The first 'Bellydance Southwest Tour of Egypt' was in April 2003 followed by a shopping trip to Cairo in December 2003 and a tour of Egypt in March 2004
Our first trip in April 2003 was a great success. Eight dancers from Exeter, Totnes, Torquay and Plymouth classes went out to travel up and down Egypt in search of the Egyptian Bellydance experience. We arrived in Luxor in Upper Egypt where the Valley of the Kings and Queens is situated and worked our way from Upper to Mid and Lower Egypt. We spent several days in Luxor to acclimatise to the heat 100-110F. We then travelled in our mini bus to Aswan to see Abu Simbel, which is right down on the Egyptian/Sudanese border. A very hot day. We were drinking gallons of water.
We then ventured back up to Luxor for another day before heading out into the desert up to the coastal resort Hurghada. We stayed 3 days in total in this fresh seaside town away from the sand and town hurley burley of Luxor. We snorkelled, ate fresh fish, went on a desert Safari with the Bedouin and watched local Cabaret dancers.
On the third night we trekked all the way to Cairo and situated ourselves in the pleasant leafy island of Zamelek for several nights, visiting the pyramids, the Cairo museum, Khanil Khalili and the Nile Maxim for dancers, dance clothes and attractions. After loading ourselves and the mini bus up with goodies and experiences we travelled back down to Hurghada. We then rested for the afternoon by the beach and to break up the long 12 hour journey. We then resumed our travels back down to Luxor. We stayed another 2 nights in Luxor catching up on some essential shopping and other Temples and attractions we may have missed the first time.
All the way through our travels we had two young guides Atef and Sabeer on call who broke the Egyptian/ English divide by acting as interpreters who found us the best deals and became our friends, we also had Ali our mini bus driver who chaperoned us through the busy streets and helped make our stay easy and safe. We were invited back to the villages to Ali's and Sabeer's family homes for banquets and fun. We were able to relax and meet a less commercial touristy side of Egypt which made it possible to go to impromptu events like weddings, Kushari bars, parties and villages and watch locals dance especially the young men which is a first for many of us. We saw another side of Egypt and Bellydancing that opened our eyes to what is possible and the whole experience was full and beyond expectations. Since going to Egypt many of us have made changes to our lives and expanded our interests in travel and bellydance.
Our first trip in April 2003 was a great success. Eight dancers from Exeter, Totnes, Torquay and Plymouth classes went out to travel up and down Egypt in search of the Egyptian Bellydance experience. We arrived in Luxor in Upper Egypt where the Valley of the Kings and Queens is situated and worked our way from Upper to Mid and Lower Egypt. We spent several days in Luxor to acclimatise to the heat 100-110F. We then travelled in our mini bus to Aswan to see Abu Simbel, which is right down on the Egyptian/Sudanese border. A very hot day. We were drinking gallons of water.
We then ventured back up to Luxor for another day before heading out into the desert up to the coastal resort Hurghada. We stayed 3 days in total in this fresh seaside town away from the sand and town hurley burley of Luxor. We snorkelled, ate fresh fish, went on a desert Safari with the Bedouin and watched local Cabaret dancers.
On the third night we trekked all the way to Cairo and situated ourselves in the pleasant leafy island of Zamelek for several nights, visiting the pyramids, the Cairo museum, Khanil Khalili and the Nile Maxim for dancers, dance clothes and attractions. After loading ourselves and the mini bus up with goodies and experiences we travelled back down to Hurghada. We then rested for the afternoon by the beach and to break up the long 12 hour journey. We then resumed our travels back down to Luxor. We stayed another 2 nights in Luxor catching up on some essential shopping and other Temples and attractions we may have missed the first time.
All the way through our travels we had two young guides Atef and Sabeer on call who broke the Egyptian/ English divide by acting as interpreters who found us the best deals and became our friends, we also had Ali our mini bus driver who chaperoned us through the busy streets and helped make our stay easy and safe. We were invited back to the villages to Ali's and Sabeer's family homes for banquets and fun. We were able to relax and meet a less commercial touristy side of Egypt which made it possible to go to impromptu events like weddings, Kushari bars, parties and villages and watch locals dance especially the young men which is a first for many of us. We saw another side of Egypt and Bellydancing that opened our eyes to what is possible and the whole experience was full and beyond expectations. Since going to Egypt many of us have made changes to our lives and expanded our interests in travel and bellydance.
In search of Odalisque
Our first tour of Egypt
click on pictures to enlarge
