Athens had more motorcycle shops than any town I have ever been in and made me miss my bike even more. We had some grilled feta cheese sandwiches and some Greek beer while waiting to catch the subway back to the airport. We hit a wall at 0400 and fell asleep in a McDonalds. Finally we made our way back to the airport and continued onto Cairo. Once we landed, we were introduced into the Egyptian driving experience which I had read about, but was still shocked when we got into our first taxi with our driver Osama. They use their horns constantly, never stay in their lane, and cut each other off as much as possible while only inches apart. I cannot imagine driving in Egypt without hitting dozens of other cars. Here is a brief video of the driving that does not do the experience any justice.
We arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Cairo Hotel, Tower, and Casino which is the nicest place I've stayed in since being in Europe.
View down the 21 flights of stairs outside our room
I saw people wakeboarding down the Nile which is not recommended for swimming in. I tried to find a boat to take me out but everyone said those were all private boats from the CYC (Cairo Yacht Club).
View of the Cairo Tower from our hotel room.
There was a traffic circle outside our room that offered entertainment while we rested between activities. Notice the cars are four wide on a two lane road.
Felucca sailing the Nile. I really wanted to take a trip on one of these but we didn't have time.
View of the morning fog (smog) in Cairo.
After a little rest we headed to the Khan el-Khalili bazaar which is the oldest in Cairo. Of course, getting on the crowded subways I got separated from Joe and Jerome for about 45 minutes in the most crowded section of a city of 20 million. Luckily I used my Indian tracking skills to find them (they were both wearing green shirts which helped).
We starting making our way back to the hotel and got our introduction to the Papyrus and Scented Oils industry of Egypt. The guy showed us how Papyrus was made and offered us Shai (a cup of tea). We all ended up buying Papyrus (for special price) and learning the stories of the paintings that were the same no matter which shop you went to.
As if it were destiny, we started seeing Hard Rock Cafe signs while walking back to our hotel. We wanted to play it safe with the food until later in the trip so we wouldn't ruin our vacation with the "Pharoah's Revenge."
The next morning we booked a guide through the hotel named Ali who was going to take us to the pyramids around Cairo. Our first stop was the Pyramid at Saqqara.
Ali took a break because of his bad cholesterol and sent us up some stairs for a view of the Red and Bent Pyramids, but it was too hazy to see them. Of course I got separated again from the guys and the locals jumped on me and threw a headdress on me and before I knew it, I was on a donkey (they are good salesmen).
Joe and Jerome couldn't believe they had turned their backs for a minute and here I was on a donkey ride, but they reluctantly joined me.
This little excursion cost each of us 100EGP ($18) and I think it was worth it. On the way to Giza Ali took us to a papyrus shop then a scented oil shop. Even though we had gone through this routine the night before we played along and actually bought some stuff again (for special price).
An example of Egyptian transportation. Youngest kid on tank, father, mother sitting sideways, and oldest kid on the rear fender.
Pyramid from the Giza streets
While the one in the middle looks the tallest, the one on the left is actually taller. They are all massive and it is impressive how large each stone is that was used to build these.
Thankfully Ali collected 50EGP from each of us with a 10EGP Baksheesh (tip) and negotiated with the camel jockeys at the pyramids for us to get a ride so we didn't get hosed like we did on the donkeys. Jerome getting a lift.
Laughing my ass off
Joe and Jerome riding dirty
The Egyptians liked having us take goofy pictures...oddly enough they didn't like it when I didn't look at the camera. Notice Joe and Jerome's camels making out.
Making a camel face...it was about this time mine starting grunting a lot. Camels make really weird sounds.
Sphinx
Ali insisted that we tried Kushari (Egyptian fast food) and we tried to find some but instead stumbled upon a KFC where we saw people fervently arguing outside. A local told us it was no big deal and helped us get inside safely. This story is only worth noting because the KFC was a "Community Cares" restaurant where they hire deaf people as employees. It was just a weird place to get into a fight with the employees. Also, ordering without talking is almost more difficult than ordering in Arabic or any foreign language.
I after we finished up the guidebook said to check out the Cairo Tower at sunset. I like going to these towers in the cities I visit and the views are usually amazing. There is hardly ever a line or entrance fee and if there is it's nothing to complain about. This tower cost 70 EGP ($12) and we waited in line for nearly two hours because there was only one small elevator to take you to the top. So needless to say we missed the sunset and had to wait in line to get down as well.
View of our hotel from the tower. I didn't find the observation floor in the hotel until the last night so we could have avoided this boondoggle.
When we got back to the hotel we decided to hit the casino. Oddly enough, they didn't accept Egyptian Pounds (wish they did). So we each withdrew $103 ($3 commission) and hit the blackjack table. Jerome doubled his money, Joe won $40, and I lost everything. At least drinks were free but no cameras were allowed inside.
On the way to the tower we met another Ali who offered us to go on a cruise boat on the Nile. We went for the two hour cruise that started at 2200. There whirling dervishes of all shapes and sizes and a belly dancer for entertainment on board.
Joe dancing with the belly dancer
Me, Joe, and the little person that looks like he was straight out of a James Bond movie
This guy was impressive, spinning around for almost a half hour straight. Here he's pouring himself a drink.
Afterward we stopped by TGI Fridays to get a drink since the cruise was non-alcoholic (I don't remember too many of those when I worked on a charter boat). Like an idiot, I ordered a Long Island Ice Tea. It took me the entire trip to learn that Egyptians are great people that have no clue how to make a drink. The only cool thing was that the TGI Fridays had a Sheesha (Hookah) bar and was located on a floating dock on the Nile.
Ali II, the one who we booked the cruise with, offered to take us to Alexandria for the day for 400 EGP each. We were supposed to meet him in the lobby at 0700 but didn't realize he had sent another guy until 0730 named Hassan. They got us a big van instead of a small car and somehow got another 100 EGP out of us for it but it was nice to lay down and sleep on the three hour ride to Alexandria. Our first stop was at the Pillar of Pompeii that is the only remaining column standing on the temple of Serapis. It is carved out of a single 100ft tall, 396 ton piece of red granite from Aswan (523 miles south) that is used in monuments all over Egypt. Historians do not know how they moved and erected such a large piece of granite.
The next stop was to the catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa that are over 100 feet underground. Like most ancient ruins in Alexandria, there were Egyptian and Roman symbols all over the walls. It was really neat but unfortunately they did not allow cameras in there.
We headed for the coast and to the Citadel of Qaitbay that is on the exact spot where the Pharos Lighthouse once stood which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Citadel is made from some of the same materials as the lighthouse so I'm calling it two of the seven ancient wonders in two days.
View of Alexandria from the Citadel
Citadel from across the bay
After the Citadel we had a free lunch along the bay at a seafood restaurant. The standard dish was fish which Joe and Jerome enjoyed, but I couldn't do it and got the chicken instead.
The last stop was the Bibliotheca Alexandrina that was rebuilt in 2002 on the same site as the ancient library. It was huge and has a lot of room to expand.
Jerome's Asian-ness got the best of him when he saw all of these servers
Alexander the Great (namesake of the city)
Sundials. The second one was interesting as it had a calendar on it where you stand at different spots depending on the date and your shadow shows the time. It was actually more accurate than the traditional sundial (first picture)
We got back late at night and hit the casino and I lost another $103 at blackjack...again. Joe told me to get out when I was up $50 but of course I didn't listen. Jerome ended up doubling his money again...only this time at roulette. Joe lost his winnings from the day before and ended up out of $140 for the weekend.
Our flight headed out at 1500 but we tried to hit the Egyptian Museum and the Cairo Citadel in the morning. Once again, no cameras inside the museum that was enormous even though the outside was deceiving small.
The Saladin Citadel of Cairo houses the Muhamed Ali Mosque built in honor of the father of modern Egypt. We had to run up the hill because we were running out of time and Egyptian kids were cheering us on our accent.
This is the first time I have ever been in a mosque and it was as beautiful as any church I've been to in Europe. The muezzin recited a adhan while we were there.
Apart from the trash everywhere leaving an ecological nightmare, Egypt was an incredible experience. I say this about most places I visit, but the Egyptians are by far the nicest people I've met. A lot of our guides and taxi drivers say that the number of Americans that visit has decreased dramatically since 9/11. Tourism accounts for 30% of their economy and they are feeling the impact of our absence. I want to go back to visit Luxor and do some snorkeling in the Red Sea.
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