Egypt Again 2023.... A Frustrated Visit On My Fourth Trip - eVisas Explained and The Arrival Late At Night and Giza

 Of course there was always going to be a fourth trip because the Grand Egyptian Museum was not open last year, and so one year on almost I am on the trip I planned last August because there were rumours that the GEM would be open by ealry 2023.

Of course it isn't, but am I going to let that spoil my trip? No, of course not!

Unusually for me I arrive at 1.00am in the morning at Cairo airport on a full flight from Athens. Indeed so full they were offering people money NOT to get on it, and at the same time checking the weight of cabin bags. Fortunately I avoided this because mine weighed in at 14kgs and you are only allowed 6kgs. One of the advantages of having ''Special Assistance'' through airports is that you manage to avoid the queues...

Arriving at Cairo was no different from usual, with about 200 people queuing to get a visa, but I of course have already got mine because I did it on line so I was through immigration and waiting for my bags, very fast as usual, while others were still waiting to get their visa label! This is one of the advantages of the eVisa, and also it means you have paid in advance so don't have to budget for it out of your valuable cash balance, if you have one.

Outside are the usual number of people offering you taxis, but I already have a pre-arranged transfer via my hotel. This is 20USD for the ride through the deserted streets of Cairo to my hotel in Giza. Taxis now have to pay for parking at Cairo airport so when I get out I give the man a tip equivalent to the parking fee.

And now before your very eyes I will explain a bit about eVisas and how to get one as some people seem to have real problems getting the web site to work, this is more than likely because they have not followed the instructions, others have noted that the site uses 'old' software but nonetheless it does work! And it does save time at the airport. Others have claimed that they have been charged the money but not got a visa and cannot get a refund but like any country visas are sometimes refused but if you applied you still have to pay for it! And imagine how you would feel if you were queuing at the airport and then were refused entry, and it does happen!

Firstly, there IS ONLY ONE OFFICIAL eVISA WEB SITE ...

And it is this one here.... EGYPT eVISA ...It will open in a new window. You will find other sites that appear to be the right site and indeed most/many of them will get you a visa, but they are third party sites who just fill in the forms for you and the charge exorbitant sums for doing it!!

The first thing you have to do is read the terms and conditions for getting a visa which you will find under the FAQ link. Note that you need a passport with at least 6 months validity, the other things they note there, is a ''travel itinerary'' I have never produced one of these at immigration and indeed, have never been asked for one, I have however been asked where I am staying so I carry my initial hotel booking with me just in case. If you try to get a visa with less than 6 months validity your application will fall over at the first stage.

You will also need to create an account before you start.

The first part of the form are self explanatory, I have deliberately left the 'info' box open on the departure date field, because if you are over 65 and you are not going to get a job, you can stay longer than 30 days if you want to!! But you cannot put more than 30 days in this field

Remember to 'SAVE' each page as you complete it so that if you have to leave the form it will still be there as a draft when you go back to the site

  

The next sections are easy enough too.... Just remember to put in your correct name as it is in your passport, and get the dates right, it's surprising the number of people who forget this simple fact, and also cannot read the dates either!

Where it asks for your address, it tells you what characters are permitted, and carriage return is not one of them!! Put the address all on one line... If you get the message about inallowed characters look closely at what you have done becuase it mean you have made a mistake somewhere!Make sure your phone number is valid with the country code and no spaces in it!

And then the picture of your passport... TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE, AND IT DOES TELL YOU, FIRST THE PICTURE MUST BE LESS THAN A CERTAIN SIZE, AND SECOND IT CAN ONLY CONTAIN ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS IN THE FILE NAME.

If you have used your phone to take the picture then the chances are the file will be far too large!! Read the instruction under the photo!! Most phones have a built in editor so you can resize the photo, on my phone I have to take it down to 20% of the original.. And while you are editing rename the file to something logical like ''passport''. When you click on ATTACH a window opens with helpful suggestions as to how your photo should look,

Here's a nice clean image, above that works just fine, I know because it is the one I have used more than once..

The one above is never going to wrok because the software has to read the passport.

There is often a delay before anything happens because internet upload speeds are not that good in many places, and indeed a slow connection means the system 'times out' on occasions too.

When your photo has uploaded you will see this....

When the photo has uploaded you will see the name/DOB/Passport number fields have been populated automatically.... Which is why you cannot fill them in yourself, and people have actually tried to do so!

Saving the information will keep it as a draft and you can come back to it later and amend anything.... Or you can move directly on to the next step which is payment. Make sure your card is valid and can be used for foreign transactions and actually has credit available on it...

See it's easy, and most people already have a copy of their passport on their phone already don't they??

Quite soon after you have filed the application you will get an email confirming so, and a couple of days later, sometimes more quickly, you get the actual visa which you have to print off to present to immigration.

You will also need a landing card which some airlines will give you on the flight but many no longer do so, you can find these in the airports just before the immigration desk.

Egypt, Aswan, The Temple of Philae, That Unavoidable Unfinished Obelisk.

The Temple of Philae is another rescue project by UNESCO as it too was threatened by rising water from the Low Dam, the original Aswan Dam built by the British and raised more than once to contain the Nile floods and provide water and power. To reach it involves a boat trip and from the outset this seemed problematic as the boat would not start as there was a problem with a fuel pipe...

 Once again I noted that there were many boats moored and apparently unused, my guide says this is down to the reduction in tourism over the preceding years.

The temple, dedicated it seems to various gods and said to be the burial place of Osiris, is worth a visit in its new location. And there is an excellent coffee shop on the site!

Philae is a nice little site with several interesting parts to it, not least its history as a commercial centre. The priests tried to keep it exclusive and indeed raised a petition to Ptolemy VIII to stop public dignitaries going there and using at as a free hotel.

The petition was carved on to an obelisk which was ''acquired'' by the explorer William Bankes, along with its broken ''twin, and transported to England where it remains today.

Other parts of the building have also been removed and are now in The Louvre, and also in Florence.....

As with many sites in Egypt the Christians took it over and as was their custom obliterated some of the heads of the heads of the Egyptian gods.

Left is the Christian altar....

Leaving Philae, more boat problems meant we had to be towed back by another passing vessel...

I had hoped to avoid the dreaded Unfinished Obelisk but it was not be although I suppose the guide was quite right when he said I had to see it as it was an excellent example of how and obelisk was made. By cutting it from a solid piece of rock, except this one cracked before they could finish it.....






 This is my last day in Aswan, so returning to my hotel to pick up my luggage I head to the station for the overnight sleeper train to Cairo.

Arriving at Aswan station I am amazed at the transformation since I arrived!

What was a building site is now an impressive modern station, with nice paving, signage, and various other niceties, but it seems no toilets! Two men are busily cleaning a carriage but seem to have missed all the corners of the windows... And all this because the President is making an official visit...

 The railways are well used in Egypt and while I wait for my train two men pass me on the platform carrying a fridge which is stowed into the luggage van of the train going to Luxor, followed by people with various packages and boxes...

When my train finally arrives I board, preceded by my luggage in the capable hands of a porter who appears out of 

nowhere!

The train journey back to Cairo is surprisingly comfortable with a very pleasant steward who serves me my pre-ordered dinner and then asks if he can sit and talk with me. But of course he can, I have all the time in the world. It turns out that he has a degree in 
Mechanical Engineering, which should be useful if the train breaks down.