[11/27/2001 8:34:30 AM | Ryan erw]
Dahab, Egypt 27/11/01
Welcome to Egypt!


Or that is what everyone here tells ya. A real friendly group these Egyptians.

Of course, anyone coming up to you here typically wants to take your money. And thats fine. They're quite polite about it, and you have to at least willingly give it to them. Rather than being politely asked for it, as some places might do to you (New York muggings come to mind). Crime seems a foreign concept here, and it is an amazing feeling of safety.

So Egypt is certainly my favorite destination so far on the trip. It pains me that I'm leaving on Friday - I could easily spend another two weeks in Cairo alone - not to mention here on the beach in Dahab, or more time wandering among 5000 year old ruins in Luxor, or wasting away on a feluca crusing the nile just north of the Aswan dam, or checking out the places I didn't make it to, like remote desert oasis where life is little changed from 100 years ago which was little changed a hundred years ago from a thousand years ago.

So anyway, I pretty much love Egypt. In fact, I even love Cairo, which most people find to be a crazy, overcrowded, overpolluted, overwhelming place. Maybe thats why I like it.

So I arrived in Cairo two weeks ago. Or was it three? Anyway, I met a guy from New Zealand and he was going to the Pyramids the next day. I couldn't decide whether to see the big P's on my first or last day. In the end, I was drawn to going. And I figured Pete would be able to 'show me the ropes' about Egypt. He said he'd been here three weeks.

Problem is, Pete went to Dahab first. And spent three weeks there. Its one of those places people get Stuck. Stucking being, "Came here for 3 days, spent 3 weeks," or "Came here for a week, 3 years ago...." Not uncommon stories.

So we went the the Pyramids. Decided to take the bus, and we knew the bus number. But as we can't read arabic, which has different numbers (At least Greek numbers were the same!) we were probably looking a little lost. No worries, a guy comes up to us and tells us he lives right by the pyramids and he'd get us on the right bus and he works at the Hilton, which is why he speaks english.

So we hop off the bus with him, and then onto a minibus and next thing ya know we're sitting in a couch talking to the proprietor of this "establishment" about taking camels into the Pyramids. Of course it reeks of a scam. So we say, about a thousand times, our intention of going to the pyramids and finally make it out of there. The Pyramids are right down this way, they say.

So we take off, and are accosted by another camel-toting entrepeneur. A bit more thickskinned, we manage to avoid his speil, and he tells us we're going the wrong way for the Pyramids. Figures the other guy dispensed bad info. So he takes us into the "back door' of the pyramids and we manage to get in for free. Well, after a little baksheesh. Attempts at obtaining Baksheesh being, I believe, the national pasttime of Egypt. Stretching back thousands of years no doubt.

So all of a sudden we're looking at the Pyramids. One of those times when you don't have to ask, "Are those it?" because, damn, Those Are It!

And then the onslaught begins. Touts everywhere selling camel rides,. donkey rides, miniature pyramid souvineers, postcards, and everything else you can possibly imagine. Tourism being down anywhere between 50 and 90%, there are a lot of these people and not a lot of people like us, so they were awful persistent. Then there's the so-called 'guards' running around trying to look at our tickets, which we didn't have. After we jostle with them for a few seconds, they then back down from their tickettaker stance and say, "Where you from??" which, I believe, is the greeting used here in Egypt. Then they always have some little thing to show you. Or tidbit to tell you about the site. A good example of such a situation is:

Hi.

Hello.....ticket?

Um, can I see your ID?

Egyptian police, ticket?

Our girlfriends have our tickets.

Oh, ok. (give you a 'oh sure' look) Where you from?

USA.

Ahh....USA number 1. Come. Come.

uh, no thanks man, we're ok.

No, come here.

(so we walk with him and he points to the Pyramids)

Ouuu....Pyramids....very old.

Thanks man. Bye

Baksheesh?

Baksheesh? For what.

Pyramids....very old....

---

Pretty comical scene.

Anyway, you're not allowed to climb the Pyramids anymore, but boy, is that tempting. I'd love to try. So I spent about 5 hours wandering around the Pyramids. Had a few Coke's out of little bottles carried by old men in galvanized steel buckets under big blocks of ice. Charging 2 pounds instead of the usual one pound (4 pounds = $1). Its the Pyramids they say. We haggle to three pounds for two.

Decide to catch the sunset, but of course they want to throw you out before sunset. This is typical of sites everywhere in the world - I think there is some conspiracy to prevent sunset watchings at historic sites.

--

Spent a few more days in Cairo. Amazing city. Indescribably. Probably one of those places you just hate and can't wait to get out of, or you love to death.

The closest thing to compare it is Mexico City. But it is much grander. And carries much more weight of history. The city is some 5000 years old. Incredible. It is awfully polluted, but not as bad as Mexico City. The traffic - oh the traffic. After being in a cab from the airport, I can say traffic is crazier. After being in a few more cabs tooling around the city, I can say for certain they drive crazier in Cairo than Mexico City. But, somehow, traffic is much more smooth. More traffic flows through the streets of Cairo I bet than any other city in the world. I don't know how, and I certainly would never want to try my hand at it, but traffic in Cairo just works.

And that is the weird thing about Cairo. 20 million people. Tight quarters. But the whole thing works. Everyone seems very friendly. No one is pushing or swearing or snapping at people. I saw one fight while I was there, and it was a pretty feeble affair. Everyone gets along. I don't know if it is Islam that brings about such harmony, or thousands of years of occupation, or what, but it works. And the magic of Cairo - its unknown system of order that allows everything to somehow, inexplicably, to get done - pulls you into its stream until you are another member of the chorus that all together orchestrates the crazy, diverse, huge, tiny, buzzing, alive city of Cairo.

So after 4 days of wandering the old Islamic quarter, the Egyptian Museum, wandering though the bazaar Al-Kalili, having a sheesha at Fishawi's (Which, according to 'legend' has been open for over 200 years - non-stop 24/7 - eat your heart out 7-11), getting the all-important StudentID card (50% off all Egyptian sites!), taking a boat on the Nile, having a beer in the Riche Cafe where Saddam Hussien used to frequent, investigating the minarets of Mosques, exploring the Citadel of Cairo and the gigantic Mosque of Mohammed Ali, trying to find an internet cafe that had a CD burner (unsuccessfully), eating koshuri and kebab and felafel and pita and tahnini and sharwma, almost getting killed crossing the streets.

Crossing the streets in Cairo merits its own discussion. Typically, when crossing the street, I use the Shadow Method. Local waiting to cross. I get downstream of them, and when they go, I go.

Not in Cairo. I walk up, stand next to someone crossing, and all of a sudden, they go. I've been looking at the same traffic, and when they go, I go, "What the HELL are they doing?" "Are they CRazy?!?"

They pretty much walk right out into the street. And somehow, in typical Cairo fashion, they make it across the street. Well, my drum doesn't beat to that tune. So I sit there for, at times, minutes, waiting for a reasonable gap to cross, which still entails a bit of running or scampering. But the locals, just wander right in the road and everyone drives to avoid them and it just works. As my book says, "When crossing the street, whatever you do, don't hesitate. Keep walking" Well, that is the trick, but you try teaching this dog the new trick of not hestitating, which entails pretty much walking right into the path of an oncoming car, without flinching. Not me.

But its glorious to watch. A dance of danger and speed as cars and humans mingle on the roads. And, supposedly, no one ever gets hit. That I don't believe.

A few times, I have considered catching a cab just to get to the other side of the street.

Well, after Cairo, it was off to Aswan. With my newfangled Student ID card, I saved 35% on the frist class train fare down on the night train. Arrived and got to wander around a town that really reminded me of Mexico and Guatemala. Donkeys all over pulling carts, manure on the mud roads, people hawking all sorts of useless stuff in the street. But then you reach the nile and see the Felucas plying the river. With their tall sails they look like animated quill pens tracing a path on the nile. After exploring the impressive ruins on the island, me and Yan, a Czech guy I met had a talk with a feluca captain that led to a 2 hour feluca ride for 10 pounds ($2.50!) and would end right around sunset. Who could say no. So we're crusing down the nile, just like Egyptians have been doing for over 5000 years! Amazing.

The next day was off to Abu Simbel. You all know this place - 4 HUGE statues of Ramses II. Something like 100 feet tall. And inside a huge hall with columns and carvings and the like. All hewn out of the side of the mountain. Originally one piece. But due to be submerged by the Aswan High Dam, so they chopped it into 2000 blocks and moved the thing.

Pretty impressive, as we arrived at 7:30 am, still earlyt enough to have the sun streaming into the inner chamber of Ramses' amazing temple. But what a wild trip - escorted caravan leaving Aswan at 4:30am, wake up at 3:30am. Wandering around inside, you try to imagine what a nutcase Ramses was. He built this at the southern fringe of his Empire, so anyone traveling down the nile would see the four huge statues and "Know that I am Powerful" and presumably, mind their manners.

A quick two hours there, admiring how 4000 years ago they could make such a temple just carved right out of the stone, and off to the very disappointing Aswan High Damn. Its not tall and concrete like the Hoover Dam. Just a lot of dirt. And a road down the middle. Lots of Military - I guess if someone blew the thing up, all of Cairo and its 20 million people would be washed out to sea in about 9 hours.

And after that to Philae temple, another temple cut into pieces and reassembled on higher ground....this time on an Island. Amazing place.

The next day, I left for a two day two night trip on a Feluca from Aswan to Luxor. Silence. Just the water. The Nile as it has been for eternity. The river, and then the lush river bank, with palm trees and greenery and grass. And 200 feet beyond, desert. Sand. Mountains rising up - carved by the river over thousands of years. And us on our little sailboat, tacking up the river. Very relaxign. All meals prepared. Clean air. Guitar.

The wierdest part was getting back into town. It begins with a buzz, then you hear car horns and finally the cacaphony rises up to a roar. The City. Its back. And loud. Takes a little time away from it to realize the amazing amount of noise polution we're surrounded by.

From there, up to Luxor and exploring the famous Valley of the Kings. Checked the place out on bike with a few Aussies I met, even managed to get into the "150 people per day only" temple of Nefertari which has the most AMAZING paintings I've ever seen. Rich, deep colors on carved sandstone from 4000 years ago. Cost quite a bit, but if you ever make it here, its worth every penny.

I'd say that seeing the Egyptian carvigns and statues and columns and buildings cloaked in some of their coloring has been the most surprising aspect of these ancient monuments. The colors are so bright and vibrant, and in many cases have survived in a slightly faded fashion to the present day. The colors also help to accentuate the subjects - it becomes easy to make out the Pharoah and what he is offering, and all the small details of the carvings. Amazing. Egypt is such an anomaly. It never rains. The desert covers up its palaces and temples and statues. They sit, in many cases in near perfect condition, just waiting to be discovered.

Contrast that with the Mayans. Trying to build in the rainforests of Central America. Almost nothing is left unruined. Certainly almost no paint survived. We are lucky that perhaps the greatest of the ancient civilizations built all of there momuments to eternity in the perfect environment for preservation.

Also checked out Valley of the Queens and a few other sites in Luxor, as well as the fantastic site of Luxor Temple. Open until 8pm, I stayed from 3:30 until six, when the whole complex is lit up. The darkness gives the temple a mystique and hides its age, while increasign its mysticism. Shadows abound. Everything looks eirely haunting. Right out of an Indiana Jones movie - you feel like you are exploring a sacred site that might at any time swallow you up.

The highlight of Luxor is Karnak Temple. Constructed over 2000 years some 2000 years ago, its a huge, sprawling collection of Egyptian history. I saw the Sound and Light Show, obviously at night. With classical (or some sort of weird trumpet-laden music) music, deep voiced narration and story telling, and all sorts of lighting up and darkening of different parts of the temple. It was pretty awesome. Again, the darkness enhanced the mystery of the site, and the (slightly cheesy) narration filled in the history of the place - telling a pretty good story and helping to put you in the mood of how this place may have been in days of lore.

The next day I went back to Karnak and took probably the best tour I've had on the trip which rounded out the experience nicely. The guide described how the huge obelisks were mined, transported and put up - and when I say huge, well, at least 150 ft high! And standing upright for thousands of years. It is awe inspiring. And if we, denziens of skyscrapers and aircraft and moonrockets, can be awed by the sight of these constructions - try to imagine people from even one hundred years ago, looking at the Pyramids, at 480ft, probably the tallest building in the world until the 1900's. And holding that title for 500 years....

From Luxor, I reluctantly pushed off to Dahab. Beach town. Fantastic place. I keep calling it decadent. I just like the word.

So my little hut costs me $2.50 and has a beach out front. Or the ocean anyway, it is a rather rocky beach, and there are lounge chairs. But what makes Dahab is the Eastern influence. They have in the sand all sorts of carpets and pillows arranged in little halfcircle groundlevel couches. The tables are just high enough off the ground to slide your legs under.

The restuarants are all the same. Little places with pillows and low tables and huge portions of food, and at night, all sorts of firepits with, um, obviously, fires, and it just has a certain decadence. A throwback to times past. You wait for the sultan to walk in surrounded by his harem of bellydancers and vieled women. Instead, its English speaking children trying to sell you bracelets, of which I have two, and their goal to totally envelope all four of my limbs with their handcrafts.

Tomorrow I am off to dive the infamous Blue Hole. This dive has taken the lives of 12 divers! But fear not, there are two ways of doing the dive. The one that kills you involved going down to 180ft. Well, any sane diver never, ever, ever goes below 100ft, and if you do, it isn't for more than 5 minutes. It is a good recipe for the bends. But some daredevils try, and therein the deathcount.

But my dive will be a little more laid back. 60-70ft deep.

Then tomorrow night, back to Cairo for a last gasp to see if I still like it, off to the Pyramids for sunset and The Sound and Light Show, and at midnight Thursday, I'm off to Kenya! I don't want to leave Egypt, and have considered changing my ticket to stay longer, but alas, I must move on. I'm meeting up with one of my best friends from college co down in Kenya and can't wait to see him!

- Ryan