Today is the holy day for Islam – This is the day the new staff head to Cairo. Cairo is the largest city in Africa or Europe with nearly 16 million people in the metropolitan area. We headed to the Alex train station to take the “fast” train to Cairo. First thing we noticed today was the lack of traffic on the way to the train station – since it is early (7:30) and a holy day, traffic is light. The “fast” train is so named because it runs non-stop to Cairo and is air-conditioned with individual seats for passengers (much like trains in the US). While we were waiting for the train, one of the other trains came in from the country. It was very crowded with people coming into Alex with their wares to sell – food, products, crafts and even live pigeons.
Our trip to Cairo took about two hours. Along the way, we saw a lot of the country side (agricultural land). Crops are grown right up to the roads and tracks – there are no ditches. We saw corn (looked pretty good), rice, vegetables, etc. All of the farm labor is done by hand. On the trip down and back, we saw maybe a half a dozen tractors (mostly small ones like the old Fords in the 60’s). The country side has a less trash than the cities do but I’m sure the work is very hard and the homes ranged from huts to block/brick homes. Homes aren’t really a good term as most are apartments with an entire family living in small quarters. We saw a variety of transportation in the country (donkeys, donkey carts, ponies, pony carts, very small car, vans, bikes and a lot of foot traffic. Like the city, people will wait by the road for someone to pick them up. All of the vehicles are usually full (if it seats 4, there are 4).
A driver met us at the train station and took us directly to the Pyramids. One thing we noticed about the streets was the speed bumps that are all along the streets to slow the traffic down. The Pyramids are located just on the edge of Cairo. They are an awesome site to see. Actually there are over 70 throughout Egypt but the most famous are where we were at Giza. The first thing we did was ride the camels into the desert. This was quite and experience. We negotiated the price before hand but of course the person with each of us (in our case both of us) wanted to be our friend so we would tip him. My camel was called Snoopy and Pat road Moses. They were good camels – the ride was very smooth, kind of swaying. We were struck by the size of their feet (quite large). Once we got out a ways into the desert, the handler pulled my camel aside so I could tip him without the boss of the operation seeing him – quite common.
From the camel ride we went to the Great Pyramid. Pat took a picture of me on the first step – the stones are nearly 5 feet in height. It took over 30 years to build this one. From there we walked to the Great Sphinx. At one time this was nearly buried in sand – it is a unique site. The entire area is overrun with locals hawking their souvenirs. You can hardly walk 10 feet without being grabbed. If they know you are from the US, they will really stay after you. We began telling them we were from Canada and the Trinidad. That didn’t really help so you just keep saying no and walk on. It was very hot there so we took off for lunch at the Marriott. The Marriott was once the Queen’s palace which has been restored and had two towers build around it. Lunch was very good (especially in the AC!!). As we were walking out we ran into someone who was a graduate of the U of I and it was so nice to talk to someone from back home in ENGLISH!!
From the Marriott we head to the Kahn (the most famous shopping area in Africa). We dropped the ladies at the Tent Mart and the men headed to a coffee house. We were dropped off in front of the most famous mosque in Cairo. Nearly a dozen trucks were parked in front and there had to be over 200 armed Arab military men in full riot gear near the mosque as often after the noon prayer on Holy Day there are demonstrations of one form or another. Today was a quiet day. In addition to the Arab force, the city is filled with other police, military and security guards. Far more than you would ever see in America. One reason is that once in the military, all expenses are paid. Even though the pay is low they are taken care off.
Once in the Coffee House we relaxed while the women shopped. One of the Egyptian staff members ,moked a shisha pipe, a common custom for men. When the ladies came back, Pat brought back a beautiful handmade needlecraft wall hanging (5’ by 6’). To purchase this, she had to bargain, the custom in the Kahn. They began the price at 600 pounds but Pat got it for 300. She was a tough bargainer. We both walked around the Kahn for a while before heading to the train station. Traffic in Cairo is quite a bit more congested that in Alex. It is like they have 3 lanes pavement for 6 lanes of cars. Once we got on the train it was time to relax for the two hour ride back to Alex. When we got home both of us were exhausted from all of the activities of the day. Tomorrow is work day for us on our own and then we are going out for supper with another couple at a Chinese restaurant.
