Lingering over coffee in one of Alexandria’s cosmopolitan cafes or sipping a calming glass of shai (tea) after a frenzied shopping episode in Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili are activities as popular today as they were back when 19th century tourists started to arrive en masse. Magnificent monuments are everywhere – the pointed perfection of the pyramids, graceful minarets of Cairo’s skyline and majestic tombs and temples of Luxor are just a few of the wonders that generations of visitors have admired during their city sojourns, jaunts up and down the Nile and expeditions through spectacularly stark desert landscapes – it confirmed once and for all that Egypt’s discoveries are ongoing and its treasures, limitless.
Sightseeing in Egypt
■ Cairo: here the past effortlessly coexists with the present. The backstreets and tenements of Islamic Cairo have changed little since medieval times, but the affluent suburbs claiming the desert around the city are brand spanking new, featuring high-tech malls and ersatz Tsucan villas. Throughout the city, local relax over sheesha (water pipes) andlisten to scratchy recordings of Umm Kolthum in centuries-old ahwas (coffeehouses), while others sip cappuccino and watch the latest music videos from Lebanon in European-style café.
■ Nile Valley: Heading south from Cairo, lush green fields flank the Nile and are framed by the desert beyond. Mud-brick houses are clustered amid the firleds and crops are grown using age-old techniques. Farmers still practice flood irrigation and occasionally you can catch a glimpse of a sakia (water wheel), being turned by a blindfolded donkey, or a shadouf, the archaic implement for lifting water. The land is worked by hand, often using tools modeled on ancient designs, and it is tempting to imagine that the landscape fo ancient Egypt did not look much different.
■ Alexandria & the Mediterranean Coast: The attractions begin to thin beyond El Alamein – a handful of former Bedouin settlements, a few beach resorts, the odd dazzling patch of white sand and turquoise water – until 290km west of Alexandria, when the road reaches Marsa Matruh. The only town of any size west of Alexandria, Matruh slumbers for two-thirds of the year, but it stirs to life during the summer when it becomes a popular retreat for Egyptians.
Activities in Egypt
■ Felucca Rides: Feluccas, the ancient broad-sail boats that are seen everywhere on the Nile, can be hired by the hour from several places along the Corniche. One of the most pleasant things to do on a warm day is to go out on a felucca with a supply of beer and a small picnic just as sunset approaches.
■ Ballooning: Many hotels and shops offer early morning balloon flights over Luxor’s West Bank. When the air is clear, the view over the monuments and the Desert Mountains is amazing. Changing winds mean that the trips are subject to cancellation at the last minute. The flight includes a champagne breakfast and some folkloric dancing.
■ Desert Safaris: For desert safaris the options are the Western Desert, with its fantastic sand landscapes, weirdly eroded rocks and Roman ruins, or the more rugged, rocky surrounds of Sinai.
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