Cairo (Part One)

I arrived in Cairo yesterday afternoon. It's noisy and crowded, but fun. I only know a few words in Arabic, so it's a little difficult to get around, but a lot of people speak English and I'm able to get by. All the Egyptian people I've met have been extraordinarily friendly and helpful.

I really enjoy chatting with people. No fewer than six taxi drivers and waiters have declared "Oh, Barack Obama! Yay Obama!" when I told them I was from the United States. "He is very good man," one said. "Also, Clinton good!" I give a big smile and say, "Yes, I am very happy!" I told him the story about when I saw President Clinton and threw my arms around him. He laughed. I asked, "You like George Bush?" He made a sour face and interesting hand gesture.

Today, I visited the Pyramids! It's a total cliche, but they were even more amazing in person than I ever could have imagined. Pictures here. When I saw them peeking over the Giza suburbs in the taxi ride, my mouth dropped and I was utterly speechless. That continued until we arrived and I had to gather my wits about me to deal with the dozens of touts who work near the entrance.

The site is huge, and it was scorching hot. I realized that a donkey or horse ride around the site would be a good investment, but a carriage ride in a covered car would be a better one. I bargained a good price for a donkey tour ($8/per hour) and went to saddle up. As I got on, I "suddenly realized" that I would have to either hitch up or tear my calf-length skirt, refused the ride, and started to walk away. The guide followed me, insisting that it would be okay and offering lower prices. I asked, "Carriage ride at original price?" He laughed and refused, so I kept walking. By the time I had made it to the entrance, we had a deal.

I spent nearly two hours riding around the site with Omar, my guide, and "Ali Baba," his horse. Unfortunately, I was too late to climb inside any of the pyramids, but it's a good excuse to come back with my kids.

When I left the site, I hit the nearest ATM machine -- and it refused to give me my card back! Unfortunately, the bank was closed until Sunday. The local tourist police tried to help, but couldn't reach anyone at the bank and couldn't really do much of anything. Upset and frustrated, I decided that it would be best to get back to Cairo ASAP, so I could contact my bank and make arrangements for a new card. I was beseiged by offers from taxi drivers, none of whom knew quite how to handle a crying American woman who kept asking to be taken to "Cairo, address later." (I needed time to look up an Internet cafe address in my guidebook.)

Eventually, I was "rescued" by a group of American medical students who were also headed to Cairo, and offered to share their taxi. (We'd met briefly near the Sphinx). They were very kind and let me sit in front. They literally piled into the backseat, with the ease and efficiency of a well-rehearsed routine. "This is not the first time we've done this," they said. "And this is not the first picture we've taken of us like this."

They explained that one member of their group had been detained by the Israel government on suspicion of having swine flu. "They took my temperature while I was outside, after a 2 km walk, wearing my backpack and jacket!" He said he was locked in a hospital room for two days, and only fed once.

The taxi dropped us at the Giza Metro station. I followed them into Cairo on an incredibly fast and cheap subway ride, and we said good-bye at a central tranfer station.

I made a beeline for an Internet cafe. Thankfully, my bank agreed to send a new card to my next hotel, in Luxor, and I have the resources to survive without it for the next few days.