All posts in Travel + Leisure

FAYOUM – PROVISIONS OF THE TRAVELLER

By | January 4, 2012 | Egypt, Off the Beaten Path, Travel + Leisure, Travel Chronicles | 1 Comment

 

By Mousha El-Haggar

Getting out of Cairo is always my favourite thing to do. I enjoy going to new places and experiencing new things that are outside of Cairo. This time around my trip was to Fayoum, a place I always wanted to go to but never had enough encouragement; people who live in the city are taken in by the city crowd and never want to leave their comfort zone. That; and many Egyptians don’t view travel within Egypt as a vacation, unless, of course, it’s to the beach! Recently, though, I had a friend who was planning a group trip to Fayoum and I decided it was time to go and experience it for myself. Read more…

TOURISM AND THE REVOLUTION

By | December 31, 2011 | Egypt, Politics, Travel + Leisure | Comments Off on TOURISM AND THE REVOLUTION

By Islam El Shazly

It has been a little over 11 months since the January 25, 2011, ignited to culminate into the ouster of one of the worst rulers in the Arab world in modern history, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, right on the heels of his brother-in-arms Bin Ali from Tunisia.

A lot has changed since then, some to the better, and some to the worst. We’re not going to get into either of them; they both have long lists.

What we’re going to be talking about is something that has managed somehow to divide the people, mostly triggered by a media that still plays by the pre-Mubarak days of divide and conquer for the sake of the person who is in charge at the time, SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces) at the moment. That something is “Tourism”. Read more…

AID TO ARTISANS – HANDMADE IN EGYPT

By | November 22, 2011 | Egypt, Retail + Shopping, Travel + Leisure | Comments Off on AID TO ARTISANS – HANDMADE IN EGYPT

By Shereen Shirazy
Country Director at AID TO ARTISANS – Egypt


Aid to Artisans (ATA), an international non-profit organization, based in Connecticut, USA, is a recognized leader in economic development for the craft sector. By linking artisans to new markets and buyers to culturally meaningful and innovative products, ATA provides needed economic opportunities to artisans to build profitable craft businesses. Read more…

PRIMAL FITNESS

By | October 11, 2011 | Survival, Travel + Leisure | 1 Comment

By Islam El Shazly
Exercise by Darryl Edwards –  The Fitness Explorer

Travelling and keeping fit sometimes don’t go hand and in hand, especially if you are visiting a food-centric culture, like Egypt for example.

A lot of the activities when visiting Egypt involve eating, and chances are if you are part of a package group or on a Nile cruise that you will be getting three open buffet meals everyday for the duration of your trip. If you don’t keep up with exercising then you will be going back home with something more than gifts and souvenirs. Read more…

SURVIVAL – BEDOUIN STYLE

By | October 3, 2011 | Egypt, Off the Beaten Path, Travel + Leisure | Comments Off on SURVIVAL – BEDOUIN STYLE

By Islam El Shazly

Since the Napoleon’s ill-fated campaign against Egypt in the late 18th century and the world became enthralled with everything Pharaonic. Especially Europeans and Americans, they came by the boat load to see the tombs, temples, and palaces that were long forgotten or half-covered in sand, they came, saw, and recorded what they saw in vivid illustrations; the only record of what a lot of these ancient monuments looked like. Since then many of these monuments became lost again under the waters of Lake Nasser, or just simply collapsed for neglect. Read more…

A WEEK IN MATROUH

By | June 23, 2011 | Egypt, Travel + Leisure, Travel Chronicles | 1 Comment

The beach at the Heliopolis Sporting Club Summer Resort.

By Islam El Shazly

It’s 14:30 on a Friday, time to hit the road for our family’s summer vacation: A week in Marsa Matrouh, 550km away from all the chaos that is Cairo. Crystal clear, all-shades-of-blue water, white sandy beaches, the perfect detox to the stress of day-to-day life.

My first visit to Marsa Matrouh was back around 1984, I was 10 years old, and the very first thing I did within a day of our 1 week vacation was attempt to get on a moving swing; it had two benches and a wood platform underneath. It was not a successful attempt. I got 13 stitches to the back of my head as a reward for my effort. My vacation ended before it even started. Read more…

CLEOPATRA BEACH

By | June 19, 2011 | Egypt, Off the Beaten Path, Travel + Leisure | 3 Comments


Cleopatra Beach

Cleopatra Beach.

By M. Butcher

Cleopatra Beach in off the Mediterranean along  the North Coast of Egypt.  It is a beautiful place to take a walk and even have a picnic.  The water is clear but the beach is rocky. It is a nice place to visit but swimming is not permitted as the waves smash against the rocks and can carry you away. The sand is almost white.

Our kids love to run and play in the waves and rocks close to the shore, as you get farther out, the rocks get slippery and it gets harder to walk. There are lots of rocks to climb on and the kids like to pretend they are the king of the castle. Read more…

Alexandrian Weekend Away

By | May 3, 2011 | Egypt, Travel + Leisure, Travel Chronicles | 1 Comment

Surf Breakers.

by M. Butcher

On a Thursday night after my husband finished work, we decided to drive to Alexandria for the weekend. We called around and got a room at a hotel right on the Corniche. We left soon afterwards and for the most part the drive was pleasant. We had to slow down many times because of construction on the road but it didn’t take too long to get there. Read more…

Alexandrian Graffiti

By | March 25, 2011 | Egypt, Politics, Travel + Leisure | Comments Off on Alexandrian Graffiti

by M. Butcher

We have all seen it in our travels, on the sides of the road, on bridges, buses, and overpasses. Almost everywhere a spray can may reach. As with art, graffiti is subjective, what some consider to be art, others consider it to be trash. Our modern idea of Graffiti has changed and we are seeing more beauty in the designs on the street.

Graffiti is the name given for images or letters scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any method on public property. Graffiti and graffito come from the Italian word graffiato meaning scratched. It has existed for long time going all the way back to Ancient Greece and even the Roman Empire. Read more…

WALK PROUD. WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN.

By | February 20, 2011 | Egypt, Pax Islamica, Politics | 3 Comments

Opposition supporters wave flags amid the crowd in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 9, 2011. Egyptians counted the economic cost of more than two weeks of turmoil on Wednesday as re-invigorated protesters flocked again to Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand President Hosni Mubarak quit immediately. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

by Islam El Shazly

For the first time in history a revolution has been organized as a public event with an open invitation, more like a date between two lovers, the time and the place was known almost two weeks in advance. Without further confirmation, people from all over Greater Cairo started converging onto Midan Al-Tahrir – Tahrir Square – and it was not just left at that, people started gathering at major squares in every governorate in the country. A new day was dawning on Egypt. A new era that no one saw coming. The date was January 25, 2011. Read more…