Cairo Times (August 31, 2010)

At the gate, I met Josh, a history major from Stanford, and Dane, a creative writing major from Middlebury. Initially I was convinced I was at the wrong gate because of the massive group of identically dressed Asian people who overtook the area. The plane ride was uneventful and I got an exit row (score!). By hour six I had already slept, and watched two movies, and resorted to watching the plane on the “moving map”. If one chose to leave their TV set on but not in use, the direction of Mecca in relation to the plane would pop up every five minutes, and there were suras from the Koran that aired on the plane during the call to prayer.
We easily found a cab and negotiated a fair price (80 LE which equals about $13). The cab ride was insane; one cannot fully comprehend the traffic of Cairo until it is experienced first hand. Another driver hit our cab’s mirror so hard it bent in, and the cab driver didn’t even flinch. I met a third person, Katrina, an Arabic major from Wisconsin, in the hotel. Our hotel room overlooks the Nile, which is incredible, but it is somewhat difficult to see across it because of the terrible smog.
Being the adventurous travelers we were, we decided to venture out on food throughout Cairo. We had no idea where we were going, just “downtown”. Ordinarily, I prefer to have a plan and stick to it, but I decided to just roll with the punches. We spent about four hours roaming the streets of Cairo. We went to Zamalek, an island in the middle of the Nile that serves as the more commercial district as well as Khan al-Khalili, the souk in Cairo. Having seen the souk in Marakkesh, I was somewhat disappointed with the souks of Cairo as they lacked the thatched roofs and charm of the Moroccan souks.
Additionally, to say the vendors were pushy would be an understatement. One gentleman named Mohammad (big surprise there) proclaimed himself our “BFF” and said he would show us all of Cairo if we just took one quick look into his shop. His family makes papyrus (“the real stuff not that banana shit” according to him) and wood pieces like chess sets with mother of pearl inlay. We quickly found a way to get rid of him, but not before learning where the best local joint for kosheri was located.
We wandered around Khan al-Khalili and grabbed some dinner at Nagib Mahfouz Café. Before we left the souk we saw Al-Azhar, the oldest university in Cairo, and one of the oldest in the world build in the tenth century, and now is used as a law university.
Ramadan is clearly a time families celebrate together, however I felt like such an invader walking through these peoples lives’. Families of twenty or more were eating together at long tables in the street and we just walked through. I had anticipated more of a large bustling party on every street corner, but I guess that is saved for the Eid or the end of fast celebration.
The adjustment is definitely difficult, between the culture and the language I do feel a little lost, but I am only on day one. Tomorrow we plan to sleep in and hang by the pool at the hotel, and maybe go to the Egypt Museum as nothing else is open before sunset, and possibly see a traditional Sufi dance performance of whirling dervishes.