What happens when an Israeli visits Egypt?

I'm very very excited at this moment because I'm about to board my flight from Cyprus to Cairo and while I've been to the Sinai Peninsula many times in the past and it's a beautiful place this will be my first visit to Mainland Egypt so I'm very interested to see what will happen and also to be honest a little bit nervous because I am from Israel and while our countries officially are at peace it is quite a cold piece and I don't know how I will be received over there just take a look what happened when this Egyptian actor was pranked on TV that he's taking part in an Israeli program so you can understand why I am a little bit nervous on the other hand I know things when you're there are always different than what they look on the outside so what happens when an Israeli visits Egypt I give you my travel story a bit of what I expected here in Cairo super bustling City traffic jams like crazy noisy but also some very friendly people so very excited about this heading now to the metro to go to fustat and the name of the metro station is the Sadat station which is very cool because for me Sadat is a very important person, Sadat was the Egyptian president who signed the peace agreement with Israel so let's go to Anwar Sadat station by the way traffic lights mean very little here if anything when you're Crossing these crazy streets Egyptian museum will tell the truth next time I swear I'm still a bit scared down we go this is the Cairo Metro fustat was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule founded in 641 A.D that is the muazine the call to prayer in the Ibn Amr al-as mosque the oldest mosque in Egypt and the oldest mosque in Africa this is the beginning of Islam in this country here are the oldest churches this Greek Orthodox Church dates back to the 10th century and it's within the Babylon Fortress which is sort of the original Roman Fortress that Cairo was later built around I have arrived at the Ben Ezra synagogue Here closed yeah unfortunately camera close crazy about that Ben Ezra synagogue is the geniza that they discovered there which is this incredible Trove of documents in all kinds of languages Arabic Hebrew Aramaic helps us understand today Cairo Egypt is this my falafel thank you very much I've eaten many falafels before but the Egyptian Falafel is supposed to be something special so let's see what we have here Tehini is inside this and it's like look made with this putting pieces of carrot and lettuce on the Falafel I've never seen that before in all the ones that I've eaten so basically the Sesame is also kind of makes it unique and it's got that like more green color that some falafels have but not all of them so I'm pretty impressed guys check this out very fast and a bit dangerous you have helmets? yes. so we can use a helmet though. no. no no okay here we go Egypt good? huh? Egypt good? good very good good Aiwa, no. What is no? you won't take me? you won't take me in the taxi? oh come with taxi come with taxi oh you want me to get off? okay thank you okay bye could have been worse could have been worse but I'm not losing hope it's of course disappointing but you know at least he was polite about it doesn't have to take me if he doesn't want to let's catch another scooter [Music] guys we got another taxi driver let's see let's see what happens these guys are getting within centimeters of our motorbike for God's sakes that's why I said this was the fastest and the stupidest way Where do you come from? does it matter I live in Israel arriving at Bab zuela in Islamic Cairo I plan to climb one of the minarets wow [Music] look at that but it was closed so I went for a walk in the souk instead Khan al Khalili market, it's one of the biggest markets here in Cairo hidden away in the bustling Al khalili Market is this Maimonides synagogue named after the great rambam maimonides and here you have the Ten Commandments right over there on this in Hebrew Britain right in the middle of the market in Cairo the next day I went to visit the less famous yet mightily impressive Red Pyramid outside Cairo this is the first successful attempt at constructing a proper Pyramid in Egypt in 2600 BC which delightfully is almost empty of tourists and what if you don't see me you call for help if I disappear? Some people here want to pass in this narrow narrow passage in the dark hello hi hi how was it it was good yeah great it's hot down there yeah oh it's hot yeah nearby is the even older bent pyramid whose Builders changed the angle midway when they discovered their original plan was unstable so well constructed this pyramid that even though look at these bottom rocks here that were taking away obviously used for other types of construction later on, pyramid still stands. At the top at the entrance Someone give you a tip? 20 shekels its good. That's right, but I give it to you and I want some Egyptian money because I cant change from the bank ah you're not you can't switch it here in Egyot. that's right. for you I do it it's really kind of you yeah I appreciate that yeah yeah so really happy that people are from Israel now are coming more to Egypt. Egypt the land of culture and the land of religion and the land of civilization for all the human being not just for Egypt , all the human beings some people decide to do it backwards it's a bit slower but a bit easier on the back goes up almost to the top just such a huge huge chamber here climbing close to the tip of the pyramid top of the pyramid the burial chamber complete also with the original mahogany wood My guide Mahmoud while explaining about the transport of the stones told me about an interesting theory regarding the chambers How export the Stone? River Nile come from Upper Egypt, Cairo is low. in this area to build the Pyramid only four months in a year don't find any rooms do you think in the earth empty? No! There are a lot of rooms still to this time as we said the pyramid the tombs is still in the earth not up, we are not buried in the second floor or the first floor we buried in the earth all the religions buried in a land. So you're saying that there is more more room in there, that's right. That's not been discovered like a secret chamber still we don't find because in a tunnel we don't find where is this tunnel. What do the some of the mainstream egyptologists say about this? Nothing. Not going to miss the Great Pyramid but there's something about having it to yourself that is a whole different experience I made it back to Cairo in time for sunset at one of the many sites marking the Yom Kippur or October war between Egypt and Israel. it's just surreal I'm standing here on the October Bridge they built this bridge to commemorate the war against Israel and here I am as an Israeli 50 years later standing on this bridge I think we've come a long way there still is a long way to go for sure but for me I'm just happy that I can be here. the next day I explored further how this deadly war is viewed in Egypt today. me I'm from Israel Israel You are welcome. thank you thank you so much the outside presents Egyptian and Israeli weapons. This is an Israeli tank that was captured in the Sinai and it's on display here in the museum while inside is a series of video screenings so now these gentleman taking me to see the movie display and it's private a private show because there's nobody here no so yeah here this is a display Hall huge screen I am ready yes thank you let's see the movie [Music] Oh my God [Music] water splashing on me, special effects inside this hall so this panorama section it's basically dedicated to the Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal which definitely was an impressive military achievement and the portion of the war where they had their early successes so as you would expect... The Israeli tanks, in a desperate attempt to halt the process of liberation counter attacks. One of the fiercest and largest tank battles since World War II breaks out [Music] so that was it three displays each of around 20 minutes the last one didn't work so an hour in total showing really only the first part of the war because that was the part where the Egyptians had their successes and there is definitely an element here of sort of glorifying Egyptian military accomplishments over Millennia going back to the ancient Egyptians fighting Crusaders and then lastly fighting the Israelis basically according to the Egyptians they say they won. They talked about the Egyptian victory despite the Israeli troops being on the way to Cairo when the ceasefire was signed they said they liberated the Sinai Peninsula which they didn't do in the war Israel held on to the Sinai Peninsula and handed it over to Egypt as part of a peace agreement that was signed in 1979 and that also was somewhat missing here in this Museum they could have talked a little bit about kind of the process afterwards of reconciliation after this bloody War when both sides realized that they couldn't go on like this that led to the signing of the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt so I would say definitely a bit of a missed opportunity here. For the record though in war there are no winners everybody loses so we're driving now to the Saint Simon the Tanner monastery and to get there we have to go through the zabalin which is the garbage collectors of Cairo they collect all this garbage and recycle it that's how a lot of these people make their living but the driver here told me that it's not the safest place to walk around no no no no no for me it's not safe? Yes, you are not Egyptian? but even for you it's not safe right what for you also not safe. Fifty percent fifty percent fifty percent it's not so good some people here dangerous coming out of this neighborhood a most beautiful scene emerges here's something I've never seen before the Ten Commandments in Arabic up there on the cliff and interestingly the first commandment has been changed and it's respect your father and your mother which my father always told me is the only Commandment that matters, I wonder why? so dad there's someone here who agrees with you it would seem that the entrance is through this tunnel I can go oh wow this guy thank you very much thank you thank you and it's Sunset now and the Sun is coming through very very spiritual place [Music] now the nearby Zabaleen is actually inhabited largely by Coptic Christians so many of them come here to pray at this church/amphitheater and listen how the sounds reverberate off these Cliff walls foreign [Music] Angelo is telling me there are five churches here. Five five. five churches, where? One, two, three two minute walk yeah four one minute to walk for five church wow five. yo very good nice my friend is, he's from Israel. No problem Egypt and Israel, welcome. This meeting prompted me to come back the next day to see the Zabaleen garbage City up close how are you my friend? good to meet you good to see you so Angelo here is gonna show me some places that no tourists ever get to see you make the wheels look like a Mercedes yeah 10 money, 5 money, 20 money He understood me, so...woow look at all that garbage guys So what Angelo is telling me here is basically these guys they go into parts of Cairo where people want their trash to be collected and they're paid for that and then they go one two three four five different places collect it all in those trucks like you saw come back here yes and then what Recycle? yes okay see this bottle is gonna be this bottle is gonna go here at some point, into one of these so no waste Guys these are the the people of the Zabaleen working here inviting me to sit with them No English uh? No English [Music] [Music] so they call them the garbage people and maybe that's what you see on the outside but looks can be deceiving and sometimes when you dig a Little Deeper you may end up striking pure gold [Music] before leaving Cairo I went to see its most famous attraction Good country, welcome in Egypt ah thank you very much thank you my friend I love Egypt seriously all same beautiful country Your welcomes sir all same. Heart with heart and I have to say this is so different after I was at the Red Pyramid where there was nobody there nobody there there wasn't a single shop not one shop and look what you have over here you have the best man hello how are you doing come to Egypt please yes so that's nice that's fine bye very different experience as you can see I didn't need to take any camels rides extra price has nothing just a really really cheap Uber that takes you close to the entrance he might not go all the way up to the gate because of the police there then you walk in pay the 240 mirror ticket which is around eight dollars and that's all you have to pay at the minimum to get here over 2 million slabs of stone to build this and you can see the size here when you're near it I mean two million of these I don't know if they're all as big as this one but they're huge huge rocks at the very top of the pyramid there was supposed to be a gold covered Capstone they would have given This brilliant reflective light throughout the day that now you only get at exactly this point when the Sun is setting just behind the pyramid to give that dazzling display all right here we are in the main Market the old souk of a swan and it is very hot here in southern Egypt so if I were to buy anything and I usually don't buy anything in these type of markets it would be a cafe so this one costs 150 yes no this is Egyptian no and you can help 100. 00 okay [Laughter] huh this is the Nile River at a swan really more relaxed and different style of you to Cairo That's Heavy with a huge building and the big Bridges and the bustling cars and I have to say I really like it fun [Music] good Ness are the tombs of the Nobles from the Old Kingdom as well as the Middle Kingdom so none of these tombs are around 4 500 years old right side you can get off Miku and sabni from the Old Kingdom there you go 2 345 BC there's a game has to be opened by our good friend here thank you let me get to see it um 1928 BC is when this guy passed away so this is Middle Kingdom that was Old Kingdom Here we have Middle Kingdom it's newer the colors it's just amazing the way everything here is just so perfectly preserved absolutely incredible that is around 500 years newer and then the other one so construction is more impressive but both of these Tunes here overlooking the city of a swan overlooking the Nile River really worth a visit for just 60 Egyptian pounds two dollars my friend Muhammad here says you can drink from the Nile here why because the current is good yeah I'll order star water it's okay we then went for a walk in the Nubian Village which Muhammad says has very little to do with Nubian culture the change in the feeling and everything is gone before another night we knocked the door together in one house or something every day you know change he shows me the original as opposed to new Nubian houses as an example because the area come from the north fresh air only one you go in yeah heat you go out if you make your hand something like that it's very cold okay they feel not heat inside fresh it really is cold how is it how how is it how is it cold when there's so much sun outside there's no sun inside because it's a dome only one side it takes the sun one side no wow behind here is all front for tourists it's new you make colors and they make nice colors for tourists and the market for tourists but do they have the holes in there in the dome and all those things inside the window and the air condition and stuff like that now you know four hours drive from a swan near the border with Sudan is the famous temple of abusin bell inside the temple are the pictures of the Battle of Kadesh which is the first properly recorded Battle in History Pharaoh Ramses on his Chariot firing his bow against the hittite soldiers it's quite crazy to think that Temple would have been submerged under this Lake Lake Nasser after the construction of the High Dam if it wasn't for the efforts of archaeologists and engineers in order to actually put up these statues from the original walk and replace them over here including the entire Tempo inside to prevent it from being flooded so we're very lucky enough to be very grateful for those people who did that so that we can enjoy this place this is a train from a swan to Luxor it's a cafeteria here okay so I discovered this great way to see the sights on the West Bank of the river in Luxor just rent this bicycle and it's possible to ride and see all these amazing things [Music] so I'm on my way now to the temple of achepsut the Pharaoh Queen who ruled for 20 years all right not bad and uh here my friend giving me a ride back in the Sun really good where are you from me Israel thank you very much all right guys telling me you're on the gas ah jumpsuit to me driving the minibus it's made of dollar here unfortunately the running water was not working at the hostel so there's a place here where you can jump in the Nile so let's try to do that you jump here can you jump here it's okay this looks looks kind of sketchy to be honest but you know that was refreshing well after such a great experience at the Temple of a chef suit I decided to ride my bike at the crack of dawn to the Valley of the Kings this is a sarcophagus that was inside there they took it out for the display this guy's actually taking me into the to the sarcophagus of monapta wow yes so we're not supposed to be doing this and this is the final missing place of A Farewell My Neptune quite incredible well here's something annoying I didn't know about this ticket you see it's got three holes in it those are entrances to some of the tombs here in the Valley of the Kings each time you enter they make a hole in your ticket and after three you're done you can't enter any more tombs I didn't know about this crap so yeah basically now I don't have much left to do here it was just before leaving Luxor that I found this out about my host guys look at Ahmad fluent in here people really very good people I like him I work with him long time they learning they teach me how to do business Temple yeah this is a Luxor temple inside the the mosque inside yeah very famous mosque very beautiful mosque you know since long time ago I don't know 14th century I read yes exactly so it's for the mosque is 14th century yes Temple is over a thousand years older than that exactly and they have to go here yeah and I have to tell you a goodbye one okay thank you thank you very much thank you so much but Luxor has an even older and larger ancient site this is the famous temple of Karnak and Luxor let's go take a look thank you [Music] Keith killed me in Karnak my God Israel is my country is also problems nice young but now a lot from Israel a lot of people from Israel come here to visit no it's good now ever since they raised the prices of trains for tourists only these buses are actually a decent way to get around this is like eight dollars from Luxor Kyle all right here we are at the harbor of Alexandria and over there is the Citadel of Cape Bay that was built in the 15th century on the site of the great Lighthouse of Alexandria one of the wonders of the ancient world and here we have the modern Library of Alexandria which sits on the side of the Great Library both of them within just a few kilometers of each other in this historic City tonight over there and in none of the maps appears the name Israel and no these are not from before the establishment of Israel in 1948 but modern maps with 20th century borders of States like Lebanon and Jordan so this is clearly a political decision to exclude Israel from the map yeah and across the bay Kate Bay on the site of the ancient Lighthouse some of the Rocks used to build this Fortress were actually taken from the ruins we have over here the Abu Alabaster mosque which is the most beautiful mosque in Alexandria and the ancient Roman site of the pillar of Pompey thank you so here we are on the shores of Alexandria after two weeks in Egypt and I have to say it was overwhelmingly a positive experience I really loved this country had some great interactions with the people and as I was trying to film this epilogue here's what happens so yeah even I met these kids and they told me no Israel you said no Israel yes yes Israel good I change your mind huh no Israel and no no you must only play yes Israel Israel the friend is no like that's right okay but you see that you also know like Israel right but now you meet me and you still not like Israel or it's okay [Laughter] these guys just gave me a free meal see they're just really excited to see somebody from a place they've never met before that they don't know anything about very good yeah okay okay boss foreign those kids they told me no Israel and after a bit of a discussion they said yes Israel kind of and we became kind of friends which shows that you know things can change and if we meet each other then it can really change our perception so so I think that's a positive note to end on if you made it all the way to the end then congratulations and thank you very much for your patience please also watch my video from the Sinai Peninsula that I made before this trip to Egypt and also very important to subscribe to the channel for more insightful thought-provoking content that's all for now see you next time [Music]

Channel: Insightful Nomad

Views: 596,079

Keywords: israeli tourists in egypt, israel war egypt, egypt travel, egypt israel war 1973, egypt israel, israel abbout egypt, israel about egypt, israeli in egypt, egypt travel 2023, egypt, israel, middle east eye, egypt travel vlog, egypt travel guide, egypt travel video, israeli in egypt vlog

Id: vU-8axw99mc

Length: 43min 5sec (2585 seconds)

Published: Wed May 31 2023