Egypt

Although a bit lost without our bikes, we have had an amazing few weeks diving in the Red Sea and learning about ancient Egypt. In extreme contrast to Norway, it is hot and sunny every single day here and never rains!

We spent the first few days in the sprawling city of Cairo. It has all the familiar traits of a developing country's capital - crazy tooting traffic, dirty streets, throngs of people and endless poorly constructed apartments. But for a city of over 20 million people, we have found it surprisingly safe and organised. Egypt is a country poor in natural resources, but rich in people power, with a population of 80 million. The land is predominantly uninhabitable desert and consequently 99% of the population are concentrated in just 4% of the land area- along the Nile and its Delta.
As we searched for the Cairo bus station we were befriended by an Egyptian boy called Aladdin. Although we have found most Egyptian men to be sleazy and arrogant, Aladdin was a genuinely nice guy, keen to practice his English (and perhaps secure a Western wife!?). He showed us around Cairo and taught us how to 'walk like an Egyptian' - crossing the street without being hit, by weaving among the moving cars, like crossing a flowing river. He also helped us find a cheap restaurant- not easy with most Cairo eateries closed for Ramadan (the Islamic month of fasting).

We then headed out to the pyramids, located on the outskirts of Cairo. The Giza pyramids, completed in 2550BC were more magnificent than we had imagined. It is believed that they were built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place. At around 140m high, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Pretty impressive ay! Atop grizzly camels we explored the site and enjoyed a magical sunset over the surrounding desert.

Thanks to an after-hours, backgate entrance and a few bribes paid to the police, we enjoyed the pyramids tourist-free. A perfect afternoon, other than our guide attempting to feel us both up - he soon learnt his lesson!! In the evening we were invited back to the camel owner's home to share Iftaar (the meal following sundown during Ramadan). It was a bizarre experience to sit in Mahmoud's lavishly furnished home enjoying delicious Egyptian food, prepared by his six wives - while they remained completely out of sight!! We have found the restrictions and blatant sexism experienced by Egyptian women disturbing. Forced to cover themselves and remain confined to their homes all day - we have actually seen very few local women outside of Cairo. We have a new found appreciation for the freedom and rights that come with being a Western woman.

From Cairo we caught a bus out to the Sinai Peninsula to the small dive town of Dahab. There I had my first experience of scuba diving and completed by open-water dive course through Sinai Divers. I had been quite nervous about learning to dive, but absolutely loved it!! After four days of one-on-one teaching with my excellent German instructor, Laveska, I felt totally relaxed and confident underwater. DahabWith warm, crystal clear waters, stunning coral and incredible animal life the Red Sea is the perfect place to learn to dive. Kate did nine awesome dives while we were in Dahab, including an overnight trip to dive the WWII wreck- SS Thistlegorm. Sunk by German bomber planes in 1941, killing nine people, it now rests at a depth of 30m, with great visibility, making it a perfect dive site. The 126m steamship is like an underwater war museum - full of motorbikes, Bedford trucks, guns and other wartime cargo that never reached its destination. Another highlight for Kate was diving in the Ras Mohammed national park and she was impressed by the wonderful variety of fish and coral on all her dives. (These diving photos are not our own, as we do not have a waterproof camera. We just really wanted to show you what it was like underwater!)

In Dahab we also enjoyed lots of snorkeling, swimming, delicious meals out and even managed to get our hands on some clapped out old bikes! We have really missed having our bikes - the freedom and sense of purpose that comes with cycle touring. In saying that, we are really glad not to be biking here - as we get enough hassles from the Egyptian men just walking down the street! It would help to know some Arabic...

With only twelve days in Egypt, we decided to spend most of it in Dahab rather than travel around and see more. After ten months of being on the move, it was nice to be in one place for ten days! Before flying out of Cairo, we spent a day at the Egyptian museum which was fantastic. It is housed in a large historic building right on the Nile River and has the largest collection of mummies and ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world. We particularly enjoyed the famous "King Tut" section - Pharaoh Tutankhamen's elaborate tomb was discovered remarkably intact (after more than 3000 years!) in the Valley of the Kings in 1923. Artifacts from the tomb on display included the gold funerary mask and sarcophagus, four huge gilded boxes that fit inside each other, chariots, an ancient trumpet, thrones, and even a royal toilet seat.

With three weeks to go we are amping for our time in Nepal with Tom, but we are also looking forward to getting home! When we get back to New Zealand we will spend a month travelling around the country catching up with friends and family, before resuming jobs at Tauranga Hospital over summer.

See you all soon!!!