Whilst in Egypt (with my boyfriend) I was constantly harassed by local men. I had heard many stories about how Egyptian men view Western women. I think I am quite understanding of the Muslim culture and I always dressed respectfully, despite the heat. However, this seemed to have little impact on most Egyptian men, some of whom were downright disgusting in their comments. We’d seen westerners in stand-up screaming arguments over comments made and decided to try another method, with surprising results. My boyfriend calmly asked ‘Why would you disrespect my wife like that’ and ‘How would you feel if someone spoke to your wife like that?’ The man was very embarrassed and ashamed and could not make eye contact with us. We used this approach for the rest of our time in Egypt and actually made friends with some men who were so apologetic that they even invited us to drink coffee and smoke sheesha with them – their shout!
Kate Belton, Australia
The Cairo airport customs do not have a film-safe X-ray device for checking your luggage. Thanks to them, the film that I took great pains over were exposed – not a single shot survived. No warning signs or indications around, and no explanations from the officials at the luggage checking point, they just usher you to the check in point.
Marcus Lim, Singapore
If you decide to take a felucca ride on the Nile, see if there is any wind blowing, otherwise you may end up being towed by a motorboat blowing smoke in your face.
To escape the crowds around the Giza Pyramids, go down to Dashur, where the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid are located. The area was opened by the military in 1996, but very few people venture down. You feel like you’re the people first discovering them.
Anthony Ginn, USA
When buying film, not only should you check the expiry dates on the boxes, you should also check the actual roll of film. We saw other brands of films put in Kodak boxes.
On our way to visit the Saqqarra Step Pyramid, someone jumped in our taxi – it is common to share a taxi in Egypt – near the Giza Pyramids, and told us that the Saqqarra site was closed. He said that we couldn’t get any closer to the site unless we used camels or horses, and of course he happened to know a camel/horse stable nearby. We asked him to leave the taxi.
If you want to have the entire Mt Sinai to yourself, consider climbing it at night and staying overnight at the summit for the sunrise. If you climb it at 3am (for the sunrise at the summit), you are likely to be climbing with 200-300 other tourists or pilgrims.
Yee Cheng, UK
Luxor: we took a balloon ride and there were so many people crammed into the basket that it was very difficult to move around – fortunately the pilot rotated the balloon regularly. Try to find out before you book how many people have reservations; much more than 12 and it will be cramped. And yes, do bring a hat – it’s to protect your head from the heat of the burner, not the Egyptian sun!
Bob Skinner
