Egypt - Part One

EGYPT – Part One

A good way to set yourself up for a trip to Egypt is to read: ‘The Egyptian Series’, by Wilbur Smith. These four historical fiction novels, which are typical of Wilbur Smith, really give you a great grounding in the geography of Egypt. They also give you an appreciation for the long history of mankind in the area of the Nile River Valley and for the study of Egyptology, even though Wilbur Smith has changed some of the names to keep his books in a fictional vein.

We landed at the port of Safaga two days ago, spent two nights there and were in Sharm El Sheik last night. During our first full day in Egypt we had a very long day driving from Safaga to Luxor, seeing everything there, and then driving back to Safaga. Yesterday, we explored Safaga and spent some time on the beach, and then today we had a few hours to explore the waterfront at Sharm El Sheik. The highlight of the trip though, was spending all day Sunday with our guide Mohammad.

Mohammad was the most scholarly of all the guides we have had on this trip.  He was definitely well read and not only on ancient history but also on geography, political science and economics. Furthermore, he was not reserved about the present state of Egypt and he talked about the current situation at length. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to listen to him. It was a 3.5-hour bus ride from the Red Sea to Luxor and he kept us entertained the whole way there, and back. In addition, we could not have asked for a more appropriate guide through the ruins of ancient Egypt that we toured and that will be the subject of a second blog posting that I will write tomorrow.

As a preliminary posting on Egypt, I wanted to regurgitate some of things that Mohammad told us about modern Egypt and mix in some of my own observations and photos.  I am very appreciative of Mohammad’s openness during our time with him. That is because of all of the countries that we have visited, Egypt is the only one that has had such tremendous change in very recent times. It would have been sad to have visited Egypt and not been able to get an educated Egyptian’s perspective on the state of his country. We were very lucky in this regard.

‘The Revolution’ as Mohammad continually referred to it, is a very fresh phenomenon and it has had a tremendous impact on the country. But he admitted that many Egyptians would have preferred that there never was a revolution.  He also admitted that he was scared that the Egypt that surfaces in a few months’ time, may not be a popular Egypt. He indicated that what will emerge will be an Egypt that is somewhere between a pro-western and open Islamic state like Turkey, which would be good for the economy and for the 7,000,000 Christians in the country, or, it could swing to become a not-so-pro-western country like Iran, which would be bad for the economy and not so tolerant of other religions. Mohammad said he thought that The Muslim Brotherhood may be well enough organized that it could control 40% of the vote. That means something closer to Iran may be right around the corner. He also said that because 25% of the population is illiterate a Turkey-like state is unlikely. Mohammad explained that unfortunately, illiterate people are mostly devout Muslims and that they will almost always vote for religiously affiliated leaders.

Mohammad also provided some important statistics that will influence the future of his country, as follows:

1.              Egypt is the size of Texas and Florida combined;

2.              There is a new Egyptian born every 17 seconds;

3.              The population of Egypt is currently 85,000,000 persons and is growing by 1.5 million persons per year;

4.              The Nile River Valley makes up 4% of the whole country;

5.              95% of Egyptians live in the Nile Valley;

6.              30% of the Nile River Valley has been lost to urbanization and more land is being lost every year; and

7.              Although the Nile River Valley was for centuries the breadbasket of the old world, today Egypt cannot feed itself.

Doesn’t that sound like a bit of a mess? Well some of that might be improved if the Egyptians were better educated and they used modern farming methods (see the pictures). Perhaps then they could feed more of their people. But then again, the machines would put many farmers out of work and they would have another crisis on their hands.  Mohammad suggests that the answer is to reclaim the desert on a grand scale and he says there are plans afoot to build a parallel green belt the length of the Nile, adjacent to the ancient watercourse. These are ambitious notions indeed, but something has to be done to ensure that future generations can enjoy a decent existence. I think you have to beat down that birth rate too.

Mohammad threw all of this out as we headed west from Safaga and crossed the mountains that Wilbur Smith said were there. Following that we entered a very arid highland desert that The Egyptians refer to as the Great Eastern Desert. Then all of a sudden, the desert transformed itself from a moonscape, into a greenbelt. We had entered the narrow area that is sustained by the Nile River and I have never seen anything so lush and productive in all my life.  The camera captured most of what I am talking about.

As we cruised about the Nile River Valley it was hard not to notice the Egyptian Army. I have never seen so many military checkpoints in any country in my life. And I have never seen an AK47 up close and personal, until now. This all makes sense though because the Egyptian Army is currently running the country until the people decide what they want in the form of a government.

The saddest thing though, is that there are no tourists in Egypt. No one wants to come to Egypt because of The Revolution. That means for the millions of Egyptians who rely on tourism, there is no income. We saw it today in Sharm El Sheik and yesterday in Safaga.  The hotels and restaurants in both places are practically empty. Those that rely on tourists to make a living are the ones that would have preferred the status quo with Mr. Mubarak. Thank god, Mrs. Gym and I were helping out a little bit by sprinkling Egyptian Pounds around the countryside.

Egypt is a cool place. Hopefully if a new Turkey emerges from the ashes of The Revolution you will call me for advice on where to go and what to do on your next visit to this fascinating country.  Sharm El Sheik is a must-see place with several great beaches and a wide range of nice hotels. The waters of the Red Sea are crystal clear too. As our ship pulled away just now I could see down 50 feet to the bottom of the harbor. Luxor is also a must-see destination.

Following are some pictures of everyday life in Egypt. Tomorrow I will write a bit about Ancient Egypt because we have been to the Temple of Luxor, The Avenue of the Sphinxes, the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s temple. We did this all in one day! That stuff deserves its own blog posting.

We just pulled out of Sharm El Sheik and we are headed for the Suez Canal. When we leave the Red Sea tomorrow I think I am going to miss it. The weather has been great and the sea has been calm and clear the whole time we have been on it.

Please pass on my regards to Mr. Harper. 

Leaving Sharm El Sheik and Egypt

Sharm El Sheik Beachfront

What is there to eat in Sharm El Sheik?

Sharm El Sheik Waterfront

 

No tourists!

Which lounger do you want?

Safaga Beach

Nile River

Nile River Cruise Boats - 99% idle!

Lush Nile farmland

Harvesting wheat with a hand scythe

Nile River

The beginning of the Nile influence

The Great Eastern Desert

Coastal Mountains bordering Red Sea - a mirror image of the mountains in Jordan
Note: The mountains are the same separated by the Red Sea which is still
increasing in width and separating Africa from Arabia