Another moaner

They are all of one mind
Linda who is married to an Egyptian built a nice block of flats near karnak temple. and had a ground floor flat I could rent, for 2500egp per month I paid 3 months in advance, the day I moved in so did the builders.when my wife came the builders were in full swing on the top flat and all the building debris was thrown over the side on to our path by the back door, and all the dust was drawn into the flat. too much for Pam.I complained a few times to the landlord in the end after 2 weeks of dust and builders materials strewn in the passage way,the American guy in the flat next to us had already had enough and moved out.
I said we where moving out she could keep the money and the air condition unit I bought (one unit was not enough in the flat,). That I had intended to use if I moved back to the hotel, but had to give my deposit back, she said it would take a week to put the money through and I was to call for it again.. I went back to the place twice to get my hoover pipe that had been left in the car during the move. And an Ironing board had been left in the flat, she sent an sms to say that her husband would bring the things to me two weeks later the pipe was dropped off in the shop on the corner of Sheraton hotel , and I had another sms saying so. I sent an sms back and was replied to by saying I had to pick up the money from her place of work. So I called in asked the reception for Julie who come hurtling through the foyer and into the bank that was situated outside the hotel where she works, I sat there waiting maybe half on hourWhen she appeared again came over and said here is your money and left when I got home I had an sms again from her saying how dare I be so rude going to her place of work demanding money when she was in a conference, I did not reply to this But all she had to tell reception was ,, can you ask him to come back later,, after all I had waited one month and another couple of hours would have been ok, not even a thank you for the rent that I could have claimed back and the unit I left her, just a moaner she was not even in a conference that is not her job she is a staff trainer works from 9 to 1 on 250 le per month moaning all the time while her husband lives at home, I went there at 1pm on her instructions on leaving the flat.Our new flat was by the Sheraton Hotel the other side of town by the Nile with a great Nile view a bit pricey but it would do for the time being Pam liked it and as it was her money she had the decision. And one week later went back to the uk she did not want to leave but her Mum was going in for an eye operation so she had to be there.Across the way to the place that we were renting was the Grand restaurant, and I would go there in the evenings and have a few beers and sisha. And soon became friends with the owners I kept quiet about my situation as you never know who is related around here and I just wanted a quiet life and let things take there course, I was asked where I was staying and it happened to be the cousin of the owner, that did not surprise me as every body here seems to be related but do not have much to do with each other but are well into running each other down, thee restaurant or the grand restaurant is owned by the youngest son quit unusual for this part of the world as its usually the eldest. But Hammam apparently spent 8 years in London and owned or ran a jewellers came back home and must have bought his lot off his father, the middle son Iub is a chef and runs the catering side of the business and Immam the eldest just seems to be around , the father whose name is Kaled ebn Waled has the main street here named after him, most of the big hotels are on this street that runs up to the Cornish ( Promenade along the Nile) and his forefathers ran the brick factory here as did Kaled until the Nile was dammed by the new one in 72, and the mud brick factories where told to halt using the mud by the Nile, he also owns a large chunk of the land around here the government built an open air theatre on his land by the Nile, they all live in a block of flats next to the restaurants, I say restaurants there is a Korean restaurant that is leased by Kim who is Korean. Inside the grand there is the Cleopatra bar and the Thebes international restaurant on two floors that seat around 800 people the tourist buses from Hurgada and Cairo use this place as a stop for food, during the day then the place is quiet the rest of the time with a dribble of people using the bar and the coffee shop, there is a whole range of restaurants around this area,I was told by hammam the Indian restaurant is another that is rented out by him and the Indian family who are renting this where moving into the top flat of his block, and if I would like to rent the one under that I could at 1500 per month that is 1000 less than You are paying now in my uncles?? Why not go and see it? so I went and it had fantastic views of the Nile so I said when my month is up I will take one, two weeks later I was told that the Indians were not moving in as they had found a place that was already to move into and if I wanted I could rent it . When it was finished and said this would be the next week as it only needed painting and all the furniture was on the roof. Ready to be moved down. The time was drawing near to my moving and the flat was no where near finished . His line was the painters can not finish as the joiners have not been to put the doors on and they needed trimming as the floors had been raised with the new tiles so all the doors needed 2 inches cutting off , I told him I will do that . And went to get my tools and put them back on that evening. Then the plumber came and was putting the old fittings back I said I would get a new pan and sink. And the plumber can put them in. that was done and then I was asked for 100 to give the plumber for fitting the new units,I did not say anything about that, as I was happy it was done in time for me to move . He said the kitchen units are coming and the three piece settee is being refurbished and would be here any day now. Two days to go then one of the workers from my hotel happened to call in for a tea and sisha. We got talking and He told all the story of why mr Tony was staying in this area, SHIT.He told them the whole story and how I was getting my money back from Sheik Tyib,Just explain what happens in the case of winning a case in Egyptian court . Sheik Tyib is guarantor for the money he pays what is agreed into the winners bank or it has to be picked up at the court on a Friday night, and the loser has to bring the said amount and hand it to Sheik Tyib. If the loser does not pay he will be put in Jail or they will use sharia law that could mean beheading or in this case classed as theft , his hand cut off, so now I have these people thinking I have money coming in from a very secure point,

Grand restaurant Luxor

Talk about Alice in wonderland .Flat 10. Above grand restaurant . Kaled Ebd Waled St Awamea Luxor
Since Hammam the owner of the building here thought I had money.First it was oh Mr Tony You must not feel angry about all the people here. My fingers are not all the same, (the one crap saying that pisses me off) you must feel safe here If you take one of my flats I will make sure you are ok.The following night I was told by H that he had talked to his family, and that we can rent you a flat 1000 per month less than the one I am staying in now. As all of his family are soon moving to the new house by the Nile,. We are making one new flat on the top floor ready for The Indian man and his family. Come and I will show you , just have a look at what we do, so off we went up to the 6th floor to view, on arriving at the flat . there was a lot of activity with tillers laying new floors a joiner taking all the doors off and putting them on the roof ready to be painted. A painter making good the ceilings and a plumber taking out the old sink and wc.And was told it would be ready in 3 weeks as the Indian man had already said he wanted it as it will be nice and near the Indian Restaurant that he was already renting from H. ( IN THE SAME BLOCK) It had a fantastic Nile and Thebes mountain view; On seeing my interest, I was told the flat I could rent was bellow this one but we have people in now so I can not see it yet, but they will be moving to another flat and all it needs is painting. So I said good I like the view, we shall see, then we went down stairs had another tea and H said give Mr Tony A beer and sisha, then he asked if I would make a tour with him to see the restaurants, I own this all he said on not showing any interest He then said we will go and also see my land by the Nile. It was in a nice location with Nile frontage 200 yds from the Restaurant. Now that I showed interest in, and asked what he was going to do with the place it already had a sizable building on it but it was dilapidated and not safe to enter, made of mud brick but it was there and had the water and Electric supply in already, this apparently was the old family home and the father at one time owned all the land in this area as it was a brick factory but stopped producing in the seventies when the new dam was built in AswanAfter we got back to the coffee shop we talked met his father and was introduced to his 2 other brothers. And all where nice people.over the next few days I was moving furniture around in the flat I was already in, getting my internet connection sorted out, reading the Quest a Wilber smith book my wife brought from the uk for me, so did not bother going out and I had a nice balcony looking out over the Nile to sit on , so I did not need to go anywhere,Now you can see the balcony of my flat from the Grand, so the next time I called in for a beer and sisha H asked why I was alone, and why you drink and smoke sisha when here you can have somebody make for you . I told him I do not need people and I like being on my own I like reading and my beer is only 4.50. So I was offered free sisha and beer at 10 pound, it came to time to ask if I was going to take the flat. First I was told you if you do not say you want I have somebody else for this flat.Then the waiter from Myegypt came in and had a chai and sisha he noticed me and came over . And he told everybody my situation how I was taken out from the hotel everything even to say that I was right as Sheik Tyib say I get my money back, up to this point H did not know about sheik Tyib as the situation was not resolved ,after Hamada left I was again asked if I wanted the flatas I already talked about the flat etc to Pam. I said yes, now there was need to realy get mr Tony to stay in his flat?? it came to asking about the b&b part . H said ,I do not need your money Mr Tony You see what I have already I will make you manager of the new bed And breakfast we are making, because we need someone who knows the hotel business .and I will pay you on commission seemed a good idea , I took it that the b&b was already in the planning and building stage, as you see from picture it was already in progress with the first floor already built this is the third floor plans have another 4 storey on the top all rooms with Nile view,I said we shall see, and because there was no money involved I said ok ,then after saying I would take the flat to be near my new JobThe next day I was informed that the Indian family had found a flat already to move into and would not need the top floor flat and that I can also have the roof with it.’ But I have to take it for at least 1 year ,‘that’s ok I thought as it was going to be at least an year to get my hotel back, and made a contract for 14 months at 1500 per month, I paid all but 1000 le.The week before I moved I went to see if the flat had been finished , H and I went up to the flat, the tiles where finished but not the painting , I asked why , and was told because the woodman had not come to put the doors back on, asked why the bathroom and kitchen was not finished I was told that they had a problem getting the workmen to come, so I said I had the tools and I would finish the doors and put the kitchen in, on going to the kitchen the old sink and wc were in there on the floor the sink had a crack in it and the water closet part of the wc had a gaping hole in it with no workings in side, so I said Not to put them in and I would rather buy new ones, 2 hours later I had put the new ones in the flat on the understanding that the plumber would come to fix them in . that he did and he charged me 100le for fittings??? I had enough hassle over the last few months rather than make a fuss I paid him. And I was told the kitchen was on its way, It took me 1 ½ hours to cut and fix the doors, the handles where knackered and left them until I moved in it would give me something to do and I could choose my own , ( I knew if I left it to H I would get some cheap and nasty handles and it would be another tomorrow situation) as would the wc have been, then I had to pay the painters baksheesh to come and finish the work they had started, I was willing to do this myself but why should H had the painters working in the restaurant and all they had to do was work a day on my flat to finish, I then told H that It had to be finished by the 28th that was 2 days away,On the first day of moving I was up at 6.00am and I took the hoover and some cleaning material with me to my new flat I was surprised to see it was already cleaned and the fridge and cooker was in situe no kitchen units but they were on there way,The beds where in bits on the bedroom floors and was told they had to be assembled, and the wardrobe was in 1 in each bedroom.I almost cried at seeing this shit all in my new flat all I can call it is shit I have burnt and given better stuff to the guy on the rubbish dump better stuff, the door was as you can see hanging off and did not work anyway as the motor was knackered, the cooker was filthyWith no burners not that they knew this was no good but they even connected it up to a gas bottle, the cooker is in the photo exactly as it was in my room but I have taken the gas connection off encase they give it to another person, the mattress you see behind is one they gave me covered in bird and cat piss and shit, I am not going to say what I told H but he said ‘ stupid people , I will make sure the fix they fix the beds and the other things , I said I need something to sit on and I was told I could have anything that was on the roof and the three piece was coming , now we were in Ramadan and I knew we where going to have problems getting things done as I had been through it all before building my home. So I did not pursue the matter , and made the best of what I had which was a load of shit,I fixed the bed and a wardrobe, I already had my office furniture and my office was finished by that evening I hired a couple of guys to move my stuff from the other flat. and I was in to late to turn back I paid up for 14 months so no money worries, I had to ask H for the washing machine and I was waiting for the water I had water at night when the pressure was up, and did my washing and whatever then, fair do,s H did say they bad water pressure and the pump needed fixing, and I said Ok. ( I did not mean ok I could do without water) I meant ok until you get it fixed, Pam was coming in a few days so I had to get the kitchen Myself H paid for it and I fitted and painted it the work top I scagged from the roof rubbish and used some left over tiles to use for the surface, it’s the best job in the flat. and I asked H for the three piece. That he said was on its way the answer I got its Ramadan and you know what its like in Ramadan, I told him that is not an excuse as most of the upholsterers are Christians And every day I see furniture being delivered somewhere. There were light fittings but the painter had taken the covers off and they had gone out with the rubbish I guess.My first cooker my nice fridge all they did was put them on the roof and my kitchen small but easy to clean,. So they had to be done As there was bare wires showing . The day after I took 2 of the air condition units out from the wall and made one that worked out of the 2 , I could not find any adjustment knobs or front covers for the units but I had cool air blowing in my flat. as the flat is on the 6th floor I could open all the windows and let the fresh air in not so bad and then I set about fixing and cleaning the ceiling fans. They are quite easy to fix usually they just need new brushes , so now I had an air conditioned bedroom and office, no thanks to the owner. Then I asked him for the contract or at least a receipt for the money I paid he told me to make one and he would sign it. I did and he did with reluctance, I was with his father down in the coffee shop when next I asked for my water to be fixed, he said his father had a pump and they would do it in the next few days as soon as they could get a plumber, but its Ramadan?? the next day Pam and I went to the restaurant for a meal I told them they had a problem in the toilet one of the wc’s was overflowing and there was water everywhere, five minutes later guess who fixed it. Or did Ramadan just end,My air con and the one I took out 4 months ago still on the landing outside my door and one of the light switches that I have not done.I had made all the new menu’s for the restaurant even had a machine to put them in sealed polythene units, 450 pieces in allThe ink was over 500le and then there was the plastic seals I guess the whole thing cost about 750 le I was asked to do these because he had made me manager of the Cleopatra bar with fine Nile views. And had to sit outside and hand these menu’s to potential customers passing by from this I would get 5% commission. No asking and no consultation before I was told, when I asked when did he come to this decision he said it was already agreed that you are the new manager, I said yes for the b&b to that he replied where do you think they eat there breakfast?? I did not have an answer to that? Part of the deal was that I ate in the restaurant for free but had to pay for any beer I consumed, I never Had any commission off H for what I had done and I worked out how much my meals were to date and my free chai and sisha So I did one more week, that would pay for the work I had done . And never went inside the coffee shop again. In case I end up with a bill. 14/2/08 my lecy has been fixed well it does not go off anymore and I am still waiting for my water. I have not seen H for at least 2 weeks , not that I want to. So maybe he has run out of lies to tell me. The new B&B is still where it was 6 months ago as is his new home all the family where moving into, the Indian guy is an English Indian cuisine chef so The Indian guy taking this flat in the beginning did not exist. And the flat that he said I could not see as he had people in Is his brothers the chef. Now I really do think all Egyptian are the same, well they all say the same thing , my fingers are not all the same but My ceiling where the water comes through when they make bread on the roof. And there is another above my seat by the computer, I cannot be bothered to do anything as I have enough to worry about with my first problem. I left after 6 months, trying to get my rent back is like getting blood from a stone. and as I say Just another Lying bastard,
How did I get scammed by yet another Lying bastard?
this story is from 1/7/07
Now what I was told by Hammam I do not need your money . As you can see, on the top of the restaurant I have permission to build another 6 floors I am going to build a 5 star bed and breakfast on there with no money limit spent on its finish there are 10 units per floor all with en-suite and Nile view. These we are starting after Ramadan, and as you know how to run a hotel I will give you the possession as manager and you will work on commission on the amount of people you bring in <> when you get your money if you like you can put it in the building of the next floors that will give you a larger share of commission. Now talking of money I would like you to pay 20000 that’s a year and 2 months in advance as a good will gesture so we can get the building started,I talked about this on the phone with Pam and she agreed that I needed a place to live and the case could go on for 2 years even if I get repossession I did not want to go back to the hotel , once I win my case that is different , I will move back in.So I was not loosing anything by giving him this money for rent,The day soon went by and I was ready to move in my flat I had made all the arrangements for my belonging’s to be transported the 200 yards, plus the 6 flights of stairs up to my flat. the first thing was to take the hoover and cleaning cloths . Knowing these builders it will be filthy But Said the general Handy man here had been in and cleaned it as had 2 men been to move the furniture from the roof,Now I know it says furniture but I never saw anything like this only in the scrap yard the cooker was already put in and piped to the gas bottle it had no burners or anything on the top to hold anything even if the burners where there I guess it was about 50 years old and with that much grime on it, and A fridge with the door hanging off. I was informed it came off while they carried it back down . I had already seen this on the roof in the same condition., the old toilet pan and sink were in the kitchen I can do plumbing and I know that these would never of worked as both pieces where cracked and needed replacing so saving the owner 3000 le for a new one that I bought and paid to have put into service, the mattress that I was given was piss marked all over I think the local cat population had been using them while on the roof, the beds I was told had to be sorted out as the pieces had been muddled up with the rest of the beds up on the roof, so all in all it was a good moving day, I had to rush out to buy a mattress so I could sleep that night as I could not use the three piece suite as it had not come back from the upholsterers. The kitchen units I was informed where on the way, they must have been bringing them on a wheelbarrow from Aswan two weeks latter I was still waiting for them and the 3 piece,I had known about the water situation because I was told they had a problem with the pump I said, its ok for now, I could do my washing and bathing when the pressure was up at Night, but that did not prove so . It would take about an hour to run a bath. And I was told the pump was being renewed, so I did not do too much about that, I had to replace all the door furniture as none of it worked an the electric light switches had not been replaced after the painting so I did those, I also repaired the air condition units but the one in my bedroom is missing with the hole to the outside still open , Pam was coming at the end of the month and I still had no kitchen so I asked where it was and I was given the excuse it was Ramadan, so I said go and buy one from the Christian area and I will put it in, So off we went to the outskirts of Luxor to find one, we could find one unpainted so I said buy it and I will paint it after putting it in. that evening I put it in and gave it an under coat. and finished it off with a coat of paint Pam was arriving on the 19.00 plane and I had to make sure there was no fumes when she arrived, all was finished just in Time But we were still sleeping on the mattress on the floor The next day we went out to buy some furniture including a bed . Pam was here for a month and the last week of her stay the 3 piece arrived after much asking, when I first moved in this flat I went and paid for an internet line but I had to get a telephone first, 4months later I am still waiting for my water I have had problems with the electric for the last month if the electric water heater cuts in with the TV or computer on all the electric goes off due to a problem on the ground floor, I could fix it but not my property not my job and why should I fix it putting my life at risk on an uncontrolled main electric circuit, and my internet was put on the day the cables severed in the Mediterranean sea by a massive tanker of 600 kilometres long, they say the 3 points where caught by a ships anchor , the B & B building is still the way it was 5 months ago, and yesterday I had a call from the parcel company that my telephone number came up and there was a present from vodaphone for me on its way and they wanted the address, late this afternoon all excited I waited for the parcel to arrive. I paid the man for having to come up the stairs 10Le. And opened my present from this multi million pound profit company, inside was a nice well written 20 page pamphlet with the whole range of the latest phones and internet links.There was a set of 3 place mats with the vodaphone logo on them made out of conte board the shit material that even the cheap kitchen unit manufacturers refuse to use, presented in a rack holder all this wonder full useless present was in a tie up bright red bag with the vodaphone logo on it that I guess was more valuable than its contents, or was it the pamphlet, so vodaphone I do not know what I did to offend you but you sure offended me. And I took the offending package to the nearest vodaphone shop and told them to keep it as they may have some use for it, maybe a dried flower vase or something like that but nothing that contained liquid, as the mat would disintegrate, my new idsl line has a problem I went to Rainbow net office told them the problem was not with me and the computer, but insisted it was asked for my web site so they could see if there was a problem there was not, after much explaining and showing what the problem was they sent 2 men back with me to fix this problem leaving with the problem is not here with you we have to get control to fix the problem. Shhhhhhh, don’t say anything, Now I am getting a little bit pissed off with the whole situation and may stay in bed a few days see if I wake up in the real world not Tony in wonderland.

scams to be aware of

, 2007 After I was forced out of my home, I rented a flat near Karnak temple,The first day I went for a tea near my new flat. In the café I was approached by a man who said he had a flat to rent or If I wanted I could buy it. At this time I was totally unaware of scams relating to renting, the next day I went to see the property as agreed 10.00 o’clock, he could see my flat from his balcony and came to meet me. This was a really nice place his home was on the second floor all newly built above him there was another 2 floors that needed to be finished I.e. just a concrete structure, from this area the view was 360 degrees,To the front was the Nile and the Thebes Area, views directly at the valley of the kings mountain range and a clear view of Hatshepsut Temple. To the back was Karnak temple and from the roof you could see all the inside of the complex. What a place to have a flat. seeing my enthusiasm the price !£36.000.00 or If I need this flat I need five thousand sterling now. And £15.00 a month when you move in. I then asked how long will it be before I can move in . he most likely thought I was here on a two week holiday. And said about 6 months, I then asked can you make it sooner, like everything else here haggling is part of the game and as usual it was half, so I could move in to my flat in three months,Then we went back to his flat downstairs and here it was the usual crap, they think a cup of tea will get them what they want, I had to get the money to him by 11.00 the next morning as there was other people wanting the flat, the warning flag was now waving . So I played his game a bit longer,And asked a few more questions like has the flat bellow (mine) been sold , yes we start to build in two weeks, (enough time for me to be on a plane home) I then got up to say my goodbye’s on the way out he said promise you come with my money , I said yes if nothing go wrong “inshalla” god willing,I had heard rumours about the places coming down in that area, so I went to the council district officeTo see Dr Samir Fawak , Last time I saw him he said if I need to know anything to come and see him,He told me all in this area is coming down and very soon, and that was the end of that Game,Since putting my blog on my web site I have found out this guy has conned 20 people for me to know of, 3 lost 28 to 32 thousand they thought they had bought the flat. the others for 5 k each,2 weeks after I saw this property it was down, one English man was even sent a key to his property he arrived a couple of days too late, the land owner has since disappeared, not even the police can find him as his real name was not Abdul Said Alghany, After I received the 15th email I went back to the café in Karnak and what I was told .The reason he set up the scam was he was conned first , The guy bought the block of flats from another Egyptian who knew the place was due to be demolished, and another told me the original owner was paid from the council whatever it was worth, he then gave it to his nephew to live in until it came down, and no one knows where this boy came from or where he is now. it was a young lad who tried to con me, but as I say there is no one here you can trust to say the truth especially about a brother,Now if the guy was of a different faith he would not get ten paces without someone telling on him. This is another reason why the police have such a hard job of conviction here, And if they do get caught out, its like “ah” well at least I tried, they will not say they are conmen , they say we are the fools for giving them money, like my scallywag friend said to me:- you made me bad coming here with your money:- no answer to that is there?When buying property, this is a hard one to understand,“Ok” you have all your property papers every thing has gone nice and smooth, you’ve built the home of your choice, and now you want to sell, maybe like one American Lady who built a nice villa by Banana island Luxor, six months after they moved into their home the husband dies, and she wants to sell, big problems arise, why? they had done everything through a solicitor, had the right papers for the land,” what’s the problem” ? the electric is not in their names! What!! the guy who originally owned the land forgot to tell them the electric was still in his name, forgot or another one who knew the law here. The American had to sell at a very much reduced rate because she wanted to get rid and go back to the states, the new owners was left to fight and get the electric in their names, I wont mention you MRS P?Here in Egypt you have police who like to wear armbands so you can see at a glance who they are,The army police like to stand about guarding some building or other i.e. checkpoints visa offices etc but seem to be in their glory standing behind wheeled steel plates with a hole in them to rest the Kalashnikov rifle.The traffic police are also easy to spot as usually they will be sitting on a corner leaning on their patrol 150cc bikes, then you have secret police these dress in European cloths (not galabeia) and like to show off there armoury and walk about like the olden day gunslingers in dodge city, so not too much secret about them, the hard ones to spot are the water police,(the stuff that comes out of the tap in your home) the telephone police and the electric police they seem to have more power than the uniformed police, so where do you find the fore mentioned to get your papers? they have offices like Egypt’s faculty of elecery, like the youth clup is a misspell , Nile water board and Egypt telecom, your lawyer should also tell you this when you are buying land but like everything else here you have to jolt their memory.But as newcomers to Egypt’s wonderland its something we do not think about , and now you know “hoorah hooray“.now I can put my coat on the proper way, it seems my voice has been heard thanks to blogging“ Hooray again “ for wordpress or was it Google’s blogspot .
27/7/09 More from these liars I did not expect this from such a well known Egyptologist as Zain hawass.
If you want your story told please do a blog or put it on my comments, I will put it on here for free,I have nothing else to do, if I am on the computer I am not cooking so please think about my figure and give me something to write about, it may help others not to fall into the same trap.

Prostitutes in Egypt

Again I went to report my hotel was still open. And why is it that no tourist has to give his passport number when booking in. Egyptian law states this is an offence,And Again I was told the hotel is not open, or should not be open??On the way out of the police office I was asked if I wanted a taxi for 5 pound, And I took him up on his generous offer, knowing full well that hassle was to follow,By the time he had got in the drivers seat and turned the ignition on , I found out I was on my way to a naughty house, Time to turn hassle into a bit of fun, I asked is it not too early, no it is always open, do the belly dancers not sleep , if that is what you want, But first you must give me 100 pound, why ? Because the girl will say after you only pay 5 pound, And I need money to take you there, so you are a tout ? Not understanding this word he said no the girl needs money, I asked “why” 100 pound is too much to see a belly dance, This is private belly dance to make you want her, “ah” you want me to pay you to have sex with the girl. By this time He must of thought I was a really stupid guy,? you pay for me so you can see, See what? See me have sex, what are you on about I said, I thought I was going to see belly dancing. Too early, belly dance start in the evening maybe 9.0’clock. My next question where is the belly dancing, in Tut Hotel he said. I said shukran and got out of the taxi. I need 5 pound , why I asked , we did not move, I tell you where belly dancing is, I already knew this so why I pay. The best belly dancer is in the New Radwan hotel and (Mafish feluse)free , you know Luxor very good, Aiwa Ana bait a Luxor,(Yes my home is here in Luxor) and another one who knew the word F****** tourist.The girl was more then likely his daughter or even his wife, His chattel.Part of the culture,

Its our culture

On the way home last night I had a trade in of cultural differences with 3 men, its strange what verbal garbage comes out when they have each other to back up what they are saying, like a pack of jackals.First I was told that his English wife had left him after I spoke to her one year ago about not trusting the Egyptians, at the time she wanted to know why I was not still running my hotel, then she asked if it was the right thing to buy him a “ felucca” Nile sail boat, only if you can have the operators licence, I said.And that is impossible unless you have a pilots licence to be a captain of said felluca,and at 67 I do not think she would get one. from what I know 90% of the feluccas have been bought by some foreign woman or other as a gift,And it was my fault she found out what he was up to, she had the sense to call an end to the marriage. then I asked “ what is it with you young men always after the old women, is it because you have no morals“.No its our culture they all chorusedWe do it for money love does not come into it,So you are male prostitutes. Not understanding the two words “Morals and prostitutes”They again chorused its our culture,I then asked this question for myself to try and understand,Why do you take their moneyAnd again they chorused its our culture we have every right to take from the Christians, especially women who pay for sex,Both sexes, I asked ? “Yes “ they took this as offering sex.I then told them it was Haram ( Bad in the law of Koran.) They got angry and said do not bring our faith into the argument. So I said, their faith and their culture are two different things. “No” they again chorused.I then told them they had all been drinking . And the guy behind me has been smoking hashish. All of this is again, Haram, and I ended the discussion . And refused to acknowledge them , on getting off the microbus they hurled a few more abuses , I said "o k if" I am wrong come with me to pray in the Mosque.They looked very astonished and asked if I was a Muslim, “Aiwa” yes I said. Lying is also part of their culture so I thought I would act the part.Then came the soriesWe are sorry we have offended you my brother.So from what I gather from the culture here, in order to be a good Muslim you have to drink alcohol. Smoke hash, have sex with old ladies or men (ANY AGE) for money, and whatever else you can con them out of.And find out later what faith they are and then lie about what they have done, as long as they go to the Mosque and ask for forgiveness, read this blog on the real reason they look for the foreign women http://egyptinvestorguide.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/muslim-girlfriend/

travel in egypt scams

By the time you get to Luxor you might have already realised that you need to be extremely specific in giving instructions to taxi drivers but we still got caught. If you organise a taxi to go to the Valley of the Kings, be aware that the ticket office for the VoK is NOT the ticket office for other attractions in the area. If you say that you want to go to the valley, and the driver says he'll take you to "the ticket office", make sure it's the Valley of the Kings ticket office and not the 'general' one. Otherwise he'll take you to the first ticket office, which is several kilometres *before* the valley of the kings, then demand more money to take you the rest of the way, claiming that this is the ticket office you arranged for him to take you to.If it gets ugly, don't hesitate about getting out of the taxi. Other taxis, buses and local transports regularly pass the first ticket office so you won't be stranded. You could even walk back into Luxor, it's only 2-3km.Tickets for the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Temple of Hatshepsut are all bought at the sites themselves. Tickets for other sites like the Ramesseum, tombs of the workers & nobles, are bought at the first ticket office. Tickets for King Tut's tomb - sold separately from general Valley of the King entrance tickets - are bought at the VoK ticket office.

We met Naser when we got off the train at Luxor’s train station. There were a lot of locals and all of them were trying to get tourists for some cheap hotels. Naser was one of them. He, as we understood, was from “Venus Hotel”. And as we had read about “Venus Hotel” in our guide book, we decided to go and see how it look’s like. Naser was ready to show us the shortest way to this hotel. Here I must remark that “Venus Hotel” isn’t far away from train station and the Temple of Luxor. Very fast Naser became our “Friend’ :-) He was ready to show all that we like to see, he was ready to became our guide and he was ready to take our money.... As we didn’t know the real prices – in some things we trusted to Naser.... And it was very good lesson for future!!! So, if some day ;-) you met Naser, be ready that he will try to find some way how to get your money ;-))) For example, we payed for “Trip on donkeys” 50,-LE per person only because Naser understand that we doesn’t know how much it costs in reality. In reality price is about 25,-LE per person.... So, be ready :-

be aware with locals [not all of them, nice people still can be found here "hum". don’t worry :) ] who keep push you with the same modus operandi “the road is closed, the road is closed, so let me bring you to the local bazaar.” or insisted to company you to the papyrus museum and perfume. Conveniently we were informed of this after we had had our bags stolen on the train.According to the Chief of Transport Police there is a growing number of incidents occurring on the Tourist Trains whereby gangs of thieves are operating. Due to the long nature of the journey the only occupation is to sleep. If you travel first class you will be in a compartment with possibly 4 or 5 other occupants. ATTACH YOUR BAGS TO YOUR PERSON BY SOME MEANS as the train thieves will actually crawl across the floor to steal your bags if they are under the seats. If travelling in a group, ensure at least one of you is awake at any one time and if you leave the compartment wake someone else up to watch your bags. BE WARNED THE REPORTING PROCESS IS A LENGTHY MONOTONOUS AND INTIMIDATING ONE SO DONT EXPECT TO RELAX UPON YOUR ARRIVAL IF SOMETHING HAS BEEN STOLEN.
When paying for a carriage ride or taxi fare look at what you give the driver point out eg.that it is a 50 LE note not the smaller note 50 piastres Quick as a flash they switch these notes saying that you only gave them the smaller 50 piastres note 5p in English and not the 50 LE £5.00 English that was agreed .
Be careful how you handle horse carriage rides in and around Luxor. Sometimes the driver may stop at a gift shop to get you to buy souvenirs along the way. (This scam has been planned and thought out well!). Sometimes the driver will stop and pick-up the "Real Owner" of the horse and carriage. The "Real Owner" will then bump-up the price of your already agreed upon ride. If this happens, stop the driver, pay the 1st agreed upon price get out find another carriage driver or a cab to take you back to your destination.Agree on a price before you take the ride and explain to the driver that you do not want to stop you only want a ride up and down the Corniche.
1) When you are shopping in the local bazzars people will try to say that they work on your boat and try to make you feel very guilty for not paying them so please buy from there stall when they not working, they have a photo there of A boat and they also pretend to know you, nice little trick but if you really want to know if they telling porkies Ask them the name of the boat they work on, and I bet you get the answers most of them...don’t fall for it, it is a scam.2)
Local men will approach other men and ask you if you want a Good time, now if you are gay or like a bit of both, BE SAFE, they are usually going to rob you, get you to go to a local hotel and you pay for the room, or even worse undercover police, may I remind you this is a Muslim country and if you are caught have gay sex or even a hint of it you WILL end in Jail, and they aunt nice!!3)

Herbs and spices. Simple rule is DONT buy them , you see huge bag of saffron for very cheap price, unfortunaly it is usually colour Donkey crap or similar if you don’t know what saffron looks like it should be long strands of deep orangey red, they should be about a cm long and no shorted, if shorter and powder ask for a sample and pop in some water should dye the water orange around where you dropped it str8 away or very quickly.


It seems that Egyptians everywhere where tourism happens, see tourists as walking ATM machines or at least as rich as Ramses II. Everybody wants to sell you incredibly lousy crap. And be even more careful with these children who ask you to change the coins of Euros and cents into a 5 € or 10 € bill. The sum of the coins they ask you to change might even be correct but these kids are never alone and while you are busy to count the coins an other may snatch your wallet and run away. There is no need to change the coins into bills because EURo became a second currency in tourist areas in Egypt so there is always enough need for small change and the coins circulate like the bills exactly as in a Euro Zone country.