egypt trip.
we started off on 31st of jan from nizhny. our flight is on the next day, 615am. it was about a 4 hours flight before we reached hurgada,egypt. we were greeted by a tour guide who brought us to our hotel named "el samaka". had pizza as lunch.
we explored around. our hotel is facing the red sea which is totally unpolluted. the weather was cool temp around 18-20….
shops are everywhere. you can find typical souvenirs everywhere along the street.once entering the shop, you will be greeted by their egyptian red tea. price is not a problem. you can bargain with them anytime for any item. their principle is like this. you want the item, you say the price. if they agree, u take it. if not, just leave. do not just ask the price and not buy. it’s an understandable act for them.
most people there are not egyptian. they are arabians. and almost all of them walking on the street are men. women stay at home because their husband wants them to. so tehy seldom work.thus, don ask me if i’ve seen any pretty egyptian girl or not. even if there were, they look exactly like our muslim friends in malaysia.
the next day, we went for a tour around the city of hurgada. first we went to their mosque, then the church. 90% of ppl in egypt are muslims,and 10% are christians. no other religion. the christians are recognized by a cross tatoo on the forearm.others are muslims
then we were brought to a papyrus museum where lots of painting made on papyrus are displayed for sale.price range from rm40 to rm2000….or more.(actually u can get it for rm3 on the street,but it’s fake one la). if u remember sejarah form 4 papyrus is the paper like thing made by egyptian before the paper was invented. they use the papyrus plant shaped like a triangle (like pyramid) and slice them into thin pieces. then they soak it in the water for 6-7 days. after that they roll it flat and compress it. they arrange the slices horizontally and vertically like the ketupat and compress it again to become a usable papyrus.
then we went to the perfume shop. according to them every perfume around the world got their "base" from egypt. then they add alchohol and other chemical to make it smell nice. what they sell is pure extract without any chemcial. they demonstate it by lighting fire on the prefume to show it doesn’t burn. then they take a glass of water. and put a few drops into the water to show that it sinks (oil floats). then they shake the water and asked us to smell, to show that only a few drops is needed for making the smell last. this demonstation is typical for every perfume shop.
the next day, we went for sea trip on red sea. went to a small island for snorkling.din see any coral.only the calcified ones.but saw some nice fish though. as i said the water is crystal clear. at least u can see ur leg in the water clearly. but it’s very highly salted.
then went for boat trip , and fishing,although no fish were caught in the process.
on saturday it was a saffari trip on a Jeep, but without any animals.first we went for the 4 wheels motor ride. rode it across the desert for about 45 minutes.
then went to a badwi village.rode a camel there. and then we were explained the way of life of their ppl there.
on sunday, we went to Cairo where the pyramids are situated. 1st stop, Giza. there were many pyramids there. but we din have time to stop for every single ones. juz went in for a few important ones.of course visiting the sphinx guarding the pyramid is a must. the pyramids were full with tall statues and great carvings. but all of them were moved to the national museum. so just left the "skin" of the pyramids.
after lunch, went to museum. we could oni take the picture ourside the museum. inside it is heavily guarded, as all the treasures of the old kings of egypt are in it. what amazes me is the tuankhamen’s treasure. it was moved from the luxor, the valley of the kings where many trasures wer found there.his tomb is deived into antechamber, annex, treasure chamber, and burrial chamber.he had 3 pure gold coffin one covering another. the the coffins are put into 4 boxes coated gold covering one after another. his mask is probably one of the main attraction of the museum. then there was the head of neffertiti.her name means the most beautiful women. his unfinished head is in the museum of egypt, while the true one with the crown is in museum of berlin. how ironic. other than these there were many many many thing there int eh museum. carvings and the inscriptions and meaning behind every painting is not understood by me, of course, but i could only say "wow". really pity can’t take any picture inside.
on tuesday, we went to luxor. ir was a 3hours trip from hurgada. 1st stop, the karnak temple.it is the largest comlumed temple in the world. really really very big.there were statues, and tall pillars full with carvings. there’s a beatle like statue, symbol of luck. it’s believed that if u walk around it 7 times, good luck will fall on u.
after lunch, we went to the cruise on nile river,the longest river in the world. then to the valley of the kings where all the kings were burried here and many treasured were found here.
then stoped by at the colossi of memnon.took some photos there and visited the valley of the queens and temple of hatshepsut.
the next day, we took our flight back to russia.
8 days is short for visiting the whole of egypt. we din see many things there. but anyway, it was overall a good trip.
