Egypt Trip - December 2004

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

Cairo: Mother of the World
One of the tales in The Thousand and One Nights begins with and elderly man's comment that 'Cairo is the Mother of the World'. Today, it is home of at least one sixth of Egyptians. Bustling with people and pollution, the capital of Egypt is lively and colorful. The biggest attraction for me was the Egyptian Museum with over 120,000 artifects of historical importance. Some of them are very crucial to the history of Egypt as well as the world. I spent almost the whole day wondering around this wonderful place. Alas, those great pieces are not well-kept. Poor labelling and organization makes it less accessible and comprehensible.

Around Cairo: for the real Pharonic places
Cairo is not actually a Pharonic city, but some places around it are. Like Memphis - the first capital of ancient Egypt, established by the legendary Pharoh Narmer or Menes. Right now, there is hardly anything to see there except the museum, which has a fallen colossal limestone statue of Ramses II and an alabaster sphinx of the New Kingdom. The more interesting site was, however, Saqqara. Here you find the world's oldest stone monument - the Step Pyramid of Zoser. It is, of course, the first pyramid of the world.

However, if you're looking for those (more) world-famous pyramids, you have to go to Giza, which is even nearer to Cairo. There stands the only remaining wonder of the ancient world - the Pyramids of Giza - more than 4500 years old. This day I was traveling with an Australian girl Emily. We both explored some tombs, pyramids, and other monuments. Everything that we gazed at was a standing witness of history of mankind for many milleniums. We also took rides on camles in the nearby desert (Emily hated camles..!!).

Bargain the deals
Back to Cairo, if you want to get in some real-life maze, go to a part famous as the Islamic Cairo. Though this is a usual area where people live and trade, it is so important that UNESCO has declared it as a world heritage site. For centuries, this place has survived with its culture and traditions. It has some very sacred places like the mosque of Al-Azar, and huge market places like Khan Al-Khalili. No visitor here can stay in line without getting lost. Its narrow streets, full of market areas, houses, mosques, ahwaas (coffeehouses), and of course, tons of people, make it very lively and confusing to navigate through. Almost everything that you may want is on sale here - including the costumes for belly-dancing..!! I had shai (tea) and sheesha (waterpipe) at Fishawi, which was a favorite place for Nobel laureate Naghuib Mahfouz, and which is open for more than two centuries (24 hours).

The people, the places
Cairo is a happening city. This 10th century city has preserved almost all of its non-ancient culture and heritage. I tasted a couple of things for which it is world-famous - belly dancing, and sufi dancing.

One of the most facsinating factor of Cairo is - people. Most of them are Arabic Muslims and speak Arabic. It's hard to converse with them sometimes as most of them don't understand English. Another problem that is even more annoying, is the hasseling by the touts. Almost any place where you go, there will be some people who would try to be very friendly - just to sell you something, or trap you into something, or at least get baksheesh (tip). This includes police officers also. However, if you dare to go out of tourist places (like I do most of the times), you meet some really nice people. Although, there would be a language barrier, you can experience some real warmth of the hearts. Keep reading for even better explorations and discoveries in Egypt. Next: Luxor.