Seeing Egypt through the Eyes of a Beginner

Living in a country with cold and snowy winters I have always been dreaming to escape from such weather to some nice warm place, even for just one week. Finally I turned 18, made an external passport and immediately bought the tickets to the ever warm country – Egypt. It was my first time flying abroad and I was ever so excited. At that time I could characterize Egypt in following words: desert, pyramids, the Red Sea and camels.
On board I was filled with anticipation, eager to discover all the oncoming wonders. And thanks God I got a seat by the window, so all the way I watched the scenery change: at first there were forests and high buildings disappearing underneath, then white puffy clouds were floating like the never-ending fields of cotton candy and, finally, I could see nothing but red mountains towering over the piles of sand.
At Hurgada airport the sun was blinding, luckily I had my shades on. With joy and happiness I inhaled hot Egyptian air. The most amusing thing for me was that everything was done by men: they were bus and taxi drivers, waiters, shop-assistants and guides. As a girl coming from quite an emancipated female-populated town I was just not ready to face so many males!
The first thing I did upon the arrival at the hotel was checking out the sea. The water was not very warm, but so clean I could see all the diverse multicolored inhabitants of the corals even without a mask.
Moto-safari was planned for the following day. Rushing through the desert on a motorcar, wind in the face, feeling free as a bird – what can be better! At noon we made a stop in the village of Bedouins for dinner and rest. These people live in tents in the middle of nowhere making money mainly by allowing tourists observe their way of life and giving them rides on camels and selling amazingly beautiful colorful handmade tapestry of camel wool.
Of course, I couldn’t leave the country without seeing the pyramids. But this excursion was a bit disappointing as I wasn’t able to enjoy the grandeur of the remnants of the past to the full due to annoying locals trying to sell me something. Cairo left an impression of an anthill. The city is huge, not very clean and the houses huddle together in their half-finished glory.
Egyptian market is a real shopping paradise: arranged on the counters one may see multicolored national costumes, hookahs, baskets of tea, jewelry, aroma oils and spices.
Home I brought a bag of souvenirs, a bunch of photos and a warm feeling of the eastern hospitality.