Quality Time with Cairo

Monday I had a chance to really get in touch with Cairo. My entry visa expired on June 10, so I was long overdue for a new one. The only place to get a visa is Mugama - the massive brick of a building that looms over Tahrir Square downtown. It's the heart of the Egyptian bureaucracy and so it handles all the paperwork. There are policemen with guns outside who direct you through a metal detector and ask you to run your bags through the x-ray machine. The fact that I walked through the metal detector with my keys and cell phone should give you an idea of how tight the security really is. Inside it's surprisingly cool, despite the lack of air conditioning. Egyptian buildings are designed with lots of tile and light colors that keep the indoors relatively cool (well, at least bearable).

I fought my way through winding hallways and endless lines for an hour, only to be pointed to another line once I got to the counter. I had copies of my passport made, and returned to the ladies at the tourist visa counter. They took my paperwork and told me to go buy stamps. To this I responded that I didn't want to mail my passport...I just wanted a visa. Apparently you have to buy stamps that go on your papers for them to process your passport. I paid the 11 pounds and 50 piasters, and returned a third time to the tourist visa counter. More waiting in line...handed them my stamps...and they told me to return in 2 hours to window number 38.

This is where the story gets interesting. What am I supposed to do in downtown Cairo by myself for 2 hours in the worst heat of the day? I thought I'd play it safe and just read at a cafe. I'm reading a short novel called Adrift on the Nile by Naguib Mahfouz, a Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author. I took a walk down some street looking for the closest coffee shop or something. Walking down the street as a white foreigner in Egypt is not a normal activity. It takes skill to walk like you know where you're going in a city where you can't read or understand anything, you can't walk on the sidewalk because it's too uneven, and the cars make you flinch every time it looks like they're going to clip you as they pass. If you make eye contact, smile, or in any way acknowledge someone they will want to talk to you, and most likely be trying to sell you something. The point is, my street walking skills were not up to par that day.

Of course a nice old man came right up to me saying "salaam alekum" - peace be upon you -and grabbing to shake my hand. He asked if I was American, where I was from, what I studied in school, etc. I had plenty of time to kill, and I was interested to see where it went, so answered all his questions. "What are you looking for?" he asked me (his English was good - don't think that my Arabic is good enough for a conversation like this). I told him I was looking for coffee, and he said he could get me some...so I followed him down a side street. I asked myself if I would ever do this in any other city in the world, and the answer was NO. I convinced myself that it was safe in this instance because Cairo is one of the safest cities around in terms of crime, and I needed an adventure. We ended up in a little room off the street with a couch in the corner where I reluctantly sat down. "It's my hospitality" my host kept saying. He left to go get the cup of coffee he had promised me. When I noticed that the room was filled with bottles of perfume, I knew I wasn't in a coffee shop.

My host, who's name was Ahmed, returned with some Turkish coffee, black, which was really good. We talked for seriously about an hour about everything. His story was that he lived in Fayoum (an oasis about an hour from Cairo) where his family grew flowers that they made into all-natural, alcohol-free perfumes. He talked about his brother who lives in Wisconsin, and his sons who are studying hotel management at Cairo University. Over the course of two coffees, we talked about what seemed to him to be the "good old days" under Sadat, when the government cared about he poor people, and supported them. His opinion on Mubarak (the current president) is that he doesn't care enough about the common people and, like any ordinary Egyptian right now, Ahmed is worried that prices are going up and salaries are stagnant. I asked him if he thought Mubarak would die soon and the president would change. He replied "inshallah" which means god willing.

In the end, it came down to the fact that he wanted me to buy his perfume...so he began rubbing it on my arms. Lotus, rose, 'arabian nights', and jasmine. They really do smell good, but he was asking 200 pounds for 100 grams. This might not seem like a lot in terms of dollars, but I spend 200 pounds in an entire week, so it was pricey. He obviously thought that I hadn't adjusted my price-perception to Egyptian standards. I told him I just couldn't afford it, but he really wanted to haggle. The closer I got to the door, the lower the price went. As I walked away, thanking Ahmed for the coffee, he dropped the price to 100 pounds for two 100 gram bottles. Tempting...but I really didn't need perfume and I knew I could get it cheaper. Unfortunately, Ahmed and I didn't part on the best of terms.

I finally found a cafe and got a little reading, and just do a little people watching. I'm starting to feel comfortable in Cairo. I headed back to Mugama to pick up my passport, freshly stamped with a 3 month tourist visa, because I'm not working in Egypt ;)

Tomorrow I'm of to the Sinai peninsula to visit Dahab on the Red Sea. More on that when I get back...

Alex

I needed a trip out of Cairo so bad, and I finally made it to Alexandria yesterday. I had the most relaxing weekend I've had since landing in Egypt. It all started off with a party thursday night at the American embassy, hosted by the marines. An abundance of Coors and Bud made me feel like I was back at UNC. I went with some friends I've met through my roommates and at work. When they kicked us all out at 1am, we continued on to the rooftop club at the Nile Hilton, and had a blast. A quick stop home to get some sleep....back up at 8am...and off to Alex with Ma'andi, Omar, and Karim (all awesome @ers here in Cairo). It's about a two hour ride on the desert road between the cities. Alex is on the Mediterranean, so it was cooler, windier, and pleasantly humid--not like Cairo where it's so hot and dry you feel like you're breathing dust.

We hit two popular sites right away: the citadel (built sometime in the 15th century), and the library. Alex is historically famous for its ancient library, and the modern library (built in the last couple of years) is an architectural w0nder. It is in the shape of a disc, rising from the ground to represent the sun rising from the horizon, and metaphorically, light and knowledge spreading to the world. Inside it is sleek and modern and beautiful. It is built to house 8 million books, and can seat 2,000 people in the reading area. It was by far my favorite building I've seen in Egypt.

The citadel was equally fascinating. It's built on a point just out in front of the harbor, and was established to protect the city under the Marmluks. It's basically a castle with a wall around it, and a mosque nestled inside. Very spartan, but interesting nonetheless--it has all kinds of winding passages and neat look-out windows.

For lunch we had beef liver, which I'm actually starting to enjoy a lot...it's tasty. Then we met up with Maddie and AUC crew who were there for a weekend trip as well. They had their own private beach at the hotel they were staying at (which was way nice), and although I forgot my bathing suit and couldn't swim, I did get a chance to at least touch the Mediterranean water. We had dinner at an awesome seafood place. The shrimp was the biggest and best I've ever had, but the crab was missing something...probably the Chesapeake and some Old Bay. We hit the road back home and got in late to Cairo. I caught up with Harry and Salman, who I hadn't seen all weekend, and then went to bed, exhausted.

Today we got up and went to a friend's house for brunch--chocolate chip pancakes and french toast! Just got back home for a bit of rest, and I'm waiting for all my east coast people to wake up so I can skype them. Later I'm going to brave the barber shop for a haircut (my second since I've been here). My first experience at the barber was a bit of a culture shock because they were so accommodating and gave me the full treatment. I was shampooed and conditions before and after the cut, I was pampered with a trimming of my nose and ear hair, a cold face wash, some very nice face lotion, a quick neck and shoulder massage, and a brutal cracking of my neck. You can't beat that for 25 pounds. It's like going to a spa (I've never been to a spa, but I imagine it's similar).

So those are all the updates for now. Work is just the same old stuff, so I will write next time something exciting happens.

Motorcycle Crash!

OK, so I forgot one very very interesting/terrible story from the weekend....I was standing along the corniche (road that runs along the nile) in Garden City (district in Cairo) when a man and a woman on a motorcycle/scooter kind of thing got too close to the curb trying to pass a car, rode up on the curb, wiped out, and were flung onto the pavement, almost into a tree. One of the scariest things I've ever seen so close up (like 20 yards from me). They had to have been going 25mph --no helmets. The man, who was driving, was cut and limping, but he jumped up immediately to help the woman who did not get up. She was bleeding and had broken her hand or wrist or arm. Everyone rushed to help them, including police, however, no ambulance was called. After a few minutes, and once the woman decided she could stand up and walk around, the two of them got back on the motorbike, bloodstained clothes and broken bones, and drove away. Wow. Honestly, this scares me because I regularly see families (Dad driving, mother sitting sideways on the back with up to two children sitting on her lap) riding on similar motorbikes in similar traffic conditions.

Oh, and an update on my taxi situation. I've got it down well enough that I can tell the driver where I need to go, and I usually remember to bring exact change so that I don't have to haggle--I just hand them the money and walk away. But, the taxi drivers never let me put on my seatbelt, even when I'm in the front seat. I reach for it and they tell me "no, no, you don't need." All of this is perfectly acceptable behavior for cars, taxis, motorbikes, whatever. I don't write this to complain about Egypt. I write this as an example of the many striking differences from the world that I grew up in, and the world that I now have been living in for 1 month (to this day). Life here is more relaxed. People don't get as stressed out over things. They're not as uptight. It's actually quite nice coming from an American university where life can be hectic and tiresome and stressful. Most of the time I just see people as being more chill about things here, but sometimes I see it as blatant carelessness. I guess there's a trade-off for everything.

Tourism

After much resistance to the typical touristy sites around Cairo, I've finally given in and hit some of the best. Yes, I did go to the Pyramids within my first three days here, but I went with an Ma'andi, who is an Egyptian, so I didn't look quite as touristy and lost as the other foreigners there. Earlier this week, Maddie from @GT arrived for study at AUC, and we hit up Khan al-Khalili, the outdoor market place in Cairo. It sounds like a pretty authentic Egyptian place to go, but it's targeted mainly towards tourist, who wander aimlessly through the streets buying up overpriced souvenirs. The shopkeepers stand by the street and advertise their products, which include mini pyramids, sphinxes, little beanie baby looking camels, along with clothing, sheeshas, jewelry, and a variety of other things. The shopkeepers don't all speak English, but most of them know a few pickup lines that they use on any white girl that walks by. The funniest one I heard was "Hey honey, I don't know what you want, but I've got what you need!" I didn't buy anything because it was my first time and I didn't want to make any impulsive and confused purchases and end up paying way too much. Don't worry, I'll go back to get souvenirs for everyone back home.

I also played tourist at the Egyptian Museum yesterday, where they house tons and tons of ancient artifacts, including the mummies! We (me, Maddie and her AUC friends) spent a good 4 hours walking around the museum, and only saw half of the material there. We fit right in amongst the swarms of scandalously dressed (by Egyptian standards) tourists trailing behind a tour guide. Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow us to bring cameras inside, so I don't have any pictures to show. The mummies were absolutely disgusting, but really cool at the same time...some of them even still had their hair. Yuck.

Aside from my life of tourism, I've been working away at SilverKey, and mostly enjoying what I'm doing. I've had some strange food cravings this week. I had a hankering for some lemonade on Monday (probably because it's so hot), but I couldn't find any in the supermarket, so I bought some lemons and made it myself. Another strange craving I had was for a caesar salad from Longhorn (I hope you're reading this Mr. Yergey!). The food is so heavy and greasy here that I probably just needed something lighter, so I made myself a sorry excuse for a caesar salad and threw a half of a grilled chicken on top.

Today I spent a lazy afternoon at home with Harrison, and Salman, and then we went bowling this evening. I also managed to get the motivation to take some pictures of the apartment and put them up on "flickr." I'm not exactly sure of the URL yet, but I'll post it as soon as I figure it out. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I don't have to be to work until noon, so I'm planning on finding my way to the Anglican Cathedral here in Zamalek to see what time they hold their Sunday service. No plans for this week yet, but I'm hoping to get out of Cairo ASAP for a relaxing weekend trip.