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 | Egypt Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 327 |  |
 Mom and the Nubians! Wow!
She's the Star! by matt10gonzalez
One good, easy way of seeing Nubia is taking a Nubian village tour in ASWAN. Now, to truly appreciate Aswan's frontier status, you must go to Nubia- if though it's just an hour ride away from Aswan by boat, it's still amazingly, quite world's apart.
(See my Local Customs page for more info about their culture.)
Now, your tour will probably include seeing the papyrus plants, camels and going around the town and back to Aswan. Now like this is corny- you won't see much. But take note: There is a hidden genuine gold mine here! (And luck, good vibes and good tipping plays a role in it!)
One important factor most tourists don't see here is exploring the dunes, the township and interacting with the families around here! (I only saw very few tourists who where invited and took their time playing around the town!)
For us, it was really genuine because I got to enter, chat and see our very friendly guide's beautiful home, his lovely family, his beautiful bathroom, his cute unconventional PET ALLIGATOR, the schools where their children go, their lessons, how the Nubians do football, playing in the fine sand dunes till sunset and the most magical part of it: We all got to see these pretty Nubian teenagers (who were going to Aswan for a disco) sing their beautiful ululating voices! It was truly magical!
I don't know how we got the guide to do this, we were just super friendly to them, we kept asking them questions, laughing, and oh yeah! And my brother cried like crazy while he rode a camel (he hates camels) and all the Nubians were laughing and our wonderful guide took a liking to us! We tipped and bought their stuff (We're not stingy people!) it was worth it anyway.
There’s no guarantee: It all depends on your guide, the moods and your vibes too. But to make it short: Just be, FRIENDLY, CURIOUS, POLITE, DON'T BE STINGY AND BE INTERESTING!
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 Streets of Aswan- not in the
cliched ads! by matt10gonzalez, 4 more photos
You can do this by just walking around a few blocks in an open bazaar! (Different from a tourist bazaar) Like in Aswan for instance, while walking around I found a super exotic view of how Egypt looks- from the smells of exotic and spicy ingredients in baskets to the raw bloody meat being prepared in the tables, and just smell and see the donkeys carrying goods down the road! It feels like in the ancient times! You can't do this if you're in a tour!
(See more photos for more example of things you can see. Though, take note that it was taken by video camera so, it's not clear.)
If you have nothing to do, or you're sick of temples, try doing this! It's even more Egyptian than visiting the Pyramids and the ruins! I warn you though- it's easier said than done!
Mom- "Oh, I'm lazy to do that! I rather just sleep in the hotel!"
Dad- "I don't mind doing it as long as it's not hot."
Brother- "I rather see a mall."
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 The Pretty Nubian Girls!
They're the Stars! by matt10gonzalez, 1 more photos
Don't be delusional: Nubians love modern pop music! (Egyptian/Arabic pop at least, which I also can't get out of my head!) They love dancing the belly-dancing like Rhythm or disco rhythm and singing the Arabic lyrics with high pitched tones (Which makes it one of the most exotic pop genres ever!) and most would probably prefer that over their traditional songs!
But amazingly, the Nubians we met in the village in Aswan still know their traditional songs by heart!
The pretty Nubian girls (Who went with us back on the boat back to Aswan because they're going there to the discos) sang a traditional song with beautiful, high-pitched and ululating voices! I was awed...
Of course you got to sing well! You got to sing well in order to keep up with them! (And impress them!) And if you don't sing well, or if you can't even hum a tune like my mom, dad or me! Uh-oh...then...
They'll just laugh at you! (In a fun manner!)
And they'll continue to sing and just try to keep up with them!
Even if you hate music or Arabic pop drives you crazy, it's still worth listening to them as this is very authenic and cultural. It's not pop music or noise music like for the teens!
It all depends on your luck to meet Nubians in a Nubian village tour sing with you together- it depends on the time, day, season, their moods, (they may be around but if they don't wanna sing, they won't sing!) your moods too, if they're there, it totally depends on your luck. Which makes it quite off-beaten indeed!
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 The Blue Mosque, Cairo by Paul2001
The mosque gets its name from its interior walls, although the facade is sort of blue you would never know it from the grime. The mosque was built in 1347 by Shams ad-Din Aqsunqur. In fact the real name of the mosque is the Mosque of Aqsunqur. In 1652, the mosque was renovated and the blue tiling that you see today was created. Despite the poor condition of the mosque at the time of my visit, it was hard not to be struck by the beauty of blue and turquoise tiles. I understand at the present time, the mosque is being restored and lets hope that the it will be even more amazing when the work is completed.
Also of note is the minbar which is the oldest marble minbar in Cairo. The mihrab is also quite attractive, it also being constructed of multicoloured marble. There are several tombs within the mosque that the very eager custodian with show you. Leave a Comment
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 Hey guys! Look at the ocean!
Wrong! It's a mirage! by matt10gonzalez
Who said Mirages only happen in the cartoons? I thought myself too mirages were just for Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry and so on! And I thought if I would see one, I would see an oasis with palm trees, you know? And it'll disappear when you go nearer! Well, once again, I was sure wrong!
There's mirages all over Egypt! Especially the bare, empty road from Abu Simbel to Aswan where both sides are suppose to be deserts. Why suppose only? Because if you travel this route like 9 AM-4 PM, you'll see a vast beautiful ocean from each sides! It looks near, it sure looks tempting! (Even from the aircon van!) And you'll say, hey! Wow! I didn't know the lake or the Nile was that near! So you'll continue going nearer the ocean, but you'll notice it'll just continue to go farther and farther and everything is just desert and desert. How far is this ocean? And before you know it, you're dead- dehydrated!
What does that mean? You fell for the mirage! A deadly design.
Here's a photo on how deadly it can be.
Of course if you're in an aircon van it's not deadly, but if you're out there in the deserts around these hours, and you have no water, you better kiss your soul goodbye!
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 Asking for an autograph! Feel
like a superstar! by matt10gonzalez
Some kids will seriously want an autograph (signature) from you! No kidding! Feel like a superstar!
It happened to us in Luxor, while riding in a horse carriage, and while we didn't know where our harrassing, scary-looking (and sounding) horse driver was taking us (He was really taking us far, far, far away from town! And would ignore us when we would ask him where! He terrifying!) and while dad and mom look so worried like they were going to die, look who comes cheering us up from the streets: Street kids- street kids asking us for an AUTOGRAPH!
Wow! We were so shocked! It was kind of funny, and cute!
They kept chasing and chasing (as in literally running) us and asking my brother (they found my brother beautiful, they said he was like an actor! But they didn't find me cute!) to sign his signature on this piece of paper they were holding! Of course my brother felt flattered!
I thought they would ask for a tip or something, and you know what?
I was wrong.
The kids just smiled and were laughing, and were rejoicing that my brother signed their auograph.
See? So you don't have to be overly paranoid about the begging/tipping here! Some kids may just find you cute or handsome! (It works better on kids than adults!) Other Contact: It's your looks, charm and luck!
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 Luxor's Residential- Notice
all the Dishes! by matt10gonzalez, 1 more photos
What comes to your mind first when making an itinerary to Egypt? The Pyramids, the Temples, the Red Sea and so on. Of course that'll come to your mind first- they're the most beautiful highlights of this country!
But what about the towns? The lifestyle of the Egyptians in the provinces? Can you forget about them? Yes, you easily can- which makes it even better! It is, an off-beaten thing to do!
From a far, the poor Egyptians have a hard and uncomfortable lifestyle: They live in these unfinished dusty brick tenements which makes you wonder "How on earth can they live in these stuff?"
They (the Egyptians) cram and overcrowd (few privacy) in one dirty apartment, the drainage (I saw it) is awful, (the toilet's always clogged and sometimes, believe it or not, some apartments have NO toilets- they throw it out in the backyard!) and boy it sure is hot.
Yet! Believe it or not, almost all of these apartments HAVE satellite TELEVISION! Which is why, if you were to draw a town based in Egypt, it wouldn't be complete without all the satellite dishes on the roofs!
Many Egyptians themselves told us (my family) that they wished for a better life. No surprise, I would too if I lived in a condition like this. I'm truly blessed I live in a beautiful place.
If you traveled the world, the towns here are very similar to the towns in India (not the Himalayan parts.)
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 Matthew Gonzalez with a Gator!
Ay yay yay!!! by matt10gonzalez, 2 more photos
Wow! Our Nubian guide was so kind enough to introduce us to his pet gator! (I forgot the name.) And oh my goodness! When they offered to place the slimy, scary baby gator on my head, I kept screaming and screaming like a girl! No kidding!
They also gave the gator to mom, she freaked out too! (See more photos). Only dad, brother and my step sister didn't mind touching the cute baby. How do they do that?
In Nubia, there's an abudance of gators (as of 2005), so the people there take care of the gators by spoiling them to become domesticated pets! But only as a baby, when they grow older (And more deadlier), they release the gators back into the Nile, and save more baby gators.
Well, I wish I had baby gators in my house! They're cute. But I wouldn't want to touch them!
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 My brother crying in a Camel!
Locals love it! by matt10gonzalez, 4 more photos
When my brother (who hates camels because they're tall) rode a camel, boy did he cried and cried! But guess what? That's what interested the Nubians including our Nubian tour guide and that's how we got a chance to see the lifestyle of Nubia! A part most tourists miss!
You see, my brother expected to ride a donkey (Which he was arguing with mom and mom asked the tour guide if there were donkeys available and he said yes.) but the moment we jumped off the Felucca, boy did he get the shock of his life: There were no donkeys available!
It was ALL camels!
Oh no!
So what does he do?
He bursts into tears!
Mom told him to give it a try, so we all had to force him to ride the camel, even the locals joined in! They were cheering and laughing! So when my brother tried it and the moment the camel rose up, what does he do again?
He cried some more! Wow! All the tears were falling down his face!
Everybody (The Nubians) cheered some more but when he kept screaming and crying, so they lowered the camel down and looked endlessly for a donkey! At last, they found a donkey for him, but what does the donkey do when he sees my brother?
It runs away! The poor little donkey is scared of my fat brother!
I guess the donkeys aren't that dumb after all! He probably thought that he had to carry this fat big baby! What a sacrifice!
Anyway, the locals forced the poor donkey to let my brother sit on its saddle. Poor donkey, it was a sight to see: When my brother sat on it, the donkey's belly dropped from his weight! Best thing was: We caught it on video! (See photos!)
So in the end, we all proceed towards the Nubian village in a unique (And funny) position: We were in camels but in the middle was a donkey with a fat big boy! When we passed the people, they were laughing at how unique our formation was!
By the way, when my brother got on the donkey, all the Nubians clapped their hands and said hooray! and when he got off the donkey, the donkey must have said "What a relief!" I pity the poor donkey!
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 My Egyptian Berlin - Nefertiti by Kuznetsov_Sergey
Nefertiti, wife and co-ruler with the pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother of legendary boy King Tutankhamun, has long been considered one of the most powerful women of ancient Egypt.
A sculpted bust of Nefertiti, whose name means "the beautiful woman has come," is exhibited in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. The bust, which dates from approximately 1340 B.C., was discovered in 1912 by German archeologist Ludwig Borchardt.
The structure of Nefertiti's material, plaster over limestone is very sensitive.
The Egyptian (Aegyptisches) Museum (Schlossstrasse 70; +49-30/3435-7311, fax +49-30/3435-7312; www.smb.spk-berlin.de, aemp@smb.spk-berlin.de; closed Monday)
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