Cairo

On Sunday, January 18th, we spent our first full day in Cairo. We saw the Pyramids and the great Sphinx, and we visited the Cairo Museum. We climbed the great pyramid, and that was a life-changing experience. We climbed stairs up a tiny portion of the outside and then entered a small corridor to go into the pyramid. Then there was a long hike to the top. Parts of the climb were easier than others, but all of it was through narrow passageways. This is a claustrophobic person’s nightmare! For much of the climb we were bent over walking because the ceiling was so low and the hike steep. The taller a person, the harder the climb because of how low the ceiling gets. You also go along the same path up and down the pyramid, yet there is barely room for two people to stand side by side, so letting others by slowed down the process of reaching the top or bottom. At the top of the pyramid was a small, very hot, and echoing chamber. In it was a large (empty) tomb in which the pharaoh was buried.



As I was climbing the pyramid, I knew that in the unlikely event that this structure suddenly gave way or if someone had a heart attack, then there would be little to no hope for their survival. However, I realized that these fears were unreasonable and should not stop anyone of good health from climbing up. Climbing the great pyramid was an eye-opening experience that, in that moment, allowed me to live life to the fullest. It was exhilarating and wonderful.

Our visit of the Cairo Museum was also very interesting. The museum is built like a Western building, so it didn’t seem to fit in Cairo as it would have in Western Europe. The museum is massive, and it would take days or weeks to see everything. However, many members of the group were disappointed in the museum since so many artifacts were not labeled. I would have loved to learn the historical significance of everything that was there, but we mostly could only look and wonder. One of the most fascinating exhibits, of course, was King Tut’s treasures. We saw his gold masks and the huge amount of stuff that was found in his tombs. The amount of treasure found is remarkable, especially since the area around his tomb is not very big. (Last week, we saw where he was buried at the Valley of the Kings). At King Tut’s burial spot was not only gold, jewelry and other valuable objects, but also everyday objects such as his sandals and underwear. Anything that was important to the king was saved. Our tour guide reminded us also that King Tut is so well-known precisely for the reason that he is not known. He lived to be a maximum of twenty-two years old, and he reigned for a short period. If his tomb contains all this treasure, then we can only imagine what some of the great pharaohs’ tombs, such as Rameses’, contained.

In Cairo, we stayed at a very nice hotel, the Marriott. It is a five star hotel, and is apparently the largest hotel in the Mideast. It has over one thousand rooms, a huge courtyard, many shops and restaurants, a casino, and more. The breakfasts were also remarkable. However, the unfortunate thing was that several peoples’ suitcases were broken when we arrived at the Marriott. We don’t know if this was the fault of the porters there or if it happened on our multiple bus rides or on the flight from Luxor to Cairo. My roommate at the Marriott, Sarabeth, had a broken suitcase. We had quite an experience taping her suitcase with yellow duct tape.

I have spent some time in New York and Chicago, whose streets and drivers are supposed to be terrible and frightening. However, those tame American cities are nothing compared to Cairo. Hesham told us multiple times that the driving rule in Cairo is that there is no rule. This is so true. There are some traffic lights, but when they turn red, the drivers do not stop. We even saw our bus driver run a red light. There are some police officers on the streets, and only with their presence do drivers seem to respect anyone else on the streets. Crosswalks also do not mean anything, and crossing the streets as a pedestrian in Cairo was crazy. Cars will not stop for you, and if you see an opening, you have to sprint across the street. I was amazed by how many cars also did not use their lights at night. Flashing lights were used as a menace, especially towards pedestrians. The sounding of horns is also constant. By spending time in Cairo I realized how flawed the system of beeping is, especially there. If everyone constantly sounds their horn, then there is no way to know what a beep means or who it comes from. It’s like the boy who cried wolf—every sounded horn means less and less. Finally, parking spaces also mean nothing. If someone wants to stop, it seems like they just their car and get out. If they block someone in a parallel spot next to them, no bother. Very strange.

Despite the surprise regarding the streets of Cairo, I had a wonderful time there. I loved exploring the streets (never alone) and eating Egyptian food in some of the street restaurants. Americans are so spoiled by the huge menus at restaurants. At most of the restaurants we saw, there were two options: chicken or meat (beef/pork). However, the food was delicious, if not greasy, and I am so thankful that I did not get sick from any of it. Also, some of my favorite restaurants in the States are what I call “hole-in-the-walls.” The food is cheap and good, and I love the relaxed atmosphere. However, I did not know until I visited Cairo what a true hole-in-the-wall is. Few street restaurants have tables, and they literally consist of a hole in the side of a building with a kitchen and a counter. Awesome.

Something else that was interesting about Cairo—
The city is expanding rapidly, and the population increasing. Many new apartment buildings are being built, yet they seem to never be finished. Almost all of them have pillars on the roofs to allow for further expansion.