the birds of ali
I arrived in Luxor early morning, I have been in touch with my Couchsurfing host, Ali. Immediately there were a lot of peddlers for transportation, and I was swarmed by them.
We settled for a small amount (literally 1 EGP) but I knew it was gonna get bigger eventually with some additional baksheesh payments and what not.
They took me to the address, and I was left wandering alone in a ghost town. There were no people at all and everything seemed closed up. I had some landmarks and it seemed like I was in the right place but I couldn’t possibly know which place was Ali’s.
Thankfully, he called my attention and showed up right above one of the windows. I was finally able to get inside and rest after a long and arduous journey.
I still hadn’t showered and was very tired, but just entering his peaceful abode was already relaxing enough for me. Ali was very hospitable, he offered to do my laundry while I took a shower. He also showed me his birds, there were a ton of them up on the roof, it was magical.
We talked a bit and he went out to buy me some koshary. It was so delicious, a rice dish with a lot of spices and vegetable ingredients, he even paid for it even though I offered.
Muslim hospitality is really next level.
I had tea with him while we talked about a myriad of topics from Islam, ancient Egyptian mythology, Christianity, Egypt’s political and historical landscapes. I was having a lot of fun just getting to know him, he told me I should go out and see the city instead of spending the whole day talking as we had some time later in the evening.
So off I went, my plan was to go to Luxor museum first.
a journey of a thousand scams
It was burning hot in Luxor, and I was later stopped by a taxi driver who was offering me a ride for an exorbitant amount and I quickly declined and opted to walk, but the heat was really getting to me and he kept on tailing me, giving me lower prices and the sweet temptation of air-condition.
I succumbed and got on, he took me to the Luxor museum and “apparently” it was closed and wasn’t opening until much later in the day due to some “holiday”. My naive self back then believed him.
I wanted to just wait by the Nile and just chill but he had other plans and offered me some felucca boat ride to pass the time. I already had a bad feeling about where this was going as it usually spirals into something more in such a touristic town.
He went to pick up his friend who apparently was the boat owner. They took me to the docks and when I got on the boat that’s when we started negotiating from what we talked about on the taxi: 70 pounds it became 300 pounds with the boat owner, crazy really.
I can’t believe I keep on getting caught by these scams. As if I never learned anything from all the bad experiences in Cairo.
But the offer was still interesting though: Crocodile island and Banana island according to him. Ah, what the heck, I just paid and went with it, nothing else better to do anyway.
bananas and crocodiles
The felucca boat ride along the Nile was relaxing, I was served tea by the boatman while some Arabic music was playing.
It took a while and we arrived on the island, so basically there were some banana plantations and they gave us some bananas to eat thus banana island, and crocodile island is also inside the same place because there was like one crocodile cooped up in a hole, which was sad to see.
There were other animals as well, horses and monkeys but seeing caged animals always makes me sad. We eventually returned back, and the boatman even went back on his word as they told me they would drop me off near Luxor museum but they took me back to the docks instead.
This left me right back where I started, further away from the museum.
Now I had to do the walk again in the blazing heat while being approached by more felucca boat ride peddlers.
On the way, a horse-drawn carriage driver offered me a ride for a measly amount and I had to triple check if that’s the final price. We agreed and he took me to the museum and let me use the reigns on the donkey too. It was quite fun.
He then told me that he had to make a stop at one of the shops to “feed the donkey” as it was already quite tired and hungry. My soft spot, I agreed and lo and behold we ended up in a souvenir shop.
Pretty high-class ones too, I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anything and he told me to come back after I’ve taken a look of the place. It was an interesting place with plenty of Egyptian souvenirs like parchment, keychains and statues.
I circled the whole place and the upper floors and went back to the guy.
We finally arrived in the museum and he offered to wait for me, but I had to pay extra, I declined and he still said he would wait but I told him I’m not paying extra.
san pedro
I finally got in the museum, luckily it was only me and another guy this whole time. We walked through the museum together but not really talking.
The museum was very modern and nice, better than the one in Cairo, partly because it was actually air-conditioned. Somewhere along the way, he approached me and we started talking.
Pedro was his name, and to my surprise he was also a Couchsurfer. What were the odds? We talked a bit and I invited him over to Ali’s place to have some tea and chat. We walked our way back to Ali’s place and I introduced them to each other, Ali made tea and the three of us had a lot of fun just chatting until Pedro said he had to go as he was leaving Luxor later that night.
He told me about his host and that he was sleeping on a felucca boat by the Nile, which honestly sounded pretty dope.
the fallout
Here comes the doozy though, Ali’s family arrived, I got up and shook their hands as I looked at Mariam, his baby daughter who I have heard much about throughout our conversation. I let them have their moment while I just chilled on the sofa.
Suddenly, I started to hear shouting and arguing from the other room, I had a foreboding that the proverbial shit was about to go down.
And down it shat.
Ali’s wife came out with glaring eyes and started shouting at me in Arabic and I was like “Bruh?” but I did catch some English words: “Get out! Get out!” She said. I looked at Ali for some help but his head was cast down and he told me sorry and that I had to go.
Welp, I had no choice, I started packing my things in a rush while the wife was shouting at me, and I ended up outside their door. Ali told me to wait, and I waited for a bit, a long time and hanged out with the birds on the roof while the sky started to go dark.
I went back to the door from time to time to check up on them but the arguing was still going in full force. I gave up and decided to move on. I sent Ali some messages assuring him all is well and apologizing for what happened in case if I had anything to do with it, though I did lose my micro-towel in his bathroom.
I remembered Pedro had a Couchsurfing host as well so I asked him if he could hook me up and he did. We shared a laugh about how this would be a good story to tell someday and it really is!
It was really funny because Pedro told me he felt the need to approach and befriend me because he had the feeling I would somehow need help. I guess some forces out there are looking out for me.
I got in touch with Saber, Pedro’s host, and he left me some voice messages telling me where to meet. I told him that I was still feeling unwell (since I got sick in Cairo) and went to the meeting point, in front of Luxor hotel.
saber and family
Saber arrived in drab robes, he wasn’t what I expected and turns out he was one of the felucca boat drivers. I explained to him what happened, and he offered me a place in his home instead of sleeping on the boat.
Saber, who I knew wasn’t exactly the richest person on the block, still showed me incredible kindness and hospitality. He paid for my transport with him going back to his place, and bought me some dinner from the market when he found out I hadn’t eaten yet.
He let me use his shower at home and prepared me a meal and some tea. His home was in the slums, a huge disparity to Ali’s home which I would say was very high class.
But at the end of the day, any home that welcomes me in, is a home I hold in high regard.
Getting to know Ali’s family and 3 kids were fun, they were rowdy but nice children. I can’t believe he has to support such a huge family with his felucca boat rides. I had a whole room to myself, a wooden bed in a dark and hot room.
I was tired and still recovering but at the same time I was quite grateful for the experience. It broke so much pre-conceptions I had of Muslim culture and I felt like I grew so much as a person today. Being able to experience an aspect of humanity that I rarely ever see.
I was very happy as I closed my eyes, ending my first day in Luxor.
the sands of luxor
The next morning, I awoke and greeted Saber. He was waiting for me and we both went outside to head back to the city center as I had a tour to explore a lot of Luxor’s major sites.
We stopped by to get breakfast, and even though I had pleaded, he still paid for my breakfast, delicious bread with vegetables inside.
I dropped by the docks and got on his felucca, where he made some tea. It was a good way to start the morning, he also offered his boat’s storage compartment so I can store my bag in his boat while I toured so it wouldn’t hinder me too much.
All of that without even asking for baksheesh.
I waited in front of Luxor hotel, the meeting place I set up and soon the tour van came. I jumped inside and sat on the back, most of them were Chinese tourists but there was a white young guy sitting with me at the back.
We weren’t really talking, our first stop was the Valley of Kings, I tried to use my student ID for a discount and got it luckily.
There were 3 tombs we were able to dive in to, the hieroglyphics and just how ancient they were enough to make me marvel at them. The inside were strictly no pictures, and there were “guards” lurking about checking the phones of tourists. People took pictures and sometimes they got away with it, sometimes they don’t.
Anyways, I was both the former and the latter. In the first 2 tombs, I got some nice photos, but the last one, a guy approached me and asked to check my phone. He saw some photos and counted them and asked for 20 pounds for each photo. I offered to delete it but he wasn’t having it so I tried to stall as much as possible and just told him to meet my tour guide instead, so I dragged him all the way up as he offered me to pay him less, but I just climbed all the way up the tomb. At least, he had to work for it.
My tour guide and the guy started to argue and I paid him off with just 20 pounds. The pics weren’t even that good, to be honest.
sunsets by the nile
Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut, that temple was really beautiful with such intricate architecture with a mountain looming behind. I started talking to the guy I was sitting with in the back, Mitch.
He caught on that I was using an old student ID.
After the temple, we visited the Colossi of Memnon, and then a souvenir store and watched some people perform a musical number. We had a lunch buffet and then stopped by a hotel lobby to chill for a bit, which was quite odd for the tour but it allowed us to escape from the heat.
Mitch and I talked a lot here, talking about our own adventures and trading life stories.
Our last two stops for the day was Karnak temple and Luxor temple, both amazing places with these carved columns and having a mix of both Christianity, Islam and ancient Egypt.
We explored the place and helped take pictures of each other, we went to some hidden places and ran away when we got caught cuz we knew they would be asking for baksheesh.
It was fun, jumping across scaffoldings and going through a labyrinth of walls. After the tour, we opted to just say good bye and go off on our own without getting transported back.
We stopped by McDonald’s to get some frozen treats, getting offered hash by a random street peddler on the way.
I invited Mitch to stop by Saber’s felucca and he agreed. We spent the remaining of the afternoon sipping tea while watching the scarlet sun set across the Nile.
It was a moment.
Mitch said good bye and I also had to start getting ready as I had to catch my night bus that night going back to Cairo.
Saber, being Saber still paid for my transportation on the way back to his place so I could take a shower, and bought me dinner for the road ahead.
We ate on the street while talking about his faith. I wished him well and left for the bus terminal. It was fun waiting for the bus, as I had no goals and just had to relax. I got on the bus and had slept well, air-conditioning is always a god-send.
epilogue
When I got back to Japan months later, I finally found out why I got kicked out of Ali’s place after he contacted me.
It was because Ali’s wife thought I was there to sleep with him. Ali admitted to me that he was gay, which I had no qualms with.
It was just a misunderstanding and I was really happy with how things played out for me in the end anyways.
