Crazy Cairo

All we needed were two bottles of drinking water to insure that we had no more issues with nasty bugs during our travels.  Here’s our story….

To set the scene:  It was a night time arrival in Cairo, a city with close to 20 million people, but no one really knows for sure.  We’d just had peaceful stay in Delphi, Greece which has just over 500 people…..if that.  So it was, yet another, major culture shock.  After checking into our hotel, we made our move to get bottled water.  No way were we going to pay hotel prices.  Little did we know that the inexpensive water we had yet to buy would cost so much.  In stress. 

The first challenge was to get past security.  Even to leave the hotel we had to pass bomb sniffing dogs and multiple guards with automatic weapons. 

Next we had to fend off the aggressive vendors trying to sell us taxi rides, Egyptian Ferrari rides (you guessed it, a donkey pulling a carriage), and miniature versions of a pharaoh, queen or another ancient deity. 

We spot a late night convenience store on the other side of the Nile, yes THE Nile.  The one we’ve heard about all our lives.  This little errand might be kind of fun after all.  Except that the store is across an eight lane street with no pedestrian walk ways nor lights.  Holy S%$t!  There are wall-to-wall cars and NO lanes.  To us, there is little, if any, discernable order to where the cars should be.  The road is full of vehicles and it’s 11:00 at night!  Do we really need the water this bad?

We decide to use the locals as teachers as well as shields.  They make it look doable, so with steely nerves we step out into the oncoming traffic that only  slows down at the very last second, if they really have to.  At least if anyone is hit, we won’t be first.  We make it half way.

Teetering on the very skinny median in the middle of this madness we question again if we need the water this badly.  Yes, we do - it’s $5 for a half liter bottle!  One more time we wait for the locals to move.  We are right behind them.  Ready?  Go…now.  We make it across. 

We had no idea that we were going to take our lives in our hands, but we did make it, one way, and bought two big jugs of fine Egyptian bottled water.  We will not go thirsty nor get giardia again.

It’s hard to believe that we have to repeat the bloc and shield technique to get back to our hotel.  Once more we line ourselves up with the locals.  Ready….set…..go.  To the median first then quickly to the other side.  Whew, we made it.  Oh oh, something is missing.  WHERE THE HELL IS AMY?  Wasn’t she right behind me?  One of the first rules of travel is don’t forget your wife.  For a split second I forgot mine.  She’s all the way on opposite side of this ridiculous street.  I look at her….she looks at me.  She doesn’t look happy.  This is not good.

I watch as she tries multiple times to get through the fast cars, but the traffic is non stop and there are no locals in sight.  And she’s pissed.  Fortunately I find another local, repeat the process, and finally get to my honey.  She’s not a happy camper to say the least.  So….once again we shadow the locals (with Amy on my hip)…..and make it across.  Eventually she forgives me.

The next day we tell our guide, who is from Cairo, what we had done.  He said that even he would not attempt to do what we did, and that Cairo’s streets are completely insane. Especially for pedestrians.  Yes they are.  Couldn't he have told us that before?

Egypt – What Happened? A Rant

As travelers from North America, we’re well aware that our standards are different.  Not better, just different.  Ok, maybe sometimes better, but we try hard to keep an open mind.  It’s not easy and often we have to remind each other to only observe and not to judge.  As a change of pace, for this post, we’re breaking our rules (again) and going to sit in our easy chair and armchair quarterback the best we know how.   And, we’re breaking the 11th commandment again as well by comparing.  This time the Egyptians are on the hot seat... 

In the 5000 years since the early Egyptians rose to greatness, the once impressive, innovative society seems to have lost it’s way and is now far from being great. Modern Egypt as compared to Ancient Egypt - What the heck happened?

From our previous post, you know that we had a fabulous time in Egypt. We loved everything ancient and even though it was temporarily off limits, the waters of the Red Sea.  We’re happy that we went.  This post is about the things that we found to be not so glowing. Frankly some of present day Egypt left us speechless.  Be warned; we are on the proverbial soap box for this one….

It’s hard not be wowed by the ancient Egyptians. For the era, they were a very advanced society. Their architectural inventions, their artwork, the way they engineered the sandy barren land to produce food, their creativity in worshipping their gods and goddesses, their development of hieroglyphics for telling stories and communicating…. A civilization to behold.

  

 

What happened? In our opinion, Egypt could be so much more. With it’s natural resources, control of the Suez canal, “free” elections, and tourist industry; it could set the bar high for the rest of Middle East and, for that matter, the World just as they did way way back when. Centuries ago, they established their culture with such gusto but it seems they aren’t able to keep any kind of pace with progress. In fact, current Egypt is lagging, by a long shot.

The architecture is boring, dumpy, ugly; functional at best. The glorious temples and mammoth tombs have been mostly surpassed with boxy, mundane, hurry-up construction. We found one shining exception, the Alexandria Library.  The library is a glimmer of the ancient greatness with a contemporary twist. It is a unique structure and has a sense of the pride that we think Egypt could have once again. It was designed to look like the rising sun and to harness the sunlight by filtering it just the right amount to light the interior. We hope that Alexandria and the rest of Egypt uses it’s symbolism to emerge to glory once again.

Their lack of concern for the environment is condemnable. Oil is cheap and abundant so there is no concern over how many cars are on the road or for controlling emissions and pollution standards. The air around Cairo is disgusting. It’s like Los Angeles in the early 70s. The technology exists to have clean skies. Why aren’t they using it?

 

And the litter…..don’t get us started. It’s really awful; some of the worst we’ve seen in the world. How could they dump their trash in the Nile? Don’t they realize that the world reveres their river? Or that it feeds them? That it is their light (literally and figuratively)?  Maybe the Egyptians of the 3000s BC were litterbugs too. In those days people’s waste was more like compost.  These are the days of plastic and toxins and the present day Egyptians haven’t changed their disposal methods. Way too many people still dump their rubbish (plastic and petroleum based products) in the river, on the side of the road, down a ravine.  And nobody seems to mind.
As a suggestion; why not pay the unemployed a fair amount for every kilo of liter they pick up. The streets and river would be clean and they’d have some spending money.  

And it’s a pathetic shame the way they treat their work animals. What happened to the reverence they paid to them once upon a time?  It’s hard for us to look at the camels, horses and mules that are beaten and underfed. Please, if you go to Egypt and pay for any service that involves these beasts of burden, pick ones that are treated with respect. If you see someone beating their horse, take a carriage ride with someone that doesn’t use a whip. If you see ribs and hip bones, choose another animal and, if possible, tell the abuser why you’re not selecting them. We don’t understand why this problem is so rampant when the animals put food on their table and clothes on their backs.   Fortunately, there are good samaritans that try to educate people on how to treat animals.  But we have to ask, why does a society, especially one that had such an illustrious beginning have to be taught how to treat helpless creatures?  We were so relieved when we met one veteranian that provides free healthcare to any donkey or horse that is in need.  Thank goodness, some people take advantage of his services.  

 

Has corruption at all levels always been the prevailing cultural norm? Were the pharaohs and nobles on the take the same as today’s leaders? Did working class Egyptians from long ago expect handouts like they do today? We learned that the pay is so dismal that most of people working at the tourist sites expect a few coins for doing nothing but pointing the way to an obvious site. Even the ones with automatic weapons do it! It’s called Baksheesh. Everyone seems to have their hand out.

Through our conversations with our guides and other locals and by listening to the news, it’s well known that the highest government officials are on the take. So, we’re sure that it’s a systemic problem.  The leaders are teaching the rest of Egyptian society how to behave.  We’re guessing that this pervasive corruption is the root of many of Egypt’s issues. If the high ranking officials didn’t keep so much for themselves there would be more then enough budget to address our complaints.

Most local Egyptians don’t blink an eye at this stuff so this is definitely just a soap box moment for us.  From our interactions with local people we learned that the corruption worries them, the environment and pollution don’t bother them, the animal cruelty is just the way it is and, in general, most people are too poor to think about architecture and design.      

We’re stepping off the soap box now.  We’re retiring from being quarterbacks.  Thanks for this indulgence.  Although some of what we’ve seen isn’t pretty it is all so interesting.  Even with all of our moaning and groaning we are so glad we included an ancient Egyptian adventure on our itinerary. 

Why Egypt?

Ever since we were kids we have both wanted to go.  Amy’s fifth grade teacher introduced her to Egypt by making her do a multi-media project.  Pyramids, pharaohs and hieroglyphics were included, of course.  A memorable assignment, albeit difficult,  but it put Egypt firmly on her must see list.  Steve grew up with a picture, proudly displayed in his childhood home, of his Mother on a camel at the pyramids.  Throughout her life she filled his ears on her ‘fabulous and wonderful’ adventures in Egypt and he had to see for himself what the fuss was all about.

           

For this portion of the trip, we reached out for help with the itinerary.  We were exhausted from planning and needed to splurge on a travel agent.  We found one that would create the itinerary we wanted, book the hotels, hire the guides, and coordinate the logistics.  We worked it out so that we had all of the evenings and a couple of days free, but for the rest of the time we were little followers.  It was fabulous.  Usually we don’t like being told where to go and what to do, but for our 14 days in Egypt it was perfect.  Our drivers, guides and hosts not only took care of us but they also ’got real’ with us about current events in Egypt.  With regard to the elections, the corruption, Israel, USA, and the rest of the Middle East we got an earful.  It was hard to pay the travel agent’s bill, but at this stage in the trip, we needed help and it was worth it.

 

We started in Cairo (more in an up-coming post).  Seeing the pyramids up close was intense.  The Great pyramid is mind boggling huge.  It was also a little weird that they were right at the edge of the crazy city of Cairo.  To touch, climb and enter them was quite a thrill.  And to ride a camel near them was even better!  It was all very touristy, but what the heck, we’re not going to be by this way again.  Let’s ride a camel, in Egypt, next to the pyramids!

 

Birds! Finally we were seeing birds!  (There is a disturbing lack of birds along the Mediterranean and we missed the little buggers.)  Being on the Nile meant wildlife.  With binoculars and camera in hand, we spent our time on the top deck of our river cruise boat looking at anything with wings.  Our favorite was the striking, black and white, Pied Kingfisher.  Beautiful!

   

The reason why there is so much known about the ancient Egyptian culture is due to the elaborate tombs that were found.  Their belief in the afterlife and the bounty of objects left in these tombs to provide for their safe journey onward, are a fascinating science and a tourists delight.  We saw the Egyptian Museum which is literally overflowing with and sinking under the weight of this priceless bounty.  The most famous of these finds is that of the boy pharaoh, King Tut.  His entire tomb, all of the contents and each layer of his coffins are on display.  The collection is so large that it took us hours just for this part of the museum.  Over 100 pair of sandals, 4 horse carriages, enough food to feed an army…….you get the idea.  We also went into tons of other tombs in the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Noble’s tombs, tombs of people like you and me.  The artwork and settings were stunning, but something didn’t feel right about all this tomb touring.  Weren’t we just as bad as the grave robbers?  Isn’t this desecration of their spirits masked as education?  It was uncomfortable and so interesting.  We thanked each soul as we passed through their tomb.

   

What a tease, the Red Sea.  The water beaconed to us.  The vivid gilled wildlife called to us so they could show off their vibrant spots and stripes.  But no.  It was not meant to be.  A wayward shark had found it’s way to this portion of the Sinai peninsula and was doing what nature told it to do - eat.  The beaches were closed to all water activities, except scuba diving.  We had planned 3 days at the resort community of Sharm El Sheikh along the Red Sea as it is famed for it’s coral and colorful fish.  Timing is everything and our trip landed in the midst of a shark problem.  The shark was biting people (taking arms and legs) and had killed one person.  So we could only long for the water.  Instead we played ping pong, admired the fish from the surface, planned our time in Israel and Africa and enjoyed the resort.  Steve was able to scuba dive and thought the soft corals and masses of fish were as he had heard - fantastic and he highly recommends it.

Egypt is known for all the temples left by the Pharaohs throughout the 3,000 years of their rule.  They are simply awesome.  The size and grandeur of these places of ancient prayer were highlights of the trip.  The amount and variety of gods that were worshipped required many temples to be created.  And, of course, they needed the appropriate and proportional space for animal and human sacrifices!  One of our favorite temples is Abu Simbel.  Dedicated to the pharaoh Ramesses II, it was completely moved in 1964.  This 4-year effort required the cutting, dismantling, and reassembling of all the pieces of the ancient sandstone monument.  It was moved to a higher location because a new dam was built and the waters from the Nile would flood the existing sight.  The temple and location are unbelievable.  Add to that the museum about the salvage effort made it worth the effort to get there (planes, buses, cars). Thank you Egypt for the amazing feat of engineering and archeological preservation.

   

    

Our Egypt goals have been fulfilled.  To get to see bits and pieces of an ancient civilization that we’ve spent most of our lives marveling about is extremely satisfying.  The pharaohs, tombs and temples did not disappoint; many other things did, however, and we will post that next.  As things go, nothing is as perfect as the 5th grader in all of us want them to be.