We’ve arrived back to the friendly confines of Schutz today after a whirlwind tour of Cairo, the city that truly doesn’t sleep. Every aspect of our Cairo experience was memorable. We left Friday the 3rd by train for a leisurely trip down. The train runs through the rich agricultural area of Egypt. Here one can see nearly any mode of transportation by the locals ranging from pickups, cars, tractors, donkeys, donkey carts, bikes, and on foot. Most of the field work is done by hand as it has been for hundreds of years. We arrived at the train station and were met by a slew of taxi drivers, one of which had a station wagon that could transport all of us in one vehicle to our hotel. We loaded up the wagon, got in and sat as the driver tried to get his vehicle started. The engine didn’t turn over so he hopped out, popped the hood and fiddled with the engine. Again, nothing so he yelled at someone and asked me to hop out and we began pushing it. I was thinking it was a little too far to do this to the hotel, as he jumped in and popped the clutch to start the engine. After a thrilling ride through the streets of Cairo we arrived safely at our hotel.
Later in the afternoon, we took a taxi over to an area on the Nile and took a little sailboat ride. I think the girls really enjoyed getting up close to the great river and to the boat captain who wanted to have photos taken with the Camel-lots. After our boat ride, we met with Debbie and Mahmoud to dine at a favorite Lebanese restaurant located in the area nearby the American Embassy. What started out as a pleasant stroll though the embassy area turned out to nearly start an international event. The grounds outside the embassy are guarded by an Egyptian security force. The Camel-lots asked one of the young guards if they could take a photo of the embassy. Apparently he didn’t understand what they were asking him and as they pulled out their cameras and started snapping photos, security from both ends of the streets rushed towards us. They looked at the cameras and demanded that the photos be deleted—we were probably pretty lucky they didn’t confiscate the cameras. They asked Mahmoud to see his identification and took his Egyptian National Identification Card and asked to see my passport, taking down my name and passport number. A few more security officials came and told us it would only be a few minutes before we would be able to go on to the restaurant after we explained what we were doing. A few minutes passed and more minutes passed and finally after nearly an hour we were allowed to go on but they kept Mahmoud’s identification card until we returned after our meal. The guards apologized for detaining us but tried to explain that the heightened security in the area was necessary due to the recent unrest in the Kahn.
Saturday we visited the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian National Museum. Our guide for the day was a young Muslim guide, Radwa. She was a very knowledgeable and pleasant young lady who not only provided us with a wealth of historical information but also good insight into the Islamic culture of Egypt. The Pyramid area was very crowded with many tourists and school groups visiting. Temperatures were very warm. We have been to the Pyramids a half a dozen times and yet we still are amazed when we visit. The magnitude of these structures and the engineering skills it must have taken to build these are indeed remarkable. I don’t know how they could be built today even with the modern technology and equipment. The area around the Pyramids has been cleaned up and is much more secure today, with fencing and secures entrances. There are still many souvenir vendors peddling their wares. Linda was a favorite of the vendors – it almost was as if she had a flashing neon sign proclaiming “I am a shopper!” The others attracted their share of attention as well, but it seemed that the vendors flocked to Linda.
The highlight of the trip to the Pyramids was the camel rides. Each of the Camel-lots climbed up on a trusty camel and headed out into the desert. After a few strides, they looked like veteran camel jockeys! We enjoyed lunch at a nice local restaurant before visiting the National Museum. Much of the focus in the museum was on the King Tut exhibit. The museum houses over 100,000 pieces and one could easily spend days without scratching the surface of all that is on display. With only two hours we wanted to limit our attention to King Tut as his collection is fairly complete.
Sunday, our guide was ill so we had a different guide, Sally who took us to Dahshour, Saquarra (Home of the first (Steppe) Pyramids, Memphis (site of the first united capital of Egypt, and the Kahn El Khalili Bazaar. At Dahshour we climbed down 139 steps into one of the early Pyramids. The air inside the Pyramid had the odor of ammonia. The climb down and up was a little more strenuous than we thought and for the next two days we felt the effects in our legs. The temperature Sunday was in the high eighties with not a cloud in the sky. Anywhere we could, we looked for shade to get a little relief from the heat. After lunch we visited the Kahn where the ladies enjoyed an afternoon of bargain hunting and “negotiating” with the vendors. It is interesting to listen to the sales pitch of the vendors as they try to make a sale. For many westerners who are used to paying set prices, shopping can be an eye-opening experience. It is best to just relax and have some fun with it. The vendor will try to get customers to pay the highest possible price but if you have a price in mind that you are willing to spend, they will often come down and reach a price that both will be satisfied with. They will often ask if you are happy with the price because they feel you are more likely to tell others when you are satisfied. After shopping, we stopped at the oldest café in the Kahn, one where the last king of Egypt, King Farouk is said to have dined. We wanted to enjoy a cool drink before heading back to the hotel. As soon as we sat down, various vendors swarmed to our table to offer camel skin wallets, jewelry, watches, and scarves. One of their techniques is to pull out a lighter and hold an open flame to show that the wallets, jewelry, scarves, etc. are authentic. We thought afterwards that when we go shopping in the states this summer we should pull out a lighter to test products in the stores back home!
Radwa returned to guide us on Monday as we visited Coptic Cairo, the Citadel, Mohamed Ali Mosque, the Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Sultan Hassan Mosque. We have visited several cathedrals in Europe over the past three years and these mosques certainly rival anything we have seen in regards to design and architecture. It is truly remarkable that these were built without the equipment we use today. Our guide gave us good insight into the Islamic religion and the role it has played in the history and culture of Egypt. One of the enjoyable aspects of our visit to Cairo was exploring the neighborhood area of Zamalek. This is one of our favorite areas in Cairo – it was once home to many of the major embassies. There are still a few in the area and it is very quiet and easy to walk in during the evening. The people on the street are very helpful if you are not sure where you are going. Just like in Alex, people smile and say hello, welcoming you to their country.
Today we crossed the Nile for the final time with Camel-lots and headed back to Alexandria. We will regroup for a couple of days and get caught up with our laundry before the Camel-lots head back to the States and we head to Crete.
