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Aerial Sunrise
On the long flight to Athens from homeSalaam a'aleykoum from quiet Marsa Matrouh where we've been lounging by the beach for the last four days. After surviving our first week in Cairo, Dad, Caitie and I decided to treat ourselves to a vacation from our vacation, stopping first in the desert oasis, Siwa, and again here to break up the trip to Alexandria.
At this very moment it is 9:40pm. A cool breeze is blowing and the imam has just started another call to prayer. We're just stopping in at this net cafe for me to finish my blog entry then we'll be off to find a nice ahwa (cafe) to sip Turkish coffee and maybe smoke some sheesha...It's a good life!
When we first started planning this trip, I hardly thought there would be any relaxation involved. I was sure Dad, Caitie and I would want to kill each other after the first few days and that Egypt was going to be full of hardship. I'm happy to announce that none of us has disowned the others yet and that Egypt is much cleaner and organized than its reputation lets on.
So far the trip has featured all the highlights of the normal backpacker
First Day in Cairo
Caitie and Dad outside the Egyptian Museum circuit and a few extra places since we've got the time (nearly a month in total) - pyramids, mosques, churches (in Coptic Egypt), bazaars, the desert and now the beach. Since Dad was born here, we took a little extra time to discover his old haunts in Cairo, including an afternoon (we only ever see things in the afternoon as we love our sleep ins!) to see Heliopolis, where he grew up. It's been a great chance to delve more deeply into our family history. Having grown up listening to "Egypt stories" about Dad's childhood and a host of miracles that took place here (courtesy of Grandma Zaloum), I was able to relive every one as we walked around the neighbourhood.
All three of us are feeling very comfortable, perhaps because of our roots, but mostly because Dad has dusted off his street-Arabic. He speaks like a local (to my ears anyway) and has managed to sweet-talk his way out of most scams and into Egyptian pricing. The look of surprise on people's faces when he spits out a flawless string of greetings makes me smile every time. We've gotten some pretty funny reactions from people who don't realize
Old Pro
Caitie says she's never done this before... he's Egyptian (Caitie and I don't help him fit in any better and neither do his baseball cap and fanny-pack). The other day, Dad was complimenting a waiter (in Arabic) on the food at his restaurant. After listening and acknowleging a few of the comments the man suddenly looked surprised and said, "Are you speaking in Arabic?" Dad's also gotten a few suspicious looks while trying to get Egyptian pricing at hotels and museums, but his passport proves that he is a native "Masri (Egyptian)" and we've been traveling on a very stylish shoestring.
It's quite special to see the country under these circumstances as I imagine it wouldn't be as charming without Dad's language skills, and I couldn't imagine traveling here as a single woman. Exotic-looking Caitie and I can't go anywhere without getting stared at, hissed at, kissed at and cat-called. I suppose we do provoke it a little bit - pale skin aside, we haven't been covering our heads (we don't believe in the inherent evilness of our hair) and our swimwear is quite out of place amidst the three-piece lycra suits that cover every inch of the head, body and legs. But with dad by
Sipping Juice
Having a mango juice at Fishawi Cafe after a hot walk through Khan Al-Khalili our sides to surprise the eager onlookers with a good jab in their own language, we're coping and have even had a few good laughs over our popularity.
Our next destination is Alexandria, another beach town though much more populous that Matrouh. This will be our last chance to enjoy the clement Mediterranean weather before we head down to the infernos of Luxor and Aswan. But look out for some spectacularly sweaty photos from those temples!
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Kathy
non-member comment
it's certainly not Japan!
What a wonderful treat to hear from my favourite blogger again. Another great adventure you are having (with different mates this time), and the pictures are super. I have a picture of myself in front of that same museum 34 years ago in a bright yellow pant suit. (I was only 10, ha ha!). Have fun!