What Others are Saying:
"My first trip to Egypt was the trip of a lifetime with Astryd Farah. This is not your average cookie cutter belly dance tour! Astryd's knowledge of the language & customs, her many experiences there for over 10 years as a dancer & teacher, plus her many Cairo connections, makes this tour an exceptional mix of dance, culture & antiquities. Astryd meticulously organizes & plans the itinerary with room for your own exploring. She is a most gracious host & thinks of everything! We visited many special out of the way places that you would not ordinarily get to go on your own or with a large, commercial tour. Our accommodations on Zamelak in Cairo were right on the Nile- what a view!! We were in walking distance to many shops, Internet cafe & restaurants. The hotel staff were friendly & accommodating. Astryd's Egyptian friend Naser was our knowledgeable guide to the many antiquities & museums. The private dance sessions with some of Egypt's' premier choreographers was an inspiration for my dance. We attended several all night dinner/dance shows that were outstanding! I especially loved visiting the costumiers homes & seeing them hard at work in their workshops sewing the most sought after costumes, & getting to purchase beautiful designs right from the designer. Our end of the tour excursion with Astryd to the Red Sea for some much needed R&R was a blast! The snorkeling at Ras Mohamed Park, & the climb up Gebel Musa at night with flash lights to witness the Egyptian sunrise were some everlasting memorable experiences. I'm already planning my return journey. Thank you Astryd! Thank you Egypt!" ~Dona Mittasch - spring 2009
"I want to thank you for providing one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life! It was so amazing to step off the plane in Cairo and to immediately feel so at home. That is due in large part to how good of care you provided for us. Your insights into the culture, your network of friends and acquaintances, and the huge amount of work you put into making everything flow so smoothly provided the ultimate experience for dance and for being a tourist. I wouldn't change a thing!" ~Susan Embum - spring 2007
".....Ms Farah, you better be sure you like being a tour guide! When word of this gets out, you will be in high demand! You were so Awesome. I can see how hard you worked, and the benefits of the relationships you have built with the Egyptian people over all the years. We got to see and do so much! You were so concerned about any special interests, and worked hard to make them happen. The costumes I bought are prized possessions, the experience that goes along with them….PRICELESS! Our group ROCKED, too! We are all great ladies, I have a whole new circle of friends. We looked out for each other. Whatever was needed by someone else was given with an open heart. The Egyptian people are so warm and friendly, we were taken into teachers’ homes, it was just a level of closeness that we could not have gotten to experience without you and your work there over the years. It was apparent that Egyptians like and respect you as well. The trip of a lifetime. And I will be back. Thank you, Astryd for everything. You are so sweet, wonderful and totally lovely inside and out. Shokren, Rena" ~Rena Raymond - spring 2007
"Astryd´s Bellydance tour to Cairo was a fantastic experience that I will recommend to everyone who loves Bellydance and wants to develop it further and get to learn from the Egyptian teachers! Astryd was very attentive to our wishes and needs, and organized everything with great calmness! Our time was spent very efficiently, and we had some very nice drivers to run us to the various activities, as well as a well educated guide to the Museum, the Pyramids etc. I felt that I got a lot of value for my money and did what was the most important for me! There is also a big advantage of Astryd living in Cairo and speaking the language, which means that she has inside information on who is available, what shows are best and so on!" ~ Hanne Strom, Norway, October 2009
"Astryd's Cairo dance tour was an amazing experience! It was great having a guide that has lived there for over a decade, has personal relations with the master teachers and top dancer's and speaks the language. I felt very fortunate to have her knowledge and experience to guide me through my first "dance tour" of Egypt! She catered to my needs and made my experience truly fulfilling! I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a guide that is familiar with every aspect of the Cairo dance scene; setting up master classes, seeing the best shows by top dancers and making appointments for the best costume designers in Egypt. The tour exceeded my highest expectations...Thank you Astryd!" ~ Kajmir, tour participant spring, 2007
"Astryd's tour to Cairo was a life-impacting experience. Not only did I get to see the tourist sites (pyramids, antiquities museum etc.) but I got to experience the normal non-tourist day to day life of the city. From the Bazaars to the local grocery store, the shopping opportunities were limitless, the shows were fabulous, the food was delicious, and the people were generous beyond my expectations. In addition to all of that, I got to take small class, semi-private, and private lessons with some of the best dancers/teachers in Cairo. Not only did I learn techniques, combinations, and choreography's, but I got a glimpse of how this bustling city and culture infuse middle eastern dance with its exotic smells, its dramatic postures, and the kindness of its people." ~ Oralia Kolaczkowski, tour participant spring, 2007
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