Destination Outbound

Egypt

Snorkeling in the land of the Sphinx

Egypt doesn't necessarily have to be about history; its beach resorts are equally enticing. Hazel Jain learns how to walk like an Egyptian whilst getting an even tan

Sifting through literature on Egypt, I was expecting to be overloaded with historical facts and monuments on my visit there. And I wasn't entirely wrong. Learning about the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, the Cairo Egyptian Museum, the Luxor and the Karnak Temple can be quite overwhelming and a mind less inclined to history, to use computer terminology, will need to be rebooted.

Fortunately, Egypt has a ready solution for this. Its eloquent beach resorts that have been pushed to the background by its archaeological significance are a great way to unwind. Although this particular aspect of Egypt isn't much publicised in India, they are extremely popular with other international tourists, especially the Germans, so much so that their entire itinerary involves hopping from one resort to the other. For Arabs though, Egypt has become their 'sin city' where they spend their summers.

Egypt rediscovered

These beach resorts can be broken down in two categories, according to their geography - those along the Mediterranean Sea and those along the Red Sea. There are many quiet places such as Sidi Abdel Rahman that can be found along the Mediterranean coastline between Sallum and Alexandria - a place supposedly more popular among the locals who spend a large part of their summers there.

The coast west of Alexandria has a wide range of seaside destinations like Borg el-Arab - its beach is perfect for water sports. On the right of Egypt is the Red Sea, along whose coast is Sharm-el-Sheikh and Hurghada. All these spots offer water sports activities including snorkeling, diving, windsurfing and yachting.

Our trip included a stay at the pretty bi-chromatic beige-and-turquoise Sharm-el-Sheikh, the contrast so vivid that you feel you're looking through a polarising filter. A mix of desert land, jagged hills and deep blue sea, this resort is bursting with international star hotel chains neatly lined up on either side of the main road - many of which were still work-in-progress. I suspect that the tiny resort, also known for its glamorous lifestyle, has as many new hotels coming as Delhi.

Also called the City of Peace, sometimes referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there, Sharm-el-Sheikh is home to many migrants; most of the locals here are from other parts of Egypt - mostly Cairo - who have re-located to work in the hospitality and the tourism business.

Romancing the Nile

For a historical cruise down the Nile, one can either do the song-dance-dinner routine with an evening or a day cruise in Cairo or go the whole nine yards and opt for a longer cruise from Aswan to Luxor. The latter is a better bet - it has a lot of history for the historian and a lot of romance for the mushy-hearted.

Cairo, on the other hand, is a lot like Mumbai or Delhi. The resemblance is not only visual, but in culture, in attitude and in people, which perhaps explains why they love Indians. They will greet every brown-skinned tourist who looks like an Indian with a randomly uttered "Amitabh Bachchan" and if you stop to acknowledge, they will tell you how much they admire the star and his movies. Mahatma Gandhi makes it to the favourites list as well. If you're a tourist of the female persuasion between the age of 15 and 50 stumbling upon a suitably dug up Khan-el-Khalili road looking for memorabilia, chances are that you will be barraged by Cairo men asking your name to eventually proposing marriage and offering 50 camels in exchange for your hand! All in good humour though.

The Khan-el-Khalili market however is a must, whether you are a shopper or not - it’s an experience in itself. It is crowded, it’s noisy and full of bargains. The trip will remain incomplete without a visit to one of its ancient and popular sheesha joints - El Fishawy. Sitting in this old-world nook sipping the hibiscus flower drink karkade or smoking sheesha is delightful and gives one a glimpse into the charming past that the place might have witnessed once upon a time.

There is method amidst mayhem amidst the Cairo traffic and the noise. The lovers perched on bridges that joins the Nile river's east bank to the west, the common ground that the traditionalist has found with the modernist, the earliest democratic country (although the current president Hosny Mubarak was re-elected in 1987,1993 and 1999 for three successive terms) - all are reminiscent of a culture that defines India as well. Even the line that our Egyptian guide threw at us in case of any hiccup was suggestive of the situation back home, "Smile, you're in Egypt."