Forty Days in Egypt in the Time of Corona

Ted, a fifty-something, amateur Egyptologist, has one desire: to get his fledgling tour company off the ground. He is therefore delighted that he has managed to get together a group of travellers and is leading them on a week-long tour of some of Egypt’s spectacular monuments. He has planned everything down to the last detail, and despite a concern about a new virus that is showing up in parts of the world, the tour goes ahead, starting in Cairo. Having moved on from the capital to Luxor, all is going well, although news about the new Coronavirus is beginning to dominate the headlines. In the sleepy village environment of Luxor’s West Bank, most people pay no attention to the warning signs, but rumours of flight cancellations and the possible closure of countries’ borders are beginning to circulate. One day, while on their way to a majestic temple, Emily, a feisty stage 4 Cancer survivor collapses from exhaustion. Carl, Ted’s reluctant business partner and Emily’s boyfriend, reveals the seriousness of her condition. At the same time, Ted receives notification of the closure of Egyptian airspace. The group are stuck. Stranded in rural Luxor amidst some of the finest tombs and temple sites Ancient Egypt has to offer. Faced with being stranded in a foreign country with no immediate way home, the group are temporarily aided by their hotel, which stays open despite the local police wanting them to close. The tourists make the most of what they have, cramming in visits to the Valley of the Kings and many other temple and tomb sites. Soon, Emily’s medicine supply becomes an issue, and while there is very little help from the group’s embassy, miles away in Cairo, the Egyptian people prove to be incredibly generous. The only official advice they get is to stay in Luxor. Although it is possible to go out, the archaeological sites eventually close, and cabin fever sets in. Their only means of communication with friends and family is via social media. A growing resentment of the situation splits the once unified group. Covid strikes and Ted goes down. While he is still sick, half the group leaves for Cairo in the belief that they will do better being near the international airport and their embassy. The remaining three are forced to leave the hotel and find their own accommodation in Luxor. Ted is now seriously ill. Determined not to be the cause of everyone being sent to an Egyptian quarantine camp, while blaming himself for the group’s split, Ted slowly gets better, helped by Carl and Emily, and also an incredible wave of support from social media. Meanwhile the members of the group in Cairo are finding that they may have been somewhat premature in leaving Luxor, as flight after flight is cancelled. Eventually Ted is able to get out and about, firstly through short walks and trips across the Nile and then further afield. Communication with their home embassy is sporadic, limited to social media exchanges, and frequently ends in disappointment. Finally accepting the helplessness of their position, Ted lets go and reaches for the silver linings, realising that if he had to be stranded anywhere, it would be right where he is. With the sites all closed and no sign of immediate flights home, Ted, Emily and Carl set out on a series of adventurous journeys to places far from the usual tourist spots, venturing into the desert, along dried-up river beds and into the mountains in search of long lost tombs and other seldom visited spots. Forty days after their arrival in Egypt, the influence and pressures of the press and social media groups finally pay off, as the group’s government comes to their aid with a flight home. Ted and his companions find themselves back in Cairo, in a cheap hotel overlooking the Pyramids, looking back on the greatest adventure of their lives.