Gamal, who has been a driver and guide for 15 years, always meets many Bedouin friends in the safaris, his desert family as we call it!

Apart from making you discover the beauty of a unique landscape, the aim of our safaris is also to put in light those Bedouin friends, part of a wonderful local population.

That's why we are always happy to work with them, hiring their services as drivers or guides and staying in their camps.

Through them, you will be able to meet the local population, to share their daily lives and to discover their beautiful craft, away from mass tourism.

Concerned and aware of the need to keep equal relationships between the locals and the tourists, Gamalex safaris are part of the concept of Fair Tourism .

This type of tourism makes sure that the local population are involved in the development of the local tourism and that those people are respected along with their culture and nature.

For the people who know, who are involved or would like to know more about the concept of Fair Trade, we have designed a special fair trade program with the help of the association « Egypt Crafts Center (ECC)/ Fair Trade Egypt (FTE). This program allows you to meet the Egyptian craft men and women who managed to safeguard the old and traditional techniques of the products they sale. Those techniques were on the brink of extinction because of their mass-produced counterparts.

 

ECC/FTE is a non-profit organization launched in 1998, whose goal is to empower Egyptian artisans through the practice of Fair Trade. Every one of their 500 products comes with its own introduction card, a note that educates us on its origin and function.

Their shop is situated in Zamalek, 27, Yehia Ibrahim Street , 1 st floor. You can also visit their website:
http://www.fairtradeegypt.com

 

To any of our programs, can be added a few days to discover different places where the Fair Trade craft and products are made.

• Visit of the FTE shop in Zamalek:

There, you will be able to meet and chat with the people of the FTE team to understand better how they work. It would be also a perfect occasion to shop and discover the variety of products made by the local people.

• Helwan:
  Helwan brings us its soft glow, with hand-poured scented candles, which come in all colours and sizes, like tea lights, pillars, tapers and citronella terracotta pots.

• Moqattam:
  

  Moqattam helps us bring a little balance to Cairo 's environment with its recycled antique paper items, its patchwork totes and rugs and its quilts and embroideries. 

• Al Alaam:
  Palm leaf baskets are probably the most noticeable product from Al Fayoum, as it is virtually impossible to find a home in Egypt without one. And to no surprise! Besides bringing a little oasis to your urban environment, they're also a wonderful way to keep organized.

• Al Nazla:
  

  Al Nazla takes us back to Pharaonic times with its terracotta pottery. Its understated beauty and functionality has stood the test of time. Although the pieces look charmingly bulky, they're amazingly light, because of their unusual composition of mixed clay and sawdust or ash. 

• A Siwa:
  Siwa captures the beauty of the region with its heirloom-quality sheer embroidered shawls, delicious dates, beneficial herbs and flattering silver jewellery.