To Cairo and Back Again

On Tuesday we headed back to Cairo after spending the morning on the hotel beach. I have been in Alex for two months, and have never been to the beach. Public beaches are not for women, and places where it is appropriate to wear a bathing suit are few and far between (and there is something unappealing about going to the beach in leggings and a long sleeve shirt). The beach was beautiful, especially the Mediterranean Sea.
Tuesday evening we arrived at the hotel in Cairo, and went to dinner at a restaurant that was supposed to be ten minutes away. Because of the traffic, it took us over forty minutes to get there. The cab had no air conditioning, and the driver had a strong odor. By the time we arrived at the restaurant the three of us were totally frazzled, and all I could think was, “HOW CAN THEY LEAVE ME HERE?!” The experience at the actual restaurant was really positive though, as they had a full bar, sushi selections and lots of options without garlic and onions, (nearly impossible in Egypt) as my parents are allergic.
Wednesday we went on a tour, and decided to start with Coptic Cairo, which was absolutely beautiful. About forty minutes from Downtown Cairo, it is a quiet neighborhood with many churches, as well as a synagogue. We saw the famous Hanging Church, which is from the third century and build on top of old Roman ruins. The synagogue was also extremely beautiful, and has been a church and a mosque as well in its lifetime.
We then went to a perfume factory, which was just as enjoyable as when I went with the group in September! We got to smell lots of different scents and blends, and my mom decided to buy our favorite one, Lotus, which is indigenous to Egypt and never exported. We then went to a government shop for souvenirs like mother of pearl boxes. The quality at government shops is guaranteed, and hassling is not allowed, so it was an overall positive experience. Our last stop was the Cairo Tower, which is 187 meters high, and is located in Zamalek. We were all very impressed with the tower itself, and the amazing views!
We had an early dinner at a Lebanese restaurant around the corner, and then ventured to Khan al-Khalili to see a Sufi dance show. I had heard from several people that the show was incredible, and as it is free, chairs are a hot commodity, so it is important to go early. We took the subway to the nearest stop, and walked a little before we jumped in a cab. Through this experience, my parents definitely got to see the “real Egypt”, as we were in a local neighborhood. Surprisingly, my mom was really excited about it and my dad felt very frazzled by it.
We got to the dance show and got chairs (yes!). Although we waited an hour for it to start, we were really impressed by it. The first act was an orchestra of traditional instruments and drums, followed by some dancing. The main attraction was the whirling dervish, a dancer clothed in bright colors who spins continuously throughout the show. It was really amazing to see him do tricks with different props while spinning!
The next day was our big sight seeing day, as we went to the Great Pyramids at Giza. It was also my dad’s birthday! The pyramids were incredible, and the weather was beautiful! We also saw the Step Pyramid of Dsojer at Saqqara, which predates the pyramids by a few hundred years. My favorite part of the day was when we went into a “carpet school”, where children are taught how to hand-make carpets from age six. The child-labor aspect of it was sad, but it was really amazing. A square inch of a wool rug has over 200 knots in it! We also saw how woven carpets were made. After that we went to Khan al-Khalili to get the final souvenirs, and returned to the hotel for the big birthday dinner!
We spent our last day at the hotel relaxing, and I took a train back to Alex at 6pm. On the train, the car I was in flooded with water from the bathroom, and I knew that the break I had with my parents was over.
I am so thrilled that my parents came to see me, but it was really hard to see them go. I basically begged them to take me back with them, knowing full well that it wouldn’t happen. I think Egypt is a really cool place to visit, but definitely a hard place to live, and now that they saw it, they can better understand my experiences.