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Published: November 5th 2005
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Charlie
Good old Charlie the Camel Holy Cairo,
Lloyd and I arrived in Cairo bright and early at 2am. We were very unprepared for perhaps the scariest taxi ride of out lives. Speeding through the city at speeds reaching 80 mph, we tried to grab for the seat belts but were felt with a terrible sinking feeling after realising there were non. Our driver Mustafa could only laugh as he saw the terror in our faces. I think driving would be a lot safer if
A. People actually drove with their lights on
B. They had traffic lanes.
C. Drivers weren't completely insane
Unfortunately we could not check into our hotel until 5, so we decided to explore the Nile, and after an hour we passed out on the floor. Nice use of the facilities. We missed breakfast but don't worry room service came to save the day. We ended up staying at the hotel until 9pm and finally ventured out into the night. We found an awesome Little seedy coffee shop, where we attempted to communicate without any Arabic lessons. We got absolutely nowhere but they did understand "shisha" Arabic for water pipe as well as bottled water and tea. Sign language
The Great Chods
Gadiel and I at the famous cafe El Fishawy. This place has been open every day for 200 years. Ironically it was closed when we tried to go there. works wonders.
Addie arrived later that night. We went out to the Nile and grabbed some dinner and caught up.
Our first day consisted of touring "Islamic Cairo." We came to Cairo only knowing about the Ancient Egyptian Cairo but after our first day with our tour guide Azza we had a totally different view. There is so much to see in Cairo.
As I wonder the streets I feel as if I am the only Caucasian person in the world. The little kids all say "hello" and "Welcome to Egypt." How do they know I am a tourist or that I speak English. I think it might as well be stamped on my forehead. We took a short visit to the Bazaar but were to tired to bargain...it will have to wait until later.
I find the Egyptians a lot friendlier than the Turkish. Don't get me wrong the Turks were unbelievable, but perhaps I have just been lucky but not many Egyptians have tried to screw me over...yet.
The first night we also went to a sound and light show at the Pyramids. I recommend it to anyone visiting Cairo. It is perhaps
Muhamed Ali Mosque
We sat here in the Mosque while our guide told us the history of Islam. So many questions Answered. Thank you Azza the most touristy thing one can do in Egypt but the Pyramids are absolutely Surreal lit up by different colors.
As we arrived at the pyramids they looked almost fake. After seeing them in books all my life I was not prepared to fully understand no appreciate them. I stared in aw at the three pyramids as well as the Sphinx that stands guard in front of them. They are magical structures, and I feel honored to have seen them in my lifetime
Our Second day our Guide took us our to Memphis, the original Capital of Ancient Egypt (3600BCE). We saw the statue of the Ramses numero 2. He was quite a man to say the least as he did have 100 children. can you say PIMP?
After Memphis it was off to the original pyramid, the Step Pyramid. This structure is very impressive, but hurry and go see it before it crumbles to the ground.
Our Next destination was the only standing wonder of the world, The Great pyramid. Standing at 160 meters tall this structure is breathtaking. Some of the Stones weigh up to 15 tons. that's a big stone.
We ventured
The Sha and I
New Musical comming this Spring. The Sha of Iran's Tomb. The old glag of Iran. into the center of the Great pyramid. It was truly magical in there. The room where king Keops was buried is exactly in the middle of the Pyramid. It might be the fact that it is really hot in there but I felt like I was standing at the center of the earth. The energy is simply amazing. A spiritual experience.
We spent the next few days just checkin out Cairo. The Egyptian museum was very impressive. All the artifacts from King Tut's tomb were present including his 250 pound solid gold sarcophagus. WOW and the world famous gold head.
Oh yes and one more thing. We managed to Crashe an Islamic wedding party. Free food and deserts. Gadi and I had the wedding photgrapher take a photo of us, just in case they forgot about the huge red head who ate all the baklava
I could go on and on about Cairo. I have never felt so welcome in a city. I am really looking forward to spending two weeks here and exploring the rest of this magical country.
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Ejorgs
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Damn Son
Amdo - It all sounds amazing. Especially the free baklava. However did you sneak around the wedding unnoticed? I bet Gadiel fit in though...