Page 43 - ParentsWorld March 2020 flipbuilder

n 400 BCE the greek historian Herodotus
wrote of Egypt that “nowhere in the world
are to be seen so many things of unspeakable
Igreatness”. This observation is as true today
as it was then. The legendary Nile, the Pyramids
and the Great sphinx, ancient luxor, Karnak,
Abu simbel, Mt. sinai, Egypt’s rich historic legacy
stretches back 6,000 years. The land of the Pharaohs
continues to attract fascinated tourists from around
the world, especially when winter breezes start blow-
ing across the desert sands beyond the Nile delta. In
2019, 13 million people visited this north African
country, the site of one of the world’s oldest and
greatest civilisations.
The Indo-Egyptian connection is as ancient as it
is durable. Post-independence this connection was
strengthened when India, Egypt and Yugoslavia au-
thored the non-aligned movement (NAM) of newly
independent nations which pledged to remain equi-
distant from the Us and the soviet Union during the
Cold War decades (1945-85). Moreover, the India-
Egyptian bond has been renewed in recent years
by cable television which makes Indian serials and
movies easily accessible to Egyptians who love them.
Unsurprisingly, following liberalisation of the Indian
economy and easy availability of foreign exchange,
the number of Indian tourists visiting Egypt has risen
from 60,000 in 2014 to 126,000 in 2018.
Refreshingly the great education that Egypt’s
ancient civilisation offers to students of history,
archaeology, museology, architecture, art, engineer-
ing, medicine is accessible at Indian prices. Hotels,
taxis and food are reasonably priced and Indian style
bargaining is de rigueur. Excellent package tours are
offered by travel agencies including sOTC and Cox
& Kings. Currently ten-day package tours are priced
at a reasonable Rs.100,000-110,000 including air
fare and a three-day Nile Cruise. For those who avoid
group package tours, flexible customised tours with
transport and guide are available. Alternatively tour-
ists can do their own thing, get the cheapest airline
and hotel deals through the Internet and backpack
their way through this friendly, pro-India country.

cairo
Cairo (pop. 20 million) is Africa’s most populous city
and the base point for all excursions into Egypt. An
all-out assault on the senses, Cairo, the admin capital
of Egypt, is very much like Mumbai’s “function-
ing anarchy” with snarled traffic and overcrowded
streets, seething with people. But it also houses the
treasures of Tutankhamen, the citadel and the Khan-
El-Khalili bazaar. And from its excellent hotels, the
Great Pyramids of Giza on the edge of the sahara
Desert are just an hour’s drive.

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