It is not the first time my mother‘s daughter (me, age 39) is leaving for Egypt. But the last call saying goodbye is always the same: "I will be so happy, when you are back. Please dont eat and drink anything else except french toast and tea, so many people get diarrhoea down there." Instead I gorge on wonderful food visiting egyptian families, buy figs on the market to wash them in the river while sailing on a felucca, and love to swim in the clear warm water, jumping from the boat or enjoying one of the nice beaches at the westcoast of Aswan. And I never got sick in any way.
Every european book about traveling in Egypt warns about all kinds of diseases one can get if you do not use the rule for food: "peal it, cook it or forget it" especially if one would even dare to swim in the Nile. By drinking the water from dirty parts of the Nile you can also get Bilharziasis / Bilharziose: small worms develloping in your liver and causing problems in lungs, intestine, bladder and even your brain. This is what is said by intelligent books and clever people (like my mom). This is very important, also for legal reasons, so be warned! The responsibilty lies with you!
But in any case you cannot
resist the water, do it and enjoy it. Ask Mustafa
to bring you south of Aswan to one of the beaches, where the water is clean
and the current not too strong. And you will love it!
In case you prefer the safer way of swimming and relaxing: there are also hotels offering their swimming-pools and wellness-areas for non-resident-guests.
© First small photo:
Thank you, Despina Karidis
Tour on felucca,
each hour 60 EGP
