Experience Nubia Guestbook. We appreciate your reactions.

Salam Abdel,

I hope you're back from the desert, so I can tell you again:

Thousandandone shukran for you, your staff and all the people in the village. You all have given us so much from your hearts and with your smiles ("Smile on the Nile" that we never could pay it with bakshish.

It seems, that I finally found my place in the world for me and inch'Allah I will come back to Nagh el Kuba again and again and again ... and maybe one day I will stay ... inch'Allah

And also I like to send 1001 kisses from your sister Drita for you and all the friends we found in "Nagh el Kuba".

We miss you and WE LOVE YOU ALL

Hallo Abdel Sabour en alle medewerkers,
Ik heb een fantastische tijd bij jullie gehad van 20 november 2011 tot 30 november, ongelooflijk. Heel veel gezien en gedaan, zelfs op een kameel (eigenlijk dromedaris)gezeten en dat is heel wat voor mij.De gastvrijheid, het prachtige uitzicht en het heerlijke eten zullen me altijd bijblijven. Ik schrok wel van de grote aantallen vrouwen in burka' s, maar dat zal ook ooit nog wel eens veranderen als de invloed van de islam minder wordt net zoals het in Nederland is gegaan.
Speciale groeten voor Ali en Bassam: ik ga de AJAX shirts proberen te kopen en zal ze mee geven aan Ellen als het op tijd lukt..
Hartelijke groet uit Limburg/Nederland.
Jeanine Hoefnagels
Heerlen.

5 nachten verblijf in Guesthouse Bet El kerem (30.07.11-04.08.11)

Als gezin met drie opgroeiende kinderen (9-13-14 j.) kunnen wij terugblikken op een bijzonder fijne tijd in het guesthouse. Wij werden zeer gastvrij ontvangen en verbleven er in kraaknette en ruime kamers. Het dakterras biedt een mooi uitzicht. We kregen er niet alleen lekker eten voorgeschoteld of vonden er de rust om een boek te lezen, ook onstonden hier 's avonds spontaan muziek -en dansmomenten met de aanwezige medewerkers. De formule waarbij er voor de gasten kosteloos drank werd aangeboden, was met de extreem hoge temperaturen een absolute voltreffer. Alles was tot in de puntjes georganiseerd. De contacten met de medewerkers waren zeer aangenaam. Bijzondere dank dan ook voor Bassam (onze gids), de chef-kok, Ali (onze kapitein)en alle andere medewerkers. De ligging op de Westbank is veeleer een pluspunt dan wel een nadeel. Vanuit Aswan zijn er tal van excursiemogelijkheden. Zo bezochten wij onder andere Abu Simbel,de kamelenmarkt in Daraw en de Kom Ombo dubbeltempel.In de stad zelf waren wij vooral gecharmeerd door het Nubisch museum en het klank- en lichtspektakel van Philae (tempel van Isis). Maar ook een feluccatocht, een bezoek aan de souks en een kamelentocht is niet te missen. Wij kunnen Bet El Kerem alvast aan iedereen aanbevelen.
Dank voor de fijne momenten.
Fam. Vandevelde uit Gent - België

Do not miss Bet El Kerem. It is the best place to stay in Egypt. The location on the West Bank is calm, quiet and has great views over the desert, the Nile, the Nubian village and the tombs. The rooms and bathrooms are spotless and the food is wonderful. Shamy's falafel and fuul are the best. The roof deck is a place to kick back, relax and feel at home. The best part of it all is the staff of charming, friendly guys who really do want to make your stay wonderful. We stayed 3 times and it was like coming home to family. Bassam can arrange anything. The afternoon and evening felucca ride will be in our memories forever...and so will Bassam and the rest of his team.
Don't come to Egypt without staying at Bet el Kerem. It will give you an authentic experience of the charm and friendliness of Nubia and will make your trip memorable. We will recommend it with 1000 stars to all our friends.

Drei Tage verbrachten wir im Bet el Kerem. Kein Hupen, kein Gefeilsche, kein Trinkgeldgebettel, stattdessen: Blitzsaubere Zimmer und Betten, einfache aber sehr gute Küche und ein Team, das sagt:"Wir möchten, dass ihr Euch fühlt, als seid ihr bei Freunden zu Besuch!" Dieses Versprechen halten Sie auch.
Lage: Verträumt (Blick von der Dachterrasse auf die Königsgräber und die Kitchenerinsel nebst Skyline von Assuan.
Super!!!

For anyone who doesn't understand dutch.... The text says: Bet el Kerem is the best place we stayd in while in Egypt! it is simply amazing!

Dag Abdel. Hoe was je trip naar Soedan?
We willen jou en je staf nog bedanken voor de enorme gastvrijheid die we mochten ontvangen. We hebben enorm genoten in Aswan. Volgens ons hebben jullie het beste plekje en de beste service van heel Aswan. Alles was perfect in orde. Ik vertel aan iedereen die het horen wil dat ze bij jullie moeten verblijven als ze naar egypte gaan. Zelf hopen we echt nog eens die kant op te komen. Misschien dat we dat dan maar eens moeten combineren met een trip naar Soedan...

Groetjes Rudi en Jeroen uit Amersfoort

Dear Ellen and Abdel,
We wanted to say how graciously we were treated by your wonderful colleagues and staff. Every day there was at least 3 or 4 young men to greet us and help us with whatever we needed that day. In particular we remember Mohammed (he said he wants to do something other than being a chef - our observation was that he is an amazing cook and should definitely stick to that -the meals he prepared each evening were fabulous!)
He was also so gracious, kind and generous.
And of course Abdullah was a total delight - funny, witty, definitely the boss when there, and also so eager to share his culture and vast life experience with us.
On the last night of our stay all of the young men and I think ?Yazir played and sang for us. It was wonderful and Yazir's voice and shaping of the songs was something we will always remember. We loved the feeling of your small precious Inn and being surrounded by Nubian villagers and culture.
You must be the most hospitable people on earth! Everywhere we went - there was someone asking if they could help, or offer directions or willing to share some aspect of your culture.
We loved the ferry ride each day to Aswan and always looked forward to coming home at the end of the day to your side of the bank.

Our time with Fikry Kachif in Abu Simbel was also wonderful - so glad we stayed there a few days as well.
Only one thing to do - return again to Aswan some time!

Linda & Patrick, March 2010

Hallo Abdel, Tarik en andere medewerkers,
Heel erg bedankt voor de fijne week die we bij jullie hebben mogen beleven. We zijn inmiddels weer thuis maar ik heb het gevoel dat ik nog met één been in Egypte sta...
Ondanks de warmte hebben we ontzettend genoten van de gastvrijheid, het eten, de omgeving en de mensen. We zullen er nog vaak aan terugdenken.
Groeten, Manon Mol.

Liebe Ellen, Lieber Abla,

endlich finde ich Zeit

bedanke und sucran zu sagen!

Ich kann mich meinem Vorredner anschließen!

Mit Bet el Kerem habt ihr einen wunderbaren Platz geschaffen, ich hatte fast 3 Wochen mit meiner 3 jährigen Tochter einen schönen Urlaub, der keine Wünsche offen ließ.

Mein Dank gilt im Besonderen:

Abdalla der alles irgenwie in Schwung hielt und dessen wunderbares Haus am 1. Katarakt wir besuchen durften
Ali - der mein Kind so glücklich macht (mit Spielen, dem Esel und vielen Albereien).
Tarik - für seine großartige organisatorische Unterstützung
Machmoud - für das extrem leckere Essen

und allen anderen, die im Haus geholfen haben!

Ich hoffe, wenn ich wieder komme ist nicht ausgebucht!

ma salama

Heike und Avin

Dear Abdel en Nubian friends,

In this way I want to express my gratitude to you and your family, friends and staff. I found your culture to be open minded, friendly, hospital and warm. As soon as I arrived at Betel Kerem I felt home. Mohammed (forgive me if I misspelled the names) received me with a warm welcome and a beautiful smile. My room was always clean and taken care of by him and I was amazed by how he took care of all the rooms by himself.

The guesthouse was an oasis in a desert of tourism, where I spent many hours on the roof terrace just to enjoy the company of the staff and the amazing Nile. Every morning I could not wait to go out of bed just to enjoy the view and the delicious breakfast. Just being here could be enough for a perfect holiday.

I was astonished by the beauty of your culture and the way everything is organized. No hierarchy or police, everybody equal like one family.
Shared land, water, taxies, friendship and tea. Many times Mohammed Sahid transported me with his taxi to the different Nubian villages.

Special thanks to Ramdan who showed me so much of your rich culture and friendship by showing me different aspects of your community. We spent many hours in both desert and villages to enjoy the company of friends a family over a cup of tea (with one sugar). He introduced me to many people and I felt immediately connected to them. After a few days people started to recognize me and invited me just to make a conversation. From that moment on I didn’t feel like a tourist anymore just because I was not treated as one. Every day after finishing my program I found him and his friends next to the ferry. There was always someone who invited me for tea. We would be sitting there for hours until sunset, watching the villagers using the ferry. I loved being on the Nile even just by using this ferry. The view on the Nile, the smell of the water and desert and of course Mhuudy the loyal and friendly boatman.

I want to thank Ali and Achmed for showing me these beautiful places along the Nile. The tours opened my heart. Being on the Nile with them I like most.
Everything they did from maneuvering the boat up to preparing tea or lunch, they did it with focus and passion. Ali has so much joy and love within his heart which makes a tourist feel like a king.

Being in Mohammed’s place at the 1st Interact was an event never to forget. What a wonderful and special place always visited by special people. I enjoyed the conversations I had there about Islam and life and especially Sudan. I want to express my gratitude to Mohammed for making this possible by opening his house to me. He is the driving force behind the organization of the guesthouse and inspires the staff to do their best.

I want to thank Tarik for arranging many of my trips. Everything he arranged was on time and according to plan. I still miss his beautiful voice and songs of Menir. Every evening I found him waiting for me in the guesthouse just to check I f I was happy.

Every day after a program I found Chef Mahmud in the guesthouse preparing a delicious mail. Nothing is more fulfilling than having a great meal after a day in the desert or on the Nile. I love to watch him cutting the vegetables and using the stove. There is so much pride and passion in the way he makes a meal.

Last but not least there is Mahmud the dishwasher. He is always working very hard and smiling. You can imagine that tourists feel great when they witness people enjoying their work. We did not speak that much because I guess he is the one that het the least contact with tourists.

End of this year I will try to visit you again as part of a journey to Sudan where I hope to travel around for about four weeks. Insha'Allah

Peter, March 2010