| Submitted by: Shazil Rehman, United Arab Emirates |
| Submission Date: 07 March 2005 |
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My much awaited, short and hectic Egypt tour started on a low note. Arrived in Alexandria at 00.35 on 19th January, one hour late courtesy Air Arabia. Contrary to popular opinion the 5 hour low-cost flight from Sharjah to Alex was quite good (food on offer was bad though, plus you had to pay for it extra!), but the delay was not so pleasant.
Alexandria was bone chilling cold when I walked out of the airport at 3 am..almost felt like the chill of Manali in India! I didnt expect such weather, but it was ok..hired a taxi, without negotiating too much, coz at that time of the night in such weather, u want the cabbie on ur side! My hotel, called Union Hotel was right on the corniche..which is a lovely necklace shaped area just like the Marine Drive in Mumbai..the first impression of Alex was that of a laid-back chilled place..and that was the final impression as well !! Language was a barrier throughout my trip, but with a few Arabic words here n there, was able to manage quite well! The hotel guy was quite helpful even at 3 am, as i discussed with him my plan of action for the morning.
At 7 am, after breakfast, i headed for the nearby tram station. it was pouring rain already, and that was a dampener. Straight to the Roman Catacombs i went, which is a burial ground during the roman reign, consisitng of tombs and graves 100 feet below the surface...apparently this place was discovered when a donkey fell in a grave in 1900, and since then they have excavated a whole area of ruins..it was amazing to think of how they must have constructed such a precise n perfect place deep down inside, its almost like a mortuary there with places for so many bodies! Plus lots of architecture and stuff on the walls...next stop was Pompeys Pillar, just a landmark TALL pillar from Alexanders times! Back to the tram and on the return journey, it felt sooo nice jus soaking in the views.
Alex is still living in the 1930s or 1940s...of course the modern city life is there in some areas, but there is this other side that you see..the normal day to day life of the people..and nothing is hurried or rushed...most the roads are made of cobble stones, and side by side the cars (trust me the newest car in Alex is a 1970s Lada or a Datsun or Fiat, including the taxis!), there are horse carts going clickety clackity while the sweet smell of sheesha (Arabic smoke pipe) envelopes the air...it was just too good..From the cafes came the sound of takbir(Islamic religious verses), as live transmission of an important religious event in Saudi Arabia happened on TVs...And the Alexandrians huddled around the rainy streets making their way to some last minute shopping and preparations for Eid(an important Muslim fesitval), the next day...
Next stop was the location of the ancient lighthouse, which was one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, but got destroyed in floods and quakes. Next to it was the Fort of Qaitbay, a massive fort well maintained and providing an excellent view of the city of Alex(it was situated on the end of the "necklace" corniche. It was 2pm by this time and i had a train to catch to Cairo by 4, so the last stop was the Kom Al-Dikka or Roman Amphitheatre, which is a location of many archaeological discoveries, and more are taking place right now..it was a pleasure clicking photographs non-stop in this really beautiful location..
Egypt has a very good train system, and not the least bit expensive..The 220 km journey from Alexandria to Cairo on one of the imported trains ( all long distance trains in Egypt are either french or spanish ) took just 2 hours and cost me around US$ 7 in first class, and all trains are precisely on time always. The 1st and 2nd class cabins have comfortable seats, and the train ride is a smooth one! The journey and scenery were exactly like the ones you see in India on a train journey..lots of paddy and greenery and stuff, apart from the slum areas..if you still havent got it, then YES, I'm originally from India!
Cairo.1755 hrs.Dusk was setting in as i reached this massive city on the 18th of January. The first feeling that i got from the railway station was that it resembled Chennai Central station SO much (another city in India!)!! Similar kind of lights and platforms and what not..Since i had lots to do and limited time, i decided to start off right away, and so, bag in hand, i hired a cab to see the Cairo Tower in the suburb island of Zamalek in Cairo. Bargaining is the rule of the street in Egypt, just like it was in Bangkok. No matter where your going or what your buying, you can always bargain yourself into a better deal if your patient and persistent enough. Hence after settling an amount with the cab driver, i reached this massive 120 meter high tower, beautifully built in 1960. It was not a monument, but nevertheless, when i went to the top floor and looked over, i was floored. Stunning views of entire Cairo were on offer, and the timing was perfect. The street lights and the receeding rays of natural light as twilight set in made my first impression of Cairo superb, i just couldnt wait to see more. The Nile, serene in its calmness and beauty, extended in front of me, as pleasure cruise liners made their way slowly along the waters, happy people enjoying on its surface...
Back on the road, my first stop was to hit the hotel and throw my bags into the room before i ventured any further. I was already having cramps on my shoulder due to carrying it all around, so i decided to not waste any more time. One more cab, more bargaining, fifteen minutes of a drive, and i was in front of Sun Hotel, my cute little budget accomodation for two nights in Cairo. When i mean budget, i mean it costs peanuts. Of course, peanuts cost far less, but trust me, it was cheap, around US$ 4 per night for a double room, without bath.
Now i dont know what i did right here, but my hotel was BANG in the middle of the action, in a place called Midan Tahrir. This place houses the famous Egyptian Museum (yes, the place with the mummies and King Tutankhamuns tomb and what not, but more on that later) and has the American University of Cairo nearby and it as such, one of the "happening" places in Cairo.Delighted with my luck, i checked into my room, and got our of the place, heading straight to Khan-E-Khalilil, one of the most famous market places in Cairo. It was 8 pm by now, and the best thing was to explore the markets at this time..Cairo as such is Mosque City, there are soooo many mosques thats its hard to understand why they have so many. For instance, in some places, hardly 5 metres separate two massive mosques! Khan E Khalili houses some of the oldest and finest mosques in Egypt, some of the names of which are Al-Azhar Mosque and Islamic University (founded 970 A.D and it is also the worlds oldest university) and Saeed Hassan mosque. I explored this market, found out relative prices of souvenirs and stuff, prayed, and jus soaked in the sights n sounds as massive loads of tourists from all over the world flocked the place for shopping. The next day was Eid, so even the local egyptians were out on full force, enjoying the preparations for the big day ahead. Dinner was sheesh kabab, kofta, hummus(not the eating thing,but a new drink!) n somethin else. i thought the bill would be quite a bit, but when i saw it, was amazed! cost me just around 15 Egyptian Pounds (LE), thats around 8 dirhams(Dirhams is the currency in the UAE)! I was stuffed. At 2 am, with Khan E Khalilli resembling a carnival of sorts, i reluctantly decided to head back to my room, since the next day the Eid prayer was apparently gonna be at 0630 and i needed to be there!
With a violent jerk, i woke at 0600, thanks to my phone alarm,wondering where i was. Then i heard the chants of takbir in the background, and i knew today was the big day. Not only coz it was Eid, but today was my full and most hectic day in Cairo!! After a hot shower (thank goodness for the hot water, it was around 7-8 degrees man!!), i headed for the 1st mosque to be built in Egypt. Called the Amr-bin-al-aas mosque(642 A.D), this was situated in the area of Futsat, somewhere close to Coptic Cairo (or Christian area of Cairo), also called Babylon in history or Old cairo. This mosque was MASSIVELY big...it was not special in anyway,no special architecture of anything like that, but itwas just simple and big and being in there with atleast 20000 people made me feel a part of them. I could swear that I was the only Indian in there, and im sure that was true..hehe..
First route for the day was the Coptic area (houses all the churches,cathedrals etc of the Christian history of Cairo) which was right next to the mosque. Since it was too early at 730am for these places to open, i had no choice but to see it from outside only. Then i boarded the Metro Rail of Cairo for the first time to a station called Sayedda Zainab, which would connect me to the Islamic section of Cairo. The Cairo Metro is punctual and comfortable, just like the Bangkok Metro, but it is not as clean, and the facilities are also not the same. There are no elevators to the station underground like in Bangkok, you only have stairs, and the announcements are few and rare and mostly in Arabic. But nevertheless, the metro serves its purpose, which is to transport people fast and for cheap!! A long trip would cost around .75 LE (Egyptian pound) or 75 piastres.
I wanted to see the Ibn Tulun mosque (976 A.D), which is of of the biggest and oldest mosques in Cairo, and has some stunning architecture. In the quest for that I started walking from the station…it was a long walk, with locals directing me to the destination as I passed roads streamed with blood as slaughtering of cows and goats was going on in full swing after the eid prayers. Curious westerners, armed with cameras were ready to take pics of this usual ritual for Muslims, and I just walked past them with a smile. After walk of around 1.5 kms I reached the area called Islamic Cairo. This is the area were mosques have been built every 5 metres or so..there are lots of madrassas as well… each and every mosque is a monument..some are soo ruined that prayers are not conducted, it is just for viewing, the other sturdier ones still conduct prayers. Ibn Tulun mosque was massive, more like a fort than a mosque. It is totally open mosque, with a roofless courtyard in the center and sheltered prayer areas in all four sides.
In Cairo, you are SAFE. It might sound odd, but every 10 metres of so, you are likely to bump into the men in black, the policemen in Egypt! Each cop is armed heavily, and you can never escape the cops while you are roaming around. Indeed, extremely unfortunate would be the person who got robbed or mugged in such a police atmosphere! Also, they are extremely helpful, and will give you valuable tips and directions. Of course, everything is done for ”Bakhsheesh” or tips, but if you talk well, you can circumvent that as well. I learnt that being friendly with them goes a long way. For example, most of them asked me where I was from, when I didn’t understand the Arabic they were speaking (much to their surprise!). When I said India, the first expression on their faces was of complete glee, and then “India? AMITABH BACCHAN!!” Yeah, it sounds crazy, but Egyptians are NUTS about this man!! EVERY second person I got friendly with in Egypt knows Bacchan and is a big fan of his Hindi/Indian movies! Little wonder he is called the mega super duper star!! After the India dose, the next qs would be what my name was. I made it a point to say “Abdul Rehman” each time, simply coz Shazil was a odd name anyways, and it did not hint the Muslim touch. Trust me, with India already mentioned, and now a Muslim name, the guys would be over the moon to have a tourist like me ..and it was easy to walk away without any baksheesh given…you would have entered the best books of the guys out there with these two simple steps and they will say “welcome to Cairo” in the most welcoming way!! Of course, the other way to go about it was to say I was from Dubai, and then the next response would be “Shaik Zayed was a great man, I really liked him…it is so sad about his death... |
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| Copyright © - "Shazil Rehman" |
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