Cairo: The beginning

I was going to give this a clever title like "Cairo: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" but have decided just to play it straight. Sorry if you are disappointed. It is actually 6am on Friday here, Thursday night around 10p for most of you. We are leaving this afternoon and have had an amazing, crazy, and at times chaotic time here in Egypt.

Thursday night after I posted, Jen and I decided to take a felluca ride on the Nile. (Kind of like a sail boat)I went to the owner of our hotel and told her what all we wanted to do and she gave me a itinerary on how to do it all, including how much to pay for everything. It seems in Cairo that there are no set prices on things like taxis and felluca rides. So we set out hailed a taxi, told him where we wanted to go and the fun began. The dock we wanted to go to was right by one of the big hotels downtown. It seems that our driver had no idea where it was. He asked a couple people on the street, who helped interpret for us. He still didn't quite have it but off we went.

I should pause here and say something about driving in Cairo. I COULD NEVER DO IT!!! Lanes are really more of a guideline that you can follow if you choose. Most drivers do not. Honking is a religious pastime and can have many meanings. The main one being "I am going to try and squeeze into a space between you that would not fit a car half my size." Also people walk across the street anywhere and in any type of traffic, which is good since there seems to be no traffic lights anywhere so you would wait for ever to cross if you didn't. In fact Jen and I have gotten quite good at it. I don't think we are ready to cross on of their major highways where cars are going close to 55 yet, but I have seen it done, with small children in tow. Anyway back to the taxi ride.

Luckily I saw our stop and was able to let our driver know that this was where we needed to stop. When I handed him the money our hotel owner told me to pay, the fun started. Seems he thought that was not enough and started to yell at us in Arabic, we just walked away which is what we were told to do. We were also led to believe that would be the end. Instead he got out of the car and followed us down the street, continuing to yell in Arabic. A couple other taxi drivers tried to get him to stop as well as a police officer and he finally did. As of this writing I still don't know for sure if he was actually offended but since them I have tended to give a little more that was suggested to us. American sucker I know. (FYI the ride cost us about $1, I have given $2 since for a similar trip and everyone was happy. Go figure)

So now we are stressed but we continue on and find the fellucas. We are a little worried about the price we were told to give since the taxi cab incident but we went forward and everything went like clock work and the ride was really great. Here is a beautiful shot.

The trip back was uneventful and our night was over. Next up the Egyptian Museum and the the Pyramids.

I was going to stop here but no one is waiting for the computer so I guess I will continue. Day two started with us getting money exchanged and some water for the trip. We walked around a bit and found what we needed including the bridge over the Nile which put us in about the right area for the museum and since we had a interesting trip the previous night we decided to skip the taxi and walk. We had a city map which showed us exactly where we need to go, so off we went, the world travelers we are. After walking close to an hour and not finding the museum we knew something was up. Here is where I mention that our hotel in on an island on the Nile called Zamelak.

Note: Now for those of you who don't know, islands have two bridges which cross over a body of water, and if your map shows your island don't assume the bridge before you is the bridge you want. In fact you may be going the exact opposite direction from where you wanted to go. Also if you are in a city which does not have street signs you can walk to close to an hour before you discover your mistake.

After hailing a cab, and going the right way we arrived safely at the museum. (Taxi cab fact #3 it seems they don't know where the museums are either. After showing pictures and the map of the city he was able to figure it out.) The place itself is completely unorganized but one of the most amazing places I have ever been. The things they have on exhibit actually took our breath away at times. I would love to post a picture but cameras where not allowed inside. Someone is waiting so I am going to have to talk about the Pyramids later. Peace.