First Impressions of a madhouse
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2008
1
5
23
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
Cairo,
Egypt
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
After two days of delirium, I realized that I'm not 19 anymore. While instead of touring London I definitely considered just sleeping the entire day away in the Heathrow airport... but instead I forced myself to make the most of it and to just pretend I am still 19. It was worth it. Yesterday started off with the same sentiment. Tired as all hell, on day one I saw the Great Pyramids in Giza (where I'm staying), Memphis, Sakkara, and part of Cairo. Easily one of the most memorable days of my life. I nearly fell off a camel as well. Also very memorable.
Random thoughts.. the honking here is seriously like some sort of symphany from hell. I swear that the same car can take on different honk tones... so much to the extent that I thought the Pyramid Sound and Light show was beginning when I heard what I thought were the first few notes of an Arabic march. It got to me my first night but now it's like birds out your window. Sort of.
I'm glad I did my homework before coming. This is not the place to just 'wing' things. I feel like I would not have been okay alone, and I also would not be happy in a tour group. I am glad I hired a private guide. It's great, I have a knowledgable Egyptologist and a driver at all times, we can go anywhere and everywhere! I am staying in an Egyptian part of town, and I have yet to feel safe on my own. I thought I was going to die of thirst at 10pm last night and I needed to get some water bad... the bellboy offerred to escort me to the market (to which I agreed), which is just 2 stores down the street from my hotel. Like 40 steps. There are no tourists in these parts and I definitely don't feel safe alone.. I think it's just because I am not used to the Islamic culture and there are so many factors that go into making me feel more paranoid than ever. Hopefully this will change with a bit of time. Because so far, the Egyptians seem to be some of the friendlist and open people I've met. The bellboy that I walked with told me that these parts are ironically safer than the touristy areas. These people are not after your money and very willing to help. I've seen this so far as well. When I went to the ATM I had a terrible flashback from Peru, but this man was actually just helping me work the damn thing. I said shoe-krahn, and he just nodded walked off. It's funny how seeing tourists can offer a sense of security, but at the same time it should also be a warning sign (for several reasons). While people definitely wonder why I am there, if you just smile and say hello, they will always smile back and try to help.
The Pyramids of Giza.. it was a surreal experience. It's very surreal. It's hard to believe that they have been rooted there for over 4000 years. There are actually 6 of them in Giza, and 99 in all of Egypt. We drove to Sakkara and saw the Step Pyramid and the Bent pyramid from a distance. We traveled to Memphis (ancient capital), and saw the old stone scripts from Ramses II. My guide's favorite man. Today I saw Old Coptic Cairo (Masr al-Qadima), and Islamic Cairo. Both areas were beautiful and I was excited to enter a mosque.. it was a first. I learned a lot about Islamic culture and already am starting to dispell any and all preconceived notions I had in my head based on secondhand information.
We also had some traditional Egyptian food which was delicious! It was some noodles w/ tomato, fried onions, lentils, and some yellowish oily sauce that remains unnamed. (we couldn't find a translation) We went to an old bakery as well and I grabbed what looks to be cashew nuts in a sugar coated birds nest. We'll see, I haven't tried them yet.
Tomorrow I leave Cairo for Alexandria, then it's down to Luxor. I heard it was 120' there 2 days ago... phew. Thank god for Neutrogena 55 SPF and sunhats.
![[11] Camel and Pyramids](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1143747660.picture_032.jpg)