More from Edfou
October 4th, 2007 by stolisano
What an exhausting morning we had in Edfou. Exhausting, not from the heat, not from getting up early, and not from the crowded tourists squeezing past and in front of you, but from the tiring task of tour guides, drivers, and street vendors asking constantly for money and tips.
We took a horse drawn carriage ride from the boat to the nearby Edfou Temple. After getting out, we realized that the only way to the temple was though a narrow walkway lined with street vendors. Any other way to get around from being swarmed by them was fenced off. It is impossible to walk through them without being yelled at to look at this and look at that. Once you show interest, it is impossible to leave the stand again without buying something. The vendor will try to sell the item to you at a high price and will get angry and mad, when you tell him that you are not interested in buying the item or paying such a high price. When you walk away, he will come after you and even throwing the merchandise into your hands or around your shoulders. Some of the vendors will even grab you to physically keep you from moving on to the next stand.
Although it might be fun at first to try to bargain with the vendors, it does get very tiring and normal browsing of the items is impossible.
On our way back we tried to find the horse carriage that had brought us to the Temple, but we unable to find the driver. Another driver pretty much coerced us into getting into his buggy. Since we did not have much time left until our ship was leaving, we had to get into the carriage. As soon as we were rolling, the driver informed us that he expected “baksheesh”. He was very loud during the ride and most of the time did not even look at where he was going, but instead was busier trying to explain to us how much money we should give him and that each one of us had to pay. In the end, he would not drive the buggy up to the boat, but wanted us to get out about 75 meters before the ship. When we gave him the amount of money, that our tour guide had suggested to pay for the ride, he became angry and was clearly not happy with us paying him in Egyptian Pounds instead of with American Dollars.
Mrs. Menger and I were glad, when we made it back into our cabin on the boat.
Watch a video clip from our buggy ride.
5 Responses to “More from Edfou”
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Our class thinks that it’s more fun to go to the mall! Caidy says that the people over there are very rude. Maguire wants to go on a buggy ride, but he thinks he’ll do it in St. Augustine. All of the girls in our class agree that it’s too hot over there for the ladies to have to cover up there head and faces. The boys all think that the men look silly in long robes. Our class doesn’t sound like a very good bunch of travelers, do they!?
Mrs. Dearing’s class
We went shopping today and we want your class to know , that the people could not have been nicer or more helpful. We found out in Egypt, that not everybody is the same in all the places. Even in one place alone, you will find people that are nice and others who are rude. Isn’t that the same way as it is in Jacksonville?
It sure seems very hot under all the covers for the women, but I am wondering if it is not a great way to shield your skin from the sun. We asked and found out that the robes are made out of cotton, which is a material that actually helps cool the skin down. The robes that the men wear, which are called Galabiyas, are also made out of cotton and after being in Egypt for almost two weeks, we are already so used to the outfit, that it does not look silly anymore. The silliest outfits we see around here are the ones the tourists wear.
Mrs. Pickering’s class asks:
How did you finally get away from the vendors?
How much was the drive asking for?
What did it smell like while you were driving through the town?
Mrs. Pickering’s class
Once you go through the checkpoint, where tourist police will look into your backpacks and purses,you can get away since the vendors are not allowed into the temple area.
The driver never asked directly for an amount. We tipped him US$5, which already was above the norm. I don’t recall that there was a particular smell while driving through town, but I am also recovering from a cold.
Mrs. Pickering’s class was given the assignment to post a comment on the blog tonight. They are excited and hopefully you will have a lot to read!