[00:03:35:10 - 00:04:09:20] Debbie Hello, this is Debbie, Managing Director at Jules Verne. This episode of Travel for Curious Minds is a little bit different. I've just returned from an amazing tour of Egypt and I was lucky enough to visit the remarkable Grand Egyptian Museum, which has just opened. Next week I'm going to tell you all about the trip, but we thought, to which appetite, you'd like to hear an episode from our archives when we talk to our partners in Egypt, Tariq Imam and his wife Rania about this amazing country and in particular the excitement about the gem way back before it opened. [00:04:10:20 - 00:04:28:06] Debbie And then in our next episode, I'll bring you right up to date with my first-hand experience of this beautiful country and how the gem looks now it's opened. But for now, let's go back in time to this conversation from the archives with Tariq and Rania. Hello listeners. [00:04:29:19 - 00:04:54:22] Abbey Hello listeners. I am live from World Travel Market in London, where the industry's greatest and best minds get together and talk about all of the possibilities there are for you all to travel. So I'm delighted in this episode to be joined by our Egyptian partners to talk all about the wonders that are in Egypt. So I'm going to let you both introduce yourselves actually. So do you want to introduce yourselves to the Jules Verne listeners? Of course. [00:04:54:22 - 00:05:20:14] Tarek My name is Tariq Imam. I'm a partner with Jules Verne since about 35 years. And this episode we'll be discussing a lot of things every because I'm really in love with the company and in love with what's happening in Egypt. You know, Egypt is coming back and we're doing very well. COP 27 is already there and we hopefully everything will be okay in the future. [00:05:20:14 - 00:05:49:08] Rania Hi, I'm Rania. I'm married to this beautiful handsome man. For the past 18 years, I will have to say that my experience before getting married was I was just a normal traveler. I book through the internet. I find companies and agencies and I try. But then after I got married, it became more professional. [00:05:50:16 - 00:06:09:24] Rania We look differently now at the whole travel experience. Even with my children, they also like, no, this program is right. This program, we should have added this excursion, like terminologies that the normal children would never use, you know, like you just go on a trip and then you come back and that's it. [00:06:09:24 - 00:06:36:18] Abbey It really is a family business, isn't it? I think and we see you as family. Like you said, we've worked together for so many years now. We have these amazing itineraries with you. I was lucky enough to come onto one of your itineraries this year and meet you both in Egypt and it was probably one of the most magical experiences, especially being in Egypt when it's so empty at the moment, the pyramids. I mean, so what's what's going on? What's hot in Egypt? What, you know, what is happening? [00:06:37:18 - 00:07:20:21] Tarek Okay. First of all, let me tell you what's, you know, is a company of I always call out of the box ideas. Yes. I always call out of the box ideas. We started a lot of itineraries different from any other tour operator here in England. For example, we were the first people to start the Lake Nasser, which is behind the high dam and it was an itinerary which everybody was looking in it very strangely. But what's what was happening is that the itinerary was extremely successful. In addition to that, we had the idea of the steamboats and the steamboats, which comes back to the old kingdom like in Farooq and the spirits. [00:07:21:23 - 00:07:34:21] Tarek When I'm talking about the steamboats, this also reminds me of the long cruises when it was banned for 20 years, if you can imagine, for 20 years from it was banned exactly 1992 [00:07:35:24 - 00:07:45:18] Tarek when it came back and there was a very, very understanding minister of tourism who actually came back and gave the instruction for it to be back in the markets. [00:07:46:19 - 00:07:47:20] Tarek And the itinerary itself, [00:07:48:23 - 00:07:51:09] Tarek you cannot imagine, there are three colors, [00:07:52:09 - 00:07:59:08] Tarek green, yellow and blue, green Nile, yellow desert, blue, the sky. [00:08:00:10 - 00:08:25:08] Tarek And you can imagine yourself sailing all alone from Cairo to Aswan. When I say Cairo to Aswan, of course, it's Cairo to Luxor because Luxor to Aswan, there is a lot of boats. But the beauty about it is the virginity of this place and how everybody's greeting you on both shores. And it was actually really another interesting one. Abby, I'm in love with your company. [00:08:26:15 - 00:08:27:24] Abbey We are in love with you. [00:08:27:24 - 00:08:35:16] Tarek And the thing is that when you are on the boat and experiencing this, it's pack and unpack. [00:08:36:19 - 00:08:47:12] Tarek You come, you fly, you unpack your bag in your cabin. You stay 14 nights finishing and every single sight, Cairo, [00:08:48:12 - 00:09:01:04] Tarek Beniswif, Menia, Amarna, Asyut, Suhaq, Dandaren, Abidus, Luxor, Esne, Etvokum, Aswan. And then you pack and you take your flight back. [00:09:01:04 - 00:09:21:08] Rania Well, let me say the beauty of what he's saying is he's been in that business, God knows for how long? Yeah. I think he was born into it. But my experience is different because I have only studied about these places in books, [00:09:22:10 - 00:09:59:23] Rania only in school. I have never been to any of these sites until I met him. So the impact of me going again and again, and I've always wanted to join the tours that you sent. Yes. They are the most magnificent itineraries. And every time I go, he says, "Aren't you done with visiting the temples?" And I say, "Every time I see something new, every time there's no matter how many books you read, being there, feeling this energy." [00:10:02:18 - 00:10:07:20] Rania I remember very well, I think this is the first time he would hear that story. [00:10:09:13 - 00:10:10:19] Rania Before having my first child. [00:10:11:22 - 00:10:39:22] Rania And I wasn't late, but I thought that the minute I'll get married, the next month I'll be pregnant. So it took me a little bit. And I remember going to Karnak temple and they had this, what do you call it? The scarabie. Yeah. I know there's this myth, pharaonic myth, that if you go around it for several times, [00:10:39:22 - 00:10:41:07] Tarek you can get a baby. [00:10:42:13 - 00:11:09:17] Rania Honestly, I'm not joking, but the energy you feel in these temples and these places, even the guides, you could hear them telling you, "Please lower your voice. Please be as calm as you." I just go there. I love going there. I haven't been until I met him. And in the past 18 years, I think I visited over 80 times and I still go. [00:11:09:17 - 00:11:11:17] Tarek I love it. Thank God I don't have 80 kids. [00:11:11:17 - 00:11:13:06] Rania No, no. [00:11:13:06 - 00:11:15:22] Tarek It's only three kids. But [00:11:15:22 - 00:12:34:09] Abbey I think you're right. I think it's the grandeur, the tranquility as well and the peace. I think something that resonated with me, especially on that more secret part of the Nile, where there aren't that many boats and you're stopping off and you really are in local markets. And I remember one point we were sailing along, I was reading a book, a colleague of mine was just looking at the view and then just faintly in the distance, I could hear, "Hey, hey, hey." And the hay got louder and louder and louder and you're looking around and then there was only a group of 15 of us on this beautiful boat that we had. And the 15 of us all of a sudden we rose to our feet and, "Hey, hey," but louder and louder. And it was just a village waving us as we went through. And I remember at the time speaking to the lovely guide and he was like, "Well, you're probably one of the only boats they've seen for a good two weeks." Because this really is the untouched, secret, you know, raw part of the Nile. And the Nile is such an important river for so many reasons. But I think you're right with the itineraries you're speaking about. I think the great partnership between us is that you are in yourself and your company and adventurer and an explorer and want to be the first to get there and see it, the first footprints. [00:12:34:09 - 00:12:34:23] Tarek Exactly. [00:12:34:23 - 00:12:44:09] Abbey And we want to do the same. So I love the fact that when we've worked together before, we will continue to work for many, many years, but we get to take customers on these amazing journeys. [00:12:44:09 - 00:12:52:16] Tarek Well, I'll tell you something. There was an agent with me on board and we were sailing from Cairo to Nixon. And then in part of the Nile, [00:12:53:20 - 00:13:02:10] Tarek the boat was sailing, actually. It was moving. And then there was a guy who was washing the dishes on the other shore, a small guy, and he was waving. [00:13:03:18 - 00:13:13:17] Tarek And he did not want to stop waving except if somebody would return the waving and the boat was moving. So the agent told me, "Why is he doing that?" As you said, Eric, they missed the boats. [00:13:14:17 - 00:13:36:19] Tarek And this part of the Nile, and actually this is one of the traditions Egyptians have, that being the hospitality and the smiling. And there is no time. So kind. And there is no money involved. I mean, he doesn't want except one thing, that this woman or myself to return back the waving. So we started doing that and he was shouting and so on. [00:13:36:19 - 00:13:39:23] Rania The Nile is really the key of life in nature. [00:13:41:01 - 00:15:08:23] Rania On so many levels, not just for the water, but also, you know, I mean, this industry is the life of these people living on the shore. Sometimes I know they get super excited. They want to be too friendly. They want to be too close. Sometimes people think, "Oh my God, there's this." But the people, they enjoy tourists. They want to see tourists. They want to make them happy. Our country is beautiful. Look what we have. We want to show them plenty of what we offer like in the market. And what you were saying about the offerings, the product offerings, being the lead in the market has really set foot for several other programs to come around. So the nice thing is Tarek comes up with the idea, you back and support, people come and then it's not enough. He wants more. So he keeps thinking of more ideas. "We've done so many looks or looks. I'm going to come up with something new." And I say, "Tarek, come on. People still want to go." He says, "Yeah, yeah, they could come looks or but I'll come up with something new." And that's what he keeps doing with your support, with the energy we get from you. This is how we succeed, you know? This is how we move forward. [00:15:08:23 - 00:15:10:16] Tarek Definitely. You're definitely making sense. [00:15:10:16 - 00:15:35:23] Abbey And I think every experience that we offer collectively between us is amazing in itself. And I think I've mentioned on the podcast before to our listeners that probably one of the most iconic moments for me in the many places that I've got to travel before is something that you've gifted to me actually. And I don't even know if you know you've done this, but we were in the, you know, we were doing our activities. [00:15:37:00 - 00:16:23:02] Abbey We'd gone out with the guide and we turned up at one of the many temples that we saw and they were beautiful. And the security guard turned to me and said, "Would you like to unlock the door?" And it was the most simple thing. But I thought, "Oh, I'm an explorer." Because I got to put the key in the lock to the temple and I got to turn it and the door was like, "Err," and I got to open that door, that big iron door. And I was the first one in the group to take a step into this beautifully decorated, I mean the colors of the temple and the smells and the sounds. And I just thought, "This is amazing." And that's something that you gifted to me, but you gifted to so many of our customers by arranging these amazing, amazing itineraries. [00:16:23:02 - 00:17:02:08] Rania I imagine you're standing there and right in this place thousands and thousands of years ago. There were people actually offering the gods food and having these festivals. And I always imagine what happened in this place thousands of years ago, you know, like the sounds of the market, how people are praying and the echo from inside of the temple. My God, I can't get enough of that. It's always, it's just amazing. [00:17:02:08 - 00:17:07:04] Tarek You know, my wife, she actually visited the gem. [00:17:07:04 - 00:17:15:03] Abbey I've gone to the door. Really? So for our listeners, the gem is the Grand Egyptian Museum, which isn't even open yet. [00:17:15:03 - 00:17:25:08] Rania I was lucky enough. One of my friends, she works with the construction company and I was so... [00:17:27:21 - 00:17:36:06] Rania I know a lot of Egyptians are very proud of their history, but honestly, I was very surprised when I went because the design of the gem, [00:17:37:10 - 00:17:37:19] Rania it is... [00:17:40:01 - 00:18:50:17] Rania You can't just spend one day. You can't just go there and visit unless you're going for a specific discovery or a specific mission. But honestly, this is going to be a week of visiting. So it will make people come and come again. The windows, every room in the gem overlooks the pyramids. So wherever you are, you just look out of the windows and you can see the pyramids. And also surprisingly, I didn't know that this was there. They also had artifacts and they had statues that were rescued from the Mediterranean. You know, the excavation they did under the sea. So they had statues from there. So they have this Alexandria part. And I was like, oh, that is unbelievable. Honestly, it's so amazing that even the decoration inside, it's monuments. So like the columns, it's... You have the history of the columns. [00:18:52:08 - 00:19:21:01] Rania Going down the stairs, it's full of monuments. You know that in the old museum, now we call it the old museum, but the one in Tahrir Square, they have, I don't know how many rooms, but it's like plenty of rooms. They're packed with monuments and they're just actually going to transfer all this to the new one. And you know what? They're having something also very cool. Every 40 days, they're changing the display. [00:19:22:06 - 00:19:32:03] Rania Every 40 days. Every 40 days. So if you visit and you see the magnificent display, if you come back in 40 days, it's completely different. [00:19:33:07 - 00:19:34:15] Tarek Which makes the clients come back again. [00:19:34:15 - 00:19:58:24] Rania See? So not only you've visited, I've seen, and they have also this temple. It's the first, I mean, not temple, what do you call it? Obelisk. Yeah. It's the, they call it the floating obelisk. So the floating obelisk, it's Ramesses because he didn't trust anyone. So he stamped his obelisks from down. [00:20:00:11 - 00:20:29:09] Rania So all the obelisks, because when, you know, when kings become, they wipe away the king, the original king, and they put their names on it. This is how the history has been going. So Ramesses was clever enough. He only, he stamped his obelisks from the bottom. So no one crossed his mind to lift it up. So they have this floating obelisk. You can actually go under it and you can see the stamp. [00:20:30:13 - 00:20:31:24] Rania It is unbelievable. [00:20:31:24 - 00:20:34:20] Tarek It's really lovely. I mean, I didn't know that you're an ancient biologist. [00:20:36:02 - 00:20:37:13] Tarek No, no. Well, I'm impressed. [00:20:38:14 - 00:21:19:06] Abbey I think the new museum, we keep calling it the Grand Museum, the new museum, but all these different names that we have is, it's going to be, I mean, it's an, it's a holiday in itself, isn't it? I remember we were discussing before it could take up to seven days to walk around. So I think for, for people who maybe haven't been to Egypt already, that's going to be an attraction and a pull in itself. But like you said, you've got the view of the pyramids and you've got so much to do for you both. What is the thing that you love the most about sort of holidaying in Egypt, your own country for you? Is there anywhere in particular that you think this is the best place? [00:21:21:22 - 00:21:44:04] Rania I, I, I love the sea, of course, but this is something else. You know, I'm not a very sea person, but sailing on the Nile. Yes. When I really want this cleansing effect, you know, like the calming down, I just tell Torrey, you know, just two days. I'm just, I'm gone for two days. You take care of the girls. [00:21:45:08 - 00:21:50:11] Rania Give me 48 hours. Really happy. Just sitting there sailing, just sailing. [00:21:53:06 - 00:22:07:20] Rania This is actually the most amazing trip for me. Sailing is the most, of course, I love the temples, the museums, but sailing is really, sometimes you know, I sleep. I tell them don't wake me up. I get sunburned, but. [00:22:07:20 - 00:22:27:02] Abbey Because you're just so relaxed being on the water and it's beautiful, you know, the sounds and just the boats are magnificent in themselves. But like you said, the serenity that surrounds lying on one of the most important rivers in the world, but probably one with the most amazing history. [00:22:28:03 - 00:22:32:17] Abbey And like you said, the local, it's yeah, I think I'm with you. I think that's my favorite part. [00:22:32:17 - 00:22:38:16] Tarek You know, the favorite part of the Nile is really Cairo, too. [00:22:39:18 - 00:22:50:17] Tarek Amazing. Amazing. You go there, leave yourself to the nature and you will have the full, you have the power of being relaxed. [00:22:51:17 - 00:22:53:04] Tarek So I really enjoy this. [00:22:53:04 - 00:22:58:04] Rania You know, my kids, we've done the, there's also a part where you can. [00:22:58:04 - 00:22:59:11] Tarek Are you talking too much, Abi? [00:22:59:11 - 00:23:00:11] Abbey No, no, carry on. [00:23:01:23 - 00:23:10:20] Rania You know, we've also done the part where you can go on the Nubian village and see the Nubian culture. [00:23:12:05 - 00:23:19:20] Rania It's amazing. I'll tell you a story that my kids really love during the Egyptian war, [00:23:20:22 - 00:23:22:01] Rania 1973, [00:23:24:01 - 00:24:33:01] Rania to decipher the code between the central military and the soldiers. They use the Nubian language because no one ever understands the language except the Nubian people. So that was amazing. So I decided to take my girls and show them the culture, the Nubian people, Abi. They are so, they live, they still, until today, even with the technology, they have iPads, they have iPhones, everything, but they live in families. They have crocodiles in their homes. Little children, they play with small crocodiles and they can do, you know, the black henna. They get you the tea with the traditional way we sit on the ground. It's beautiful, beautiful. So every time there is a new essence or feeling behind what you're doing, it's not just, okay, I go to a resort, I love it, I swim in the sea, but you swim in the sea. You just swim in the sea. But you can do anyway. [00:24:34:15 - 00:24:56:04] Rania But you don't get this, you know, sometimes on a holiday you want to feel this overwhelming, confusing feelings. It gets you out of the normal routine that you just do day in, day out. You want to cut, see something completely, oh my God, overwhelming. So that you're recharged. I'm back and I'm ready to work and do my job again. [00:24:56:04 - 00:25:00:18] Tarek It's all about, I always say that, you have to be different. [00:25:00:18 - 00:25:01:18] Abbey You do. [00:25:01:18 - 00:25:08:20] Tarek So being different is, I think, the key of success of VIVI. [00:25:08:20 - 00:25:15:11] Abbey Yeah. I think for us, like you said, being different is something that we thrive on. [00:25:16:12 - 00:25:20:18] Abbey I think all over the world, all of our itineraries always have those special touches. [00:25:21:20 - 00:25:39:13] Abbey One of the things that you'd arranged for myself when I went out, and I realize listeners that I'm talking a lot about my own experience, but I think it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. And one of the things that you arranged for me, and I was very grateful for, was a sunrise hot air balloon over the valley of the kings. [00:25:41:04 - 00:25:43:03] Tarek This is another thing. Oh, Abby. [00:25:50:22 - 00:25:54:03] Rania Have you done the dance before getting on the balloon? I did the dance after. [00:25:55:16 - 00:26:15:09] Abbey And I have this beautiful memory of the sun rising in a hot air balloon. And seeing the valley of the kings and sitting there thinking, "I'm so small," in comparison to this grandeur of history and love and just admiration. [00:26:16:15 - 00:26:19:22] Abbey And I think, again, there's all these experiences that you can have. [00:26:19:22 - 00:26:26:13] Rania The balloons, when they call each other and the heat coming off, it's lovely. [00:26:26:13 - 00:27:19:06] Abbey And you can hear them, can't you? You can hear the wash of the balloons. You hear the people in awe from below and above. And it's like a dance of balloons because some are higher, some are lower. And it's this amazing thing you're doing. A hot air balloon is amazing in any way. But you're doing it... Tell me you took the best photos there. Oh, the best photos. If you ever want to have a look on the Jawsburn Instagram, there's some amazing photos and amazing videos because we just had the best time and we laughed and we danced and we met people from all over the world and we're all sharing this incredible moment. And that's the good thing, that we want to give people the best experiences and we want to transport people around the world. And I think these moments that you can give people are the ones that, like you said, they recharge you, that you sit there and go, "I've been there." "I've done this, I've been on holiday." [00:27:19:06 - 00:27:29:03] Rania Now we also have the 100 years for Howard Carter. Yes! That is a huge attraction, you know, the Tutankhamun tomb discovery. [00:27:30:05 - 00:27:38:17] Rania And Abi, the gem, they have a whole section for Tutankhamun. [00:27:38:17 - 00:27:43:18] Tarek It is. The real ones. The real thing from the grave. Everything is real in this room. [00:27:43:18 - 00:27:56:04] Rania This part is just amazing. Amazing. We were actually discussing to return the mask but I'm not sure Germany, I'm not sure about that. [00:27:56:04 - 00:28:20:21] Abbey Well, we hope so because to have all those artefacts together in one place is just, it's mesmerising in itself. But talking about the museum and all of these things you can do, and we've talked about the sights, the, you know, the attractions of things that you hear, but you touched on something earlier when you said, "I didn't know you were an Egyptologist." And I think something that we probably haven't shouted about enough is that every guide that we have... [00:28:20:21 - 00:28:23:11] Tarek Well, I just, but I was just going to talk about this. [00:28:23:11 - 00:28:46:07] Abbey Every guide that we have on board when you take a cruise with us is an Egyptologist. And I think that's such an amazing thing to shout about. So from your point of view, as the business owner and our partner, how do you make sure that we have the very best Egyptologist with the most passion? How do you can emulate your passion into business? [00:28:46:07 - 00:28:55:02] Tarek I always say, first of all, choosing the guides, it's a combined effort between the company, ourselves. [00:28:56:02 - 00:29:03:06] Tarek And the most important thing for a guide is you feel that he is in love with his history in his eyes. [00:29:04:08 - 00:29:48:11] Tarek And the way to combine or to react with the client is to give him lectures about the country. It's not only explaining the temple. It's giving history. It's telling the knowledge. It's speaking about the traditions of the Egyptians. And the question comes easily. Why? Because you have already opened yourself in a friendly way with the clients. So we're always asking. So we always combine efforts between both of us. We choose, and this was really one of the main or one of the keys in the success of the operation, which is choosing the right guide to enjoy or make the clients enjoy the Egyptianness. It's not a mission. It's something you love to do. [00:29:48:11 - 00:30:28:18] Abbey And I think a good guide, the passion is amazing. And I think a good guide makes that trip even more memorable. Exactly. And as you said, learning not only about the history of the temples and the religion and the gods and all of these things, but also just local life. One of the most interesting facts that one of our customers asked when I was away with them was about marriage. Bravo. And it's something you sit and think, oh, I never would have thought of that. But actually it's really interesting to hear some of your guides are married, some of them are not, and have those. And then you end up questioning, well, how old are you? Well, why are you not married? What's going on? And then you become one of these family members who's going, well, I can find your wife. [00:30:29:21 - 00:30:54:14] Abbey And you do. And you do. And you sit there and we have these conversations. It's something that in day to day life, you would never, you know, you wouldn't have that conversation with somebody in an office. You probably wouldn't have that conversation with your friend. But to learn the culture behind a destination. And I think one thing that you can be very proud of is your guides in Egypt. Because like you said, the passion just oozes out of everybody. [00:30:54:14 - 00:31:22:09] Rania But it really does make the trip. I agree. I'm happy we've been traveling. We've traveled a lot. I've been to Africa, the US, and I like to use guides. Because you know, usually the guides, they give you more insight about the place and what you do. They do an excellent job. It's a perfect job. But it's a job. You know what I mean? So the guide we had in the States, remember when we went, we visited the Statue of Liberty. [00:31:23:15 - 00:31:35:16] Rania He's a perfect guide. Very nice, very kind to the kids and everything. But the minute he stops, you could see the smile is gone. He's like, we're done. [00:31:35:16 - 00:31:36:24] Tarek We're finished. That's a good point. [00:31:36:24 - 00:32:24:20] Rania It's not. I know our guides. I know of our guides. They still email clients until now, even after they finished there. And the clients would send them and just a normal, "Hello, Merry Christmas, happy birthday." This is the kind of bond you would want to create on a 14-night trip. You know what I mean? It's like meeting new friends that you will actually learn something and enjoy a new experience with them. They always, as I told you, have something new to tell you. Always. These guides, they have studied at least four years of college, [00:32:26:03 - 00:32:30:17] Rania pure Egyptology. And then they have had very hard training. [00:32:31:17 - 00:32:34:06] Rania And then they had field training. [00:32:35:09 - 00:33:09:19] Rania And surprisingly, when COVID hit and we unfortunately had to stop, when they came back, even though they are our top guides, Tare insisted that they go back and do training. You know what I mean? This is the kind of... And they were very happy because it's a refreshment to them as well. It's not like we've been not doing that for some time. It's very good to go back and refresh our memory. And he did a trip. And it was this kind of very little details that really makes a huge difference, honestly. Like you do. [00:33:11:09 - 00:33:29:07] Abbey So, sort of, we've spoken a lot about the Nile and the ships and the temples and the pyramids and all these, but if somebody hadn't been to Egypt before, what would you say to them, "You must come because of this"? What would it be? Okay. [00:33:30:07 - 00:33:33:04] Tarek "You must come, number one, the gym." [00:33:34:09 - 00:33:42:22] Tarek It is the highlight because there's going to be something as... I mean, visiting the gym is not going to take one time. You have to repeat deeply the Nile. [00:33:43:24 - 00:33:45:10] Tarek The Nile. The Nile. [00:33:46:15 - 00:33:50:19] Tarek It is something I do not think anybody should miss. [00:33:52:03 - 00:34:31:01] Tarek It is something that everybody has to experience because it combines history. It combines pleasure. It combines sun. It combines everything is there. I mean, I like to swim and I like to see and everything, but you know, swimming is swimming. That's it. But if you are on a boat where you have a swimming pool and you can swim and then listen to a very nice guide and then you are doing, hearing a lecture, having beautiful food, having the pleasure of the company of other people, happy, happily people. So this is all factors which can make your trip really unforgettable. So I, for me, it is the Nile. [00:34:32:12 - 00:34:41:06] Tarek There is a saying, "If you drink from the water of the Nile, you have to come back." You always come back. I do not want anybody to drink from the water, but I'm just saying, "If you drink." [00:34:41:06 - 00:34:43:11] Rania You know he did. He drank from the water. [00:34:43:11 - 00:34:44:05] Tarek That's why I'm always back. [00:34:44:05 - 00:34:48:12] Rania The one next to Phila Temple. Yeah. It's really, really pure. [00:34:48:12 - 00:34:49:15] Tarek Like mineral water. [00:34:49:15 - 00:34:55:11] Rania It's very clean, very clear. The one next to the Phila Temple. This is where he had his drink of water. [00:34:55:11 - 00:34:56:22] Tarek I'm always at Phila Temple. [00:34:56:22 - 00:35:01:13] Abbey Next time I come. That's what we'll do. We'll have a drink together. [00:35:02:17 - 00:35:43:11] Rania I think, I think even with all what's said, the main attraction still is the pyramids. So it is one of the wonders of the world. And you can't actually realize how big the pyramids are until you're there right in front of them and you can actually contact with your own eyes the whole scenery in one view. I think the pyramids is still the most attractive spot. When you're done with the pyramids, then you would want to know more about the history. How these people, how this happened. [00:35:44:13 - 00:35:46:24] Rania Where these people practiced religion. [00:35:48:17 - 00:35:58:24] Rania How these people actually managed to pull all this together. So this is when you want to see, like you go see the tombs of the workers, you go see the kings, [00:36:00:01 - 00:36:00:20] Rania their lives, [00:36:01:20 - 00:36:10:09] Rania their beliefs, how they were successful. I think this is, it's like a sequence of events. You know what I mean? This is how I see it. [00:36:10:09 - 00:36:13:23] Tarek And actually what Rania is saying, we did it. From the pyramids to Abu Simba. [00:36:13:23 - 00:36:28:24] Rania Yes. Have you been to Abu Simba? I haven't been to Abu Simba. You should come when the sun goes in straight through the temple to the king's face on his birthday. [00:36:32:19 - 00:36:43:17] Rania And on the day he was. 22nd of February I think. So this is what his birthday and also when he was inaugurated as a king I think. So it's twice, it happens twice a year. [00:36:45:09 - 00:37:06:17] Rania And every single year. They have measured everything. And the good thing is when the, I think it was the UNESCO, I'm not sure, but I think when they moved the Abu Simba temple, they put it up in the exact same measurements so that the sun also does the exact same thing. It's amazing. It's beautiful. [00:37:06:17 - 00:37:10:07] Abbey It sort of, it blows your mind, doesn't it? [00:37:10:07 - 00:37:13:11] Rania I was just going to say it's mind blowing just now. [00:37:13:11 - 00:37:31:12] Abbey Because you think all these thousands of years ago, but how precise things are that actually something magical happens. And yeah, I haven't been to Abu Simba, but it's one of the places that I regret I couldn't go. But yeah, it's definitely one of the places that I want to go. I think they [00:37:31:12 - 00:37:50:03] Rania managed to live on even though they died thousands of years ago. You know, as they say, it's your deeds that actually live on. So if you've done something good, important, impactful, this is actually what lives on. And I believe they have lived on honestly. [00:37:50:03 - 00:38:18:20] Abbey And I think they will forever and ever because Egypt and the pyramids and everything that encompasses it, it excites the inner child in you. It really does. Yeah, exactly. And you know, no matter how old or young you are, you become a child again and you want to learn and you want to explore and you need to know everything. And I think one visit is not enough. Two visits is not enough. It's just somewhere you have to continue to go back to and see something new every time. And I think it's amazing. [00:38:19:23 - 00:38:34:19] Abbey So one of the things that I ask at the end of every podcast is I ask our guests, where in the world has captured your heart the most? Now we've spoken about Egypt a lot, but other than Egypt, where in the world has captured you both the most? [00:38:37:18 - 00:38:45:10] Tarek Well, I went with the trip, well, to Botswana. Yeah, [00:38:46:14 - 00:38:47:18] Tarek we went to South Africa. [00:38:49:16 - 00:39:41:19] Tarek And the life of the wild animals. It was for me something I couldn't understand in the beginning. But when I went there, I was really impressed. I mean, we saw it was my challenge that I wanted to see the lion. That's one of my targets. So when I was there, and I saw it actually, and I saw that that's what I saw. I saw the small lion's roar in the back of the building. And in the back is the mother and the father. And I was asking the man, and I just turned up in my car and he just shouted to me, I said, "Go down!" It's the experience there. And we felt also that my wife is very in love with kids. As she told you, if she went 80 times, I would have 80 kids. So she's in love with the elephants, the small elephants. [00:39:41:19 - 00:39:53:09] Rania I was dying for the little elephants. And they're very cheeky. They come right in front of the car, and they start doing like this moves. [00:39:54:17 - 00:40:10:14] Rania And because they're so tiny, you think you can actually touch them. But then the guy, he said, they do that intentionally. But if you just think to come close, the mom is like, she will blow you off. [00:40:12:17 - 00:40:33:16] Abbey I like that. I love that. Thank you so much. Thank you. And thank you. I just want to say to our listeners, I know you were here for World Travel Market, and that's fantastic. But thank you so much for coming from Egypt to speak to us. It's a pleasure. You know, and I'm sure we'll have you back on again. But yeah, I just wanted to say thank you so much. And I really hope our listeners enjoy. [00:40:33:16 - 00:40:34:16] Tarek Thank you very much. [00:40:34:16 - 00:40:36:06] Abbey It was lovely talking to you. [00:40:36:06 - 00:40:37:20] Tarek Thank you. It was really lovely. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. [00:40:41:04 - 00:40:52:21] Debbie Don't forget, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss our conversation in the next episode about my recent tour of this amazing country and what you can expect from the Grand Egyptian Museum.