Egypt Trip 2011

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On December 17, twenty six year old Mohamed Bouazizi stood in front of the provincial headquarters building in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia and set himself on fire. This action was in response to authorities who had confiscated his unregistered vegetable cart, slapped him, spit in his face and insulted his family. Mr. Bouazizi tried to complain, but was refused an audience by officials. This self immolation stood as a rallying cry for disenfranchised Tunisians who protested against unemployment, rising food prices, corruption and limited civil liberties. The massive protests resulted in the country's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fleeing his country on January 15, 2011, after 23 years in power. This "Jasmine Revolution" inspired similar protests though out the arab world, including Jordan, Yemen and Egypt. On January 24 T and I departed for Egypt, starting our trip....

T and I arrived in Egypt today after a relatively easy overnight flight to Paris, then Cairo. We landed in Cairo about 730pm, bought our $15 visas and passed through emigration. Cairo is purportedly well known for it's dense, chaotic traffic, but such is the claim of just about every third world city that I've been in. Kumasi's traffic was hopelessly snarled during rush hour. Traffic laws were completely ignored as drivers used every bit of road and sidewalk to gain any progress in the snarl. Bangkok was similarly choked with traffic, but laws were adhered to, mostly. Cairo was closer to Kumasi. Although identified by broken lines on the road, traffic lanes were ignored. Vehicles just went where they fit. Drivers honked their horn whenever approaching another vehicle or pedestrian, so they did it continuously. Our taxi driver was a typical Cairene driver: gas peddle-hard brake-blow horn-flash lights-lane change-gas peddle-brake, and so the routine would cycle. The cab's radio blared. The music played in every developing world cab that I've been in is identical, whether it be Asia, west africa, French Polynesia or Central America: American and loud. Elvis, Nelly and Death Cab for Cutie serenaded us on our hour long trip to the hotel.

Our hotel was a Marriott, in downtown Cairo, on an island called Zamalek. The hotel was originally Gezirah Palace, built for Empress Eugenie of France by Khedive Ishmail for her stay during the celebration of the Suez Canal's opening. The Khedive's lavish spending would eventually bankrupt him, leading to the repossession of the palace by creditors and it's transformation to a hotel.

The next morning we met our guide, Ahmed in the hotel lobby. It was a national holiday, Police Day, and protests were expected in the downtown area. Our itinerary was the pyramids of Giza, Dashur and Seqqara, so we were leaving the city and avoiding the protests. Cairo was in dense fog and visibility was poor. Since it was a holiday, traffic was minimal and we zipped out of the city with very un-Cairene speed. Dashur was our first stop, delaying Giza until the afternoon in anticipation of less fog and better visibility.

The pyramids at Dashur are on a military base and have only been open to the public recently. Dashur is home to the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, both built by Pharaoh Snofru (2613-2589 BCE). After paying for our tickets, we drove along a narrow two lane road through the rolling desert dunes. The fog was still thick and it's greyness blended with the desert into a horizonless expanse. Then, suddenly an enormous triangle silhouette appeared in front of us, barely visible, as if an apparition. This was the Red Pyramid, Snofru's second pyramid. We drove past that and it wasn't long before a similar silhouette appeared once again. But this one was different. It's lines were not uniform. It's sides rose up from the ground sharply, then cantered inward, meeting at the tip. This was the Bent Pyramid. It's sides ascend from it's base at a steep angle, about 58*. About half way up the pyramid, the sides change to a less steep 48* angle. It is thought that the engineers realized that the original angle was unstable and changed their plans. Much of it's casing blocks are intact and it is not until you approach it that you realize the enormity of each block and what a seemingly superhuman project it must have been.

We left the Bent Pyramid and returned to the Red Pyramid, Snofru's second. When you are Pharaoh and your pyramid isn't perfect, why not build another one? T and I climbed the 100 foot high wooden staircase to the entrance of the pyramid. The tunnel that led passage to the burial chamber was very steep and 4 feet high, requiring a bent posture for the 65 meters descent. The air rapidly became heavy, moist and reeked of ammonia. It seemed to us that tourists had been violating the pyramid in a very Bourbon Street-esque way, but that wasn't the case. (I thought our guide said that it was used to prevent bats, T thought he said it was from bats). The initial chamber was about 20 feet wide, 60 feet long and 50 feet high, with a cathedral-like stair stepped ceiling, a engineering maneuver used to distribute the pyramid's weight around the room. A similar room followed, then a 20 or 30 foot wooden staircase up to a ruined burial chamber. By this time the pyramid's ammonia smell was overwhelming. T and I made a quick ascent to open sky and fresh air.

Our next stop was Seqqara, the site of the Step Pyramid. This was the first pyramid. It was built for King Zoser about 2600 BCE by his architect Imhotep. It is surrounded by a mile long wall, whose gate has been reconstructed. The wall contains the pyramid and was the grounds for the Sed-hed Festival. Sed-hed was celebrated every 30 years in a pharaoh's reign, to demonstrate and renew his youthfulness and prove his fitness to rule. He was required to run around the wall three times, then have to wrestle younger men and fight some dangerous animal (lion, hippo, etc). T asked our guide if Mubarak would have to do this; Ahmed laughed at her joke. Just outside the walls are tombs of the nobles and ruins of three mudbrick pyramids for queens. The mudbrick hasn't weathered well and what remains are three sloppy little piles of earth.

Seqqara is surrounded by Carpet Schools. They employ children, hand making wool and silk rugs. This sounded horrific to T and I initially, but Ahmed explained things. It was a sought after school, associated with UNICEF, that taught a skill and payed well. Half of the worker's income was saved so they would have money when they left. T and I visited, watched the children make rugs and bought a gorgeous silk rug for our bedroom.

We had lunch outside of Seqqara, then drove to Giza. I was surprised to see how closely the city encroaches on the site of the pyramids. We drove through the crowded, diesel choked streets, past tenement-like buildings, up a gradual incline to the elevated plane that was chosen by the ancients, as it would not flood during the yearly inundation of the Nile. The site was, not surprisingly, packed with tourists. It seemed to be the epicenter of tourism, as it has been for millenia. Herodotus visited and wrote of it in the 5th century BCE. Napoleon was drawn to it. He spent the night in the Great Pyramid. And here was T and I, following the millions before us, walking the pyramids perimeter, touching their walls, posing for pictures, while they stood in silent sentry, filling our background. It was a "bucket list" moment for me, and I was happy to be there with the thousands of others.

The three pyramids were built by Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, father, son, grandson, each smaller than the next, perhaps in respect for the previous generation. They were completed about 2600 BCE. When the Great Pyramid was built, it stood 480 feet high (it's now 450 feet high, it's capstone missing), a feat not exceeded until England's Lincoln Cathedral was built in 1300 AD. T and I skipped the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid. The thought of another ammonia filled tight descent with crowds of others had no appeal.

We walked to the Sphinx, picking our way through the crush of tourists, gazed a bit and took a picture. It was another "bucket list" moment and another amazing sight in a day and country that was full of amazing sights. Driving back to the hotel we learned from our driver that the protests downtown were massive. Visitors to the Egyptian Museum (tomorrow's plan) were still stuck there. Their drivers could not get to them. The protests were apparently peaceful.

Once back at the hotel we walked around Zamalek Island a bit. It's a pretty part of the city, very green, but dirty, dusty and unkempt. There is in Cairo architecture a colonial beauty that has faded with neglect and has been pushed aside with haphazard modernity. We came back to the hotel, washed the city off of us and fell asleep.
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Photos

View from our hotel room
The 6 October bridge is visible in this picture. On the far shore, near the bridge is a large pink building, the Egyptian Museum, site of Tahrir Square and protests