Whatever South Africans might think, the Northern Cape in mid-summer is a breeze compared to anywhere in Egypt. Picture: iStock/Supplied
There are two things that strike you when you land at Cairo; the extreme heat and the incredibly cheap data.
For Egyptian £500 you can get 30 gigs of data prepaid with great download and upload speeds throughout most of the country – and the service provider chucks in free international call minutes too.
At a cost of R180, it’s the next subtle revelation for South Africans: the rand is stronger than the Egyptian pound (R1 equals E£2.74).
After five days of social media and streaming movies you’ll find you’ve hardly made a dent in it.
ALSO READ: Swim with gentle giants in picture-perfect Polynesia
The heat is a different beast altogether. Whatever South Africans might think, the Northern Cape in mid-summer is a breeze compared to anywhere in Egypt, be it the buzz of Cairo, the megalopolis that never sleeps; Luxor several hundred kilometres to the south; or The Red Sea resorts to the east.
Pictures: Supplied/iStock
It’s a country that is extreme in every concept from the scale of its history to the scope of its landscapes; lush and verdant along the Nile; dry, barren and majestic through the mountain passes of the Eastern Desert and finally the chaotic, dusty splendour of Cairo from the squalor of the old city to the brash upmarket consumerism of the new.
This was the setting for the final leg of Daring Africa, an ambitious eight-country, 8 000km journey from Rosslyn outside Pretoria to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya in a convoy of Nissan Navaras, supported by a Nissan X-Trail.
The Navara bakkie range, built in Rosslyn, for export into Africa, is built to withstand the most severe road conditions – level 56 – that the Japanese company’s engineers could envisage.
Japanese roads are the benchmark at zero, while South Africa’s are rated as 12.
Over the last six months, the vehicles have driven along the route creating an opportunity for local media in each of the countries to drive them on and off road, as well as letting Nissan dealerships use the chance to introduce the bakkie to key clients.
The adventure finally came to an end in Cairo at Nissan Egypt’s headquarters, at a gala function which doubled as the announcement of the SA-made vehicle’s latest market: Egypt.
It was a fitting end to what had been a daring odyssey across Africa dealing with geopolitical tensions that spilled out into the Red Sea, as well as rendering Sudan, Ethiopia and swathes of central Africa impassable for a convoy of this nature.
Egypt did not disappoint. Luxor, the modern day heir to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, provided a fitting start with a trip to the Valley of the Kings and the nearby Temple of Karnak that would have reminded South Africans of a certain age and disposition exactly where best-selling novelist Wilbur Smith derived his inspiration for Sun Bird and then his entire Egyptian series.
Hotelier Sol Kerzner would not have been too far behind, as devotees of the Sun City complex in the Pilanesberg would attest.
The Valley of Kings is home to most of the pharaohs of the “New Kingdom”, the most famous of which being Tutankhamun, while the Temple of Karnak is about 700 years older and was the ancient Egyptian centre of worship at the time.
Karnak is almost 4 000 years old; breathtaking in its scope and scale – setting down a marker for what to expect.
Time and space have a different meaning in Egypt. Cleopatra is closer to us today than she is to King Khufu, the architect of the Great Pyramid at Giza, which was built 2 500 years before Cleopatra was born.
The Navaras might have begun their journeys at Rosslyn, a stone’s through figuratively from the Cradle of Humankind in the Magaliesberg, but Egypt is undoubtedly the Cradle of Modern Civilisation; providing us with the DNA of the astronomy, architecture, agriculture, art, medicine and technology that we enjoy today.
ALSO READ: MEC urges exploration of local treasures ahead of World Tourism Day and ‘Mahala Week’ excitement
From Luxor, the expedition headed to the Red Sea, the country’s Riviera, and El Gouna in particular; an ultra-modern eco development for the wealthy with super yachts to match in the marina, which is a cross between the canals of St Francis and Steyn City.
The road there, and then north to Cairo, traverses the stark beauty of what is today known as the Eastern Desert.
There is nothing, except towering sandstone mountains to the side and kilometres of wind turbines amid the rock.
There is neither a blade of grass, nor a single shrub – just endless winding road.
It doesn’t really matter, cocooned in the comfort and capability of the Navara. Arriving in Cairo is still a shock to the senses in every way.
It is a city that defies glib description, ranging from the densely packed tenements of the old city with entire families packed onto motorcycles, to the ultra-modern of new Cairo, where the beautiful people come out to play in their luxury super-cars.
The amazing aspect is how the throng of vehicles all entering the multiple laned highway that encircles the megalopolis never descends into a demolition derby.
The greatest drawcard remains the pyramid complex at Giza, home to the Great Pyramid, the last of the original ancient seven wonders of the world and the eternal home of King Khufu, and the pyramid of Khafre, his son, as well as the pyramid of Menkaure and, of course, the Sphinx that stands sentinel in front of the pyramid of Khafre.
The heat, the incessant hustle of the hawkers and the bustle of the hordes of tourists disgorging from tour buses almost every quarter hour are not for the faint-hearted, but the reward of being there more than makes up for it.
Afterwards there is the cool sepulchral experience of the Egyptian museum, already the largest in the world even though it hasn’t fully opened yet, to cool the senses and quietly reflect on the sensory overload of sights and knowledge of several civilisations and empires overlaying one another; from the Egyptians to the Greeks, the Turks, the French and of course, Africa’s bêtes noirs, the Brits. Egypt is a treat.
It is a living testimony to the human story to date – and at the same a harbinger of what awaits from global warming to inequality, unless the world changes.
Safe, welcoming and friendly, it’s a country that is best experienced with well-qualified tour guides, as we had, to make sense of the incredible historic tableau and successfully navigate the cultural and linguistic differences.
Egypt might be geographically part of Africa, but it has an eye on Europe and a spirit that is both Arab and the Levant, which makes visiting the country an unforgettable experience stoking a yearning for more. v Ritchie was a guest of Nissan Africa on the Egypt leg of the Daring Africa 2024 expedition.
NOW READ: South Africa could see international tourists reaching pre-Covid levels in 2024
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
