Egypt
South African (Nick Boulos)
An evocative account of a day in Cairo.
See the above page for the full story.
- Site Management: Giza
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass) The site of Giza is one of the most visited sites in Egypt. Everyone who comes to Egypt visits the great pyramids that dominate the landscape here. In the past, the site was crowded, cars were everywhere and also people selling...
- Travel: Siwa. Date Palms And A Toy Gun
WA Today At the gateway to the Great Sand Sea, David Wroe is enchanted by a remote Berber oasis that time (almost) forgot. The long drive south from the Mediterranean coast to Siwa, Egypt's farthest-flung oasis, is bleak but beautiful - at least...
- Travel: Not Far From Cairo's Madding Crowds
The Sydney Morning Herald (David Wroe) Cairo is, to my mind, one of the world's great cities, whatever its shortcomings. With a population of 18 million, the crush of people is suffocating. If you're a woman, the young men on the street can be...
- Travel: Sands Of Time
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21427354-5006339,00.html"As we leave the airport, weary with jet lag, Egypt begins to weave its magic. Elaborate mosques and sprawling government buildings compete for space alongside housing block ruins....
- Engine Vibrations Damage Step Pyramid
http://tinyurl.com/zkk7u (motoring.co.za) A South African motoring ezine is the last place I would have expected to find an item about the Saqqara Step Pyramid, but here it is all the same: "Idling vehicles have been banned in Saqqara, south-west of Cairo,...
Egypt
Travel: Cairo in the fast lane
South African (Nick Boulos)
An evocative account of a day in Cairo.
Very few people can afford a new car and even fewer can afford insurance. As a result, disputes over collisions are resolved at the roadside and generally involve lots of shouting and waving of arms. I was quickly introduced to the Egyptian school of motoring. I responded to Mohammad’s attempts at conversation with some reluctance as he darted in between cars and hurtled towards a backlog of traffic, braking only at the last possible moment.
Without hesitation, he reached for the horn and joined the masses in their unified protest against this ungodly delay. Judging by the ferocious nature of their honking you would think everyone had been sat there for weeks instead of a matter of seconds. Soon enough we were on the move again, like a bullet from a gun. Undeterred by an oncoming surge of vehicles, Mohammed swung the car around abruptly into a parallel road. The approaching cars got alarmingly close and still showed no sign of slowing down.
Just as I was about to adopt the emergency brace position and pray for my life, Mohammad chuckled. “Don’t worry, my friend. This is Egyptian driving.” Speeding along a highway, with stunning Islamic minorettes and high-rised apartment blocks fading behind us, we headed towards Giza. Situated about 20km outside the city, where the frenzy of motors is replaced with weary donkeys pulling carts of watermelons, this sleepy town is home to the magnificent Pyramids.
See the above page for the full story.
- Site Management: Giza
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass) The site of Giza is one of the most visited sites in Egypt. Everyone who comes to Egypt visits the great pyramids that dominate the landscape here. In the past, the site was crowded, cars were everywhere and also people selling...
- Travel: Siwa. Date Palms And A Toy Gun
WA Today At the gateway to the Great Sand Sea, David Wroe is enchanted by a remote Berber oasis that time (almost) forgot. The long drive south from the Mediterranean coast to Siwa, Egypt's farthest-flung oasis, is bleak but beautiful - at least...
- Travel: Not Far From Cairo's Madding Crowds
The Sydney Morning Herald (David Wroe) Cairo is, to my mind, one of the world's great cities, whatever its shortcomings. With a population of 18 million, the crush of people is suffocating. If you're a woman, the young men on the street can be...
- Travel: Sands Of Time
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21427354-5006339,00.html"As we leave the airport, weary with jet lag, Egypt begins to weave its magic. Elaborate mosques and sprawling government buildings compete for space alongside housing block ruins....
- Engine Vibrations Damage Step Pyramid
http://tinyurl.com/zkk7u (motoring.co.za) A South African motoring ezine is the last place I would have expected to find an item about the Saqqara Step Pyramid, but here it is all the same: "Idling vehicles have been banned in Saqqara, south-west of Cairo,...