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[Stroggy]

Originally posted by Wael+Nov 12 2004, 09:33 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Wael @ Nov 12 2004, 09:33 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Stroggy@Nov 12 2004, 09:26 AM
Sorry, I already planned a vacation to Israel

Aah,
the beutiful Israel;

Come to look at the sights,
the ancient temples,
holy places,
ancient ponds,
peaceful dynes,
hang palestinans,
ruins left from suicide attacks,
and the wise leader...
:angel:

/no offense ment/ [/b][/quote]
You've never been to Israel, have you?

[Wael]

I know it´s beautiful there...
That´s not the point.

Just,
Forget it.

And my apologies if I offended you.

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Puffin@Nov 12 2004, 04:46 AM
Sorry to break it to you guys, but I think we're a bit* here....




I already sent Freddy my votes* :angel:

Just to be a sec more

While you visiting Croatia, you can take a small excursion to Bosnia too. I would encourage you to try Bosnian’s ‘chevap’, one of the best meals on the world. :w00t: k:

There are many attractions there, too.

I would like to visit Egypt and pyramids.

[Yamcha]

Or Bulgaria.Without the Capital Sofia. And we are not comunistic now :ranting:

Nice site anubis k:

[Stroggy]

Originally posted by Wael@Nov 12 2004, 01:20 PM
I know it´s beautiful there...
That´s not the point.

Just,
Forget it.

And my apologies if I offended you.

You haven't offended me, its just that I find it ennerving that people have such a wrong mental picture of Israel.
You can't judge Israel until you've walked through the ancient streets of Jerusalem and talking to the people there, jews and arabs.
Or when you've stood in the grand plaza in front of the Western Wall will the Dome of the Rock looming up behind it.

You can't judge the country un til you've spent a night in the sprawling city of Tel Aviv, visiting themed bars and restaurants or one of the truelly gigantic dancings.

For example did you know that in Tel Aviv the biggest gay dancing is located?
Its main frequenters are arabs (a lot of them palestinians) who fled their homes out of fear because of their nature. To them this Zionist entity is a beacon of hope.

I myself have visited the Gaza Strip a few years ago (in a time of relative peace)
together with my family in Israel. My own parents don't know I drank tea near the harbour of Gaza City.

So I think before you go judge countries you should atleast have been there, or studied its history and people.

I would like to visit Egypt and pyramids.

I spent my vacation in Egypt last year.
I suggest that, if you do plan on going, go to a hotel in the Sinai, next to the Red Sea.
It is quite a while away from Cairo (to get to Cairo at sunrise you must take a bus at around 23:00 the day before)
I suggest the tourist-city of Sharm El Sheikh. Thats where the big luxury hotels are.
The city is a complete fake and most of the older hotels were constructed by Israel when Israel still owned the Sinai.
But to stay in Cairo is not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous to your health.

When I arrived with the bus in Cairo most people were watching the streetscenes with open mouth.
It was pure chaos, there were trucks filled with misc. animal parts in a traffic jam.
The smell of rotting flesh in the early sun stank to high heaven.
There was a small canal filled with garbage, you couldn't see the water anymore!
The buildings were ghastly and very unsafe and in between them there were fields people used to grow their own food.

All this shrouded in a thick smog of gas and a smell of sewage. it was really a sight to behold once and never to see again.

The pyramids themselves are amazing.
When you arrive you can barely see whats in front of you due to the smog and such.
But after an hour or so the smog starts lifting.

I remember getting off the bus and asking where the pyramids were, I just saw one big block.
Slowly the smog started lifting and the sun began to rise higher and eventually you saw this huge towering Pyramide in front of you.

Its really amazing... until the merchants come.
They'll pull at your clothes to get your attention so they can sell you postcards.
Men with camels will literaly push you unto a camel and then demand rediculous prices for a camelride you didn't even want!

Even policemen will tell you to follow them so they can show you some things.
While this does give you access to some sites not viewable to the public (they are closed off with barred fences and only the policemen at the site have they keys) it will cost you afterwards when they start pleading for more money to feed their families.

And often the amazing panorama of the pyramids are disturbed by the ghastly skyline of the brown city at the background.

The Sfynx is very nice (yet quite small in retrospec) but it isn't worth paying for to gain closer entry.
You just get leaded into an obvious recreation of a temple and then the guides claim it was found in the condition it is in now (which is obviously a lie)

To get an all-inclusif and safe tour through the city you must take the bustour (the planes are too unsafe, one plane travelling from the Sharm el Sheikh airport to Cairo crashed the day I returned to belgium) plus the tour also includes a meal at a good restaurant (many of the restaurants in Egypt are very unhealthy)
But sadly after the pyramids and a visit to the Museum of Archeology the guide rambles on and on about the greatness of their former president Nasser and his great achievements like the building of the Aswan Dam and his unification of muslim countries in a war against Israel (which they eventually lost)

The tour of Cairo eventually ends in a plaza near one of the oldest and most famous Mosque and 'College' of Egypt. I don't need to tell you this is a highly fanatical area.
You can join the other tourists in a bar serving tea and Baklava but you'll hace to beat the beggars off with a stick (they really come in swarms... try not to look too wealthy)
Or you canb rowse the bazar... but look out for pickpockets since the bazar is packed with people.

I'll PM you a few photos of my trip to Egypt.

oh and one last thing: in the hotels, when ordering water ALWAYS ask for bottled water. since they'll often try to give you a big glass with simple tapwater. While this water is probably okay, us westerners are not used to it at all and you'll probably get sick a bit after drinking it

Anyway, this is off topic.

[Wael]

-I´d like to continue this argument,
but as you said,
it´s offtopic,
so I´ll let you have the last word-

[Stroggy]

Originally posted by Wael@Nov 12 2004, 01:49 PM
-I´d like to continue this argument,
but as you said,
it´s offtopic,
so I´ll let you have the last word-

You are free to PM me

[Rogue]

I don't know if this board supports option to make two topics out of this one (it would be nice to separate discussions).

Thanks strrogy for very detailed info. I would like to see these photos.

I would be more interested to be part of archeological team, but today that's out of the question.

I know you must have felt terrible as they spoke against your country, but occupation of foreign countries land never brings popularity. Just check today’s USA status, after occupation of IRAQ. (with this we are even more )

I think that there is much more to see in Egypt then pyramids, but I might be wrong.

And as for Sfynx, its face got partially destroyed at beginning of ottoman occupation of Egypt, as Islam does not allot representation of face to be on picture or on the sculpture (this is what they taught us in the school back in Bosnia). I am very grateful that ottomans did not destroy grave plates (known as stechci) from the time of Bosnian Kingdom back in my country, as these contained a lot of sculptures of a faces.

Did you have a chance to go to southern Egypt?

[Stroggy]

i'll reply in PM if you don't mind

[Rogue]

No problem