Chaos in Cairo and my First Bribe

For most, Cairo instantly brings to mind images of Pyramids, crowds, and recently, unrest. Cairo was the launching pad for my 9 day Top Deck tour of Egypt. It is but an introduction to the vast history of the country that dates back further than I can remember. Egypt is not the most developed country at the best of times and with over 10 million inhabitants in Cairo, saying the roads are a little chaotic is a true understatement. If you were looking for a word to describe the roads in the city of a thousand minarets “safe” does not spring to mind. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever feared for my life in a car more than on those roads. Lane markings are a suggestion and to change lanes or merge, beeping the horn is a sufficient replacement for indicating.

This is part 2 of my “series” on my Egypt experience that is as sporadic as it is un-chronological. It takes place directly before Part 1, which you can read here.

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The fun began at the baggage claim where a man holding a sign with your name on it instantly makes you feel just a little better than everyone else picking up their bags. He took us to the hotel where a nap was required (due to a big night in Athens prior) before meeting our new group of instant friends. Our guide Marwan took us to a place for dinner not far from the hotel that had Egyptian food. Most of us had what’s called koshary, a rice and pasta dish with lentils, tomato-vinegar sauce, and some chickpeas thrown in for good measure. It wasn’t the worst cultural food I have tried so definitely try and find some if you are in the neighbourhood.

The next morning we got up for out visit to the Cairo Archeology Museum. Apparently in Cairo, if the pyramids are your number 1 thing to visit (which they are), the Archeology museum is number 2. The place was decked out with rooms and rooms of Egyptian History, something that would peculiarly become a bit of theme throughout the next 9 days. There was so much cool Egyptian stuff but we were all so tired it was hard to appreciate anything. The one thing that was the most memorable was the special room on King Tutenkahmun and his hat. They had on display his coffins and the golden headdress that he was buried in. It weighs 11kg of solid gold. Seriously, how could you wear that for any length of time and not have a sore neck? Maybe he was just buried in it. Either way I fear I am displaying my severe lack of Egyptian knowledge here so moving on.

After lunch we moved on to the great pyramids of Giza. The pyramids are actually one of those things that are difficult to write about because everyone knows what they are about and have seen 6 thousand images of them from every angle. BUT, seeing them in person is like nothing else. What I found most interesting, is how close they are to suburbia. Here are these 3 magnificent, ancient pyramids and just over the hill the desert stops and and another world begins.

One thing that you do not generally see from the pictures is what’s inside – we were able to go inside the second pyramid. We walked down this steep narrow shaft hunched over then up some more into the direct centre of the pyramid where there was an empty sarcophagus and some graffiti from 1818. In other circumstances something from 1818 would be viewed as historic, but in this context something 5,000 years old that was defaced 200 years ago doesn’t have quite the same impact.

Once  finished with the Pyramids we walked over to the sphynx. It was surprisingly smaller than I was expecting. Not underwhelming mind you, just smaller. I thought it was meant to be huge hut probably only stood 10m high, maybe not even that.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a place that showed how the ancient Egyptians used to make paper out of papyrus plants. They would cut strips of the papyrus, hammer and rolling pin each strip to get rid of the fiber to make it flexible. Then they’d soak it to get rid of the sugar and then criss-cross them to make the desired size sheet and dry it out. They had some really nice artworks in here for sale too, not for the budget traveler though unfortunately.

Cut to one week, 2 cities, endless temples and 2 overnight trains later and our tour was back in Cairo. (In the interest of keeping all Cairo stories together). I had 2 days left in this chaotic city and felt like we had checked all the major boxes so went in search of that seemingly untouched by tourists. First we found some churches in what looked to be a Catholic quarter. Very different to other churches seen in Europe, yet still very orthodox looking. Our taxi driver we had hired took us to some markets before we took to the streets on foot.

My final day in Cairo surprised me. I (reluctantly) got in a cab, bound for the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, this magnificent citadel up on a hill with a beautiful view of the city of Cairo. As we now know, the roads in Cairo are like one enormous roller coaster, except I feel safer on a roller coaster: at least the seatbelt works unlike in this taxi. Now, the citadel is immense. You catch a glimpse as it peeks over the wall as you get close but nothing can prepare you for when you are up close. The pictures do not do it justice.

When I was done there I walked down to Cairo’s biggest park. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been stared at more than in that park. Am I really that interesting? If you understand why this might be, please enlighten. Perhaps tourists never make it up this far out of the city centre. Or perhaps they’ve just never seen someone wearing shorts before. Because this was something I noticed about Egypt as well: obviously all the girls cover up to the max, but none of the guys ever wear shorts either. Lesson 1 in blending in right there.

This was the last spot before heading to the airport, but the fun didn’t stop there. As I was dropping my luggage off at the counter, my bag was a little over the weight limit. Back in England, Australia or even the rest of mainland Europe this would cause a large luggage fee, but not in Cairo. The friendly gentleman working there kindly lifted up the scales to bring it down to 20kg, rubbed his fingers together and subtly showed me a €10 note. I took the hint and luckily I had some small notes. So I slipped him a tenner and laughed all the way to the gate.

If you’ve been to Cairo, what was your experience like? What else is there to see? Leave a comment below or link me to your blog.