Well, I went with my boyfriend, who was born in Egypt, but has been living in the U.S. for almost 20 years now -- to meet his family and friends and tour around Cairo. I did the typical tourist things -- pyramids, Egyptian museum, Citadel, Khan al Khalili bazaar, Nile Cruise.....All of that was great but what struck me most were two things -- how HUGE everything is (I couldn't conceive of the actual size of the pyramids just from pictures), and how wonderfully warm and welcoming everyone was.
Everything was greener than I had imagined. I loved the traffic, although I would probably never drive in it myself. I loved seeing kids riding on a donkey-pulled cart, banging on propane tanks, or the guy yelling he had old clothes for sale. Or the call to prayer at 4-ish in the morning from the nearby mosque. Or the cab drivers welcoming me to Egypt, and being happy when I told them their country was just beautiful.
I loved being welcomed like an old friend by my boyfriend's family and friends and work colleagues. I felt sad when a boy with only one leg begged in the streets for money. And yeah, I gave him some cash. I loved seeing architecture that spanned thousands of years, pharonic, british, french, turkish, and egyptian. Loved all the tombs (City of the Dead?), and Islamic Cairo, seeing minarets everywhere when before they were only something I'd seen in art/architecture books.
I was invited to dinner in modest homes and villas. I've never felt so welcomed before and I hope they know how much I appreciated their hospitality.
I loved watching my *father in law* bargain some guy down in price for a gold necklace I wanted to buy.
"I'm broke! You can't possibly charge that amount! Put your hands in my pockets and anything you find is yours!" The price was 750 pounds; he countered at 200 :-). I ended up getting it for 400 pounds, or about $67 USD. I don't know if that's a good price in Egypt, but it's a heck of a price by US standards.
Loved the music, and the religious chants on the radio in the cabs. I loved watching the fellucas (sp?) on the Nile, how serene everything there feels.
I loved trying to speak Arabic (poorly), and people smiling at me when I tried. I loved seeing guys sleeping in the grassy, shady median strips of the parkways in the afternoon. I loved going to a wholesale fruit/vegetable market outside of Heliopolis. And seeing the desert on my way to Ismalia. I loved seeing the pine trees near the airport swept to one side from the winds. I thought it was funny seeing pictures of Mubarek everywhere. I'd *flip* if I had to look at George Bush everyday like that.
I even loved that the guard at my building wouldn't let my boyfriend upstairs to get me one morning because we weren't married.
:-) Thought that was cute, but then he showed his American passport and they let him up. ??
And I love torshi. ;-)
I miss it, and its noise. It was very alive and makes me feel like we've sanitized away any soul we have here in DC. I got in a cab at the airport when I arrived home, and it seemed like the quietest ride of my life.
It truly was the best vacation I've ever had.
posted 