Last days (for now) in Egypt

Drugs, anyone?

If you enlarge the photo from a nearby drugstore, you will see not only that Viagra is the world's #1 something but also that you can get it without a prescription. You could actually get many if not all drugs without a prescription here.The trick is to know what you are actually getting. There have been some scandals about fake pills being sold. Imagine you buy Viagra and it doesn't work because it is really baking soda in a capsule or something. How do you complain?

I got a supply of 20 certirizine (aka Zyrtec), which at home is an OTC anti-histamine, from a pharmacy to assure my cold would abate. The pills cost about $1.50, which is much less than the equivalent number of the generic brand would cost at home. My cold has abated and I am well-supplied fo the next time.

I am also very happy to report that my sunglasses are repaired at no charge in time to go to Congo! I highly recommend the Blue Eyes Optical Shop on Brazil Street should you have similar needs.

Garden fountain at Opera House

Entrance to Cairo Opera House

La Traviata

Cairo's opera house sits in a beautiful garden that houses art galleries and a museum as well as walkways and fountains. It is artistically lighted in the early evening. Inside, much to my surprise, I found the decor plain and uninspired. I think my expectations ran to the "Egyptian style" theaters in the U.S. from the 1920s. The audience was a pretty good age mix and the house was virtually full. Our seats were dead center at stage level, so we had perfect views. The audience appeared to be quite appreciative but there was no standing ovation. Despite requests to "avoid" texting, too many people were unable to give up their electronics for a whole performance, though no one near us was actually in a phone conversation during the performance (as happened in Yerevan). The cast was a mix of Egyptians and Eastern European singers, with the best voice in a substitute baritone Alfredo, Cristian Balasescu from Romania.

Garbage City

Today I had a very special half-day adventure to Manshiyat Naser, commonly known as Garbage City. It was created in the 1960s when President Nasser relocated a colony of garbage collectors who kept pigs away from the edge of the Nile to the outskirts of the city. The new place was basically sand and sandstone cliffs. At that time there were 5000 in the community. Today there are 80,000, almost all of them Christians. In the 50 years in the new location, they discovered and cleared out enormous caves and made places of worship from them. They have also built housing and work spaces. A full life with markets and schools exists amid a gigantic trash collection, sorting, and recycling effort. Here are some photos from Garbage City. A NYT articl can be found here https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/world/middleeast/cairo-mural-garbage.html?_r=0

Preschoolers singing outdoors.

School-age girl selling produce
from a moving truck

Unsorted trash being stored in
an incomplete building

Church in a cave seats 15,000

Giant graffiti project that says:
“If one wants to see the light of the sun,
he must wipe his eyes.”

Rood screen in the cave church (altar is behind this).

Sheep on the roof.

Bag of trash being lifted into a
5th story storage space.

In the building in the forefront of the graffiti you may be able to see sheep lying around on the roof. They are kept by locals and fed on garbage. You cannot see the pigs kept similarly on the next floor down. I can only imagine the elevator operator in a department store: "Sheep on 8, pigs on 7."

Prior to seeing the Tent Makers' Souk, we visited the Egyptian Textile Museum, located near the original wall of the city of Cairo, part of which was reconstructed to show the grand gates. The Museum suffers from the common practice of low lighting, so it is not especially easy to see some of the items on display without using your phone flaashlight. Starting with the ancient times, they exhibit pieces of linen that were used for sheets, clothing, diapers (yes), towels. For hundreds of years this was the only cloth in use. Then came cotton, which of course became a major raw material for industry both here and in Britain. Travelers and merchants on the Silk Road traded Egyptian cotton cloth in the east and introduced silks and wools. Each major segment of Egyptian history has a display of items from that period. The influence of Iran and the Ottomans shows up in the floral designs in later pieces.

To get to the Tent Makers, who don't really make or offer tents anymore, we had to throw ourselves into the fine Egyptian game of dodging traffic, including crossing a very heavily-trafficked street. The trick, I observed, is to watch for a group of women who want to cross together. Go when they go. Cars stop. Today the tent makers actually specialize in appliqué quilting--pillow covers, hangings, bed covers, runners, etc. I saw one man sitting and sewing in his shop so I went in to try to talk to him. With help from my guide I learned he started this work at age 8 and has been doing it 30 years. He was very cheerful, claimed he loves his work, and showed me a piece that he just finished after two weeks' work. I asked him about two table runners but his price, about $20 each, was more than I had in Egyptian pounds in my purse. Saved by not taking enough cash with me for once. Some of the appliqué patterns reminded me of Pennsylvania Dutch designs, but the colors were often in combinations that most westerners would not like and would definitely not be easily incorporated at my house.

In one of the old city gates
entering the souk. Note the
screens on porches, a la Naguib
Mafouz stories.

We had to walk through a big part of the souk to get to the tent makers, including a jewelry section, brass, belly dancing outfits, and lingerie that I am sure brought a blush to my face. Bras were readily available in many sizes, all with very heavily padded cups in bright colors and designs. Virtually all of the items in the souk these days come from China--including highly beribboned and ruffled "just married" satin bedspreads. In the meantime, the majority of women in the market were covered head to toe.

Our car was left with a man who runs a sort of valet service for people who know about him. He not only watches the car for a fee, you actually give him your keys. When we were finished we waited while he retrieved the car from who-knows-where. We were home by 1:30--a 3.5 hr. excursion that felt like two days in terms of inputs to my overloaded psyche. I do feel better prepared for Kinshasa traffic thanks to my days with Nadir. It will seem like old hat to have cars coming the wrong way down the street or wandering all over the road creating new lanes. Maybe I won't spend my whole month there looking at my feet when we go somewhere in the car.

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Saqqara and Giza - The Pyramids at last

Saqqara

Today I got to see the "stair-step" pyramid at Saqqara, about 40 km out of town. The vast majority of the route is highly urbanized though, with evidence of agriculture appearing in the last few miles. The green of the fields is startling after the otherwise tawny landscape. The Saqqara tombs were built of stone (new building material) about 4800 years ago and this pyramid is the oldest among those available to see. This whole scene reminds me of the cathedral scene in England--each one has a claim to fame, such as tallest, oldest, best windows, etc. Same here. Saqqara has the oldest. It was built in a style that at the detail level mimics previous buildings made of thatch and mud bricks with wooden braces and woven sides. I saw small structures of this ancient form in the fields today--now offering shade to the farmers rather than housing. A very modern and reasonably sized museum as well as a movie about the building and design process served as appetizers for the main event.

The dig goes on.

Rilla at reconstructed wall, Saqqara

No one has been allowed inside this pyramid since the 1960s and it is badly in need of restoration (lots of scaffolding on one side). This is partly because it was built of sandstone, which has eroded. But other portions of the whole site are either restored or in better condition, including one very claustrophobic tomb with an empty sarcpohagus still in it (mummy was in the museum). This photo of me in front of the reconstructed entrance offers an idea of how big these sites are. The original wall was 30 m. high. Work is still ongoing at the site, as evidenced by these tents covering a small dig operation. The two small tombs I saw contained colorful reliefs and carvings celebrating life and showing various aspects of every day life--from how they slaughtered a cow to the arts and food. Everything needed for a full and rich afterlife.

Before taking you to Giza, let me comment on a few observations. First, at every site there is security--not just guys with guns but also checks of the guide's credentials and a record is kept of the nationality of the visitor. Thus, the basis for the Egyptian tourist statistics, I guess. It seemed like they were taking security seriously, but then I noticed pedestrians were just streaming on through without any checks. I remember at the old embassy in Antananarivo the security guys checked the cars going in thoroughly but waved motorcycles and pedestrians past. Same deal here.

The agricultural fields are vibrantly green--huge cabbages, onions, clover (for feeding animals) were all apparent. The fields are irrigated through canals dug from the Nile. The highway to Saqqara runs along either side of this canal and I noted that on both sides, the canal is being filled in slowly by the dumping of trash. The farther we got from the city the more we saw donkey carts and working farmers.

Also along the road almost all the way to Saqqara are up to 10-story buildings only partially finished. My guide calls this "Red Brick City." These are the shells of apartment houses. The way they work is you buy an apartment, which is basically a brick box and then you do all the finishing work, from plumbing and electricity to windows and all other furnishings. Most buildings have no occupants, while some are only very partially occupied. In some cases, holes for windows are on the buyer also.

First sighting

Light in the funerary temple at Giza

On to Giza, which once was "way outta town" and is now surrounded by sprawling development. My first view was from a Mobil gas station where we stopped to fill the tank. I was stunned they were so close!  This is the location of the so-called Great Pyramid, built by Cheops, and two smaller ones for his son and grandson as well as others for their wives and important people or other relatives. It is also the location of the Sphinx, the now somewhat eroded figure that is the head of the pharoah with the body of a lion. My first glimpse of these pyramids came when we stopped for gas and I looked across the road. There they were, seemingly in the middle of town. The Great Pyramid is actually no longer the tallest. Father Cheops has lost 9 m of height over the years (in excess of 4,000) and his son is now 2 m. taller.

There were substantial changes in construction between the first and the second. The first took 20 years, using 100,000 men each year to build, in part because they were cutting stones taller than I am. Teams of 40 men worked together to move the stones into place. For the son's pyramid they cut the stones a little smaller and finished much faster. The grandson got even smaller stones and an overall smaller pyramid, all appropriate to the representations of power in Egyptian art--most powerful guy is biggest. Stones used here included pink quartz, marble, and sandstone.

Great Pyramid

The Great Sphinx sits in alignment with the middle pyramid and faces east--now into the city of Giza. The face is badly eroded, especially the nose, and the front legs of the lion have been reconstructed. The entire site is pretty overwhelming. I saw more tourists there today than I have seen yet on the trip. And I don't think anyone would say it was crowded. There were dozens of guys standing around wanting to offer guide services, sell you junk made in China, or persuade you to pay for a picture with or ride a camel, horse, horse cart, or donkey. The photo I wanted to take but couldn't was of a traditionally dressed guy sitting on a rock talking on a cellphone next to his heavily festooned camel.

Great Sphinx and Great Pyramid, Giza

The Weekend

Our weekend began Thursday evening with a Wine and Dine Dinner by locally celebrated chef Joachim Textor at the Semiramis InnerContinental Hotel. We got a bonus when we arrived.  A bridal couple was being escorted by enthusiastic (and very loud) drummers into a hall where the reception would take place. The bride was dressed in a long white dress and full head covering, topped with a sparkly tiara. Guests were attired in everything from formalwear to blue jeans.

Our dinner was a series of courses with numerous elements and ingredients paired with wines. "Dust" seems to have replaced "foam" in international cuisine since I went to Capetown with Stro. Our dessert plates were covered with a swirl of pistachio dust, with the main attraction being a pistachio mousse surrounded by dots of pomegranate syrup. It was very rich and by that time (after four other courses and paired glasses of wine) I was able to taste it but hardly finish it. The best part of the meal was our company--four Egyptians, one of whom works with Denise, her brother (trained as a lawyer but now in private banking in London), a professional singer/actor, and a physician specializing in dietetics but who spends every free moment making films. They regularly patronize these gourmet meals and follow the key chefs around town. After dessert was cleared away they ordered espresso (close to midnight) and 3 of the 4 smoked small cigars. That was our cue to leave. I have not been up that late (except to finish a compelling book) for a l-o-n-g time.

Friday and Saturday are the days off for people who work in offices. So Denise was free to sleep in and to show me around Zamelek, which frankly is much easier with someone who knows where she is going. I had studied the map and thought it would be a piece of cake. I got oriented from the map and even learned a few street names. Then when I went out alone I was disoriented within about three blocks. This place is much harder on the ground than it seems like it will be. Sidewalks are a disaster--the levels keep changing and the distance from sidewalk to street or driveway is often at least 12." It is not even summer and the dust covers cars, the leaves on trees, the flowering cabbages at a florist shop, everything. Denise reports that in warm weather when the windows are open a film of dust--even on the 10th floor--covers all surfaces. Nevertheless there is always something new to see and think about, like this sign for the Honeymoon Tailors next to a store we visited.

I am impressed by several healthy food outlets--either retail shops or small restaurants. Yesterday we lunched at a traditional (not healthy) place called Zooba. We brought home at least half of the whole-grain "koshary"and beet salad we ordered. Koshary is a combination of all things wonderful--whole grain wheat, lentils, tiny chickpeas, pasta and topped with a delicately spiced tomato sauce and crispy fried onions. Today we had lunch at InSeason, which offers (ALL in English) a variety of healthy drinks made from fruits and vegetables and a boatload of Build-Your-Own Salads as well as some fixed salad combos. They also have Greek yogurt (otherwise hard to find) parfaits. Other stores that sell nuts and coffee also sell various grains and seeds as well as my favorite Dutch treat, stroopwafels.

Exterior of Anglican Cathedral

Cathedral interior with
moveable seating

Yesterday our shopping focus was made-in-Egypt crafts and we went to three different stores, the last at the Anglican Cathedral. This is the only place I have seen public toilets. The church itself was built in the 1970s with the unfortunate influence of Russian architects. It sits in a neighborhood full of antique stores, most of which offer very ornate furniture, clocks, and lioghting fixtures--think Louis XIV.

Dresses for Naomie and Klavna

Today we focused on Egyptian cotton and jewelry. I found two dresses and a tee-shirt for my soon-to-be-grandchildren in Congo. They are very high quality cotton and all three cost only about $25. The Magic of Egypt strikes again. We visited an Azza Fahmy store in the neighborhood in search of a birthday gift for Lily. Azza Fahmy is one of the top jewelry designers in Egypt, and her work often features both gold and silver as well as gems (often diamonds). Her current pharoahnic collection is stunning. Go here to see more: http://www.azzafahmy.com/?user_store=egypt

Finally we thought we would finish the day walking along the river and finding a café from which to watch the boats go by. Alas, we could not find a vacant table but it was a nice walk and we finally found a spot where we could get a mint lemonade. This is a local specialty which tastes just like it sounds, with lots of minty flavor. Very refreshing and quite cold. Along the river, which must be super prime real estate, there are several stretches of ruins--of old clubs or restaurants, perhaps. Several boats ply the river for both sightseeing and for commuting. We saw the equivalent of a bus station for boats, which suggested they are used regularly as public transportation, kind of like the Baltimore Harbor taxis.

Neighborhood Wandering

Today I set out on several small missions in the neighborhood and was more or less successful. The biggest success (proof to come later) was the promise of a no-charge repair to my prescription sunglasses frames. They will be ready in three days, on Monday. Since the price is right I could hardly argue with the schedule. Given that the shop was staffed by one young woman and had no apparent repair facilities, I expect all such tasks are done elsewhere. After I left the glasses I spotted about three more eyeglasses shops en route to my destination, the Diwa Bookstore. I also successfully negotiated the purchase of two local English-language newspapers (more on that later).

Diwa is a fan-shaped bookstore on a corner, with about half to two-thirds of its offerings in English. They offer American and British writers as well as Egyptians and others in translation. I was impressed by the breadth of the offerings as well as how current they are. Almost all the books are paperback and perhaps printed locally. There were two that interested me but the printing in about 9-pt type was not going to work. The prices are perhaps a little less than they would be at retail at home. In the middle Diwa has a small café where I got a latte and a cinnamon cookie and read the papers I had bought. Outside is a restaurant that made me think of Oliver. As I took out my phone to snap a photo of it a heavily garbed woman who was sitting nearby scooted inside.

The Daily News appears to be sort of a Chamber of Commerce rag reporting on everything Egyptian and economic--strength of the pound, wedding expos, various development projects, a possible visit with German officials, and delays in signing agreements for wind farms, etc. Most of it very rah-rah. The articles about the recent "surge" in tourism caught my eye. The headlines made it sound great, but the facts were less amazing. From a 40% occupancy rate a year ago, the occupancy rate for peak season got as high as 55% this year. Now, granted this is a boost but I would not use the word "surge." Such as it is, the growth is coming from Asia--principally China and Japan. The market for European tourists remains very weak, as does the Russian market (thanks largely to the airplane crash of tourists from Sharm El-Sheikh). My museum guide Nadir told me the Chinese visitors in particular come on very inexpensive packages that include only a couple of major sites and they spend the rest of the time in their hotels. I presume he learned this from other free-lance guides. My thought was that if the hotel was reasonably comfortable, it might be a nice vacation.

The other paper is a weekly called Al-Ahram. It seems to offer a broader scope of coverage, including international news and sports. There are several by-lined op-eds, including one claiming Egypt will be vital to Trump. Hope springs eternal, perhaps. One item that made both papers was a recent one-day visit by Lionel Messi, the darling of Barcelona football. He was here to promote a "Tour and Cure" campaign focused on Hepatitis C. The idea is to combine a vacation with getting treated in Egypt for Hep C. There is also a "Living" section which this week includes a Moroccan chicken tagine recipe worth trying.

While I was out walking, both the nearby British high school and several primary schools let out for the day. The high school students seemed to have a modest uniform that includes a sweater. The younger children were all picked up by an adult and were not in uniform. Their school days end about 1:00, which is the usual time for lunch.

Nearby I noticed this car with its windshield wipers pulled out, as Vermonters do in anticipation of snow and ice. Then I started noticing others that had done the same thing. I am still puzzling as to why someone would do this here. Any guesses?

I braved a small dark shop that had some yarn skeins in evidence--also sells towels, baby clothes, buttons, and socks. The elderly man sitting behind the counter tried to help me find knitting markers for Denise but we settled on some old-fashioned diaper safety pins with the fat plastic heads in a variety of colors. More than she will ever need for $1. Then he practiced his English a little with me and seemed pleased for the opportunity. The darkness of the shop is typical. Usually when a customer enters someone turns on a light, but not this time.

Stopped in a store called "Gourmet" for a fresh loaf of fabulous seeded bread and beetroot hummus and salmon spread. The hummus looks like raspberry gelato and tastes great on the bread. Smoked salmon is very popular here but I have not yet discovered where it comes from. Place of origin is not on the food package labels in English.

The florist bundled up a bunch of purple mums and tied a matching bow on it. I suspect they can grow flowers here in Egypt but I don't know where they get the flowers. I know Israel produces quite a lot and sells through the Amsterdam markets, but not sure they export to Egypt. They had tulips, stock, lots of roses, mums of different kinds but only in purple. I picked the bunch that looked most fresh.

My last stop was for street food in the form of a roasted yam. Mr. Potato Man would not let me take his picture but he was willing to let me take a photo of his cart. The aroma of the wood-roasted potatoes fills the intersection and he does a brisk business. I tried to buy one potato but the minimum apparently is 2 for 10 pounds. I could eat about half of one. These are yellow, sweet and quite starchy. My thought is to buy several and mash them with excessive amounts of butter for a really yummy treat.

Tonight we are part of a group having a special chef's dinner at the Inner-Continental Hotel. One of Denise's colleagues knows the chef. Personally, I am hoping for a display of top-notch Egyptian dishes. NTFII.

Meanwhile waiting for a wine delivery. The Magic of Egypt strikes again.

Aswan, or Life at the Old Cataract Hotel

View from our room of the
hotel pool and the Nile.

Pussy willows and lilies in the lobby
of The Old Cataract

The Old Cataract Hotel was once a Farouk Palace. It sits at a bend in the river looking at Elephantine Island and Kitchener Island and overlooks the tomb and one of the homes of Aga Khan. The river is dotted with sailboats called feluccas.

We went through the usual security to enter and while waiting for our room, we enjoyed very good lattes on the bar terrace. Coffee was not the cruise ship's claim to fame.

After getting settled into a lovely room in the new wing (with a huge balcony and great view), we hired a felucca for a sail around these islands. The wind was on and off so we tacked a whole lot. The felucca is a very simple wooden boat and the one we hired was well-loved (yar!) by the single operator. There is a single sail that is triangular in shape attached to a wooden mast. A wooden rudder is raised and lowered as needed. There is no optional motor, so the ride was very quiet and peacful. Two hours out cost us about $10.

Another felucca under sail.

Bougainvillea on Kitchener Island

Kitchener Island was a gift to a British military officer of the same name. He turned it into a botannical garden, with many different species of trees. At this time of year the bougainvillea is in bloom in many colors. Elephantine island has a residential population, almost alotgether devoted to tourism.

Denise forgot her hat so followed
the local custom and said it made
a big difference.

The hotel has a beautiful spa, which we of course took advantage of by getting pre-departure deep tissue Nubian massages. I regret we did not have time for the full hammam treatment. The hotel is beautifully decorated with  marble used for many walls and all floors except where there is carpeting.

Our felucca sailor preparing the sail
for departure.

The city of Aswan has about the same population as the state of Vermont. In addition to tourism, there are several new and large academic and research institutes housed there. Many shops offer cotton or papyrus. I observed all this from the cab coming and going. Once there, one does not want to leave The Old Cataract. The landscaping reminded me of a small campus; it featured fountains and nice walkways.

The staff was super-attentive and very helpful, especially when I flooded the bathroom because I couldn't figure out how to control the shower. The bartender took great delight in making me a very special just for me cocktail involving orange juice and vodka. This was no screwdriver. By his description it involved much shaking over ice. The bottom line was that I found it refreshing. However, I have to report that the food (NTFII) was disappointing. We conjectured it must be very hard to keep a good chef in such a slump for tourism. Go again though? In a heartbeat. Get a Nile-facing room in the new wing. Eat the Egyptian breakfast food. Find other restaurants for dinner. Go for a sail.

Abu Simbel To Aswan on Lake Nasser

Margaret Rutherford and friend,
layered up but enjoying
the sun.

Sunrise on Lake Nasser

Denise and Hany, our guide, headed
toward one of the sites.

Denise planned a wonderful long weekend to Upper Egypt in the south, an area known historically as Nubia. We flew from Cairo to a town smaller than Montpelier called Abu Simbel via a change of planes in Aswan. Then we boarded a cruise ship with capacity for 150+ guests, along with only 6 others plus guides and crew. Thus evidence of the 95% loss of tourism.

Our boat, the Prince Abbas, is probably in the medium category of luxury. Our junior suite was large and simply furnished with a seating area, twin beds, a little desk, and a real bathroom (meaning it had a separate shower). The weather was on the chilly side to start and the cabins are not heated. So we found ourselves searching out places to be warm when we were not out touring. The boat had a bar and llouge, a sundeck, a gym, dining room, and a swimming pool and jacuzzi (way too cold to consider). There was also a massage therapist on board, a service we took advantage of.

With only 8 tourists on board, the dining room was quiet. We sat with our guide Hany and the Spanish-speakers sat with their guide. After three days I was starting to feel trapped on a boat with too much food (my idea of what a cruise is like). By far the best meal we had was one that was "Egyptian food." Hany used mealtimes (and other times) to drill Denise in arabic, which she is studying. So I learned some things too, like hgow to say some numbers. Not sure that will come in handy, but you never know.

Lake Nasser is 500 km long, including 150 km in Sudan. In the early 1960s 40 countries actually collaborated through UNESCO to save temples in the path of the newest iteration of the Aswan Dam, which eventually created Lake Nasser. It is impossible to imagine that kind of cooperation today, let alone the action resulting in moving these ancient monuments to high ground. We saw a short documentary on the process some time during the cruise, which answered some of the basic questions about how they accomplished what they did.

This is only half of the front side
of Abu Simbel temple honoring Ramses II.

The unwitting brilliance of having seen the Egyptian Museum first paid off on the cruise. I was at least not starting from scratch on who some of the big pharoahs were and how they related to one another. Ramses II and his queen Nefertari (not Nefertiti) are the objects of the temples at Abu Simbel. Although Ramses II had 50 wives, it was Nefertari "for whom the sun rises" and for whom he built a temple facing the sunrise. In his temple (ginormous would be the way to describe it) there are many beautifully preserved colored carvings of his victories over enemies--displays of power and might. In her temple, which is smaller of course, we saw more focus on drawings of gods and symbols of life--the lotus flower and papyrus together symbolize the unification of upper and lower Egypt.

In the evening we sat outdoors in front of the temples for a light and sound show. This was very dramatic and slightly hokey but did a good job of conveying the story both of the temples and the restoration.

I have to consult our itinerary to remember all the sites we enjoyed. The routine was basically to have an outing (by small motorboat, accompanied by guys with guns) in the morning with our guide. Hany would explain the background of the site and then we would tour and he would explain the art on the walls. Many of the sites were already damaged at the time of the rescue but restoring them was not part of the deal. UNESCO placed priority on moving them as is and further restoration was up to the Egyptian government.


No photography was allowed inside some of the sites, whereas others permitted it without flash. There is virtually no control over this though so many photos were being taken. However, the funniest and worst disrepect for the sites was something I noticed in the last one we visited, Wadi el Sebua. This site includes a temple from between 300-500 BC when Egypt was part of the Greco-Roman empire. I am very sorry I did not take a photo of it. Basically, explorers/travelers in 1921 carved their names into the columns or supporting blocks of stone, "John Stone, 1921," for example. The carving was very neat and looked almost like a modern font. When I thought about the timing, I realized the carving was done long before the 1960s when the sites were saved, so they were then located along the river Nile in the valley.

Cartouches, or ancient ways of
representing names.

Day 2 - First Immersion

Day 2 was a full-immersion experience in Egyptian history and Coptic Cairo. At the end of the day, I felt like Peter's grandsons Bay and Klaus looked after climbing up to Lonesome Lake--sort of shell-shocked.

Initially my plan was to go to Giza to see the pyramids and sphinx, but the weather forecast was for rain and grey skies so we took the indoor route instead.

Traffic in the rain

My guide for the day was a guy named Nadir who speaks English understandably and is very well-versed in Egyptian history (I actually have no way of knowing how well-versed he is; but he convinced me). He is married and has three children, a girl 13, and boys 11 and 9. His daughter corrects his English all the time, he says. He is also a remarkably calm and patient driver in what can only be described as a nightmare of Cairo's traffic.

Egyptin Museum on one side of Tahrir Square

Our morning was devoted to the Egyptian Museum, which sits on Tahrir Square and was an architectural splendor in 1901 when it opened. Over the years the building has not been maintained well but the holdings remain astounding, from the King Tut gold room to the mummy rooms. When I say "not maintained well" I mean my guide could write 3000 in the dust of a glass case to tell me the item in it was that old. A new museum has been under construction for eight years and apparently is now on hold until more money appears. Hopefully it will include a budget for dusting.

My feet and knees were in full protest at the end of three hours of standing and walking on marble floors and climbing stairs. I wasn't sure I would remember a thing but it turned out to be very good sequencing for me to see the museum before going on the cruise (next post).

As with every public site or area I have seen to date, there was visible security at several points approaching the museum--scanners, guys with menacing-looking weapons. How effective it is is another question. But I have been patted down, my purse glanced at and walked through many scanners. The airports similarly have very visible security--you cannot get in the door without a boarding pass and ID. You go through about 3 security checks before you get to the gate area. Generally shoes must be removed but my water bottle with liquid in it sailed through every scan without comment.

After the museum, Nadir and I ate Egyptian fast food (chicken showarma sandwiches) in the car midday. He triple parked on a five lane road and ran into a popular sandwich spot for the lunch. This double and triple parking habit is widespread and you can imagine what it does for traffic. This also provides employment for guys who watch your car while you wait for your fries.

Inscription at the Hanging Church that
assures those who enter
(those who thirst) of refreshment.

Door to the Hnaging Church

Then we moved to Coptic Cairo. No, this is not where the bombing was. Coptic actually refers to a period in history before the Arabs (Ottoman Turks) moved in but has become synonymous with protestant Christians affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. We saw the Hanging Church, built on a Roman Wall, St. Barbara's and the huge Church of St. George, as well as associated special chapels named for different saints. They are of varying sizes and levels of gilt. All prevented visitors from going beyond the rood screen or into the altar area, but in St. George's we could see into it. The silver altarpieces where blindingly well polished.

Silver altar elements from behind a wooden
gate in the rood screen--see dark cross,
which isat the center of the gate.

On the streets women are mainly dressed in what might be called dowdy clothes and wearing a headscarf that fully covers their hair. There are some who wear full cover, including all except eyes, but I have seen no one with the eye veil as well. Women certainly drive cars and hold jobs outside of home. Some of the younger ones are decked out in tight jeans and high-heeled boots (but have the head scarf in place). Men are dressed in anything from a western suit to a jellibaya, with most in slacks and a shirt.

The city has a population of about 22 million, so the realities of any big city are present--it is loud, smoggy, traffic is a mess. But where Denise lives on Zamelek it is more like a quiet urban neighborhood you can walk around most of the day. Importantly, the many trees offer shade.

First Day in Cairo

My first day in Cairo was a quiet one, but I am on local time without any jetlag and looking forward to a rainy-day outing to the Egyptian museum tomorrow with a well-recommended guide named Nadir. We may also visit Coptic and Old Cairo and will likely make a plan for Giza and Saqqara for next week so I can see the local pyramids (Cheops was the pharoah).

The view from my window. Turns out it is a library.

Today brought two walks around the neighbvorhood, essentially the north end (above 26 July Blvd) of Zamalek, an island in the Nile River that is a wonderful old neighborhood housing several embassies and ambassadorial residences (Switzerland, Irtaq, Alergia, Oman, and Portugal were the ones I noticed.) and apartment houses. The International House Hunters property posted on Facebook turns out to be a library I can visit on a future day.

The weather is cooler than usual, in the high 50s and low 60s, which means more layers than I expected to use here. But a mostly sunny sky all day made up for that. I used my best judgment not taking a photo that would have been illegal. Picture this: Uniformed guard with long gun slung over his shoulder, lost in his cellphone while on duty outside some important place. Low alert day, no doubt. Actually in this neghborhood there are a lot of guys with guns on duty but I saw only one lost on his cellphone.

Bawab couch in our building

Also, every building seems to have a "bawab," or a porter, who keeps an eye on everything. This being a not-especially-important building, ours does not carry a long gun. But he does sleep under a pile of carpets on a couch behind the mailboxes. During the day it is neatly made up. This man is paid through fees assessed of all the building occupants. Not sure what he actually does, except be there, but he is likely more alert than the guy with the gun on his cellphone. And he never fails to greet everyone.

Sidewalks are treacherous so most people walk in the street and dodge cars. This sounds worse than it is. Actually there are so many cars on both sides of the street, parked and double parked, no vehicle can move too fast. In fact, quite a few cars have obviously not moved in a long time. Windshields are covered with dust (none marked "wash me" though) and parked so tightly together they could not possibly move without ramming either or both the vehicle in front and behind. Most of the tall buildings have small shops or offices on the ground and maybe first floor. On the nearest corner there is a small grocery, a chocolatier, flower shop, Costa coffee, a few restaurants, and an ATM that has not had any money in it for five days. In other words, except for the money part, everything you could need.

On the second walk I found a bank with a functioning ATM and so was able to get some Egyptian pounds. The current exchange rate is about 16:$1.00. This is not a convenient ratio for estimating the dollar value of anything. If I use the time-tested Erin S. Murray Math Company method for estimating 15% tips (back in the day), I come close.

My favorite shop so far is called Caravansary and features beautifully carved (as in filigree) furniture, linens, artwork, and very creative lighting fixtures. There were also many versions of what I have learned is called a "hamsa" or "hand of Fatima." Thanks to google and wikipedia, I learned this is an important middle eastern symbol used by both Muslims and Jews to ward off the evil eye and ensure prosperity. They come in a wide variety of styles, on posts, key chains, or as part of coat hooks. Although I am definitely not in the acquisition phase of life, I am tempted by these.

Lovely welcome dinner sans street yam with
my best and most long-serving pal.

The best street food in Cairo is reputedly sweet potatoes roasted over a wood fire. We saw the vendor on the corner. He recognized Denise as a "regular" and we said we would be back after our walk to get some as part of our dinner. Alas, he must have sold out early because when Denise had the salmon and veggies going and I ran down to get the yams (5 Egyptian pounds or about 33 cents each), he was nowhere to be found.

On top of all this I also had my first Spanish by Skype lesson with my Montpelier teacher. We are moving right along. Last week reflexive verbs. This week gerunds, plus I got to talk about Cairo en español, as in Hay muchos autos en la calle. 

A great start to a long-awaited visit.