Birthday treats and fond farewells

  Cairo, Egypt
Saturday, February 18, 2006

After a busy three days in Luxor, Mystery and I were thoroughly 'templed out' so it was good to move on toward Cairo on the morning train one sunny day.

We left the absolute bombsite of Luxor station (both inside and out - it seemed like workmen were demolishing it with sledge-hammers, willy-nilly and brick by brick) around 9am and headed up the Nile Valley.

This narrow strip of rift land supports the vast majority of Egypt's 61 million strong population, so along its banks you see a great deal of urbanisation as well as the agricultural land you'd more expect of the legendary Nile basin. The poverty in these urban areas along the way is quite visible and distinctly contrasts the areas travellers generally get to see.



The ride was second class as it was the only ticket available, but in the end it was a good, cheap way to travel this long distance (600km at a guess). The only incident was a shattered window right next to my head - I suspect from a rock thrown at the train - so thank goodness the window was double glazed or I could have made it to Cairo in two pieces.



The next day in Cairo was absolutely brilliant - stunning weather and since it was a the start of the weekend and the holiest day of the week (Friday for Muslims) - very little traffic and pollution. Apparently 6 million people descend on the city on any given business day, which is bound to cause the chaos described in a previous entry. We thanked our lucky stars for perfect timing of this quick pitstop.

A trip out to the Libyan Embassy on the Nile island of Zamalek was futile but introduced us to this very pleasant part of the city. Leafy and green and very cosmopolitan, it's the preferred residence of many expats. We had a look around before wandering back over the bridge and down the Nile foreshore to check out Cairo Tower and find a ride to the Pyramids.



You've seen these in a previous entry, but I wanted to get back out here on a sunny blue-sky day to take some improved pictures. As you can see, everything looked great out there - even the Cairo skyline in the distance. And due to the weekend we were blessed with relatively few visitors to jostle with around the site.



Gotta love blue sky days!



I resisted the temptation to take an internal tour of the second largest pyramid Chephren, opting instead for a walk out to the long range viewing platforms. Despite the annoying dust in my camera lens the result speaks for itself and Mystery seemed suitably impressed.



In all it was the perfect way to wrap up her whirlwind visit to Egypt. Most big sights seen, many adventures had and she coped with the overland travel hardships and being dragged through endless temples amazingly well. You were pure pleasure to travel with and thank you for helping make my birthday a special one as well (the lovely tenderloin steak and accompanying Egyptian vino certainly was memorable). I hope to see you in London soon ;-)

I leave Cairo behind now so wish her a farewell too. Maybe not a fond one but on certain days and in certain ways she also has the ability to entice. It is the only place I have seen a donkey parked out the front of a mobile phone shop (and will probably retain this honour for some time) which shows that more than most other places I've visited in my travels, Egypt's past will continue to clash with its future. It is more than just the monuments to a golden age, but in many ways it still has to prove it.

Au revoir.

Next entry -> Western desert oasis at Bahariyya

Old Rossian Proverb

"You can watch three things for hours - fire, water and the funny ways people walk!"