Mar 31
The Amateur Traveler talks to Chuck who has recently returned from Egypt. He talks about cruising the nile, Egyptian historic sites and scuba diving in the Red Sea off Sharm el-Sheikh.
Show Notes
click here to download (mp3)
click here to download (iTunes enhanced)
Map of Egypt
Fact: The temple of Ramses & Nefertari is 3200 years old
Abercrombie & Kent
Holidays in Egypt
Holidays to the Red Sea
Internet Resources
Podcast & Portable Media Expo
Sounds for Sights Blog and Podcast
Discussions
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5 Responses to “Egypt - Episode 36”
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Tags: scuba, snorkel, soundseeing
April 2nd, 2006 at 8:11 am
I liked your interview with Chuck. It reminded of me of our trip to Egypt back in 2003 (http://www.kirkanddonna.com/rtw/Egypt.htm). We had more time, (3 weeks) so we went slower, but we saw all that he did and a bit more. (Alexandria) We took the falluca up the Nile instead of the luxury cruise. It is unfortunate that he had such problems diving in Sharm el-Sheikh. We went past Sharm el-Sheikh to Dahab which is a much smaller town. We had a much better experience with the diving.
My wife agrees on his assesment of the food in Egypt. Just a bit too much goat cheese.
-Kirk
April 7th, 2006 at 10:05 am
[...] New Orleans to Host French Quarter Festival (TripTock) Chocoholics by the Bay (Woman Traveler) Episode 36 - Egypt (Amateur Traveler Podcast) Bergamo, a City of Surprises (Travel Blogs) Copenhagen: Madonna plays where? (Shortcut) The view from historic Olana in Hudson River Valley (NewYorkology) Technorati Tags: travel [...]
April 13th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
I am sorry that Chuck had problems in Egypt. I haven’t been there since 1978. At that time I could take pictures of the outsides and insides of all the tombs and temples. There were also lots of fair-quality slides for sale.
A friend went in March of last year with his daughter and took over 1400 pictures, including many of the temples they visited. The only place they couldn’t photograph was the inside of Abu Simbel.
While I’m not surprised at the postcard scam (Egypt is a poor country), their tour guides should have warned them. Also, I was sorry to hear, but not surprised, that they had such poor meals. When I was there, we only ate in one upscale tourist hotel and it was terrible. They served what they thought was European food rather than the delicious food Egyptians eat. The stuffed artichokes, butter and fresh pita breads were to die for. In some towns you could also find fresh sugar cane.
I’m not a scuba diver, but I understand that there is quite a lot of it off the Mediterranian coast of Turkey. There are dive centers in Alanya, Bodrum, Fethiye, Kas, and Marmaris. I’ll be there next week and can let you know if you like. Chuck and his wife might want to try southern Turkey next time.
Ann
May 29th, 2006 at 4:59 am
I went to Egypt in January 2003 with the egyptologist Bob Brier and had a fabulous time. I’m a very amateur egyptologist and went mainly to see the antiquities but also to experience the culture. The only really major site I missed was Abu Simbel and I heartily regret it. Will have to go back to see that.
The monuments are marvelous…the Temple of Karnak is one of the most wonderful places I’ve ever been. I could spend days in there. Going inside pyramids and into tombs was great fun (if sometimes physical taxing). At that time we were allowed to take photographs pretty much anywhere as long as we bought photo permits.
Cairo’s incredible Egyptian Museum is not to be missed. That’s another place I could have wandered about in for days on end. The place is poorly lit and many of the thousands of objects aren’t labeled but I still loved it!
I found the Egyptians to be very warm and astonishingly welcoming although one black-draped, old woman definitely gave me the evil eye when I brushed my hair in public. I tried my best to dress conservatively and be respectful of Egyptian culture but I think I blew it with the hair-brushing thing. Be advised….
Our group mostly ate in large hotels and the food was fine. The best place we ate was a little restaurant in the the tiny Pharaoh’s Hotel on the West Bank in Luxor. Great hummus!
By the way, I bought a packet or two of those postcards from a vendor at Giza and mine were fine…they definitely weren’t photocopies. So not all the vendors are scam artists.
Go to Egypt! I intend to go back as soon as possible….
February 14th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
hey i, loved it when i went to Egypt they are so warm and nice.
i really think the nile river is a nice place to go to.
we ate lunch on a boat from the ancient egypt and watched a hippo get cort.