Cairo - Part 2

We arrived in Cairo at noon or so on 10/6. Our trusty cab driver Yasser, who we met earlier in the week, was a little late, but he made it. Good thing he recognized us…I had an Egyptian call him for us (for some reason this airport terminal has no pay phones), who told him I had a blue shirt on…but it was yellow!?!?!?

We dropped our bags at the hotel, and set out for Wadi Degla Reserve…reserve being the operative word, as we didn’t convey this to Yasser, and it took quite some time, and the help of many random Egyptians, to find the place. Once we did, boy, was it worth it. The reserve is a rift, maybe more of a valley, that was a lake bed years ago, but bone dry at this point. The scenery is spectacular. Something like the Grand Canyon, however on a MUCH smaller scale. The reserve closes at sunset, so we only had about 2.5 hours, however we managed to hike to the 5K mark and back.

Right about when we got back in the taxi, the sunset had the sky on fire. A Cairo sunset is really something to see. Just a big ball of fire peeking through the haze, blowing up the sky. We picked up some good old American food, McD’s (we had not eaten since that morning in Sharm…comfort food was warranted), and then headed to the Cairo Tower, suggested by Yasser. It did not disappoint. The night time views of Cairo from the top were amazing. We took some pics, watched the boat traffic on the Nile, and then left the tower for our hotel.

We stayed in an area called Dokki. I don’t know much about it, but it was similar to Hillcrest with regard to the people. Quite surprising, but a very low key place. It’s worth noting that never once, at any time in Cairo, did Jack or I not feel safe. Sure, the traffic is stupid, and the Muslim influence is everywhere, but the majority of the Egyptians we met absolutely went out of their way to make us feel welcome. We will definitely be back to Cairo again, the hospitality is very welcoming.

We walked around Dokki that evening, looking for a place to have a beer and watch the Cairo/Costa Rica soccer match (Egypt is hosting the FIFA 2009 20 and under world cup). We found no alcohol at all, only a couple of hookah bars that were major sausage fests. No thanks. So we hit the hotel bar, which consisted of 3 or 4 of the hotel staff watching the game on a 13" television from the 80s. It was amusing. We were beat, so after just one beer, we called it a night.

We ate breakfast quickly the next morning, at the hotel buffet which wasn’t that bad (keep in mind that our room cost only $40 or so), and then were picked up by Yasser to see the Pyramids in Giza. We left early to beat the heat – which we did – but beating the crowds really made it worthwhile. Apparently a co-op similar to that witnessed in Thailand and Cambodia exists in Egypt. Yasser brought us to his friend who insisted he had the best deal for seeing all the sights in Giza, and that we would pay much more by entering on our own. Well, we didn’t fall for his BS, and thankfully so. We saw it all…9 pyramids, the sphinx, numerous tombs, etc…for $12 each. That jackass wanted $36 each. Strike one for Yasser.

The pyramids were everything we had hoped for and more. I hope the pictures do them justice. Being there so early really paid off. By 10 AM, it was not possible to take a ground level picture without other tourists infringing. It is absolutely amazing, however at the same time, a major tourist trap.
Once we had our fill, we proceeded to head to the Citadel, or so we thought. Yasser unexpectedly took us to the Papyrus ‘Museum’. Yeah, it is interesting to see how the ancient Egyptians used this plant to make art, but it was clear we were there for the sole purpose of dropping our money on cheese souvenirs. Strike two. We listened to the guide, then bailed. I mean it’s nice art, but if you know me, all that stuff is crap. If you really desire to purchase it, you can find it on the internet.

The Citadel was enjoyable…a few mosques, a couple of museums…within a walled section of Islamic Cairo. We checked out the military museum, which was interesting, but I was most caught up with the staff, who outnumbered the visitors like 20-1. Further, at least 50% of the exhibits were roped off and not available for viewing. Oh well. The restaurant at the Citadel had pizza, and I am glad we tried it, because it was fantastic.
Apparently, there are a lot of Italians in Cairo. Not surprising, considering the number of Fiats on the road, but they brought their cuisine as well.

The next stop was Al Azhar, a lush park within Islamic Cario. Much to my surprise, Cairo is quite green with vegetation in certain areas, and this park in particular is beautiful. As you can imagine with Muslim being the way here, Jacki was the only woman without a Muslim head/face wrap, and because of this, she was the focal point of many stares. But this didn’t ruin her day. We had a lot of fun with it, in a PC manner of course.

Our next stop was the Nile for a Faluka ride. A Faluka is a boat. Yasser had been telling us that we could have a fish dinner on a Faluka, which sounded great. So we were off, experiencing the traffic of Cairo once again, which is a sight for anyone to see. I think Jack posted on this already, but seriously, it is nuts. Similar to the madness we observed in Bangkok, however, it all seems to work.

About 40 minutes into the ride, and 20 minutes or so after passing over the Nile, Jack and I started to wonder WTF was up. Yasser reassured us we were headed to the Falukas, which eased our moods. It wasn’t until after we were on the outskirts of Giza, no other tourists in sight, when we stopped at what looked like the Pequannock River. Clearly Yasser’s friend had a boat, and that is where we ended up. He wanted some ludicrous amount of $$ for the ride – we could have paid less for a formal dinner cruise on the Nile. We agreed to a ride with no dinner and for half the time (1 hour vs 2 hours), however after about 5 minutes or so, when the river wasn’t looking any better, we’d had enough. The guy driving the boat – who did not speak English – reluctantly took us back to the river bank. Yasser was very frustrated, clearly embarrassed in front of his friends, but we were over it. We had made it clear earlier that we wanted to take a ride near Cairo and Zamalek, not in Bumblefuck. He claimed that we had agreed to working with his friend earlier, which was not the case. Jack had pointed out the specific area where we wanted to be earlier in the day. Strike three – but we still needed a ride back to Cairo. It’s really a shame that it came to this with Yasser, considering that the day before, he was extremely accommodating, and asked for pretty much nothing – although we tipped him big.

Yasser made it easy on us. He threw the BS flag and told us he had some kind of personal problem to deal with, so we had him drop us off at the Sheraton, which we remembered was right on the Nile in a good spot. Note to the drinkers who plan to visit Cairo – alcohol is scarce, the restaurants do not serve it, however all of the western hotels do, and the prices are reasonable, so head there when you feel yourself getting thirsty. We dropped our bags with the bell guy, who was very cool, considering we hadn’t even stayed there, and then hit the pub for beers. Afterward, we went to a bar/lounge that the Sheraton advertised, although it wasn’t clear if it was affiliated with the hotel. What was clear, was that the place absolutely rocked. Our table was on the Nile, they had beer, and the food was amazing. Some Italian, some Egyptian, and top notch staff, I am talking 6 star. And it was hardly expensive…I think it was about $75 for a shared app, entrees and 3 beers each (big beers). Jack had been really down about the Faluka debacle, and this was just what we needed to get us going again.

At this point, it was getting pretty late, and our flight to Johannesburg was fast approaching. So we grabbed our bags from the Sheraton and jumped in a taxi, with one quick stop to make at the Khan Al-Khalil Bazaar. We had literally no time, but our driver was a man on a mission, and somehow made it happen – we had about 10 minutes to pick up souvenirs, and we found exactly what we were looking for. Next time, we need to make it there for a few hours, it is definitely something to see. If you can handle all the touts.

Next stop – Namibia!