When Omar Mansour was younger, he decided to travel the world. Although a common childhood fantasy, to Mansour, it was far from being simply a flight of fancy.
At 35 years old, the Alexandrian Bedouin has journeyed the Middle East, Europe and the east coast of North America. Next month, Mansour is taking his bike from Cape Town, South Africa, up to Egypt, visiting 13 countries on the way.
Mansour owned his first Honda at the age of 10. With an itch for adventure, he started going on small trips to Cairo and back. “[When I was 18] I used to drive to Cairo, have dinner, see some friends and head back to Alex, he recalled.
From there on bike-trekking became a habit. A self-taught professional rider, Mansour gradually learned more about bikes and their maintenance. Now, his bike is his best friend.
Sometimes I talk to it, and talks back, he said jokingly. Imagine you have everything on the bike: your camping gear, your cooking gear, your water . it becomes your life.
In 1996, Mansour decided to share his passion with a couple of family friends that were visiting at the time. They geared up three bikes and headed down to the Western Desert.
This mini-adventure gave birth to Sand n Sea, a tourism agency that organizes adventurous trips in Egypt. Sand n Sea operates outside Cairo, with á la carte tours organized from Luxor and the oases of the Western Desert to the shores of Dahab and Abu Galoum.
We won t take you to the pyramids, or the Library of Alexandria. We do real adventure trips, said Mansour, who founded Sand n Sea in partnership with his brother.
As gutsy and exhilarating as the experience of biking through Egypt was, to Mansour, it wasn’t quite enough; it did not quench his wanderlust for travel or discovery.
“I felt Egypt was so small, he said.
In 2002, Mansour decided to take on his first trip across borders, and France was the destination.
To avoid costly bureaucracy, he bought a bike from France and registered it in the name of a French friend. He then shipped it to Egypt, from where he took off on his first bike-trekking journey.
“I told my friends that I am going to France, he recalls. “They all thought I d put my bike on a plane, fly to France and ride it there. The smart ones said: Ah, you ll take it to Tunis through Libya and onto a ferry to France. It s unheard of, you know?
Bike-trekking is an unusual activity in Egypt. There are a couple of rally teams that organize different sorts of activities, but they are mostly confined within the country s borders.
Moreover, international bikers find it difficult to come into Egypt through land since they are required to issue a carnet de passage (similar in concept to one’s passport), which according to Mansour, can cost up to 400 times the price of the bike.
Consequently, Mansour has in the past years failed to attract sponsors to fund his trips, which are undoubtedly costly. “If I find a sponsor now, I ll go to the moon on my bike, he joked.
“The joy I get from traveling around on my bike is like the joy of a kid who has just received a box full of presents, unwrapping them one a time, said Mansour.
Although he always puts a set schedule to his journeys, he rarely sticks to it, allowing for spontaneity to guide him. “I could spend one night in a city or I can spend a week. It depends, he added. Mansour s Euro-Mediterranean trip took him to Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and finally France, the entire trip lasting three months. He then flew from France, with his bike, back to Cairo.
He rode through Western Europe during two consecutive summers, 2003 and 2004. In 2005, he crossed the Atlantic to ride his bike from Vermont to Miami, Florida in the United States. Mansour enjoys finding shelter on countryside camping grounds where he sets up his tent and enjoys the outdoors. Although he sometimes resorts to budget-hotels, especially when visiting big cities, he s cut for the rugged life.
His next trip is a 20,000 km ride from Cape Town, South Africa up to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and to finally arrive at his homeland, Egypt.
Mansour is a descendant of Awald Ali tribe. Originating from Andalusia, it is the biggest Bedouin tribe in Egypt. As a student, Masnour attended law school at the University of Alexandria. Along with his Sand n Sea tourism business, Mansour runs the legal department in a family business.
Sometimes you ll find me in a suit and tie, sitting in the office with my lawyer hat on. Sometimes you ll find me in a galabeyya and slippers, sitting by a bonfire in the desert with a semada (Bedouin scarf) wrapped around my head. And on another day, you ll find me in a helmet, geared up next to my bike.
For more information about Sand n Sea or the Africa trip, contact Omar Mansour on +2 010 170 3058 or visit www.sandnsea.net.
