DATELINE: Cairo, Egypt
On May 22, 2015, EgytpAir cancelled my flight from Cairo to Johannesberg at the last minute, just as I was leaving Paris for Cairo. While at first it seemed inconvenient, the snafu turned out to afford me a full day in Cairo. The airline put me up in the Radisson Blu Hotel with three meals. The following day I took a private tour to the pyramids., the sphinx, an authentic papyrus (paper) store and an Egyptian perfume shop.
The day began at 10 am as Khalid, my hired driver, pictured here in white shirt and tie, pointed out the sights as he drove us toward the pyramids. We crossed over the Nile and passed open air markets. We met Ahmed Halemoo, my English-speaking tour guide, who explained the history of the pyramids and was a wealth of knowledge. I rode a camel and got access to the inside of one of the pyramids. We ate an Egyptian lunch, drank hibiscus tea and drank (strong) turkish coffee. The final stop, you will see below, included smoking shisha, a flavoured tobacco from a glass-bottomed water pipe. By 6 pm, Khalid returned me to my hotel, where I had a final dinner and packed up for my evening flight to Johannesburg.
The day began at 10 am as Khalid, my hired driver, pictured here in white shirt and tie, pointed out the sights as he drove us toward the pyramids. We crossed over the Nile and passed open air markets. We met Ahmed Halemoo, my English-speaking tour guide, who explained the history of the pyramids and was a wealth of knowledge. I rode a camel and got access to the inside of one of the pyramids. We ate an Egyptian lunch, drank hibiscus tea and drank (strong) turkish coffee. The final stop, you will see below, included smoking shisha, a flavoured tobacco from a glass-bottomed water pipe. By 6 pm, Khalid returned me to my hotel, where I had a final dinner and packed up for my evening flight to Johannesburg.
