13.05.2011
While I liked Lebanon, I decided not to explore further but to make my way back to Egypt instead; I had only seen Cairo and Giza and had missed out Upper Egypt altogether. (Although it is the south of the country, it is called 'upper' because it is nearer the source of the Nile).
An early flight from Beirut got me to Cairo at 10 am, then the usual hazardous taxi ride got me to Ramses station from where the train south leaves. The station is under renovation and is utterly devoid of the usual signs and notice boards with information on times, platforms, destinations and so on. Each person I asked told me a different platform (either 8 or 3 or 11). In the end I met an enthusiastic chap, Mustafa, who was going to Luxor himself and knew where the train departed from. I had vaguely imagined hoards of tourists all going to the same place, but as it was, I was the only westerner on the train which must have had several hundred passengers on it. Although you can fly to Luxor, I wanted to experience the travel and see the country, so for a mere 10 quid, I had a seat in first class from which, through the grimy window, I had 700km of Nile to look at.
First class is not a luxury option, and the toilets were indescribable, so I won't even try. The entire stretch of the land you see is either built on, with those semi-finished buildings people live in here, or else it is cultivated. Some enormous percentage of Egyptians (90%?) live along the Nile, as the rest of the country is desert. They grow wheat (although not enough as Egypt is the biggest importer of wheat in the world - they eat a lot of bread here), grapes, vegetables and all sorts of things I didn't recognise. The land is incredibly fertile for several hundred metres either side of the Nile and they make use of every inch of it. Most of the farming is done without machinery, but with plenty of donkeys, camels and people to do the work.
Nine hours is a long time to spend on a train, even with a Kindle to occupy me. Mustafa, who travelled in second class, came to check up on me every so often and since I didn't have any low denomination notes (and they look at you as if you are mad if you try and buy a sandwich with a tenner), even bought me food and water. People here really are generally friendly and want to show off their country to you. When we finally arrived in Luxor about 10 at night, he took me on a boat across the sea (the locals called the Nile the sea) and walked me to my hotel. He has since taken me under his wing and today he showed me around.
I was a little reluctant to get on the back of his motorbike, and judging by all the other motorbike riders I could see, there may well not even be a word for "helmet" in Arabic. He attempted to put me at ease by pointing out that since Mubarak had gone, the police had more or less dissappeared and so wouldn't even check whether he had a license. As it was, he drove very well and I wasn't worried at all after a few minutes. He seemed to know everyone in town and took me to all sorts of places a tourist wouldn't normally go. I visited his family who had a simple but pleasant house surrounded by their banana plantation.They also had date palms, sugar cane, mango trees and a "honey space", or beehive. They had a lot of land which his brothers manage and seemed to live a relatively comfortable life. In a courtyard of his house were a couple of cows, some chickens and geese, and a goat or two. The banana trees grow incredibly quickly, so I was told, and they crop twice a year, in May and November.
Mustafa is very representative of his generation in that he dresses in jeans and t shirt (unlike the rest of his family who wear more traditional Islamic garb), is studying German so he can get a visa to see his German wife, and drinks alcohol, although he hid the beer we were drinking from his brother "out of respect". He is optimistic about Egypt's future now Mubarak has gone and told me about me about some of the changes that had already taken place since 25th January. The police have all but gone - since they were direct representations of the Mubarak regime - meaning there are fewer checkpoints than before and he can drive down roads people were not allowed to before. Land is no longer given away below market rates to Mubarak's family and friends which created the corrupt elite and so enraged the Tahrir Square protesters just 4 months ago. The sad thing is that tourism has sunk since the revolution and, since that is the largest industry in Egypt, that must be taking its toll on people here. On the plus side, I get to see some of the most amazing sites in the world without hoards of tourists ruining the view. (I'm a traveller, of course, rather than a tourist. There's a world of difference...)
Tomorrow I am going up in a hot air balloon to sea the Valley of the Kings from the sky as the sun rises over Egypt. It's tough, but someone has to do it.
While I liked Lebanon, I decided not to explore further but to make my way back to Egypt instead; I had only seen Cairo and Giza and had missed out Upper Egypt altogether. (Although it is the south of the country, it is called 'upper' because it is nearer the source of the Nile).
An early flight from Beirut got me to Cairo at 10 am, then the usual hazardous taxi ride got me to Ramses station from where the train south leaves. The station is under renovation and is utterly devoid of the usual signs and notice boards with information on times, platforms, destinations and so on. Each person I asked told me a different platform (either 8 or 3 or 11). In the end I met an enthusiastic chap, Mustafa, who was going to Luxor himself and knew where the train departed from. I had vaguely imagined hoards of tourists all going to the same place, but as it was, I was the only westerner on the train which must have had several hundred passengers on it. Although you can fly to Luxor, I wanted to experience the travel and see the country, so for a mere 10 quid, I had a seat in first class from which, through the grimy window, I had 700km of Nile to look at.
First class is not a luxury option, and the toilets were indescribable, so I won't even try. The entire stretch of the land you see is either built on, with those semi-finished buildings people live in here, or else it is cultivated. Some enormous percentage of Egyptians (90%?) live along the Nile, as the rest of the country is desert. They grow wheat (although not enough as Egypt is the biggest importer of wheat in the world - they eat a lot of bread here), grapes, vegetables and all sorts of things I didn't recognise. The land is incredibly fertile for several hundred metres either side of the Nile and they make use of every inch of it. Most of the farming is done without machinery, but with plenty of donkeys, camels and people to do the work.
Nine hours is a long time to spend on a train, even with a Kindle to occupy me. Mustafa, who travelled in second class, came to check up on me every so often and since I didn't have any low denomination notes (and they look at you as if you are mad if you try and buy a sandwich with a tenner), even bought me food and water. People here really are generally friendly and want to show off their country to you. When we finally arrived in Luxor about 10 at night, he took me on a boat across the sea (the locals called the Nile the sea) and walked me to my hotel. He has since taken me under his wing and today he showed me around.
I was a little reluctant to get on the back of his motorbike, and judging by all the other motorbike riders I could see, there may well not even be a word for "helmet" in Arabic. He attempted to put me at ease by pointing out that since Mubarak had gone, the police had more or less dissappeared and so wouldn't even check whether he had a license. As it was, he drove very well and I wasn't worried at all after a few minutes. He seemed to know everyone in town and took me to all sorts of places a tourist wouldn't normally go. I visited his family who had a simple but pleasant house surrounded by their banana plantation.They also had date palms, sugar cane, mango trees and a "honey space", or beehive. They had a lot of land which his brothers manage and seemed to live a relatively comfortable life. In a courtyard of his house were a couple of cows, some chickens and geese, and a goat or two. The banana trees grow incredibly quickly, so I was told, and they crop twice a year, in May and November.
Mustafa is very representative of his generation in that he dresses in jeans and t shirt (unlike the rest of his family who wear more traditional Islamic garb), is studying German so he can get a visa to see his German wife, and drinks alcohol, although he hid the beer we were drinking from his brother "out of respect". He is optimistic about Egypt's future now Mubarak has gone and told me about me about some of the changes that had already taken place since 25th January. The police have all but gone - since they were direct representations of the Mubarak regime - meaning there are fewer checkpoints than before and he can drive down roads people were not allowed to before. Land is no longer given away below market rates to Mubarak's family and friends which created the corrupt elite and so enraged the Tahrir Square protesters just 4 months ago. The sad thing is that tourism has sunk since the revolution and, since that is the largest industry in Egypt, that must be taking its toll on people here. On the plus side, I get to see some of the most amazing sites in the world without hoards of tourists ruining the view. (I'm a traveller, of course, rather than a tourist. There's a world of difference...)
Tomorrow I am going up in a hot air balloon to sea the Valley of the Kings from the sky as the sun rises over Egypt. It's tough, but someone has to do it.
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