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Published: November 22nd 2008
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It's been a long while since I last posted anything and for this I apologize. Its been a long last couple of weeks with finals creeping up on me and, not to mention, getting over a mild case of food poisoning (the ironic part: I got it from Pizza Hut) that seems mandatory for anyone spending a considerable amount of time in Egypt.
A couple of weekends ago, my friend Brendan and I took a trip to Saqara, a step pyramid in Giza that is less famous than it's 3 colossal neighbors (the pyramids of Giza), yet acted as their main influence. As with anything in this city, getting to the site is as entertaining as the site itself.
I met up with Brendan at the Giza metro stop (he had just returned from visiting the aforementioned pyramids of Giza) and, of course, right away we were accosted by a group trying to sell us a cab ride. Brendan and I asked how much it would be to take us to Saqara and back (there are no cabs in Saqara, so you have to arrange a cab to take you there and back). A young man wearing a bright
red sweater and with a typical Egyptian haircut (short on the sides and a longer part on top that subtly hangs over the sides) told us 150 pounds.
Just to give you a reference, a friend of ours had made this same trip the week before, going from Zamalek (considerably further away from we were), to the Pyramids of Giza, then to Saqara, then back to Zamalek for 140 pounds. The whole ride took about 5-6 hours. For Brendan and I, it would take less than half that.
We told him that we would not go above 75 pounds.
"My friends," they said, "it will take an hour and a half to get there."
We said that it wouldn't and if it did, we would pay more. 120, they said. We looked around; there was no one. Not even another tourist.
"Do you see a lot of business around? 75 pounds." As calloused and direct as this response seems, its an attitude that you adopt easily after being blatantly ripped off by one cab driver after another. Having cab drivers, for days on end, try to pass off a 5 pound cab ride as
a 20-25 pound cab ride is a major irritant and while, at first an inconvenience, becomes a real annoyance and has led to some extremely hostile interactions, laced with sarcasm and insults. The fact that we were even willing to reasonably negotiate with them was a step up from how we usually deal with these situations.
They agreed to the 75 pounds and we were ushered into a cab with Minnie Mouse seat ornaments. Fantastic.
So we started driving, with the sweater donning man with a funny haircut and his father, the driver, up front. After driving for 20 minutes we arrived at a stable, nowhere near the entrance.
"You must take a horse."
"No, we don't. Take us to the main entrance"
"We cannot. Government checkpoint."
Brendan took out his phone to call our friend (who made the trip the week earlier) and asked about our horse situation. He said it was a lie.
"It will take you three hours to get there by horse, so 150 pounds is a fair price because we have to wait for you here."
We laughed. "Bullshit," we said.
"Excuse me, friend, why bullshit?"
We laughed again and started listing the ways. He said it was going to take an hour, so on and so forth.
"And we didn't ask to be taken to your friend's stable, we asked to be taken to Saqara. We've been here for 3 months, we're not stupid, we know how this works. Take us there, or you won't see a piastre."
This is how we usually deal with cab drivers.
His face was one of utter shock and almost embarrassment. He didn't say a word for the rest of the ride.
So we finally arrived at Saqara (after a grand total of 30 minutes), bought our tickets and entered. While beautiful in its own way (more impressive than aesthetically pleasing), it was marred by the plethora of Bedouins trying to sell you a tour of the area and random people trying to tell you that they needed to see your ticket, to which we responded, in that timeless and, at least on that day, our favorite word "Bullshit."
Overall, though, it was a terrific experience in a beautiful and timeless environment. Perhaps the thing I liked the most about Saqara is that
it was built to be more of a habitation than a monument, so there is plenty of exploring and poking around you can do, whether it be walking around the step pyramid or walking into tombs covered in hieroglyphics and representations of the Pharaoh and his family. I also saw my first mummy in the museum, which is, actually, quite creepy, but incredible to know that you are looking at the face of a man who died probably around 5,000 years ago.
I didn't intend for this post to end up as more of a polemic against Egyptian cab drivers, but they end up being a dominant part in any day in which you try to see a tourist site. So, I am going to end on a positive note.
Next weekend, while everyone back in the States is preparing their turkeys and glued to the TV trying to catch the day's football game, I will be at the base of Mt. Sinai. I will be leaving Thursday morning with my friend, with us arriving at around 7 or 8 p.m. For those of you not up-to-date on their Biblical history, Mt. Sinai is the traditional place where
the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses. Although some historians and archaeologists have disputed this claim, the mountain's place in the traditions of the Abrahamic faiths has made it a revered site for pilgrimages and for religious buildings, like the chapel on the summit and St. Katherine's monastery. No matter the historical accuracy of the claim that this is THE Mt. Sinai, its natural beauty and revered status makes it a near necessity to visit. Besides, I need to get the hell out of Cairo.
The week after that I will be flying to Lebanon with my friend Christina. We will be there for 10 days, visiting Beirut and, given the current political situation in Tripoli, a day-trip to Tyre, with a couple of days of hiking thrown in there somewhere. I've been wanting to visit Lebanon for years and I am most excited about this trip than I have about any of my previous trips. Besides, I thought it might be a good time to visit, given the (relative) political stability and the lull in tourists will make it less frustrating and easier to go do things.
After Lebanon, I come back to Cairo to take care
of finals business, then, on the 22nd, I fly out for Pakistan. My roommate in Chicago is from Pakistan and he decided to go back home for Christmas and invited me to go with him. In short, it was too good of an offer to pass up.
I'll update soon with pictures.
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