When we arrived at the JFK airport in New York, five women were dressed in their burqa, the traditional black dress covering the entire body and face of a woman, with only the eyes showing. Jason called it the ninja wear. And as soon as I saw this, the diverse reality of where we were headed was exciting. But it also made me realize when you cannot see the human emotion of someone, it can be very intimidating.
After many hours of traveling from New York through Jordan to Cairo, we finally arrived to our destination late at night. We grabbed a $7 Stella at our Hilton hotel and called it a night. Beers are a rare find in a Muslim country, and when you do find them, they make you pay.
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Egyptian Museum
The next morning started off at the Cairo Museum since we didn’t want to go with our regular tour group that day. The museum had two levels of some amazing artifacts. King Tut’s world renown mask that he was buried with stood in a glass case. He was literally buried in six different sarcophaguses when they found him, with each sarcophagus being held in the other. The largest sarcophagus probably stood six feet tall. The other items in the museum included statues, spears, mummies, chariots, an old boat, etc. The museum however wasn’t very well kept. Some of the artifacts were bolted in with wire and screws, display cases were taped together, and other items had been aged by thousands of people touching it. Egypt should either sell some of these artifacts or increase the $12 price to help preserve it.
Bazaars
We then taxi’d over to the bazaar. Right when we jumped out of the cab, a giant of a man approached us. He then asked us where we were from and then he began to confess his love of the USA, from Obama all the way to Golds Gym. He then said he wanted to show us the real bazaar and led us through a few different alleys. I got even more nervous when he led up a dark staircase for three levels, but luckily this was only his papyrus art shop. He offered us tea and some people bought art. It was an interesting experience.
We also were now at the local bazaar. We walked through a few streets seeing people carrying cages of bread on their heads, firing steel to create tools, and smoking sheesha outside their shops. We then found ourselves next to some cops with machine guns, so we decided to head to the touristy bazaar, across the bridge.
Thanksgiving Dinner
After spending a few hours here, we then headed for dinner. With rabbit and stuffed pigeon at our table, we realized it was Thanksgiving, a slow realization. We went back to the hotel where Jason, Rob, and I finished our night by going across the street to a sheesha lounge. For two pipes, a water, and tea – it cost us $3 each. We then ran over to the next door for some food, which was an ancient Egyptian dish, kosheri. It contained pasta, lentils, and spices. You then added your own garlic and hot spice. It was delicious and only a dollar.
Traffic
One last note would be to discuss the traffic. It’s as crazy, if not more nerve racking than Thailand. But people play frogger just to get across the street. And were talking the highway. It’s nuts and it’s not easy at all. But we usually find the closest local to hide behind to get across the street.