Today is my last vacation day in Egypt, and it so happened that it coincided with the Easter Holidays with all the changes of weather from sticky hot in the noon to slightly cold in the night. But, all in all, Egypt is my favorite treat bag with all its delicious varieties.
Those visiting this mysterious place will be impressed by the abundance of everything it has. There is no country, that I know so far, that has as much antiquity within. I even heard that the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said that they need at least a hundred Smithsonian size museums to house all the ancient artifacts and treasures — and they might need more than that in the future since they almost discover a few new ones every year or so.
Egypt is also the country of maximum tourism, if you may call it so, with its rich destinations from the Giza Pyramids going all the way deep in the south coastal Nile River to the rich with history ancient Aswan and Luxor. There are so many popular Hollywood movies that were done in Egypt depicting the mystery of the ancient pharaohs or just plain detective stories, like the famous Agatha Christie novel “Death by the Nile”.
Egypt is so rich with wonders and goodies just like a treat bag from the melting pot Alexandria with its Middle Eastern blend of Greek, Italian, French, and Arabic to the historical Cairo with its old souqs and bazaars to the New Sinai triangle of St. Catharine, Ras Sedr, and the famous Sharm El Sheikh where East meets West.
All in all Egypt’s real wealth in reality is in its generous and warm people.
Dear Nadia,
A friend of mine who lives in India asked me a difficult question, and maybe a silly one. But I feel that all he wants is information. If I am living in Jeddah, which is the nearest and most interesting destination for a short weekend nearby yet out of the Kingdom? — Marley, Pakistan
Dear Marley,
It’s a tricky question indeed, but nevertheless a good one. The nearest and most appealing to those living in Jeddah is definitely Sharm, if they like the seaside, or Cairo if your friend prefers cities. And it’s only one hour by plane. From Tabuk, Amman is the city, and Aqaba is near the sea. In Alkhobar or Dammam the best is Bahrain through the causeway (one hour by car), or Dubai by plane (one hour by plane). In Jazan the next available destination is Oman’s southern coast of Salalah. From Riyadh, being in the middle, it is two to three hours by plane to any of these destinations.
