Month 5 (Part 1) - Turkey & Egypt

Merhaba (Turkish)! Or, Salam (Arabic)!!! 

Currently I'm writing from Jordan. I got here almost two weeks ago and I haven't felt this at home in awhile.... More on that in my next post. Month 5 is going to be in two parts mostly because, I just have way to many pictures to share. This post is more of a brief on my first five days in Turkey, and then like a photo journal of my Egypt trip. I'll post about the second half of month 5/September next week.

September was also a whirlwind of a month. I ended up spending the month travelling around A LOT because my next project wasn't until the beginning of October in Jordan. Plus, I already had set plans to meet up with friends along the way, between Skopje, Macedonia to Amman, Jordan.

It was already on my itinerary to visit Turkey not only because it is on the way to Jordan, but mostly because I was planning to see an old friend from Istanbul with whom I studied in Italy with nearly ten years ago. I also had always wanted to go to Egypt, but from my own research I found that it seemed more cost effective to do a roundtrip trip to Egypt from Istanbul, rather than going there after Jordan and then flying back to Italy from there as I had originally planned. So that was that. (Also side note: this is the only major part of my trip where I am flying and taking budget flights as transport instead of buses because I'm not bussing through Syria). I also had plans to meet up with a friend from home to do a road trip in Lebanon, and then go to Jordan together and do the Dana to Petra 4 day trek (Which by the way, I would highly recommend if you get the chance). From there, we parted ways and I stayed in Jordan to work on my next project.

So I went Turkey, Egypt, back to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan.

Turkey

Sunrise views after a short 4am hike to Sunset Point. 

Looking over Goreme, Kapadokya watching the famous hot air balloons.

After leaving Macedonia at the beginning of September (as I mentioned in my last post), I took the overnight bus to Istanbul. I spent five days in Turkey before I headed off to Egypt. I CouchSurfed in Istanbul the first night there upon my arrival. My host was awesome. He welcomed his home to numerous travelers and was incredibly resourceful, kind, fun, knowledgeable, and interested to learn more about the world, especially through hosting. This is my favorite thing about Couchsurfing, not just meeting locals and being shown where the best spots are, but actually getting to learn from one another about our different cultures and perspectives. My host was really fun and engaging and I really appreciate him for our great conversations along with the two Argentinians that he also hosted while I was there. Unfortunately, I only had the time to stay one night there before I went to Kapadokya (Central Turkey). I had about five days in Turkey before my Egypt trip and everyone had recommended this place to me (I wasn't able to meet up with my friend during this time before Egypt because she was out of town with family). I didn't feel bothered having just one day in Istanbul because I would be back later. But it was thrilling to finally be back in my favorite city in the world even if it was initially just for two days!

I spent those two days exploring and playing tourist with the Argentinians and the evenings with my host when he was off from work. It was interesting to be back since I was here ten years ago. Istanbul is still just as beautiful and magical as I remember it being. The streets filled with colorful markets and delicious foods whose smells make your mouth water constantly even from the other end of the block.

 Here are some photos of me at the classic Hagia Sofia Museum, and photos of Turkish Delights, and menemen (a classic Turkish egg dish)


Next, I headed to Kapadokya. This region is absolute magic. It's a region with a lot of unique geologic activity, and also had some of the first Christian groups here (I had no idea this was a surprise to me). I spent my time there hiking through Turkey's most visited canyon, visiting the Goreme Open Air Museum, underground cities (that held up to 30,000 people and was where a lot of the first Christians hid from the Romans before when they were Pagan), eating (at one of the dinners I actually met this couple also from Seattle, who also happened to be the first American's/Native English speakers I had seen in nearly a month), hiked a bit, saw the famous hot air balloons at sunrise (no I did not do the ride. They were absurdly pricey for what it is. Instead I enjoyed the views from an awesome viewpoint from a short hike that I did), and of course I went to the hammam (this is something I by now feel a need for at least once a month if I can find it).

Testi Kebap (Pottery Kebap), a must try in Turkey

Some "Fairy Chimney's" in Kapadokya for which the region is famous for. 

Many of these are homes carves into these natural cone shaped rock formations. 

Goreme Open Air Museum. 

Inside a Fairy Chimney Church

Goreme Open Air Museum. The Outside of a Fairy Chimney Church

More Fairy Chimneys

Sunset at Sunset Point in the valley

Ihlara Canyon. Turkey's most visited canyon. Also home to many cave like carved homes (It reminded me a lot of Mesa Verde in Colorado).

Some really great dish that I forgot the name of. 

Blue Eye's over the valley. These are a 

symbol of Turkey which ward off the evil spirit. 

A spread of various products made in the Kapadokya region. Nuts, dried fruits, and multiple kinds of Turkish Delights. 

Lots of Turkish coffee, a big part of 

Turkish hospitality

Turkey's crater lake! Nar Goru

Egypt

When my three days in Kapadokya were up, I headed back to Istanbul on an overnight bus (it's about 12 hours) to catch my morning flight to Cairo! For this trip I ended up booking a tour, which is something I don't really ever do because I don't normally like to travel this way. Cool if you do, I personally just don't prefer it. I like to have the freedom of doing what I want when I want, I like being independent and having my plans be flexible, and on tours it feels more touristy than I'm comfortable with. It's harder to meet locals, or really anyone outside of your own tour group. This is the most frustrating aspect for me because one of the main reasons I travel is for the people. I enjoy meeting new people from different backgrounds and learning from them through exchanges of good conversation and sharing experiences together.

To be honest, Egypt is one of the few countries in the world I wasn't comfortable traveling to alone, just as a solo female traveler because of all the harassment etc. (unfair, and ends up being more expensive as a solo female traveler I think. I'll dive more into this in a later post). I've heard a lot of horrifying stories, that as much as I didn't want to give in and listen to them (because I ignore most since many aren't entirely true haha, I don't let anything stop me from going anyways), I felt more comfortable going with an organized tour. I don't think I felt discomfort because of safety, but just being a female solo traveler there. But since I found a good deal (a ten day tour with accommodation, guide, transportation, and meals included, for less than $400), I had to take it. I for sure splurged with my budget for something that was only ten days because I also had to include the flight for it, but I just had to. And it was SOO worth it (Ok normally if I was employed and had an income I wouldn't call this splurging for myself. But since many people wonder, how am I affording this kind of trip and what am I doing and spending? Well, I am mostly living off of my savings, and to be transparent I don't normally spend more than $600usd per month on my living and maybe $200 or $300 beyond that for "splurging" moments or extra things or trips). So this trip was "splurging" for me. 

From the moment I arrived in Cairo at the airport, there was a man waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. He guided me through the visa process (for Americans it's visa upon arrival), helped me through customs and with my luggage, and then passed me off to a driver who brought me to our 5 star hotel. My driver spoke zero English, which was difficult but cool to practice my limited and basic Arabic with him. It was weird, that while I was in a completely new place, I somehow felt a degree of comfort just hearing Arabic or being able to converse even a few sentences. It was probably because it was such a contrast to my last month of my time in the Balkans with everyone speaking one Slavic language or another to Turkey where almost no one spoke English and I understood nothing of Turkish. 

I won't go through the details of what we did each individual day, because our itinerary was simply that packed and even I began to get mixed up on what happened each day. I swear, it was like I felt I needed a vacation from this trip, we were so on the go. From sleeping on overnight buses, and getting up at 4am to visit a site (this only happened once on a special extra additional excursion, not included in the regular tour), it was constant go. We went from Cairo, all the way down to Aswan in the south on a 16 hour bus ride, even made it to Abu Simbel just by the Sudanese border, an overnight on a felucca on the Nile, back up to Luxor, to the Valley of the Kings (which I have no photos of because it's forbidden), had two days in Hurghada on the Red Sea to relax, then back to Cairo for some sightseeing and also shopping in the souk (market). We really went everywhere! We were always seeing something like every minute was planned out. I'll admit, it was tiring, but this tour was so well organized like to the second, everything planned. The guides and drivers, everything in between were incredibly professional. We were able to see and do an insane amount of things in only ten short days. I couldn't rave more about this tour. 

Since I won't go through each day, I'll just share some photos with comments.

Camel friends outside the Pyramids of Giza :) Look how cute they are (camels are one of my favorite animals)

At the Pyramids of Giza, Cairo. The only remaining one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Sphinx, Cairo

Imhotep & Saqqara tombs, Cairo

The view from my hotel room overlooking the Nile River in Aswan

On our boat ride in the Nile to the Temple of Philae/Temple of Isis

At the Temple of Isis, Aswan

Abu Simbel. The additional excursion we woke up before 4am for. So worth it. These temples were beautiful. 

This is supposed to be a mirage. I tried to capture it on camera, it's kind of there. This was in the desert near Abu Simbel and Sudan. I couldn't believe my eyes that mirages are "real"!

Hookah. Typical bus rest stop. Or any kind of break. 

Our sleeping area on the Felucca, a sail boat, the time we did an overnight on the boat along the Nile. 

Sunsets on the River Nile

More scenes on the Nile and of the Felucca

 

Komobo

Hieroglyphs at Karnak Temple. This was my favorite temple, it took my breath away.

Karnak Columns in all its grandeur

Luxor Temple by night

Habu. A Less visited temple, we had the place to ourselves. It's known for its well preserved paintings

Habu

Habu

One face of the temples entrance entirely covered in hieroglyphics. Incredible. 

The Temple of Hatshepsut

Temple of Hatshepsut

Sailing & Snorkeling day. I paid an extra $35 to go snorkeling 

and boating all day island hopping. Without a doubt worth it just look at these 

waters and beaches. I swam along the reefs and saw so many bright and colorful 

fish. Some were massive like a meter long. Insane. 

We had a beach day to lounge at the hotel. With two nights and two days at this all 

inclusive resort stay, it was the best end to a long and busy trip. 

The church in the Christian quarter of Cairo, where the Holy family apparently stayed for 3 months. 

Mosque of Muhammed Ali in Cairo. Of which the famous Hagia Sofia in Istanbul is modelled after.

View of the city of Cairo from the Muhammed Ali mosque. 

Since I was doing an organized jam packed group tour, I wasn't expecting to get a lot out of it culturally. As an archaeologist I mostly was curious to see what Ancient Egypt was all about and visit it anyways. In the end, what I got out of the trip was mostly what I expected it, except that my tour guide was super cool, and we spent a lot of our free time hanging out with him. He was really knowledgeable (I learned a lot more than I thought I would) and it was great getting to know him and spend time with him. I really enjoyed the tour itself. I got to see and do SO much especially for what I paid. If anyone is interested for more information on this tour, feel free to get in touch :) I didn't meet as many locals as I would have liked, so eventually one day I think I would like to go back and explore more of Egypt. I also would like to eat more of the local food, since during so much of the trip we were constantly on the go eating sandwich type things or western style buffet food in our hotels. 

Overall, Egypt is one of a kind and has such a unique history. I learned a lot about Ancient Egypt and the fall of its empire. I also learned a lot about modern day Egypt, about its diversity and some of its people (I had no idea a quarter of the country's population is Christian). I also learned from various Egyptians, their views and perspectives about Egypt today, and about Egypt before the Revolution. I learned a bit about the Revolution and its effects on the country (One of Egypt's largest industries is and was tourism, which took a major hit after the revolution. Even today, years later, they receive less than 20% of tourists than they used to. It's really shocking to be at a place like the Valley of the Kings, to see all the money and infrastructure the country put into making it set up and accessible for tourists, and see it completely empty. In so many of the places we visited we were the only people there... Side note: I felt VERY safe the entire time I was there. I really encourage people to visit Egypt despite media or fears. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I really encourage people to visit this incredible country). I also got to meet some other really cool travelers on my tour, from the States, to Australia, to India, to Sweden. While I did not get to meet as many locals and tried as much local food as I would have liked, I couldn't rave enough about the tour that I went on. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to visit and see and do so much. Egypt is beautiful!!! I can't wait to go back. 

Ok, that was a lot of photos and a lot of space. That's all I think I have to add about this part of my trip. I will continue with month 5 part 2 with returning to Turkey after the Egypt trip visiting my friend, and my road trip in Lebanon probably next week. This was a lot. Sorry my posts are always so long. At least it feels that way. If you have any feedback, it's always appreciated!! :)

Signing off for now. If I can think of more to add on Egypt, will do in my post next week.

Heading to bed now. Goodnight.