to explain what camping is. We resorted to picking a name of a hotel at our point of destination, which despite the fact we never stayed at seemed to satisfy the police and we were waved through.

TEMPLES, TOMBS, TEMPLES, TOMBS

The ancient Egyptians established a magnificent civilization and their achievements have captured the imagination of the world ever since. We were not disappointed; Egypt certainly had a glorious past, and our fascination with ancient Egypt increased with the more we saw and learnt.

GIZA PYRAMIDS

ABU SIMBEL

Abu Simbel is located in southern Egypt very close to the Sudanese border. Hewn out of a solid cliff in the 13th century the Great Temple of Abu Simbel and the smaller Temple of Hathor are a breathtaking sight. It was built to honour Ramses 2nd whose four colossal enthroned statues dominate the entrance. We were fascinated to learn that the actual temples had been relocated in the 1960s. When the rising waters of Lake Nasser threatened to engulf the temples UNESCO cut them from the mountains and moved them to an artificial cliff 210m (688ft) back from and 65m (213m) above their original position, a modern engineering feat in its own right.

GIZA SPHINXS

LUXOR

Luxor is the jewel of Egypt’s past civilizations. Developed on the ruins of Thebes once the ancient capital of the Egyptian New Kingdom (1550-1069BC) it is today the tourist mecca of the Nile Valley. Dominating the centre of town on the east bank of the Nile is the Luxor Temple, and the Karnak complex with the Temple of Amun at its heart. To avoid the busloads of tourists, we visited these temples during the lunch hours, ambling amongst the imposing halls, colossi, and courts. It is truly remarkable what this ancient civilization achieved. We could only just imagine what it may have looked like at its prime.

Islamic Quarters Cairo

Across the Nile River on the west bank lies the Theban Necropolis, perhaps one of the world’s greatest archeological site. It was here in the Valley of the Kings, that Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered. By digging their tombs deep into the surrounding hills, the pharaohs hoped to prevent grave robbers from stealing the priceless treasures.

We explored some of the tombs of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings and the Tombs of the Nobles with their magnificent and vivid artwork.

The imposing Hatsheput Temple against the stark mountain backdrop, which is beautifully restored, had us in awe. Tom climbed up the mountain to gaze down at this magnificent
James and friends temple. Our favourite was the beautiful Temple of Medina Habu not as imposing but to us, the most stunning. Luxor certainly has excellent museums. The Luxor Museum and the Museum of Mummies are not to be missed. Unfortunately, Tutankhamen’s tomb and the priceless treasure were taken to the Cairo Museum, which is in a sad state for a National Museum.

We returned each evening to the Rezeiki Campsite after a busy day of exploring. Tom, Mark, and Ivan were delighted when they arrived back from shopping with a bottle of Johnny Walker whiskey, announcing proudly, “We only paid US$8.00.” With glasses raised to celebrated life, they sipped the whiskey. Tom immediately spat it out “Tastes like diesel” he said disgustingly. On closer examination of the bottle, we noticed it had a couple of letters missing in the label; it was a John Waler Black Label. We all had a good chuckle we had been taken in once more.

Leaving Africa Tunnel Beneath the Suez canal

MORE DESERTS AND MORE SAND

We had been traveling in desert since leaving Khartoum in Sudan. We thought we were “deserted out” but the White Desert in the Egyptian Western Desert was yet another highlight for us.

LUXOR kARNAK Complex

Egypt is 2/3 desert and an empty expanse of land as far west as the Libyan border, south to the Sudan border, east to the Nile Valley and north to the Mediterranean Sea. Several oases with bubbling springs, fields of crops, green pasture with cows and goats are inhabited. The Bedouins who live at the oases have their own culture, food, and traditions. Traveling north, we stop at the Kharga, Farafra, Bahariyya, and Dachla oases. Hosted by the Bedouins we were treated superbly and spoilt with gifts. They are remarkably hospitable and friendly. Tom relaxed with the local men folk in the hot springs while I sipped mint tea in the shadow.

The western desert of the Sahara is a wild and captivating landscape constantly changing shaped by wind and erosion. North of the Farafra Oasis lies what is known as the White Desert. We arrived early morning and headed off to explore this incredible and mysterious land. Sculptured by wind, the chalk and limestone rocks have eroded into odd and enigmatic looking formations. Large white glistening mushrooms, beehives, sphinxes, and other shapes are all around. As the sun sets, the white takes on shades of pink, orange, and yellow hues it, a winter wonderland in Africa. It is surreal; a marshmallow world.

LUXOR kARNAK Restorations

As we were looking for a place to camp, we met some German astronomers who were setting up camp and planning to do some sky gazing. We were in for a treat and under a carpet of million of stars, we were shown the great constellations in the heavens above. An amazing way to end such a special day.

CAIRO

Everything we heard about Cairo drivers is true. They are simply awful; completely disregard road signs, one way streets, traffic lights, or lines on the road. Added to this confusion is the constant blaring of hooters. It is complete anarchy. Cairo is not only one of the most densely populated places on earth it is also the noisiest. No vehicle seems to move without blasting the horn.

Luxor Temple

Therefore, it was with some desperation that we pulled into a five star hotel to ask for directions to the nearest campsite. I entered the foyer and fell in love. It was so decadent, so posh, so beautiful, and had room prices to match. I asked to speak to the manager. Tom rolled his eyes as we were escorted to seats in the lobby to wait while they went to fetch the manager. After a week of camping in the desert, we looked like the “hill billies,” there was no doubt to anyone around that we did not fit in.

The customer service lady arrived and we followed her to her desk.

“What seems to be the problem?” she inquired.

“No problem”, I replied, “but I would love to stay at this hotel. We can’t afford it and I was wondering if you could give us a special deal.”

Luxor Temple Lunch Time Nap

I then went on to describe how we had just arrived in Cairo after driving across Africa. How special it was to us that today we had achieved our dream and wanted to do something special to celebrate, but we could not afford to stay at the hotel and on and on I went, pleading my case. She listened intensely, asked a few questions and then left to speak to the manager. She returned and said she needed to get to know us better and ask some more questions. She and I chatted, phones calls were made, and after a while, the manager arrived. Once again, I told our story, some more questions and then he made us an offer. We could not believe it -we would be staying in one of their best rooms with a view of the pyramids, breakfast included etc. etc. Our first night in Cairo and we celebrated in style. It was great.

Luxor West Temple Hashepsut

After our decadent night in a real bed with perfumed sheets, we went in search of the campsites listed in the Lonely Planet guide for Cairo. When we found them, we decided that they were to dirty and smelly even for us now seasoned African travelers. We drove into downtown Cairo to find a reasonably priced accommodation. Whilst stuck in a gigantic traffic jam our cell phone rang. James and Lee, a couple teaching in Cairo invited us to stay with them while we were in Cairo. We were very spoilt; it was so relaxing to actually have a place to call “home” for the 9 days we spent in Cairo. James and Lee will soon be heading south traveling from Cairo to Cape Town, so were interested in hearing our travel stories and advice.

LUXOR WEST View of Temple Hashepsut

PYRAMIDS

We decided to take a taxi to the pyramids at Giza rather than tackle the traffic. We jumped into the nearest taxi and negotiated the price. Speeding through the chaotic traffic, the taxi slowed down to pick up another customer. A man pulled open the front door and after some discussion in Arabic, with the word “pyramids” being thrown around he jumped in. Turning to us the “hitchhiker” introduced himself and began telling us all about the pyramids. Suddenly the taxi did a u-turn and despite our protests, the taxi driver refused to stop. The very animated hitchhiker reassuring us that we were going to “another entrance to the pyramids.” The taxi slowed and turned down a little alley before it stopped. Tom and I jumped out along with the “hitchhiker.”
Mark and Blanca Travel Friends Still telling us all about the pyramids he told us he could get us, a special deal. Angrily I demanded to be shown the way to the main entrance. After some heated arguing between him and myself, he finally relented and directed us towards the main entrance. Apparently, this is a fairly common scam, in Cairo where a taxi with tourists is waved down and the hapless tourist sold an expensive special deal. I have to admit he was pretty slick but not slick enough for us.

While wandering around the pyramids the hustling continued. We finally relented and after a long negotiation climbed onto a camel for a ride around the pyramids. We had a great time but I was glad I had not signed up for a weeklong camel trek.

Opps Wrong Way

LEAVING THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

We had originally planned to leave Egypt via Libya and Tunisia. However getting a Libyan visa is outrageously expensive for the independent traveler, so we headed for Sinai.

We passed through the tunnel under the Suez Canal heading towards the Sinai Peninsula leaving behind the African continent. We arrived in Sharm el Sheikh and met up with our fellow overlanders, Ivan and Rachel and Mark and Blanca who had arrived a few days earlier. Sharm el Sheikh is one of the world’s greatest diving spots so it was not long before we had Scuba gear hired and headed for the Red Sea. Camped on the shores of the sea Tom and I kitted up and after some equipment problems we finally made our way out to sea from the beach. It was
Red Sea Diving Tom and Mark stunning beneath the waves. A world of unbelievable visibility, spectacular scenery and hundreds of colourful sea creatures. It is stunning place to dive, perhaps the best diving we have ever experienced.

Mark was eager to try so we kitted him up and Tom took him out for his first Scuba experience. Mark was hooked and I am sure it will not be too long before he becomes a certified Scuba diver.

It was a tough decision deciding which dive locations we should dive as we could only afford three more dives. Heading out to sea on the dive boat, we passed wrecks the reef had claimed. The sea was a busy with many other dive companies and boats, with hundreds divers out for a thrill of a lifetime.
Red Sea ReefFinally, we were descending into this underworld wonderland a Scuba divers paradise. Suddenly my flipper came off and I headed down after my fin. By being totally engrossed in retrieving my fin, I had made a serious error and forgot to watch my depth gauge. I was sinking and unaware; down to 20 meters, 30 meters, and 40 meters and sinking. Tom and the dive master suddenly noticed me missing and realized I was heading for disaster; I was suddenly grabbed from behind. With concern in both their eyes, we began the ascent. When I realized how close I came to being another casualty of the sea I kept my eye on my depth gauge. At the surface, Tom was a little upset with what had happened (no actually quite upset) and rightly so. I had given him a huge fright. However, it was not long before we were back diving and enjoying the wonders of the Red Sea.

The next stop was Dahab a smaller more casual and less crowded little village for some more diving. Together with our traveling friends, we strolled along the beachfront, chatting to the locals, lounging in their Bedouin style beachfront restaurants. Local children selling their home made trinkets and wares. They would empty their little bags spreading out charming bracelets, and were thrilled when we would buy. One little boy was so delighted he held up a beaded bracelet and with a great grin he said to me, “A present for you.” I accepted and he carefully tied it onto my arm.
Sinai Pass Before leaving Dahab, Mark, Blanca, Ivan, Rachel and us headed off for a great fish restaurant. The catch of the day, was carefully displayed on ice outside on the sidewalk. It would be our last day together as a group. Tom and I were leaving the following day for Jordan.

On our arrival in Jordan, we received a text message from Rachel, “3 Bombs in Dahab, many killed, but we are OK.” Tom and I were overwhelmed with sadness and despair. A town that is very dependent on tourists, a peaceful little place of heaven, shattered by such a horrific action. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of this violent act.

When will this madness end?

TOMBS OF NOBLES

ARABIAN NIGHTS

Lying almost in the dead center of the Sinai Peninsula is the Monastery of St. Katherine and Mt Sinai itself. The Monastery is one of Christianity’s most holy sights and amongst other things, marks the spot where Moses spoke to the Burning Bush. Mt Sinai is the place where Moses received the tablets with the Ten Commandments. If you are energetic, you can rise at 2:00am and join the throngs who make the three hour climb up Mt Sinai everyday to witness the sunrise. We drove to these famous landmarks from Dahab to see the spectacular desert scenery and experience the generous Bedouin hospitality.

After exploring the environs of the monastery and the mountain, we located a campsite close to a Bedouin trading post. After pitching camp and eating supper we followed the sweet melodic sounds of Arabic music the tent from
Westerm Desert Moonscape which the Bedouin owner was offering tea and souvenirs. Genuine spontaneous hospitality, glowing charcoal embers, sweet mint tea, and the intoxicating smell of apple honey tobacco emanating from the shisha pipe combined to fill our hearts with warmth and peace. At one point in the evening, Janet disappeared with the owner of the tent. After ten minutes, they returned and Janet was dressed in a beautiful hand embroidered Bedouin dress including headdress and veil. I was next and I emerged clothed in the traditional white Arabic gown and a blue and white turban. We were given the local names Salumen and Hadija and continued to dance, drum and chatter well into the wee hours of the morning. It was a magical evening and proved once again that people of all races and colours are curious and friendly.

It was a great way to end our visit to Egypt, the next morning we were scheduled to enter Jordan.