More thoughts on Cairo

Trip Start Jun 21, 2008
1
6
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Trip End Jul 24, 2008


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Flag of Egypt  ,
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I know my current sense of paranoia and doubt stems from the types of places that I've been and how I'm traveling.  I've never been stared and pointed at more in my entire life.  Having a local guide has given me a chance to see a side of Egypt that I would have otherwise gone unseen.  Shaimaa is so proud of her country and was thrilled when I told her I wanted to see Egypt as she knows it.  I would have never have found these places on my own, nor would I never have known about them in the first place.  I wouldn't have felt safe going alone, and I can't say I wasn't scared.  I tried to blend in as much as possible but it's hard when I am obviously Japanese.

What also makes it hard is that I don't speak Arabic and no one speaks english except my guide. I guess I take comfort in knowing that there was someone to turn to for help if need be, but much of my time in Cairo so far has just been Shaimaa and I speaking english, I have not seen/interacted with any other travelers. This is something new and a bit scary. I feel a little aliented from everyone- from the Egyptians who realize I'm different, and also from the tourists since I don't see any.  When I was at the train station in Luxor, it was a fiesco. I really don't know if I could have managed on my own, and it seriously makes me doubt my capabilities for the rest of the trip when I'm traveling unguided. I think if I stay on the main roads where other travelers are, it'll always be okay.

I wouldn't want to see this country any other way.  My goal is always to be seen and treated as an individual and not as part of a group. The whole idea of sitting down for a Bedouin dinner with 20 other foreigners sounds terrible. But being able to interact with someone face to face and one on one, they're more likely to be themselves and you're more likely to have a real interaction rather than everyone just going through the motions. 

A word about clothing.. every woman on the street is fully covered except for the hands and face. While I normally prefer to dress how I feel the most comfortable (this usually involves cargos and tshirt), here it is not such a good idea. I rarely see tourists, and the places that we've been I'm obviously the standout and dressing how I feel comfortable not only draws attention to me, but it's borderline disrespectful.  I cover myself from head to toe, but I still don't feel right about covering my hair.  I just never want someone to think that I'm trying to be someone I'm not, I am not a Muslim woman and I'm not trying to play the part of one, but I just want to be respectful.

Last note for now.. my pics suck. So don't look forward to something amazing. There's only so many ways to take a picture of a pyramid!! Well I know there are more ways, but I only found like 2 and thus my pics suck. :/  Muhammad, this super friendly/annoying dude in the camera store in Luxor deleted all my photos!!!! Fortunately they were already on CD but I was freaking out all the same. I'm now guarding the CD w/ my life. I go into angry mode pretty quick when it comes to protecting my camera stuff.. so watch out!
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