Discovering Egypt - with Nader

We are delighted to have Nader as our guest to talk about the fascinating, exotic country of Egypt! Having called the United States home since he was just a toddler, Nader still maintains a deep reverence and affinity to his Egyptian roots and is well-versed in the many aspects of traveling there. We begin with a review of the coastal town of El Gouna and the marvelous exotic aquatic life that thrives beneath the surface of the Red Sea. Warning though, don't wander into the desert unless you're well prepared, it's not for the faint-hearted!

Next we're off to Cairo. It's not just a massive, bustling city; it's a treasure trove of ancient history and culture that begs to be explored. We get lost in the vibrant labyrinth of the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, where you'll find everything from intriguing trinkets to ornate mother of pearl inlaid boxes. Nader provides valuable tips for navigating the bazaar and making the most out of the Cairo museum scene. Don't forget to check out the enthralling sound and light show at the pyramids, and remember, check the language of the show before you go!

Finally, let's talk practicality. We offer invaluable travel pointers and present a sneak peek into Egyptian culture. From understanding the cost of labor and affordability of daily life, including the price of pomegranates, to Nile cruises and apartment rentals, we've got your back. Nader also shares golden nuggets of advice on dressing respectfully, embracing cultural diversity, and savoring the delectable Egyptian cuisine. Whether you're mapping out your next adventure or just inquisitive about this vibrant country, this episode is a must-listen, packed with firsthand experiences and insider tips.

Map of Egypt

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Hi, welcome to our podcast. We're Next Travel with Kristin and Carol. I am Kristin and I am Carol, and we're two long-term friends with a passion for travel and adventure.

Speaker 2: 0:27

In each episode, we interview people around the globe to help us decide where to go next. Welcome, nader. Thank you so much for joining for our podcast. We're super excited that you're able to talk to us about Egypt today, so thank you for having us. Yeah, so you're from Egypt and you want to tell us, like when you came to America and like how long you've lived here, and I think you mentioned you've been back in Egypt for a month with your family or year.

Speaker 3: 0:56

Yeah, so I moved to the States when I was two years old with my parents. I'm pretty American, but then of course I've been back several times and taken groups back and had a lot of fun. And then we had the chance between 2008 and 2009. From July to July, my wife and I moved there for a year and lived in a town called Elguna on the Red Sea with our two girls that were three and five at the time.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Okay, and how do you spell Elguna? Just like it sounds.

Speaker 3: 1:23

EL, yeah, EL-G-O-U-N-A.

Speaker 2: 1:28

Okay, I'm going to try to find it on here, oh it's amazing.

Speaker 3: 1:31

Yeah, wait till you see the pictures. We lived right there at the end of one of the piers.

Speaker 2: 1:37

Oh, it reminds me of kind of like Nusa in New Zealand. It's just like right on the edge. Oh, my goodness, you lived on one of those piers Right, wow, okay. So the Red Sea. Okay, so my brother had told me that he went to Egypt for scuba diving, and so is that pretty popular.

Speaker 3: 1:54

Yeah, it's actually one of the best, one of the two top scuba diving places in the world, between the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea, so it's absolutely amazing.

Speaker 2: 2:05

And I see this Gulf of Suarez Suez Is that where most of the scuba diving are more in the main part of the Red Sea.

Speaker 3: 2:14

All over the Red Sea. I mean, it's unbelievable, it's. You know, you can see the sand grains 100 feet down.

Speaker 2: 2:20

Oh, so the water is just super clear.

Speaker 3: 2:22

Yeah, it's amazing. So we used to go when I was younger. We'd go out there and get out on a boat and go down and drop a line right in front of what we wanted to have for dinner.

Speaker 2: 2:33

Wow. So even though it's really deep and really clear, there's plenty of fish.

Speaker 3: 2:38

Oh, tons, yeah, Of course, unfortunately, like everywhere else in the world that has reefs, you know, the environment has kind of damaged the reefs. But really when you get out all around the Red Sea and the more south you go on the Red Sea the better, because of course Cairo is up, you know, northeast of the Red Sea, and that's where the freeway comes in. So the northern part of the Red Sea got developed first and then as you move south on the Red Sea it's less developed and of course as you move across it's even more less developed than that. But it's really, it's an amazing place to go.

Speaker 2: 3:12

Oh my goodness, it's great If you go down.

Speaker 3: 3:14

You want to find out where you know where Alguna is. If you're looking at a map and you go to the southernmost point of the Sinai Peninsula and then go directly west from there, you'll see a town called Hurgata, and Hurgata is where you would fly into from Europe or from Cairo, depending on how you got there and you'd be able to spend a lot of time on the Red Sea, and it is. It is quite amazing. Actually. We've given a lot of folks you know instructions on what to do when they go there and what to see, and, of course, they've seen our family over there, because we've got a lot of, you know, pretty large extended family all over Cairo and the Red Sea. A lot of people go with the pyramids in mind, which is absolutely a must, Obviously, you know to do that and there's a few other sites to see there, but really, the Red Sea is is astonishing if you're a water person at all.

Speaker 2: 4:02

Yes, I'm such a water person. And what's the temperature year round?

Speaker 3: 4:07

It's pretty perfect all the time. I mean, really, the best place to the best time to visit is at the end of the summer, right beginning of fall, which you know a lot of places in the world. It's a great time to visit because the water has had all summer to, you know, get the sun rays on it and heat up, and warm up and and you get there, but then you're not there in 115, 120 degree temperature. So the temperature, the air temperature, is cooled off in the fall, but then the water temperature is still amazingly warm Is it like 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Speaker 3: 4:37

You know I'd have to look, but it has no shock Like Hawaii warm. Yeah, yeah, no shock value when you jump in.

Speaker 2: 4:43

Oh, okay, very neat, okay. And what's right below that is Sudan. So Sudan's along the Red Sea as well. Is is, and I guess, like as a American tourist, is it easier to get around just as easy Sudan or Egypt. Just you know if you're really exploring the Red Sea.

Speaker 3: 5:05

You know, I haven't really been in Sudan at all. Okay, Because usually by the time you travel that far south you're pretty away from everything.

Speaker 3: 5:15

Oh, okay, and you're out in the desert and it's. It's not developed at all and and frankly, you know you wouldn't want to be out there unless you really know what you're doing. Okay, not that it's dangerous, I mean it's like everywhere else. You know people ask all the time well, is it dangerous? And I know the answer is always the same Don't do dumb stuff. And you're okay. You know, if you're offered a treat, you know a free trip to the desert to visit the Bedouins, it's probably not a great deal, you know you don't want to go, but All right. So in Egypt as a whole, there's more murders in one city in the United States in the first month of the year than there is in all of Egypt all year.

Speaker 3: 5:53

So, that's because they're not allowed to have guns, they're not allowed to have knives over three inches or four inches or something. There's a lot of rules about that, and so it ends up being a pretty safe place, as long as, again, don't do dumb things and you're just fine.

Speaker 1: 6:07

I was trying to find the weather and El Guna, is that what you pronounced it?

Speaker 3: 6:11

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:13

And it said, like you know, four to 12 Celsius. I'm assuming so, but I tried to get Fahrenheit and I couldn't.

Speaker 3: 6:21

but I think that it has to be much more than 12. It's more like in the 40s, maybe that's what I figured.

Speaker 1: 6:27

I'm like, I think, I'm I don't know, but that's what was popping up, so it could. Yeah, that's all right.

Speaker 3: 6:31

No, definitely. I mean when you're there, you know it's, it's hot. Yeah, in Egypt, you know, in the mainland or on the mainland it's, you know. Of course it's more humid at the sea, but it's not humid like Texas or Florida. You know it's more, or zone hot.

Speaker 1: 6:48

It's not like when I saw you last.

Speaker 3: 6:50

No goodness gracious, you mean in Texas, yeah that was no relief, man. There's no relief in Texas.

Speaker 1: 6:58

Nope, none at all. And then I'm looking at El Guna and it looks amazing. It kind of looks almost like a Venice, where it's got all through, like houses are around the water and it's this really pretty turquoise color as well, and I see a lot of boats, which I was like. That looks awesome.

Speaker 3: 7:20

It's like the Middle Eastern Riviera. I mean it's, it's amazing there. I mean there's, you know it's gorgeous. And if you're familiar with yachting and yachts at all, that means Sunseeker yachts are lined up like cordwood there when we live there. We lived there from July to July 2008 to 2009. And the school there that the girls went to was a private school that was. You know, it was great because in their classroom, I think, there were people from 12 different countries.

Speaker 2: 7:47

Wow, how fun.

Speaker 3: 7:49

It's because it's kind of an expat area, that's, you know, it's probably the safest place in Guna and the safest place in Egypt in terms of just gated community, really wonderful people. Again, you know, in all reality Egypt's a pretty safe place and it's great to go there and visit, but that place is above and beyond.

Speaker 2: 8:07

Oh wow, on my radar. Yeah, probably not yours either, chris Right.

Speaker 1: 8:12

Oh my God. No, I know, I'm like huh, this is really really neat.

Speaker 2: 8:15

So going there, like in in March and April I mean, though it's, you know it's pre-summer it's probably still very pleasant compared to like being anywhere in the US in the middle of March, right?

Speaker 3: 8:27

Oh yeah, no, it's very nice and it's, you know, but you'll, it will get colder in the desert at night, you know when, in the wintertime, and so you'll the, the the temperature variations will be more. I really like fall there, falls, fantastic, because you know, if you're there in the summertime you better love the heat, because we've gone there in the summer and we've taken people you know out to. You know, between Luxor and Oswan, and and and and the Oswan Dam and all of that, and boy, you're running from shade to shade, you know.

Speaker 2: 8:57

Okay, and then, once you go west a little bit, I see some little hiking icons here on the map. Is it all just like sand dune kind of hiking, or is there like mountains? Oh, there's, there's mounds.

Speaker 3: 9:09

There's all kinds of amazing nature there. You know, we usually have kind of a set path that we take people when we go there. If you want me to review what we do when we're there, yeah, that would be perfect.

Speaker 2: 9:19

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 9:21

So a really neat way to to see that part of the country if you're not going to spend, you know, one to six months living there, because that's kind of a different story which we really enjoy doing that as much as we can, especially if you're somebody that has the ability to work remotely. So when we live there for a year, my wife Diane worked remotely there and so she was working and then I was working. I was restructuring the finance and IT departments for the second largest beverage producer in Cairo, and so it's really a neat deal when we were there that the best thing to do is to fly into Cairo and get your bearings, because you'll you know it'll take you a minute to get back on track in time and when you travel to Egypt, you're not traveling just in distance, you're traveling in history, because things don't change very much there, and so when you get there, you've got to have a different mindset in terms of things happening. You know, when you go pick up your flight tickets, if somebody you know from a family member or somebody's taking you around or somebody that you've hired is taking you around, you don't walk into an office and just grab your tickets and pay and say thank you. You know you'll sit down and have a cup of tea Interesting and kind of see who you are, and so when you're planning a 10 minute trip, you want to kind of make it an hour long trip and it's really neat.

Speaker 3: 10:33

So if you're open to those kinds of experiences and meeting people and learning more about them which is, I think, what travels more about than seeing another statue you know that's really a lot of fun. So when you get there, you get your bearings, what you'll notice in Cairo. It's kind of like a city that never sleeps and you'll see people out. The food's amazing, everything is great. You get your bearings there and then you'll do the things that are in Cairo, which are really like the. You get your first feel of the bazaar which is called the Hena Khalili, which is really kind of odd for anybody to say right, but it's so you can type in. You know the Cairo, the bazaar in Egypt, which is you know, is that like a marketplace.

Speaker 3: 11:15

Yeah, it's a huge marketplace that has all of the the wares, you know, and you can find everything from really cheap bottles to amazing. You know mother pearl inlaid boxes that are, and you can find a mother of pearl inlaid boxes that's a dollar and you can find one that's $2,000 and you'll see the difference. You know, it's like any other place where tourism is their number one. You know revenue source, so you'll get your first taste there. I wouldn't suggest you buy anything. That's just for you to kind of see it, because if you buy it then you're going to carry it for the rest of your trip and if you're leaving Cairo anyway, that's the great last night visit to go buy all the things that you want after you've seen them all for the time that you're there. So we always Beautiful.

Speaker 1: 11:58

I'm looking at pictures and it looks like I had to get closer because it looks like just candles. I don't know it's really. It's very compact. There's a lot in there.

Speaker 3: 12:06

Oh yeah, the kind of who we market is. You know there's hookah shops and you can smoke pipes and you can. You know there's all sorts of things, the wool shawls we always bring back wool shawls because they're fantastic from there and then so we do that. And then the next day you'll want to make sure that you have tickets to go see the museum in Cairo. And it's amazing because we've been, of course, to the museums when they when they brought King Cuts things over, you know, and that sort of thing.

Speaker 3: 12:34

And I think we're in California Is it the Rozen Cruising Museum or what's that called, right in the barrier. But we've seen that and it's amazing because they have so much of it there. What we put under glass and have been a 25 foot display, they've got it sitting on shelves and there by the thousands, and so it's really interesting. You'll walk through and you'll see things and you'll see history and go oh my gosh, this is really real, you know, and it's a lot of fun to do that. So I'd go through the museum and that's really when you're in Cairo. You've got the museum, you've got the market and then, of course, that's where you take your day trip to the pyramids. You know and see the pyramids.

Speaker 2: 13:18

And is one day enough to see the pyramids.

Speaker 3: 13:20

You know, I think it is because you'll go during the day and then you'll take a break in the afternoon and then at night, you'll want to definitely make sure you get tickets for what's called the. In Arabic it's called soh would do it, which means sound and light. So the sound and light show is where they have all these banks of you know different lights that light up the pyramids and light up the sphinx, and you sit in this outdoor amphitheater and listen to the history of the pyramids and the sphinx and how long does it take to get there from?

Speaker 1: 13:53

it says I see day trip.

Speaker 3: 13:55

So you want to go out there. It depends on where you're staying, but I'd have to look but it's probably a 45 minute ride. When I was a kid it was forever in the desert to get from civilization to the pyramids. The metropolis has grown so big now you're like driving down the street and then the pyramids appear. You know just kind of. It used to be way out in the middle of the desert. Now it's part of the city, which is a little sad. But you have to get through and traffic is horrendous.

Speaker 2: 14:23

Yeah, and what's really, really sad. I look at these pictures, the sound and light show Giza and like, oh, it's Vegas.

Speaker 3: 14:29

Oh yeah, I know that is really bad. You know it's really funny about you saying that is when we went there in 2008 and 2009,. The way that we were going there, we were actually in Las Vegas and saw the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas. Then we took the girls to Disney World. We saw the Eiffel Tower at Disney World and then we went to Paris and spent four nights in Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Speaker 2: 14:54

And like why does this thing keep showing up everywhere?

Speaker 3: 14:59

We got pictures. All that's really funny, anyway. So those are the things you want to do and so the thing you want to be aware of when you go to see that they don't play. That's not in every language every night, so you got to make sure you pick the language that's appropriate for you. You go by ticket and then you'll show up and it'll be in German, you know, or something.

Speaker 1: 15:20

I see a lot of camels People.

Speaker 3: 15:22

Camels everywhere.

Speaker 1: 15:23

Yes.

Speaker 2: 15:25

Oh my gosh crazy, oh wow.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Do a camel ride. It sounds like if you're going to do a camel ride in Egypt, that's kind of like.

Speaker 3: 15:32

That's where to do it, unless you really want to go on that Bedouin trip. You know that's a great place to hang out and ride on the camel. You know a little bit of a note right, the only place that everybody makes money there's tourism and selling you things and showing you things, and so, depending on you, know your, your financial capacity and everything, I think it's great. It's fun to bargain and everything, and we go there. If you think about it, if you spend another few hundred bucks on your whole trip there and you end up not bargaining a lot and those folks get to go home and make some money, then that's fantastic.

Speaker 3: 16:06

You know, of course you don't want to get taken. You know you don't want to buy a. You know a, a, a bobble for you know, $500, which you could probably buy for three bucks. But if you bought it for eight instead of three, who cares? You know, and they're, they're very nice people. Egyptians are very service oriented. They love people, they love to please people. That's just the way they are. That's how their hearts work. So most of the time they're great. You'll find, you know, weird folks like to find anywhere in the world, but by and large they're pretty good folks.

Speaker 2: 16:36

Okay, so I'm looking at the geography and I looked at a map that has like some texture to it, I should say some layers, and it looks like where the Nile River is it's green. Is that because people live along the Nile River and so? There's like little cities all the way around.

Speaker 3: 16:54

Yeah, and that's where it's arid. It has the most water right, just like Alexandra and Port Said. To the north, you'll see all of that green and as you move to the north, that's where you'll start to see all of the agriculture. So there's a ton of agriculture. Moving up, you know, towards north of Cairo and going northwest to Alexandra and northeast to Port Said, you'll see that whole area is really green and that's where they grow tons of vegetables and met much, a lot of that ship to Europe. And then as you move down, and as you know, I think there's only a couple of rivers in the world that flow backwards. So the Nile flows actually from south to north. I forgot what the other one was.

Speaker 2: 17:36

I was going to ask why there's water in that location. So that's, the water of north is coming from the Nile.

Speaker 3: 17:42

Really odd that it does that because, as you look at any map, most rivers flow from north to south. Going to Alexandria or going to the Mediterranean from that side is okay, but I think that's for a secondary or a tertiary trip. You'll do that on your first trip because you'll look at you, okay, there's, I mean, as nice as Alexandria is and as nice as going up there is. There's different places around the med that you could go, that would you know. Probably you'd have more fun maybe. So once you get that handled and you and you got the pyramids and you've got the museum and you've got the market, and Cairo in general is an experience all its own and, and you'll see, it's actually I think it's been rated one of the craziest places to drive in the world.

Speaker 2: 18:28

So if not the?

Speaker 3: 18:29

crazy, it's, it's wild. I've driven in Cairo and I drove when I was there, and I'll tell you, it's like riding your own roller coaster.

Speaker 1: 18:36

So oh, my goodness. Meaning there's a lot of traffic, or what is it specifically?

Speaker 3: 18:40

Yeah, there's. There's a lot of traffic and no one follows the rules. As a matter of fact, the sidewalks you'll see are about a foot and a half high. That's because before they did that, everybody just drove on the sidewalks too. So, yeah, they had to make the sidewalks so you couldn't actually get on them.

Speaker 2: 18:55

Oh my goodness, that is so crazy.

Speaker 3: 18:58

Oh my goodness, yeah there'll be three lanes and six cars across the three lanes and you'll be close enough to help people close their gas caps if they left them open, you know.

Speaker 2: 19:06

So would you recommend not driving as a tourist? Oh yeah don't do that. That is not a good idea, okay.

Speaker 3: 19:13

Definitely wouldn't do that.

Speaker 2: 19:15

And how. So how should we get around?

Speaker 3: 19:18

Is there trains? Yeah, taxis are good. Or if you're in a group, you know and you're going to do. We, when we take groups over, I usually just rent a van.

Speaker 2: 19:26

Oh, okay.

Speaker 3: 19:27

So we get a van and we get our own driver and we've got that van and driver every single day and that way they're always with us. And you know, one of the one of the least expensive things in Egypt is labor. And so here's a funny story. You'll go to the store. We all know what a pomegranate is, right, Pomegranates are really in it. You know they cost a certain amount. Well, if you get them shocked here, right, and you get the pomegranates, they're about five times as expensive in the States. Labor is so inexpensive in Egypt. A pomegranate or a shucked pomegranate costs the same.

Speaker 2: 19:59

Oh yes, I know Costco tries to sell them. They're always like bad by the time you actually eat them.

Speaker 3: 20:05

So yeah, so, anyway. So when you're done with those three things in the north, then you can take a Nile cruise, and the Nile cruise is really great. And you can start by flying to Uswan and going north, or flying to Luxor and going south, and you'll take the Nile cruise between Luxor and Uswan and what's really neat about that. And you can go more south and you can go more north. There's a lot of different cruises you can take, depending on how many days you have. I'm usually good for about four nights.

Speaker 3: 20:35

And so you take that cruise and what's neat about it is they stop by all of the real major temples and sites and archaeological sites, and then you'll be able to go to the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, queen Hachatsip's place. I mean it's an unbelievable trip to take that cruise. And then every day you're out going to all of these different sites that are astounding. I mean, really there's something to see. I could talk about them for three hours, but at the end of the day you can look them up and you can look at pictures. And then, when you're there and you see the magnitude and the intricacy and you look up on the insides of arches and walls and you can see paint from thousands of years ago I mean Lapis Lazuli that they crushed and painted with. That are still there. It's really amazing.

Speaker 3: 21:25

So, that's a really neat trip. There's a lot of different cruise lines and it's like our cruise lines here. You can choose the really economical ones, or you can choose the nice big Oberoi ships.

Speaker 2: 21:37

And is there good Wi-Fi on those cruises, like if you wanted to work while you're doing it?

Speaker 3: 21:42

It's been a long time. I can't imagine they don't. I mean, actually, a lot of places around the world have better Wi-Fi than we have in the states, because that's their first, but they have better cell phone networks than we do. So, yeah, okay, wow, that's their only network. So when they they didn't have a ground network to depend on, so they they really adopted those really quickly.

Speaker 1: 22:04

It's so interesting. I was looking, I've been my Wi-Fi is kind of a little delayed but I've been trying to just kind of expand and sort of check out Egypt more intently and it's, you know, very brown, you know desert, with the line of green, and that ends in Lake Nasser, is that it? Well, I guess maybe begins in Lake Nasser and feeds back from what you're saying.

Speaker 3: 22:27

Yeah, so there's a dam there, right, so there's the Oswan Dam right, and so that's when they dam that up and they trickle down. By the way, you can also take a trip down to Abusin Ball. That's a day trip, so you can go to Abusin Ball, you can fly there or you can. You know, depends on how much time you've got. You know, that's a kind of an extra trip because you can see how far it is way south, but it's really amazing to go see that. Normally we there's enough. I mean, your first trip to Egypt, the cruise from Luxor to Oswan or Oswan to Luxor is plenty.

Speaker 2: 23:01

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 23:02

You know. But if you're going for a month, you know, go for it, go to Abusin Ball, you know, go to all these other different places and have a look. But if you're doing, you know, if you're on a 10 day trip, and I wouldn't really suggest less than two weeks, I mean by the time you get untired from getting there, look at going back to be really tough. So I wouldn't suggest any less than two weeks. So normally we go from Oswan to Luxor and the reason is we fly from Cairo to Oswan, we go up to Luxor, when we're finished, we have a bus pick us up and or a van the same van person Again after he takes you to the airport in Cairo and you fly to Oswan, he'll time his drive right and meet you in Luxor and then take you from Luxor to Haragata.

Speaker 2: 23:48

So here at God, is that? Yeah, oh, it's on the water.

Speaker 3: 23:50

I see it. Yeah, in 1989, I graduated from college there were three resorts there and one of them was shuttered and there was one stoplight and it didn't work, and I went to a place called Jasmine Village where my cousin had a Zodiac boat and a t-shirt and sandal shop and we would go out and take people for rides on the Zodiac boat and you know it was a lot of fun. What's interesting is that Haragata now is called Little Cairo. It's huge and it's really. You know.

Speaker 3: 24:29

It's one of those sad things for me because when I go there it's so congested now and the city that was this nowhere town you know back in the day is now just it's. You might as well flown into Cairo. So that's why getting out of there and going to have a look at that is great. Again, depending on the type of tourists you are at the time. If you're a party tourist, great, you know, you go there, there'll be plenty to do there. But if you're somebody that wants to see the sights and enjoy the water, you're going to want to go north or south from Haragata and what you'll see is Alguna is north of Haragata.

Speaker 2: 25:09

Oh yeah, I see, okay got it.

Speaker 3: 25:11

Okay. So, and then of course you can also, if you're a resort person, you can get on an airfoil ferry. It's really neat because it has those wings underneath it and it raises it up and there's a to Charmache, which is across on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Amazing resorts and hotels, and all of that.

Speaker 1: 25:33

It's beautiful. It looks like like Phuket or something I don't know. It's this turquoise waters and it's gorgeous.

Speaker 3: 25:42

Yeah, it is amazing. And Alguna, there's a lot of wonderful and amazing resorts as well. What's nice about Alguna is it's just a coister. You're just, you're in Egypt, but you're kind of not, so anyway, and that's it really. And then there's the road. If you want to drive back which I wouldn't really suggest, that unless you're interested in it is you can actually drive that road. I think it's a 65 all the way. I've done it several times from Hurgata all the way back to Cairo. So when you're finished now, when you're at Hurgata, what you want to do is you definitely know, you know it's one of the capitals of kite surfing in the world. Which one is? Hurgata, the Red Sea, that whole West West.

Speaker 2: 26:22

Oh the.

Speaker 3: 26:22

Hurgata, it's a kite surfing.

Speaker 2: 26:24

Yeah, kite surfing is.

Speaker 3: 26:26

It's on fire there. I mean you can put in kite surfing Red Sea and you'll see probably thousands and thousands of pictures of and it's amazing and it's so much fun to watch all these folks kite surf. So you can go kite surf. I would definitely go if you're a diver there's. You know, as a matter of fact, when we lived there for a year, we had one of the folks, one of our friends, come and stay with us for a month. He's a master and he's an attorney and he's a master diving instructor. He said if you let me come and stay with you for a month, I'll certify you. So when he came and stayed with us, he actually taught Diane and I and he took us on.

Speaker 3: 27:05

So we became advanced open water scuba divers. We went down 100 feet. We did it all. It was so much fun. Oh, it was just crazy. You know there's a fun story. I said do I have to get 100% on this test? When I was taking the written test, and he said I don't know, do you want to be 100% alive? I said I said do I do?

Speaker 2: 27:24

It's a dentist. I was like I'm like, how important is that for us to teach? Well, you just need to blossom if you want to keep them.

Speaker 3: 27:29

That's right. So we did. We had so much fun and the fish are just, I mean honestly, the best way to describe it. It's like going to a really, really well stocked saltwater fish tank and jumping in. You'll see so many things. That's just crazy. And if you're a big diver, there's tons of diving trips that you can go out. Where they take you further out into the Red Sea, there's sharks, there's everything you want to see out there. It's incredible being under the water. I've heard of so many people that go to Egypt and never go to the Red Sea.

Speaker 1: 28:02

And I go wow you really.

Speaker 3: 28:04

If they look at it like just another beach vacation, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Speaker 2: 28:10

As another beach I'm looking at Red Sea Zone Kitesurfing School. There's literally like hundreds of kites out there. But when we were in Maui and there was a kitesurfing area, people were saying like if you don't know what you're doing, it can be really dangerous. But I think, because in Maui you could just end up like way out there in the middle of anywhere I don't know if this is a little bit more mellow the wind doesn't get as strong that you really are not going to get lost.

Speaker 3: 28:39

No, you don't have the waves. Somebody will be watching over you. I mean either you if you don't know what you're doing. Like if I were to go kitesurfing, I would join a group and somebody's going to watch out for me. I wouldn't just grab it on my own, but it's probably not the right thing to do. But yeah, you go, and so you get out there. Scuba diving, kitesurfing, boating, fishing is incredible and there's a lot to do there. I would definitely encourage somebody to stay four or five days, because you'll get to the end of that four or five days and you'll think, wow, can I just move here?

Speaker 2: 29:16

Nice, yeah, I would probably, yeah, definitely, I think I want to go for a month, for sure.

Speaker 1: 29:23

Is it very flat out? There Are there. Is there any mountains?

Speaker 3: 29:26

There are, yeah, so if you look with your back to the sea, looking west, there's mountains all over. So mountains are called Geben, and so there's lots of mountains. Matter of fact, one of the newest areas is you guys are going to have to give me a minute to figure out, yeah, yeah looking it up too Well, why are you so?

Speaker 2: 29:47

I'm looking at flights, just wondering when a good time to go, and I'm just looking. There is one stop from Denver to go all the way to Cairo on Lufthansa or Egypt Air for around $1,000, like, I think, just for right now, like today. So, bad, I mean you know, so I don't know if there's a certain time of year that it's going to be more reasonable coming from the United States or I'm sure there's the high and low seasons.

Speaker 3: 30:17

I can't imagine summer is probably less expensive because it's so hot. But we've gone in summer. If you're a person that can handle the heat and understands hydration and not how to put yourself in danger. I remember we took one group once and we had one gentleman that didn't drink very much and I'll tell you he had a couple of rough days and we had to get him rehydrated. He still made it. But you just don't realize what 120 degrees in the desert is till you're there and it doesn't feel bad because it's not humid.

Speaker 3: 30:55

So you're like I don't know, it's just hot, but you're not suffering and you're not sweating. So it's kind of a hot feeling, you know, and but what's happening is you're you know you're being yeah, you're being dehydrated pretty quickly. So you got to really stay on that. You got to make sure that your sun screened up really well, that you know that you're hydrated really well and that you're never too far from from water, and but if you've got a good tour guide, they'll take care of you.

Speaker 1: 31:19

It sounds like you need salt, electrolytes, like other minerals, as well as just plain water.

Speaker 3: 31:26

Oh, yeah, no, you just want to if you're going to go, but again, if you're out there. What's really neat about this summertime is it's like anything else. When you go in high season, everybody else is there and everything's more expensive. If you go when it's hot, okay, not a whole lot of people are there, so we don't mind the heat, so I go whenever it does bug. Actually, I don't like going in the winter because I don't like the cold and I don't like it raining, so I much prefer to air on the hot side than I do on the cold side.

Speaker 2: 31:53

Oh, okay, so it's raining in the winter.

Speaker 3: 31:55

Yeah, you can get rain and you can get you know. And then, especially in Cairo, not so much on the Red Sea, but for me, if I'm going to be on the Red Sea, I want to be able to walk in the water without going. Oh, I got to get used to this.

Speaker 2: 32:07

Oh yeah, okay yeah, so it's like $1,000. And I think this is just one way, is kind of you know, at least probably for that. And we talked to a gentleman once that was in Turkey and he said he'd always buy round trip flights, so like, even though he wasn't sure when he was going to get back, because trying to get a one way from Turkey back home to like New York or something, it was crazy expensive. But do you think, do you typically buy one ways, or are you always buy round trip?

Speaker 3: 32:35

Well, we didn't understand there because we didn't know, you know, and so I would suggest you get a round trip ticket.

Speaker 3: 32:42

Now, if you're a really savvy traveler, here's what you really do is you fly to Europe and you do something that you want to do in Europe and then you find yourself a round trip ticket to Hurgata from Europe, and the reason you do that it's kind of like our cheap tickets to go to Cancun how you can find killer deals all the time to go to Cancun or to go to Mexico or to go to the Bahamas or whatever. There's always some crazy deal on some airline that nobody knows about. Well, europe has lots of those, and so if you have a cheap ticket to a hub like Heathrow or to Paris or one of those and you can start researching from here and then buy yourself a round trip ticket on this kind of excursion deal, you can get them for nothing from Europe.

Speaker 2: 33:35

Because I see it's so close to Kyra looks pretty close, relatively speaking, to Greece. Is the water? Do people take boats ever? Is the water too rough and crazy so you always have to fly like if you were coming from Greece?

Speaker 3: 33:48

No, you can, but you need to make sure that you've got the time to do that. Oh, okay, it's pretty far, because you know the thing is, it's like everything else if you really need to be somewhere because you've got a schedule, you probably really need to be on a commercial flight as soon as you start playing with boats and stuff and again that part of the world. Actually, when I was living there, I actually was teaching English to this company that installed kitchens for all the Europeans that were in Alguna. So the owner and I got along really well. He said, hey, can you come teach English and help me with the cultural aspect? Right, we literally spent the first two hours talking about what a clock is and how important it is to Europeans and Americans and how they kind of hardly know what a clock is. So if you're going to travel there and do anything about commercial flights, you want to make sure that you understand that the clock is really kind of doesn't exist sometimes.

Speaker 2: 34:45

Okay, well, yeah, I'm looking now at round trip and it's like 1300, looks like you can get in February, March. Yeah, not too bad. Yeah, that's not too shabby.

Speaker 1: 34:55

And there's quite a few mountain ranges. I just did the. I mean there's six, I see. Well, it says Red Sea Mountains, and then Gebel I think you mentioned Gebel and then there's I'm not even pronounced it but I'll be bad, but if I try to. Well, oman, there's one Oman.

Speaker 3: 35:12

Oh, look up Galala G-A-L-A-L-A Galala Mountains.

Speaker 1: 35:17

Okay, that one didn't even show up. G-a-l-a-l got up to you.

Speaker 3: 35:22

So, and then there's the Galala Resort also. Let's see what that looks like when you put that in. So they just finished building. Oh, Galala, yeah that looks or Ilmonte Galala M-O-N-T-E Galala.

Speaker 1: 35:37

Oh, I put resort. I think that's what's throwing it off. The Galala Resort area there, it is Ilmonte, Galala Nice.

Speaker 2: 35:45

Oh wow, so is this on. So this is near. No, this is underwater, it's so beautiful.

Speaker 1: 35:50

I had no idea that it was like that. I just think deserts and I mean. But it does line the Red Sea, but I didn't realize that it was like that. It's beautiful and what's the time to visit where? What's the best alternative?

Speaker 3: 36:10

Right at the end of summer, beginning of fall, so usually that's right when school was starting here. That's because as soon as school starts, you've got all the college kid tourists are back and so you're finished with that and all the parents are helping other kids get to school. So now you're ending up with the folks that have time to travel it's a few, or folks, yeah. And then September, october, egypt person, yeah.

Speaker 1: 36:41

Right now, yeah, yeah, so September timeframe, which is great. And then, how much does it cost when you're there to rent a place or, and I don't know if you you know the cost wise how much it is? Also, you know food and, and you know cost wise on things, so it's like a lot of different areas.

Speaker 3: 36:59

So here's the key. The key is and before we moved there for a year, we asked so many people what it was going to cost us to live there. Yeah, and we got. You know, we got 15 answers from 10 different people and it was unbelievable, Right? Nobody, because everybody had their own mind what it costs to live in Egypt, and so there's a difference between touring in Egypt and living in Egypt. So, but the number one key is if you purchase domestic items in Egypt, it will cost you next to nothing.

Speaker 2: 37:33

Okay.

Speaker 3: 37:35

But you have to know where to buy them, right? If you're hanging around tourist areas, everything will be 10 X the cost, you know. So my wife and I were Egyptian citizens, right? Because Egypt doesn't give up its citizenship and if you're married for more than two years, your spouse is automatically a citizen. So if we visit the pyramids, it costs us a dollar to go in and see the pyramids, but it'll cost anybody else $10. So it's kind of a 10 X deal when you're doing that, because imagine you know what. You can. Look up the average income in Egypt and it's so nobody'd be able to go see their own heritage. You know, if they were charged, you know that you can get there and you can eat like a king or a queen. Everything is organic because they don't really spend a lot of money on pesticides and GMO stuff. They just don't do that, right? I'm sure there's places that do now, but I'll tell you the fruits and the vegetables taste a billion times different than they do here.

Speaker 1: 38:26

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 38:27

They're wonderful and you can buy them right from the street market and it's very inexpensive. Now, if you want to go into a bar and have a Corona, it'll cost you $11. Right, so when you buy imported items, they're very expensive. So what we did? It was funny. We had a Mexican night one night and we had some friends visit from the States when we were there and they brought all these tortillas but they forgot the Rosarita fried beans that we buy here for like a buck or something. I can't I don't even know what they cost. Yeah, they were eight bucks a can there. Yeah, right. So the key is buy domestic things, cruise around with domestic folks and if you're in the restaurants that are in big hotels and all of that, you'll pay. But again, it's not going to be that expensive. Yeah, it certainly doesn't cost anymore. It costs here, but the more you find yourself with somebody that's local that can show you around and eat where all the locals eat.

Speaker 2: 39:21

Okay, When's your next trip? When's your next tour guide trip? Let's go.

Speaker 3: 39:27

You know, what's funny is I have a group right now of six people. We've just been kind of we're right at COVID. We had tickets, we had everything, and then COVID came in and canceled all of our trips. So there now they're all spun up again and so we got these. What's interesting they were. So I'm taking three couples over, probably in a couple months or so, but yeah, it's so you get local. So we have the sandwich shop. Now this is back in the day, but we called the sandwich shop the two 12 because we got two bean sandwiches. You know all these sandwiches, basically 12 sandwiches, and there were egg sandwiches, bean sandwiches, falafel sandwiches, all of that, and the 12 sandwiches were $2. So that was the two 12 because we're in the local market.

Speaker 1: 40:12

Yeah, when you're with a local person. Yeah, yeah, and then I have a bean sandwich. I know falafel, it's a falafel and it is it. It's always kind of like is it fried? Like the?

Speaker 3: 40:25

fried vegetables. Yeah, so they take bulk or wheat and a bunch of different vegetables and parts of them. They make balls out of them and fry them and put them in with tzatziki sauce and tahini on all that and pita bread. And it's incredible I mean, it's outrageous how good it is. Fava beans are the staple and so that was the old food then, and then of course, the bread, the pita bread is all subsidized by the government.

Speaker 3: 40:49

So if you go to the foreign, which is the oven you know the place that makes them you'll end up getting all of this outrageous pita bread Again. This is there's been incredible amount of inflation there, but when I was there, a pita bread was five cents. They put these, the follow beans in these things called Idris, which you'll see there, those really really big bulbous, iron or steel things with a very small neck on them and so, and the only thing that fits down that neck is the food or this ladle, and so they put those in there and they start them cooking at night and by the morning with the cumin, salt pepper, onions, garlic, fava beans, and they all mash together and then they pull them out and mash them and put them in the sandwich with, you know, different sauces and onions and tomatoes and that, and then they had.

Speaker 2: 41:40

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3: 41:42

I've never eaten like that for 10, 20, 30 cents in my life, but yeah.

Speaker 1: 41:47

And so that's a bean sandwich.

Speaker 3: 41:49

That's a bean sandwich. It's called. It's funny, it's called bean sandwich.

Speaker 2: 41:53

It's boring, but not when you explain it, yeah.

Speaker 3: 41:56

Let's see.

Speaker 1: 41:58

So there's a and then egg sandwiches. Is it like an egg salad sandwich or what's an egg sandwich like?

Speaker 3: 42:04

Yeah, you know, when they take eggs and make these egg sandwiches with again with all those different spices. So here's a. So this is what it's called. Let me put this in the chat for you.

Speaker 1: 42:15

Sounds really good.

Speaker 2: 42:17

Yeah, it's just I just searched Egyptian egg sandwich. I got all kinds of crazy pictures.

Speaker 3: 42:23

Put this in and look at just images, and then you can see what this looks like here. Click on that.

Speaker 2: 42:31

Nice. Thank you for doing that.

Speaker 1: 42:33

Yeah, thank you. What is it called Full Madamas?

Speaker 3: 42:37

Yeah, full Madamas is where they cook these beans down, and it's just and it's, my mouth is watering.

Speaker 1: 42:45

It's incredible. It looks right up my alley.

Speaker 3: 42:49

That sounds and it would fresh tomatoes and it looks like is that cilantro?

Speaker 1: 42:53

Yeah, it is, it's well, it's probably parsley, but yeah, oh, parsley, okay, yeah, parsley makes sense, yeah, it looks great. And then there's some like green chilies in one and onions and lots of like red and radishes, I think.

Speaker 3: 43:10

And then at four o'clock at night you can go out and you go to the you know the kabob places. Oh, lamb, I mean the kabob. Oh yeah, lamb and beef kabobs and just crazy stuff. You know, it's so good.

Speaker 2: 43:24

Oh, my goodness. And do people have that sensitivities when they get there, like something, even don't drink the water, kind of scenario, or adjusting? Have you seen many people? Yeah, you want to be really careful, right?

Speaker 3: 43:35

Yeah, definitely you're drinking bottled water, no doubt? Right, you definitely don't want to deal with drinking the water there. You want to make sure that it's closed, like everywhere else you go. Now, if you're at the Hilton or the Sheraton, you probably don't have that issue Again. As a tourist, the worst thing is having to deal with that problem for three days when you're on a 10 day trip. Yeah, and there is medicine there. There's tons of pharmacies. They've got great medicine. It's completely subsidized, so everything is super inexpensive there.

Speaker 1: 44:04

Yeah, okay, the main beef, or I'm assuming fish too, right Fish?

Speaker 3: 44:09

Fish is outrageous. I mean, it's so good.

Speaker 1: 44:12

Fish, lamb and beef are those the main.

Speaker 3: 44:15

Yeah, lamb beef, lamb, tons of lamb. So yeah, absolutely lamb beef fish. I mean on the Red Sea, the seafood's crazy.

Speaker 1: 44:24

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 44:25

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 44:26

I was going to ask like what's typical meals look like? I mean, these look like sandwiches and then this amazing madame full of madames.

Speaker 3: 44:34

Full of madames is yeah, so the full, the lawful, the shawarma, I mean the kebabs. I like the kebabs better than the shawarma. They take them and they grind up beef and lamb and onions and then they get them cold enough and strain them and then put them on skewers. And then they come off the skewers and then they put them in pita bread with what's called tahini sauce, which is ground sesame seeds and spiced.

Speaker 1: 45:05

And it's incredible.

Speaker 3: 45:07

Not Zanziki sauce, that's different. That's kind of a yogurt-based sauce.

Speaker 2: 45:10

Okay, got it.

Speaker 3: 45:11

Tahini sauce is a ground sesame seed paste.

Speaker 2: 45:14

Yeah, I just made hummus last night with my tahini sauce.

Speaker 3: 45:16

Oh yeah, on the hummus and tabbouleh and all of that. I mean you will never, ever worry about how good the food is when you're in Egypt. It's crazy good.

Speaker 1: 45:24

Do they have fruit there too?

Speaker 3: 45:27

Oh, yeah, and the mangoes.

Speaker 1: 45:29

Oh, really. So mangoes is a big one, oh my gosh that's amazing.

Speaker 3: 45:33

Yeah, you'll eat mangoes. I mean, I eat mangoes every day there and the strawberries will be like Strawberries too. Oh yeah, strawberries, mangoes, onions. I mean, everything that you go to the market for is when you go to the markets and it's all just fresh and organic and amazing, and of course, you wanna make sure to wash it all and do all that normal right.

Speaker 2: 45:56

And do you need a visa as an American to go there?

Speaker 3: 46:01

I think so, but from now this could have changed, but this is my experience from years past. Right when you go, you just walk in and there's, you get your visa right when you land.

Speaker 2: 46:12

Okay.

Speaker 3: 46:14

But I would get one. If you're not familiar with that, or if it's changed, I would definitely make sure that you're doing it before you go. I think it's 10 bucks or something, oh, okay.

Speaker 2: 46:24

And then, like sorry, chris, I'm so excited, like to stay there, like to get an apartment for a month. You know, I think again it probably could be all over the place, but do you think you could get something for $500 a month? Is that a reason, bro? Okay.

Speaker 3: 46:38

And it depends on where you are again and what you're doing and what the quality is. You know, like I know right now of in a fourplex, just cause I was talking to my cousin the other day you know, because we were laughing because I got my utility bill for a house that we have in Texas and my utility bill was more than he paid for one of the apartments that he rents that's furnished on the main seat Right.

Speaker 1: 47:00

So Well, it is hot in Texas right now.

Speaker 3: 47:03

It is man. I was like man. I can't believe you've got, you know, this two bedroom furnished apartment that he and I think he just pays for it by the year, because it's not worth writing a check every month. So Wow, yeah.

Speaker 1: 47:16

I was just looking at fruits and I see persimmons, figs, what looks to possibly dragon fruit, I think, but mango was the biggest one that came up with lots of that and but it looks. It looks like grapes, all of it. It's just watermelon, everything yeah.

Speaker 3: 47:34

And the pastries if you're a pastry person, all of the baklava and the konafa.

Speaker 1: 47:38

Baklava. They have baklava.

Speaker 3: 47:40

Oh, oh yeah, that's the original place, man.

Speaker 1: 47:43

Really, I always thought it was grease for some reason. Oh yes.

Speaker 3: 47:46

So here's the deal. If you get a Greek old man and an Egyptian old man, they will argue forever about where stuffed grape leaves came from and where baklava came from, and all of that.

Speaker 1: 47:56

Yeah, that's great. So what's a typical breakfast in Egypt?

Speaker 3: 48:02

You know. So there's a great meat called basterma. This is my favorite right. It's not a typical breakfast. Typical breakfast is, you know, full medammus and some pita bread and some some cheese. You know, the feta cheese is out of this world, of course, and olives and all of those sorts of things you know. But there's a meat called basterma and it's basically the best way to describe it. It's Egyptian pastrami, it's dried, aged meat, oh yeah, spices, and when you heat it and it gives off its oils and the spices, and then you mix eggs with it and put that in the pita sandwich hard to beat.

Speaker 1: 48:42

I see, I see, I see it with eggs quite often. Here it's like they even made almost like an omelet style, where it's all in the pan and then they're pouring in, kind of an omelet and egg.

Speaker 3: 48:54

And everything they use their all their butter is ghee, so it's clarified. So all their butter is clarified butter and it has a flavor that's just out of this world. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 49:04

Much richer flavor with ghee.

Speaker 3: 49:07

You definitely want to bring your flexible pants on this trip.

Speaker 1: 49:11

But then you're hiking up with the little things and you're all over and yeah.

Speaker 3: 50:07

Yeah, I think that's how the history goes. Islam started in about 600 plus AD, and so when Islam came to Egypt, they changed the language from Ipdi, which is Egyptian, which is not only really spoken in the church, to Arabic, and so now the predominant religion in Egypt is, I think if you looked it up, I think it might be 85% plus Islamic, and so, interesting enough, when you go to different countries in the Middle East, you'll find that there's a lot of requirements that are based in Islam that don't really apply in Egypt. So you can walk around without a head cover. You can do all of those things. If I held my wife's hand, there wouldn't be looked down upon. Those are those kinds of things.

Speaker 3: 50:55

It's not as strict as in some other areas. But, having said that, you also want to be respectful. Don't walk around Now if you're on the Red Sea and in a resort. That kind of takes things to a different level. Right, because Europeans come over, they fly over and they're used to being topless on their beaches, right, where they are. Well, they come over there and there are resorts that allow that, but you have to be kind of respectful and be cognizant of where you are If you're going into any sort of temple or any places. Can you wear shorts and t-shirt? Yeah, absolutely. There's nothing that nobody's going to stop you. But be careful what you do and by all means no drugs. There's zero tolerance and it's matter of fact, in the old airport in their Cairo there used to be a big yellow sign when you walked in. If you are caught in Egypt with drugs and they would tell you what would happen to you, it sounds really you don't want to be put in that Do they drink alcohol.

Speaker 3: 51:56

They do in certain areas. So yes, absolutely, but you have to be in the hotel or you have to be in a bar, you have to be in a place that serves alcohol. Oh, okay, they have alcohol delivery services.

Speaker 2: 52:07

We're pretty cool, mostly tea toedlers here, so not an issue but it's good to know. I'm sure some of our listeners love the wine right.

Speaker 3: 52:14

Oh yeah, and on the cruises they serve wine, they do all that. So it's not. It's yeah, there's no real restrictions there.

Speaker 2: 52:20

All right, okay, so I know you're at our hour here. I have some rapid fire questions, kristen, is there anything else you wanted to ask first?

Speaker 1: 52:27

I was going to ask daily life, what is it like for the kids or families? Is there anything that they do uniquely in terms of holidays or on a week that you know they look forward to a park, or something that they that they do?

Speaker 3: 52:41

You know it depends on where you are. So you know the weekend there is Friday and Saturday.

Speaker 2: 52:45

So that's interesting.

Speaker 3: 52:47

Okay, the work week is Sunday through Thursday, so that's just kind of how that works there In Cairo. It's a, it's a city. It's a pretty harried life. You know they wake up. It takes forever to get the kids to school. It takes forever to get them home. It's just like living anywhere else in the world. It depends on what you're doing. On the Red Sea it's a different story. It's kind of like a daily life of a kid growing up in Hawaii compared to a kid growing up in Manhattan. So there's there's a bit of a difference. But really I think the biggest deal is that the sense of family there and how often extended families are constantly with each other. I mean, I have goosebumps right now just talking about it, because when we were there and we would go to Cairo, the amount of time I was around family was amazing.

Speaker 3: 53:37

I was never like by myself when, I was there, I mean, and they were always gathering, always, you know, and we're Christians, so you know it was. Of course, you know there's let's Easter and Christmas and all the holidays around that, and so the families are always at somebody's house and it's always wonderful and they joke like crazy.

Speaker 1: 53:58

That's awesome, very nice.

Speaker 2: 54:01

Okay, my rapid fire questions here. So, can you tell us one popular holiday tradition, maybe outside of the normal Christian ones? Is there like a you know, independence Day or something really unique you have?

Speaker 3: 54:13

Ramadan and, of course, during Ramadan, they're breaking their, their fast, because they fast during the day and then eat at night. So there's the having that break of their fast every, every night during Ramadan. For Christians, of course, it's the, you know, there's something called Shemmina Seem, which is around Easter time, and there's certain foods that you'd have, you know. Which then is is this type of fish? That's really pungent, you know. And so there's different kind of festivals like that. But in terms of a national, I'm sure there are some national ones, but mostly it's going to be based on what you're.

Speaker 2: 54:45

How are you with Lichonitz? Okay, great, and then what is there? What kind of music is there? Is there like traditional, local Egyptian music?

Speaker 3: 54:55

Yes, and just like anywhere else in the world, there's stuff that you'd go goodness gracious, I can't believe this exists and real stuff that's really fun to listen to, right so that there's really old school Arabic music, you know, which would be like listening to Sinatra here.

Speaker 2: 55:10

Okay.

Speaker 3: 55:10

That's really just amazing music from the past, but certainly doesn't have how fast it is today. Then there's something now called, you know, shabbi music, which is Shabbi is like the people, you know, the Shab people, and it's. It's really this kind of really wild music.

Speaker 2: 55:28

You know, you can actually put it in how do you spell Shab?

Speaker 3: 55:31

You know, let me, let me pull up. I'm very curious. Yeah, it's really fun. And then, of course, there's belly dancing music, which is very simply like shouting music. Let me pull up Spotify. Yeah, if you have Spotify, you can type in.

Speaker 2: 55:48

I'm trying to see If he just tells how it spells then we can listen later.

Speaker 3: 55:51

Yeah, that's what I want to see, what they put it in, I would guess S-H-A-B-I.

Speaker 2: 55:56

I'm curious how close they are.

Speaker 3: 55:58

Yeah, you're close. Two A's.

Speaker 2: 56:00

Two A's OK, shabi. Ok, all right, we'll take a listen to that, ok, and then what's kind of money? What's the money called there? Egyptian pound, the pound? Ok, and is it. Do you recommend exchanging the money when you get there? Anything to caution, don't exchange on the street or just use your credit cards.

Speaker 3: 56:22

Yeah, I think credit cards are fine and it's kind of like you don't want your credit card to go away from you. But I think it helps to have a bunch of Egyptian pounds with you, because they won't have change for your dollar.

Speaker 3: 56:36

Oh, OK, gotcha so you definitely want to exchange and have a bunch of Egyptian pounds with you and, yeah, you definitely want to do that. And the exchange rates crazy right now because they let the Egyptian pound float and they didn't protect it lately. So if I put $1 to Egyptian pound right now, it's $30.90, which is $0.90. $30.90 when I was there it was $6 to the dollar.

Speaker 2: 57:03

Oh, my goodness. Oh wow, ok, so that they belong to Very affordable for us, Right?

Speaker 3: 57:09

And so what you'll find is that, again, the general rule is if a couple can live in Egypt making $20,000 a year really well then when you go to visit, if you do it right, you can make it as inexpensive or expensive as you want after that plane ticket.

Speaker 2: 57:28

Oh, ok, gotcha All right. And so of all the amazing food. If you have to go there and get one meal, you get one meal only. What would you get?

Speaker 3: 57:38

Oh, that's a tough one.

Speaker 2: 57:39

Sounds like it's tough. Also, it's so amazing.

Speaker 3: 57:42

I would. That would be really hard, but I would probably have to get some kebab. Ok, I'm just a meat lover number one, but that kebab is really hard to beat.

Speaker 2: 57:52

All right, great. And then we always ask the closest place to surf. And if we can kite surf, do you have like normal surfing anywhere, or the rest of the years, or Chumala?

Speaker 3: 57:59

I don't think that there's enough waves. I've never seen anybody surf there. I mean, I don't think there's.

Speaker 2: 58:07

Enjoy the water, but just no surfing. Unless you get on a boat, you can wake surfing.

Speaker 1: 58:11

Yeah, you can go surfing, that could be great.

Speaker 2: 58:14

Oh my gosh, this is so good. This sounds like such an amazing place to spend a good couple of weeks, months, definitely in the fall. Ok, yes, super fun, super fun, oh great.

Speaker 1: 58:28

So nice to meet you, nathan. Such a different view of Egypt. Now you know, I know you in Egypt and now it's like, yeah, definitely want to go. It sounds amazing, yes.

Speaker 3: 58:39

So fun to go.

Speaker 2: 58:40

All right, Well, thank you so much. Well keep you posted on approvals and reviews and all that good stuff.

Speaker 3: 58:46

I appreciate it, thank you.

Speaker 1: 58:48

All right, thank you. Thank you, and I'll have it again, bye.

Speaker 2: 58:53

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, can you please take a second and do a quick follow of the show and rate us in your podcast app, and if you have a minute, we would really appreciate a review. Following and rating is the best way to support us. If you're on Instagram, let's connect. We're at when Next Podcast. Thanks again, yes.