Culture Corner: Egypt (Hurghada & Cairo)

For the first time, my family went on vacation the week prior to Christmas. Typically a time we are preparing for the holidays, we instead went to Egypt for seven days. The goals were local culture—people, food music, etc., pyramids, beach time, and a few day dives in the Red Sea. We accomplished most of that, and got a bit more than we bargained for.

1 – The Red Sea near our hotel. The kids loved it.  I didn't complain. :)

2 – As mentioned, we traveled during the holiday. This resulted in a cultural paradox. Western Christmas decorations were everywhere in the hotel, including this live king kong santa. It made me feel uncomfortable. I went to Egypt to encounter the unfamiliar, and instead found an even more commercialized version.

3 – Our week was in Hurghada, home to this mosque.

4 - One of the lessons I quickly learned in Egypt was that if we ever go back, it's best to go back as a millionaire. (Like that will ever happen.) Perhaps because it was exotic to my Western eyes, regardless, the lifestyle of the rich and famous looked all the more lavish. I understand that my middle-class life in Europe is still leagues ahead of the majority of people's existence in Egypt, just that I'm dreaming. And while I'm dreaming, I'll take the catamaran, please.

5 - We woke up at 1:00 in the morning one day during the trip to get on a bus for the 12 hour ride to Cairo. This was the gorgeous sunrise on the desert somewhere between.

6 - Like first world countries everywhere, the street is everything: social club, market, lounge, logistics, restaurant—the place where you see real life and culture.

7 - Essences and perfumes were a nice surprise. I wouldn't have thought we would come home with multiple small bottles of Sandalwood, Rose, Lotus Flower, etc., etc. But we did. Putting a few drops in a cup of hot water adds something to a room.

8 - More streets of Cairo. Tuk-tkus were not everywhere, like southeast Asia, but neither was there a shortage.

9 - Straight out of an Indiana Jones film (at least a older one), the National Museum was amazing. It was dusty, echoing, and filled with priceless treasure after priceless treasure of a culture dead more than 3,000 years.

10 - More from the museum.

11 - And finally the pyramids, inlcuding the obligatory camel ride. (When you travel with an 8- and 10-year old, these things cannot be avoided.) I wish we could have avoided the camel mafia, but such prices must be paid for one-in-a-lifetime experiences—and the smiles of your kids.

12 – The obligatory pyramid photo.

13. The non-obligatory pyramid photo.

14 - The obligatory sphinx + pyramids photo. I joke about doing the standard tourist thing, but the scene was awe inspiring. Perhaps not as much as some natural wonders, but it's impossible for the mind not to wander the halls of 'How much effort went into this' looking at these massive triangles of stone.

15 - But what was amazing was seeing the pyramids from our airplane on the flight back to Poland.

Unfortunately, no deep sea diving. The whole family got amazingly ill the last couple of days of the trip (my son was literally speaking in tongues in delerium his fever was so high), so we didn't organize anything. Overall a short but nice trip save illness The Egyptians, when not asking for tips, seemed genuine and kind, and were full of smiles. I rather enjoyed being woken by the mullah every morning. We didn't eat enough Egyptian food to judge it entirely, but what I had was not a turn off with potential for more. I can't say I enjoyed the local music, but it suited the trip—completed the atmosphere, as it were.

I hope we can go back—if not for the missed diving; there is still the Valley of the Kings...