Egypt/Israel

Hi Donna,

I don't have much to offer but I will start off. I spent several days in Cairo on business back in 2000. Stayed at a business class hotel (Intercontinental, I think) that was right on the Nile and close to the Egyptian museum. I thought that this particular area was quite convenient to stay in.

As you might imagine, the artifacts in the Egyptian Antiquities museum are absolutely unbelievable. If you missed the King Tut exhibit when it was in the States, you can basically see it here. The only negative to the museum is that I felt it was in need of a good curator. Some of the rooms almost seemed to be a hodge podge of items ... there was just so much. English descriptions were minimal. A small guidebook might be useful. Hopefully it has improved in 10 years.

I also went out to Giza one day. The concierge at the hotel helped me with this. I paid $20 to hire a taxi which took me to the Pyramids and the Sphynx. The concierge gave the taxi driver very strict instructions. He was to only take me to the Pyramids and Sphynx, he was not to stop anywhere else, the fee was $20, and I would not pay him anything until he returned me safely to the hotel. It worked quite well and I thought it was quite a good deal. He waited for me while I went down into the one Pyramid that you are allowed to enter and he even took photos of me. The only deviation was that he took me to a papyrus "museum" that was not on the agenda. It was a place where they sold tourist souvenir paintings on papyrus. I ended up not minding because they also showed you how the papyrus was made so I was a bit of a sucker and bought a small painting (I'm sure he got a cut). It is a very interesting place.

Hope that you enjoy your trip.

One more recommendation ...

If a very well-spoken, elderly, Egyptian gentleman tells you that the Antiquities Museum is closed until 1pm and suggests that you might enjoy looking in some of the shops across the street, ignore him :)

The traffic in Cairo was crazy. I was walking from the hotel to the museum and had to cross a fairly major road where there seemed to be no traffic rules whatsoever. I was standing on the side behind an elderly man who was helping another American tourist get across the street. While we were waiting, he mentioned that he was a professor in Cairo. I followed them across the street. On the other side, he pointed the woman in the direction that she was going. He then asked me where I was going. I told him "to the Antiquities museum" (which I could see just ahead). He said that unfortunately, it was closed until 1pm. He suggested that there was a very interesting perfume factory that I might look in while I was waiting ... it was just across the street; he took me there. I walked in and he said goodbye. They asked me to sit down and said that they would show me how the perfume was made ... and then they brought the tea out. It was not until then, that I realized I'd been had. I drank my tea and bought something small and then left for the museum. By the way, the museum had not been closed. I had a good laugh. Lesson learned :)

Cairo is crazy! Very hard to tour on your own. I always travel independently, but Cairo defeated me:) I highly recommend either hiring a private guide, or do a bus tour. You can easily arrange this at the hotel once you arrive.

If you go to Jordan there are quite a few sites to see. The Roman ruins at Jerash is about an hr from Amman. Madaba is about 45 minutes south of Amman and is a good overnight stop to visit Mt. Nebo (site from which Moses saw the holy land -I believe Moses never set foot in the promised land though my biblical knowledge is sketchy), the Jordan River (site of Jesus' baptism) and the Dead Sea. The Jordanian side looked a lot nicer for swimming than the Israeli side - you have the option for going to a place with swimming pools or to a natural spot along the lake.

From Madaba, you can take the Kings Highway (v/s the Desert Highway) to Petra while stopping at the castle of Kerak. From Petra, Wadi Rum is another hour south. Wadi Rum is a desert with large mountains and is a good place to camp in the desert with the bedouins. I believe you can see some of the scenery in Transformers 2. From Wadi Rum, the Red Sea at Aqaba (Jordan) and Eilat (Israel) are only an hour away. Note the border crossing at Eilat into Israel is very easy. From Aqaba you can also get different ferries to places in Egypt.

Enjoy your trip.

I spent 2 weeks in Israel and still did not see all that I wanted. It is a very interesting country. We went all over the country: Tel Dan, the Golan Heights, Cesarea (sp) Capernum (sp?) Tel Aviv, Shiloh, Arad, Beth Sheva, Masada and the Dead Sea...and several other places. As I said, it is a very interesting country and you are treated very well. BTW, the food is lavish and outstanding.