- Sea Gem Log March 28, through April 1, 2000. We made arrangements with our agent, Prince of
the Red Sea, to book a tour for us into Cairo. After our trip to Luxor from Safaga in a very cramped van Charlie specifically asked for a vehicle with more
room. This time we got a full sized bus. With only nine people aboard we had lots of room and had a careful driver who did not play chicken like the last one.
Before leaving Port Suez we met a delightful young woman from the tourist bureau. I had a brief opportunity to gain a small degree of insight of the role of women in Egyptian society.
She was university educated, employed, and extremely articulate. I saw her later at the official party hosted at the yacht club and had a chance to have a picture made with her and
her friend. I wish I had time to learn more about the culture in the Islamic countries we have visited. Our brief visits only allow a peek into the beliefs that govern peoples lives.
The trip to Cairo did not have to be done in convoy like the trip to Luxor but the military is very much in evidence. Cairo is a huge city with almost impossible traffic conditions. Roads
converge into hubs where the traffic meets and there are few traffic lights to govern any type of right of way. Our guide laughingly commented that the traffic conditions are Egypt's
answer to population control. Air pollution from all the vehicles is heavy and breathing, visibility and structures are affected.
We toured the high points of the tourist track: the Citadel, the Mohammed Ali Mosque,(the original, not the fighter) and the view of Cairo from the wall of the Citadel. We were allowed
into the mosque because it has been designated as a tourist site. While we were there a call to prayer sounded. and the mosque was to be emptied for the worshippers. Five times a day
the call to prayer blares from speakers atop the minarets. In Egypt the culture as well as the law is Islamic. Egypt is much more liberal than many of the surrounding countries but Islamic
dress and customs are seen everywhere. Egyptian women are covered, but not veiled. Tourists in immodest dress are frowned upon and if a young woman is not totally covered
she is the target for open stares and ribald remarks.
We visited the war memorial across the boulevard from where Anwar Sadat was
assassinated. The beautiful modern structure is built in the ancient yet timeless, pyramid design. We had a nice lunch and left for the pyramid visit. In Cairo the pyramids are visible
from the city and loom on the horizon as a constant reminder of the age of this civilization.
Cairo is a dirty city with little evidence of any type of sanitation control. The canals are
filled with refuse and solid waste pickup seems only a vague concept. The beautiful upper Nile, (southern section) becomes more and more polluted as it flows north toward the sea. It
is insanity to foul the only source of water for the country but it is going to take a massive effort to change course. There are plans to try to move the population away from the river
but that also will be a monumental task. Part of the problem lies in the "modernization" that has added lots of disposable non biodegradable products. A reed basket will rot, plastic bags remain.
Our tour called for a "five star hotel" but there was a glitch and we ended up in a "four star."
It was not a garden spot but we were able to shower off the desert dirt and I slept. Charlie
got up through out the night to answer the door. I asked for coffee to be sent up at seven a.m. and they started at eleven p.m. bringing coffee about every hour. We noticed some of
the wiring in the room and familiarized ourselves with the fire exits. I really don't want to get caught in a fire on the tenth floor of an old hotel.
Risk of fire goes up in a county where everyone seems to smoke and it looks like the wiring was done by small children. The air is also dry but the up side is that you can wash your
clothes out at night and they are ready to put back on the next morning.
Our trip to the pyramids was enhanced by riding there on horseback and camel back. The
camel jockey was short a few camels so some of us got horses and switched later. Going by camel added a wonderful deminsion to the pyramid visit. The lumbering movement of the
camel was unlike the familiar movement of a horse. The horses were small Arabian type and had not been overfed or overpampered for a long time. The animals in Egypt fare no better
than a lot of the people. Donkeys are the most common animals and used to pull carts, transport people and harvest crops. Due to the tourist trade there are probably more camels
in Egypt than ever before.
Clay had so much fun barganing with one of the hawkers at the pyramids that he bought out
the entire stock of souveniers and we kidded him about having the first Beoudouin franchise when he gets back home to Florida.
We met Sam Sutton and his brother Robert in Cairo. Sam will sail with us to Crete and Robert will only be on board through the Suez Canal. After our tour of Cairo, the pyramids
and the magnificant Cairo Museum we headed back to Port Suez on our spacious bus complete with an armed guard to accompany us.
The gurard tried following us around in Cairo, but with nine of us he did not know who to follow and it was rather like trying to herd cats, so he gave up. We were told by our guide
that Americans are given extra protection for the government is anxious not to have any unpleasant incidents. I don't know whether guarding tourists is considered good or bad
duty but the young man was most interested in trying to make friends with Jeannette.
A
Trip to Cairo
- Sea Gem Log March 28, through April 1, 2000.