[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by MohsinRoadster

TaureanBull, Thanks for rolling up the thread once again. This thread is defenetly unique and I used to be a constant follower of this thread. Glad its back.

Thanks Mohsin! I know you have been a regular follower of this thread. I am winding up the thread with last couple of posts. Photos are enormous and time to sort out is less.

There are several low cost to high end resorts all along the Red Sea famous for its corals and beaches. The western most areas like Sharm-el-Sheikh is the costliest of all. As we move towards east the resorts are cheaper. Europeans/Americans find the Red Sea destinations as great and cost effective holidays. These are some parts of Egypt where one probably finds more Westerners than the residents.

The popular destinations along Red Sea are Sharm-el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba.

A Road Sign to One of the Resorts



Some of the Resorts (Bang on the Sea Shore!)







Floating Jetty for Water Sports/Diving



Resort with a View

[TaureanBull]

Some random pics of Cairo mornings and couple of other pics...

















Morning Hustle Bustle-Morning "Fuul" "Tamaiyya" Wala Serving Breakfast



Villagers on Cart to Sell Vegetables in Cairo



First News of Mubarak Stepping Down

[TaureanBull]

Burnt Down Ruling Party Office During Revolution





View From Marriott on Nile





Cairo Tower



An Obelisk on the Cor niche



15 May Bridge - Connecting Zamalek and Maidan-at-Tehrir (Tehrir Square)







Construction work at the Egyptian Museum at Tehrir Square - The Museum was vandalised during the revolution and several priceless articles were lost. The democratic party office which was burnt down is co-located and there was a scare that the museum might even catch fire.



Night View from Marriott

[TaureanBull]

Egypt is a history rich nation and Egyptians are very hospitable and loving people. They will make you fall in love with them. There is a lot of respect for women. People are tolerant and patient. There is also a high level of awareness about health and hygiene.

Nevertheless, if one has an inclination to explore the "Umm-ad-Duniya" (Mother of the World) then go ahead and you wont be disappointed.

Lots to write..but have to stop somewhere. If anyone desires to ask or need help in visiting Egypt can ask me and I would be delighted.

Signing off with few pics of "Maidan-at-Tehrir" (Tehrir Square), an epitome of struggle of Egyptians for freedom which continues even till date in some form or other. God bless Egyptians!





People Sitting with Egyptian Flag

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Hi Maddy! Thanks for the concern. Things are safe outside as I have been telling. The protests are peaceful.

BTW, it looks like the game is over. News poring in here that Mubarak is stepping down. A major role played by the army. He will address at 2000 Cairo Time. I noticed no news yet on Indian Channels. Lets wait and watch.. will update soon.

I chanced to read this wonderful thread only today, and now realise how much I've missed. Thanks for the lovely details and pictures of Egypt.

While on this, I was in Washington DC when the anti-Mubarak uprisings were taking place (around Jan or Feb 2011), and was living very close to the White House. In one of my evening walks, I saw a bunch of protestors shouting slogans on a mike 'one two three four, throw Hosni Mubarak outta the door, hey Obama can you hear, we don't want you to interfere'.

I liked the rhyming slogans and the security staff manning the gates were having a bemused look.

Coming back to Egypt, I have an open invitation from a close pal who is a diplomat in Cairo, but as luck would have it, am not getting time off with family to plan a visit. Your pictures have rekindled that desire to visit that place.

By the way, may I ask what work you did in Egypt?

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Coming back to Egypt, I have an open invitation from a close pal who is a diplomat in Cairo, but as luck would have it, am not getting time off with family to plan a visit. Your pictures have rekindled that desire to visit that place.

By the way, may I ask what work you did in Egypt?

Thanks for your kind words.

Presently, the tourism in Egypt is heading southwards with some very cheap propositions and mouthwatering offers. And undoubtedly, Egypt is one place rich in history. Anyone with inclination towards history and tourism will love the place. You can even combine the trip to Jerusalem/Israel and Petra/Jordan.

I was there for official duty.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Thanks for your kind words.

Presently, the tourism in Egypt is heading southwards with some very cheap propositions and mouthwatering offers. And undoubtedly, Egypt is one place rich in history. Anyone with inclination towards history and tourism will love the place. You can even combine the trip to Jerusalem/Israel and Petra/Jordan.

I was there for official duty.

Marriot could be expensive to stay, right ? Are there any budget options available ? What about food arrangements for pure vegetarians ? BTW ,I browsed through the first page , nice write up. I will enjoy rest of the TL leisurely .

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

Marriot could be expensive to stay, right ? Are there any budget options available ? What about food arrangements for pure vegetarians ? BTW ,I browsed through the first page , nice write up. I will enjoy rest of the TL leisurely .

I am not sure what would be your budget. In any case Cairo stay should not be more than 2-3 days. You can travel from Cairo to Luxor/Aswan in a Nile Cruise. Return journey can be through train/flt.

Cab can be hired for Alexandria, Deserts, Sharm-el-Sheikh, St Catherine and Taba.

Hotels of all ranges are available. 3-4* hotel may cost you 50-75 USD full boarding! That is guess is a greta deal... but the rates had fallen to this level in 2011, current rates need to be confirmed.

The veg options are limited and more so not to the Indian taste. But its manageable.

[nbk.0707]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Hi Guys,

This is my first thread on the forum. I intend to keep this thread as a running thread. Primarily, this will be a photologue. I want the photographs to do the talking. I am not a professional photographer. The result is from my Sony Cybershot.....

Hello Fellow BHPians,

Bumping up an old thread, @TaureanBull First of all thank you for putting up such a detailed thread.

I know its been long since you've left from Cairo but I really wanted your help can you please suggest a place where someone can go for good Indian Cuisine, its been a while I'm away from India and craving for something relatively Indian.

Maybe in the coming days I'll put up some recent pics in your thread. (I hope you wouldn't mind)

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by nbk.0707

Hello Fellow BHPians,

Bumping up an old thread, @TaureanBull First of all thank you for putting up such a detailed thread.

I know its been long since you've left from Cairo but I really wanted your help can you please suggest a place where someone can go for good Indian Cuisine, its been a while I'm away from India and craving for something relatively Indian.

Maybe in the coming days I'll put up some recent pics in your thread. (I hope you wouldn't mind)

Hi nbk.
Firstly, I was running my own kitchen when I was there. So that took care of my Indian taste buds. Whenever I venture out, as a policy, I always go for the local cuisine. So, my experience is of all Egyptian and related foods. However, Tammaiyyah and Falafel may taste Indian like. These dishes are quite popular and available at every nook and corner.

You are most welcome to post your pics and experience on the thread.

[nbk.0707]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Hi nbk.
Firstly, I was running my own kitchen .....

Hi TaureanBull,

Thanks for the response.
Staying in a Hotel completely shuts down the probability of a kitchen. Falafel/ Shashuska and all the Egyptian sandwiches in general are good option.

I have just found out an Indian restaurant, typically owned by Indians, Indira so maybe I'll head there this weekend and update.

Currently I'm living on a mix of Korean and Egyptian cuisine, but I have a extended stay so need to have some resort for (home)like food. I tried the Chicken Tikka chain in Heliopolis, its good but takes about an hour to get the stuff done.

[sidharth_j]

Forgive me if this is off-topic.
I have the chance of travelling to Cairo for the next few months on work. However, i am a little skeptical of going ahead with it due to the following reasons -
1) Safety - especially after the revolution and the ISIS threat
2) Possible black mark when applying for US/Europe visa stampings due to travel to an arab country.

If any of you kind folks can address the above two points, then it would be great

SJ

[Arkanile]

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

Forgive me if this is off-topic.
I have the chance of travelling to Cairo for the next few months on work. However, i am a little skeptical of going ahead with it due to the following reasons -
1) Safety - especially after the revolution and the ISIS threat
2) Possible black mark when applying for US/Europe visa stampings due to travel to an arab country.

If any of you kind folks can address the above two points, then it would be great

SJ

Cant answer on the 1st aspect since I had gone in 2001 so that exp does not hold good now
On your second query, I had applied for a UK visa post the Egypt travel and faced no issues as such, however that was a business Visa.
I feel since you would be going on a work/business Visa you should not face any issues for US/Europe countries

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

Forgive me if this is off-topic.
I have the chance of travelling to Cairo for the next few months on work. However, i am a little skeptical of going ahead with it due to the following reasons -
1) Safety - especially after the revolution and the ISIS threat
2) Possible black mark when applying for US/Europe visa stampings due to travel to an arab country.

If any of you kind folks can address the above two points, then it would be great

SJ

Ive been travelling all over the place these last few years - specifically in the last 8 months or so Ive gone to Turkey and Egypt (both on holiday) and lots of trips to the UAE on work. Then there have been several trips to the US and recently even Australia etc.

There is no "Black Mark" on one, if one travels to an Arab Country, whether for business or pleasure. Why should there be, if one is a legitimate traveller? Of course, I would not travel right now to the Sudan or Syria or Libya or Tunisia or Yemen or Somalia or somewhere similar and thus invite trouble for myself while there.

Safety - Well, just a week after we went to Turkey in December, the bombing happened in Sultan Ahmet Area and that is exactly where we were staying and where we spent a lot of time viewing the historical monuments etc. Indeed the day we ourselves landed at Ataturk Airport, there was some sort of explosion (caused by gas cylinders they say), at the other Airport, Sabiha Gokcen.

Egypt was fine - the revolution happened some years ago. The place is full of history but it is sadly, very dirty, unkempt and not maintained as well as it ought to be. Cairo City and its outskirts are quite crowded and messy (a bit like Bombay). There are tons of OLD cars - all of them put together with bits of string and probably chewing gum! Lots of Fiat 124's and Skodas and so on. But the roads are fine. The traffic behaves well and one can get to Giza quite easily within 30-35 minutes and go and see the Pyramids etc. Alexandria is a beautiful city with a clearly European/Mediterranean feel. People are poor, but almost everyone we met, were nice to us and understand completely that they are dependent on Tourism for their livelihoods. For me, it was sad to see a once fine civilisation, going to seed in this way.

But overall, in my opinion and as per my experience, it is perfectly fine to travel there.

[mpksuhas]

Digging up old thread.

Is anyone aware of tourist visa requirements for Indians in Egypt?

I understand that there is a E- Visa option, however that does not have Indian passport holders listed.

If its required to get visa before travel, any suggested agents?