Re: Just home from 3 months in Europe/Egypt. My thoughts.....


"Bobby McGee" <deadluvva@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1133700775.081954.302680@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hey ya David
> Thanks for the reply and I will try and clarify about Egypt. Yes, this
> was my first time out of the "West" and like I wrote it was a huge
> shock. Egypt had always been a dream for me and I guess I had this
> fantasy image of it. Let me say first of all that the monuments, which
> are the main thing people go to Egypt for outpassed all the
> expectations I had. They were all spectacular!!!!!! Sure I headed out
> on this trip to see the monuments, museums etc but also to meet people
> and talk with them, share a glass, laugh, learn, etc etc etc That might
> be more important than anything. In France, Italy and Greece we met the
> most amazing people and we came home with several new friends, tons of
> e-mail adresses etc. But here's the problem. In Egypt there is NONE of
> that. Everyone we met wanted money from us. If someone was nice to us
> at the end they had their hand out. I was deceived and let down and
> hurt by that you have no idea. All we are to them is huge walking
> dollar signs. For 2 weeks we were cheated, lied to, taken advantage of
> and hassled. And this is everywhere we went. My wife is more accepting
> than I am, like I said she is theeeeeeee best traveller, but even she
> will admit that if someone is nice to you in Egypt, look out. There can
> and never will be any true human contact there cause we are "rich" and
> they are poor (our stained and frayed t-shirts and backpacks is no
> deterrent).
> Now you asked why I did not mention the Giza Plateau as one of my
> hilites. Yes the pyramids and the Spinx are AMAZING but you can hardly
> enjoy them because of the people there who hassle you. You can not have
> 1 minute to yourselves without someone coming up and hassling you. And
> they do not stop or take no for an answer. And since it was our first
> day there we decided to take a camel ride around the pyramids. BIG
> mistake and probably the worst experience on this whole trip. We
> overpaid to begin with and then were hassled by the boys who took us
> the whole way. It took me absol losing it to get them to stop. And as
> you're walking on the camel you have others coming up out of nowhere to
> sell you cokes, souvenirs etc. We had this image of peacefully riding
> by the pyramids but you could not enjoy it for a second cause you were
> constantly saying "NO!" Thank God that we took 2 more camel rides, one
> through the villages of Luxor and another through the desert of Aswan
> that took the bad taste of the Giza plateau away. So that's why I have
> problems appreciating the pyramids cause I associate them with the
> non-stop hassling.
> Also how about the Valley of the Kings? Again the tombs are something
> that I will never ever forget but when you are in them, all of them,
> you have an Egyptian, who is supposed to be a guard there, and he
> follows you and talks to you and tries to play guide and will not leave
> you alone cause he wants some baksheesh.
> How about at the Temple of Kom Ombu when I had finished a bottle of
> water and was looking for a garbage can and one of the "guards" pointed
> me to one and then he followed me wanting a tip. Nothing is free there.
> Way less for my wife, but for me all this took it's toll on me.
> Like you said this was my first time out of the West ( we have
> travelled a fair amount though) and I learnt that I will never ever
> make it to India, Morocco, etc etc etc. I can not travel to a country
> where you have no chance of having a meaningful conversation and making
> some real friends. I met a guy who told me that you would have met some
> nice people had we gotten off the tourist path. Now this might be true
> but who goes to Egypt and gets off the beaten path, maybe 5% of the
> people? The grand majority of us go there for the Giza, Luxor, Aswan
> and Abu Simbel.
> Also I talked about the Cairo museum being dirty. And man oh man it is
> (for example there was 1/4 inch of dust on top of the glass case of
> King Tut's coffin. Someone had written in it "Dust me" :-). I don't
> agree with you cause the museums in Greece, everyone we went to, were
> amazing. Clean, lighting, all was perfect. All the museums in France
> and Italy the same thing. I know I sound like a typical North American
> (we're Canadian) who wines and complains cause things were not like
> home but I can assure you that I am not like that. France, Italy and
> Greece were AMAZING and the monuments in Egypt as well. It's just so
> deceiving to be treated like we were in Egypt and have no chance of any
> human warmth, compassion and friendship.
> I will ever remember Egypt from the words of a kid who ran to a fence
> we were passing by and yelled "Hello Money!" at us. He wasn't asking
> for money he was CALLING us "Money" .
> >From the mouths of babes..........................
> By the way these are strictly my opinions cause my wife was not nearly
> as shocked as I was although she will agree with a lot of what I said.
> She'd go to India in a second. I told her to send me a postcard :-)
> Thanks David, it felt good to write about this. Happy Sunday to you.
> Montreal Bob
> PS> By the way I was told twice, both times by Egyptians that the music
> and the singing coming from the mosques is done by a real person. I
> thought they were recordings but I was told twice they weren't. But
> again, I didn't know if I could believe them. Recordings or not it's
> beautiful.
>
Well, welcome to the real world.
You are right. We are 'rich' and they are poor - far more so than maybe you
still appreciate. You were just two more fabulously rich (to them) tourists
adding to the very melee you complain of. So what do you expect them to try
and do? A generous tip, or a lack of bargaining on your part can equal a
week's income to them. Do you now begrudge that for what you have now done
and seen?
There are ways to deal with all this which perhaps you cannot be expected to
learn on a first trip.
In years of going to the M/E we have made many friends (without money being
involved) and we have had quiet unhassled camel treks around the Pyramids,
let alone far longer treks elsewhere.
If you go to see the 'sights' you are going to meet up with all this.
Later visits can avoid the tourist crowds and you can see the real country,
if that is what you really wish. We have enjoyed enormous genuine
hospitality from ***-poor Egyptians (and Moroccans, Jordanians et al).
Do not write off a people from just one 'sights' dominated visit.
Your remarks just mirror those we've heard so often from 'it must be
Tuesday' tourists.
You don't seem to count yourselves as amongst those, so think and experience
a little more before you sound off.

Surreyman


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