Day 7

Make sure you get up a few minutes early today, because the breakfast at the Meridian hotel is amazing. They have everything you could want…. Fresh fruit, pastries, hot items and even a guy making your own omelettes or Belgian waffles. I thought it would be pretty much the same of what we had the other days and didn’t bother coming down that early, I wish I did, because I had to scarf down my plate….but it was delicious.

We took the bus to the Luxor airport where we boarded our plane. This was more civilized than the charter in Aswan. You had to go through security and check your bags. Sherif took all our passports and got seats and boarding passes for us. There is no changing this once it is done and they will not take individual requests for aisle or window, it would take to long. You can however, change with a friend. Some people did get stuck in middle seats, but the flight is only about 45 minutes to an hour long. The airport had a little restaurant and some duty free shops, but if I remember correctly, they were not such a great deal.

When we got to Cairo, we went straight to Khan El Khalili souq. This is the market and is much bigger and had more variety than the one is Aswan. Be prepared to do major bargaining here. They start out ridiculously high and you have to almost fight with them to get your price. They are nice though, and funny too…they know they are starting out way to high. I don’t think there is any kind of trick to it, but I’d say niceness helps, but be firm too. Be prepared to walk away and if they want your business, they will come back after you. Some, however will yell at you if you have gone too low on your price. One guy told me to get the F%@K out of his store and never come back!!!! I just laughed. Most people bought statues of Egyptian gods, sheesha pipes, glass perfume vials, jewelry, stuffed camels and other trinkets. By the way, if you are looking to buy spices, buy them in Aswan. The spice market in Cairo is not in the same area where the bus drops you off. I thought I’d wait until Cairo, so I wouldn’t have to carry around spices and was disappointed when Sherif told me I would have a hard time finding them here. We broke up into groups of about 3 or 4, because waking around this market is impossible to do with 20+ people. My only complaint is that we didn’t have much time, we were only given about 1 _ hours. I know that seems like more than enough, but when you have to spend so much time bargaining with them, it goes by quickly.

The rest of the day was set aside to …pretty much….do errands, on a big tour bus. We had to go to the Papyrus factory to pick up the art for those who bought it. Then we had to get the cartouches ( which were purchased by Sherif on the Nile Cruise…they came out really nice!!!) and then we stopped at a factory for Egyptian cotton, so if you wanted to buy sheets or any thing well, cotton. I did not think there was anything here that I couldn't’t get at home, plus the prices were pretty steep, no real bargain. The place was mobbed with tour buses and NO LOCALS, so you know the tour guides are getting kickbacks for bringing people here. Then we made a quick stop for fast food lunch. There was a supermarket around the corner, so if you wanted healthier, you could go there. I went into the supermarket just to see what they have. I always find it interesting when I am in other countries to see what local products they have in the grocery. The food was so good in Egypt, that I was never craving anything “American” like a cheeseburger and fries, but as soon as I bit into the one from McDonalds, I was in heaven. Most people stopped in McDo, but there was also a KFC and Hardee’s. The people who didn’t go to the grocery were able to eat inside the restaurant, but we didn’t have enough time, so we had to eat on the bus.

We were back at the Oasis hotel. It was a bit surreal coming back into that lobby. It felt a bit as if we were coming back home. I can’t believe that just a few days ago, we all met here and were just trying to learn each others names. that we had just toured all around Egypt and done so many fascinating things. We stayed in the lobby for a bit and Sherif handed out our purchases (the cartouches and the papyrus).

That night was the sound and light show, another optional excursion. Unlike most of the others, not everyone did this one. Maybe about 10 or 11 of us did it. The others just stayed at the hotel and had drinks and hung out by the pool. It is hard for me to say whether I would recommend this excursion, because I liked it, but I thought it would be more. I guess, if you are on a really tight budget and $25.00 would be a big expense, then don’t do it. If you are able to be a bit more lenient with your money, then, by all means, go. If you decide to go, when you are being brought in, they will try to sit you up by the bar, which is good if you plan on drinking ( overpriced, bad drinks), but if you want to see the show better, keep walking down towards the Sphinx. The show is pretty much what it sounds like…they show the pyramids and the Sphinx in different colors and tell a story of how and why the pyramids came to be. It was quite interesting, but I guess I just expected a little bit more. I am glad I did it though. I can’t believe that tomorrow is our last day….