Despite this mishap, we departed in high spirits and enjoyed a quick 10 1/2 hour direct flight to Cairo, where we arrived the following morning at 11:00 am local time. Our first views of this sprawling and dusty city revealed an ocher landscape with little greenery except for the area around the Nile Delta which we passed before landing. A dense atmosphere of smog obscures any long vistas and gives the impression of a slight overcast. Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
Customs and immigration proved quick and uncrowded (our flight was only one of two internationals that day) and we soon arrived at the baggage terminal. Our first efforts to withdraw money from the ATMs therein failed, which we later discovered to be an issue with our bank. It was not for some hours before we were finally able to get cash.
This obstacle did not prevent our Uber ride from the airport to our Airbnb, which went off fairly smoothly once we had identified our car. License plates here use the Arabic numbering, which for a baffling reason is different than our own Arabic numerals. We will doubtlessly be familiar with these symbols by the time we leave this dusty country.
Our Uber ride brought us into the heart of the city, past crumbling buildings of former grandeur, rows of ocher apartment buildings crowned with forests of jumbled satellite dishes, and a surprising number of military installations (which are illegal to photograph I believe) surrounded by walls interspersed with guard towers (some complete with mounted machine guns). Also along the main road from the airport are solitary guards in white uniforms lining the street at intervals of 100 feet or so; we are unsure of their purpose.
We had some trouble in finding the entrance to our Airbnb, as we were unsure of the exact building it was in (no numbers are displayed on any of the buildings surrounding the square). After some wanderings to and fro, during which we tried and failed to get cash from another ATM, a man on the street led us down a dark alley were we found the entrance to our apartment building. Soon thereafter, after exiting an elevator without doors and a carrying limit of three people, we found ourselves on the ninth floor in our comfortable rooms with a balcony overlooking the bustling city.
Opting not to take a nap after our long journey, we instead ventured out to get cash (having heard from the bank), view the Nile, and find some food. I am happy to say that we were successful in all three ventures, though the latter two proved more difficult than anticipated. After getting cash from an ATM, we set off to find a restaurant suggested to us by our host. Her directions, compounded by our own blunders, delayed the completion of this goal, and we ended up walking to see the Nile first. This walk culminated in the death defying crossing of a busy street, after we had given up trying to find a tunnel suggested to us by a nice man who lead us up the street parallel with that great river, a direction that conveniently brought us next to his gift shop. The streets here are the epitome of chaos, with fewer traffic lights than are needed and even fewer pedestrian cross walks. This results in what essentially amounts to walking into a busy street whenever you need to get to the other side.
We finally reached the Nile and would have spent more time gazing across those ancient banks, but for the grumbling of our unhappy stomachs, which urged us towards the completion of our last goal, dinner.
We finally found ourselves in the aforementioned eatery, an establishment by the name Felfela, were we were greatly happy to be able to order three Stellas (the authentic Egyptian Lager). For dinner Theodore ordered sausages, Mom had rice and veggies, and The coAuthor tried a stuffed pigeon.
After this meal, we returned to our humble abode and collapsed on our beds, oblivious to the honk-honk symphony of the cars below.
-Theodore and Nathaniel
At 30th Street Station
A toast before our flight
After a long flight, Egypt finally came into view; the green verdure of the delta soon gave way to more arid climes
Mummy on the balcony of our Airbnb
Cairo; the visible road is the Kasr al Nile, which leads to that river and means Nile Palace
Mummy and Tut 2 by the Nile
Tut and Tut imbibing after a long day
Pigeon stuffed with rice; not much meat but good nonetheless
DAD Actual(ly) Isn't Cairo where Indiana Jones lost his monkey due to 'bad dates?' Be careful!
ReplyDeletePigeon, you will eat but not no shrimp?!?? Very Interesting
ReplyDeleteWhere is the diary??? Where are the picstures?????
ReplyDeleteSince when is Nathaniel the most adventurous eater of the bunch?!
ReplyDelete