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 While many in our small tour to Egypt, all Tour Egypt colleges, family and
friends, were probably becoming a bit homesick as we approached the last several
days of our trip to Egypt, that would end in Cairo, I am always, no matter how
long I have been in Egypt, saddened to leave the friends I have made there over
the years. As we flew out of Sharm headed back to Cairo, this feeling was
already setting in.
We returned to the hectic traffic and noise of Cairo
fairly early, giving
everyone a chance to rest up. Hebba from the Hotel Longchamps arranged a dinner
for us that evening, and I once again called some of my friends, hopping they
could make this meeting. I headed down to the Hotel Longchamps, hopping to catch
Hebba and planning to do a little shopping, particularly at the  AUC Bookstore. I
must always look for new material and research, and so the American University
in Cairo Bookstore is always a required stop whenever I visit Egypt. However,
Hebba had a meeting elsewhere, and would not return until about 4:30 pm, and I
had forgotten about it being Friday, a day that the bookstore was closed.
Nevertheless, I wondered around this neighborhood that is so familiar to me.
It
was actually nice to be away from the people in the tour at this moment, and
just to enjoy this little part of Zamalek that seems almost more home to me than
the area where I live in Lubbock, Texas. It seems funny, but I know more of the
people here, in the blocks surrounding the Hotel  Longchamps, than I do in the
blocks around my house in Lubbock. I stopped in at Canadian Cleaners, though I
had no cleaning this time, but I was enthusiastically greeted by the owner. I
visited a small jewelry store, around the corner, where the owner enjoys good
jazz, and purchased a few trinkets for Christmas gifts. I had to have at least
one hamburger from Hardies, up the street, where even when I've been absent for
a number of months, the employees still know how I like my burgers. I greeted
friendly, familiar faces, met a young man walking his Golden Retriever, which
did make me miss my own dog and constant companion, George. I even set tome time
on one of the chairs so often provided in front of the various shops, and
visited with the locals who frequently prefer to be on the streets rather than
in their shops if there are no customers.
 In fact, this is why I know so many more people in this second home of mine.
The streets are alive with those who make this neighborhood their home, and people are
always friendly or perhaps curious enough to make my acquaintance. Its not so
much like my home in Texas, were porches have been usurped by TVs, and too many
people conduct their social lives from a computer terminal. Neighbors almost
always know each other and even strangers in their midst cannot remain strangers
for long. In many respects, an Egyptian neighborhood is not so different than an
American one of a few years ago. In this huge city of Cairo, neighborhoods
remain small villages simply clustered together.
I finally returned to the Hotel Longchamps
to relax on the
back terrace while I waited for Hebba to return from her
business appointment. She and I then took a short ride up 26th
of July street to meet the rest of the tour group on the
famous terrace of the Marriott Hotel on
Zamalek. Once
 again,
Misr Travel had been kind enough to keep the bus around for
their transportation from the Movenpick in Giza. Along
with the tour group, we also met up with our Cairo
manager,
Ahmed Antar, and my to good friends and founders members of
the Egyptomaniacs, Diaa Khalil and Nancy Awbrey. Diaa is an
Egyptian, and one of my oldest friends in Egypt, while Nancy
is a US ex-pat working in Egypt. It was very nice to see them,
as we had problems meeting up earlier in the tour. The
Egyptomaniacs are sort of an impromptu society of people who
frequent our BBS (conference center) and are a very important
element of Tour Egypt. They are made up of both Egyptians and
foreign nationals who frequently visit Egypt. They help answer
questions about Egypt on the BBS, and sometimes even assist
tourists who travel to Egypt. They also provide me with help
on research and sometimes even write articles for Tour
Egypt.
We all enjoyed a nice visit on the Marriott terrace before
deciding to accept Hebba's proposal to dine at Cristos, a fish
eatery actually only a few blocks away from the Movenpick
where we were staying, with an excellent view of the Pyramids.
Having released the
Misr Travel bus, we all piled into Hebba
and Ahmed's cars, with the addition of one taxi, and headed
back out to Giza.
At Cristos, which apparently is currently in fashion with
local dinners, we all moved up to the roof terrace which has a
grand view of the Great
Pyramids. Here, one selects fresh fish
which is then delivered to the table on large platters, and we
all enjoyed this next to last evening in Egypt  among good
friends eating great food. Afterwards, we all made the short
trip back to the hotel for a restful night's sleep before our
last day in Egypt.
That next morning morning most of the tour
visited the Egyptian Antiquity
Museum, though I ventured back
to Zamalek
in order to pay a visit to the AUC bookstore that
had been closed the previous day. However, we all met up again
for lunch the famous Naquib Mahfouz Cafe in the Khan
el-Khalili Bazaar, and afterwards, of course, everyone went on
a last minute shopping spree. I really had a long day ahead of
me with several meetings, but I stayed in the Bazaar a little
longer than I had planned making a few purchases of my own.
 As
everyone else left on the
Misr Travel bus back to the hotel, I
went back to Zamalek
to say my farewells to Hebba at the
Longchamps, where I also met up once more with Ahmed and my
old friend Hoose Stryjak. Hoose, as we call him, is a well
known German writers, responsible for the famous German
version of the Marko Polo guide to Egypt, and these days even
a German radio personality. To me, he's just Hoose, one of my
best friends, even though our busy workdays often prevent us
from communicating with each other as we should. We spent much
of that evening on the terrace of the Hotel Longchamps, while
I basically ignored my responsibilities as tour leader,
letting the rest of the group do their own thing that evening.
We had a good visit, though Hebba was a bit too busy
entertaining her other guests.
Later, I said my goodbyes to
Hebba and Hoose, and Ahmed carried me out to Heliopolis and
the Sonesta Hotel, where I joined up with some good friends
from South Sinai Travel for a final
 dinner. The place
restaurant was packed full of Americans winding up some tours
with that company, and I ended up my visit to Egypt among good
friends, including Antoine Riad, the owner of South Sinai,
Terry McKendree, who runs their operation in the US, Medhat
Mourad, who's company I have come to greatly enjoy, and Samir
Sidhom, a jovial Egyptian friend who latter went far out of
his way to drive me back to the Movenpick Pyramid
Hotel.
As it turns out, I missed some fun back at the
hotel that evening. Some American GIs from the peace keeping
forces in the Sinai had come in on leave and were staying in
the Movenpick
Pyramids. Apparently everyone got to know them, and latter
they and a few of the group went out on the town for a while
and had a gay
 That next morning we arose early for the
flight home.
Misr Travel took us back to the airport, where
they made sure all was in order. We had a good flight back to
New York, though the EgyptAir plane was somewhat more crowded
than on the way over, and arrived back in New York where this
time we stayed in the Metropolitan Hotel nearby Rockefeller
Center. That night, most of us were a little tired out and I
suppose that this was our loss, as some of the others walked
the few blocks over to see the famous Christmas tree all lit
up in Rockefeller Center. The next day, we all did a little
shopping in New York prior to making connections for our
flights back home.
 I have to give
Misr Travel due credit for an
enjoyable experience in Egypt. Everyone in the Tour expressed
their satisfaction with the visit.
Misr Travel's performance was flawless.
Every transfer was exactly on time, and on many occasions,
they went beyond the call of duty, providing busses and
transport that was not a part of the original arrangements. All of their staff in Egypt
were courteous, friendly and helpful, and I think many of our
tour members truly regretted having to say goodbye to Soha,
our guide throughout the trip. In addition, the busses that
they provided during our visit were modern and all were in
good working order. Air conditioning always functioned when we
needed it, there was never any mechanical failures and the drivers wee excellent. We could not have
asked for a more perfect performance on their part.
I have one final note, and an endorsement to
make. On that next to last night in Egypt, when were
joined by Diaa Khalil, he made a very important announcement.
It seems that this young Egyptian friend of mine has found the
girl of his dreams, who he wishes to marry. Knowing Diaa  as I
have for many years now, the girl named Asmaa must be a very
special young lady indeed.
Among traditional Egyptians, marriage is a
very serious affair, not taken lightly by the parents and
families. In fact, many young people must wait for years
before earning both the respect and assets required for
marriage. I have never made such an endorsement on Tour Egypt,
but to the parents of Asmaa, I would like to take this opportunity
to tell them of my respect for Diaa, which must also be bestowed
on Asmaa through him. He is one of the finest Egyptian I have
ever met, and during my many years visiting Egypt, he has on
numerous occasions been of great assistance to me, never
asking for anything in return. He has been a good friend who I
have never seen violate any Islamic practices. I also know
Diaa to be a very traditional Egyptian, with strong ties to
his family, loyalty to his friends, and a hard and diligent
worker. In fact, though Christian myself, through his
outstanding values, I have gained a great respect for Muslims,
and I believe that if others could see Islam through Diaa, the
world would be a better place. To Asmaa parents, I would have
to say that Asmaa has made a fine choice in Diaa. There are
simply no better young men then him. So to him and Asmaa, I
give my highest regards, and I wish both of you a successful
journey though this difficult, but rewarding process. No
one deserves it more than you, Diaa.
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