the baksheesh bandits

baksheesh = tip

baksheesh bandit = one that performs a "duty" with the hopes of receiving a baksheesh

archeological remains indicate that the luxor area has been inhabited for over 6000 years. wow…now that's old. egypt's greatest attraction after the pyramids, luxor is often described as "the word's largest open-air museum" and was a must-see on our list of places in egypt to visit. aside from the 105 degree temperature, the obnoxious souvenir touts (do you know how much?), and the incessant baksheesh bandits - our three days of touring luxor proved to be nothing short of spectacular. we spend two of the days touring the east bank and visiting the incredible luxor and karnak temples. as independent tourists, we are definitely the minority as we are easily enveloped by seas of hundreds of package tourists being herded around like cattle. egyptian tour guides lead the groups around speaking in japanese, french, spanish, korean, and english. the baksheesh bandits: the numerous "unofficial" guides who gave us tidbits of information and explanations, and the armed security guards who let jason into a couple of restricted areas.

mohammed, our hired driver for the day, picks us up at 7am to begin our tour of the west bank. our first stop is the valley of the kings, an isolated rock canyon that is the final resting place for much of the egyptian royalty. in all, about 62 tombs have been excavated; the 60 LE ($12.00 usd) admission fee allows us to view three, in which we select tuthmosis III, ramses I, and ramses IV. the tombs and striking canyon area are really interesting and amazing sights to see. the baksheesh bandits: a couple of "unofficial" guides who gave explanation of hieroglyphs, the ticket taker at the ramses IV tomb that loaned me a cardboard fan, a man who shined a flashlight into the tomb of tuthmosis III so we could see some intricate carvings, and the non-smiling woman who demanded a baksheesh for me to use one of the nasty backed-up toilets with no toilet paper. unreal. following the valley of the kings, we visit the temple of hatshepsut, a partly rock-cut structure that is one of the finest monuments of ancient egypt. following some potent turkish coffee, we lastly visit the amazing medinat habu temple complex with its mud brick ruins of the surrounding medieval town. we end the tour with a 20 LE baksheesh for mohammed, who certainly deserves and needs it for his two wives and four children at home. prior to exiting his cab, mohamed recites his hopes and wishes for our futures:

1. when we return to egypt he hopes he will have a third wife - perhaps one that is nubian, because he likes black skin. he says she will live on the third floor of his home, since wife number one lives on the first floor and wife number two lives on the second floor. makes perfect sense to me…

2. when we return to egypt he hopes he will have more children - perhaps more boys so they may grow up to work in the fields of his family's land.

3. when we return to egypt he hopes that david and i have a child of our own.

4. when we return to egypt he hopes that jason will have a wife - and if not, he will assist in getting him an egyptian wife. this may actually work out rather well, because jason says he likes the headscarf "look" and he finds the sight of a woman drinking a mcdonald's milkshake under a burka quite intriguing and sexy…

alina