"You really should visit West Bank now that you are here. You go there by ferry, but the men who'll approach you in the street, work for the government. It is far better to support the locals." They always used to call a friend who would come all the way from his village to pick them up in his ferry and wait for them. "To simply cross the river costs two euro and to go there and back is three euro, but they will ask you for four, if you do not show them that you know the price." Of course they would give him something extra. They were really surprised that after 6-7 years, the price was still the same as they had always paid, but that just showed them that their friend was an honest man.
"You must experience the village of Ramla. There are many interesting shops and cafes, but to get the right price, you have to let a local friend help you." They could of course introduce me to their contact, but it is very easy to make friends with the real Egyptians, and that is the only way to avoid getting ripped off by the bad guys who work with tourists.
Their only regret was not having bought land and built property while they still could, but the revolution had put an end to that dream, and now they felt that it was too late in their lives to uproot. They had found the perfect piece of Paradise in a West Bank village and had intended to build a villa where they could retire and let the first floor to tourists. They would use the profit to build another villa next door, because it is a well known fact that Americans are willing to pay four times the cost of building a villa, and this would immediately finance the whole adventure. Now they were too old.
"Wait a minute", the man said, "You are still young, why don't you do it?!" It was clear that I would not follow his advice, but at least I should go with their friend and take a look at the place. This way I had a unique chance of seeing - the Real Egypt.
