Walk Like an Egyptian

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Blog Entry: Walk like an Egyptian.

Hello Good Friends!

Or “Habibi” as the Egyptians say 😊

I’m finally getting to the chance to blog about our adventures in Egypt. I have been putting it off for more than one reason (the main reason probably being my procrastination tendencies that I thoroughly embrace). So now, Habibi, I would like to share with you 5 of the most intense, memorable, and breathtaking days of my life that happen to take place in Egypt. It’s still hard for me to believe I was actually there... Here goes!

We ported on July 30th (Happy Birthday, Burger) in the big city of Alexandria, about 3 hours West of the Nile River. Alexandria is the second biggest city in all of Egypt, the first being Cairo, the city with all of the pyramids and the Nile River. This port city is one of the least popular of all the ports, us being the only cruise ship there, unlike the rest of the ports. We got a brief insight of Egypt the night before at our regular pre-port meeting. Our handy dandy green sheets were distributed (we have one green sheet per port, containing all contact info, port address, tips, and even how to say “get me to ‘such and such’ port” in the native language of the county) and we were fortunate enough to have one of our very own peers present. She is half Egyptian, and studied in Cairo for her freshman year of college. “When you blow your nose at the end of the day, your Kleenex will be black.” She speaks accurately from experience!

DAY 1:
I didn’t have any trips or plans, so I woke up feeling pretty unprepared. I also neglected to visit the Egyptian hospitality in Tymitz Square on the ship where we usually get a map of the port city and can ask any sort of question. So this meant, we were going into a port city completely blind..... not the best city to do this in. We were missing some of the usual gang. Rachel, Becca, Nicole, Kevin, and Erika, left us to go on SAS trips for either the entire time, or most of the time. So a small group of us, Anthony, Bo, Kristen and I, went on a hunt to find an ATM.... The actual port itself is beautiful and quite deceiving. We have to walk about a half a mile through buildings, port souvenir shops, over a bridge, and through gates just to get out. The Egyptian security is insane!! This port was by far the most intense security we have experienced. Egyptian tourist police were literally ON the ship checking that our passports were stamped before we got off, then we had to put our bags on a belt and get scanned in the building, then we had to sign our names and cabin numbers at the gate where they gave us a sign out ticket to bring back when we returned, and get our passports checked again at the gate. All the checking and walking totaled to about a half an hour... just to get into the city! The intensity of Egyptian security didn’t stop there. In 1996, and 1999 (I believe), Egypt experienced very large terrorist attacks targeting tourists. Because almost the entire economy is supported by tourism, they made HUGE efforts to make sure their visitors are protected. In reaction, they either set up an entirely new system of Tourist Police, or upped the system they already had, I don’t know, but nevertheless, I don’t think there was ever a time I wasn’t around a man with a machine gun. Every SAS trip had their own personal guard dressed in plain clothes carrying guns. Seeing men dressed in uniforms with nameless guns strapped to their back became very normal to us by the end of the trip. So they had two systems: one regular Egyptian police system, and the unique Tourist police system. You would think we all felt pretty protected, but I’m not sure you all would have liked what you saw. The police were doing things on the job that you would never see at home: smoking, flirting, laughing, joking... By the end of the trip, the conveyer belt in the port building wasn’t running anymore, and they didn’t care about the metal detector going off for ten people in a row.... Apparently, they are so corrupt that they take bribes. For example, it is very common to pay a bribe to the guard of the pyramids at night to climb them.... Can you say corruption?? This is all a very good example of the state of their economy. People are so desperate for money here. Some people in Egypt live on 2 dollars a day. That extra dollar or Egyptian pound goes a long way.

Anyway, unlike the other ports, our mission to find an ATM was NOT easy, and in the end, unsuccessful. None of us spoke a lick of Arabic, and we were extremely intimidated by the conditions of the city. It’s VERY polluted, run down, and in no state to be wandering around aimlessly. Usually in other ports, we could ask someone on the streets where the nearest ATM was, and they would give us thorough directions, some would even take us there. Here, the only people to ask were looking to desperate sell something, or give you a taxi ride when it was a 5 minute walk. We quickly learned the system of traffic, too.... NO SYSTEM! Right outside the port, there is a 6 way intersection with absolutely no traffic lights, street signs, or road paint (is that what that’s even called??) It’s all a big game of Frogger... no joke. We played real like Frogger! Scary. And of course, we Americans who show our flesh and hair, unlike some Muslim women here, stick out like sore thumbs... And I’m blonde and lightly featured which is especially unusual to the Egyptians, so honks and waves were coming from every direction. Eventually, we got so intimidated that we turned around and went back in to try to get on an SAS trip. Ha ha..... we weren’t the only ones who got freaked out though! We BARELY made it onto the second bus tour. Anthony, Kristen and I luckily got onto the Alexandria Orientation with Bibliotheca tour. This tour was not the best, but better than being extremely overwhelmed on our own for the rest of the day. The tour took us down the water side highway through the city of Alexandria. The beaches were SWARMED with people swimming. A lot of them in their plain clothes, too, including women in their veils/traditional dress. We were told that a lot of people can’t afford bathing suits and these public beaches were for people of the lower middle class and down. The traditional dress in Egypt is much like what you would imagine a Middle Eastern country to be wearing: men in pants, women covered completely from head to toe. However, some women, like our tour guide, didn’t cover their hair. She explained the wide range of tradition/beliefs among the Egyptian society. They range from extremely traditional Muslim to not as conservative Christian (I’m trying to be very careful with my generalizations). The extremely traditional Muslim women only let their eyes show, much like what you would imagine. Those who dress in this fashion believe the only eyes to see their true beauty should be their husbands and immediate family, not even their brothers-in-law can see them without their veils. So, these women swim in their full dress... it’s THAT hot here! (Yes, by the way, we are in AFRICA!) Our tour took us to some private palaces, mosques, and the highlighted Bibliotheca. The bibliotheca (library) in Alexandria is where they discovered that the earth is round... This is not the original building (original was destroyed by a fire set off by Romans I believe). The library is new, round, and huge! It’s actually really modern, and quite distinct from the rest of the city. There were computers with free internet, so of course, I couldn’t get myself away from Facebook... it follows me wherever I go!

When we got back to the port, my friends and I visited the huge line of about 25 port shops stuffed with souvenirs. By the end of the trip, I had spent probably an accumulative of about 5 hours there. There was just so much to look at! Little Egyptian trinkets, clothing, etc. And there was always something new to find. The Egyptian pound is about 5.5 to every American dollar. And the exchange rate was very cheap so yes, I did some damage, but not to the dollar! One shop in particular was making Cartouches (kar-toosh). These come from the ancient Egyptian days of Hieroglyphics. A Cartouche is what the ancient Pharaohs would write their names in Hieroglyphics vertically. It’s the most popular souvenir for obvious reasons. I had my name made in hieroglyphics onto a ring for a very good price. This shop was SWARMED with orders the entire trip. Lindsay and I made a friend at this shop. His name was Nasir I believe and he just loved making sales. Every time we went in there, he recognized us and told everyone we were his bosses. He was a cute old man that was obsessed with the Semester at Sea water bottles everyone was carrying around. He cut a deal with some of us that we could pick anything we wanted from his store in exchange for a SAS water bottle... Lindsay and I looked behind his little counter one night... STASHED with SAS bottles and souvenirs.... I wonder what he’s going to do with all of these.... By the 3rd day, Nasir had so many Cartouche orders that had only slept about 3 hours in all of these days. He didn’t care though, he was making very good money and therefore, a very happy man. Nasir is a good representation of the rest of the vendors. They are all about the business and making a sale. Bartering, was again, expected when shopping... They all have the same lines for everyone: “Oh, I make good price because you have beautiful eyes,” or, “Lady, I make you good price.” I can’t help but laugh when they call us “lady.” Literally, it’s, “Lady, you come here, I make you good price.” When one vendor called us this, I laughed and asked him, “Why do you say ‘lady’.” He said that “lady” is much like “young miss,” or “beautiful one.” I told him that in America, it’s weird to be called just lady, and that we typically used “ma’am” or “miss,” the reason for my laughter. He said that “lady” is the highest compliment in Egypt.... Interesting isn’t it? Being called “lady” became less striking after that conversation 😊

That night, the group of us opted to stay in and do “Movie Night” on the ship. Every night in port, they show a movie as a sort of incentive for those who choose to stay in. Cookies and soda (which we usually have to pay for) are served, so it’s not a bad deal!

DAY 2 & 3:

Days 2 and 3, I bought an overnight trip to Cairo through Semester at Sea. This was probably one of the best purchases I made through SAS. A few of my friends were also on it, Anthony, Erik, Lauren, Meg, and new friend, Scott. Luckily, all of us made it onto the same bus (you always get back on that bus every stop). There were about 3 bus loads of us that made the 3 hour trip to Cairo that day. I don’t think any of us would have enjoyed Cairo as much as we did without these handy, air conditioned, well protected with guns, busses. The traffic in the cities was INSANE! Not like jammed packed, just literally, the drivers are crazy. Our tour guide, Ronda, explained to us that they paint lines on the 6 lane roads, but absolutely no one uses them. Drivers have no fear. They don’t follow lines, speed limits, no turn signals, they don’t even use headlights at night! Ronda taught us the system of communication in Egypt: one honk= “excuse me”, 2 honks= “thank you”, long honk=.... you can guess.....

As we approached the city, the giant pyramids of Giza were visible over the city skyline in the distance. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing... they were there, right in front of me... The pictures I’ve been looking at in our history books since kindergarten were coming to life right before my eyes. Seeing the pyramids got the whole bus very excited. Our first stop when we got to Cairo (I’m pulling out the itinerary I saved as we speak because it’s hard to remember) was to visit the Pyramids at Sakkara & Masataba. These pyramids weren’t as big as the pyramids of Giza, but still amazing nevertheless. When we stepped off the bus, all we could see for miles was sand.... we were actually in the desert! Hard to believe. We got to tour an underground tomb with ancient hieroglyphics... I got some pictures, although I am lucky. I heard plenty of stories of people being fined crazy amounts for the pictures they took. After the tour, they bussed us to a 5 star hotel to have buffet lunch. We were greeted with an “Egyptian” band (claim to be) playing us Jingle Bells and songs like this.... There was so much food, some Egyptian, some not. Our tour guide, Ronda, also took this time to sell us personalized Cartouches in many different forms like jewelry and t-shirts. The prices were significantly higher than the Cartouches at port. We later learned all of the tour guides make about a 50% commission for sales.... nuts. After lunch, they bussed us to the Egyptian Archeological Museum, or Museum of Antiquities as some of you may know it. The museum had no air-conditioning which made the tour a challenge... I don’t know how the Egyptian women stand the heat with only their eye-balls breathing.... I was really surprised with the condition of the museum, considering this is where most of the Egyptian economy is getting support. The cases were probably 40 years old, not lit, some not labeled, and very dusty. They do hold some pretty cool things though. We saw lots of ancient mummies, statues, and most of the contents of King Tut’s tomb. After the museum, we checked into our hotel, Conrad for a short siesta. The situation was quite odd... It was literally this amazing 5 star hotel on the Nile, in the middle of some of the worst poverty I witnessed in Egypt.... My room was ridiculous! The dollar is worth a lot in Egypt. The quality of my room was top-notch-expensive if it were in America, and because we were in Egypt it was not very expensive. I had balcony view of the Nile River, king size bed, gorgeous bathroom etc.... I started laughing when I got in it because I couldn’t believe it... Unfortunately I had a roommate who I was to share a bed with. I opted to have a slumber party with a few of my friends in their room. After our nap, a siesta at that, we headed out for the 45 minute Sound and Light Show on the Giza Plateau which includes the 3 huge pyramids and Sphinx. Ha ha- the show had about the corniest commentary you could ever imagine. I didn’t know I would be getting a history lesson along with it too. It was really cool, though, to see them light up the pyramids and give the Sphinx a face when it was “talking”... The last event on the itinerary was dinner at our hotel! Finally! We were starving... Best dinner ever though! On the way in, we caught end of a traditional Egyptian wedding which consisted of the musical celebration with dancing and such. Lots of fun! There aren’t very many people in Egypt who can afford to have their wedding at a 5 star hotel, so this was a treat. We had to get to bed soon because our wake up call was scheduled for 4:15 am....

We woke up so early for a great reason.... Sunrise over the Pyramids!!! I’ll get up at the butt crack of dawn for that any day. That’s how my third day in Egypt started. We got boxed breakfasts from the hotel. It was still dark out when our busses were waiting for us and outside the hotel were little kids looking for food. My friend Meg pooled the extra food all of us had and brought it out to them. They were exceedingly grateful.

The busses dropped us off at the perfect pictures place, right in front of the 3 Pyramids of Giza in the middle of the desert. The sun was just coming up behind the pyramids. The reason for this colorful sunrise was unfortunately the layer of smog over the city of Cairo. Cairo is SO polluted. We actually couldn’t see the sun itself until it was up past the top of the pyramids. We spent about 2 hours there, giving us a great opportunity to get creative with pictures. We hopped back on the bus to go to the other side of the pyramids for an opportunity to get closer and climb them! Even though the sign said “No Climbing” everyone did it. Guards didn’t care. The pyramids are made out of 2 ton blocks stacking up to skyscraper heights... I don’t know how those Egyptians did it... and all for the tombs of their Pharaohs.... Anywho, they then bussed us to the last pyramid to take our camel rides! It was 30 pounds (6 USD) for a 5 minute camel ride in front of the pyramids... To me that’s pretty priceless. I have another camel ride in Morocco, but c’mon, camels and pyramids go pretty hand in hand. Getting up and down was rough. The camels kneel and get on their hind legs first, then their front legs. Basically, you’re totally thrown forward, then backwards.... We, of course, took some great pictures thanks to our chicken of a friend, Anthony, who signed up but got too grossed out/scared to go through with it (he’s on the camel trek with me in Morocco...this could be interesting). The Sphinx was our next stop which is strategically placed in front of the 3 Pyramids for protection. Anthony and I bought turbans and had a great time taking some sweet, stereotypical pics 😊

The took us to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar in Cairo which is much like an uncovered, more raw version of the Turkish Bazaar. Of course, nothing new, lots of crazy sales men desperate for you to make a purchase. Anthony went unusually crazy... he HATES shopping, too! I don’t know what got into him.

Our last destination on the trip was to a lunch cruise on the Nile... Hmm, eating, on a moving boat? Not like we haven’t done that before! What we don’t have on the ship are belly dancers, whirling dervish, and of course, the Nile River. The belly dancer wasn’t very good, but the whirling dervish guy was! This is a traditional love dance common in Turkey. The whirling is supposed to be a love call to attract mates. They are literally swirling the whole time, for about 5 minutes without getting dizzy. Unfortunately, that lunch is still haunting me today...... I think it is the culprit for my TD (traveler’s diarrhea). I’m sorry this is so graphic, but it’s a reality... Since Turkey, probably about 50% of the ship are victims of poop syndromes, either constipation or diarrhea. Personally, I think I have the better of the two. They tell us to not eat anything that is washed in water.... this is almost impossible to avoid unless you go completely starved and not experience the culture. I think TD is a price worth paying.

Our ride back was sad. I, in no way, shape, or form, wanted to leave the pyramids. To experience a piece of history, one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, is something I will never forget. Habibi, you MUST go to Cairo. I’m not talking a family vacation, because Egypt is no place for that, but at least for a day, fly into Cairo and see them. It will be worth your while.

DAY 4 & 5:
The last 2 days, we spent in Alexandria. There was talk of going to Luxor (the location of the Valley of the Kings and King Tut’s mummy) on a sleeper train, but it fell through. I, honestly, wasn’t looking forward to spending 2 more days in Alexandria. Although there weren’t any more sights to see, we made the most of our time. The fourth day, a group of us, Lindsay, Anthony, Scott, Shannon, Nina, Taylor, and Molly, decided to catch a cab to Carrefour, the biggest mall in Alexandria. The cab ride was INTENSE! We came very close to crashing multiple times... The cab drivers do whatever they want. They’ll dead stop in the middle of the highway, even back up! Our group was slit into 2 cabs and our drivers tried to stick together... they were having conversations with each other out the windows AS we were driving! But, lo and behold, we made it! The other cab driver wanted to marry Shannon and make her his third wife (he currently has 2 at home). He said “she’s not black or white, like the Egyptians.” Ha ha. ....We spent a couple hours there shopping in the regular stores and the busiest grocery store I’ve ever been in, then made our way to the Four Seasons Hotel where there was a mall as well. The hotel was beautiful and shopping was good too. Half of us were shopped out so we cabbed it back to the ship for dinner on the boat.

Going out at night isn’t much of an option in Egypt. In the Muslim culture, alcohol is looked down upon, especially with women. We also weren’t allowed to go out without guys in our group for obvious reasons which deterred us from doing any sort of wandering even with the guys in our group. So instead, we took a cab to the Four Seasons Hotel again where we knew it was safe. This was our first time taking a cab from within the port. They are a little more expensive because the port authority gets commission from them (another form of corruption in my eyes). The cabs are old, blue, and without power steering.... We made a deal with the cab driver to pick us up from the 4 Seasons too. At the top of the hotel, they had an outdoor restaurant overlooking the city and the Mediterranean. I had some Sushi (I know, risky in a foreign country) and we had the tastiest guava flavored hookah, or shisha as they call it. We had to rush out to catch our cab when the night ended... he wasn’t very happy because we were 5 minutes late and tried to charge us more than what we agreed on.... that didn’t happen. We put our foot down because he was asking for ridiculous amounts of money that was completely unnecessary. We split up when we got back to the port. Anthony, Scott and I made our way to the internet café. We figured at 2:30 in the morning, it would be less busy and therefore the reception would be a bit better than it was during the day. We were right! And lucky! Almost everyone we talked to later had absolutely no luck there. Their servers aren’t as good in Alexandria apparently. Getting internet has been a challenge pretty much since Turkey, and without it on the ship, the 700 of us are all desperate in port.

It wasn’t until about 4 am that we walked back to the ship.... the souvenir shops were STILL open, but without many customers at all. I found it amazing... the shop owners kids were running the shops now. This late... We were asking them when they go to bed and when they sleep, school etc. I caught most of it on tape, it’s pretty fascinating. And they’re all like their fathers. These 9-year-olds have the same talk, the same lines, the same gimmicks. Always trying to sell you something. I’m pretty sure they learn this out of the womb...

On the last day, I accompanied a friend, Taylor, to find internet at a McDonald’s near by. Ha ha, this was the funniest thing that happened to me in Egypt... So we cut a deal with an in-port blue taxi to take us to McDonald’s for 20 pounds.... We get in the car and are trying to cross the bridge of the port... All of a sudden our car starts put-putting up the hill at about 6 miles an hour... Taylor and I look at each other like this is trouble. I immediately busted out my camera to film some of this. Here we are chugging along, never going to get there, let alone survive in this crazy traffic.... We ask him what is wrong and he shrugs. We finally get out of the port (I have this all on film, luckily) and all of a sudden, his car backfires... ha ha we couldn’t stop laughing... That is, until he says “One moment” and turns into an alley.... Taylor goes, “I don’t want to be here right now....” ha ha. We kept asking him what he was doing but he didn’t speak enough English to tell us. We figured out his friend was going to fix it, but were not about to stick around for that so we got out and made our way back to the main road.... Found a cab for half the price and found McDonald’s. The whole trip was definitely worth the story! On our way back, we stopped at the internet café so Taylor could make a phone call. While she was on the phone, I noticed 3 men, dressed traditionally, carrying live sheep around their necks like they were pets. Whoah! I thought I was in the Twighlight Zone.... like the world reversed about 300 years. Of course, I’m sure they were about to sell them, but they treated them like pets. I asked to take a pictures of them... I think I might give that one to the Ship’s yearbook/picture book thing... they’re always looking for cultural ones.

So that was my Egyptian experience! Looking back on it, I still can’t believe I was actually there, in front of the pyramids, touching them, seeing the Sphinx, playing Frogger in the streets, bartering for Egyptian souvenirs.... I think this is the first country where I, unfortunately, didn’t learn how to say “Hello” and “Thank You” in the native language. Arabic looks like beautiful scribbles to me. I will make this a priority in Morocco because I’m kicking myself in the butt about it now. We have 5 days at sea until Morocco. But let me tell ya, I think I miss Egypt. It’s not a country I think I will ever come back to not because I didn’t like it, but because I’ve seen what I needed to see. On the first day wandering around Alexandria, I remember saying to myself, “How will I be able to spend 5 more days in this intensity?” By the end of the trip, yo have enough of a sense of the culture to make your way around. This is usual throughout all of the ports. In the beginning, you feel completely intimidated, like a deer in headlights with all of the new things to take in. But by the end of 4 or 5 days, you’ve experienced enough to feel comfortable. With only one port left, things are finally sinking in. Spain feels like centuries ago. We pack so much into 10 weeks, and I’m already starting to miss countries. The boat returns in a little less than 2 weeks and I can’t imagine this adventure coming to an end....

Habibi, if you ever need a travel buddy, count me in 😊

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Comments

[Diane Schnelker]

I just got caught up.
Hey Sweetie! I just got caught up on your adventures. I am so in awe I don't know what to say!!!!! The list of places I want to see grows with each blog entry. Can't wait to see more of the pics and to hear more stories. I look forward to your next blog! XOXOXOX Diane P.S. The only thing new here is that I started a new job last week and am getting used to a new schedule. Will fill you in when I see you.