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Cairo – Last Words

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

I’m back in Cairo after an uneventful overnight train trip (thanks to my wonderful eye-mask and earplugs– an absolute must on any train journey!).  I was welcomed back to the Nubian Hostel by their male staff who flirted with me relentlessly.  Egyptian men are so handsome, it’s unbelievable!  And it appears that Egyptian men find me very attractive – they like full-figured women!

 RELIGION – Since about 90% of the Egyptian population is Muslim, many pray the requisite 5 times per day, no matter where they are.  I have run into men praying on the sidewalks, in shops, at the end of a corridor, in shopping malls – you name it!  At Thomas Cook in fact, I saw two men praying on the floor in front of the photocopier!  And last week one man was praying in front of a fire extinguisher!  I know they’re supposed to be facing ‘mecca’ when they pray, but surely they could find a better spot than in front of a photocopier or a fire extinguisher! 

WATER FOR ALL – It’s hot here in Egypt (up to 50 degrees) and we’re basically in the desert.  As a result, for centuries the people in Egypt have put out a complimentary urn of drinking water and cup for those in need.  I have seen them set up in takeout restaurants, markets, mosques, and outside many little shops.  What I can’t get over is the fact that everyone drinks from the same cup – when one gets sick, I’m assuming everyone gets sick!  I appreciate the courtesy though.

SUBWAYS – By far the easiest, and cheapest way to move around Cairo is by subway.  Unfortunately its reach is still quite limited.  In the meantime, it is extremely helpful for women to take the subway as there are specific cars set aside as “women only”.  These subway cars are never as packed as the cars with men so I take the subway as often as possible!  I have been cautioned against taking local buses and standing in the regular subway cars – reason: many foreign women are ‘groped’ by Egyptian men!  Thankfully, it hasn’t happened to me….yet!

RESTAURANTS – Downtown Cairo leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to eating out.  Felfela and GAD are perhaps the only two restaurants I head to each day, with reasonably priced Egyptian foods.  We’re talking Shwarma, Meat Pizza, Felafel and such.  Most menus are limited to meats, breads and rice – it seems that vegetables are in limited supply or perhaps no one likes them, although I have seen lots in the marketplaces.  I’m not sure why we don’t see them on restaurant menus.  Lower priced food stalls are quite filthy which leaves the five-star hotel restaurants.  I have to admit that I did enjoy a wonderful lunch at Oberoi Mena House Hotel this week – it sits directly opposite the Pyramids so you can enjoy the view while you are dining.  It was a wonderful experience for me (but I did pay dearly for it!).

Breakfast is a huge letdown for sure.  Most hostels offer a complimentary breakfast consisting of bread, egg, jam and coffee/tea – every single day!  But, a true Egyptian breakfast can be preordered the night before, consisting of falafel, fuul (beanpaste) and pita bread – problem is, it’s really heavy!  I’d still like to see a western breakfast place open up here – I think it would do very well! 

We have McDonalds, Hardees, KFC and Pizza Hut here but they don’t have prime locations like they do back in China – here in Cairo, they are often located around the corner from a main street, requiring extensive signage for people to find it.  A highlight here are the juice bars – I have stopped several times to have a mango juice which arrives ice-cold (pure mango mixed with slivers of ice) for just one Egyptian pound – it’s a real thirst quencher!   Another interesting phenomenon is that everywhere I go in the city, I see men rushing past me with trays holding glasses of tea – this could be in a back lane, on the city’s main streets, in a shop – turns out that tea is delivered everywhere!  One kind of tea I strongly recommend is Mint Tea – red tea with fresh mint leaves, which is now my personal favourite.  I still wonder if they reuse the glasses, or do they actually wash them first? 

You see, there’s no recycling – if you have an empty bottle or tin can, it goes into the rubbish bin – case closed.  Only a half-assed effort is made to clean the streets and sidewalks (there’s garbage everywhere), and from my hotel room I can see that a lot of people store their own garbage on the roofs of their apartment buildings – what’s with that?  It also seems that many people have constructed small rooms on top of buildings to live in – for staff perhaps?

FASHION – Egyptian Women’s fashion rocks!  I’m serious!  When women go outside, they are dressed to the nines!  While many wear gowns and headscarves, their clothes are often embellished with sequins or embroidery.  Those who wear western clothing always make an extra effort to not only coordinate the colours of their headscarves, but often layer 2-3 headscarves in different ways – I had no idea there were so many different ways to wear scarves over your hair!  But I would have to say that it is the Egyptian Women’s EYES that are the most captivating – most have been blessed with naturally long eyelashes and big expressive eyes which are made up dramatically – this is how they attract their men, I am told.

MEN – I have already said that Egyptian men are quite handsome – well, I can’t say it enough, they really are!  The strange thing however is that most women don’t work, so it is common to see men working in shops we often associate with being staffed by women, ie lingerie shops, McDonalds, accessory shops, etc.  In public, men are much more affectionate than women – they greet each other with a kiss on each cheek (sometimes twice each cheek) and often walk arm-in-arm along the streets.  The women are much more reserved in public.  Quite a large number are completely covered from head-to-toe in their black robes, often wearing gloves, stockings and boots so that no skin shows except around the eyes (in 50degree weather too!).

BIG IS BEAUTIFUL! – I would have to say that ninety percent of the population here in Cairo is huge!  (and I mean fat!)  In fact, I have become very popular here – many men are intrigued by me and especially the fact that I am not yet married (yes, I have already received several proposals).  A move to Egypt may be in my cards yet!

SECURITY – When I first arrived in Cairo, I did feel very vulnerable and unsure of myself.  Now that time has passed by, I do feel quite safe, despite the ongoing harassment from the men.  In addition, there are hugely visible signs of high security here.  Metal detectors have been installed everywhere, from museums to hotels to shopping malls and some restaurants – you soon get used to it once you know they can’t erase your photos.  And on the streets, security guards stand behind large bullet-proof shields on wheels.  Each shield contains a small window so they can hide behind them if necessary.  Again, it’s something you simply have to get used to.

CLEANLINESS – One word:  None.  This seems strange to me since the women are so beautifully dressed and clean themselves!  But, the public areas of Egypt are so filthy that I can hardly wait to return to China (which I used to think was pretty dirty)! It’s five-stars, compared to Egypt!  They do have a very different way of washing floors here though.  They pour buckets of soapy water on the floors and then ‘squeegee’ it out to the streets where it soaks people passing by.  You really have to watch where you’re going.  Now, how’s that for a visual? 

ELEVATORS – Every single elevator I have taken here is the old kind where you pull the metal door closed behind you and can watch each floor pass as the car rises.  If you don’t pull the door closed, that’s okay, but be careful not to fall out!

TRAFFIC – In downtown Cairo, roundabouts are used extensively and traffic jams are common.  Pedestrians have to wind their way through the traffic to get to the other side of the street.  I’m amazed I haven’t been crushed between two cars yet.  And, it doesn’t seem to matter what the street lights indicate – most people don’t obey them.  Another strange thing is that some of the larger streets (with three-four lanes) are blocked during the daytime with cars parked 2-3 lanes across, thereby reducing the road’s available lanes to just one – strange!

ACCIDENTS – Here’s a strange one – Every single day I have seen at least 10-15 people with one arm either bandaged, in a cast or in a sling.  What’s with that?  I mean is everyone cutting their arms on equipment, or falling on a sidewalk and breaking their wrist like that tourist I met last week?  As a result, I am being extra careful as I move around Cairo’s downtown core – it’s really easy to take a mis-step somewhere!

ARCHITECTURE – Now I mentioned that most of the old residential buildings in Cairo are ugly brown buildings.  Although I have seen enough mosques, temples, tombs, cathedrals and towers to last a lifetime, the different kinds of architectural techniques continue to amaze me.  And the local people don’t appear to appreciate it either!  I have seen many areas where people have simply set up their shopping stalls propped up against the walls of a massive old city gate, or erected a huge sign in front of a gorgeous façade of an old building.  It’s quite sad actually, but thankfully there are many restored buildings available to see!

Well, I’ve come to the end of my time here in Egypt.  It’s been a very interesting trip for me.  Will I teach English in Cairo next year?  Nope!  I think I like China even more than ever now!

STAYED TUNED – NEXT WEEK… JORDAN!!

Luxor

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

LUXOR is like no other place on earth.  Luxor was the capital of Egypt at one time, called Thebes, so there are an endless number of temples, tombs and museums to be found.  This city and its surrounds are considered to be the “world’s largest open-air museum” because over 90% of Egypt’s treasures can be found in and aound Luxor… and the excavations continue!When we docked in Luxor, I couldn’t get over the number of gigantic cruise ships that had arrived before us. I counted at least 18 (and this is considered to be the ‘slow’ season!).   And I saw many more heading down the Nile towards Aswan. 

We all had the morning free to wander around Luxor and get our bearings. There were tons of things to do: Visit the Luxor Museum, Take a Felucca Ride, Shop in the Market, see the Temple of Luxor… and the list goes on.  What I couldn’t get over was the fact that the Temple of Luxor is located right in the middle of town! You can’t miss it if you simply walk down the Corniche alongside the Nile. At night it is lit up so most of it can easily be seen without having to pay admission.  The adjacent lands have been dug up by archeologists excavating the “Avenue of the Sphinxes“.  It is reputed that this Avenue extends all the way to Karnak which is approx. 1 kilometer away. As a result, all homes and shops which stand in their way are slated for demolition, which is something the locals are not too happy about.  Apparently the Government is not paying enough for them to move out of their homes, so many have been left quite destitute.  I think this is deplorable – I mean, such historical sites really do need to be excavated and preserved in my opinion, but the people should be more than adequately compensated for leaving their homes and having to start over again.  I have even heard rumours that some locals have discovered ancient objects, but have kept quiet about them in order to stay in their homes.  Something isn’t right here, that’s for sure!

I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but the night we docked, we were treated to some dance presentations which included “Sufi” (originally known as Whirling Dirvishes because they twirl in a circle and never lose their balance) and Egyptian Belly Dance. This was to put us in the ‘mood’, I think. Our Maitre ‘D certainly enjoyed the belly dancing a lot (as you can see from my photos!).

I haven’t said much about the ‘hassling’ one receives here in Egypt, but it makes China seem laid-back in comparison.  Luxor is now considered to be the ‘hassle capital of Egypt’. I guess it’s because they only have a limited amount of time to relieve tourists of their hard-earned cash before returning to their cruise boats.  As for me, within moments of setting foot on the promenade in Luxor, I was approached by a local who proceeded to ask the usual questions such as “what’s your name?”, followed by:  “can I show you my brother’s shop?” and so on. I kept walking away from him, saying “No thank you”.  Suddenly two police officers appeared and took him by the arm to a waiting police car. Looks like the Luxor Police are taking a strict approach in an attempt to limit the hassling of tourists. But, it’s big job.  In fact, one evening, six of us went shopping in the markets but we wound up returning to our boat angry and frustrated.  The shop keepers are all over you when you shop, to the point where you throw up your arms and run out of the stores.  You actually are afraid to show interest in anything.  In fact, I finally sat down with one young fellow and suggested he try a different tactic – when the customer actually enters the shop, open up the jewelry cases and let them browse without interference.  He tried it out on a European couple who made three purchases which brought him a very nice commission indeed!  He was very happy, and then gave me a nice deal on some silver earrings!  The big problem in Luxor is that there are far more shop keepers than there are tourists, and far more merchandise than could ever be sold in a year, that’s for sure.  Everyone is desperate to make a sale (and it shows),  with the result that most tourists actually buy less than they had planned, or nothing at all.  No one wins out in the markets of Luxor unfortunately.

Our tour leader suggested that we visit Luxor Museum during our free time, but I was hesitant – to be honest, I hate museums. Of course the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was quite the exception.  Anyway, I took his recommendation and checked out Luxor Museum. Turns out, a mummy that is suspected to be Ramses I was found in a small museum in Niagara Falls, Canada and was finally returned to Egypt in 2003.  That mummy was on display at Luxor Museum in a darkened room, without most of its wrappings. It has been so well preserved that most of the body’s skin and hair is still intact. And because so much was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, many items found their way to Luxor Museum, including model boats, leather sandals, arrows and golden statutes. Now this museum is first-class, with spotlights, well labelled information, beautiful display cases and such. They also have an excellent slide show to view before entering, which provides good background about the exhibits inside. Definitely worth a visit!

Late one afternoon we headed off to KARNAK using horse-drawn carriages, riding along the banks of the Nile. Karnak was built by many pharoahs over a period of 2,100 years (with each one trying to outdo his predecessor in architectural achievement).  The sheer size of the site makes you feel that you could lose yourself inside.  Thankfully we had our very own Egyptologist to take us around to make sure we don’t miss anything important, and to provide more detailed information about the lives of the pharoahs who worshipped there.  It’s more than a temple – Karnak is a spectacular complex of 10 cathedrals, sanctuaries, temples, pillars, and obelisks dedicated to the Theban gods. No words can describe all that can be found here, or the feelings and emotions that arise.  The size of the columns and obelisks continues to astound me – I can’t figure out how they carved them and then managed to erect them into place, without the use of machinery!

And if the site of Karnak wasn’t enough, we spent our last morning at VALLEY OF THE KINGS! Rising at 5am we took a ferry side to the West Bank where we quickly mounted our DONKEYS and set off for the Valley of the Kings!  Actually, this was one of my favourite experiences.  As we rode along, we saw the sun rise, watched several hot-air balloons in the distance and of course enjoyed our donkey rides.  Unfortunately, most of my pictures turned out quite blurry, thanks to the movement of the donkeys.  But believe me, donkeys are much more comortable to ride than Camels!  There isn’t much to see above ground at the Valley of the Kings.  Corridors have been carved deep intot he valley which lead to burial chambers deep underground! The walls of the different tombs are covered in amazingly well-preserved paintings of gods and godesses of Ancient Egypt. But it is the complex hieroglyphics that continue to draw my eye. I would love to purchase a piece of stonework with such hieoglyphics on it, but haven’t had much luck to date.  Our admission entitled us to visit 3 different tombs and our guide helped us to choose three that would give us the best overall experience. She also recommended that we pay an extra admission to visit Ramses V/VI which had only recently been opened to the public – in fact, that information is not contained in any of the guidebooks yet!  This tomb was definitely the best choice, with our group being the only people present!  The guard inside even opened a gate to let us walk right up to the sarcophagus and and coffin to take a closer look, because we were such a small group!  But the arched ceiling with its perfectly preserved paintings kept us in awe. I still can’t believe I have seen so many ancient sites in their original state, that are so incredibly old!  Excavations and discoveries continue at Valley of the Kings.  I am told that in 2005 a tomb was discovered containing a perfectly preserved mummy – so the digging continues! 

On our way back, we took a bus instead of the donkeys, for obvious reasons: 1) it was 10:30 am and getting hot (50 degrees), and 2) we were a little ‘sore’ from the early morning ride. We stopped off at the workers’ village, Deir El Medina where we entered two more tombs.  Turns out, the workers built tombs for each other as well.  Most of their tombs contain only one chamber, but the wall paintings are absolutely magnificant!  It looks like they kept the best for their own tombs, rather than the pharoahs!

NEXT POST: BACK TO CAIRO!

Cruising up the Nile (Aswan to Luxor)

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

The 'night train' to Aswan from Cairo was interesting, to say the least.  We slept in seats, tilted back as far as they could go, twisting ourselves up into pretzels, in our efforts to get ... [Continue reading this entry]

Giza Pyramids

Saturday, July 26th, 2008
I joined up with my Imaginative-Traveller tour after 2 days of exploring Cairo on my own.  We had a wonderful group consisting of just 8 people, most in their 30's and 40's.  4 from Australia (1 couple ... [Continue reading this entry]

EGYPT – First Days

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
July 14, 2008 - I'm here in Cairo, but I almost never left Shanghai! Emirates Airlines wouldn't let me check in because they received a security alert about my credit card. Supposedly it was 'fraudulent'! I was shocked to say ... [Continue reading this entry]