Tourists in Egypt and Roasted Stuffed Pigeon
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
10
29
Trip End
Feb 02, 2009
Aswan,
Nile River Valley,
Egypt
Sunday, November 16, 2008
As for this blog, I kind of just want to share a few things I have noticed regarding how tourism is god here in Eqypt. Did you know that in addition to the regular police, there is a whole police force dedicated to the protection of tourists alone? They carry large machine guns and are EVERYWHERE tourists are. I don't see Egypt as a backpacker kind of place really. Tourists are looked after, insulated, and heavily catered too. We off-handedly asked our tour guide in Cairo why there were dogs all around the pyramids and other places, her reply "Tourists seem to like them, so we leave them there. Whatever the tourist likes." Its a small thing, but Egypt does take this industry seriously. When we were picked up from our Cairo hotel and driven to Giza for the pyramids, our guide, Noheer, told us that from the time we left the hotel, the tourism police knew what car were in, what nationality we were, and when we got to the Giza checkpoint, they cross checked it was us; that we were not kidnapped and we were there safely. Amazing and scary. I don't know. Egypt is definitely more developed than Tanzania. It is beautiful, but its endeavor to be "modern", I feel is a bit in conflict with the preservation of its treasures. I am unsure if there really will be anything left of the sights I have seen for my kids or grandkids to see as well down the line, I hope so.
On to a bit lighter topic, I ate the Eqyptian delicacy of stuffed pigeon tonight (we are in Aswan). We had to go look for it with our guide, Emad. The first restaraunt did not have it, so we had to walk a ways to find a second restaraunt. It was worth it. It was yummy. It is stuffed with wheat (like fat rice) and spices then roasted. It was small and it was delicious. It actually tastes a bit like duck, but not as rich. The skin was browned, crispy and an excellent accompaniment with the stuffing. It was a perfect last meal here in Eqypt.
P.S.
I have noticed that loads of European grandmothers like to wear 2 piece bathing suits and loads of them have belly-button rings. I have observed them over 4 days on our Nile cruise.
Comments
Belly-Button Rings
Is this your way of telling us you'll be getting one?
Re: Belly-Button Rings
Haha!! Not in my future my friend!! Can you imagine???
You're eating a dumb bird!
It looks skinny and long... interesting!