Got up at 8.30; Green Valley tours came round at 9.00 again (½ hour early). Supposed to go to museum, Memphis and the Sakkara pyramids today. However, we got so fed up of waiting in the bus outside the museum that we walked off, despite the protestation of the elderly bus driver. We went off looking for the tourist office for advice on travel etc., but were sidetracked by signs to Talaat Harb Street which has a reputation for very cheap hotels. When we arrived at Talaat Harb Street we looked confused as we could not find the street sign. Noticing this, a rather scruffy-looking man came to our aid. After being assured that he wasn’t after a "baksheesh" we let him show us to the Suisse Hotel. At E£17 between us for the night we could not resist! After picking up our rucksacks from the Tiab House in El Dukki, Mohammed (the scruffy local) asked us we fancied going horse-riding in Giza around the pyramids. Yes we did! We met up with an older Mohammed and got a taxi to Giza.

The younger Mohammed waiting for the horses.

The horse-riding was fantastic, well worth the hour wait and E£40 price! Charging through the Sahara desert with Cairo and the pyramids in the background with plenty of screaming and kicked up dust involved! Galloping on the horse was surprisingly easy-- a good job as no hard-hats were worn and most of the way was lined with large, jagged stones. My only regret was choosing a medium horse instead of fast! Mohammed and Mohammed were charging around like crazy men, the younger one occasionally holding his crop above his head and yelling "INDIANS!" like Kevin Costner in "Dances with wolves" (“Dances with wolves, hev you sin dis movie?”).

The younger Mohammed speaks Spanish, English, Japanese, Italian and, of course, Arabic. He is 19 years of age.

We had become quite friendly with the Mohammeds by this time so arranged to go around to the elder one’s apartment in Giza for a meal and talk with the younger Mohammed about travelling to the Bahariya Oasis with him.

As planned, we went back to Giza in the evening after picking up a 20p (150 piastres) meal in Downtown near the Suisse Hotel.

We played cards for a while and talked a lot, mainly to the elder Mohammed who is intelligent and shows an interest in the world outside the Arab world and Islam.

We decided to skip the Oasis idea and go straight through to Luxor to save money. The younger Mohammed was visibly disappointed, but Ol and I have to be very careful about money. The meal, prepared by the elder Mohammed’s brother was delicious. We had a variety of meats and cheeses with cobs and a sort of Pitta bread. We left the apartment at about 1 o’clock in the morning after arranging to meet outside our hotel for a "Big Boy’s Beer Night" as they would say at work.

View from our room at Suisse Hotel.

The Suisse Hotel is absolutely awful! Filthy, gritty wooden floor, grimy walls and no sheets! There are also mosquitoes (not malarial) so must get a coil to burn.