Photography Tour to Egypt – November 5th, 2010

Deborah Gaffney

Hi,
I’d love to go on this Egypt tour including the Nile cruise. However I heard that the Christians and the Muslims are actively fighting @ 40 miles from Luxor. What if anything do you know about that and is there any security for travelers ?
thanks.

chris2x

Yes, as I understand it there is security on these tours. It is only the optional cruise part that would get close to Nagaa Hamadi. The land part is about 650kms away. But I will double check with the tour agency.

Jennifer @ Approach Guides

This sounds like a phenomenal tour! Egypt is a vibrant city that offers a wonderful travel experience and will add lots of color to photographs. As for the safety issue, we have spent over two months traveling in Egypt and never once had a problem.

Mahmoud osama

Hello to you all
My name is Mr. Mahmoud Osama 42 yrs, Muslim from Cairo, Egypt
Have been working in the travel industry since 1987 starting from messenger, tour leader, Tour operator, and group coordinator & tourism manager
First i would like to thank you all for your planed visit to tour & photograph our beautiful country
Egypt, and its touristic cities Alexandria the pearl of the Mediterranean Sea, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Hurghada & Sharm El sheikh are wonderful places to visit and tour, with common feature of safety and welcoming faces for all the travelers.
Christians are about 9 % of Egypt’s total population 80+ million inheritance we are all living by the Nile average of 5% to 7% of 1.00 million square kilometers the space of all Egypt
Both Christians and Muslims have been in unity for decades as both have contributed in identifying the modern Egyptian History,
Christians & Copts are our business colleagues & partners, Friends & Neighbors we are all living together in peace
One last thing regarding Photographing Egyptian monuments
Cameras are treated individually and there is a charge extra to be added for each Monuments in addition to another extra charge for entering a special area within, the Egyptian Museum for example will charge you for the camera average EGP 10.00 per camera and extra charge for the special area where they have the King Tut relics, + EGP 100 same will apply in Aswan & Luxor
Flash lights may not be allowed due to Flash light will erase a fraction of the magnificent colors of the pharos so in order to preserve the 5000 years colors they do prohibit flash lights
One USD currently = 05.50 Egyptian Pounds

Hope I have added some knowledge about Egypt and you are always welcome
Thanks and best regards
Mahmoud Osama

chris2x

Thank you Mahmoud, that was very helpfu!

Neil Kristianson

Chris,
We are seriously considering joining you in the fall. Egypt has always been in Jennine’s top 3.

A couple of questions:
What is the maximum number of guests allowed on the tour?
Do you know which hotel we will be staying at in Marsa – Matruh S. Giovanni Cleopatra or Jaz Almaza Beach Resort? (Very different ratings on these two)
Do we need to be photo geeks? Or will my basic idiot-proof camera and non-artistic ability combined with my naive enthusiasm do the trick?

Thanks for putting this together. It has given us something to think about.

chris2x

I think the maximum number is 35

I will have to check on the hotel in Marsa

No you don’t have to be photo geeks. You don’t have to own an SLR camera or even know what that means. Probably though, you will get more out of it if you do want to learn to shoot better pictures.

chris2x

OK, the maximum in a coach is 44 people. The number we need to get our own coach is only 30 which is what I am hoping for.

chris2x

Neil, I checked on the hotel and they don’t pick the final hotels until a month before the trip.

chris2x

It looks like the hotel in Marsa is probably Jaz Hotels & Resorts, but still subject as I said to change

Neil Kristianson

Thanks for all the updates, Chris. Will keep you posted.

Jim Yousef

I’m an Egyptian born Canadian who has visited a number of times. Although Mahmoud claims all to be safe, I have had at least one incident on each of my trips. Nothing major, but make sure to have visible and experienced security with you (pay them well so that they are not bribeable) and lock your valuables, especially if you are Christian and on the Nile. There is still regular violence against the Christians and Jews there, but if you stay at the hotels, you are typically not in harms way.

All major tourist attractions have a double price system – one for locals and a more expensive one for tourists. A good guide will navigate this where possible.

We traveled with a former police officer once, and he made sure that things were well taken care of and incidents were quickly and effectively dealt with. One incident included some of our women and some sexual harassment at sharm el sheikh. He made a call and within an 90 minutes we had our own stretch of beach to use, protected by heavily armed local police.

This is after all a Muslim country and you may need to respect some laws and customs that you may not be familiar with. Like any overpopulated country, be careful and you will be fine.

It is a spectacular piece of this world with more history than most… almost too much to take in during one trip. Definitely a bucket list to do, just be careful.

Randell Kloos

Those are some incredible photographs, wish mine were that decent!

Ahmad

Chris,
This sounds amazing. I already live in Alexandria, and was wondering if I can joing you guys during these two days. I am new to professional photography but I own a Canon DSLR 7D. What is your planned photo activities during the time in Egypt?

chris2x

I would love to meet up with you! I am not sure what will be the best way to reach me, probably email.

We are on a tour so I don’t know how much flexibility we will have in time and I want to be sensitive that the others on the tour are paying for Ralph’s time and instruction.

chris2x

Ahmad, I forgot to answer you other question about what we will be doing with the photo activities. Ralph will be doing hands on instruction with photography and I will be doing hands on instruction with what to do with the photos on your computer after you take them.

R R

Hi There
um from Egypt and a wanna join u guys, pl tell me wut 2 do?

Hurghada Fan

If you make a visit to Hurghada then you have to test and go freediving just outside Hurghada. Fantastic views to see below the surface.

Hurghada diver

If you make a visit to Hurghada then you have to test and go diving just outside Sharm El Naga. Fantastic views to see below the surface.

enid

I am very interested in joining you. Are there spots open? What is the single supplement?

My Nikon SLR was stolen a couple of months ago and, after careful research, I replaced it with a Canon G11 — lighter for travel, manual options, underwater capacity and pretty good quality. I am very interested in getting better.

enid

PS. How do they feel about Jews?

chris2x

I would love to have you along. I can’t speak authoritatively about how they feel about Jews but they were the first country in the region to make peace and recognize Israel so I have heard relations are OK.

The single supplement for the base tour is $290 and for the tour with the cruise it is $430 (I am not sure there are still cabins available for the cruise part).

I think there are still places on the land trip and will check.

enid

Thanks. I am definitely interested in both.

William K Wallace

I was in Cairo a number of years ago and it is definitely one of the worlds great and must visit cities. I have always been meaning to get myself back there. Wish I could find the time to get on a tour like this…

Peter

Wow, what a neat opportunity. I have had friends who have gone to Egypt and they have raved about the experience!