Salma Hotel

Salma Hotel

by hayward68 about Salma Hotel

Clean, fairly small hotel in the residential area of Mohandiseen. There's a British pub downstairs and a rooftop terrace where they will bring food and drinks up to. I liked that we were off the main tourist path and were in a normal Cairo neighbourhood, with no tourists but us running around.
Breakfast is just bread, jam and cheese so if you want more than that eat elsewhere or buy food like I did. I supplemented my meal with bananas and oranges bought at a fruit stand about a block from the hotel
I think it was $49 CAD for a single room with breakfast.
If you walk up the street you will find everything you need on the main street, from banks, grocery stores to internet cafes. Also taxis run frequently past and you just need to flag them down.
If you are planning on taking a taxi back to the hotel, take a copy of the address in both English and Arabic, though that won't necessarily mean the driver will know where it is. I had to guide one of our taxi drivers back to the hotel as I knew where it was and he didn't. .The view from the rooftop terrace was pretty interesting. Couldn't believe the number of satellite dishes you could see on the roofs around you.
In the distance you could just make out the pyramids on the Giza Plateau.
The only other thing I would add is that this hotel is right next door to a minaret so that when it comes time for the call to prayer you will hear it very, very loudly. You get used to it and it was a quite nice sound from this particular minaret. However, ear plugs might be a wise investment if you don't want to be woken up early by the morning's first call to prayer (like I was my first morning).

Cairo

by chizz

"Arriving in Cairo"

Prior to tour:

Flew from Dubai to Cairo with Egypt Air. Arrived late afternoon and took the included airport transfer to the hotel which was Salma Hotel on the Giza side of the Nile. Dumped our bags and took a cab down to the souq of Khan Al Khalili and managed to catch the whirling dervish (sufi dancing) show at Wikala Al Ghuri, which is held every Wednesday and Saturday at 8.30pm (winter schedule) and is free to watch. Early night after show.

Free day in Cairo before tour started. Took a cab organised by the hotel to Saqqara, Memphis and Dashur for LE170 for 6 hours. Saw Step Pyramid at Saqqara, reclining statue of Ramses II at Memphis and went inside the Red Pyramid at Dashur. Took photos of Bent Pyramid from a distance as the area is a military zone, so we were unable to enter.
Had dinner at Steak Out restaurant which was great. Took a cab to Cairo Tower at dusk to get some scenic shots of the city. Met Tour Leader for a meeting with the rest of the group.

Tour started with a visit to the Giza pyramids site. Saw the Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus Pyramids and the Sphinx. Optional to do camel rides, go inside the Cheops and Chephren pyramids and visit the Boat Museum. Lunch at Felfela which was a set menu for LE50 pp.

On our return to Cairo:

Visit to Egyptian Museum with guide. Saw King Tut's treasures and paid to go in the Mummy Room (LE100 pp). Stayed extra time in the museum and went by metro to Coptic Cairo. Looked around several Coptic churches. Metro back to near hotel and walked from there. Group dinner at Date Bar.

After tour:

Tour ended after breakfast. Took a cab to Citadel for views of the city and saw the Mohammed Ali Mosque. Walked to Sultan Hassan Mosque for a look around and then on to Khan Al Khalili. Steak Out for lunch. Took some photos of the Nile before heading to the Sound and Light Show at the Giza Pyramids.
Departed for Dubai the morning after.

Egypt

by chizz

"Jewels of Egypt tour with Imaginative Traveller"

Egypt had always been high up on my travel list, so finally in August, 2008, I booked a tour with Imaginative Traveller, which had been recommended by a friend. Here's our itinerary:

Nov 22 - Flew from Dubai to Cairo with Egypt Air. Arrived late afternoon and took the included airport transfer to the hotel which was Salma Hotel on the Giza side of the Nile. Dumped our bags and took a cab down to the souq of Khan Al Khalili and managed to catch the whirling dervish (sufi dancing) show at Wikala Al Ghuri, which is held every Wednesday and Saturday at 8.30pm (winter schedule) and is free to watch. Early night after show.

Nov 23 - Free day in Cairo before tour started. Took a cab organised by the hotel to Saqqara, Memphis and Dashur for LE170 for 6 hours. Saw Step Pyramid at Saqqara, reclining statue of Ramses II at Memphis and went inside the Red Pyramid at Dashur. Took photos of Bent Pyramid from a distance as the area is a military zone, so we were unable to enter.
Had dinner at Steak Out restaurant which was great. Took a cab to Cairo Tower at dusk to get some scenic shots of the city. Met Tour Leader for a meeting with the rest of the group.

Nov 24 - Tour started with a visit to the Giza pyramids site. Saw the Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus Pyramids and the Sphinx. Optional to do camel rides, go inside the Cheops and Chephren pyramids and visit the Boat Museum. Lunch at Felfela which was a set menu for LE50 pp. Drove to Alexandria. Checked into hotel, then went for a walk around and ate schwarma at Gad.

Nov 25 - Tour of Alexandria to the National Museum where you can take photos of the mummy there. On to Catacoombs (no photos allowed) and the Roman Amphitheatre. Free time in the afternoon, so we went for a walk, saw the library and had lunch. Drove back to Cairo (3 hrs), to take the train to Luxor from Giza station. Train due to leave at 8.45pm but delayed. Finally onboard and in twin sleeper cabin. Dinner served which was quite nice and to bed in our bunks.

Nov 26 - Quite a good nights sleep! Breakfast served on board. Transferred to M/S Melodie Nile boat by bus. Left luggage and took a calleche to Karnak Temple for guided tour. Calleche back to boat and lunch at 1pm. Afternoon sailing to Kom Ombo via Esna Lock, then on to Edfu to stay overnight.

Nov 27 - Sailed to Kom Ombo. Looked around Kom Ombo Temple and got hassled by the market sellers! Bought a nice cobra headband for the party later that night - haggled from LE280 to LE25!!! Galabaya Party on board with most people wearing their galabayas bought from the boats shop or at the market. Dancers came on board to entertain, there was a disco and a few drinks were had by all! Sailed to Aswan.

Nov 28 - Woke up in Aswan with a free day to explore. Had a meeting at 9am to let us know what there was to do and then walked to the souq from the boat. Got hassled a lot (par for the course in Egypt!) Walked up to the Old Cataract Hotel before returning to the boat for lunch. Afternoon trip to Philae Temple by taxi and boat. Dinner, then evening walk along the seafront.

Nov 29 - Free day in Aswan. Took a cab up to the High Dam and then took a look around the Nubian Museum. Lunch on board boat. Afternoon boat ride on a felucca with the tour group past Elephantine Island and had traditional coffee. Back to boat for dinner. Bed early for early start to Abu Simbel.

Nov 30 - Wake up call at 3.30am for optional tour to Abu Simbel. Departed from boat at 4am by bus to convoy site. Travelled for 3 and a half hours in convoy to Abu Simbel. Had a guided tour for a while with free time to explore the temples (no photos allowed inside). Impressive temples! Bus back to boat in time for lunch. Sailed to Kom Ombo and stopped for an hour for some of our fellow travellers to look around Kom Ombo Temple. Had another quick look around the markets and got hassled again!!!. Sailed to Edfu for overnight stay.

Dec 01 - Up early to go to Edfu Temple at 6.45am. First ones in to site! Watched a short film on the site before leaving. Back to boat to sail to Luxor via Esna Lock. Arrived in Luxor at 4pm and went cartouche shopping with Tour Leader. Visited souq and walked back to the boat for dinner.

Dec 02 - Woke up at 4am to get ready for hot air balloon ride! Took a boat to the West Bank and to the balloon site. Floated over The Valley of the Kings for 40 mins which was lovely! Farmer protested about us landing in his field by sitting on the balloon as the crew tried to fold it away!!! High drama!!
Took the balloon bus to Valley of the Kings to meet up with the group for a guided tour. Saw 3 tombs at VOTK with the option of going in King Tut's tomb (not very impressive by all accounts). Took donkeys to the Valley of the Workers and saw 2 tombs here which were quite impressive and very colourful. Passed the Colossi of Menmon. Boat back to the other side of the Nile. Visited Luxor Museum in the afternoon, the souq, post office and Luxor Temple at night. Also stopped briefly for a look in the Mummification Museum.

Dec 03 - Left Melodie boat. Drove 4 hours to Hurghada. Checked into hotel and walked around the old part of town. Walked to Sigalla for dinner and to look around shops.

Dec 04 - Left Hurghada early and took the ferry to the Sinai region. Stopped in Dahab by bus for a few hours. Had lunch of seafood and looked around the town. Drove to hotel at St. Catherine's.

Dec 05 - Woke up at 2.15am to get ready for Mt. Sinai climb. Reached summit at 6am, ready for sunrise at 6.20am. Descended and went back to hotel for shower. Drove to St. Catherine's Monastery for a look around. Drove back to Cairo (7 hrs). Dinner at Steak Out.

Dec 06 - Visit to Egyptian Museum with guide. Saw King Tut's treasures and paid to go in the Mummy Room (LE100 pp). Stayed extra time in the museum and went by metro to Coptic Cairo. Looked around several Coptic churches. Metro back to near hotel and walked from there. Group dinner at Date Bar.

Dec 07 - Tour ended after breakfast. Took a cab to Citadel for views of the city and saw the Mohammed Ali Mosque. Walked to Sultan Hassan Mosque for a look around and then on to Khan Al Khalili. Steak Out for lunch. Took some photos of the Nile before heading to the Sound and Light Show at the Giza Pyramids.

Dec 08 - Early flight back to Dubai after a great holiday!!