Luxor: East Bank

I decided earlier in the week that I would go to Luxor this past weekend, but I was busy with end of the semester final exams and assignments, so I didn't have time to plan the trip. It proved not to be a problem. I headed to the Cairo Airport around 4:30am on Friday and was able to buy a ticket (round trip 430 LE - $80 USD) to Luxor for 6:20am. This was much more convenient than the thirteen hour train to Luxor, and only marginally more expensive.

I got my first taste of the incessant haggling that was to come as soon as I left the airport. I wanted a taxi to Midan Salah al-Din in Downtown, and there is a sign right in front of the parking lot indicating that taxis to downtown cost 25 LE. I argued with a taxi driver for a very long time regarding the price of the taxi, finally settling on an unfair 30 LE.

I found a great hotel off Midan Salah al-Din called Oasis Hotel. The price was 40 LE per night for air-conditioned room, plus 10 LE for breakfast. It was clean and the management was friendly, so I would recommend it for anyone looking for a budget option in Luxor.

After securing a room, I made the short 500 meter walk from the hotel to the Luxor Temple. The temple is actually well-integrated with the rest of Luxor, as it's situated along the Nile Corniche and slightly north of the downtown area. Since I'm not a Egyptologist, I'll refrain from attempting to convey the historical background of any of the monuments I visited, as that information is best found elsewhere.

The Luxor Temple.








Luxor is a medium-sized city of less than 400,000 people. It is divided into two sections: the East Bank and the West Bank. The East Bank is where I stayed, and is the more urban of the two sections. I was surprised to see how clean and wide the streets were in Luxor, most likely due to an effort to increase tourism. The weather in Luxor during the time I was there was cool in the morning, in the high 70 degrees F, but during the day exceeded 100 degrees F.

Photos from the Corniche.



I made my way to a restaurant along the Corniche called al-Hussein, and then later walked the distance to the Karnak Temple, about 3km from the Luxor Temple.

The size of the Karnak Temple was impressive, though some parts of it were closed. As one might expect, it's a popular tourist attraction.

The Karnak Temple.






On the way back I visited the Mummification Museum, which had some interesting exhibits on how mummies were prepared, though I don't think it was worth the price of its admission. The Luxor Museum was much more impressive, and although nowhere near the size of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, it was well-labeled and had lots of significant antiquities.

That evening I had some seafood at a decent restaurant called Mish Mish on Televizion Street in Downtown Luxor. I spent the rest of the evening exploring a lot of the East Bank. The city is quite modern, and there are a large amount of shops in the area. Although there was the usual din of taxis, motorcycles, and other traffic in Downtown, it did not have a fraction of the noise pollution that is commonplace in Cairo. Some of the main roads have no horn-blowing signs, though in Egypt no traffic laws are enforced anyway.

Views from Downtown.


Dinner someday.


Sunset across the West Bank.

Meeting with my landlord, thoughts on Doqqi

Today my roommate Nate went to renew our lease for the apartment with the landlord, so I figured I'd meet my landlord since I hadn't yet. This was significant because it was the first time I'd been invited into the home of an Egyptian.

My landlord is named Nabil, and he lives on the other side of Midan al-Mesaha in Doqqi, about five minutes from our apartment. Nabil is elderly man, not even five feet tall, but speaks English fluently. His apartment is in a high rise, and is quite luxurious. He's a retired civil engineer, so he is fairly wealthy for an Egyptian.

When we arrived, we got the legal business out of the way. Nate signed the contract (all in Arabic) and agreed that he would be responsible for me as a "guest" only, so I'm not actually a party on the contract. Nabil also inspected my passport and visa.

After that we were offered tea, as is standard in Egypt, and he made us stay awhile to talk. His wife didn't know English, so we talked mainly in Arabic. I didn't say much, but I was contented by the fact that I could understand at least the main ideas of everything that was said. Nate is quite strong in Arabic, but even he feels fluency is very far away. Nabil talked to us about his career, politics, history, and some other topics. Before we left we were given the standard "you are like sons, visit me anytime" speech.

I've slowly come to the conclusion that Doqqi is simply the best place in Cairo to live, at least according to my tastes. If I were to ever return to Cairo and needed an apartment, I would most likely choose Doqqi again. The northeastern part of Giza and the southern part of Agouza are close enough to Doqqi that they would also be great places to live. I've been to basically every neighborhood in Cairo at least once, so I think I have a good idea of how Doqqi compares.

Among the many reasons I think Doqqi is an ideal neighborhood for living:

• Tahrir Street and Doqqi Street have all the shops and services you'd ever need.
• The Doqqi metro stop is only two stops from Downtown.
• Walking to Midan al-Tahrir in Downtown takes only fiveteen minutes from Midan al-Galaa' in Doqqi.
• There are trees which provide some shade and aesthetic appeal, unlike most Cairo neighborhoods.
  
• Expat population is very low. It actually feels like living in Cairo, rather than an expat enclave. This is good for seeing how the "common" Cairene lives and speaks on a daily basis.
  
• Apartments are mostly cheap, although there are a few luxury ones available.
• It does not have the level of pollution that is present in Downtown or Garden City; in fact the pollution in Doqqi isn't noticeable except on Tahrir Street.
  

The only thing that has irritated me about living in Doqqi is the noise pollution, which of course is a problem everywhere in Cairo. I'm not sure how it is in the other neighborhoods of Cairo, but the yelling on the street is what gets to me the most.

There is one poor lady in particular who comes around all the streets in my neighborhood every day around 9AM, and yells something which I can't quite understand. All she ever carries is a box of lettuce or some other vegetable. On the weekends, the propane collectors come by in their carts and bang on the containers with wrenches repeatedly. The guy who collects large trash items comes by and yells as he slowly pushes his cart. Occasionally there are a few guys who come along with the donkey carts full of fruits and vegetables and yell out their entire stock of goods for anyone who may be interested. When these people yell, they really yell, and they take their time walking up and down the streets and stopping in front of every apartment building, so hearing the piercing sound of "patatas" one hundred times is now commonplace.

My street isn't too busy, but even still I hear a great deal of horn-honking on a regular basis. I live right next door to a very popular upscale cafe, and when people come to pick up their friends at the coffee house, they'll often just lean on the horn to let them know they've arrived, rather than getting out of the car. The cafe is more frequented by young people, so at night the cafe itself gets very loud.

In addition to the noise, some streets in Doqqi tend to have a lot of trash. I've noticed many Egyptians have no qualms about littering, so the streets often reflect this attitude.

On the whole though, I'm really glad I chose to live in Doqqi. If anyone reading this is looking for ideas on where to live in Cairo, that's what I'd suggest.