Aqaba/Jordan – Cairo/Egypt

That went quite wrong. As written, it was important to us that our passage through Israel is not documented in the passport to avoid problems by applying a visa for Sudan. This should include to get the stamps on an extra sheet. But this option was abolished in 2005. With a bit of expertise is evidenced by the Jordanian exit stamp our border crossing into Israel, which we had not considered. There is no way back, so we have only to be optimistic that the matter with the Sudanese people can be solved.

Ahead of us are 14km of Israel and 2 border crossings. That takes the largest part of the day – leaving Jordan with various formalities and exit fee.
At the Israeli border young men dressed in jeans who casually swiveled their machine gun and many women as border officials. Our baggage is checked by X-ray equipment how you know from the airport. Then the recumbents as well, which is not possible in one piece. Bikes dismount and one by one. Our gear hubs are a problem. Bikes further take apart, so that the rear will be examined again separately. A lot of work, for which I feel useless and I try to animate the officials to think about alternatives by declaring that the bikes are not dismantable – after all, they ask for it. It does not help. Maik has to answer questions by first name, birth dates and phone numbers of the father and grandfather. Probably his file at the U.S. authorities needs to be updated.
The few kilometres Israel are a very different world than we have had in the past few weeks in Syria and Jordan. Endless shopping malls and big people like in California, many backpackers.
On the Israeli-Egyptian border is again a departure fee.
Shortly before reaching the building in which the Egyptian immigration formalities are completed, beckons me a official standing away from the building to come over. I should go in that building, he says, and shows to where he had beckoned me away. Here again luggage contamination. At least the bicycles do not have to go into the X-ray machines. Therefore they want to have a close look to the content of some pockets. We become witness how the border guards nonsensical breakdown their X-ray machine and then collectively stand in front of the black screen, indiscriminately press all buttons, continue to stare at the black monitor. Someone asks us to fill out a form. ‚Have we already completed at the visa application.‘ ‚Still.‘ ‚Pens, we don’t have.‘ And he sets his head back on the podium above his folded arms. ‚What address do you have in Egypt?‘ ‚None.‘ ‚You have to.‘ ‚We do not have to.‘ ‚OK.‘
Tackled. Thought wrongly. About 1km after the border, you pay a tax on something. We still do not have Egyptian money. An ATM is at the border. Back again. The question then asked why we could not be informed immediately, the answer is, that it is a different department. The ATM is located behind the first passport control. When we want to leave again, the border guard wants to check our passports like a few minutes before, and in the meantime also nobody has come through the border. Maik asked about the mental condition of the man, who fortunately does not understand English.
That was certainly the slowest and, thanks to entry and exit fees every few kilometres, so far most costly kilometres.

The final section to Cairo takes us on the Sinai. This we will remember especially because of its culinary peculiarities. The area is sparsely populated, the distances between points to get food correspondingly large. At a roadhouse, the only place for 100km, we stop. A large hall with plastic furniture. On the side in the dining space a debris pile. Through the side entrance a herd of goats had enter the restaurant. On the question of what food they can offer, it leads us to a display at the entrance. In it a bunch of canned beans, cheese and tuna. That was the menu. ‚Full‘, warmed canned beans, you can do with it, the only dish offered here. But sounds promising. Prepared with oil and spices and served with bread is also very tasty and after 2 passes, we are sufficiently full.
Our problem is that in the sparsely existing stores essentially is a huge selection of biscuits, cola and canned beans. So we eat beans in the next time, when we cook ourselves and beans, when we find a snack.
Meanwhile, we learn that our Full is called Fuul or Foul, and is a national dish.

The Suez Canal, we can only cross underneath in the tunnel and not with the bicycles, but on a pickup. Then we are in Africa our first time.

The visit to the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo brings that for a visa we do not need more than a letter of recommendation from the German Embassy and 100,-US$. The Israeli stamp, so the current announcement, is no problem.

Tom

translated by Denise and Tom

photos to this article: Aqaba/Jordanien – Kairo/Ägypten : Fotos

26. Dezember 2006 - Tom | english texts | Kommentare :: comments :: comentarios | Inhalt drucken

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