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Into the Egyptian Desert on Horseback: Two Days in Luxor
By Bill Rossen
As a university professor, I am often traveling to
conferences in my field. I have been to places as serene as the mountains in New
Hampshire, as beautiful as the coast of Corsica, and as American as Houston,
Texas or Tulsa, Oklahoma. But this time, the meeting was in Cairo.
How do you find a tour guide in a place you have never
been? And how can you fit the maximum amount of sight-seeing into only two days?
Luckily for me, some friends who were also at the meeting
with me had sorted this out in advance. They had pre-arranged a longer trip to
Egypt that included two days in Luxor, including flights down from Cairo. The
operator was happy to add me to the group, so I went along. I won't try to
compete with the usual travel guides in recommendations in what to see, but I
and my friends were very pleased with what we were able to cram into two days:
First day (west side of Nile)
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 valley of Kings (tombs)
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valley of workmen (more tombs, but this time of
workmen). This was fascinating both
because there were ruins of the village in which the workmen lived, and as a
view into something closer to normal life. The workmen were not permitted to
put certain sacred texts on the walls of their tombs, for instance, so they
used different designs.
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Hatshipsut Temple
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Madinat Habu Temple
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lunch on east side of Nile
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horseback ride (camel optional) through El Qurna
village to edge of desert to see sunset, and back, including boat ride
across river
Second day (east side of Nile)
The temples and tombs were of course indescribable, but
what I will remember most was the horseback ride through the small village in
the evening: seeing sugar cane being harvested and transported, and goats
herded, in ways little different from two or three centuries previously.
 Our tour operator for Luxor (for my friends' whole trip to
Egypt), Maghraby El Sherif, and his staff, were outstanding. (Contact
information below.) What attracted my friends to him initially, among others
they found on the web, was the fact that he did not expect payment in advance.
He met with us repeatedly during our trip to make sure that he was planning just
what we wanted, and he made adjustments to our schedules according to our
requests on the given day. I believe his fees were very fair, though I do not
have a lot of experience or comparisons available. Perhaps his strongest point
was his constant aura of good will and intention that all should relax and enjoy
the visit as much as possible. I spent a couple of hours with him at a cafe
while my friends were at the bazaar, and I was impressed with the immense good
will with which he dealt with minor crises (another tour was coming in, and
someone else had not received an email) and with his staff.
 Maghraby's colleague, Nariman, guided us throughout our
visit, gave us introductions to all the sites, and helped my friends with
negotiations at the bazaar. They took us to good places to eat, and gave us good
recommendations when we were on our own: a little exotic, but safe for western
digestions. When the topic of our horseback ride came up early in the day,
Nairman told us in no uncertain terms that she did not ride horses herself; but
when the ride itself came there she was, gamely (on donkey), along with us. I told her afterwards that I thought
this proved she would do anything to accommodate a client. We were visiting in
low season, so I can't personally say whether such exquisite attention would be
paid to so small a group in high season, but I can say Maghraby's heart appears
to be in the right place.
Another vignette of the care Maghraby and his associates
showed us. We got a late start on the horseback ride, what with adjustments made
to our mounts. The horse owners accompanied us on the whole trip (one walking
for each mount). As sunset approached, it looked like we might not reach the
edge of the desert by sunset. One of them ran that last mile or so alongside us,
urging the horses on, to make sure we made it (with about 10 minutes to spare,
as it turned out).
Here is a little practical advice I would make to a
traveler to Egypt. It's a selective list, and you should of course consult a
travel guide for fuller advice. (The Lonely Traveler guide seems to be the
standard reference for those I met on my trip. Everyone liked it, and it seemed
to give very good advice.)
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Have money available in small bills (bills of 1
Egyptian pound ($0.16) to give those who will do something for you and then
request a tip. It's easy to get cash in Luxor or at hotels in Cairo from
ATM's, but getting small bills requires a trip to a bank; and even they may
resist making change. (After all, they don't make any money making change.)
Don't try to fight the system of giving tips; just realize it's not costing
you much, have the small bills ready, and go with the flow. I was caught
without small change one day and it led to some really awkward situations.
Merchants will take dollars or euros in tourist shops, but it's easy to get
local currency at an ATM.
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Don't even start discussions on buying anything unless
you are going to buy something at the shop. If you have your eye on
something, don't mention that item first. The merchant will probably not
come down much on the item he thinks you want, but may come down a lot on
something you mention later as a second best (after failing to reach
agreement on other item(s). In one shop I asked the price of one item I
didn't want very badly (but would have bought if it were low in price). It
was clear the merchant wouldn’t come down in price much on that item, and I
would glad have left without buying anything. But the merchant became more
and more agitated, and seemingly displeased, offering me lower prices on
other items I didn't really want. I ended up buying something I didn't
really want (for not very much money), and the merchant seemed displeased as
well for having to go to so low a price. In the end, everyone was unhappy.
There doesn't seem to be a polite way to break off negotiations without
offending the other party.
-
Bring Imodium. I was, I thought, excruciatingly careful
about what I ate and drank, but I came home with a mild case of the runs
(ironically, it appears, contracted the last day, at the airport?).
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My friend Julie, who has traveled the world, advised me
in advance: DO NOT choose a camel for transportation! Have your photograph
taken with one, but it is for Omar Sharif and not for you. No stirrups are
provided, and you will be jounced around with nothing to brace yourself
against.
 For the first part of the trip, since I was busy attending
meetings all day long, I don't have much to say or recommend about Cairo, except
that our hotel at the conference, the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam
Casino, was excellent. The building was originally built as a palace in honor of
dignitaries visiting for the opening of the Suez Canal. The food at the hotel was good, and the staff was very friendly and
professional. I had been warned by friends to expect constant badgering for tips
when in Egypt, but at the hotel no one asked for, or even waited for, a tip.
 Unless you're a very adventurous traveler, I wouldn't
advise trying a trip to Cairo and Luxor except with a tour operator. You need
someone to know what is appropriate behavior and show your where to go, get you
there, and tell you how much things cost. I felt very lucky to get to see the
fantastic sights of Luxor with such personal attention and relative ease. What
can you say about seeing a painting on a tomb wall, or a carving on a temple
wall, that has survived 3000 years? Or a temple that was for thousands of years
partly covered in sand, so that a mosque built on the site now has an entrance
about 15 feet off the ground? Or seeing
a farming village where people still herd 8-10 goats into little pens by the
house, and carry harvested sugar cane on donkey back in the evening?
I would also always recommend traveling with my friends Yan
and Sophie. But, unfortunately, they don't do this professionally; I was very
lucky to join them at the conference and on their tour.
Photos by Bill Rossen
Contact information:
tour operator: Maghraby El Sherif
web site:
www.elsheriftours.com
email:
maghrapy@elsheriftours.com;
elsheriftours@yahoo.com
phone: (country code 20) 102809988
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temple complex at Karnak