Cross Egypt Challenge is a series of endurance scooter rides aiming to promote tourism, alternative sports, and alternative means of transportations in Egypt.

I was accepted a ride for this years Challenge. I am honored and thrilled at this opportunity.

The 2012 season of Cross Egypt Challenge will start from Egypt's capital and the home of the famous Tahrir square, then heads north to the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria at the shores of the Mediterranean before heading west towards the city of Marsa Matrouh. The challenge will then heads down towards the fascinating Sahara desert where the challenge team will ride between Egypt's 5 famous oases, Siwa, Bahareya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga before reaching the legendary city of Luxor; the world largest open-air museum, where they will ride down the avenue of the sphinxes to end their long and tiring journey in front of the magnificent temple of Karnak.



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To Cairo

We turned JJ Coolbox over to his new owner.  He has been a great companion but we are moving on.  The travel from the desert of Namibia to Cairo was uneventful, as was the service on the Air Egypt flight. Since there was only 50 people on a 234 seat airplane everyone was able to stretch out and take a nap, as did the cabin crew.

Formalities' at the Cairo airport were quick and we were met by our driver and whisked off to the Novatel Hotel in central Cairo.  One advantage of arriving at dawn is that the traffic in this city of 19 million was not in full swing yet.
  
    
We had been traveling for 22 hours, 5 hours driving to the airport, 2 flights totaling almost 10 hours so a nap was called for. After the little snooze we went for a walk around the island that the hotel is on in central Cairo.   Cairo is the same.  It is a large city in the desert, so it is not the cleanest looking city.  Everyone we talked to on the walk was friendly and were glad to have their picture taken. Lovers in the park, tea vendors along the road, scooters everywhere.
  
Back at the hotel the Cross Egypt Challenge crew had arrived from Alexandria and where unloading in the lobby.

 ahmad with a blurry thumbs up
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