egypt_quint1

Quintessential Egypt

Check out this section for our favorite sights, activities, food and shopping preferences in Egypt.

MUST-SEEs: Our recommendations for some of the most impressive/beautiful sights are listed below in the order of our preference:

Abu Simbel

Valley of the Kings

Karnak and Luxor temples

Cairo Museum

Pyramids

MUST-DOs: We didn't do all of these, but recommend the following:

Nile cruise

Mt. Sinai

Scuba diving in Red Sea resorts

MUST-EATs FOR VEGETARIANS: Being located in the Mediterranean region, Egypt has a lot of variety in vegetables and fruits, and food choices for vegetarians... exist! The Egyptians are one of the few peoples besides Indians who eat a wide variety of lentils (called ful). Also try Egyptian pita bread which can be had with a number of tasty dips like hummus, tahini, taameyya (felafel), babaghanoush (baked eggplant) and koshary among others. In fact, koshary seems to have an Arab and European influence, being a mixture of rice, lentils and pasta! The hibiscus drink karkade is a unique refreshing and welcoming drink served in Egypt. Try a hookah (shisha) at any of these mid eastern joints. Choose between mint, rose and other exotic flavors!

Our recommendations for restaurants for their ambience and food:

Felfela, 15 Shar'a Hoda Sharaawi, Downtown, Cairo for typical Middle Eastern fare at very reasonable prices, and charming décor with antiques spewn all over the place

Arabesque, 6 Shar'a Qasr al-Nil, Downtown, Cairo, a more expensive restaurant attached to an art gallery, with staff full of old world charm and courtesy able to speak flawless French and Italian.

Naguib Mahfouz Café at Khan el Khalili, Cairo, run by the India based Oberoi group, for interesting décor, different hookah flavors, and tea

Tam Tam, Naama Bay, Sharm el Sheikh, for reasonable mid eastern fare. Very good outer courtyard where you can watch the world go by, heat and weather permitting!

MUST-SHOPs: There are a lot of shopping possibilities in Egypt mainly due to the very reasonable prices, provided one is adept at bargaining for everything under the sun! The Khan-el-Khalili market at Cairo has shops selling typical Egyptian ware, but these can be found in almost all towns and larger cities too. Look out for:

Egyptian (Arabic) music

Papyrus

Perfume bottles and non alcoholic perfumes

18k gold jewellery, including cartouche with your name

Silver jewellery

Alabaster

Spices

Carpets

TIP: Contrary to what one may believe, better prices can be had at the Khan market at Cairo rather than other tourist spots. So reserve most of your shopping urges for Cairo.

TIP: Beware of the LE50 notes and the 50 piastre notes (1LE = 100 piastre). You may be bummed off with a 50 piastre note instead of a LE50 note for change. Conversely, be careful that you don't hand out LE50 when you have to hand in only 50 piastre. This happened to one of our boat acquaintances, and this was after she had bargained to reduce the price of a bottle of mineral water from LE15 to LE10!!!!

MUST-EXPECTs: Typically Egyptian sights, like

Almost everyone looking for baksheesh opportunities from tourists, right from the attendant holding tissue in toilets to little children sitting on donkeys waiting to be photographed!

Tourist police in crisp white uniforms and loaded guns at every tourist destination, but as we were assured, "they are there to help you and not harm you!"

A Corniche el Niel in every town, perhaps meaning "street along the Nile"

Tea sellers holding huge pots of tea/karkade strapped to themselves, with glasses on the side, a very efficient mobile teashop!

TIP: When in Egypt, do as the Egyptians do, and take time out during the afternoons for a refreshing siesta. Its no use doing any sightseeing or shopping then, since the whole city comes to a grinding halt as it sleeps its way through the heat. We did exactly that, and had a more relaxing holiday as a result.

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May 01 2003