More to Egypt than the Pyramids.
by Ola Fagbohun
much more than Cairo and the pyramids as Donna and I, two
30-something Black women from England soon found out.
Desperate to escape the "commercialism" of Christmas in the United
Kingdom, we frantically searched for THE holiday that would not only
give us winter sun, but would fulfil a childhood desire to experience
and touch the pyramids, all this on a very limited budget. After two
frantic weeks of trawling the Internet and pounding the pavements we
got flights to Luxor, Egypt for seven-days.
After the initial excitement had sunk in, (and of course we loved the
envious look on our friends faces) we realised we knew nothing about
Luxor. But it didn't take long for our sense of adventure to overrule
our concerns. In mid-December, we kissed farewell to wet, cold, and
very grey England, and embarked on our first trip to Egypt. With a
great deal of curiosity in tow, we were determined to experience
anything and everything Luxor had to offer.
We quickly cleared immigration (Tip: get your visa before travelling and you'll avoid the lengthy visa queue at
the airport), exchanged our money, and grabbed a taxi headed for the town centre.
Upon arriving at our hotel we checked in at the Hotels sparkling clean marble foyer. However, to our dismay,
the foyer gave way to hotel rooms that were mouldy, peeling, and in need of plenty of air freshener. Despite
our desire to flee, wisdom prevailed and we decided to make the best of a bad situation and just spend the
night. Thankfully Donna had packed two spare bed sheets, which we placed over the thin and stained
bedspread, and gingerly went to sleep. The next morning we quickly found a new hotel, The Emilio, which is
north of the Luxor Temple. After a much-welcomed shower and breakfast, we set off to discover Luxor.
Our first day was spent absorbing the hustle and bustle of the street market, we were pulled this way and that,
as each shopkeeper tried to interest us in their wares. As we strolled through the streets we were often greeted
with the phrase "Hey Jamaica". Curious to find out what this meant we asked a market woman selling a wide
variety of colourful spices. Although she didn't speak English she simply pointed to Donna's corn-rowed hair
and exclaimed "Bob Marley". Ahh! I'm sure Jamaican's will be amused to hear that Egyptians equate corn
rowed hair with reggae and Bob Marley. We didn't have the language to explain that Bob Marley had
dreadlocks, which are completely different, but then I'm not sure it would have mattered. The link with Bob
Marley, even though tenuous, seemed to create a bond between us and the market traders.
marketplace to wear on us. While I was looking at some
earrings I was approached by an Egyptian man in his late 20s.
I finally lost my patience. Before he could even open his
mouth to speak, I launched into a tirade of English to the effect
of: "Leave us alone, were fed up with being hassled."
Satisfied, I watched as the mixture of confusion and hurt
crossed his face, I soon realised I had gone too far. As I raced
through my phrasebook to find adequate words to explain my
actions, the young man began to explain to me, in very good
English, that he was not about to hassle us, he simply heard us
speaking in English, and wanted to speak with us as it had been
a while since he had spoken English. He also explained that he
had not met any Black women who spoke English as we did.
Egyptian experience. Hussan, who was a social worker in an orphanage, quickly became an invaluable friend.
Rather than a being a tour guide, he offered us insight where our guidebooks never could.
Luxor is renown for it?s Temples, the temple of Luxor which is appealing and well preserved and where you
can find the court of Ramses II; Karnak temple, which covers an enormous area which could easily fit ten
European cathedrals. It is 4KM north of the Temple of Luxor, and at least two-half days are required to see
the entire complex. The Necropolis of Thebes is also found in the west bank of Luxor, here you will find the
Valley of the Kings, The tombs of the Nobles, Valley of the Kings, where you can see the tomb of the
pharaohs and Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens. In 4 days and nights (we also spent 3 days in
Cairo), we spent every available hour visiting the Temples and exploring the wonderful west bank. It is very
easy to get around Luxor, there is no need to take taxi's as there are various types of carriage rides on the West
bank. You can choose between donkey, camel, bicycle or car!
allowed us to absorb more of Luxor. At other
times we jumped on local mini buses that were
everywhere and very easy to use. However I
recommend that English speaking travelers try
and get someone to write your start and end
destinations down for you, as you will meet very
few people who speak English.
In addition to visiting the many temples and
tombs, our new friend Hussan arranged for us an
enchanted evening on a Felucca. He also
negotiated the fee and acted as translator.
personal perspective of the Nile than that offered from the bank or a cruise ship. While we bobbed up and
down the Nile, the captain entertained us with a variety of party tricks his only tools matchsticks and a piece of
string. As the sunset, I realised it had been a while that I had been so at peace, as the lights of the glamorous
houses lit up the west bank, I wanted to stay forever.
the best was saved for Christmas Day. Hussan fearing that we would
be missing the Christmas experience (what an irony) invited us to spend
Christmas day with his family, even though none of them are
Christians. A typical Egyptian house greeted us, along with his
grandmother in the front yard stoking a fire in order to bake bread.
Once we had settled into Hussan's sparsely furnished room, his mother,
a very beautiful Nubian woman, placed an array of Egyptian dishes
before us. She remarked in Arabic to Hussan that we look like Nubian's
and we were very welcome as her daughters. Needless to say we were
overwhelmed by their hospitality and thoughtfulness.
Our stay in Luxor was far too short. There is so much to see in Luxor.
At no time did we feel threatened in any way; in fact everyone was
very friendly and helpful. On the whole, we were treated like members
of the family, like "sisters". It was amusing to watch the disbelieving
faces of people who spoke to us in Arabic, they could not believe that
as Black women we couldn't understand or speak Arabic. The fact that
we were Black women from England also made us very intriguing to
them.
certainly well worth the visit.