Cairo, Egypt

I arrived in Egypt on Wednesday night and my trip got off to a good start. I had dinner at a restaurant on the banks of the Nile. I had a great waiter who taught himself English through some audio cassette program. The program taught the language while also teaching US history (quite cleaver) so he knew a great deal about the US (and his English was very good).

The next day I woke up and headed out to Giza to see the pyramids. Driving in Cairo is quite similar to other places in the Middle East. There are lane lines, but they are pointless. There are speed limits, but they are suggestions at best. You see every mode of transportation from top of the line Mercedes to horse and buggy on the same road:

Cairo itself is a hectic, dirty and overcrowded city. It’s about what you’d expect from a massive city in a developing part of the world. Some parts of Cairo looked nearly unlivable while beautiful, tree lined avenues played host to massive houses in the city’s nicer neighborhoods.

My cab driver was a 60-year old man named Ahmed. He spoke good English and was an excellent driver. Once we arrived in Giza Ahmed took me straight to a tour guide, which I wasn’t particularly pleased about (as opposed to the front gates of the pyramids) but I’d been warned about how big a tourist trap the pyramids were so I decided to go with it. I probably paid too much for a camel tour and mounted my trusty stead, "Moses."

My tour guide was terrible. He didn't really share any significant insights and got in a huge fight with a boy that was along to help us. I thought they were going to come to blows at one point. He even threw his walking stick at him as hard as he could (thankfully he missed). After that was over, we continued on the tour.

Even though it’s pricey, I’d recommend the camel tour for two reasons: 1) Riding a camel is something you don’t normally get a chance to do. 2) You have far better access to the pyramids on the camel tour. That said, you can’t really get that close to the pyramids. One was completely closed off for tourists (according to the tour guide a tourist recently fell off it and died). One you could go in, but only if you paid extra and I’d been told by numerous people it wasn’t worth it. The third (and smallest) was only open to people on the camel tour (see below).

The whole thing took probably an hour and a half and ended with the sphinx which again, you can’t get that close too.

I am glad I went, but of the two ancient ruin sites I have seen on this trip I’d recommend Petra over the pyramids 100 out of 100 times. The journey ended with my guide begging excessively for more money even though I’d given him a very generous tip despite his treatment of his co-workers (the boy and Moses). This behavior was a common – and very unattractive – theme of my time in Cairo.

Ahmed took me back to the hotel. I had a bite to eat and broke out on foot for the Egyptian Museum. After getting accosted by some street side artist and essentially cornered by three of his co-workers when I didn't want to buy his worthless art I finally made it to the Museum.

Cameras weren’t allowed in the museum so I don't have pictures. It was an incredible place but many of the pieces were unmarked. It’s been a while since I’ve had a refresher on Egyptian history so while I was impressed with the collection, I felt a bit cheated / guilty that I didn’t know what I was looking at in some cases. Two key takeaways that you undoubtedly know: 1) Death (and burial) was kind of a big deal. 2) Ancient Egyptians loved making statues of royalty.

In General, Egypt doesn’t exactly role out the red carpet for tourists. The museum was poorly organized, kind of dirty and not all that user friendly. I’d say the same about most of the tourist places I visited in and around Cairo. I think they assume tourists are going to come no matter what, so why make the extra effort? They have a point. I will say that they lack of polish did make some of the places I visited feel a bit more authentic.

After the museum I was exhausted. I took a quick nap, worked out and almost called it a night…but decided to go for a late dinner at a place that came highly recommended called Bodega. I am glad I did. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was worth it. The bar was really going when I left and it looked like a place that would be a lot of fun if you were with a group. I’d recommend it.

Friday was a much better day in Cairo. I slept in and then had to do about 4 hours of work. While I was having lunch in the lobby Ahmed came strolling by and I solicited his services for another day of touring – this time sticking just to Cairo.

We began the afternoon by hitting the Saladin Citadel of Cairo, which is an old fort and mosque located on the Muqattan Hill overlooking Cairo. The Citadel is home to the mosque of Muhammad Ali which was beautiful (though worn)…

…and the view of Cairo was spectacular. The view really drove home how massive Cairo really is.

Ahmed then took me to the mosque of Sultan Hassan, which was built in 1357. President Obama visited the mosque roughly a year ago. The most common response from Egyptians when I said I was American was, “OBAMA! He come here!” The mosque was perhaps the highlight of the trip. The place was beautiful and had a unique feel to it. It was incredibly peaceful.

In the main temple there was a man doing Muslim chants …

… which echoed throughout an otherwise completely quiet mosque.

Ahmed then took me to the Ibn Tulun mosque which was constructed in 879.

We also saw some interesting scenes in the streets and alley ways – which seemed to be bustling no matter where in the city I was. It was hard to capture activity in the alleys from the cab, but I tried.

My final night I returned to the restaurant on the banks of the Nile to watch the futbol game and I am pretty sure I contracted some kind of mild food poisoning. I did win a jersey in a goal kicking contest put on by Stella (the Egyptian, not the Belgian, beer). Saturday morning I was up early and Ahmed took me to the airport for a flight back to Riyadh.

All and all, I am glad I made the trip and found Cairo fascinating. The attitude toward tourists is a big turnoff. They will try to charge you for the air you are breathing (which by the way is some of the most polluted in the world) if you let them. In general, they aren’t very gracious either. It’s certainly not how everyone acts. I met some very nice people (e.g., Ahmed), but, I think it would be impossible to visit Cairo without someone trying to hustle you a few times.