Here are some misc. pictures taken during our drive between Aswan and Luxor, which give an idea of life in Egypt outside the large cities.
Trucks full of sugarcane
The Egyptian idea of public transportation
Besides our nightly koshary and various pastries for breakfast, we subsisted mostly on protein bars during our trip
At several points throughout our drive we had to go through security checkpoints and our driver had to show his ID
Fishermen in the Nile
In places where the Nile was still it was absolutely mirror-like
By this point in my life I consider myself someone who has been introduced to many different cultures, but on this trip I realized that everywhere I've been has been in the developed west. Even Istanbul is an extremely modern city. The countryside of Egypt was my first experience with what is still considered the third world, and it was completely eye-opening to see it personally. I am in no way trying to sound superior, just describing the experience. If we had been on a tour this is something I don't think we would have witnessed, and I'm glad I had the opportunity.
This small canal of the Nile gives an idea of what the river is like in some of the poorer areas. As we drove along we saw people washing animals (donkeys and water buffalo mostly), as well as kids swimming. In addition to the waste and pollution clearly seen here, there is the ubiquitous presence of parasitic flatworms that make their home in the muddy banks of the river and embed themselves within human tissue. This causes Schistosomiasis, the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease after malaria.
Trucks full of sugarcane
The Egyptian idea of public transportation
Besides our nightly koshary and various pastries for breakfast, we subsisted mostly on protein bars during our trip
At several points throughout our drive we had to go through security checkpoints and our driver had to show his ID
Fishermen in the Nile
In places where the Nile was still it was absolutely mirror-like
By this point in my life I consider myself someone who has been introduced to many different cultures, but on this trip I realized that everywhere I've been has been in the developed west. Even Istanbul is an extremely modern city. The countryside of Egypt was my first experience with what is still considered the third world, and it was completely eye-opening to see it personally. I am in no way trying to sound superior, just describing the experience. If we had been on a tour this is something I don't think we would have witnessed, and I'm glad I had the opportunity.
This small canal of the Nile gives an idea of what the river is like in some of the poorer areas. As we drove along we saw people washing animals (donkeys and water buffalo mostly), as well as kids swimming. In addition to the waste and pollution clearly seen here, there is the ubiquitous presence of parasitic flatworms that make their home in the muddy banks of the river and embed themselves within human tissue. This causes Schistosomiasis, the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease after malaria.
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