After a typical date night escape brought President Obama to New York City earlier this week, we can only imagine that he was all warmed up to play tourist on his Egypt jaunt.

He may be in Dresden today addressing issues of Holocaust denial, before he rounds out this week with a visit to the D-Day beaches of Normandy, Obama made sure to drop by Cairo University to deliver a hotly debated speech. Thankfully he brought his khakis and set aside enough time to day trip out to the Pyramids of Giza and the 600-year-old Sultan Hassan mosque. During a private visit to the Spyhnx, Obama even joked that were he a typical visitor, he'd get on a camel. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-05T11:07:05-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/11/14747/7915

Need to check your e-mail before heading to the Pyramids? Let your stomach show the way at Cairo International Airport to free WiFi.

The airport's own Aviation Information Technology Company offers a free signal in the terminals, but the best signal is in the Terminal 2 food court. Just like in Santiago, no purchase is necessary to partake.

Eat up all the free bandwidth you want, but make sure to tell us afterwards.

Related Stories:
· Natural Wonders Travel: The Green Returns to Egypt [Jaunted]
· World's Greatest Train Travel: Olde Africa, Bathtubs Optional [Jaunted]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]]]> egw 2009-03-17T14:15:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/29/152823/81

Marriott is running an online contest right now that asks "How many major pyramids are located at Giza?" If you couldn't figure it out from the photo they show right next to the question, the answer is three.

The two previous questions in the game asked why they celebrate Carnival in Rio (to mark the beginning of Lent) and who officially opened the Sydney Opera House (Elizabeth II). Tomorrow's quiz is about Rome, and judging from the difficulty of the questions so far, we're throwing out these potential answers: The Forum, The Colosseum, Romulus, Julius Caesar, Trevi Fountain and Italy.

Related Stories:
· Marriott World of Rewards [Official Site]
· 3-D Models of the Pyramids for Google Earth [GEHacks]
· The Giza Pyramids World Heritage Site [UNESCO]
· Giza Pyramid Complex [Wikipedia]

[Photo of the famous Giza Pizza Hut: noaman]]]> pbb 2008-10-29T16:45:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/17/84955/6463

Serious hidden treasures from Cleopatra's palace lie beneath the waters of the Mediterranean, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. And a proposed underwater museum will showcase these sunken wonders if UNESCO determines that the project is feasible.

Cleopatra's palace was built on an island in one of the largest human-made bays on the planet. Earthquakes unfortunately submerged her opulent lair until the 1990s when archaeologist-divers found the thousands of precious objects.

The museum could be truly astounding, showing off 26 sphinxes, statues bearing gifts to the gods, Roman and Greek shipwrecks and pieces of the Pharos of Alexandria lighthouse--one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Related Stories:
· Underwater Museum Planned for Egypt's Alexandria [National Geographic]
· Egypt Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Seven Wonders of the World coverage [Jaunted]]]> Dan Gould 2008-09-17T09:50:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/29/83912/3482

In a desert land, water calls for a party: Get your tickets now for Cairo's Wafaa Al-Nil Festival, which celebrates the annual flooding of the Nile which irrigates fields and ushers in the season of akhet, or flood.

The ancient Egyptians used to celebrate the flooding by sacrificing young girls to assure a rich harvest. Nowadays, relics may be dumped in the water in Coptic ceremonies, but no person will have to go in if she doesn't want to.

And nowadays the flood coincides with the Cairo International Song Festival, for which composers and arrangers come from all over weekend to display their "wares" and compete for cash prizes.

Related Stories:
· Movie Set Travel: Jumper [Jaunted]
· Egypt Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ahmed Abbas]]]> egw 2008-07-29T09:18:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/4/16/115535/665

As if we need to hype Twitter any more than we already do, it's now the tool of choice for getting out of prison in Egypt.

Journalist and grad student James Karl Buck was detained by the Egyptian police along with his translator and friend Mohammed Salah Ahmed Maree. Buck sent out a one-word tweet and soon enough his network of followers contacted his university and the US Embassy. He was sprung a few hours later.

Maree is still being held incommunicado, and Buck has dedicated his personal website to getting him released. The sort-of fortunate tech-happy outcome aside, the saga is a good reminder of why the State Department recommends avoiding public demonstrations in Egypt.

Related Stories:
· Twitter Saves Man from Egyptian Justice [Techcrunch]
· State Department Info on Egypt [Official Site]
· James Buck [Twitter]]]> pbb 2008-04-16T12:00:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/2/20/171637/291

Ever since French President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly frolicked on the beach with former super model (and the object of all men's affections in the early 1990s) Carla Bruni, we have been super jealous.

No, not of Carla Bruni but rather because it's "balmy weather" over in Egypt right now. During the day, temps are hitting 78 degrees.

The duo, now married, passed their time at the Sofitel Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor. And of course, they toured some of the ancient pyramids. We wonder if they toured the Mummification Museum?

Luxor depends on tourism to keep its economy afloat. And while it's been getting good tourism numbers, we read somewhere that more people actually visit the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas than the original Luxor. Sad but can you blame them? Drinking, dancing and gambling, versus ancient dead people? Hmm....

Anyways, we would be more than happy to help out Luxor by taking a trip over there. Now does Ryanair fly there?

Related Stories:
· Egypt's Pyramid Scheme [Jaunted]
· Ryanair Ready for Sarko-Bruni Honeymoon [Jaunted]

[Photo: Shelbyroot]]]> juliana 2008-02-20T17:34:53-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/