Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

I can answer some of those questions from experience.

If only 4 of us what kind of transportation we will have? - A mini bus for around 16 people is what we had - awesome for sleeping en route.

How it is effect (only 4 people) the Cruise, and the excursion to Abu Simbel ? We would join an other group, or we will have our own group transportation? - No you don't join another group. This sucks somewhat as it means you have to pay more for the excursions. For me it doubly sucked as the three other people on my trip only did ONE of the optional excursions (Abu Simbal) so I paid through the nose to do everything - but it is a once in a lifetime thing so you do it... but being the only person in a boat to the temple of philiapae (spelling) was a bit sad.
My tour leader did all they could to make sure that it was as cheap as possible, but I still blew out my budget.

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hi

When I was on Jewels last year (a group of 16) another group joined us on the Melodie and came on the excursions to Abu Simbel, Philae and somewhere else (can't remember offhand) with us so I guess it just depends upon the timing.

I can't believe people don't do the optional excursions - I like to do everything I can!!

Have a great trip

Lyn

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Thanks both of you for your above info about the excursions...It is sooooo helpful to know we need to budget more money for excursions. Can you tell us more which other excursions you was taking, what you liked about them, and what we should look out for. Other question: how is the mosquito situation especially on the cruse? Harold (my husband) has allergic reaction for mosquito bite. We take spay and cream with us, but we want to know how bad it is, if we need an extra supply.

Thanks for both of you to responding it is so nice to have this information.

Did you travel time of Ramadan? What was your experience, how you manage to eat when nobady do, and it is very inpolite to do.

Thanks for both of you to responding it is so nice to have this information.

Did you travel time of Ramadan? What was your experience, how you manage to eat when nobody does, and it is very impolite to do.

Thank you

Marta

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hi Marta,

I'll have to think about which optional excursions we did - it is hard to remember what was included and what wasn't! The best optional extra was the snorkelling at both Hurghada and Dahab. One other I would recommend, that not many people did, was Luxor museum (I think it was Luxor) as there are a lot of mummies there. It can sometimes be difficult to work out exact costs as places like museums often change prices quite often.
Here is a list of things we did - this does includ some trips that are included in the total price as I can't remember which were which:
Spinx and pyramids
Catacombs and Pompey's Pillar
Karnak Temple
Kom Ombo temple
Alexandria Museum
Philae temple
Felucca ride at Aswan down the Nile
Abu Simbel
Mount Sinai
St Catherine's Monastery
Edfu temple
Tombs in the valley of the kings and valley of the workers
Boat trip and snorkelling at Hurghada
Snorkelling and swimming at the Blue Hole at Dahab
Luxor Museum
Visit to an orphanage
Cairo Museum
There were probably more things to do but that's all that comes to mind so far.

Our tour tended to stick together and eat all our meals together so obviously you need to budget for food.

You might also want to think about souvenirs - most things are fairly cheap but I bought some gold and silver jewellery, which was much cheaper than this country, but was still a bit pricey i.e.

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Lyn, this is an amazing list. Thank you soooo much to taking the time and put it together. It is so helpful to know. Some of the excursions part of our tour because we go Traveler level. But some of them not, sharing your experience really helps us to make sure we not miss out anything. You mention you but gold jewelry. My daughter-in-law asks me to bring for her white gold cartouche with her name. Maybe you have some advice where you shopped for gold, how you know from which jeweler to buy rely gold. Jeweler you recommend to buy and where they are. I want to bring her (my daughter-in-law) something what would make her happy, she has a very important place in our life, she is Mom for our grandchildren. That is a powerful position. Thank you for your time and work you out into advice us.

Thanks again,

Marta

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hi Marta,

I bought a white gold cartouche (sp?) with my name in Luxor at El Soffa (sp?) Bazzar. I ordered it one day and it was ready the next morning. The tour guides will tell you how to get there.

Joanne

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hello Joanne,

Thank you, this is much appreciated information, I sent you a private e-mail with few more questions.

Warm regards

Marta

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hi,

I also bought some jewellery from El Safa in Luxor(the card I have says it is near the Mercure Hotel) so would recommend it. The only thing I found was that a couple of the catches on the very cheap chains I had bought (

Re: Jewels of Egypt Dep. 30 Setember 2007

Hi!

Just some info regarding Ramadan for you!

What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is a special month of the year for more than one billion Muslims throughout the world as it is the month in which Allah sent the Koran to the prophet Mohammed. During Ramadan, the faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations between sunrise and sunset. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives and often become 'more holy' by visiting the mosque more regularly and reading as much of the Koran as possible.

Islam has five main pillars which all Muslims should follow. These are:

The Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) - the declaration that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet.
Ritual Prayer (Salat) - The observance of the five daily Prayers.
The giving of alms (Zakat) - money or produce distributed among the poor.
Sawm - Fasting
The Hajj - the pilgramage to Mecca which all Muslims should do once in their lifetime.

As the fourth pillar, Muslims cannot fulfil their religion without experiencing fasting. Fasting teaches patience and is a way of experiencing hunger and feeling empathy for the less fortunate. Ramadan is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control.

When is Ramadan?
Ramadan always falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, but the actual start is based on a combination of physical sightings of the moon. As the Islamic lunar calendar is 11-12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, Ramadan gets earlier each year until the cycle begins again (this takes around 35 years). In 2006 Ramadan began on 23rd September and in 2007 it will begin around the 12th September.

What happens during Ramadan?
At the time of the sunset call to prayer Muslims break their fast with a small amount of food (e.g. some dates and fresh juice), go to pray, and then start the first main meal of the day which is called El Fetar (literally break fast). At night there is a festive atmosphere and the streets are crowded with people enjoying the break fast. As Ramadan places emphasises on the community and everyone eats at the same time, friends and family often get together for the evening meal and many people go out to coffee shops. Many big hotels and sports clubs set up an oriental tent where shisha (tobacco smoked in a water pipe), food and drinks (but no alcohol