Egypt is literally the most chaotic place I've ever been to in my life! But chaotic in a very good way. It was amazing, indescribable. I was fortunate enough to take the trip with one of my good friends in Madrid, Naglaa, who happens to be from Cairo. Needless to say, I had quite an authentic experience. I stayed in her house in Giza, minutes from Cairo center, and her sweet mom cooked us almost every meal, every day from scratch. I know that I boast about eating the best food all the time, but these authentic Egyptian meals have really taken the cake! Most of the things I ate, I did not know exactly what they were, I just knew that my stomach was very happy. The most simple ingredients made some of the best meals. Among my favorites were the stuffed grape leaves which were delectable, and the grilled eggplant with oil, tomato and colmino. I later bought a whole kilo of Egyptian spicy cheese, and bags full of special spices.
When I first got on the "bus" to the city from the airport, I knew Egypt was different. The bus was quite interesting, unmarked, very crowded, speeding down the highway. I was later informed that this was the fancy bus. It seemed as thought every street in Egypt was always filled with people, at any given time. Cats roamed freely, you could by just about anything you need from a street vendor, and mint tea was in mass production. The taxis in Egypt were not what the average person would think of as proper/safe public transport. These taxis were like go-karts/mini vans that were driven by 12-18 year olds, decorated with christmas lights and banners, that hit just about every pot hole possible. I feared for my life each time I rode in one. The actually buses that transported people throughout the town, further distances, looked like love shack vans from the 70's; small extremely crowed, most missing doors, and smelled like chicken, no signs to indicate where it is headed. Instead, the driver just yells where to and people jump on and off, literally. This was a trick I had to learn fairly quickly if I valued my legs at all. People yelled out/or flagged down these "love shack" buses and you actually had to just grab on, hopefully when it happen to be stopped at a red light, and jump on or off. Crazy, I know.
Between my two trips, to Istanbul and Egypt, I learned a lot about two very different types of Muslim cultures. I gained a new respect. The call to prayer was one of the most enchanting and peaceful sounds I have ever heard. In Egypt, during the mid-day call to prayer, all of the men take the streets with their prayer rugs and bow in reverence to pray together. It was a beautiful sight to see. However, I could not help but wonder where all the women were during this experience. I was baffled by the social/gender constructions in Egypt. In Mosques, women had a special prayer section, hidden in the back behind a wooden screen while the men took the altar. While the men were in the streets praying, the women at home. I was even more shocked by the metro rule; men only (and accompanied women) in car 1 and 2, and women only in the other cars. Unbelievable. Also, women were not to be seen in the hookah bars, or any other place that was thought to be "naturally male." A young woman in the streets at 2am is most likely assumed to be a prostitute, rather that a girl having a fun night out with friends. The (unwritten) dress code is obviously conservative, but most women are veiled. (I will not go into this argument, because there are too many sides.) Many women wear full bod, all black burkas and walk the streets hand and hand with their husband who is dressed in shorts and a linen shirt. Truly a site to see, but again, I won't go there.
In the streets of Egypt, just about anything can happen. Things are done differently. While sitting outside at a bar, my friend and I were bombarded with small children sucking lollipops and selling packets of tissue. It broke my heart to see children begging in the streets, and like any human being with a heart, I wanted to eagerly give them money. My friend quickly advised me not to do so, because these children, and whoever is putting them in the streets, know what they are doing. They were like a little mafia, sucking on lollipops and giving us the sad puppy eyes. They even came to sit on our laps and give us kisses. Heartbreaking.
One of my best experiences while in Egypt was randomly meeting a Bedouin dessert man, who took me on a 40 minute camel ride around the pyramids of Giza. Only I get into this type of randomness, but you only live once! I went by myself, with a one-toothed, not a word of English-speaking, head wrapped, looney taxi driver, to the pyramids. Sketch as it is. The pyramids were breathtaking, and enormous. I really wanted to ride a camel. I found a guy who looked the least sketch and asked him for a ride. He told me his name was Abu, and his camel's name was Charlie Brown, they Egyptian Cadillac. I hopped on! I expected only a 15 minute ride, but they guy spoke 6 languages, lived in the desert, had a camel named Charlie Brown, AND had facebook! I had to stay! We ended up chatting about random things; life in the desert, marriage, tourists, etc. I stood at the very top of a sand dune overlooking the pyramids, while he made us mint tea (which he pulled out of nowhere in the desert). Amazing!
I cannot leave out my crazy trip to Dahab, the Red Sea and my encounter with the authorities. I almost went to Egyptian jail for not carrying my stamped visa on the bus to Dahab!! That would not have been pleasant. What was supposed to be an 8 hour bus ride, turned into a twelve hour (security) nightmare! At this point I began to feel and see the political and social unrest and tension present in Egypt. There was something going on. (to be continued) Luckily, I made it to paradise safely. This was the most relaxing vacation of my life! Three girls, drinking tea, and eating amazing food all day on the beach...and nothing else! We just sat, and sat, and sat....and enjoyed. The view from Dahab was absolutely amazing and I could see Saudi Arabia from my breakfast table on the beach. Incredible experience. When we got back to Cairo 3 days later, exhausted at 7am, the city center of Cairo looked like Times Square on a Saturday night! Pure chaos at 7am, unbelievable; Cairo never sleeps!
Egypt is a beautifully chaotic place, that I would love to invest more time in. A lot of changes are long overdue, but the people deserve to see a new Egypt..........
Me and my Bedouin desert friend at the pyramids
