There are two good threads on it here, Cav -- Walter's given a pictorial tour of town and countryside adjacent to tour, it is a fantastic thread, and then there is one on the actual tour.
Back with a link.
Le Tour 2004 (cultural) It's slow loading, for me anyway, with all the photos...
Also, has anyone read David Remnick's piece "Letter from Cairo" in the July 12 & 19 New Yorker? Wide ranging interviews which support your comment, Cav.
Letter from Cairo