Our trip begins in Cairo on a Sunday, which for most of the Islamic world (including Egypt) is the equivalent of the Western world’s Monday: start of the work week. We are woken around dawn, given a breakfast box and bundled into a landcruiser driven by a man given the name Teddy Bear. The roads … Continue reading »
“Everything is becoming really hard.” Badr Abd El Moghny is apologizing for raising the modest entry fee to his mud and sandstone, fairytale-like home and art gallery. Since the revolution and in the midst of uncertainty, he tells us, prices have risen and he has to pay more for the postcards of his work and … Continue reading »
Here was something I was completely unprepared for: the police escort. It was bad enough, in my mind, that I was confined to a tour group itinerary, a tour guide and the company of the same people; a police escort made it all sound even more stifling. Egypt relies heavily, depressingly heavily, on tourism, and … Continue reading »
They say that the time it takes to get over a relationship is two times the length of the relationship itself. How long, then, to come to terms with the end of travel? And does three weeks really give you enough to miss a place? My three-week trip ended two weeks ago but I still … Continue reading »
