Egypt: A refresher course
Don’t drink tap water, even for cleaning teeth. No ice in drinks. Avoid salad leaves, uncooked vegetables and unpeeled fruit. The World Health Organisation recommends typhoid, hepatitis A and B, cholera, polio, yellow fever, rabies, and influenza vaccines.
Egyptians suggest you make no eye contact to avoid pestering. Bargain – expect to pay 50 per cent of the original quote. A few Arabic words such as ‘‘shukran’’ (thank you) help. Clothing: Appropriate dress for this mostly Muslim country is appreciated (covered shoulders and below-the-knee attire). Non-revealing Western dress is acceptable in more liberal Egypt.
Security: Safetravel advises there is ‘‘extreme risk’’ with travel to Egypt. Monitor security, and be vigilant. The Nile valley stands in stark contrast to the line of Sahara that shoulders the fertile plain. Hard to imagine that lush forests and rivers once covered the western Sahara. The Valley of the Whales at Wadi al-Hitan, 150km southwest of Cairo, proves the existence of a vast ocean.
Aswan is unexpectedly beautiful, the upper reaches of the Nile above the dam splitting into channels. This is where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile.
We visit the unfinished obelisk, which gives a lesson in the ancients’ sophisticated engineering techniques. Another Herculean engineering feat is the relocation of the Abu Simbel rock temples, one of which bears the colossal seated statues of Rameses II. Originally these temples were cut into a solid rock cliff at the second cataract but were moved for Lake Nasser.
Then we’re whisked back to Cairo, which offers up its riches along with crazy traffic. There’s the incredible Egyptian Museum to round out our antiquities binge, Islamic Cairo, Coptic Cairo, and the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar. Too soon, we must leave this vivid country. All things are possible … Who you are is limited only by who you think you are. – Traveller
Health:
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