Port Said - Cairo

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Woke up to a magnificent sunrise over the city of Port Said, which is located at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. Little did I know that the day ahead would make me feel like a dignitary, have me see a famous Arab singer, be treated like a rock star and welcomed like the president.

Disembarkation from the ship was effortless, even with almost all of the 693 guests beginning their tours at the same time. We easily found our DeCastro Tours rep who led us to a modern, comfortable 10 passenger van allowing the 4 of us to comfortably spread out for our 2 hour journey into Cairo. Our driver was Malib who we would affectionately re-name Dale Earnhardt, Jr. of NASCAR by the end of the day.

After all buses and vans destined for Cairo were loaded up with passengers, we began our “tourist police” escorted convoy. This was somewhat of an over kill, but we later found out that President Mubarak buys loyalty from his people by placing most people on the payroll in some type of “police” department. I’ve never seen so many guns….everything from young men in spiffy uniforms, to old men in galabias (all quite dusty) carrying automatic weapons—supposedly to protect us (from what, we don’t know).

Our driver raced from the curb in order to be first in line behind the little Chevy pickup holding 5 automatic weapon toting tourist police in the rear cab. They were dressed in helmets and flak jackets and looked quite handsome with their jet black hair, dark olive complexions and big teethy smiles that lit up their faces when they smiled and waved at us. We got a big laugh, that when they were out of sight of their commanding officer, they immediately lit up cigarettes. It seems to be a universal thing, to do what you want when the boss turns his back !!

We tore through the streets of Port Said with sirens blaring that must have used every police officer in town to close off all the side streets, and strategically placed armed vehicles throughout the motorcade which seemed to stretch for a couple of miles. The convoy started out as single file, but turned into a NASCAR race on the first lap after caution, with the vans and cars all jockeying for position in the front. Our driver held on to first place for most of the trip, losing it only once for a short while, before regaining the lead just prior to passing through the final check-point. We also were entertained during the ride by our driver’s cell phone that played Lionel Richie’s “Hello”, each time it rang.

We finally reached the outskirts of Cairo city limits which was choked with thick smog, vehicles in all kinds of condition motoring along or just stopped on the roadway. The painting of the highway lines is a waste of money here, since no driver seems to pay them any mind. Add to this mess, the large number of ridden donkeys, donkey carts and pedestrians wrecklessly crossing the highway and it made for a visually impacting, hair raising and amusing ride.
Just prior to arriving at the Mena House Hotel, our driver got excited becausewe pulled up next to Hakim - a very famous Egyptian recording artist who is scheduled to sing at the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. It turns out that I purchased one of his CDs when I was here 10 years ago. He was driving himself in a new SUV, opened his window and allowed us to take photos.

We made a quick stop at Mena House Hotel, the luxury hotel adjacent to the Giza Pyramids, to exchange some money (5.7 Egyptian Pounds = 1 USD) and pick up our Egyptologist guide Omar. From there it was a short drive to the largest pyramid of Khufu, built around 2650 BC. The next largest was built by Khufu’s son Khafre around 2600 BC and the smallest by Khufu’s grandson, Menkaure, around 2550 BC. These were all part of the 4th dynasty of Egyptian Rulers. The most amazing part of the pyramids is the way they were constructed with slabs of granite transported from Aswan, hundreds of miles south. Each slab was fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle without mortar and then covered in limestone and topped with gold. It is still a mystery as to how these were constructed, because it was long before the wheel was invented.

After Omar finished the brief history of the pyramids, we were allowed free time to roam the sight when we were surrounded by the tpical pushy, but always friendly vendors, selling all manner of junk. We ended up with Arab Sheik headdresses given as “gifts” from one young guy, that only cost us 2 Egyptian pounds (40 cents) to get rid of him. I was also very popular with groups of young school girls traveling together in typical Arabic dress who wanted to practice their English and have their picture taken with a “foreign lady”. There were also the infamous camel photo stops everywhere you looked, providing a mine field of camel poop.

I passed on my chance to climb inside Khufu’s pyramid, because our guide explained the claustrophobic conditions once inside, but I did take the opportunity to walk through the remains of the funerary temple of Khufu located at the base of the pyramid. This is where the “opening of the mouth” ceremony took place to allow the spirit of Khufu to escape his body and enter the statues where he would be able to see and hear his family when they came to visit.

From there we drove a short distance to the Shinx which provided us with the panoramic view of the pyramids behind it. We were also able to visit the remains of the mummification temple where the process occurred over a period of 72 days. All organs were removed and placed in canopic jars, except for the heart, and the body was draqined of fluids by packing it in salts.

We enjoyed a lovely western style buffet lunch at a little outdoor café overlooking the Sphinx and pyramids and then walked to our van past the most commercialized area of the pyramids including souvenir shops, a Pizza Hut and KFC (Khufu must be rolling in his grave - so to speak).

We made a quick stop at the Papyrus Institute to see how the papyrus is made by stripping the inside reed, soaking, weaving together and then pressing. The strength of it is evident, since Papyrus prints have survived that are thousands of years old.

Our next stop was old Cairo, where we visited the Christian quarter. We visited the Chapel of St. George dedicated to the “most tortured martyr” of Coptic Christian faith. There is a small side chapel with his relics (bones) on display and the iron chains he was said to have worn during his torture. We witnessed alarge number of pilgrims wearing the chains and praying for absolution.

We also visited the Church of the Holy Family which was built above a crypt where the holy family supposedly hid during the reign of King Herrod in Jerusalem. Our next stop was the synagogue, which is now used as a museum.

We strolled through a souvenir shop in the old quarter that displayed photographs of Hillary and Chelsea Clinton who shopped there during their Cairo visit.

From there, we drove up to the hill in Cairo to the Citadel fortress and Mohammed Ali Mosque. The inside of the Citadel is where the Ottomans massacred the highest positions of the Marmaluk army, before beginning their reign of power. Muhammed Ali had his mosque built to mimick the architectural construction of the Blue Mosque and this was evident in the design of the domed roof with half domes on either side. The ceiling was painted with gold leaf and the marble wall designs were similar to those we saw in Haghia Sophia. The outside courtyards provided magnificent views over the city of Cairo, where we were once again swarmed by school age children on group tours wanting to talk to us, touch us and take our photos. It was nice to be able to maketheir day.

Our last stop in Cairo was Khan-el-Khalili bazaar which has changed little over the years. It is a people watcher’s paradise that overloads the senses with sights and sounds. Hawkers selling modern day souvenirs compete for your attention from the young boys selling pita breads, shoe shiners and “authentic” Rolex watches for “cheap, cheap”. We enjoyed some tea and Turkish coffee in the plaza before saying good-bye to Omar and Cairo as we began our hair raising race back to Port Said with Dale, Jr.

Thursday nights in Cairo are similar to our Friday nights back home and the traffic was gridlock for miles. We finally made it to the outskirts of town and called the airport for clearance as Dale Jr. took flight along the road, weaving in and out of traffic we encountered along the way. What made thingseven more interesting was that most cars driving this road at night, did not have head or tail lights, or brake lights which made for some interesting maneuvers on the part of our driver. Luckily, most of the roadway was lit up. We chuckled at the sign posted inside of our van that read, “Please wear seatbelts”. A wonderful suggestion, however, the only seat supplied with a seat belt was that of the driver.

We finally arrived at the tourist police check-point and resumed our place as the lead vehicle in the convoy. About 20 km. from Port Said, there was a short burst of heavy rain, which upped our tension level a bit, since the van’s wipers were inoperable to the surprise of our driver. I don’t know how he managed to see, but he maintained his NASCAR rate of speed through it all.

We pulled up alongside the ship and received a presidential welcome. The band was playing, the red carpet rolled out, we were greeted with fresh OJ and hot towels, and the entire officer staff lined the red carpet applauding our return. I think they were thankful that we survived the “road of danger” and returned to the ship in one piece.

I couldn’t wait to shower off all the dirt in my hair and clothes. While Cairo is a fascinating city, it is also one of the most polluted and dusty cities.

A nice relaxing casual dinner under the stars at Tapas on the Terrace, was a wonderful finish to the day.

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