Traveling through Egypt on Overseas Adventure Travel’s (OAT) Ancient Egypt and the Nile River Tour took us to all the highlights: Egyptian Museum -- check, Step Pyramid -- check, King Tut’s mummy -- check, Karnak Temple -- check, Valley of the Kings -- check, Giza Pyramids -- check, the Sphinx -- check. Our itinerary pretty much paralleled that of most tours of Egypt.
Those 6,000 years of history alone would have made it an astounding trip, impossible to wrap one’s head around. But OAT does more. First, the organization places great importance on the philosophy of “Learning and Discovery,” which it takes very seriously. This elevated an already enticing itinerary to a far more immersive travel experience.
Our guide, Hussein, came equipped with a Ph.D. in Egyptology, which made him astoundingly knowledgeable. He also had a ready sense of humor, was abundantly entertaining and had no fear of answering controversial questions honestly. “The good, the bad and the ugly” was his mantra. This WAS Egypt, after all.
OAT encourages the personalization of one’s own experience. There are always options of things to do during free time, but if tour participants have sightseeing ideas of their own, their guides work to make it happen, either in addition to the itinerary -- or in place of it. Not all tour companies are that flexible.
And where OAT shines is in the encounters experienced outside of the itinerary. While walking one of the streets of Cairo, Hussein randomly approached several young girls sitting on a bench and asked if they would be willing to talk to us. Two wore hijabs, one wore Western attire and two were Coptic, Egypt’s Christian minority. That insight alone was meaningful to all of us.
A lively discussion that dealt with their schooling, their free time and the fact that they were not the least bit interested in marriage ensued. Interestingly, they didn’t want their pictures taken, despite the fact that every one of them had a cellphone in hand. You don’t learn these things just hanging out with your tour companions.
And in addition to an itinerary that covers all the must-see attractions that define a trip to Egypt, OAT also focuses on immersing its clients in the culture and lifestyle of a destination. “A Day in the Life of a Farm Family” brought us in close contact with a village, its inhabitants and their way of life. We spent the day interacting, observing, participating -- and helping in the creation of a meal using techniques practiced for 5,000 years. Said our host: “If you sit with us, eat with us, talk with us, you are part of our family.” And indeed, that’s how we felt.
Dinner with a Coptic family provided further insights into a part of Egyptian society rarely included in a mainstream itinerary. We learned about their history in the country and the prejudice they suffered under the Muslim Brotherhood control of the government in 2012. The current government under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has provided them new protections -- though el-Sisi himself is quite controversial because of his abysmal human-rights agenda. Again, the good, the bad and the ugly.
And finally, to the boat and our trip down the Nile, which I'd been anticipating since I first viewed it from our Cairo hotel balcony. Blue waters, green fields, yellow mountains beyond -- and history everywhere. Once again, OAT prevails as it owns the boat -- one of the only ones with balconies -- and limits its passengers to the 75 people on the tour.
Sitting on the sun deck, I thought back to just two weeks before when I was staring up at a movie screen, mouth agape, at impossibly huge carved stone structures encased in Egyptian pyramids and temples as part of “Death on the Nile,” the most recent film version of the Agatha Christie classic. And now I was staring up, mouth still agape, at the very same wonders, only this time from the deck of my own Nile River ship.
Bus rides, an inevitable part of touring, are more than transport from one spot to another with OAT. Hussein kept up a running commentary that enthralled us as we traveled. We learned so much about the Egyptian way of life -- political, cultural, personal -- as fascinating as the itinerary itself.
Controversial discussions are built into the itinerary. One evening’s event was about the role of women in Egypt -- and how it is stymied as well as changing. This was conducted by Selma, a young, single, working woman with a B.A. in sociology who approached the topic from many angles -- from the importance or not of modesty in dress, from burqas to hijabs to modern clothes; workplace challenges; divorce; faith as a personal choice versus imposition of men; and safety issues.
Everywhere we went, Hussein warned us off all the vendors. It’s the Valley of the Vultures, he said, so do not stop, make eye contact or look at anything they have, no matter how low the price. It is useless junk, and you will be taken. Nothing discourages them, so just say no repeatedly and accept that this is part of the experience.
Needless to say, this will not be the part of the experience you remember. But 6,000 years of magical history and OAT’s unique presentation of it will remain with you long after the visit is over.
