We had actually run into Paulina and Nick randomly in the lobby our hotel the morning that we left to go see the pyramids. They are here with Prue and Georgia and coincidentally picked our hotel. Today is the first real feel day we’ve had in Cairo and we can get explore more of it than just the Egyptian Museum or the bridge.
Eric and I head over to the Muslim quarter on foot and the rest of the Aussies do the pyramid tour that we had just done. On the way there I got a ton of interesting shots on the streets. They were crowded filled with restless honking and smoggy pollution. In fact after two days in Cairo I’ve been blowing out soot when I blow my noise. Reminds of me of the big cities, but probably worse. I’ve gotten use to crossing the roads during heavy traffic. The main idea is to keep a constant pace and everyone goes around you. I’ve even gotten use to all the hasselers. It is kind of sad, but can easily and effortlessly ignore all the “hello’s”, “how are yous”, “just have a looks”, the “good mornings”, “afternoons” and “evenings” that shower towards me every day. It took Nick three or four shouts and finally a chase down before he was able to get attention on the streets.
Quite a few people get sick when visiting Egypt. It is one of those inevitable things like getting sick in Morocco; myself included in both those cases. The sanitation and cleanliness of food is clearly a mark below what we are use to. Here is a picture that illustrates this better than anything I can put into words. Here a girl is selling bread that is lying on the curb of the street.
Eric and I stumble onto what we think are the slums of Egypt, but later on we find that it was actually the city of the dead. Basically this use-to-be graveyard has now been taken over by squatters and made into a residency for many people. A little Egyptian girls walks along with us smiling and speaking in incomprehensible Arabic. I end up giving her some of my sunflower seeds and she skips along with Eric and me the rest of the way. Some other locals see this and walk up to me with their hands out. By the end of our exploration I was out of sunflower seeds.
That night Eric and I scored a taxi ride to the football (soccer) stadium to watch a couple of Egyptian teams play off. We were able to get the good seats. It was a fun game to watch and reminded how competitive sports is universal. After the game we meet up with the Aussies and I introduce them to the cornel’s original recipe of artery clogging grease with a side of increased risk of heart attack.
We are just a block or two north of Sadet, which is one of the main metro stops in Egypt. I haven’t take the metro nor do I intend to. The main reason for visiting this area is the comfort food. Or better yet, the comfort foods for any American. There is a Burger King, KFC, McDonalds, another KFC, Hardee’s and a street of coffee stops. After trying Egyptian food, I have to say it is pretty bland and nothing to write home about. We are also all sick from Egyptian food and have decided to take refuge in the oasis of fast food.
After the fast food we hit up a hooka place and relax. There we meet three Egyptians who have just graduated as Tourism guides and their English is impeccable. One of them even speaks Spanish. That is one thing has impressed me quite a bit. I’ve even heard Mandarin being spoken here as well as the typical European language tour guides offered everywhere else. I had to do a double-take when I saw that the person speaking the accent-less Mandarin was an Egyptian, much like when I heard James Kaylin speak Chinese for the first time. Before we parted ways they wrote my name in Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
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