Like many people, a visit to Egypt has been on our bucket list for a longtime. We had plans to go in 2011, but the Arab Spring uprisings resulted in cancellation. Fast-forward to 2017 and the time seemed right again. It has now been several months since we returned from our fabulous 3-week trip to Egypt and Jordan. We have looked at all the pictures and have reflected on what we saw and experienced. To say that this was a ‘once in a lifetime trip’ is, perhaps cliché, but it is true. Although we are very experienced world travelers (40+ countries), this was our first time to Egypt and Jordan and our first trip booked through a tour company. We didn’t know quite what to expect in terms of the transportation, accommodations, Nile cruise and visits to historical sites. The tour company is “Egypt and Beyond”, owned by Tarek Mousa. Our local SW Florida PBS television station, WGCU, and local tour company, Debonair Travel, organized the trip. While the advertisement and signup for the trip was handled locally, Egypt and Beyond organized the logistics of the tour in Egypt and Jordan, as well as the guides, airport reps, hotel transfers and in-country air flights, etc. Tarek had 15 years’ experience with the tour company Abercrombie and Kent Co. in Australia when he returned to Egypt a few years ago to form his own tour company. The trip was advertised and priced based on all 3- & 4-star hotel and ship accommodations, but a few days before the trip, Tarek announced that he had upgraded all hotels to 5-star and to the newest, all-suite ship, Amarco II, for our 5-day Nile cruise; all at no additional cost. If there is something better than ‘first class’ this was it. Two particularly special events were entry to the Great Pyramids of Giza 2 hours before the general public was allowed in with a private lecture at the Sphinx by world-renowned Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass and a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. These remarkable “extras” could only have been arranged by Egypt and Beyond. Every aspect of the tour was handled professionally with absolutely no glitches. The tour buses were clean and comfortable with exceptional drivers. Our tour guides were extremely knowledgeable, pleasant and entertaining, all of which made for a remarkable and enjoyable trip. A question that many Westerners have about travelling to that part of the world today is the security and safety. News reports about unrest and violence are almost a daily occurrence in the Middle East and surrounding areas. For the most part, however, they occur in out-of-the-way cities, in or near active military areas and not in the major archaeological sites. During our trip we travelled virtually the entire N/S length of Egypt (Cairo to Abu Simbel) and the entire N/S length of Jordan (Amman to Wadi Rum) and not once experienced any unrest or felt threatened or insecure. It was if we were travelling through Europe. The Egyptian and Jordanian people were polite, friendly and genuinely glad we were there. The livelihoods of many depend on tourist dollars and they welcomed our visit. Like many countries, however, those selling their tourist trinkets can get pretty insistent and pushy, but you just have to be forceful if you don’t want to buy anything. Due diligence on protecting your valuables is no different in Egypt and Jordan than anywhere else in the world. This is not our first encounter with predominantly Muslim faith countries. We have visited Tunisia, Turkey, Israel, Thailand and Indonesia and our experiences in Egypt and Jordan paralleled those we had in other countries and that is that most people are friendly, eager to speak with visitors, have families like our own and want a peaceful life and good education for their children. When you strip away the politics and religious differences most people around the world are good-hearted and caring. As Americans travelling abroad, we can do our part to show our good-heartedness by accepting the culture and beliefs of those we visit, embracing their food and customs, engaging in conversation and learning from them. In doing so we gain a better appreciation for our friends around the world, their customs and history, their diversity and the many wonderful things they have to offer.
