| Jul 15, 2005 - "Walk like an Egyptian,"
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 | | show all 10 | | Here we are at the Giza pyramids | | Paul on his Camel, "Mickey Mouse" | | The Sphynx | | |
| said the stranger to the two timid American tourists as he walked them in front of traffic to cross the street and then asked for baksheesh (tip.) Yes, this really happened.
You know how you sometimes anticipate a destination to such an extent that it results in disappointment? I'm so relieved that didn't happen in Egypt!
We started our tour of Egypt in the capital city of Cairo. Although a bit dusty and dingy it's downtown roundabout (which we stayed on) reminds me of Rome. Within two days we had staked out our favorite (and cheap) shawerma stand, tea house and baklava bakery in town and just kept going back to each for more.
The landscape offers much "new material" including the many mosques with characteristic spires and domes, men in gowns wearing crocheted skull caps, and two-tone Fiat taxis (circa 1970) zipping around like ants. There are haunting bellows from loudspeakers all over town calling faithful Muslims to prayer five times per day (including at 4 a.m.) I noticed many men walking around had brown circular marks on their foreheads. I later found out it is from the mats they put their heads on during prayer (a permanent rug burn/callous!) One way to know who the faithful are. ;)
We spent one of the first days exploring what is known as Islamic Cairo. There were alley after alley of stands selling hookah pipes, stuffed camel toys and leather shoes. We went to the famous teahouse, Fishawi's, to have our first official shai. Shai is tea served with fresh mint leaves...and let me tell you, everyone's doing it. I think it's the national drink. Fishawi's sits central to a network of confusing alleys and has little tables inside and out. I think it got it's fame for a literature Nobel Prize winning Egyptian that used to hang out there - or maybe just Lonely Planet's endorsement. Anyway, we took a table outside and had a great time watching the locals smoke sheesha (potpourri smelling flavoured tobacco) from hookahs and drink shai.
While in Cairo we also saw the Egyptian Museum. It is a stately red building on the outside, yet disappointingly neglected on the inside. It looks as though they haven't done any maintenance on it since it was built in 1902. Nevertheless, we saw Tut's treasures and golden funerary mask. The mummy room was also fascinating (the bodies are actually exposed!)
We stayed at a landmark of a hotel, the Mena House, built in the 1800's just at the base of the Giza pyramids. Apparently, many world leaders and international celebrities have stayed here throughout time. The selling point of the hotel was the view of the pyramids from the pool! It truly lived up to this except just after getting out of the pool (dangling feet over the edge) brown sludgey water started pouring into the pool from two of the jets! When asked by another guest the poolman replied, "no problem." (!) We never officially found out what it was but that was the last in the pool for me, anyway. The Pyramids and Sphynx were fantastic! We hired two camels and took a ride around the desert for entertainment and self preservation (from the heat.) Although touristy, it was a really fun thing to do and we got a desert perspective away from the crowds.
We have been between Aswan and Luxor the last few days (both cities by the Nile) enjoying awesome sunsets and the feluccas (sailboats) floating by. There are endless temples and ruins which are larger than life and fascinating. We took a felucca up the Nile for two overnights which was very cool and we slept under the stars. Of course Paul found his way to the helm a few times our Captain "Cool," as he referred to himself, didn't mind sharing.
By this writing, you can see that we are just fine and far away from the bombing at Sharm El Sheikh. It is sad for the Egyptians who are so poor and rely so heavily upon tourism. Several of them have told us how bad the result will be for their economy. This really is a unique and amazing place. Definately see this in your lifetime. |
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