Egypt: Sand sun and surprises in Cario

28 million people...give or take......busy place!!

I really enjoy travel. There is an indescribable excitement that comes with seeing everything as new even after 53 years on the planet.  Potentially a new adventure lurks just around every corner awaiting discovery; it truly is a fantastic time. Sheesh! It's super-charged living that transports you to a place where time stands still and your senses come fully alive!

And to "enhance" my travel adventures, I try to "travel like a local" as the expression goes. But regardless of the travel path/philosophy you chose - you are a naive visitor and as such...will have challenges along the way.  I suspect the 5-star cruise folks have a different set of challenges than the ones I encountered on this trip and others. At the same time - I think travel is the secret o healing our world and the mistrusts that exist between us. Hostel or Hilton... just get out there.

For example - after arriving at the airport in Cairo - I resolved that I was not going to take a cab into the city...but resigned myself to the local bus. (Ya know - travel like a local) So who knew that finding someone who speaks English would be so darned tricky. A bit of walking with my backpack and 2 hours of asking, gesturing and basically doing anything I could think of - got me on a bus pointed in the right direction. I thought. There are no english signs...but of course - why would there be???? Duh!

So!  - 36 degrees and now wilting a bit, I got off the bus completely lost..somewhere in Cairo, a city of 28 million souls. I needed water badly... and once in hand (even buying that was tricky)...I started off to try to find the center of town. As I took a long deep drink from the bottle   - finally feeling that my situationist was improving and under control - out of the blue -  I got hit by a car!!  I did a Simone Biles - type gold medal worthy  roll back onto my feet but my water bottle was sacrificed as was my spirit of peace and forgiveness. The woman who had hit me just looked at my blankly and after a moment - drove off. I was fine but not super happy. Nameste? Fuck that! Traffic is truly crazy here.... check out the picture of the woman sidesaddle on the motorcycle with a baby on her lap. I think she may have been breast feeding. :) The incessant honking is hard to understand. No one is going anywhere most often! Nothing to do....may as well honk.

Next pickle - a nice young chap who offered to help me find my hotel tried to scam me and then brought in the muscle to make me pay for services not rendered..I yelled about police, Kung Fu, etc. (my version of shock and awe) .... scaring them enough to make a hasty exit. Rookie mistakes one and two...know where you are going and don't accept help from strangers unless you're truly buggered.... grrrrr.

I saw a Hiat Regency in the distance (like a mirage) so headed there to get refocused. After a $10 cup of coffee, I managed to get WIFI and directions to my hostel figured out. Bruised, hot, tired, thirsty, and hungry....I found my hostel.....and never took a single cab!!!!! How impressive is that!!!! (Incidentally the cab would have been less than the Hiat coffee...but it's the principle - damn it!)

An historical trip through Egypt really should start with Saqqara and the first city of Memphis where early Pharaonic Egypt becomes tangible. Not a pretty pyramid, and it's a stepped-sided rather than the ubiquitous smooth-sided units we are so familiar with, but it dates back to roughly 3000 BC. It's the oldest constructed building in the world.  And! they (at least the main ones) are on the edge of the city. Apartment building, apartment building, apartment building then a  Pyramid....hey wait a minute! In fact you can see them from downtown. Saqqara needs to be followed up with a visit to Giza (this is the name of the city which is the other side of the Nile) to see the sphinx guarded largest grandest and most impressive pyramids of all.


 A friend of mine Daniel, having recently returned from a trip through Egypt remarked that the ruins belong to the world... are treasures of humanity and while located in Egypt , belong to each of us. It was a controversial remark to be sure and one I didn't agree with at the time. Now, having visited a number of sites (more on this later) I do agree. While there are programs in place to protect these magnificent ancient artifacts from grimy fingers, most of those responsible for doing so spend their time encouraging visitors to do whatever they wish in exchange for "something small". It's shameful and disturbing on a number of levels.

Regardless - the structures are impressive and as I wandered up to Cheops (the largest, and oldest of the 3 main ones at the site) on the back of that grumpy camel, I was overwhelmed with the sense of historical significance. There were maybe 25 other people with me at Giza where pre-revolutionary days prior to the 2011 the Arab Spring would see 18,000 visitors or more. Lucky for me Morsi and the Muslim brotherhood (and other marginally associated political/religious elements) have scared off tourists to such an extent that there is almost no one around. It's not so good for Egyptians that's for darned sure. This is also due to the fact that I picked the hottest time of the year to go. The temp ranged between 32 and 44 on the days I was there. What goofball goes to Egypt in August? Hmmm. (On most days I worked my way through 4 - 2 liter bottles of water....and was still dehydrated.)

5000 years (give or take) have passed since construction..... how many generations have come and gone I thought? I read that not long ago a chamber at Saqquara (2013)was found with 8 million mummified dogs. The amount of effort that has gone on is truly staggering and the number of new discoveries will continue for some time I suspect.

Ramses 2 (My favoritest Pharo) at Memphis. 20m in length, perfect and such just look at the features. Benevolence in stone?

I think it was Henry David Thoreau who said something like; "who cares about the pyramids and those who built them...what more interesting things were going on at the time" A clever and thought-provoking idea at the time I thought - but here's the thing; when you sit and stare the at monolithic monstrosities and consider the complexity and elegance over the head of a grumpy camel... you have a unique perspective that you don't get just reading a book. Ahaaaaaa...

I finished out the day with a Nile river dinner cruise that included Babaganouche that made my toes curl, hummus so delicious that is brought tears of joy and a belly dancer so skilled that one couldn't tell whether she danced to the music or the music played to her rhythm...matching her every sensuous move with precision.

Thanks for reading Layno!