Thread: Egypt

OK, so this is where I was in 2006. It's one fucked-up country. Nothing really works, nothing is new, and everything is difficult. By comparison, Thailand is a fully-functioning modern state.



The entrance to Luxor temple. It dates back over 3000 years. Told you nothing in Egypt is new.



Hieroglyphics & shit in Luxor temple. Old.



Some old statue in Luxor temple. This thing was fecking massive.



Karnak temple, Luxor.



Hatshepsut's temple, just behing the Valley of the Kings, Luxor. This is where the Muslim Brotherhood massacred a load of tourists in 1997 or thereabouts. The temple is really old - like, about 3 500 years old.



Falcon statue at Hatshepsut's temple.



You may recognise this place. It's really old.



The ever-alert Egyptian police. Giza; Cairo in the distant background.



21st-Century Luxor.



A village on the west bank of the Nile, Luxor. You may notice that the buildings have big pieces of metal sticking out of them. This is because, in Egypt, you don't have to pay tax on your house until it is fully-built. So people just leave their houses unfinished (i.e. without proper roofs). Yes, Egypt is that fucked.



Locals at work in the fields on an island in the Nile, Luxor.



Looking over the City of the Dead, Cairo.



Islamic Cairo



Archway facade, Khan al-Khalili, Cairo.



Al-Azhar, Cairo.



View from an old madrassah, Cairo.

Looks fkin amazing mate, can't wait till I get the chance to go there.

An "Ahwa" (coffee house), downtown Cairo.



Cleopatra Souq, Alexandria. This was just before Eid al-AdHa, which commemorates Abraham's preparedness to kill his son Isaac; hence all the sheep, ready to be bought & slaughtered in the streets



A typical doorway in Alexandria. The signs are all for the various doctors who work out of the premises. Most rooms in buildings like this are completely deserted and dilapidated, but people still work out of the rooms which are functional.

Those pictures are amazing but you're going to have to work on your patter a wee bit as you didn't really sell the place to me!

^^No, I was studying Arabic.

And yes; Bangkokians are extremely considerate and reserved drivers by comparison with Egyptians. Egyptians never take their hands off the horn. It does your fucking head in.

Originally Posted by LeedsLeedsLeeds

Those pictures are amazing but you're going to have to work on your patter a wee bit as you didn't really sell the place to me!

Then I've given a very appropriate portrayal of the place, LLL!

Egypt is a beautiful country, but it's wasted on the Egyptians, unfortunately.

I went there in 1983 and loved it, even though I had the shits most of the time! Cairo is a madhouse, but of course you have to go there to see the pyramids, well worth it. Outside of Cairo everything is rather backwards, but that is part of the charm of the country. Not everything is difficult, dead easy to get the train from Cairo down to Luxor and Aswan. OK it was an hour late getting there, but that happens in England too, and I wasn't in a hurry.
I didn't find the Egyptians so bad, but I did go there after spending five months in Israel where the people are cunts so maybe I was easily impressed!

Originally Posted by zehner

would you recommend the place for a holiday? not a huge temple fan myself but it looks interesting

How shall I put this...?

If you go to Egypt, you'll never complain about anything in Thailand again.

I didn't think I would be into the temples particularly, but when you see them up close, they are truly awesome.

Oh, and z, this is no shit: if you go in September, you'll eat the most delicious mangoes you've ever tasted in your life - and they're cheaper (or were when I was there) than in Thailand, too! And there are millions of varieties. It's mango heaven, man!

Originally Posted by Uncle Harry

I went there in 1983 and loved it, even though I had the shits most of the time! Cairo is a madhouse, but of course you have to go there to see the pyramids, well worth it. Outside of Cairo everything is rather backwards, but that is part of the charm of the country. Not everything is difficult, dead easy to get the train from Cairo down to Luxor and Aswan. OK it was an hour late getting there, but that happens in England too, and I wasn't in a hurry.

I know, I'm a bit unfair on the place. I just got really fucked off with it after only 4 months there! Living in Thailand is definitely a spoiling experience.