Adventures on the Nile with a 6-year-old

By Monica Eng
Tribune staff reporter
Published on January 29, 2006

GIZA, Egypt
Yes, I knew bad things have happened in this part of the world, but an old friend living in Cairo with his wife and 2-year-old son had told me how much safer they felt here than in most American cities.

Before we'd left, I'd boned up on kid-friendly options in Cairo, even discovering an English-language Web site called Cairokids.com.

Cairo
On arriving in Cairo at 2 a.m., we were whisked by our driver to our apartment (both arranged in advance) through the light traffic you only find in the middle of the night here.

We didn't sleep long before we were awakened--at about 4:30 a.m.--by competing muezzins broadcasting the call to prayer over loudspeakers from several neighborhood mosques. (Though a little scary to him the first few times, Joe soon learned to sleep through it--or simply tell me it was time to pray.)

We awoke for good later on this and other mornings to Cairo spring with its hazy mornings, warm afternoons and cool evenings. We met a town of people who loved to talk to kids and, in our upscale neighborhood of Zamalek near many embassies on an island in the Nile, found just about everything a kid could need in terms of toys, amusements, drink--and food.

Within a couple of miles of our apartment, we discovered a KFC, McDonald's and Hardee's--not to mention a sushi bar, a Korean barbecue house and an Indian eatery. "I thought they wouldn't have any good food here," Joe told me on our first day, "but I was so wrong."

The Pyramids
Joe had a blast running around them, leaping from the ancient stones and talking to that bunch of Egyptian kids who were on a field trip. He seemed amazed that the Arabic phrases I'd taught him from a book were intelligible to others. As he climbed the rocks pretending he was Spiderman, I read him the history of the Pyramids. But what really interested him was a nearby group of men tending rental camels.

The men let Joe feed the camels bundles of greens and lifted him atop a camel for pictures (for which they expected--and received--a tip, called baksheesh). But our driver didn't like their prices and suggested a stable near the Sphinx. There we bargained for that camel ride--$9 for a half hour, plenty of time for a tot with a short attention span and a mom whose posterior was not accustomed to camel saddles.

Pharaonic Village
Part Epcot Center, part mini-museum complex, Pharaonic Village offers hour-long narrated tours of Egyptian history on a pontoon boat that travels past miniature versions of ancient temples you'd otherwise have to travel hundreds of miles to see. Along the way we saw re-enactments of things like the discovery of baby Moses floating on the Nile and the process of mummification.

Joe was so thrilled by these time-machine-like re-enactments that he announced, "I can't believe we're really taking a trip back in time."

His second favorite part was rides on the tea cups and bumper cars in the village's amusement park. There also are food kiosks and small museum exhibits on topics such as ancient Egyptian technology, Christian Egypt, Napoleon's conquest of Egypt, mummification (again), and the legacies of the late Egyptian leaders Gamal Adbel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.

Cairo's biggest bazaar
The Khan al Khalili souk (market) offers a swirl of food, Egyptian souvenirs, jewelry, house-wares, toys and textiles. Joe was thrilled by the man who sold him a wooden cobra, delighted by the friendly snow cone vendor and intrigued by all the cats lolling around in sunspots

After hours of shopping and touring, we took a rest at the market's famous 200-year-old Fishawi Coffee House where we sipped sodas and thick, sweet Middle Eastern coffee.

Night train to Aswan
Like a lot of young boys, my son is fascinated by trains. And so traveling in our own sleeper compartment down the length of the country excited him to no end. With one-way prices of $50 for me and $30 for Joe, the tickets were also well within our budget. Clean cotton sheets, fuzzy pink blankets and the hypnotic rocking of train travel gave us our best night's sleep in days. We only wish the Westernized roast chicken and gluey chewy beef stew dinner had been replaced by some good fresh Egyptian fare--or anything edible, for that matter.

Old Cataract Hotel
In the southern city of Aswan you don't have to be rich to step off a First-Class sleeping car and check into the best hotel in town. The lovely Edwardian Old Cataract is run by Sofitel and sits elegantly on the Nile, but was priced as low as $128 a night on the Internet last spring. We'd booked a rate of $148 because it gave us flexibility to change dates--and we ended up with a deluxe room. (The current lowest rate is $166.) Even if we hadn't gotten the upgrade, we would have stayed here for the graceful Moorish architecture, high ceilings, elaborate gardens, magnificent veranda and heated pool. Joe felt like Eloise at the Plaza. The problem: Between that abundant beauty, fine service and the Disney Channel in Arabic, we never wanted to leave.

Felucca journey
Still we did do some shopping and sightseeing in Aswan--before 11 a.m. when it starts to broil--but the most relaxing part of our vacation began when we boarded a felucca (an Egyptian sailboat) for a two-night journey down the Nile.

The tourist office in Aswan can help locate a felucca captain, but you'll need to bargain for the price and type of trip you want on your own. I got the price down to $10 for me and $7 for Joe--including meals--on a rather primitive boat.

Luxor
We disembarked 50 miles outside Luxor because our deal was to travel as far as the winds blew us in two days. Our captains arranged a ride into the city at no extra charge, and it got us to Luxor around noon.

In Luxor, I wangled a deal for a $20 day-rate at the Tutotel Hotel where we enjoyed much-needed showers, a swim in the rooftop pool and a nap.

After nearly melting in the heat during daytime visits to the temples of Isis at Philae near Aswan and the temples at Kom Ombo and Edfu on our felucca journey, we had decided to visit the temple at Karnak at night for the sound-and-light show.

Still, by our fourth temple, we were tired of wilting in the midday sun, so the show at Karnak was a welcome relief. With its booming narration and dramatic lighting, this complex of enormous buildings and statues came alive in a way that a sweaty daytime visit could not match.

The coolest moment, though, was when we left early to catch our train back to Cairo and got to wander through this magnificent royal complex alone.

Back in Cairo
During our last two days in the capital city, we'd planned to visit the Six Flags-like amusement park called Dream Park, the Fagnoon Art School where kids and parents do art projects, and the Cairo Zoo, where we've heard that--for baksheesh--kids can pet baby tigers. But we ran out of time.

However, we did check out--twice--the magnificent new 74-acre Al-Azhar Park built on the site of a former garbage dump in Islamic Cairo. With a state-of-the-art playground (that even has a Little Caesars pizza stand on its edge), rolling hills, gardens, ponds, restaurants and fountains, Al-Azhar was Joe's favorite place in the city.

On one visit Joe even got to bungee-jump above a trampoline for $2.75. The place is so tranquil, clean and green I felt totally comfortable letting Joe log-roll down a hill while a friend and I sat nearby on the veranda of an Al-Azhar restaurant sipping mint tea.

Despite the concern of my friends back home, this fascinating country offered great mom-and-son attractions. Even on a budget we were able to blend cushy accommodations with sleeping under the stars. We experienced fast, loud city life in Cairo and rural Nubian life in southern Egypt. We ate 50-cent bowls of koshari (Egyptian pasta) on the street, enjoyed sushi down the block and had McDonald's Happy Meals delivered to the apartment (nearly every restaurant delivers in Cairo).

When we encountered kids selling things on the street, sex-segregated subway cars and the faithful stopping to pray five times a day, it prompted interesting discussions that Joe and I wouldn't have had back in Chicago. And as a surprise bonus to traveling with a child, I endured none of the harassment I'd experienced before as a Western woman traveling here alone. In fact, even when walking through pitch black Cairo streets at night, I never felt any danger except from potholes.

Wherever we went, adults would greet my son with "habibi" ("my dear," in Arabic). Unfortunately, he kept mistaking the remark for "hi baby" and would shout back, "I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy."

Just another reason to teach your child some basic Arabic before you go. 

Train
Overnight tickets should be bought at least a couple of days in advance (although one day in Luxor we lucked out and got ours on the day of departure); in Cairo, they can be purchased at Ramses Station.

Feluccas
If you don't want to share with other passengers (as we did), you can hire a whole felucca with a captain and first mate for about $100 for a two-night journey. For a bed, toilet and running water, book a cabin on one of the many cruise ships that travel up and down the Nile. Rates vary widely but can begin at $50 a night.

Shots and Medicine
Americans no longer need vaccinations or malaria medication (which can be tough on kids) for Egypt. Most over-the-counter medications are readily available and inexpensive at ubiquitous late night pharmacies all over the country.

Babysitting
The better hotels can make child-care arrangements. I paid about $5 per hour.

Information
For most tourism advice, consult the Egyptian Tourist Authority (212-332-2570; www.egypttourism.org/).

You can also make some reservations and plans at Web sites before you go, but others don't work. Online, we were able to book our stay at the Old Cataract Hotel (www.sofitel.com) and learn about Pharaonic Village (www.touregypt.net/village). And Cairokids.com gave us plenty of great ideas on family activities. But when we tried to book our overnight train tickets through Abela Egypt (www.sleepingtrains.com/online), the order never went through, although it did offer accurate schedules and sleeper-car information.