Oct. 23 – From El-Quseir to HURGHADA to CAIRO
Our flight from Hurghada to Cairo leaves at 13.40.
The taxi driver is waiting for us at 10.00 at the main entrance of Utopia, the one next to security, which block us. The reception call twice the security on the phone, to know where we are going, they are worried since we did not book any transfer, or taxi… They say they do it for our own safety, but I feel more that they are angry because we did not arrange with them.
In the stretch of road from Quseir to Safaga there are very few resorts, and nothing else. The sea in many places is Caribbean turquoise, and becomes awesome close to a hotel complex called Magic Life, forming a large lagoon. The part of Hurghada I see the car window is a huge cluster of condos, many of whom are looking for a buyer. The buildings show a certain elegance, but as a matter of fact, adding them to several water parks, and Disneyland-style hotels, the addition is a mess. Rather than such a mess, I prefer a thousand times the desolate stillness of El Quseir! This time the flight is delayed, and we land at Cairo at 15.45, instead of 15.10.
Now the fun begins, and when the going gets tough the tough get going.
We already know that from Terminal 3 we have to take the shuttle bus to the Terminal 1 parking lot. I do not remember the exact stop, we get off at wrong place, and we are assaulted by taxi drivers, we resist and take the next shuttle to the exact point. We have no hotel booked, this time, as in Luxor, but Cairo is not a small town, and it won’t be as easy. Some people indicate to us the bus nr. 356 to Midan Tahrir, 2 EGP. We had it in front of our nose, but we did not see it because we expected something different, like a shuttle, and instead we find ourselves on the usual old dirty wreck
The last stop of the bus is not exactly in the Midan Tahrir Square, but in a kind of big parking lot, under a bridge, in front of the Ramses Hilton, and behind the Egyptian Museum .. It ‘s almost dark, I see Midan Tahrir in the distance; in the middle between me and my coveted destination there are dozens of streets overflowing with cars which whizz as crazy. They are dangerous, and difficult to cross, no one respects the traffic lights, with our big bags we cannot move move with agility in that chaos. We reach eventually the Sharia Talat Haarb, and we go through it all, but it is a disaster. The hotels are disgusting, the most of them are at the upper floors of buildings with dirty and dilapidated entrances, with rickety and crumbling elevators, rooms are horrible, dirty and musty carpet floors, filthy bathrooms, and full of cockroaches. In some of these hovels, owners, with wry grin, claim 60 USD. We decide to return to the square where the bus stopped, and then, by taxi, with great difficulty, reach the Shepheard Hotel. It’s located directly on the river, near the US embassy, but at least is less expensive than Hilton and Semiramis, at next door. A room facing the Nile costs 210 USD, and one on the back 180 USD. We opt for the latter. Since it is close to the Egyptian museum, we will take advantage to visit it while leaving the luggage in the hotel deposit room, and then we will find another hotel. Staying in Cairo in a luxury hotel near the American Embassy does not seem the best option for our personal safety hotel, but we hope that nobody will have the insane idea of blowing himself in the neighborhood in the only night we will spend here.
The Shepheard Hotel is gorgeous, the dining room features magnificent chandeliers, Arabic style lodges with Moorish arches, and finely perforated wooden niches. The rooms are at slightly lower quality level than corridors, full of rich carpets, mirrors and brass lamps
October 24
After a fabulous breakfast, at 10 we are in front of the Egyptian Museum, 5 minutes walk from the hotel.
Admission costs 65 EGP, cameras must be left in a storage room at the entrance, we can’t bring them inside, even if closed inside the backpacks, they stop us, and we must go back..
The museum seems like a huge, dusty and cluttered attic. The glasses are very dirty, the lighting, at the darker ground floor, consists in dingy neon lights. A lot of exhibits do not even have a label indicating what they are, others have yellowed paper notes stuck on them, written with a very old typewriter. In a side corridor, whose access to the public is barred by a plank of wood, a lot of stuff is untidily scattered around, like in a storage room. What a pity. We know that a new Museum will soon be ready, close to the Pyramids.
The first floor is ennobled by the very well known areas dedicated to Tuthankamen and its treasures, the jewelery exhibitions, royal mummies (entrance aside, 100 EGP) and the animals mummies. We arrive in front of the sarcophagus and the golden mask in a pretty quiet moment, the crowds of tourists seem to have vanished. We can therefore contemplate all these treasures with a certain calmness
The sight of the cats mummies, there are 3 or 4 of them, will cause a shock to my unconscious. The following night I will be haunted by nightmares, in a dream I witness the death of my beloved cat Morgana, 16 years old, who at present is sick. Immediately I contact my mother to get news about her…. How odd, the human psyche … Leaving the museum, we return to Talat Haarb, where finally we can find a decent room at Cairo Inn. The hotel is right on the roundabout of the square, in front of the historic Groppi pastry. It is located into a Parisian style renovated building, the entrance is not even so much disgusting, the rooms are located at upper floors, there is a restaurant on the first floor. Ceilings are high, new and silent air conditioners, beige and purple painted walls with golden stuccos, purple bathrooms tiles. All the back ones, perfectly quiet, are already full. We accept a front one, we have no choice, the only thing that worries us a bit is the traffic noise at night
We transfer our luggage, walking from the Shepheard Hotel. We are now experts in moving among the traffic jams.
We have lunch and dinner at the Cafe Riche, very close to our hotel. It is a very nice restaurant, once frequented by intellectuals. Average prices. About 12-13 Euros for the both of us.
Through our hotel, we book for the next day an excursion which will take us in the morning to the Giza plateau, and in the afternoon, to the Citadel, and then to the Islamic area. We will go back on our own. It costs 80 EGP per person, excluding entry fees. This is quite convenient, since the alternative should be hopping from a taxi to the other one. The hotel receptionist mutters something about a horse or camel trip, but he is very mysterious about the prices, so we just ignore him. We are so tired that we sleep deeply despite the noise of the incessant horns, which seem muffled by tons of cotton wool.
October 25
Our last full day in Cairo, breakfast is poor, toasted bread (2 slices per person), a box of jam, and a cup of tea. Truly, when I told the waiter I did not want milk and cornflakes, I was hoping to get more bread and jam ..
The minivan picks us up at 9.00. As I suspected there is a trick. The driver tells us that all tourists enter at Giza from the great pyramid side, while he wants to assure an authentically Egyptian experience, entering from the secondary entrance, the Sphinx one. But he stops well before the Sphinx, in Nazlet as Samaan village area, where there the camels stables are
He then stops in front of one of these stables, and introduces us to a tour operator, which lists us a long schedule of trips with exorbitant prices, 300 EGP per person for an hour and a half ride. Looking at my disappointed face, he ensures me that this is the best tour to do, if I went to the Pyramids on my own I should face a disturbing scenario, pay for everything, entry, camera, not to mention touts, and selllers, etc. etc.. I already know that I have to pay an entrance fee for each pyramid, I did not know anything about the camera fee, but, frankly, this seems to me a big bullshit. And I start feeling that he is the real nuisance, and not the papyrus sellers. I ask politely to our driver to take us away, because I refuse this camel trip. He does not move, the other one begins to haggle on the price. I insist: fuck it, I want to go alone to the Pyramids with my boyfriend, without guides or camels in the way, no matter if it is hot and they are far , we will walk on our own. When we regain our seats on the minibus, the company manager stop us. Again I claim my right to be left alone.
The driver stops in the open space at the entrance in front of the Sphinx. We pay 60 EGP to enter, no extras for cameras. My instinct was right .. We have time two hours, which is enough to wander a bit, reaching Cheops and Chephren, and take pictures with the camels, (we pay 10 EGP each). It ‘s wonderful, it’s a life that I dreamt to see the Pyramids, which have been here for five thousand years, nothing but stories, sellers are a bit pushy, but I am all taken from the euphoria and do not care about them
Back from the Pyramids, the driver leaves us at the base of the Citadel, where we visit the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, and look at the views of the city below
The driver seems to be hurt when I say that from the outside the Mosque is similar to the Istanbul one. The interior is richly decorated, hundreds of bowl amps hang from the ceiling , as well as a dozen of more elaborated chandeliers, whose pendants clink gently moved by the air stream. Strangely, at the entrance, there are no special lockers to store footwear, so we need to take shoes with us.
When we exit, the minivan takes us in front of the Mosque of Al-Azhar, where we say goodbye. The driver wants a tip. Truly, I don’t feel like giving him a tip, first because he claims it, and second because all the hassle he gave us with the camel at the Pyramids pissed me. However, since I have no desire to start a new discussion, I give him 2 or 3 bucks, and I hasten to get off the car
To our left is the famous Khan Al Khalili market. The Islamic Cairo is perhaps the part, together of course the Pyramids, that I was more curious to see. It’s always a pleasure to get lost in the narrow streets crammed with goods and men, among the most diverse odors, smoke, spices, sweat, and even garbage .. It’s the exotic and more authentic touch to the holiday, this lack of cleanliness and sterility, which does not bother me at all.
We enter the Al Azhar mosque, which is very ancient, and is home to a center of Islamic studies which is the second most important after the one in Fez, Morocco, which I have already visited 4 years ago.
Despite wearing long and large trousers, and a shawl on my shoulders, they make me wear a cloak with a hood that gives me a rather ridiculous look. Since it is too long for me, I even risk to trip. I somehow doubt that this joke is really necessary, and I start to be convinced that’s another way to extort money. Since other tourists already wear it, I do not protest. We visit a large room in which students are bent over books, and give a look at the beautifully inlaid stone vaults. We are constantly followed, I do not think we are showing signs of non respect, probably it’s because we are the only ones who sent away all those who proposed as a guides). An old man asks us if we want to climb the minarets, if I understand well, but we do not have any small money, and we decline the offer. The guy who had forced me to wear the cloak claims a baksheesh when I give it back to him. I put in 1 EGP in his hands, he is a bit angry, I do not care and go away.
Since we skipped lunch, when we realized to be in front of the famous Egyptian Pancakes, mentioned on the Lonely Planet, we stop to eat two pancakes, which, unfortunately, leave much to be desired. The interior of the restaurant is absolutely filthy.
The souk offers more or less the same merchandise that we already saw in Luxor and Aswan; prices seem much lower, but traders still less likely to haggle. There are beautiful lamps with colored crystals, other finely worked brass. Unfortunately, overly bulky to be transported by air. We pass close to other beautiful mosques, getting lost in the alleys, next to carved wooden shutters
We believe we got lost, but then we realize again we are close to Egyptian Pancakes. This time, I sit at the restaurant next door, Al Halwagy, which is much cleaner, where I order a nice huge cup of mint tea. It’s about 17.00, the surrounding mosques spread the voices of muezzins, each one with its own litany. I always enjoy to listen to this chant, even when it is transmitted from dozens of different speakers, creating a sort of harmonious disorder. It’s like the smell of food, of spices, of garbage, something different from what I’m used to, in a word, attractive
A really rickety taxi (after several fruitless attempts to start the engine, the roar of the motor seems a consumptive’s cough) bring us to the hotel. It’s our last dinner at the Cafe Riche, our last walk along Talat Haarb, which also gives me the saddest image of the vacation. A very small girl selling paper handkerchiefs, on the edge of a sidewalk. She holds an exercise book on her crossed legs, a crumpled open book close to her merchandise. She does her homework and writes. It is 23.00
October 26
At 10 o’clock a taxi takes us back where everything started. Finally, and it took 15 days, but finally I made it, I manage, in Arabic, to fetch a decent price to the airport, 40 EGP.