Egypt....Cairo; So Much To Offer, Just Be Careful

 

    I am not sure how I can keep a reader interested when I talk about my experience in Egypt. I did not have a near death experience (not really) but I am pretty sure that some of my activities were not common place to the tourist that visits the pyramids. I would say I came away from this visit more satisfied than from many other countries that I have visited. So without this posting being a history lesson I would like to share what I learned and how I felt while traveling through the capital of this nation that consists of 90% Muslim.

   Not everything goes as planned when one is traveling; usually there are some "what if" moments.  On the way to Cairo I missed an opportunity for some incredible photo's from my window seat of the airplane. Flying north from Kenya I took so many photo's of the landscape, particularly the Nile (Egypt's lifeline) as it snakes up through the desert. By the time we flew over Cairo I did not have any film left so I missed the chance to catch the Giza Pyramids and the rest of the Cairo skyline (for the next 3 weeks the sky would not be that clear). When I arrived at customs there was a problem with my passport ( details in a future Kenya post) and I could not use my credit card to get money for the entrance visa because there was only an ATM machine. A policeman convinced the worker at the money ex-changer to take 200 Egyptian Pounds from the credit card, enough for my visa and hotel.

   Back to the flight and the Nile River. The Sahara Desert cuts across Africa from the west to the east; it takes on many names, depending on where it is. There are a few deserts around Egypt but the one I was viewing out of the airplane was the Western Desert; close to the Libya Desert. On both sides of the Nile there is lush green agricultural land that supplies most of the fruits and vegetables for Cairo's population of 16 million (at that time).

   My first full day in Cairo was spent in part at the world famous Cairo Museum. This institution is huge; many people use a guide but I prefer to walk  around at my own speed. I was awestruck with some of the artifacts that are displayed, many are recovered from pyramids. There are sections with preserved mummies; ancient jewelry, stoneware, calligraphy; you name it, anything ancient and Egyptian. I am not really a museum person but this place is a must see. I finished the day eating at the rotating Cairo Tower; unlike the day before the air was smoggy so there were no good views. I found the locals friendly, they have some tricks for trying to get money (tips) from tourists but if you are privy to that behaviour then you would find them harmless.






 

 The next day I took two local buses to get to the Giza Pyramids (the world's oldest tourist attraction), they looked awesome. It is a bit like a fairy tale when you can meander through the streets of a city and then when you turn a corner there are ancient pyramids. The first instance of me realizing that I was not dreaming was when I started to get pestered by locals on camels and people selling at the site. The experience was fantastic regardless of the constant hassle from these people trying to make a living. I tried to cover every square inch of the grounds and just sort of "take it all in." I walked down and then up a large sand dune where there was a police station with many officers sitting outside playing cards. When they spotted me coming over the dune one of them stood up and said "no, no, no, you are not allowed up here; so I turned around. I went in to the Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest at Giza, and climbed high in a cavern to a tomb with a stone coffin. There was also a narrow section that went very far down below the entrance; this pyramid alone was amazing. I also went into the Khafre and Menkaure pyramids before wandering over and checking out the Sphinx; I was in my glory on this day and took many photo's.










   From Giza I worked hard to get familiar with the subway system and made it over to Old Cairo, I had walked so far on this day. I just walked around to get familiar, it seemed like those citizens that were not selling were very sociable. I took many photo's of people, like the 3 different vendors riding a pony that was pulling a cart loaded with fruit. I had mentioned earlier that I did not have a life threatening experience BUT.......











   After relaxing a bit from my excessive workout day I decided that I would go out that night; it was not safe in Tanzania or Kenya to go out after dark (even for locals) so I figured I would leave my 150 year old hotel room and go to a club. Turns out that the clubs open at about 11pm or 12, it is usually a feat for me to stay up until 10pm. I could not believe how many families were out on the streets at midnight with their small children, no wonder the streets are empty at 6am.

   The traffic is so chaotic in big cities like Cairo and it is not safe for people to cross the street. I was on day 3 of watching mothers run with their children across 2 lanes then stop as cars go by and then they jump another lane as they play Russian Roulette to get across the busy streets. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be hit by a car, that is what happened. I ran across a couple of lanes, stopped, waited and when the next lane was clear I made my move only to have a car pull out from behind another car in the second lane to pass. He saw me and hit the brakes, and me. I was knocked off of my feet; luckily I jumped just before he hit me so I only sustained a sore ankle and a tender hip. If my legs had remained planted on the ground they may have been broken. I have seen pedestrians hit in other populous cities but I never thought on this day that it would be me. I was quite sore for a few days and had to limp around but thankfully it was nothing serious.