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Published: June 16th 2007
Out of Hell.
I finally made it out of hell - Luxor. I cant even begin to tell you what a relief it was to be back in Cairo. Sounds ironic, i know, but I am a city kid at heart, and the hustle and bustle of Cairo's 25 million people was music to my ears. I only had one day left, so my plan was to just hang out and take it easy. No museums , no old spoons, or ancient rocks.
Having read through my 5 books in the first 3 weeks, i was in desperate need to find some new reading material. the first book store i checked out had a very small selection of English books. Nothing but the classics; a little John Gresham , Daniele Steele, and of course, everyone's favorite self help guru, Dr. Phil. Needless to say i left empty handed. The thought of traveling through SE Asia reading Dr. Phil was enough to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon.
More searching , and more walking i ended up at the American University , Cairo branch. A great book store that catered to all of my semi sick and twisted interests. A book on the Taliban, a memoir from a Aid relief worker in Samolia, and the Kite Runner. I thought I'd throw a little fiction in there just to keep it "interesting." $60 later, i was forced to pull myself out, figuring carrying around 9 books in my bag was enough. i have more books then tshirts, shorts and pants, combined.
I may have mentioned this before, but i need to stress it again. the traffic in Cairo. More specifically the pedestrian traffic mixed with the auto traffic. Growing up in the west we've always been taught to follow the rules, stay between the lines, and obey the red and green lights. Cairo - forget about it. cars drive where ever they please. Middle of the lane, no problem . red light, no problem. The hardest thing wasn't riding shotgun, but trying to cross the street. It was like the 1980's game, Frogger, on Crystal Meth; no one stops and no one cares. I dont even know if they'd stop for the prophet Mohammad , seriously, so why would they even give two shits about me. I'd usually find myself shadowing another Egyption as they maneuvered through the oncoming traffic. crossing a street would usually take me about 5 minutes; 4 of those minutes trying to get enough courage to take that first step from the curb. I dont get affraid of much. I have dealt with the craziness of Bangkok, the dodgy roads of Costa rican mountains, but the streets of Cairo put the fear in me.
I flew out the next morning , with a stop over in Abu Dahbi, a city much like Dubai. The wealth is unbelievable . and the plane matched much of the locals bank accounts. It was like nothing I'd seen before.
I was fortunate enough to sit next to a girl named Sara on the flight from Cairo. She came from a wealthy egyption background , and educated in a British school, in Cairo. She worked as a Ad agent. I am usually not one for talking on planes, especially initially, cause then i can never find a way out of the conversation and into my book, with out feeling rude. We had a nice talk for the entire 3 hour flight. She offered some insight to Egypt that i hadn't really had. Talk about the class structure (or lack of for that matter - NO MIDDLE CLASS). talked about Islam, and religion and politics, and how they tend to go hand in hand. She was a Muslim , a very liberal one at that (we had a glass of wine), but was still interested in other religions, as she'd read The Bible, The Torah, and of course The Koran. I was surprised to hear how similar they all are.
For one of the first times ever, i was glad that i didn't put my ipod on and dive into a book, upon take off.
Arrived into Bangkok. Hot and humid. Nothing out of the norm. Rocked out hard with some Thai Red Bull Sam Sung, and Johnny Walker; a combination that will always leave you feeling like a million bucks the next morning.
There will be more on Bangkok...but that will have to wait....I hear some Chicken Satay calling my name.
-dylan
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Maryanne Gabbani
non-member comment
Good Cairo bookstore
Next time you need a literary fix, try Diwan bookstore on 26th July Street just opposite one of Cairo's best pizza restaurants called inappropriately enough Maison Thomas. Great books, excellent pizza