COUNTRIES

Diving in Hurghada. Coral reefs here are decent but there are better diving sites in Egypt

I saw the usual bunch of marine life, but not as plentiful as I was hoping

Modern houses in Hurghada. It was a village until development started in 1980' and transformed it into a big resort

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is home to almost 20 million people

Egyptian bread being delivered by a very skillful cyclist

People here don't seem to worry about hygiene as much as in Europe

Banana delivery in central Cairo

Fruit seller near Al-Azhar Mosque with waterpipe (shisha) in front of him

An old man selling baked sweet potatoes in Islamic Cairo, the most fascinating district of the capital

Women in As-Salbiyya Road. Usually we saw men sitting around, especially in the evening

We never saw any women smoking shisha

The Citadel, which was home to Egypt's rulers for 700 years

Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan. He was assassinated shortly before the mosque was completed in 1363

View of Islamic Cairo from a cemetery near the Citadel

Rubbish is a big problem here and nobody seems to care

A typical street in Islamic Cairo. It was full of banners because of elections

One of many side-streets

Alin Aq Al-Hussami Palace

There are so many mosques that I lost count

Al-Azhar Mosque is one of the oldest. A madrassa was established here in AD 988

Men come to Al-Azhar to pray and study the Koran

The Maghrib (sunset) prayer in Al-Azhar Mosque

Al-Azhar Mosque in the evening. It's the most prestigious place to study Sunni theology

Streets are full of people well into the night

Shoemakers repairing shoes. I'm not sure why they need a TV set behind them

Coptic Cairo, the oldest part of the city. 10% of Egypt's population are Coptic Christians

The Hanging Church, named so because it was built on top of the Water Gate

Church of St George, devoted to one of the most popular saints for Egypt's Christians

Road leading to the Pyramids of Giza

Donkeys seem to cope well with the weight of adult men

We only saw camels in or around touristy places, like here outside the entrance to the Pyramids

Visibility was bad when we visited. There is a lot of hassling from people offering camel rides

It may be cheap to ride, but often the owner will not let you off until you pay more than agreed

The Pyramid of Khafre, the second-largest in Giza. It used to be covered by casing stones, seen near the top

The Great Sphinx of Giza. This name was given 2000 years after its construction

My "artistic" version of the Pyramids created when playing with Photoshop