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The "mother city," Cairo Egypt

Let me start with this taxi ride from the airport to my hotel! Scary!!!

In Cairo Egypt there are no white lines in the road. Cars cross over 3 or 4 lanes fast and furious, no one slows down. Traffic lights are totally ignored. Cars speed over red lights as if they're green and pass to the left or the right. Sporadically, someone honks to warn the driver in front that he’s coming from behind! A nightmare – all of this was happening at a breakneck speed but hey, no sign of an accident anywhere on that road. Our own taxi was weaving from left to right, like a ship on the sea, the suspension clearly not in perfect order.

We arrived at my 4 star hotel, the Helnan Shepherd, in the centre of Cairo. The streets were dark, buildings looked dilapidated, some buildings had bricks and rubble lying on the side walks ; it clearly needed some repair. What a travel destination. I put down my one travel bag, washed my face, and was eager to walk the streets of ancient Egypt!!

The 3 of us (Vintz, myself and his friend Mamout) were walking past old cafes in search of coffee. How differenct they were from what I was used to – some cafes were dug out of stone, sand – and left unplastered, with no standing walls!! Some old plastic chairs were placed around old wooden tables – everyone smokes in Cairo Egypt (it has the biggest % of smokers in any city in the world) and always, in the background, I could hear the fascinating sound of Egyptian music – the music took me back to the boundlessness and incredible mysteries of the desert!! I could feel the desert in this music …….

All these cafes were inviting us to join them. Men were sitting, drinking small cups of black, black coffee, laughing and chatting. Sometimes a small TV would be a centre of attention. I felt the laughter and camaraderie of these dark-featured men ……..

We found a place at a lop sided table, on the sidewalk , and ordered 3 coffees. The owner, an old man with very dark skin, speaking only a few English words, offered a big pipe, the shisha,(the hooka water pipe) that is a favourite with the Egyptian culture. We smoked some apple and honey tobacco – awesome!! It makes you feel kind of old and wise, doing this sacred ceremony of the Egyptians ……. In the dusty streets of Cairo Egypt. I loved it!!!

It was after 12 that I fell asleep, my first night in the heart of Cairo!!!

The next morning, after a sumptuous breakfast downstairs, with Vincent, we decided to visit the world famous museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

Late that same afternoon, we visited Mamout, at the top of the little hotel (The Dahab Hotel) where he worked. Its at the top of an old 7 storey building, with a lift that goes very very slow. At the top, there were many big pots, filled with palms, plants and all kinds of small trees. Wooden chairs and benches were all around; and the soft warm desert wind of Cairo Egypt was blowing in my face. An old man, Ahmed, was shuffling back and forth to bring us coffee – trying to explain how the strong Turkish coffee is prepared in this little copper jug, but not able to speak one word of English. We were humbled by this special ceremony, privileged to be served by an old friendly Egyptian.

The next day we asked the taxi driver, Mamout’s friend, to take us around Cairo Egypt to experience the city. Well, the best part of the morning we walked around the main streets of Cairo Egypt. Bicycles were all around us, vendors were selling juice and cold drinks from weird looking pots, hanging in baskets around their necks; there were fruit stalls everywhere, chickens were running across the street, children were playing in the dusty streets … and most amazingly , mechanic shop was operating in the middle of a main street!! Cars were parked in the street, jacked up, wheels taken off ……… spanners and hammers were lying all over and men were working from below the cars. It was busy , and noisy - what a spectacle!! The taxi took us down little roads where copperware, ceramics, figurines etc. were sold. It was fascinating to experience the difference in their way of living.

Our next stop was a very famous Mosque in Cairo Egypt, where we could only enter at certain times of the day.

At the entrance to this religious treasure, all shoes had to be taken off …. And we had to be quiet and respect the holiness of this mosque. Inside, it was huge - with lots of carpets covering the floor, and every here and there, the figure of a man in a galabiya, with his head covered, was praying. It was amazing to be inside a mosque, as a women, being allowed to watch and experience a sacred ritual of the Islamic Egyptians. After spending about an hour here, we left, and chatted outside – while our 2 friends were taking their customary smoke, yet again!

On our way back, Mahamut was taking us through the ancient Islamic quarter of Cairo Egypt. Here I saw intense poverty, but apparently one of the world’s lowest crime rates existed here - the hospitality of the Egyptian people is legendary. Chickens, horses and sheep walk the narrow, pothold streets. The dust and rubble was everywhere.

We were on our way to the famous, very old an ancient market of Cairo Egypt, Africa’s largest Souk, the Khan El-Khalili. Here , it is truly a noisy, wonderful, chaotic mixture of Egypt life. Khan El-Khalili is one of the world’s great bazaars – an enclosed city within – a -city . Everyone here wants your business, your money, or your time for a glass of mint tea. Here – Vintz and I disappeared deep into the bewildering maze of back alleys. This is where Cairo people shop for their cotton galabiyas ( I bought 2 of these) and shishas (hooka water pipes). Almost everything is available here – carpets, gold, fabrics, perfume and cosmetics (where the tiny pots of eye-lining kohl, Cleopatra-style, are made from burned, crushed olive pits). Here – I found a coffee house amid gilded mirrors, had my fortune told, people-watched for hours and became lost in time – lost in the heartbeat of the city ……

khan el khalili, cairo egypt, egypt, market

When we saw how late it was, we knew it was time to be picked up. We quickly found our way back and left for our hotel. It was the end to another perfect day in Egypt. I experienced life in the streets, amongst the people – their food, their coffee, their music, their habits, their culture ……… If was grateful to climb into my cool, clean bed. I fell asleep immediately.

It was my fourth day in Cairo Egypt and today would become one of the most memorable days of my life….

Before sunrise, at 5 o’clock, we were taking Mahamut’s taxi to the outskirts of Cairo Egypt. Here, Vintz’s friend, Mamout, arranged for us three, to take a camel ride across the desert to the massive Ancient Egypt Pyramids.

It could not be arranged through my hotel or possibly in any other tourist way, but because of Mamout, who knew the Egyptian, who offered camel or horse rides across the desert, approaching the Pyramids from a different angel than tourist buses and taxi’s, we could start on this amazing journey …….

After all this we took a shower, had a change of clothes and once more, went for the much favoured local dish, called koshari.

koshari, cairo egypt

We entered the restaurant, where big , lazy , fans were keeping the air cool. It was a double storey and seemed like a popular meeting place, because there were always young people eating their meals around big tables. People were coming and going all the time. The food was lovely! No one could speak English!! Egyptian music were playing in the background ……… the noise of the streets mingled with the music - I felt the heartbeat of Cairo Egypt….

That night we decided to go to the unique sound and light show. We left at 7 o’clock and was early enough to get a good seat.This show takes place every evening. The viewing terrace is close to the Sphinx . Lights are projected unto the Sphinx, while booming recorded voiced would tell the stories of old ancient Egypt!!

Our last day was spent at the Khan El-Khalili again an later, at dust we went down to the Nile. Here the 4 of us took a felluca (small wooden sailing boat) ride down the Nile - it was unique. This old old man, barefeet, toothless, brown skin like old leather – with a long white galabiya was our captain. He did not say one word throughout the entire journey. He held the mast with his dark, sun wrinkled hand - waited patiently for the 4 of us to sit down in his felluca. The brown waters of the Nile was flowing endlessly, quietly below us - far away in the distance we could see a crowded ferry with lot of people, crossing the Nile - we could not hear them.

The warm wind of this ancient land was softly blowing the white sail - the sky was turning golden brown - not a word was said - words could not describe this feeling. We felt like gods – of ancient Egyptian times, being steered on this boat on the mighty Nile, by an old man, who knew all the mysteries of this beautiful land. We felt like conquerors !!!

We left the river, humbled by this experience after shaking our new friend’s hand, and returned to our hotel.

We celebrated our last night together – Vintz was staying another 3 days to visit the oases of Siwa, a 3 hour bus ride across the desert from Cairo Egypt! I wished that I could stay ………….but I will be back one day, to visit more of the holy treasures of this ancient land of Egypt …………. And meet again with these beautiful warm-hearted people of Africa!!!

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