Egypt has been on my places-to-go list for a long time, but the stories that I heard from travelers, even seasoned travelers, gave me pause. I knew that I would eventually visit Egypt, but I wanted to be in the right frame of mind. First and foremost, Egypt is not a starter place to visit. If you have limited experience traveling, especially in a developing country, do NOT start with Egypt. Like most poor countries, some locals see tourists, especially western tourists as walking ATMs. You have to be alert, do your research, and be prepared to haggle. If you don't, you will be taken for a ride and back. Egypt is not dangerous. It is actually quite safe, because it is under an authoritarian military rule and no one would dare to commit a crime. The only danger (more like annoyance) is the copious amounts of tourist scams and VERY pushing touts. I have dedicated an entire blog post about scams in Egypt, which I strongly recommend that you read.
PRE-ARRIVAL SHENANIGANS
I did what I thought was extensive research on hotels, tours, Uber rates, and insider knowledge from people who had traveled to or lived in Egypt. I only booked hotels and tours that had ample good reviews, but I still almost got caught in a bait and switch hotel scam.
The hotel in question had over one hundred reviews on booking.com. I got lucky because, while in London, I happened to be chatting with an Egyptian woman who lived in Cairo. I showed her my hotel booking on booking.com and she said, "Make sure it's real." She went on to explain that the cost, 4 star status, location, and photos didn´t seem right. I googled the hotel, Lencia Hotel, and nothing of the same name came up. I even tried to do a street search, but the little Google man wouldn't land on the hotel´s supposed address. Finally, I sent the booking.com link of the hotel to someone I knew in Cairo and asked if he knew of this hotel. He responded that it was actually Valencia Hotel, which had terrible reviews. Also, reviewers cited that it was listed under Lencia Hotel. I sent booking.com an email, but they never responded. From now on, I will also check Google before I book a hotel on any third party website.
I know an American family who lived in Egypt for 16 years. They strongly suggested that I go to the tourist sites with a guide. There are countless reports of tourists being shaken down by site guards and extensively hassled by touts. Tours are not that expensive, usually $30-$40 and up to $200 for a singleton and it includes hotel pick up and drop off in an air conditioned car. Tours at the lower price range will generally get you an inexperienced guide who will try to scam you or the company itself will try to scam you.
A local guide acts really as a bodyguard and people will mostly leave you alone if you are with a local guide. If you choose to go to a site alone, you will probably be scammed and shaken down for more many than it would have cost to go with a guide unless you have a strong backbone and negotiation skills. If you want to save some money, you can book "free" tip-based walking tours using freetour.com and guruwalk.com, and use Uber, Careem, inDrive, and the metro to get to and from the meeting points in Cairo. Note that Uber doesn't work in other cities, such as Sharm El-Sheikh and The Valley of the Kings. Honestly, the best tour guide that I had was from guruwalk.com. It was a "free" walking tour: Khan El Khalili Bazaar: Middle Ages Stories, Enormous Buildings and Chaotic Market. Most of the tours that I booked with tour companies were not good.
In terms of tours, a lot of people will claim to be an Egyptologist tour guide. Once you book a hotel or Airbnb, you'll get inundated with WhatsApp and email messages about tours that the hotel offers. Be very careful. I recommend checking Google reviews for tour companies as a start, but note that reviews are often padded. I discuss unethical review practices in my blog about scams in Egypt.
I researched tour companies extensively, because I had heard horror stories about aggressive upselling, poor English, unsafe cars with no A/C, sexual harassment, etc. However, despite the good reviews, I still had bad experiences with tour companies and guides. Also, know that any extras purchased during the tour like boat and camel rides, and lunch will be upsold. Also, do not book the optional pre-paid site tickets and lunch. They are very upsold. Most entry fees are $5 or less and you can pay by credit card. Food in Egypt is very cheap. I had a shawarma, soda, and vine leaves for less than $4 at a restaurant in Cairo.
I noticed that freetour.com had cheaper all inclusive tours, so I decided to use them for three tours: Alexandria, Giza, and Egyptian Museum. I had booked a Giza tour that included the Red Pyramid with another company, and forgot to cancel the initial tour that I booked on freetour.com. Within minutes of cancelling the booking, I got an email and WhatsApp messages from the guide asking why I cancelled. I thought that this was intrusive, unprofessional, and annoying. He kept pestering me, so I responded that I had booked another tour. He asked me to name the tour company that I had booked and kept pestering me to respond. It made me feel very uncomfortable to be on a tour with a guide this pushy and aggressive, so I decided to cancel the other two tours. When I canceled the second tour, he messages me to go ahead and cancel the third tour and that he wouldn't give me the tour anyway, so I did. He then calls me on WhatsApp and, of course, I didn't answer. I sent the screenshots to freetour.com and he was banned from the platform. A representative said that the company doesn't want a guide like that anywhere near their customers.
There must have been a higher power watching over me, because I was saved from two potentially bad experiences: the first was the shady bait and switch hotel and then the aggressive and unprofessional tour guide. Mind you, this all occurred before I set foot in Egypt. Crazy, right?
During my two weeks in Egypt, I visited five cities: Alexandria, Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Aswan, and Luxor. I will go over which sites I visited and offer tips on traveling smoothly.
ALEXANDRIA
I went on a day tour to Alexandria from Cairo. The tour was okay, but the guide royally scammed me. The purpose of hiring a guide is for them to act as not just a source of information, but to also ensure that customers are taken care of and given reasonable prices. But I digress.
Alexandria was founded by Alexander The Great in 332 BC, which began the Greek dynastic rule of Egypt. There are some interesting things to see, but you only need 1-2 days to see everything.
Sightseeing
The Roman theater was discovered by accident in 1960 during the construction of a building. It was built in the 4th century AD. The catacombs was constructed in the 3rd century AD. It merges Greek, Roman and ancient Egyptian elements. There's also the Alexandria Library, opened in 2002, but be forewarned, they will kick everyone out and close the gift shop 15 minutes before closing time.
The Catacombs
Another interesting site is the Citadel of Qaitbay. It was built between 1477 and 1479 and sits on the site of the ancient lighthouse. The sultan rushed its construction, because of the impending invasion of the Turks. However, the tour guide chuckled and said that the fort didn't stop anyone from successfully invading: the Turks, the French, and the British. There are some nearby boats that offer a nice view of the citadel. Be sure to negotiate. Note that I paid 10 LE for a public boat across the Nile.
I live in Spain, so I'm fascinated by anything Andalusian and was pleasantly surprised that a mosque, Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque, in Alexandria was built in this Iberian architectural style. Constructed in 1775, the mosque was renovated in the 20th century by Italian architect Mario Rossi. It houses the remains of a Muslim scholar and saint born in Al Andalus (Moorish Spain) in the 13th century, Al Mursi Abu Al Abbas.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH
Sharm El-Sheikh is a resort city and where most of the day trips to St. Catherine's Monestary and Mt. Sanai leave from. There are also coral reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiasts. There are direct 1hr flights from Cairo. You can also go by bus, which takes 8 hours. I opted to take an Air Egypt flight from Cairo to Sharm El-Sheikh.
Hotel
Pickalbatros Laguna Club Resort: I highly recommend this hotel. The service was great and the price was good for a 5 star hotel. The only negative is that on some nights, they have a DJ by the pool from 8pm to 11pm, and it's loud.
Sightseeing
My first full day in Sharm El-Sheikh consisted of being picked up at 8am and taken to the Red Sea to go snorkeling. I had a fantastic time. I recommend the Ras Mohamed & White Island luxury Yacht Trip. Then at 9pm, I was picked up for a three hour drive to an overnight hike to the top of Mt. Sanai and a vist to nearby St. Catherine´s Monastery. Do not listen to the descriptions about the Mt. Sanai climb being easy. It is NOT. It was one of the most physically grueling things that I've done. My muscles ached for two days afterward. It is a 7km (4.35 miles) incline that includes 750 steps. I believe that they advertise the climb as easy to get unsuspecting people who are not in Olympic athlete shape to purchase a camel ride up the mountain. The camel touts will follow you and try to get $50 for the ride, then it will drop to $30, then $20. On my way down, a camel tout offered a ride for 200 LE ($4.16). There are also Bedouin men on foot who will offer to help you up the mountain. Remember, nothing is free from a local at a tourist site, especially in Egypt. I refused any "help" and made it to the top aching and huffing and puffing, but it was worth doing once. The sunrise was beautiful and being able to experience something of great Biblical importance is priceless. However, I will never do that ish again.
Me at the summit of Mt. Sanai, smiling through the pain
We also stopped at St. Catherine's Monastery. There is also an official St. Catherine's Monastery store not far from the actual site where you can exchange currency at a good rate. The only other thing worth doing in Sharm El-Sheikh is to visit the Al-Sahaba Mosque. There is a place next to it that has dresses and hijabs that women can borrow for free to enter the mosque.
THE Burning Bush at St. Catherine's Monastery
Water from the well where Moses met his wife. I hope you have antibiotics if you decide to drink from it.
Getting Around
Uber doesn't work in Sharm El Sheikh, but you can use the inDrive app to book taxis. There are also public mini buses with numbers on the side that go up and down the main street, kind of like jitneys in the Caribbean. You have to hail one from the street (shoo away the taxis, they will swarm you) and confirm that they will take you to where you want to go. The only place worth visiting in Sharm El-Sheik besides the beach is the Mosque near the Old Market. It appeared that all jitneys went there. The cost is 5-10 LE ($0.10-$0.21) depending on how far you go. From my hotel to the Old Market, which is about 30 minutes, was 10 LE.
Sadly, I discovered inDrive from my Mt. Sanai tour guide after I got fleeced by a taxi driver at the airport. I asked how to get to the airport at a reasonable price and my Mt. Sanai tour guide told me about inDrive. I booked my airport ride via the app and it cost me 110 LE compared to the 500 LE, which I haggled down from 900 LE, that I had to pay to get to the hotel from the airport. In the app, I put my name down, in Arabic, as Fatima, which is a common Arab girl´s name. When the driver called me on the app, I didn't pick up, because I knew once he heard English, it would be some shenanigans. The app automatically translates the language, so I wrote in English that I was unable to answer the call and confirmed my location. Right before we got to the airport, the driver asked if I wanted to be dropped off inside of the airport or at the car entrance. I asked him: "How much?", which is a phrase you will need to use a lot on Egypt. My Mt. Sanai tour guide also informed me that the entrance fee for taxis to enter the airport is 20 LE, but the driver said it was 100 LE. I told him to drop me off outside of the airport, because I just didn't want to argue and it wasn't a far walk to the terminal. I regretted not haggling down to 20 LE once I was told that the terminal for Cairo departures was the one farthest from the car entrance (it was 100 degrees outside).
The policeman at the gate was very nice. I had to put my backpack down for the dog to sniff it. He checked my passport and informed me that flights to Cairo departed from terminal 2, which was the second dark gray building. It was about a 5-10 minute walk. Taxis will get you coming and get you going. It's good to research the prices of everything, including entrance fees, boat rides, parking fees, etc. otherwise you will be taken for a ride.
In short, Sharm El-Sheikh is worth visiting for a few days to snorkel, see St. Catherine's Monastery, climb Mt. Sanai (if you are in good shape), and see the Al-Sahaba Mosque. The city is mostly all inclusive beach resorts with not much else to do.
ASWAN
Aswan doesn't have as many things to see as Luxor, but it's still worth a visit. Aswan had a lot of shenanigans including me getting get scammed when I was buying feminine products at a pharmacy. Always research the cost of things before buying in a local shop.
Hotel
I stayed at the Habibi Nubian Guest House and the Nubian Holiday House. Both are owned by the same person. Breakfast for both hotels is served on the roof of the Nubian Holiday House with views of the Nile. It is only a two minute walk between the two hotels. The hospitality was impeccable. On an important note, the hotels are located on the west side of the Nile. This may incur an extra charge if your tour guide has to pick you up from the hotel. Be careful and pay close attention to exactly where your hotel is located. The tour company that I used, Nice Tours, scammed me into paying the extra fee by telling me that the hotel was located in Gharb Soheil when it was really located in Gharb Aswan. I wrote in detail about this in a different blog post about scams in Egypt.
Sightseeing
Besides the usual temples and tombs, there is the Nubian Village. Nubians are a Nilo-Saharan speaking ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They have historically traded and been at war with the ancient Egyptians. The Abu Simbel temple was actually built by Ramesses II facing Nubian settlements as a flex against Nubian invaders.
I was staying in a hotel on the outskirts of the Nubian Village and I was happy because there were no touts trying to sell me things. I could walk around in peace, unlike my experience in Luxor. I opted not to visit the Nubian Village, because it felt like poverty porn. I met another American traveler who also described it as such. There are shops in the Nubian Village, but I only had a carry on and didn't want to accumulate extra stuff.
Overlooking Lake Nasser, Abu Simbel Temple is a must visit. It is stunning! The temple is comprised of two massive rock-cut temples. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. At the back of the temple are four statues. The genius of ancient Egyptians is that they positioned the statues so that on two days of the year (Ramesses II's birthday and the anniversary of his coronation), the sunrise illuminates the right three statues. The far left statue is the god of darkness. The temple was relocated to higher ground in 1968, because the high dam was expected to flood the area.
Abu Simbel Temple is three hours south of Aswan. I went with a tour. The tour guide was okay. He gave very surface level information. However, the tour company itself was awful. I highlight what went down in another blog post about scams in Egypt.
Abu Simbel Temple
Another place that I recommend visiting is the Nubian Museum, which was founded in response to the international salvage campaign of the ancient Nubian monuments initiated by UNESCO upon the request of the Egyptian government in 1960. The construction of the high dam flooded Nubia and, luckily, a lot of important monuments were moved including the Temple of Debod, which is now in Madrid, Spain. The museum houses artifacts from the Nubian people as well as an exhibition about how the Abu Simbel Temple was moved to higher ground. It doesn't have A/C, so don't go in the summer.
About a five minute walk from the Nubian Museum is the Old Cataract Hotel, which was built in 1899 to house European travelers to Aswan. Its guests have included Tsar Nicholas II, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Jimmy Carter, Princess Diana, Queen Noor, and Agatha Christie. Christie set portions of her novel Death on the Nile at the hotel. The 1978 film of the novel was shot at the hotel. In 1973, United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his aides stayed in the New Cataract Hotel during the negotiations to end the Yom Kippur War.
You don't have to be a guest to go inside of the hotel. However, non guests have to pay an entrance fee of 750 LE that goes towards food and drinks at the restaurants. Considering the history and posh ambiance of the hotel, the drinks and food are not that expensive. The hotel is definitely worth a visit.
Old Cataract Hotel
The following day, I visited the Unfinished Obelisk with the same scam tour company as the day before, but this time they were on their best behavior, because I hadn't written a review...yet. The Unfinished Obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk. It was ordered by Queen Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC) with plans to place it at Karnak Temple in Luxor. If completed, it would have measured around 137 feet and would have weighed nearly 1,090 tons. The obelisk's creators began to carve it directly out of bedrock, but cracks appeared in the granite and the project was abandoned. The bottom side of the obelisk is still attached to the bedrock.
Finally, the highlight of Aswan, IMHO, is Philae Temple, which is a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis. Just like Abu Simbel, it was moved from its original spot when the high dam was being built. The boat to the Temple is included in the entry fee.
Philae Temple
Getting Around
Uber doesn't work in Aswan, but inDrive does. You can take a public boat across the Nile for 10 LE. If you are going to King Jamaica Restaurant (highly recommended), there is a free boat to the restaurant at the Aswan Island (Elphantine) Siou Side public boat dock.
Entrance to the King Jamaica Restaurant boat dock
King Jamaica RestaurantLUXOR
The Valley of the Kings is located in Luxor as well as a number of iconic sites. I was relatively happy with the tours that I had in Luxor, but the bar was low. I visited the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the Valley of the Artisans. The Valley of the Queens and Artisans are overlooked places to go, but well worth the visit. Impressively, the colors inside of the tombs are original. By law, restorations cannot add color.
Sightseeing
For almost 500 years from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and powerful nobles under the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. King Tut's mummy is still in his tomb, but there was an extra fee to see it. He died suddenly at 19 years old, so his tomb was hastily put together. I opted out, because I heard that his tomb was lackluster.
Tomb of Ramesses III, the Valley of the Kings
Not far from the Valley of the Kings is the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, which was built during her reign of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. It is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture. Its three massive terraces rise above the desert floor and into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Her tomb, KV20, lies inside the same massif capped by El Qurn, a pyramid for her mortuary complex.
Me wearing the modest, but figure flattering Full Coverage Tank at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
The Valley of the Queens was the burial ground of queens and royal children. The rock isn't as strong as the rock in the Valley of the Kings, so many of the tombs are not as well preserved. The highlight is the tomb of Nefertari, not to be confused with Nefertiti. Nefertari was the favorite wife of Ramesses II and, sadly, her tomb was closed when I visited. The burials in the subsidiary valleys all date to the 18th Dynasty.
Another interesting and impressive site is the Colossi of Memnon, which are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The statues stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They were built in 1350 BC, and were well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as early modern travelers and Egyptologists. The statues contain 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin, dated to between AD 20 and 250; many of these inscriptions on the northernmost statue make reference to the Greek mythological king Memnon, whom the statue was then – erroneously – thought to represent.
Colossi of Memnon
The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BCE) and continued into the Ptolemaic (Greek) Kingdom (305–30 BCE). Queen Hatshepsut built a chunk of the temple complex, but her successor attempted to erase all references to her.
Luxor TempleHotel
In Luxor, I stayed at the Full Moon House. The hotel was nice given the price point and was within walking distance of a very good farm to table restaurant, Nubian House Restaurant. The only downsides were no A/C in the living room, only the bedroom, and I was constantly harassed by touts on the street of the hotel, which were lined with private boat docks. I really wanted to explore the area on foot, but got annoyed with all of the touts.
Getting Around
Uber doesn't work in Luxor, but inDrive does. Aswan and Luxor are three hours apart by car. I decided to take a private taxi from Aswan to Luxor, arranged by the owner of Habibi Guesthouse. Check inDrive city to city rates, so that you know what a fair price is. I wouldn't recommend a random taxi to a long distance location, because I heard horror stories about taxis demanding more money midway through the journey and threatening to turn around or throw passengers out of the car if the extra money isn't paid. You can also take the train, but trains in Egypt are notoriously late.
CAIRO
What I liked most about Cairo is that touts, for the most part, left me alone. I attribute this to the fact that there are foreigners who live in Cairo. Foreigners in Luxor and Aswan tend to be tourists, not residents. Therefore, it was a lot easier to blend in as a resident of Cairo. Residents are generally not targeted by touts, because residents know the actual price of things and where to get high quality, authentic goods.
Also, Cairo is a happening place. Even late at night, shops and restaurants were open and people were out and about. It is like the city that never sleeps of the east.
Hotel
I stayed at two hotels and Cairo: Madina Hostel and Eileen Hotel. I was put off by Eileen Hotel, because of an interaction via WhatsApp after I gave them a 7 star review citing a broken shower head and lackluster breakfast. They contacted me under the guise of "we want to know how we can improve" and proceeded to try to question my perception of food quality by sending me photos of their breakfast spread, which was a the same slop that I saw in person. I responded that I was there and didn't need photos. They were legit arguing with me and I kept repeating that the bread was bland and the waffles were hard. They had nothing appetizing for the western taste buds, except for bread and waffles, and both were flavorless and like cardboard. In terms of the broken showerhead they said that they fixed it, but clearly after I left because it was broken the entire time I was there. *sigh* Anyway, I recommend Madina Hostel, which had more of a modern aesthetic and the layout of the reception area and social vibe allowed me to chat with staff and other guests. Also, the breakfast was simple, but really good.
Sightseeing
Tahrir Square is still a politically charged area given that it was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak. There is a heavy military and police presence around the square. I tried to take a photo of it and some men blocked me. They were probably plain clothed police officers. I learned that it is illegal to take photos of government buildings, children, and polices/military officers.
No trip to Egypt is complete without a visit to the Pyramids of Giza, which is home to the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes, queens' pyramids, and the Great Sphinx. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, between 2600 and 2500 BC. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built 2600 BC, over a period of about 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only wonder that has remained largely intact. The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre are the largest pyramids built in ancient Egypt. The three tiny dilapidated pyramids next to the Great Pyramid were for pharaoh Khufu's wives.
Saqqara is an off the beaten path burial complex with the oldest pyramid: the Pyramid of Djoser, AKA the Step Pyramid. Most people go to Giza, but I found the Step Pyramid complex to be more interesting, nicer, and less touristy.
Step Pyramid
Mit Rahina Museum is an open-air museum located in what was the ancient capital of lower Egypt, Memphis. The museum was built around a magnificent fallen colossal limestone statue of Ramesses II. It had fallen into a shallow lake and was "discovered" by the Italians in 1821. They couldn't move it, but the British were able to when they "discovered" it in 1887.
The Red Pyramid is named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones. It is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and Khafre at Giza. Construction is believed to have begun during the thirtieth year of Sneferu's reign (2590 BCE). The inside of the Red Pyramid is a lot more interesting than the Giza pyramids.
The Bent Pyramid was the second pyramid built by Sneferu. The Pyramid underwent three construction phases. In the first construction phase, a steep pyramid with an inclination angle of approximately 58°. The second phase, the builders reduced the angle of inclination to 54°. In the third construction phase, the angle was reduced to 43° and, like in the Red Pyramid and all successive pyramids, the masonry was laid in horizontal layers. In the middle of construction, the pharaoh paused to construct the Red Pyramid.
Bent Pyramid
More contemporary things to see in Cairo include The Citadel (which has the Police Museum, Military Museum, and three mosques), Mohamed Ali Palace, Egyptian Museum, and National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. I decided not to go to the Grand Egyptian Museum, because only one wing was open and lots of tourists and tour guides said that it wasn't worth visiting until all of the wings were open. The Egyptian Museum didn't have a lot of information and lacked A/C, so I recommend a guide. However, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization had A/C and ample descriptions. It also houses the mummies of famous pharaohs.
The old money in Cairo lives in Heliopolis, which is home to the Baron Empain Palace. The palace was built in 1905 for Édouard Empain, a Belgian businessman and industrialist who built the now defunct Cairo tram system. The building was inspired architecturally by Hindu temples.
Baron Empain Palace
I highly recommend a Coptic Cairo tour. 10% of Egyptians are Christian and the famous Sephardic Jewish philosopher and rabbi, Maimonides, spent his later years in Cairo. Many of his writing were discovered at the Ben Ezra Synagogue that is part of the Coptic Cairo complex. Cairo has a rich history of the three Abrahamic religions and has preserved many of its Christian sites including the Hanging Church, Church of St. George, Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (in the basement is the cave where the Holy Family lived), and Coptic Museum (houses the largest collection of Coptic Christian artifacts in the world),
Other interesting sites include the Cave Church and Garbage City. Garbage City is a slum settlement within Cairo’s sprawling metropolitan area. The village is notable for having nearly every space of it covered in garbage, including the streets and rooftops. These piles of garbage are the result of the Cairo Metropolitan Area having never established an efficient garbage collecting system, despite having a population of nearly 20 million. The inhabitants of Garbage City, mostly Coptic Christians, have filled this gap for the past 70 years. These informal garbage collectors, called the Zabbaleen or “Garbage people,“ collect the garbage of Cairo’s residents in a door-to-door service for a small fee and then transport it via donkey carts or pick-up trucks to their homes. Once home, they sort the garbage for recyclable material. The collecting of the trash is traditionally the men’s work, while women and children sort the garbage. 90% of the garbage is recycled.
Truck leaving Garbage City
Me at the Cave Church
Getting Around
Uber, Careem, and InDrive work in Cairo. There is also a metro.
Conclusion
Egypt is epic! There is so much to do. However, navigating the country can be tricky if you go in green. Therefore, it is imperative to read my blog post about scams.
I was in Egypt for two weeks and still wasn't able to see everything. Next time, I will visit the Edfu, Khnum, and Kom Ombo temples, historic mosques in Cairo, the black and white deserts, and the Siwa Oasis. I also heard that Hurghada is a nice beach town. Despite some of the annoyances that stemmed from scam artists and pushy touts, I did enjoy my time in Egypt. It has such a rich and interesting history.