48 Hours in Cairo

I needed to come back and re-introduce this one. I'll leave my original opening unedited below, but I feel it is important to open with the fact that Cairo is an incredible place, a life-list destination and an experience that should not be missed. My initial experiences as written, reflect a fair bit of culture shock, which is hard for me to admit. Fact is this is Africa, and things work the way they work. My recommendation based on this, is to save time for the Giza Pyramids and the portions of the visit most important to you until you've slowed down a little, become accustomed to the ways here. It takes a little time to adjust, but once you do, like I did, you'll appreciate the experience so much more.

Cairo is not for the faint of heart. After a long, long flight, it was a pleasure to see my name on a welcome board (last minute email to the hotel paid off) so I didn't have to deal with the licensed bandits called taxi drivers that lie in wait at the airport. I had read a number of horror stories regarding the taxis, and their method of quoting one price for something and adding more and more 'special or exclusive deals' to whatever was originally agreed.

That wasn't going to happen to me. I got a driver sent by the hotel, a very nice hotel, The Mena House in Giza, the view from my room above speaks for itself. No, I thought I'd be lucky, and get a decent deal from this apparently reputable driver. Needless to say I didn't. We agreed on a few hundred Egyptian Pounds (5.5 to 1 US; 8.5 to 1 UK) for a few hours of very specific things I wanted to do: 1. Visit pyramids, 2. Photograph Islamic and Coptic Quarters, 3. have some really strong local coffee some place.

Never happened. About five minutes from the hotel, the driver's showing me a view of the pyramids from a rubbish strewn overpass over two miles away (the hotel being two minutes walk from the pyramids). Bad choice I thought. Next, we pull up at a backstreet full of camels and horses and not much else. We go into his brother's uncle's perfume shop where I never got my cup of coffee, just a long sales pitch on a two hour camel ride and other things I didn't want. After my driver disappeared, I decided enough was enough and walked out, found him and told him to take me right back to the hotel, which, thankfully, he did, with much apologizing and mentioning of his sick daughter and toothache.

I was a little angry about this ignominious start and once back at the hotel, walked up to the Great Pyramids of the Giza Plateau myself. Best idea of the day. No problem, got some wonderful shots and, as was my goal, got the rather gaudy new sandals I picked up cheap in Singapore nicely covered in the dust of the ancient kings.

Nothing prepares you for the awe-inspiring scale of the pyramids and the sphinx. The Great Pyramid itself is a true wonder of the world. No camera angle can really encompass its scale and majesty. The Sphinx is a little smaller than I expected, yet you feel you can touch the history that surrounds it. I'm still studying my photographs of it, each one revealing more and more to me. Amazing place, incredible to experience. But it can be a little difficult to absorb where you are and what it means because of all the people hassling you to ride a camel, ride a horse, buy crappy stuff with pyramids on it and, as outlined above, pull the Egyptian reverse blind guided tour stunt at every possible opportunity. At least a dozen people pretended to be officials and asked for my ticket, then started talking like they were my new best friend and guide. After the first one, I realized the game and firmly and colorfully refused to give them my ticket, or even acknowledge them except to say no, no and NO.

I felt sorry for the couples and other visitors I saw stuck with these 'guides', a real shame in a wonderful place. A quick official note here: There are no officially sanctioned tour guides up there: you pay your ticket and it's up to you, the only sanctioned tour guides are the ones that arrive with you on tour buses if you arrive that way. Period. Much as I don't like tour groups, it's the best bet: organize anything you do here through your hotel so you have a recourse and a phone number to call if the deal starts 'growing' on you.

How these unsanctioned bandits can be allowed at one of the world's most important and spectacular heritage sites, and the last remaining wonder of the world is beyond me. Not only that, but everywhere is strewn with years of rubbish, plastic bottles, bottle caps and cigarette butts, none of them tourist brands. It takes away from some of the magic and romance of this wonderful place. I'd romanced the pyramids since I was a kid, and while there is some adventure in dealing with this sort of thing, after the spectacularly friendly people of Singapore, feeling like everyone was out to rip me off was a bit of a shock. But it was more my 'jumping' into the trip than anything, I should have taken more time to acclimate, rather than making a tour deal right out of the airport.

However, I wandered back to the hotel and sat down with the manager and had a good long chat about my taxi experience. I was lucky, the hotel had recommended the company, and in both our opinions, it was their responsibility. So we came up with a solution. 1. the partial payment I left in the cab this morning was going to be refunded. 2. He would recommend a second driver, and interview him with me and discuss exact prices, and plans. My taxi back to the airport was also arranged free of charge. Done deal. Now, with a fresh start, and my Cairo venting out of the way, let's take a look around real Cairo!

I'm quite specific in my goals, as usual, and my new driver, Salah, was awesome in getting me where I wanted. I also learned more from him about the great dynasties and the rich history of Cairo from ancient times through the present day than I ever did from the History Channel. What's more, I was there, immersed and surrounded by the history itself. Rich. Sprawling. Colorful and chaotic. The roads are incredibly dangerous, with pedestrians, cars, bicycles, scooters, minivans, trucks, camels and donkeys pulling carts all competing for their place on these amazingly crowded thoroughfares. My driver pushed, edged, inched and darted through chaotic intersections and used whatever side of the road or lane got us where we wanted to go. Traffic lanes are meaningless here. There's probably a speed limit, but no-one was able to reach anywhere near one most of the time.

Cairo is divided by the river Nile, on the east side is downtown Cairo, and the old quarters, called Coptic and Islamic Cairo, and on the west side, Giza. There's a number of modern skyscrapers and buildings in the downtown area, as well as beautifully laid out squares, incredible museums and tree-lined boulevards, but the majority of both sides of the city is very old, dirty and, as I've mentioned before and will mention again, chaotic. You'll find whole streets dedicated to particular trades; marble and masonry artisans line one street, ceramic and traditional crafts another. Cotton and silk stores fill entire market areas. Every one of them busy, full of people carrying, shopping, creating and fixing, rushing to and fro on all sides.

The Coptic Cairo portion of Old Cairo includes the Babylon Fortress, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. I visited Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church, one of the oldest churches in Egypt dating to the 3rd century. Around the corner from this church, we sat at a hole in the wall store where I drank some powerful Turkish coffee that makes your teeth itch and traditional Egyptian tea, which is excellent. Here, in a quiet corner of the ancient city, I began to feel truly connected with Cairo, just a tiny corner of it's massive sprawl, the largest city on the African continent all around me. We smoked dried dates in the traditional hookah while we enjoyed the peace and quiet and the wonderful tea. This is what I came to Cairo for, a small slice of life in an incredible place.

There's a busy intersection where the Khan el Khalili marketplace's main thoroughfare the famous Al-Muizz Street crosses a busy road. Framed by an ancient gateway, this is one of the oldest streets in Cairo, crowded with people going about their day in the heart of the Islamic Quarter. We sat here for a time, and drank more excellent Egyptian tea as we watched the hustle and bustle -- strike that -- chaos of market life all around us.

My favorite part of the road trip was a short cut through the City of the Dead. Fantastic place. Miles upon miles of Egyptian people's tombs. Not like the tombs of the ancient Kings, but a rabbit warren of what look like mini mosques, mausoleums and ramshackle lean-tos stretching for miles along the plains that surround Old Cairo. There's actually a surprising amount of life in the City of the Dead. Some of the tombs have satellite dishes sprouting from the roof and washing hanging out on rusting balconies. Many thousands of people live here, work here and, well, die here, too. Some of it's streets are designated for car parking, others for car washing, car repair and all sorts of other commercial uses.

We stopped at the Tomb of Muhammad Ali, (1769 – 1849) who was an Albanian who became W?li (leader/governor), and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, widely regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. A wonderfully detailed and intricate tomb contains the tombs of his many wives, sons and the forty 'Mamluks' he killed at the Cairo Citadel are also buried there. There's more on this fascinating character and time at Wikipedia. A tiny doorway lead to an equally tiny spiral stair to the roof, from which the view was amazing. There's nothing like this anywhere else in the world, with tombs sharing space with houses and shops in a surprisingly quiet maze of streets (it is, after all, the City of the Dead).

The City of the Dead surrounds the Islamic Quarter, another sprawling mass of ancient buildings and incredible Mosques everywhere. Here the 4:30 pm prayer call -- broadcast by loudspeakers from every minaret and tall building all over the city -- echoed the streets around us. The light in this city is often hazy, filtered through heavy air pollution and the dust in the air is palpable everywhere you go. There is no shortage of incredible architecture and sights to photograph, and myriad streets you'd love to find time to explore.

The Mena House Hotel is one of the oldest, and considered one of the best in Cairo. Winston Churchill stayed here. The Camp David Sinai Agreement was signed here. Many film stars have graced the pyramid-view balconies for photo opps. It's a fabulous place, an oasis of calm with the pyramids right outside your window. I don't think it gets much better than this. The Indian restaurant in-house is outstanding and has a great view of the Giza Pyramids as you dine. My room, with a great view is in the newer section of the hotel, with rambling gardens punctuating the pyramid views. The Palace, the older section of the hotel is more expensive, but it's rooms and views are amazing. I can't imagine staying anywhere else here, the location and tranquility you find on the grounds just make so much sense on an Egypt adventure!

Second day in Cairo, it was time to take a road trip, to a series of awesome places, the first being the two pyramids at Dahshur, one called the Bent Pyramid because its upper part has a shallower angle than the lower part and the Red Pyramid, which allowed me my first excursion inside a pyramid. Walking, no, not really walking, but not quite crawling, bent double and edging downward at about a forty degree incline is tricky. It gets trickier as the smell of ammonia (from bats apparently) becomes more and more overpowering. But it's worth the effort, the interiors being like nothing else you've ever experienced. Sound and time stops. the walls echo the centuries of weight above them. Incredible. As tricky as it was edging down inside the pyramid, coming back up and out seemed a lot easier. Perhaps it's the odd feeling of actually leaving a pyramid -- which they weren't really designed to allow for -- that keeps you going!

King Djoser's step pyramid located in Saqqara, the main necropolis of Memphis, is the site of the first large stone structure built in the world. The pyramid itself is surrounded on all sides by the well-preserved remains of huge temple complexes and numerous smaller pyramids. I must say that the pyramids at Saqqara and Dahshur are much quieter than those at Giza. It is quite possible to be alone inside these pyramids and really appreciate the sense of history and importance of these places. Entering the pyramid next to the Step Pyramid was a similarly tricky descent, but the fact that it didn't follow an ascent up the face of the pyramid seemed to make it easier. Another incredible place, rich with wall after wall of hieroglyphics.

From here we stopped in Memphis, the ancient heart of Egypt which is still very much a lively and operating village surrounded by verdant fields and farm lands. In fact, the whole drive west of the Nile was, after leaving the city, almost all agricultural land, and much quieter roads than in the city. At Memphis lie some very well preserved statues of Rameses II and a number of other monuments, tombs and statues. Side trips like this, just an hour or so outside the city allow good time to adjust to the pace of life here, and a way to experience real Cairo at every step along the way.

On the way back from Saqqara, the road is lined with traditional carpet making schools, where orphans are paid a decent daily wage (for Egypt) to hand make incredible silk and wool rugs in all manner of design and size. They learn artisan skills that give them a trade for life, and shoppers benefit from apparently very good prices on hand-made exquisite designs and quality. I've never been so taken with desire to own something like this, what I was shown made me seriously consider buying one. I'm not really here to shop, just to experience, but the quality was amazing. Despite being offered all sorts of deals, some that I was really thinking about, I forced myself to resist. At least now I know a little about Egyptian rug quality, which I can take with me to Turkey and compare! I also gave all the kids working there one of my SpinFirst.com inflatable globes, I've carried them halfway around the world with exactly that in mind. I caught a few smiling faces which made my day!

Along the road, so many vignettes, so many slices of life to remember. I photographed some, others I'll never forget. The little girl, maybe about 8 years old, smiling as she rode her donkey-pulled cart laden with bananas along the road. The little boy, again about 8 or 9, smoking, playing with a dog. The smells of fruit growing alongside the road. Children playing, happily with sticks or old tires at the side of the road. Ladies in full burkas carrying produce and other heavy loads on their heads. The road intersection, about halfway back into Giza which has five or so lanes intersecting with no lights or control, you just push through like shuffling a deck of cards. Two fishermen on a boat in the irrigation canal that lines the road all the way to Dahshur, landing a fish from the rubbish-strewn waters. Sitting, again, at a small roadside tea shop in Memphis, drinking more knock-your-socks-off good coffee and watching the world go by. It's timeless and, in the end, magical.

Egypt is unforgettable. I haven't experienced such a broad range of emotions about a place since I lived in Kenya. As they always said in Kenya, when you leave Africa, a little of it goes with you. Same goes for Egypt. Ancient and alive, the centuries of dust and sand obscuring nothing of its vibrant living color. It's exciting. It's an adventure. Leave any expectations you have about how things work at home, or in the last place you visited before coming here, and go with the flow. It will confound you and amaze you, and, like it's ancient monuments, leave you with memories that will last forever.

It will also leave you with a bit of a sprained ankle if you're not careful jumping from stone to stone in the ruins that surround the Great Pyramid at Giza.