Egypt - The End!

Cairo, here we come!

We decided to do the trip from Dahab to Cairo in a day so we set off fairly early after 2 disappointments. One: Kaz's laundry hadn't been done and two: Neither had the tailoring she'd handed in. Seems that the local services are very laid back too.

Instead of backtracking, we continued around the peninsular in an anticlockwise manner. Next up was Sharm el Shaik, also a popular diving location but too Hurghada-ish for us. The road hugged the coastline for a lot of the way which was great.

Late afternoon found us through the Suez Tunnel again and en route for Cairo. Our baptism of fire was the traffic on the ring road. We have finally found a city where the driving has intimidated us, other African cities are puppies in comparison. Using headlights is for sissies even well after dark. Staying in one's lane is for sissies too. In fact, why they bother to paint lanes on the road is beyond us - any slight slowing of the traffic is a signal to make at least an extra two lanes of traffic. Overtaking on the right is de riguer and how Tom still has his bull bar intact is a miracle. Luckily after only one wrong turn (onto the ring road going in the wrong direction) we managed to find the Salma Campsite in Giza in one piece. Phew!

How do we feel having reached this milestone – Cape (Ok, Jo'burg) to Cairo?

I suppose our feelings are mixed. In some ways, it would be nice to call it quits and head back home. In others, I (Rich) am especially looking forward to Libya. It was still with a huge sense of achievement that we drove through the manic traffic into Cairo.

Pyramids, Skinks and Tut's Treasure

The next day… we took a taxi!!! We hired a taxi for the day and visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx (BW called it a "skinks" until she got her lips around the "ssssffff" bit) in the morning and then the Cairo Museum in the afternoon. The pyramids are in danger of being swallowed up by the Cairo suburbs but are still a very impressive sight and as for the skinks, it is also amazing, nose or not.

The Cairo Museum was busy and we walked around for ages taking in the ancient statues, burial tombs and artefacts. The Tutankhamen collection was everything we had hoped it to be and having visited the tomb itself just completed the picture for us. The treasures that were found in that small tomb were mind boggling, both in quantity and exceptional workmanship.

Being the city slickers that we are, we left Cairo the following day heading for Alexandria. We stopped at a new shopping centre just outside Alex for lunch and a shop in Carrefours. The shopping centre was non-smoking, but in the inimitable Egyptian fashion, no one paid the slightest bit of notice to this! We then fought our way through the afternoon traffic to the waterfront. Finally we are actually on the Mediterranean!

We drove to Fort Qaitbey which was built with the stones from the Pharos Lighthouse (a wonder of the ancient world that was destroyed by an earthquake). Camping options were non-existent and nothing grabbed us hotel-wise (that we could afford!) so we continued down the coast road towards El Alamein. The road out of Alexandria was an eye-opener. We drove through alleyways that were overflowing with junk for sale - anything from old fridges to new toilets ("sitters" not "squatters" as BW would say!). We also dodged large trucks carrying containers going to and from the port and trams scuttling in and out of the city.

El Alamein

We arrived at the El Alamein War Cemetery at 20h22 on 23 October, the 66^th anniversary of the battle. It was also Kaz's dad's 70^th birthday and we had strict instructions to stroke a tank for him!

We camped in the grounds of a small scruffy hotel which was located between the cemetery and the war museum. We had hoped to park in the car park of the cemetery but it wasn't suitable for wild camping. In the morning we walked around the cemetery. It was incredibly well kept and a beautifully serene place. There are separate Australian and South African memorials in the grounds too. We tried to imagine what it must have been like 66 years before, the noise, the smell, the bravery and the fear. We walked down the rows and rows of tombstones of the Commonwealth soldiers. In front of some, wreaths of poppies or small poppy crosses had been laid by family members. We presumed at the ceremony held the day before. BW found the whole "poppy thing" very emotional and spent the whole cemetery visit in floods of tears! It seems that Britain, Italy and Germany rotate the annual hosting of the remembrance ceremony – this year was Italy's turn. The German and Italian War Cemeteries are nearby.

We visited the museum and weren't terribly impressed by it – especially when they want to charge a fee for using a camera! We did stroke a tank though!!

Westward towards Libya.

We have a date with our Libyan guide, Ala Omar, on Monday 27^th. Our next stop was Mersa Matruh where we are staying for 2 days before heading for Sollum and the border. The road from El Alamein was also lined by resort after resort. All of whom cater for the local tourists. Not many foreign tourists venture west of El Alamein.

Unfortunately camping is not an option in Matruh, so we are staying at a beachfront hotel (read term "hotel" loosely!) with a brilliant view of the Med. The sea today has as many blues in it as a lilac breasted roller. The weather has turned cooler and Matruh is busy closing down for their off-season. Even the McDonald's where we'd hoped to get in some free wi-fi time has closed! Rebecca managed her first swim in the Med while we sat on a litter-strewn beach. They employ street sweepers and the streets are clean but they obviously have strict instructions not to venture anywhere near the beaches.

Sollum, El Salum, El Salloum

Take your pick, they all seem to be OK!

We left the pleasures of the Reem Hotel and headed towards the border. The road went through the desert and we gobbled up the kilometres quite happily. We stopped in a spot just off the road for coffee and pastries that we'd picked up in Matruh. They were baklava-ish and very delicious.

We arrived in Sollum and had lunch overlooking the sea and harbour. The military presence is very apparent from Matruh all the way to the border. We are now only 12kms from Libya.

After lunch we backtracked to the Halfaya – Sollum War Cemetery just east of the town centre. The Transvaal Scottish has battle honours for Sollum and sadly is well represented in the cemetery too.

Once again we are so impressed by the care with which these cemeteries are tended and looked after. Kaz met the caretaker and consequently we are camped at his house overlooking the cemetery: what a stroke of luck! Mohammed is the 3^rd member of his family to look after the cemetery. His father from 1946 for 31 years, his brother for 27 years and now it's his turn.

We leave Egypt with memories, both good and bad. Luckily the good outweigh the bad - but only just.

Shokran Egypt!