Dirty Cairo? Amazing Pyramids?

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Over the past couple of months many people have warned us about Cairo - "If you think this place is dirty then just wait till you get to Cairo" "Don't worry, the traffic is FAR worse than this in Cairo" "Oh the shopkeepers are way worse than this in Cairo, this is nothing"... Over-dramatic much? True, some streets stink of rotting food and have gutters full of rubbish, but the main streets and public squares are generally pretty well maintained I'd say you don't have to watch your step like in some places we've been, overall on a par with other cities we've seen in the Middle East. And we've not feared for our lives in cars in the same way we have in other cities either, perhaps we've been lucky with drivers I don't know. Having said that, crossing the road as a pedestrian is somewhat more alarming - in other countries I at least trust the drivers to slow down for you if you are already mid-road, but I don't have the same faith in them here! The thing I really don't like about Cairo is the air pollution - it tastes really bad from the dust and the fumes, I guess that's what you get from such a big city where 3 tier roads are common and there's no regulation of vehicle emissions! But we've survived so far...

Cairo has got a pretty cosmopolitan atmosphere though. There's plenty of foreigners walking around, and also a good number of local women - not as many as there are men, sure, but not so far off, and a noticeable difference to, say, Istanbul where we sometimes had to scan the crowd to see a woman. Personally I've found that quite refreshing. We stopped by the old Islamic district on Friday, which is an interesting time to see any Islamic area because Friday midday prayer is the most important of the week. In some cities we've visited, the markets have all but shut down by midday on friday, and often don't reopen all day (it is their weekend, to be fair) but in Cairo everything seemed to keep going right up until the call to prayer and was still heaving all through the afternoon. I suppose the size of the city and the number of people and tourists makes it worthwhile to stay open. We were in the plaza outside the Mosque of Sayidna al-Hussein (one of the biggest in Cairo) for the prayer itself. It is surrounded by cafes, coffee shops and many bustling shopping alleys, but outside the mosque itself extra mats were laid out on the ground to make room for the overflow of worshipers who don't all fit inside on Fridays. Some people claimed their space well in advance (inside and outside) and were sat chatting or waiting patiently. As midday approached, there was a steady flow of people heading inside and the mats outside began to fill up. Most cafes and shops were still serving whilst part of the Quran was being read, but towards the end of the reading, with the build up to the final prayer the early-birds all squeezed up and shuffled along to make room for the latecomers - I looked around and saw that the shopkeepers and waiters had all lined up along the back of the now full mats, using coats or newspaper in place of prayer mats. One woman had laid out an area of prayer mats that filled up with policemen on duty in the area. As the prayer was read out over the speakers, the plaza was full of men and boys, side by side, all praying together. There was a fantastic sense of brotherhood and community spirit, and as they stood to depart people shook hands and hugged those around them, whether friends or stranger, and went to greet wives, sisters and children who were waiting around the edges to enjoy the weekend as a family. It was wonderful to see.


The Pyramids. We started at Giza, THE pyramids, the biggest stone monuments ever built, the Sphinx... meh. They were OK. Impressive from the outside (for their shear size and audacity if nothing else), disappointingly bare on the inside, scrappy remains of a few attached funerary temples but not a whole lot else to see except for picturesque views (from the right angle), cheesy photo opportunities, and relentless camel-ride touts. If you visit Egypt, then you have to do the Pyramids, of course, but personally I far preferred Saqarra to Giza.

Saqarra is home to the Step Pyramid of Zoser - the first stone burial pyramid (rather than earlier mud brick versions). It's not nearly as big but the setting is far more picturesque being further away from town, of great historical significance for its influence on later structures for millenia, and it is surrounded by an fairly extensive temple complex and tombs. These were the first time I had seen real ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and pictorial reliefs with paint still on them. A guide explained what some of them meant, telling the story of the dead person's journey to the underworld and subsequent judgement and welcome to the afterlife, and the various gods involved along the way. It was fascinating - throughout Egypt there are so many tombs, temples and other remains that together give a vivid picture of daily life, and also how these people interpreted life, death, afterlife, gods and goddesses, the universe generally. It's fascinating stuff, and wonderful that you can see it yourself on the walls (after having read the guide book and had things explained by guides and caretakers to understand some of them, of course!) It's easy to see why egyptologists get hooked.

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