We're not in Kansas anymore

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Bags packed and filled with excitement we headed to the Athens International Airport. After a quick Heineken from McDonalds, yes they serve beer everywhere here, we boarded the 1 1/2 hour flight to Cairo, Egypt. We had heard horror stories about the hectic airport, taxi drivers waiting to scam anyone and all the continuous requests for 'baksheesh' (tips). Luckily missing all this we hopped into the cab and were off.

The first thing that became very evident was the complete insanity that the Egyptian people call driving. There are no lanes at all and at many times there are 6 'aisles' of cars that are as close to each other as in a parking lot, yet travelling at 60 km's and weaving in and out of each other. They do not stop for pedestrians, EVER, and justify running a red light by honking their horn. Without a doubt the craziest drivers I've seen in the world - every car has a dent or scratch or missing piece.

The second thing we noticed was the thick reddish haze that blanketted the outskirts of the city. You could feel the smog and dirt in your throat and nose. A combination of sweat and dirt could continuously be wiped from your skin.

I've been to countries before where tourists are obviously tourists but nothing could prepare me for the stares, from men and women, that I received once stepping out of the cab. Not even trying to be indiscrete they looked me up and down as if they had never seen such a person. Then the hasseling and cat calls and various Arabic phrases started coming. Not a very comfortable surrounding but I got used to it quite quickly - I think Ryan had a good time with it. He started thanking the men when they would call out 'beautiful' or say ' uh, you lucky man'. Ryan was offered camels and I 'a better life' from many passer bys.

We picked the Hard Rock Cafe for our first dinner. Figured the food would be safe and there would be drinks - due to Ramadam finding any sort of alcohol became very difficult. What a shame to find out the even the Hard Rock had cleared out the bar shelves.

Our first full day in Cairo we headed just ouside the city to the camel market in Birquesh. Quite a heavy introduction to Egyptian culture. The camel market, as the name implies, is the place to buy a camel which locals use for farm work or food. The road leading to the market was dotted with a few dead camels thrown off to the side. Arriving at the gate we were made to pay 20 Egyptian pounds - not the 3 pounds as we were originally told. A couple minutes of unsuccessful bargaining later and we were in. Worth the trip but not for the faint of heart- some of the camels looked way under nurished and most had their front leg tied up to prevent them from running away. The owners carried a stick and would hit the camels to get them to move or to stop them from geting away. We were there for about an hour and that was plenty of time.

Gettin back into the city we had a couple 'black market beers'. Although we are definately not 'tour people' we decided that because of the limited time we would give it a try. The tour starts tommorow so we will keep you posted.

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Photos

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Camels at the Market!

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Camels at the Market again!

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More Camels.

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Camels with one leg tied up so that they cant run away, but it didnt always work.

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The best fruit vendor in the city!