Tour guides in Egypt need our support

When we travel with a group we are welcomed into the lives of our guides and drivers and often their families as well. If we go on a long tour, our hosts may be separated from their families for a long period of time – all to give us the best experience we can possibly have.  We come away from our travels with heaps of photos and lots of good memories, remembering the country and our hosts as they were while we were there.  Unfortunately in many parts of the world, the country does not stay as we remember it and our guides may occasionally need us to help them as much as we are able.

I was very fortunate to visit Egypt just months before the Arab Spring.  I often thought about the people we met there and how they were coping with what was happening, but for me it was still something half a world away and about which I knew really very little.  For a tour guide depending on visiting tourists for their livelihood, any period of unrest that deters tourists from visiting will have a serious impact on their lives.

Recently I was approached by our guide Amir Sadek to help spread the word that tourists were still visiting Egypt safely and that he could offer very reasonable tour packages.  I was also asked to write a review for him at www.tourhq.com/egypt-tours-guide. You can contact him via that site or directly via Amir Sadek [amir.sadek50@yahoo.com] if you or anyone you know would like to travel with him.  A sample programme is outlined below and he can give you prices.

This is another review by a fellow traveller of mine on the same tour I went on: “Amir means Prince. And Amir Sadek is well named. Amir guided my husband and myself, plus 4 others through Egypt for 15 days. All of us completely agreed that he was the best guide we could have asked for. His vast knowledge, his degree of care, his easy companionship – a perfect guide and friend. He has university degrees, and is multi lingual – a huge asset for a guide. We were all very sorry to leave him. And I think we would all warmly invite him into our homes”

Sample Programme

Day 1. Arrival  Receiving from airport & drive you to your hotel. After collecting everybody we make a welcome meeting explaining about the tour

Day 2.  Start tour to the Pyramids & Sphinx. Papyrus lunch in a local restaurant eating local food.  Then we head  to the  museum. We finish at 6pm.

Day 3. We fly to Aswan. Visit Philae temple and High Dam then see local productions. Then we go to the cruise on the same day.   Afternoon visit to a Nubian Village is an optional tour.

Day 4. We travel 200 km to the south to see the crown of the crowns: Abu Simbel Temple.    We are back at 12 pm and take lunch in cruise. Then we sail north and visit Kom Ombo Temple  in the afternoon. We sail to Edfu where we overnight.  A Jelabia party will be held the same night.

Day 5. At 7 am we go to visit Edfu Temple and see the love story between Horus & Hathor. We continue sailing towards  Esna lock which we reach around 12 pm. After enjoying Esna lock, we proceed to Luxor which we  reach at  5 pm.

Day 6. We wake up early. At 6 am we head to the Valley of the Kings & visit Hatshepsut’s Temple and the Colossi of Memnon before going to the Valley.  There is an option where you can enjoy the sunrise taking the hot air balloon.

Day 7. Visit the oldest and biggest temple in the world: Karnak Temple & Luxor Temple in the afternoon. An optional evening visit to the sound and light show at Karnak.

Day 8. Fly to Cairo. There is an optional tour where we can visit Old Cairo and the citadel in the afternoon. Optional to see sound and light show at the Pyramids.

Day 9. Optional tour to Saqqara & Memphis, the oldest capital city in the world. In the afternoon we go to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar.

Day 10.  Departure  Driving you to the airport.

All meals during the first 8 days are included. Drinks are excluded. Last 2 days breakfast only is included.

There is an option to stay 2 or 3 days longer to go to Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada on the Red Sea – the best place for diving and snorkelling.

Or visit Alexandria.  Or Taba and St Catherine’s Monastery.

For more details please contact Amir on amir.sadek50@yahoo.com