Thirteen years have passed since we made this trip to the land of pharoahs and sphinxes. (Yes, there is more than The One.) With so much time having passed, much of the trip’s narrative had to be pieced together from the photo trails we created long ago. And, because of that, my goal for this travel blog is to have it be more image-driven than text-heavy. Let’s hope, MDR, I don’t have sudden bursts of memories that drive my typing fingers to work overtime!
However, the backstory for this trip bears recording here. Events that have continued to reverberate throughout the world to the present day nearly torpedoed the whole trip. It all began during a conversation early in 2010 when John and Carol Gibb told us that they were planning to book a trip to Egypt with Grand Circle Travel (GCT). Rob asked if they might wait a year so that he and I could join them. They agreed and we all signed up for a trip scheduled for autumn of 2011.
But then, starting in December of 2010, Arab Spring happened.
Across the Arab world, pro-democracy protestors rallied against the rampant corruption of entrenched authoritarian regimes, demanding change. In Cairo, Egypt, these protests centered on Tahir Square beginning in January. And the nationwide demonstrations eventually brought down President Mubarak and his 30-year government. With the successful ouster of the tyrant and the establishment of an interim “democratic-ish” government (under the military!), the protests subsided and things in Egypt calmed down.
From across the pond, both GCT and their more-exclusive (and expensive) Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) subsidiary still offered Egyptian tours on their schedule. However, older Americans can be a jittery bunch; and, apparently, what began as a handful of trip cancellations became a torrent. But, a fix was found to keep us on track. GCT & OAT merged their two individual tours and ran them as one. Huzzah! Our vacation was saved.
There was a last minute snafu regarding the sudden need to purchase an expensive travel visa BEFORE arriving in Cairo rather than getting a reasonably-priced one upon arrival at the airport as had been customary before. But one does what one has to do. (Ironically, the purchase-on-arrival option was restored just days before we left.) And there were harrowing moments when we were departing for the States on our final day. But I get ahead of myself.
One final addendum: ours was the very last Egyptian trip conducted by GCT/OATS that year…or for quite a few years afterwards. And, as of this writing, it is now only offered as an OATS tour.
-Written June, 2014
NOTE: Throughout the blog, click on an image to enlarge. A separate page will open. Use the back button to return to the previous page.
Egypt 