After three months in Europe, it was time to move on to the next big section of The Sabbatical focusing on the Middle East and Africa. I am headed to Egypt next. Jorge bought an economy class ticket on Egypt Air which sounds like two bad ideas all rolled up into one. This is especially true when another option was to use 42,500 AA miles and fly on Qatar Business class through Doha. While a nonstop would have been a plus, I really don’t mind going out of my way a bit to fly on one of the Qsuites. The problem with Qatar is that they have like six different types of business class seats. So it’s a crap shoot if you will end up in a Qsuite. But the food is usually very good regardless and overall it’s one of the best business products out there. The other benefit is that I have a nice friend Hassan who is a Qatari and lives in Doha. It’s always lots of fun to see him.
The other interesting feature of this routing, MAD-DOH-CAI, is that the Doha to Cairo flight is considered regional First class even though you get the same business class seats they use for all their other non-regional flights. For Avios users, this means you pay the First Class points value for the flight which is not good. Luckily on AA, there is no supplement of miles. But the BIG advantage of it being a First Class ticket is that you get to use the cavernous Al Safwa First Class lounge in Doha. I have flown through Doha many times but have always wanted to experience it. They offer a $200 paid entry option but that has never seemed to be worth it. But this trip would finally get me in!
FLIGHT #8 OF THE SABBATICAL
Qatar Airways #148, B787-900, BUSINESS, New Suite with door
DEPARTURE: Madrid, Spain (MAD) 09:25
ARRIVAL: Doha, Qatar (DOH) 17:05
DURATION: 6h40
So I arrived at Barajas airport in Madrid and quickly got checked in all the way Cairo. Even though I was spending the night in Doha, I could check my bags to Cairo since the layover was less than 24 hours. Not surprisingly Qatar uses the Terminal 4 Satellite terminal and thus the nicer of the Iberia VIP lounges. Security and passport control were easy and soon I was having breakfast in the lounge. Considering I was in Iberia’s premier lounge at their main hub, the food offerings were mediocre. Simply your basic, ubiquitous European breakfast buffet. But the machine coffee was good and nobody went hungry.
After I finished eating, I sat and realized that I was excited! I was going to get to see my friend Hassan in Doha for the first time since COVID. Then I get to go to a brand new country for me, Egypt. This was going to be fun.
They announced our flight was boarding and I made my way over to the gate. There I immediately walked on board and was surprised to see the newest Qatar 787-900 business “Qsuites-esque” suite. What a treat! Unfortunately, Qatar wasn’t able to install the Qsuite on these 787s because the fuselage is a little narrower than the A350 and the 777. So their designers did a redesign and created a very nice suite, albeit a bit smaller than the Qsuite. The important feature is that it has a door like the Qsuite. As a Flyertalk dork, I was kicking myself that I didn’t know that this was going to be my plane. How did I miss that!?!? When I booked, I knew that I wasn’t getting Qsuites on either sector at the time. But this was great!
New Qatar B787-900 Business Suite with a door!
Love the new lamp too
My first impressions were very nice. As a Qsuite runner up, it worked well. Normally I can’t turn down a welcome drink of champers on the ground, but it was still feeling a bit early so I settled for a nice glass of water. I liked the suite’s little light fixture that really warmed up the space.
A calming space
Once in the air, I enjoyed a nice glass of their Bruno Paillard Rosé Premiere Cuvée champagne. And the champer’s color matches their interior well. So bonus points for that. Our 5h19 journey to Doha was going fly by. I was interested to see that Qatar uses a tray service on this flight. I don’t remember seeing that before in their business. They usually provide a properly set white tablecloth service. I started with a nice tomato soup, followed by a cold lobster and scallops salad, and then braised beef. My meal ended with a nice cheese platter which is always my preference over any dessert. The meal was excellent and I continue to give Qatar top marks for their catering.
A tomato soup, cold lobster and scallops salad, braised beef, and a cheese platter
I managed to doze off a bit. I had been running around for the past few days so a little siesta felt great. Soon enough we were landing in Doha and performing the long taxi to find a gate. I have had my share of bad luck with bus gates at this airport so I was really happy to see the jet bridge. Welcome to Doha.
I made it to passport control quickly but then was sent back to some health desk. It was all very confusing and no flow of traffic had been designed. There a man helped me fill out some sort of questionnaire about where I was staying and maybe a question about fever. But I received an email with a QR code. At no point was I asked to show the required €80 COVID test results that I got in Madrid. Ugh.
The second time the passport person let me in and soon I was met with the typical wall of heat and humidity as I exited the airport. My glasses always instantly fog up as I fumble to see my phone and locate my Uber. It’s not exactly a glamorous look.
Grandma Marriott has a lot of different properties to choose from in Doha all waiting to be filled next month for the World Cup. Tonight’s selection was the JW Marriott Marquis City Center. They gave me a beautiful corner suite with full living room, guest bathroom, and en-suite bedroom. It was so big you could have landed airplanes in it. A special touch was they left a bottle of wine and a nice cheese platter with a handwritten note. Then in the bedroom, there was another handwritten note to me with kissing towel swans. It was my first time ever getting two handwritten notes!
A bed at Grandma Marriott's for the night
I showered and went up to the Executive lounge to check it out for evening cocktail hour. It had nice views out to the city where I could see lots of buildings bathed in advertisements for the World Cup. I knew I was going to dinner soon but nibbled from the buffet as I enjoyed a glass of wine.
My huge corner suite
Hassan met me in the porte cochere of the hotel. He greeted me with a warm smile and big hug. He looked wonderful. He had chosen to wear western clothes instead of the Qatari dishdasha I had seen him wear sometimes. Like all of us, he had gained a little weight during COVID but it looked great on his bodybuilder body. In his mid thirties, a little Daddy was sneaking in to his look.
He chose a wonderful seafood restaurant called L’wzaan on the waterfront. After getting settled, we walked over to the showcases of seafood and he ordered a feast for us. We ate mussels, calamari, swordfish, an Indian seafood curry, and a Thai mixed seafood dish. The two of us tried but couldn’t finish it all. It was quite a meal. I tried to pay but he said the bill was magically taken care of. So generous. Afterwards, we walked along the waterfront to help it all settle. Back at the hotel, we hung out and continued to enjoy catching up after not seeing each other for three years! He’s such a lovely person.
Hassan took me to a great seafood dinner at L'wzaan
As I describe interactions about people I meet around the world, it is not always possible to post pictures of them. The Qatari government’s involvement in Hassan’s life makes discretion a requirement. I am hopeful that by hosting the World Cup they will have an opportunity to grow and become a bit more inclusive. I am an optimist.
I got a nice night’s sleep in spite of being still full when I crawled into bed. In the morning I woke up and was smiling even before my eyes were open. Today was the big day that I would get to visit the Qatar Al Safwa First Class Lounge. Yippee. This travel dork was super excited!
I had the option of going up to the hotel’s executive lounge for breakfast or down to the main restaurant. Today I chose the latter since sometimes the lounge offerings are limited. I was happy to see smoked salmon at the buffet as this is my preferred morning protein. I nibbled at a variety of things I knew a great lunch was coming at the airport.
Uber got me safely back to the airport and soon I was seated at the exclusive and very private First Class check-in area. I saw one other passenger in an area that could easily accommodate 60 people. It reminded me of the Singapore First Class check-in at their hub. Since I already had a boarding pass, they did a simple passport check but there wasn’t much else to do.
A super quiet Qatar Airways First Class Check-in Area
The Al Safwa First Class lounge is like a modern art museum
The entrance to the Al Safwa First Lounge is immense. It’s like entering a large museum of modern art. After check-in, you are greeted with a colorful Keith Herring painting. At least the Qatar Airways art curators aren’t as homophobic as their government. Continuing into the lounge, I was simply struck by the grandeur of everything. Near the center, there was a huge fountain that was a work of art itself. I had purposely allowed enough time before my flight to really enjoy the experience. This was going to be fun.
The restaurant has lots of different seating areas. I tried to choose one where people weren’t loudly talking on their phone or even worse, listening to things on their phone without headphones. I ended up with a beautiful seat against the window with views of the tarmac. I started with a glass of rosé champers and a glass of Perrier. I wasn’t hungry yet so I just enjoyed writing and sipping champagne for a while. My waiter seemed genuinely pleased when I finally ordered my lunch of seafood soup and an Angus beef steak served with peppercorn sauce. Everything was wonderful and the waiter even made accompanying wine suggestions. I couldn’t eat much after that but he convinced me to try two of the cheeses from the cheese platter. The service was top notch and it felt like I was at a fine dining restaurant.
Lunch at the Al Safwa restaurant
After lunch, I walked around the vast lounge a bit. There were many places to sit but it did all feel a bit exposed. I saw a sign to the “day rooms” for people with a longer layover. It would be fun to try those one day. I ended up just staying at my table against the window in the restaurant. It felt a bit cozier there.
Finally it was time to leave this amazing place. It had lived up to all the reviews I had read. What an experience. I just wish Qatar offered more first class! They only have it remaining on their infrequent A380 flights.
FLIGHT #9 OF THE SABBATICAL
Qatar Airways #1301, B777-300, BUSINESS, Qsuite
DEPARTURE: Doha, Qatar (DOH) 14:30
ARRIVAL: Cairo, Egypt (CAI) 17:05
DURATION: 3h35
Not to sound ungrateful at this point, but I wasn’t looking forward to the 777-200 old business class in the 2-2-2 configuration of my flight to Cairo. It is the exact opposite of private. But the frequent flyer gods were looking out for me today because I experienced the typical last minute Qatar Airways aircraft swap and I was greeted by proper Qsuties for my flight! Yay!! My great day had just gotten even better.
The Qsuite, one of the best business class seats in the sky
As soon as I sat down, did it become apparent to me, yes, the Qsuite is bigger than the new business 787-900 seat I had just experienced the day before. The Qsuite is my favorite business class seat in the sky. Bar none.
Our route today DOH-CAI
The meal on the flight was another great example of Qatar catering. A lovely mushroom cream soup, seared spiced beef with pomegranate sauce, Qatari roasted jumbo prawns with Arabic spiced curry, and my usual cheese plate. I ate it all, never mind I had eaten a beautiful lunch in the lounge just a few hours prior. I enjoyed it all. And the flight attendants were all wonderful once again. Soon enough we were on the African continent and I was about to enter a new country for me!
Outstanding catering on the way to Cairo
Just 36 hours after landing in Cairo and my head is spinning. We have just taken off on our early morning domestic flight to Aswan. I am exhilarated and exhausted. It has been a frenetic, whirlwind mix of meeting new people, eating exotic foods, and seeing some of the world’s greatest treasures.
For many decades I have been fearful about visiting Egypt. Their horrible track record on civil rights and prosecuting homosexuality kept me far away. For our year of travel with our son, FifthGradeAroundTheWorld, Corbin asked if we could visit Egypt. I explained to him that I was cautious about visiting as a gay family because the government had imprisoned local gay couples there. How would they treat us as a gay family? In weighing the risks of problems versus the benefit of the amazing history available to us, I vetoed the idea.
Unfortunately, we didn’t visit my old home of Malawi for the same reasons. Their treatment of gay people was atrocious. I wasn’t willing to risk the safety of my family. So we ended up in Madagascar which turned out to be our favorite place we visited the whole year. Egypt remained this out of reach destination that was near the bottom of my list to visit.
Last fall, two of our best friends, Tom and Charlie, visited Egypt for over a week. They returned saying that it was a great experience overall in spite of a number of difficult challenges. The history of this country is simply amazing. It is one of the original ancient cultures. And thanks to their innovative techniques and time-machine like tombs, so many artifacts have been beautifully preserved to give us a glimpse into life over 4000 years ago.
I gave my friend Jorge in Madrid a call and proposed our adventure to Egypt. We talked about our fears and how to make it work. Jorge and I both wear our sexuality on our sleeves. Each of us burst out of the closet many decades ago and we weren’t willing to “act straight” in order to see some 4000 year old treasures. But we each did our research and decided there was a way to make it happen. It might involve wearing a big black burka if necessary. We’ll do what it takes to not get arrested.
I landed in Cairo around 4:30 pm. Before passport control, I was met by Michael, a representative from TourRadar. He guided me through the health forms, passport control and into the baggage area. I had read a lot on the difficulties of traveling in Egypt, especially the constant scamming that we will face. This made me hyper sensitive to my surroundings and all interactions.
As we were walking, Michael said I needed to pay an additional $50 since Jorge and I were arriving separately and thus two airport transfers were needed. In my many email correspondence, I had been made aware of this months ago. I paid the extra transfer online weeks ago. I confidently let Michael know that I had already paid this and he should check with his company. In an exhausted jet-lagged state it would have been easy for me to have forgotten this but luckily I remembered. But this was not a good first impression.
Next I popped into the arrival duty free to grab a bottle of “Christmas cheer” since I had read drinks were very expensive in this Muslim country. The cashier took my passport and gave it to a man at a nearby table. We completed the credit card transaction and he gave me my bottle and receipts. I could see there was no passport. So I just stared into his eyes and smiled. Then he finally said, “Oh, you want your passport.” It was a weird transaction. Throughout daily traveler life, many in Egypt expect tips. I get it’s part of the culture that has developed. But I hate all tipping culture. Alas, I have to follow local customs. I have to assume that they were hoping I would forget my passport with them. Then they would get a huge tip when they were holding it for me. Ten minutes into my stay in Cairo, I felt like I had already been scammed twice. Fasten your seat belts.
They had sent a huge mini-bus to collect me at the airport. It was nicely air conditioned as we made our way through the crazy Cairo traffic. Overall it was a forty minute journey with some near-miss collisions with other motorists. The use of the horn is mandatory to announce the presence of your vehicle like in so many cities around the world. There are no lanes of traffic. Instead just cars and trucks willing everyone available space as pedestrians weave in and out of the moving traffic. I had to shut my eyes several times to escape the chaos.
The Steingenburger hotel is located directly across the street from the Ritz Carlton. Each vehicle entering the hotel parking lot is fully searched on the outside. Then you and your hand luggage is x-rayed on your way in the front door. They whisked away my large suitcase and said they would deliver it to my room. The staff at the front desk was very friendly and we joked around as they checked me in. Tour rep Michael and I exchanged WhatsApp numbers and he said he would text me when he was on his way back to the hotel after having picked up Jorge from his later EgyptAir flight.
Once I got to my room and started unpacking my carry-on, I received a call from the hotel manager. They had found a weapon in my suitcase and needed to come downstairs. WHAT? I didn’t have any weapons! What the heck was happening here? Had someone planted something in my bag?
Down at the front desk, the manager explained that they found a knife in my bag and I couldn’t have it in the hotel. Of course! That was the weapon. I am a chef and I travel with a proper chef’s knife instead of using the horrible knives one usually finds in your typical Airbnb. They filled out a “RECEIVING A WHITE WEAPON” form which I had to sign. I would get it back when I stayed again next week on the morning of my departure. I am still not sure what a white weapon is but my knife fell into that category. I was just super glad they hadn’t found a gun or nuclear bomb in my bag.
Olafman - International Weapons Smuggler
About a year ago, I started chatting with Zak, a local Egyptian that contacted me through Instagram. He had recently graduated university and had just begun his first job. He was also going to be starting his Masters in AI soon. I was super impressed by his drive and high ambitions. As my visit to Cairo got closer, we both grew more excited about meeting in person after many digital messages and video calls.
As I landed, I texted him and suggested that we meet before Jorge arrived a couple of hours later. This would give us some time to connect one on one. He was finishing up at work and soon would be grabbing an Uber to meet me.
The hotel was a nice German 4-star business hotel offering us two twin beds and a nice bathroom. Our view showed us two run down nearby buildings, a traffic jammed street, and a parking lot. No Nile River view here. The joys of booking a package tour. But the prices on the mini bar were crazy cheap so we helped ourselves throughout our stay without the usual caution. LOVE THAT!
I had read that most tourist hotels do not let locals enter for security reasons. As a 22 year old Egyptian, Zak was reluctant about trying to come in and meet me in the lobby. He too had heard that entering could cause him lots of problems. So he finally texted that he was out front of the hotel.
His broad smile greeted me warmly. It was so great to see him in person. He was just like I had imagined but taller than me! He was full of energy and excitement. We instantly clicked and I knew we were going to have a great time.
He suggested we go for a tea and chat a bit. The area of our hotel is one of the nicer in Cairo and it has lots of cafes and restaurants. He chose a cafe off a Main Street that was a bit quieter He ordered us mint teas and we enjoyed catching up. He recently moved to a shared apartment about five minutes away by metro. It was the first time he had not lived with his family and he was enjoying getting to know the center of Cairo.
I was so happy to meet Zak after a year of chatting
When Zak and I started to chat, he shared that he had never been with anyone, man or woman. He thought he was gay but didn’t have any experience. I enjoy being a mentor to younger people and I had been sharing lots of advice over the past few months. My biggest idea that I shared was to go SLOWLY. He had your whole life ahead of him. This is often a hard one on a young person.
So Zak had some news. He had finally connected with someone. He had met a German guy on Growlr, one of the many gay social networking apps. He said it was an amazing experience and that everything had gone great. He told me all about it and I could tell that he was ready for it. I was so pleased that it was a really positive experience.
I was getting a bit hungry but I wanted to wait for Jorge to join us. So Zak started looking for a restaurant with take-away to avoid the issues with street food. He said that he was a good judge of cleanliness. He stayed away from most of the street food and also only drank bottled water. Our snack ended up being hawawshi, an amazing pita stuffed with ground beef. Beautifully seasoned with garlic and cumin and served with a tomato salad and tahini sauce, the ground beef fat had seeped into the pita and then crisped up during grilling. I have even made a version of it on my BBQ at home. But this was absolutely delicious and so much better than mine!
A nice snack of hawawshi
At this point Jorge texted me he had landed and was on the crazy trip through the traffic to the hotel. Welcome to Cairo! Zak and I started making our way back to the hotel but he was still nervous to come in.
A couple of years ago, some tourists died in Egypt. Because tourism is a vital part of the economy, the government created tourist police in spiffy white uniforms to provide an extra level of protection. But because of this, tourists hotels have lots of security. Zak didn’t want to interact with them at all. They could cause lots of problems for him. He had heard stories of harassment and incarceration and didn’t want any of that.
As I walked in the hotel, I immediately saw Jorge at the check-in desk. We gave each other our usual cheek kisses and a big hug. He survived EgyptAir economy fairly well. He actually said it wasn’t bad. From the trip reports I have read online, one should have doubts.
We got up to the room and chatted as he showered and changed his clothes. Zak was waiting to take us to dinner. Jorge was a bit apprehensive about going with a stranger but I reassured him that he is very sweet.
We met Zak across the street from the hotel and he took us to the very famous Abu Tarek restaurant. They are known for the best koshari, which is the national dish of Egypt. It is an interesting mix of pasta, fried rice, lentils, and vermicelli with a bunch of spicy sauces and then topped with chickpeas and fried onions. It was great to have a local show us how to create the dish from the various condiments on the table. It was heavy on the starches and not so much about the vegetables. But it was nice to try it.
Zak took us to the best koshari in Cairo at Abu Tarek
Learning how to sauce the koshari correctly
Zak had paid for the tea so I wanted to buy dinner. But he insisted on paying for our dinner too. It was the second night in a row that I was being treated to dinner! I am very grateful for all the generosity out in the world. By this point, we were both tired and Zak guided us back to our hotel. I had a big smile on my face. Yet again, I had met an incredible, local person. And we had just been here for a few hours!
The breakfast buffet had a huge variety of offerings from typical middle eastern breakfast to even sushi! They passed my breakfast buffet test by offering smoked salmon so I was happy. It was a good start to the day.
A nice variety to the hotel breakfast
This continued as we boarded our tour bus and saw that we were the only passengers. No one else was on our tour so it was now officially a private tour! This made us very happy as group travel can be tiring. Someone is always late and it’s never me.
Today was a huge BUCKET LIST day: The Pyramids, The Sphinx, and the Egyptian Museum. Right out the gate, we were going to experience the big E-ticket rides of Cairo. We were both giddy school girls. We left our hotel at 7:30 am with the idea that we would try to beat the heat a bit. In spite of it being October, the sun during the day heated this place up. For the next week, we would be sweating a lot. It’s just part of the fun.
A private tour for us! What a nice surprise.
A first glimpse
After about thirty minutes of crazy driving and traffic, we got our first glimpse of the impressive pyramids. Once we parked and got out, I really was amazed at their size. And taking into account that they were built 4500 years ago makes it all the more impressuve. My biggest surprise is the smooth white limestone, outside layer of the pyramids had almost all been stripped and used in other buildings. So the pyramids had jagged edges, almost pixelated. One of the themes that we would discover is that so many artifacts have not been well preserved. When the country’s leadership changed, or the religion changed, they often destroyed so much of the previous history. Thousands of years later we can view it as tragic but it made sense at the time to someone.
The Great Pyramids
I was surprised the outside was so jagged.
The smaller pyramid still has the outer stone intact near its apex and gives a good sense of what they used to be like. It would be a huge project to restore the pyramids with their outer stones. Maybe in a thousand years.
The heat was beating down on us as we walked around the pyramids. But it was all part of the awe inspiring experience. I have never seen anything like this. I have seen documentaries on how they built these structures but I could never appreciate the immense size and scale of the project. The one thing that I didn’t like was seeing all the camels being offered for tourists rides and photos. I really dislike seeing any animals in captivity. And the camels didn’t look like they were having much fun.
We drove to the adjacent Sphinx and I was shocked to see how small it was. It’s funny because I almost felt disappointed! But this is why we travel, to actually gain knowledge and experience. So we laughed it off and moved on.
Our next stop was a papyrus “factory”, cue Carl rolling his eyes. Jorge is a much more typical tourist than I so he was looking to get some souvenirs for his family and friends. I simply accepted their shop’s gifts of cold water and snacks as I observed their sales and marketing skills being used on Jorge. They did an excellent job of upselling lots of things to him. It was fascinating to see it in action. But he left happy and our guide got a nice commission.
Our next big stop was the Egyptian Museum almost adjacent to our hotel. Recently the new Great Egyptian Museum right next to the pyramids has been under construction for a long while constantly but has a constantly changing opening date. At this point it is scheduled to open in the first half of 2023. We’ll see! Meanwhile the old museum still has lots of unbelievable artifacts that haven’t all been stolen by the British Museum. It was interesting to hear the Egyptian’s side of their sticky fingered Imperialist friends. I am sure that the British and French would both argue that they take better care of the artifacts that they robbed from Egypt. But maybe isn’t it time to return something like the Rosetta Stone to Egypt’s new, modern museum? Come on!
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo
I really enjoyed our guide’s tour through the museum. Most of what we saw was 3500 - 5000 years old. Once again I was in awe. I love that we call things “historic” in the USA when they are 200 years old! Perspective is EVERYTHING. I especially enjoyed seeing all the items from King Tut. Fascinating. Some of the more interesting artifacts were the urns to store the lungs, liver, brains and anything else of the body they thought to keep. Finally it had been many hours since we had eaten, so we stopped at Kazaz to enjoy their great shawarma for lunch. It was the perfect grab and go lunch for busy tourists. I would say it was the best shawarma I’ve ever taste with its amazing flavor.
Street side shawarma lunch
Our final stop of the day was the central bazaar. It was so interesting to see the mix of things for locals and also for tourists. At times it was overwhelming but the narrows streets provided much needed shade to beat the heat. Many vendors also offered water in large Thermoses. The odd part during these COVID times, is that everyone used the same tin cup to drink from. Dr. Fauci would not approve. We didn’t end up buying much but it was fascinating to see.
At the Central Bazaar
Everyone drinks from the same cup! Go COVID!!
Finally we were touristed out and headed back to the hotel for a swim, a shower, and a nap. The heat takes a toll on the body. And we had six more days of this ahead of us. Frequent showers and air-conditioned moments definitely help.
I had been chatting with a nice local guy on one of the gay social networking apps, and we agreed to meet for a drink and dinner that night. He was 29 and knew how to deal with the tourist police. He was super confident and well dressed. He had no problem walking in a tourist hotel right past the tourist police.
Ismael turned out to be an amazing person. He was super outgoing and we bonded instantly as we enjoyed a drink at the hotel’s lobby bar. He has traveled a lot and has a wonderful adventurous spirit. Jorge joined us after a while and Ismail took us to a great Italian place, Cai Roma. We laughed so much. It was so interesting to hear about actual gay life in Cairo. He was out to all of his siblings but not to his parents. A couple of his siblings still weren’t thrilled with him being gay but they were all doing okay. Of course he’s a great guncle and his nieces and nephews all love him.
Dinner with Ismail at Cai Roma in Cairo
I had mentioned to him that I would love to see Cairo’s equivalent of a gay bar. Of course homosexuality is very illegal. But they gays must hang out somewhere! I have been with Emirati gay friends in Dubai and there is a huge underground scene that constantly changes locations. It’s not published anywhere on the internet. You just have to know about it. Cairo works the same way.
So we ended up at this large restaurant/club where there was a huge upstairs patio with about 150 people seated at tables. It was packed with both locals and expats. But without a doubt, this was a place with lots of gay people. The buzzing atmosphere exuded energy and we had a great time. Some of Ismael’s friends were already there and soon we all had beers and sodas. We would have loved to stay longer but we had a crazy early flight in the morning.
Joking around with my new friend
Ismael walked us back to our place and even came up to the room to give me a sweet goodnight kiss. Such a gentleman. He said he wanted to see me again when we returned to Cairo. That was an easy proposition to accept with stars in my eyes.
Our alarm bolted us awake at 4:10 am! Travel in Egypt means up early EVERY morning. This ain’t no White Lotus vacation. I happily left my large suitcase and weapon under the care of the management and off we went with a breakfast bag from the hotel to the airport.
FLIGHT #10 OF THE SABBATICAL
EgyptAir #82, B737, ECONOMY
DEPARTURE: Cairo, Egypt (CAI) 06:30
ARRIVAL: Aswan, Egypt (ASW) 07:50
DURATION: 1h20
Now for the uninitiated, tourism is BIG in Egypt. And all the tourists tend to do all the same things. So this meant that when we arrived at the airport at 5 am, most of the flights of the day would be leaving in the next two hours! It was chaos! Once again, the security line to enter the building snaked out into the parking lot! Luckily our local guide knew a way around the line. I was grateful and soon we found the domestic Business Class check-in. We had both checked in online and even gotten mobile boarding passes! Go EgyptAir! I thought we could skip the check-in counters. But this all confused our guide. He had never heard of a mobile boarding pass. They printed out a paper one just in case but I ended up using the mobile one everywhere!
We found the domestic Egypt Air Business Class Lounge. Hmmm. It was a room the size of a school bus and all the seats were taken. The F&B offerings were very basic. No cooked food just packaged muffins and coffee. It was full of Americans all harshly judging the place. You know it’s bad when you longingly think of the luxuriousness of a United Club in a non-hub city. It was THAT bad.
At the gate I was hoping for some sort of priority boarding but the Star Alliance Gold sign wasn’t of much use.
Our flight to Aswan left almost on time and was uneventful. It was a similar 737 that Jorge had flown from Madrid. At least we got there! The flight was packed with Spanish tourists all on a El Corte Inglés Viajes tour. We felt at home. Of course we ended up seeing all these same people at all of the tourist stops for the next four days!
We didn’t have any checked bags so soon we met our local tour guide, Islam, for the next few days. He turned out to be a wonderful guy. Father of three girls, super easy going, and very knowledgeable about history. And the best part was that we were the only ones in our group. So we had a private guide and private driver the entire visit to Egypt in spite of having paid for a group of up to 10 people. We had been worried that they would clump us together with others once we got to the Nile cruise portion.
The Aswan Dam that changed the country
Our first stop was the Aswan High Dam. I questioned originally why we needed to visit a dam. But it opened in 1970 and it had a huge effect on Egypt. First and foremost, it provided important hydroelectric power to the entire south and even two turbines for Cairo. It also helped control the flow of the river, preventing some flooding. Incredibly, they ended up having to move the Philae Temple and Abu-Simbel because they would be submerged once the dam was built! What an amazing feat it was to make this transition.
The boat to Philae Temple
Next we traveled to the Philae Temple aboard a private boat. The cool river breeze felt amazing on our faces. The temple was built to honor Isis, the Egyptian goddess of healing and magic. It was your typical, classic story of a goddess, Isis, who was married to her brother, Osiris. I repeat HER BROTHER! Anyway, another brother, Seth, was jealous and killed his brother and chopped him up into 14 pieces and threw him into the Nile. Isis found all the pieces except his penis which a fish ate. So she made another penis out of plant, mummified him, and hiding the body on the island of Philae. This is the story depicted on the walls of this temple. I KID YOU NOT! Out of our week of travels and learning about the history of Egypt, this was BY FAR the best story. Why isn’t there a Shakespeare play or an opera about this story!?!?
The Philae Temple
Walking around the Philae Temple
By this time it was like 1 pm. It felt like 6 pm. That happens when you get up at 4:10 am. So Islam announced that we would head to our ship for our three night Nile cruise. Our home would be the five star MS Chateau Lafayette. We had been warned the star rating system is a little skewed along the Nile. Overall it was a nice boat with perfectly fine food. Upon our arrival they said if we didn't mind sharing a king sized bed that they would upgrade us to a nice suite! Sure. I could share a bed with my Spanish daughter Jorge. We had shared one last in the Algarve of Portugal. This turned out to be the right decision because the room was very large for a cruise ship. We peeked into a standard room and it was much smaller. Our room had a large sitting area and a big, non-cruise ship sized bathroom with jacuzzi tub. The interior design of the ship is sort of an Egyptian adaptation of a Mississippi River Belle style boat. We saw a Viking river boat and it was modern, and gorgeous. Our boat was neither of these but perfectly fine.
Our Nile river cruise on the MS Chateau Laffayette
We quickly got into our bathing suits and went to the top floor to go swimming. The sun was blazing and we easily burnt our feet on the cement. It was cooking. But the water felt good and we found some nice umbrellas to shade us. At some point I got home and sliced open my head on a sharp corner of a nearby metal thing. It bled a lot as head wounds do. I felt stupid but things like that happen in unfamiliar surroundings. Jorge and I ordered beers and enjoyed resting a bit after a big day.
Cooling off on the pool deck
Once the sun went down, we took a long walk up the Nile with the destination of a supermarket. We needed to find a place that had actual prices on things. In almost all the stores, they make up prices based on who you were. Being white foreigners, they would charge us five to ten times the local prices even for a bottle of water. I got really tired of this. The supermarket had fixed prices. We filled up our backpacks with drinks and snacks for our Nile adventure. We had a nice refrigerator so we even picked up some cheeses and cold cuts. We also shared a nice shawarma as a snack. One thing I like about Jorge, he’s always up for eating just like me!
Sunset on the Nile
Before dinner we made a cocktail in our room and went up to the top deck to watch the port and the main street. All the wait staff was super friendly and we enjoyed chatting with them. Our dinner that night was Italian themed. I am not going to speak much about the food for the three days. All the meals were buffet with a lot of starches. Usually there was a nice fish that I could enjoy. We were both skipping the salads because of the water contamination issue. We didn’t want any funny tummy on this trip. Many people had warned us. We both actually enjoyed the cruise overall. Once you adjusted your expectations a little, it was relaxing and fun. Both Jorge and I are pretty easy going travelers and rarely complain. We are just here to enjoy it all.
The next morning we woke with a 4 am alarm for a 4:20 am departure! Today was another BUCKET LIST DAY: a visit to Abu-Simbel. In my research on Egypt, this was a must see even though some tours offer it as optional. After the pyramids, Abu-Simbel was amazing to experience. Our guide offered an SUV type vehicle with ample room in the backseat. And we said yes! It was very comfortable for the four hour drive to the temple. The road was desolate with hardly anything along the road. Just over half way, an oasis appeared with a restaurant and restrooms for us to use! But that was about it. Jorge and I managed to sleep for most of the trip. We saw lots of crowded tourist buses at the stop and were so thankful that we had a private SUV.
We arrived at 8 am and we quickly set out to enjoy the temple. King Ramesses II built himself this temple and a smaller one for his favorite wife next door. His temple had four huge statues of himself. Only three remain but they are very impressive. Once inside the interior spaces were incredible with beautiful depictions of his life and three of his gods. His favorite wife’s temple was also beautiful.
The amazing Abu Simbel
Inside Abu Simbel
The tomb deep inside
Head wife also gets a temple
A view of both temples that have been moved 500 m away from the river!
Here we must pause in the description to point out that both of these temples were moved 300m starting in 1959 so that they wouldn’t be submerged once they built the Aswan dam. It is mindblowing that they could move these temples. They cut the stone apart, numbered them, moved them, and then reassembled the whole thing a little further up the hill. I just couldn’t get over it. And we moved them in MODERN TIMES! It’s worth watching some YouTube videos on how they did this.
We spent about two hours touring the two temples. We both felt it was very much worth the four hour car ride each direction. It is something we will never forget as long as we live. It was very much worth it until we found out we could have flown from Cairo directly to Abu Simbel! WHAT?!?! The other benefit of flying is that you don’t have to visit when everyone from all the Nile Cruise ships visit. For three hours every morning, these temples are overflowing with tourists. But if you come in the afternoon or early evening, there is NO ONE there. At this point I began to design a perfect Egypt visit.
Luckily on the drive home, Jorge and I mostly slept too. At one point we saw a horrible accident that had just occurred. Our driver recognized one of the drivers involved. He quickly reported the accident but we could see he was very worried about his friend for the rest of our journey together.
We got back around 2 pm and had “Mexican” lunch. And then we finally started sailing up the Nile. It’s interesting because overall we never covered much distance and thus we didn’t really spend too much time sailing. Instead we were mostly docked. And often this meant no view because they stack up the boats to all share a single dock. Sometimes you have to walk through the lobbies of four other boats just to get off the ship. So for most of the time, you have people meters away in their room looking into yours. At least when we were sailing, we finally had something to look at. There are over 350 of these ships. And most of them move exactly at the same time and then they all dock at the same time.
After a short while, we arrived in Kom Ombo. By the time we got off the boat, it was 4:30 pm and the sun was already setting. It’s interesting that Spain and Egypt are in the same time zone. This means the sun sets late in Spain and early in Egypt. The biggest advantage is that we could enjoy the temple with the golden hour colors. This temple is unique because of its dedication to two different deities: Sobek with his crocodile head, and Horus the Elder with his falcon head. The walls of the temples told many stories involving both gods. On the edge of the Nile, the setting was stunning and we really enjoyed touring the place. Unfortunately, this place suffers like many of the other temples in that it was super crowded during the two hours when the cruise ships all docked but then is entirely empty the rest of the time. I continued to design a better trip to Egypt in my head.
Kom Ombo temple
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We made cocktails, grabbed some snacks and went to the top floor pool deck and enjoyed the beautiful view of the temple bathed in evening lights. Today has been absolutely wonderful. Abu-Simbel in the morning and Kom Ombo to finish it off. We both sat enjoying the cooling evening, river breezes relishing the moment. This is why we came to Egypt.
Cocktails on the Nile
Dinner was themed Egyptian night and all the passengers wore traditional Egyptian wear. Our guide hadn’t mentioned this to us so we arrived at dinner looking like grumpy old men in normal clothes. There was a party after dinner but we had had enough. A little down time in our room was the way to end the day.
We arrived back to our room and the super friendly cabin stewards had once again made some amazing towel art. When we arrived on the ship, it was a towel crocodile. Now it was a monkey hanging from the ceiling wearing my sunglasses! We loved it!!
We loved our cabin attendants
We met our guide at 6am in the lobby of the boat as did every other person in every boat docked there. Today we were transferred by horse drawn carriage to the Edfu Temple. This is one of the best preserved temples in the whole of Egypt. This happened because it was entirely covered in sand until it was discovered in 1860. It is dedicated to the god Horus who is often merged with the Greek god Apollo during the Greek-Roman rule of Egypt. But the lovely Romans arrived and promptly scraped off the faces of all the gods depicted on the walls of the temple because they didn’t like them. Gracie. Unfortunately they weren’t the only ones to deface the art when a change of rule occurred. The temple was packed with tourists like so many others. In just two hours, it would remain totally empty for the rest of the day.
Edfu temple so beautiful protected for years under sand
The mighty falcon
During the horse buggy ride returning the boat, I got increasingly upset as the driver kept beating the horse to make him go faster. We weren’t late for anything and even if we were, it is totally unacceptable to beat a horse. Ugh, I hate all these abuses of animals. I finally told Islam to speak with the abuser and said if he hits the animal one more time, we would get out immediately and not pay him. This seemed to work.
This day turned into my favorite day of cruising the Nile. We had a fairly long distance to cover including passing through the Esna Locks. They raised our ship up 24 ft to connect to the Upper Nile. The best part was watching our captain play chicken with another cruise ship. He ended up winning but it was really dangerous. Unfortunately the moment was so intense that I didn’t start filming until the worst of it was over.
Enjoying Egyptian beer as we pass through the locke
We finally docked along with all the other hundred boats and set out at 3 pm for the Karnak and Luxor Temples. One of the things I love when we do a transfer is having a private vehicle with separate air conditioning vents for the backseat! These proved to be invaluable in the intense October heat.
The Karnak temple complex is considered to be the largest religious site in the world, even larger than Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. A James Bond film was even filmed among its columns. Jorge and I really enjoyed seeing this vast and varied complex. It helped that the place was so big so it helped spread the tourists out.
Entrance to the Karnak Temple
James Bond's "The Spy That Loved Me" movie was filmed among this columns
Our last stop of the day was the Luxor temple that we got to experience in the stunning colors of the golden hour. This temple is not dedicated to a god but instead built to recognize the return to kingship around 1400 BC. I enjoyed seeing some of the art painted during the Greek-Roman time. There is even a granite shrine to Alexander the Great.
At the Luxor Temple with our guide Islam
The Luxor Temple at dusk
Paintings from the Roman-Greco periods still survive
Our boat was docked very nearby the Luxor Temple so we chose to just walk back. I had been chatting on one of my gay social networking apps with one of the captains of a felucca boat on the Nile that was docked near us. He was offering us a tour to the west bank of Luxor. I gave him credit for using the app to find more customers! I love an enterprising young man. I had done enough touring for the day but we settled on meeting on his boat and having a drink together.
The captain turned out to be a lovely person and I really enjoyed chatting with him on his boat. He had several boys working for him doing cleaning and maintenance. He had one of them prepare us a nice floral tea that tasted like pomegranate. Like the others that I had met in Egypt, he talked about the difficulties of being gay here. It is so hard having his family all around. He hopes to save up his money and move to the seaside town of Hurghada where he wants to open a shop. He doesn‘t have any family there and thinks it will be easier for him to live a more open life there. So many organized religions really make it tough on the LGBTQI+ community.
Tea with a new friend
When I got back on the boat, Jorge and I continued our tradition of cocktails on the roof deck for our last night on the Nile cruise. We had really enjoyed ourselves and learned so much fascinating history. After dinner, we watched a belly dancing and whirling dervish type show. It was a fun way to end the cruise.
We started our hottest day of the trip by visiting the Temple of Deir al-Bahri. It honors Queen Hatshepsut who was the queen who then became a pharaoh. Built into the side of a mountain, its wall paintings retained a surprising amount of vibrant color. The temple had the structure of a luxury hotel next to a mountain. The queen should be happy!
Temple of Deir al-Bahri
Amazing, vivid colors still remain
Our final stop of our Nile adventure was the famous Valley of the Kings featuring the burial sites of almost every pharaoh from 1550–1069 BC. Tunnels burrowed deep into the mountains to protect 63 sacred tombs. At the visitor center at the entrance to the Valley, a 3D plastic model showed the locations of the tunnels and tombs. It was a fantastic representation of the whole area. One of the most famous is the tomb of King Tut. But we couldn’t go in that one. We did see lots of its treasures though in the big museum in Cairo. We ventured down three of the tombs: Ramsey 9, Ramsey 3, and Memeptah. The walls were all beautifully decorated and it was crazy to enter these large spaces deep in the earth after traveling down the tunnels. It was all simply incredible. The colors of the wall paintings were so vivid.
The heat was almost unbearable throughout the day. From the moment we left the cruise ship for the last time in the early morning, it was hot and just got hotter. Even the tunnels and tombs deep in the earth were super warm. Throughout the day it was a constant search for shade and water. Also our flight to Cairo wasn’t until 19:45 so we didn’t really have a place to rest or cool down.
Visiting the tombs of the Valley of the Kings
At the entrance to King Tut
The day before I had a stroke of genius. We should get a hotel room to use in the afternoon. I looked on Booking.com and we reserved a room at the Iberotel on the banks of the Nile for only $80. Such a good solution.
As we spent the morning sweating through the Temple of Deir al-Bahri and the Valley of the Kings, we knew that a super cool room and a nice swimming pool were waiting for us in the afternoon. We let our guide know our plans and he seemed a bit relieved to not have to entertain us after a busy morning.
The hotel had an amazing pool and then ordered poolside lunch. It was also exactly what we needed. We ordered a beef hawawshi and a mezzeh plate. So delicious. Then we napped in our cool hotel room. It all worked out perfectly.
Lunch at the Iberotel Luxor. Our cool oasis for the afternoon.
FLIGHT #11 OF THE SABBATICAL
EgyptAir #69, B737, ECONOMY
DEPARTURE: Luxor, Egypt (LXR) 19:45 (Actual 21:20)
ARRIVAL: Cairo, Egypt (CAI) 20:55 (Actual 22:10)
DURATION: 1h20
We said goodbye to our guide Islam who had been with us for the past four days. We enjoyed getting to know him. He taught us so much about Egyptian history. The Luxor airport was fairly crazy as expected. The check-in person REALLY wanted me to check my rollie bag but I was firm and said I preferred to keep it with me. They finally gave in and we were off to security. The Luxor airport is not big and it is one of the few airports that I have visited lately with no lounge for me to use! We found a restaurant and had some pizza and beers. This turned out to be a great place to wait out the building delays of all the flights.
I could see on FlightAware that our plane was still in Cairo when our departure time came and went. No announcements were made of the delay. Finally they changed the departure to 21:10 which seemed realistic. Unfortunately, I was supposed to meet up with Ismail once we got back. So I was anxious to get back to Cairo.
As we flew north, I thought about our week long trip to Egypt. It just isn’t fun to visit all these amazing sites when they are heaving with tourists. In retrospect, we should have flown all the way down to Abu Simbel, visiting during the day after all the Nile cruise ships have departed. Then drive to Aswan to see the dam. I do not think it’s worth getting on a cruise ship at this point. Instead, continue with a private car making all the stops at the same places the ships go but visiting them during the hours when the cruise ships are not there. Stay in nice hotels. Eat in nice restaurants. The problem is that most of the time on the cruise ship, you are docked with no view except of the windows of the boat tied to your boat. Instead, after driving your way up and ending in Luxor, you might find a cruise for one night where you can actually enjoy the Nile river! Then fly back to Cairo and finish up your time in Egypt. I think it would have been much more enjoyable to visit all the sites without all the thousands of tourists.
We finally landed around 10:15 pm and made it to the hotel around 11. Ismail was waiting in the lobby. He had been at an event at one of the embassies and looked especially spiffy. We had decided ahead of time that he and I would hang out at his apartment and I would go back to my hotel in the morning. So we hopped into an Uber and made our way across town. I always love seeing the places where local people live. His apartment was a large studio with lots of character and charm. In spite of the late hour, we stayed up late chatting and enjoying our brief time together. In the morning he made us coffee and he got ready for work. We said our goodbyes hoping that we would see each other again at some point. Little did we know at that point, it would be only a month later.
Our final day in Cairo was unplanned by the tour company. They offered an optional day trip to Alexandra. But instead Zak offered to take us around to visit various sites including the Coptic churches. He met us at our hotel on the sidewalk but the tourist police noticed us talking to him and drama ensued. They pulled Zak aside and began asking lots of questions. What was he doing with us? How had he met us? Was he an official tour guide? Then they took his ID card and disappeared. He was really shaken by all this. He really didn’t want trouble with the police. Finally they returned and gave him back his ID. But they said he shouldn’t be interacting with us but they would let him go.
Undeterred, we all set off to have breakfast at a wonderful chain restaurant called Gad. He ordered a huge variety of food and we couldn’t finish the feast in front of us which included hummus, baba ganoush, an omelet, cucumber salad, lentils, veggie fritters… It was all amazing. Unfortunately, Jorge woke up that morning with a slight funny tummy so he wasn’t much help with eating it all. Then in the end Zak insisted once again that he pay. So generous! He finally agreed that I could pay for lunch!
Egyptian breakfast at Gad
Zak had designed a wonderful day of touring that focused on the Coptic churches. He was raised in the Coptic religion and it is even listed on his ID card! This collection of churches has an amazing history including housing Joseph, Mary, and Jesus during their flight into Egypt. Jorge is Catholic and really enjoyed seeing all the churches including his name Saint, St George’s church. One thing I will never understand is how relics are sought after. I think one of St. George’s fingers is housed in the church named after him there. For a non-Christian, the whole idea of keeping different body parts of saints is a bit odd.
Seeing the Coptic churches of Old Cairo
At several of the churches, the tourist police spoke with Zak. They all had been trained to watch for locals mixing with foreigners. At one place, he found a friendly policeman and asked him how he could hang with his foreign friends and not get in trouble. He said any mixing of locals with tourists is discouraged. But he said if Zak could get his tour guide license, he wouldn’t have any problems. This is actually an easy process so Zak said he would probably do that to avoid all the harassment. Finally after touring many of the churches in this area, it was time to head to lunch. Unfortunately Jorge was feeling bad and needed to head back to the hotel to rest.
Lunch was the best meal of my entire week in Egypt. Zak chose the super hip and fun, Alku 5 restaurant. He ordered us a delicious beef kafka, dolmas, and some local samosas. Everything was so good! Then we had fruit juices in a room with floor couches where we met a bunch of local students who had just graduated in tourism. They invited us over to sit with them and we ended up having lots of fun! An Algerian guy also came up to us and introduced himself. I love when people are friendly and wonderful connections begin. In spite of our deal, Zak somehow paid for our late lunch too. I figured out his family had money but he didn’t need to always be treating us!
At the entrance to the amazing restaurant Alku 5
We really enjoyed getting to know these recent university graduates in tourism!
Zak showed me around some local markets in the area and then I finally paid for something by getting us coffee at a nice shop. I was really impressed by all the work Zak had done with the preparations to show us around. And this all happened because we met through Instagram a year ago. He turned out to be a wonderful young man. He was starting a masters program soon in Artificial Intelligence but really wanted to immigrate to Europe down the road. Things were just too hard for gay people in Egypt. He would have trouble leaving his mom and siblings as the eldest. But in the long run, he had to think about his happiness.
So after a week, I left Egypt having learned so much. The history of Egypt is profoundly significant and so much of our modern society and culture has ancient roots there. I had great reservations about visiting this Muslim country which has horribly prosecuted gay people for many years. But often when we travel, we take risks and seek greater understanding. And that is exactly what has happened to me in Egypt. I not only better understand how significant Egypt’s past is, but also how things are today. I feel so fortunate that I got to know two local gay men who both took risks in meeting and getting to know me. Without a doubt, life is hard and even dangerous for gay people in Egypt. Most talk about needing to leave in order to see a better future. Many countries offer gay men from Egypt asylum which shows how bad it really is. But most don’t have the means or opportunity to leave and must remain there. As their society slowly changes, life can be very hard. My thoughts go out to all the oppressed people there. As a non-Muslim, non-Christian, it is hard for me to understand how so many organized religions can teach and practice such hate and intolerance. I know very little about most religions, but from the stories I have read about Jesus, he befriended and supported everyone, especially those who had been marginalized. How can his Christian followers foster so much hate ignoring his beautiful example of loving and supporting everyone. As I leave Egypt, these themes are in the forefront of my thoughts.
My departure from Egypt also means saying goodbye to my dear friend Jorge. It’s been a wonderful three months together. Our friendship has grown and strengthened. He calls me, “Mama”, and I call him “Mi hija” (pronounced “mija”.) He is part of my Spanish family. His friendly spirit has helped me become more outgoing and open. I probably won’t see him again until next Spring when I fly to Europe for the last three months of The Sabbatical. Until then, I will miss his huge smile, infectious laugh, and wonderful friendship.
My journey must continue so I move on. I am learning so much every day. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to experience joy, friendship, and love with so many that I encounter along my pathway.