Today I spoke to Maha from our office who is with our group in Cairo. She told me a bit about their impressions of their first few days in Egypt and the meetings they have had so far with our Egypt experts. In every place they have visited so far, the Egyptians have been welcoming and happy to see Americans visiting. They feel safe, and if you didn't know (ie: if you had been living under a rock for the past couple months!) about the revolution, you wouldn't be able to tell just by being out on the streets of Cairo. Businesses, shops, cafes, restaurants are all open as usual, and any signs of the thousands upon thousands of people that had taken to the streets and Tahrir Square are almost gone.
Maha told me that in spite of the usual heavy traffic in Cairo, the tourist sites are almost empty. They saw a few groups of tourists from Germany, the Netherlands, and France in Old Cairo, but at the Pyramids at Giza, our group was the only foreign group there. Usually there are rows and rows of tour busses parked in the parking lot, but when our group went, theirs was the only one. They said there were a few locals there, but other than that, they had the place almost completely to themselves. At Memphis and Saqqara, it was also very quiet.
The hotels are equally quiet, so this means that those hotels with several restaurants probably don't have them all open, but the bars and cafeterias are open. The vendors are really eager to make a sale, and can be a bit overwhelming, but we have to keep in mind that while tourists enjoy less crowds, the crowds were what had been providing incomes to so many Egyptians. Now they have no one to sell their goods or services to, so they are really hurting.
Recently, a referendum was passed to allow elections to be held in about 6 months. I asked if campaigning was evident, and Maha said no. You would hardly know that elections were coming if you are a visitor.
The group has a guide with them, a representative from our office in Seattle and one from the office in Cairo, as well as security. There is a curfew from midnight to 6am in place, but it does not affect the group's schedule at all.
In the morning they will fly to Luxor, and visit the West Bank sites and the temples of Luxor and Karnak - both places usually swarming with visitors, but I expect they will find these sites also quieter than usual. This is really a great opportunity to see these sites without the throngs of people that can descend upon them. It will not stay this way forever as more and more people decide to visit Egypt, as word gets out that it is safe and things are getting back to normal.
We have another group departing for Egypt on April 10th, arriving on the 11th, that will also see the same sites and have meetings with Egypt experts in Cairo. Join us! Space is booking up quickly!
http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewEygptApr2011.htm
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tunisia - Where it all began
This time last year I was visiting Tunisia with a small group of Americans, enjoying the Mediterranean and then the desert climate, the wonderful people, delicious food, and magnficent sites of this small North African country. This year we will visit to learn about the changes taking place and the recent revolution that brought down their president after 23 years of rule.
Travel to Tunisia next month with Caravan-Serai Tours to see where it all began. In mid-December 2010, the grumblings of frustration and discontent over un-employment, human rights, and police and ruling-family brutality exploded into full fledged revolution. The desparate act - a public suicide - of one man set the wheels in motion to bring down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for the last 23 years. Protests grew and grew, with more people coming to the cities to join in the call for the end of the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, they got their wish as Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Now the people are in the process of rebuilding their government and preparing for elections as they begin a new era of democracy in the Middle East.
Our tour will focus on the most recent history of the country as well as it's ancient roots. Visit Tunis, El Jem, Kairouan, Kasserine, Tozeur, Chebika and Tamerza, Metlaloui, El Kef, Dougga, Sbeitla, and more. To see the entire itinerary click this link: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewTunisiaApr2011.htm
April 14 - 23, 2010, $1650 per person, double occupancy, land only.
Travel to Tunisia next month with Caravan-Serai Tours to see where it all began. In mid-December 2010, the grumblings of frustration and discontent over un-employment, human rights, and police and ruling-family brutality exploded into full fledged revolution. The desparate act - a public suicide - of one man set the wheels in motion to bring down Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for the last 23 years. Protests grew and grew, with more people coming to the cities to join in the call for the end of the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, they got their wish as Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia. Now the people are in the process of rebuilding their government and preparing for elections as they begin a new era of democracy in the Middle East.
Our tour will focus on the most recent history of the country as well as it's ancient roots. Visit Tunis, El Jem, Kairouan, Kasserine, Tozeur, Chebika and Tamerza, Metlaloui, El Kef, Dougga, Sbeitla, and more. To see the entire itinerary click this link: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/NewTunisiaApr2011.htm
April 14 - 23, 2010, $1650 per person, double occupancy, land only.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Be the first to see the new Egypt March 26 – April 5, 2011
As the protesters in Egypt finish cleaning up the streets they are now turning their attention to making the necessary changes in their government, and a large part of that task will be to get the economy repaired and growing again. Tourism is a huge part of the Egyptian economy and it is important for the country to begin welcoming visitors back as soon as possible.
Caravan-Serai Tours is offering a tour of Egypt at the end of March to visit the historic places of the Egyptian Youth Revolution, and will include meetings with our contacts in Cairo, sightseeing in and around Cairo and Alexandria, and a Nile Cruise. This tour will be a great opportunity to see the monuments and sites of Egypt without the throngs of people usually present. Also, hear first hand from people who were present during the many days of protests at Tahrir Square.
This tour will be escorted by our own Maha Sarhan. A native of Egypt, she has lived in the US since the early 1990's. Maha leads groups to Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Israel and she has traveled throughout Europe. She is fluent in French, in addition to Arabic and English. Before joining Caravan-Serai Tours, Maha worked with KLM Airlines for 5 years.
We are getting a group rate on Egypt Air from New York, so please call for details.
NEW EGYPT
March 26 – April 5, 2011
11 Days/ 10 Nights
Price per person:
Sharing Double: $975.00
Single: $1505
Air ticket: JFK/Cairo/Aswan Luxor/Cairo/JFK: $1220
Lecturers:
Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.
Jere L. Bacharach is Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Born in New York in 1938, Bacharach attended Trinity College, CN, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the U.W. faculty since 1967 having officially retired in 2004 although he taught his last class in the fall term, 2007. While a member of the University of Washington faculty, Bacharach served as Chair, Department of History; Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; and Interim Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He has also been President, Middle East Studies Association of North America, President, Middle East Medievalists, and President, Association for Professional Schools of International Affairs. He has served in Cairo as Interim Director, American Research Center in Egypt and has held numerous other positions in various professional organizations.
His publications have ranged from the architecture of power in the Islamic world to the use of African slaves in military Muslim armies. His primary work has been in the field of Islamic numismatics where he has published numerous articles on fifteenth century Circassian monetary developments and tenth century Ikhshidid coinage. The latter appeared as “Islamic History through Coins”, which was the co-winner of the 2007 Samir Shamma Prize of the Royal Numismatic Society of Great Britain for the best book in Islamic numismatics during the preceding two years. Bacharach has twice been a Samir Shamma Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and at St. Cross College, Oxford University and in 2008 received a Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowship.
Caravan-Serai Tours is offering a tour of Egypt at the end of March to visit the historic places of the Egyptian Youth Revolution, and will include meetings with our contacts in Cairo, sightseeing in and around Cairo and Alexandria, and a Nile Cruise. This tour will be a great opportunity to see the monuments and sites of Egypt without the throngs of people usually present. Also, hear first hand from people who were present during the many days of protests at Tahrir Square.
This tour will be escorted by our own Maha Sarhan. A native of Egypt, she has lived in the US since the early 1990's. Maha leads groups to Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Israel and she has traveled throughout Europe. She is fluent in French, in addition to Arabic and English. Before joining Caravan-Serai Tours, Maha worked with KLM Airlines for 5 years.
We are getting a group rate on Egypt Air from New York, so please call for details.
NEW EGYPT
March 26 – April 5, 2011
11 Days/ 10 Nights
Price per person:
Sharing Double: $975.00
Single: $1505
Air ticket: JFK/Cairo/Aswan Luxor/Cairo/JFK: $1220
Lecturers:
Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.
Jere L. Bacharach is Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Born in New York in 1938, Bacharach attended Trinity College, CN, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has been a member of the U.W. faculty since 1967 having officially retired in 2004 although he taught his last class in the fall term, 2007. While a member of the University of Washington faculty, Bacharach served as Chair, Department of History; Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies; and Interim Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization. He has also been President, Middle East Studies Association of North America, President, Middle East Medievalists, and President, Association for Professional Schools of International Affairs. He has served in Cairo as Interim Director, American Research Center in Egypt and has held numerous other positions in various professional organizations.
His publications have ranged from the architecture of power in the Islamic world to the use of African slaves in military Muslim armies. His primary work has been in the field of Islamic numismatics where he has published numerous articles on fifteenth century Circassian monetary developments and tenth century Ikhshidid coinage. The latter appeared as “Islamic History through Coins”, which was the co-winner of the 2007 Samir Shamma Prize of the Royal Numismatic Society of Great Britain for the best book in Islamic numismatics during the preceding two years. Bacharach has twice been a Samir Shamma Fellow at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and at St. Cross College, Oxford University and in 2008 received a Mellon Foundation Emeritus Fellowship.
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