We got up to have breakfast with Ian and Helen who were leaving this morning. They really made a difference to our holiday and we are so thankful to have met them and spent this dream time with them. I can hardly wait to go to Adelaide, Australia to visit with them!!
We waited with Helen and Ian for the Insight Travel agent to pick them up for their ride to the airport. We were happy to see the gentleman who had picked us up not that many days ago. We had a great conversation with him about our tour and when I mentioned that Les and I were going to make a visit to the Khan al-Khalili Souke, he insisted that he would drop us off there on the way to the airport. This is just another instance of Insight Travel going way beyond their duty! With heavy hearts we left the van at the souke and watched Helen and Ian drive away to the airport. The lovely Insight man gave us some tips for the souke and warned that we were very early and not a lot would be open, he even wanted to cross the street with us - just to keep us safe from the crazy Cairo drivers!
The souke, even when it's not really open is filthy. It's a rabbit's warren of narrow streets and alleys - lots of garbage (and who knows what), and very uneven to walk on, a combination or gravel, dirt, pavement. There was a lot of activity; delivery people on bicycles with huge flat boards or big baskets filled with pita or bread loaves, trucks, carts - all getting ready for the business day. As we walked, different vendors opened, gold, trinkets, scarves, shawls, all goods that we've seen everywhere; and lots of common household goods, clothing, etc. We stumbled onto a street of fabric sellers - rolls of upholstery fabric, bolts of cotton and heavier muslin, sheer fabrics, and baskets of fabric scraps. But, if you can believe it, I didn't buy a smidgen of fabric! The cottons looked like they were sold by the bolt and not really patterns that I would have used. We saw vendors that also sold heavy drapery trims and such. It was lovely to see though! We walked through the souke for a couple of hours and then headed back to the Marriott for our final packing, good-byes to members of our group still there, a relaxing lunch at the outdoor patio, and the wait for our ride to the airport.
We were escorted to the airport by a different agent who was also very good to us. He led us through security all the way to passport control, let us know exactly what we had to do to get to our departure gate. And then...the flight back to Abu Dhabi and the end of this holiday of a lifetime. It really was the "Splendours of Egypt" in so many ways.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi at around 10:00 p.m., met our driver and returned to our little apartment at Siemen's Camp about 1 a.m.
Tidbits from today:
- at risk of sounding like an advertisement for Insight Travel I think all of you who read this should know that they are a fabulous company who employ very highly qualified, friendly, and caring guides, staff and crew. Everything that could be done for us to make our tour easier, more interesting, safer, you name it - they did - from the time our feet landed in Cairo until we were on our way home. Nothing was left to chance, everything was organized, confirmed and ready for us at every turn. (We did witness some differences in care, organization, quality of service in the other tour company groups on our boat.)
- we used two travel books during our adventure, both very good, but I really liked the Eyewitness Travel Guide the best for everyday use. They were: "Eyewitness Travel Guides - Egypt" and "Lonely Planet Egypt"
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