Sailing A Felucca Down the Nile
Lounging on cushions, Z high in the mast above, I watch a kingfisher flutter into a desperate hover, plunge deep into the Nile and emerge...
Category: Egypt
An Open Letter To The Touts Of Egypt
Dear Sirs, For you are all, every one of you, men. Here are a few things I do not want. A camel ride A donkey...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 7: The Working Mother
I sits with her daughter, her son and her daughter-in-law in the shade of a Nubian mudbrick dome, looking out over the expanse of Lake...
Seven Things That Make Cairo Worth the Hassle
Now, it is easy to whinge about Cairo – and, lord knows, I have! Frankly, as a visibly foreign female visitor, tourist Cairo makes the...
The TripAdvisor Experiment
There have been a spate of posts in the blogosphere lately arguing that guidebooks are an unnecessary encumbrance to the hostel dorm and group tour...
The Friday Photo: Abu Simbel by Night
The four colossi below depict Ramses II, a talented and courageous soldier, devoted husband and full-blown egomaniac who was Egypt’s longest-reigning pharaoh. 70 feet tall...
And, This Is Why Cairo Does My Head In
Cairo is a city of many wonders, endless fascination and, frankly, more than its fair share of hassles. I have met some wonderful Cairenes, and...
April Fool’s Day in Cairo
One of the things my son and I try to do, as we travel the world, is to celebrate occasions we would celebrate in the...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 6: The Taxi Driver
We screech to a halt in heavy traffic – a car has accelerated across our path. A overtakes the other driver, blocks him in, and...
The Friday Photo: The Oldest Mosque In Cairo
The tranquillity of Ahmed Ibn Tulun mosque came as a welcome relief from a city about which, if I’m honest, both of us have profoundly...