Egypt Part I

With the presidential elections around the corner, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for me to visit Egypt during this period, but hell, with my flight tickets booked, I didn’t really have another option, so on 11 May 2012, I begun my 11-day whirlwind tour around Egypt.

Chinese Face, Arabic Skin: Weather

There is only one word to describe the weather in Egypt. HOT. I could not stand under the sun for more than two minutes in some places I've visited. The stone and cement buildings really heat up during the day and it remained disgustingly warm after the sun had gone down. The clothes I had hung up felt like it had been in the oven for a couple of minutes when I put them on and I could feel the water evaporating off my hair after shower. For the few days I was there, I was dehyrated and the unbearable heat almost melted my face off my head. And what's incredible is that it was just the start of the summer season and it will reach as high as 55 degrees in a few weeks. So even with loads of sunscreen, I was roasted like a lemon chicken.

My interactions with Egyptians

Prior to arrival, when I was still in Singapore, I did some research on Egypt. I was especially concerned about my safety. All the advice I’ve read on travel forums and my lonely planet guide book scared me a little.

But yes, I'm still happily single.

I have not been tricked in an Egyptian marriage as what lonely planet says. It says a forced marriage with an Egyptian man is one of the many possible risks I face travelling in Egypt. I do have certain fears about the possible male harrassment and had bought a cheap ring that looks like a wedding band. Unfortunately, in the midst of all the hurried packing, I left it at home.

So with an extremely vulnerable naked ring finger, I set off for Egypt. And to my horror, I realised that the harrassment was really as bad as what everyone had told me. But there is something I don't quite understand about Egypt. Tourists flocked to Egypt every day (maybe not the time I was there, but the years before) as naturally one would assume that they will be used to seeing foreign faces.

But no, on my first day, in just one day when I visited some of the attractions, more than twenty people have said a combination of “Hello” in Mandarin, Japanese and Korean to me. Many asked me “ How are you?”, “ Where you come?” and “What's your name?” and a couple were really persistent in getting my number and one woman even tapped on my shoulder for me so that I turned my head around and she could have a better look at me. With all unwanted attention on me, it had been rather difficult to enjoy the city and sights when I am constantly reminded that I am a foreign visitor in the country. This is not to say that they don't welcome foreigners, but like any countries with a largely homogenous population, people who look different are bound to get more attention.

On the other hand, the shopkeepers, owners of eateries and the taxi drivers were only too happy to see foreigners for some of them see us as walking wallets. They have absolutely no qualms with overcharging by a ridiculous amount. Prices were inflated to as much as eight times for some of the food I've ate, as I later found out with other more honest sellers. The same is for the drinks. The camel ride on the last day by the goverment authorised tour guide overcharged me by six times. It had thought a government authorised tour guide would be trustworthy but it hadn't occured to me then that their level of corruption in the government is rather high.

And with that, all those are all the unpleasant stuff -I have to say about Egypt and the many wonderful experiences I've had far outweigh the negative ones.

Let's start with Day One.

After meeting a couchsurfer host and her making a couple of calls to her friends, it was determined that it was not safe for me to visit the pyramids today due to the political protests. My world flipped upside down, because I only knew I wanted to visit the pyramids and Egyptian Museum in Cairo. But anyhow, there were many other things to do in Cairo as I've found out from a chatty taxi driver later.

Old Cairo

Perhaps I was still too disorientated and suffering from jet lag, but I didn't enjoy this place much and didn't stay for long. Nonetheless, this is an UNESCO site and so another site checked off the list! I can't remember much about this place except that I've bought a map of Cairo (which I didn't use for the rest of the journey), got lost (surprise, surprise) and visited the Coptic Museum and the Hanging Church.

Citadel

Moving on, I went to the Citadel which houses a pretty impressive looking Mosque of Muhammad Ali, a military museum and other smaller mosques. 














Great view of the city from the citadel too

Separate lines for men and women.

Al Azhar Park

Then I went to Al Azhar Park which lonely planet claimed that it was the best place in Cairo to watch sunset, so I went there two hours too early and just spent my time dangling my legs over a stone wall at the highest point in the park. 

Lots of satellite dishes and some were flying kites at the top too

The lovely children

There, I met some adorable kids who sat around me shyly at first, occasionally looking up stealing a glance at me. When I smiled and said "Hi" to them, the flood barriers broke. They just wouldn't stop talking and asking me questions for the next couple of hours. The small girl with pink shirt must have asked me for my name and country at least ten times because that was all she could ask in English and I answered them all so patiently I was surprised by myself. Their parents were rather amused. The girl with the pink headscarf have the best command of English among all of them and we actually had a conversation going, though a difficult one with many misunderstandings and sometimes no understanding.  They later brought me to meet their cousins and their aunts and uncles and got my Egyptian number from me.

A great first day.