TRAVEL

Egypt Revisited

Sylvia Frommer-Mracky, Travel Editor

Attending the Africa Travel Association’s 36th Congress gave our travel editor the opportunity to tour Cairo and its environs as well as attending the Congress and receiving news and travel updates from all of Africa.

Several times over the years, I have been asked why I like Egypt and my answer has been and still holds true ”because when I arrive, I know I am some place different.”

It has been over twenty years since I last visited this “ennobled” land and now I have experienced its changes. The excitement of the old airport was so unlike anything you would encounter in the United States. The airport back in 1976 was not modern in any sense. It was just plain old and almost dilapidated giving the traveler the sense of being in an ancient land. The airport was crowded with hundreds of people shouting out several languages and attired in every African national dress. It was exciting; something out of an old Hollywood film and yes, of course you knew you were some place different.

Last year we arrived at an ultra stylish futuristic looking airport that had just opened the week before we arrived. It no longer held the old charm, it didn’t seem like Egypt. We were ensconced in a gorgeous steel and glass terminal. Not unlike those we encounter throughout the “updated” world. Each a little more advanced architecturally than the latest built somewhere else in the world. I really loved that old airport (gratefully I never had to use the bathroom), and watching the crush of the African world come and go, the excitement of the colorful ethnic garb mixing with the western world’s uptight wear, including tourists in their own strange attire.

Can I say that Egypt will always be enchanting? It does not matter that many of its buildings are past their prime; it is the imagination that explodes in your mind with history, romance and storybook archaeological sites. Tourists pinch themselves to ensure landing in Cairo is not a dream.

Everybody comes to experience the ancient pyramids. Egypt’s foremost archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass continues to amaze the world with new excavations beckoning the tourist to keep returning and be enlightened further with these ancient mysteries.

No one should be permitted to visit Egypt without the Luxor experience. Believe me it is not an abandoned 20th Century movie set. This is real and as you walk among the giant sphinx and columns you can almost hear the ghostly voice of the Pharaoh Ramses II in fact if you stick around for the best “son et lumiere” (light and sound) show amongst these glorious ruins, you can hear Ramses speak his history and in English. Luxor spells romance with horse drawn carriages from the boat docks or the hotels to the imposing site.

Oh yes, the boats. Today there are dozens from which to choose. Almost every five star hotel (and there are several) offers a Nile River cruise on their luxurious boats. Changes have occurred. Though the itineraries are as they always were, the docks are more sophisticated. I remember years back when docking in Edfu, a rope was thrown out and wrapped around a palm tree. That experience has morphed into a dramatic upgraded change. The mighty Nile remains fascinating in any manner of sailing along its banks.

Today we see more women wearing abayahs (robes from shoulders to feet) with or without hejabs (headscarves). However, we witnessed a prom event at the Hilton Concord Hotel that would rival any here in the U.S. No abayahs or hejabs here just over stated fashionable dresses, make-up and attitudes.

One night a few of us decided to walk to a local restaurant and try the fare. On our return, we crossed the hazardous corniche traffic to walk along the Niles. The night was balmy. Strolling along the Nile were couples and the air of romance, I forgot that I was in Cairo- it felt like Paris along the Seine. We ended our walk at a very trendy restaurant and bar set in park like grounds for nightcaps, juice and tea. As we were leaving an entire group of young trendsetters with up scale cars arrived starting their evenings as we were ending ours. The women were not wearing abayahs or hejabs!

Cairo certainly isn’t stuffy. It has everything that every hugely populated city has. There are the disadvantaged, the” middle roaders” and the wealthy. Egypt remains seductive.

Scheduled Cruising Comes to South Africa

Durban, South Africa is becoming Africa’s premier passenger cruise port!   The well known MSC Cruises have given one of their ships, the MSC Sinfonia, Durban as her African homeport. 
The beautifully appointed ship, at 58 600 tons and accommodating 2 100 passengers and crew - the MSC Sinfonia will operate out of Durban, calling at the port more than 30 times in the next five months.  The ship will sail the Indian Ocean between Mozambique, Mauritius, Reunion and the Comoros.
MSC Simfonia will operate a schedule that includes two, three, four and 5-day cruises, each one with a different Africa east coast itinerary. 
MSC Cruises reputation is of the highest order, its holding company is family owned and grew out of the family’s business of operating one of the world’s largest shipping fleets, and since 1990 become a major passenger cruise company.   Until this new homeport their ships primarily operated in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.  The company has a unique practice, children up to the age of 17 cruise free when accompanying their parents or grand parents, a very attractive feature that also applies to the Africa cruises.
The MSC Cruises decision to operate a scheduled sailings out of Durban is an extremely welcomed development for Africa tourism and an important leisure product for the U.S. visitors.  Africa has not had a scheduled passenger cruise company operating Africa itineraries, since 1950s.
Although, there are international cruises that visit various African ports as part of their round-the-world cruises; in fact, about 20 cruise ships will be stopping in Durban over the next year, as part of their world voyages, the scheduled aspect of MSC Sinfonia  provides the tourism industry with a new product that can be “scheduled” into the clients itineraries and initiated in Africa. 
"The arrival of the new generation MSC Sinfonia in South Africa ushers the region into a new era of world-class cruising. This is definitely the biggest single development in the local cruise industry since we first pioneered leisure cruising off this coast," said Allan Foggitt, director of Starlight Cruising, the general sales agents for MSC Cruises in South Africa.
"We have had unprecedented advance bookings, which confirms the timing for launching MSC Sinfonia in the country. Most departures in November and December are already either sold out or heavily booked and we are expecting more than 70 000 passengers on board this season," Foggitt added.
James Seymour, of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal and the secretary-general of the Cruise the Indian Ocean Association, said MSC Sinfonia's introduction to the Southern African market marked a bonanza year for cruise tourism in the region.
"All this is going to have tremendous economic spin-offs for KZN and bolsters our efforts to promote the southern Indian Ocean region as the new frontier and destination of the cruise tourism industry."
Now you can combine an Africa experience with a cruise at your schedule. Call your Africa travel specialist they know what to suggest.

Mali on My Mind…

Timbuktu’s Queen of the Desert Reveals Mali’s Tourism Treasures

Special by Mary Ellen Schultz

Growing up in suburban New Jersey, one of the things my sister, brother and  I would laugh most at was our mother’s threat (when we misbehaved) to “smack your butts to Timbuktu.” The name of the place sounded so odd, so far away…was she making it up? Where the heck was it? I had to find out.
Truly, certain places have conjurer’s names, just beyond the imagination, and Mali is where you will find one of them. Bordered by Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger and Algeria, West Africa’s largest country measures more than 807,000 sq. mi. (roughly twice the size of France). Home to one of the most exotic cities of all time — yes, Timbuktu, fabled caravan city of fabulous palaces, where salt and gold were exchanged ounce-for-ounce — Mali’s been intriguing curious explorers for centuries.

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of meeting someone from that funny-sounding town who made me want to go there, without misbehaving! Timbuktu-born Mariama Ludovic is a Mali-based tour operator whose company, West Africa Tours (WAT), is putting Mali’s tourism treasures on present-day American explorers’ radar.

WAT specializes in customized cultural and adventure journeys throughout West Africa, with most tours starting in Bamako (Mali’s capital and WAT’s headquarters). Tours take in Mali’s World Heritage Sites including the mythical desert outpost of Timbuktu, Biandagara (home to the cliff-dwelling, door-carving Dogon people), the ancient cities of Djenne (site of the world’s largest mud-brick mosque), and Mopti (Mali’s canalled “Venice on the Niger River”). Single- and multicountry itineraries can include neighboring Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

Ludovic founded WAT in 1995, switching from teaching English to tourism in homage to her native nomadic culture. “I began my career in education,” she explains, “but soon realized that if I couldn’t afford to travel as my tribal ancestors did, that I could organize trips and share my passion for exploring different cultures with people from around the world.” Expanding beyond her until-now, mainly European market, she says, “We believe more Americans should get to know this part of Africa…we’ve such a rich history, stunning landscapes and a long tradition of warmly welcoming visitors…our guides are fluent in English, and we provide the best transportation and accommodations available. Most important: we live here and are proud to introduce you to our treasures — the villages and markets along the mighty Niger River, mythical Timbuktu (home of the first Islamic university), our desert ‘royalty (the Tuareg Blue Men), the world’s largest mud-brick mosque at Djenne, the Dogon region’s cliff-dwellers, our bird and chimpanzee sanctuaries, our desert elephants…and our rich cultural heritage — for example, nothing compares with our annual Festival in the Desert…our ‘Woodstock” in the Sahara!”

All of Mariama’s tour programs are designed to each client’s personal tastes — and schedules. The shortest tour (so far!) was a two-day “flash-tour” of Mali’s highlights for a time-deprived client; the longest, a leisurely 30-day grand loop through Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Mali. A first-timer might pick her introductory Mali in 7 Days/6 Nights tour, which takes in the country’s former colonial capital Segou; medieval-flavored Djenne (of that jaw-dropping, mud-brick mosque and shop-till-you-drop market); canal-traced Mopti at the confluence of the Niger and Bani Rivers (home of gold-jewelry-draped Fulani women); on to Timbuktu, eternal symbol of the Sahara’s mystique. Repeat visitors might enjoy WAT’s 10-day/9-night Heart of the Dogon Legend adventure, departing Bamako, on through the serenely arid Sahel with stops at bustling Bozo and Bambara villages, Djenne, on to the World Heritage-listed Bandiagara Cliffs to visit with traditional thatch-hutch-living, stilt-dancing Dogon tribes.

Crazy about music, crafts, local cuisine? Festivals abound in Africa, and Mariama loves building tours around them. “In a festival, all the attractions you’re looking for are combined in to one,” Ludovic notes, “cultural heritage, interaction with local people, traditional music and art…and all the joy of being part of it!” 

One of Mali’s most famous celebrations is coming up in a couple of months. The above-mentioned “Festival Au Desert” (Festival in the Desert), January 7–9, 2010, is held annually in Essakane, two hours from Timbuktu. Ludovic sighs, “The magic of this desert festival cannot be explained — you have to experience it!” Based on traditional gatherings among Mali’s southern Saharan Tuaregs (a.k.a. the dashing Blue Princes of the Desert), complete with games and camel racing, songs and dances, today’s version is open to all. For three days, participants are immersed in desert traditions with all the trimmings, set to a nonstop, live Saharan soundtrack provided by an Africa/globe-spanning artists’ roster. Celebophiles, please note: last year, Monaco’s Princess Caroline was spotted dancing in the sand!

Asked about her own personal favorite places, a long list: “In Mali, the Dogon country and, of course, my hometown — Timbuktu…our ancient culture is still very much alive, even in space-age 21st century!”

Then Togo, with it’s mysterious Voodoo traditions; Ghana’s blend of vibrant modern-day and infamous slave-trade history; and Burkina Faso, original land of the Lobi people, whose culture and traditions are a true tribal melting pot of neighboring tribes who settled in Wa, attracted by both the local devotion to Islam and lucrative forest-desert commercial opportunities…I could go on for hours!”

Mariama personally develops every itinerary and frequently acts as tour leader. What she loves best about her business: “Happy clients! Many of them have said each day’s a new discovery….there’s no time to get bored, and they like our improvisation, for example, well get somewhere with a marriage, birthday of other traditional ceremony happening, and our guides always manage to get us invited to the fiesta!”

An African fiesta? Hmmm…I’m imagining falling asleep in a tent in the Sahara with a blanket of stars overhead after a hard day of good music and fast camel racing....guess I’ll be Mali-bound soon….

For any Africa, Caribbean, U.S. or world travel questions ask the Travel Editor,
either by email: trvleditor@aol.com

or write:
The African Times/Travel Editor, 5515 West Rosecrans Ave., Suite 213
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