Islamic Cairo - the neighborhood - in pictures

Islamic Cairo is the more traditional neighborhood. I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures before I meandered all the way back across town returning to Zamalek.

Cairo - it's not as crazy as people say...

Cairo was everthing and nothing I expected it to be. I kept hearing how crazy the traffic is, how loud it is, how intense it is.. but it's really not as "in your face" as people say, at least from what I can gather from two days of being here. The traffic is exactly the same in Rome or Athens. With the exception of the call to prayer, It's equally loud but does not exceed New York. Sure it's hard to cross the street in places, but if you just find someone who is crossing the street at the same time, it's not a huge problem. I'm staying in Zamalek, the embassy district (pic above) - with french architecture and old, tree-lined streets. There are THREE boutique cupcake shops within 5 minutes of my hotel. Bookstores and coffee shops share the street with food markets and shisha (hookah) pipe places. Cairo is old and new - traditional and completely cosmopolitan in parts. The only thing that really gets to me is the air quality - it's so horribly polluted here, there is a constant haze in the air - and there is a lot of chain-smoking. Every taxi driver I've had chain smoked in the cab while I tried to breathe out the window. I blow my nose and it's black.

I went to see the pyramids. They were allright. The people hanging out there were really annoying. Every minute someone would come up to you, try to get you to ride a camel (no thanks), a horse, asking what's your name, where you from? I have started to say I'm from Australia or Germany or Mexico just to mix things up. Aside from the people, the pyramids were kind of cool for about 45 minutes but then I was ready to move on. It was pretty amazing to see them in person (they are enormous), but temples in Mexico and Petra in Jordan were much more fun to me for some reason. I'm not really an ancient monument person so much as a culture person - city-explorer, walker, talker, delicious food-eater, music-listener and atmosphere soaker-upper. I would sooner spend two hours trying to find and eat in a good restaurant than spend the day in Giza at the pyramids. But I'm happy to have seen them.

There is a restaurant near my hotel called Abou el Sid that is just fantastic. I suppose it's a little touristy because I met Americans in there, but there were plenty of Egyptians in there, the food is Egyptian and just amazing. It is dark and so full of atmosphere with middle eastern music, people smoking sheesha, beautiful lamps and design. Because I had no reservations (it's popular!) I sat at the bar where I had fuul, falafel, tzatziki and the second night Fettah, which is tangy rice with veal, sort of an egyptian risotto. Friday I sat next to a fun couple from Oregon who are avid divers. We had been to a lot of the same places, including the same hotel on a tiny island off Nicaragua. They had also just taken an intrepid tour. We had a lot of the same views about travel. Saturday I sat next to Chris, cinematographer from NYC who is working on a documentary about an underground rock music scene here in Cairo, and one about the Swell Season. He was such an interesting guy that I invited him along with me that night to meet up with my friend Trisha's friend Ellen, her boyfriend Amr and his friend Gindi.

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Abou El Sid:

The remnants of my dinner that I was too busy to photograph because I was talking to the Oregon couple! Note the bowl of fuul is scraped clean and the falafel has sesame seeds on it here:

Travelling solo is fun because if you want to be social, you can be. If you want to just read your book in a bar, you can. I frequently do both. I tend to meet more people solo or with girl friends than I do when I'm part of a couple. I've travelled a lot as both. Maybe it's because I don't have someone else there dominating the conversation. I don't know, but I love the luck I've had on this trip with strangers opening up to me. Everybody has a story to tell!

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Ellen so nicely came to my hotel and we all went to a local bar, Bodega. I should have taken more pictures, but I have one on facebook. Ellen is going to the American University at Cairo and is doing some interesting humanitarian-type projects and studying. Her boyfriend also went to the University and finished his military obligation. It was nice to see a familiar face from home, meet two fun Egyptian guys and have my new dinner friend along with us. It was a nice evening.

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Now let's talk about my new obsession, Kushari!

When I was in Dahab, I met a Canadian woman who raved about a place called Abou Tarek. They had some kind of local dish and I didn't know what she was talking about at the time. They serve only one thing, Kushari. It's a mixture of tiny macaroni, spaghetti, chick peas, some sort of lentil, ground meat and fried onions on top. There is a garlicky vinegar and spicy tomato sauce to go on it. It is delicious!! It is nowhere near my hotel and I made a point to go there two times in two days. I think I can replicate it somewhat when I get home:

The real star of Cairo (according to me) isn't the pyramids, but just the city itself and all the fun contrasts. We have young veiled girls talking in front of a victoria's secret-type shop:

Sparkly shoes which I have actually seen women in full veiled robes wearing:

Dates:

Young guys just hanging in groups on the street laughing just like they would anywhere:

I walked all the way home from downtown yesterday, and all the way from Islamic Cairo (a section of town) today. Street signs aren't usually in English, but every once in awhile you come to a traffic circle and you can figure things out. I was not expecting the fancy French architecture!

Sometimes you'd think you were in Europe, if not for the arabic:

I stopped on the nile at the Sofitel for some mango ice cream. Check out that hazy sky:

View from my balcony. I had a great hotel that really was a complete bargain. (and clean!!). I recommend the Hotel Longchamps to anyone coming to Cairo. Nice people, good breakfast, I picked well at the last minute! It had a real Parisian feel to it.

Here's a fish shop next to a fruit store in the neighborhood:

Street signs even looked European. In Zamalek, anyhow. In other parts of town you just have to walk in one direction and hope you eventually figure out where you are:

Shark attack

Wednesday I had another dive with Abraham. The first time I tried it, Monday, I could not get used to the breathing apparatus - every fiber in your body tells you "don't breathe underwater fool!" and I had to literally force myself to breathe, which I did too much, hyperventilating and getting dizzy. I am also claustrophobic, and it is a whole different world underwater - with so much equipment strapped to you, yet you are floating around weightless, your body just doesn't know what to do. I enjoyed the first dive, but not fully. I was paying more attention to my own possible death than enjoying the fish. The second time, I completely relaxed and it blew my mind. Diving is amazing!! We swam IN a school of fish. It is a completely 3-D, crazy experience, like a dream. I enjoyed it so, so much. I was so moved and amazed, almost like I felt privileged to be swimming down there. We saw so many creatures and dozens of species of neon fish. I made eye contact with fish as I swam alongside them, right in their school. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. Yeah, I know most people have been diving - but I hadn't before this. I had to really conquer fear and anxiety to do it, but it was completely awesome. If I had another week in Dahab, I would get certified for sure. And the prices there are very good, I thought. Two dives and unlimited snorkeling over 4 days for less than $100 USD. Plus, they cared enough to pair me with an instructor who was great with beginners.

I had a choice to make. I could stay in Dahab one more night and take a long, long 11-12 hour bus to Cairo the next day, or just move a few hours south to Sharm el Sheikh, spend the night and cut my bus ride shorter. Sharm el Sheikh is a huge resort town, with 4 star hotels, fast food chains and hoards of tourists. There is also good diving and snorkeling there, so I figured I would just get up very early, see the town for one night, get a nice hotel, dive or snorkel - then get the first bus in the morning to Cairo. I had a nice final night in Dahab, carefully choosing where to have my last meal, where to have my last beer, gazing wistfully off my balcony at the sunset, vowing to come back one day. I had one more errand to run - buying some arabic CDs!

Did I really need to buy four? No. Will you enjoy hearing them at my next gathering? yes! The young guy in the CD store let me listen to all of them before buying, too. He loved his job, recommending CDs and joking around with customers.

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The next morning, I took the bus to Sharm el Sheikh. I poked around town and hated it immediately. Thousands of european tourists, families, loud music, tackiness, chaos after Dahab. I actually heard a guy ask "how much is this in US dollars?" in a store, which made me roll my eyes in disgust. Dahab is more of a backpacker place, and there would be no more lounging around on pillows listening to cool music, drinking $2 beer in Sharm el Sheikh. According to my guidebook, you either love one or the other. I knew I wouldn't like it as much as Dahab, but I could appreciate it for what it was - a resort town, and it's not a bad place to spend the night. Oh, poor me. December in a resort town on the red sea coast! I read that the best coral reef was off the Sofitel property, and like fate I called and they gave me a very good rate - for once it was almost half what the guidebook said it would be. After paying $22 per night in Dahab it was a bit of a splurge, but there would be no cockroaches at the Sofitel. Yes, I found three cockroaches in my room in Dahab. But I was so smitten with the place that I didn't care. The happiness per dollar ratio was extremely high. However, it was time to move on and I happily checked into my beautiful room with a balcony in the Sofitel, thrilled that I actually had a real shower stall and more than just a sheet on my bed. It's amazing how low my standards become sometimes.

At reception, I was also excited to slip the arabic word for "pen" into the conversation. They gave me a form to fill out, but no pen. NO PEN!! hehe.. As casually as possible, I said "Qualam?" and the man handed me a pen. I know the following words/phrases in arabic:

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Hello, I wish you peace!

pen

book

yes

no

goodbye, I wish you peace

mountain goat

thank you

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Mountain goat I learned on Mt Sinai from Husam #2. He was bounding up the mountain so fast, that I said "you are like a mountain goat! what is the arabic word for mountain goat?" "Mazza!"

So if I were to form a real sentence in arabic, the only conversation I could have would be with a mountain goat, and it would go something like this:

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"Hello, mountain goat, I wish you peace! Is this a pen? Or is it a book? it's a pen, yes? no? thank you. OK, Goodbye."

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And I would say it like this:

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Esaalamu alikum, Mazza! Hathi Qualam? Hathi Kitaab? Nam? La? Shukran. Masallama!"

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After check-in, a man walked me to my room, and said "you speak arabic?"

"no, not really"

"you know the word for pen"

"oh, I only know about 5 words. Qualam, Nam, La, Mazza, Kitaab"

The man laughed at me.

Here's my new balcony, with real furniture. Sunset view from the balcony at the top of the page.

My lovely new room:

I unpacked as quickly as possible, and ran to reception to ask about a dive or snorkeling equipment. Where the man told me what I least expected - "there has been a shark attack, and there is no going in the water today". In the whole town. For two days. I pouted and asked him "even if I don't go far from shore?" He responded, waving his hand back and forth tentatively "eeeeh, I don't think good idea today". Apparently the shark attack made some international headlines because a friend in New York sent me a message via facebook to make sure I wasn't attacked by the shark, after my excited facebook posts about diving.

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I just relaxed by the lovely pool and wandered into town, spotted an egyptian place called Tam Tam, where I had a delicious dinner (grilled meat and more fuul!), then went to bed after arranging an early 5:45 AM "egyptian breakfast". For less than $20, I got all of this, and it was amazing!!

Falafel, fuul, black coffee, several pastries and breads (which I made into little cheese sandwiches for the long bus ride), spanish omelette.

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at 7AM after a very confusing taxi ride, I boarded my 7 hour bus to Cairo. Women and men can't sit next to each other, and I sat next to a friendly little 20-something chatterbox in a bedazzled veil. She talked to me in Arabic even though I couldn't speak back, so we relied on my arabic-english translation book. She had all kinds of food, too, and offered me everything first. sandwich, soda, potato chips, ice cream, cookies, etc. I refused everything with a nice "shukran" but finally I tried two pumpkin seed-looking things, just for fun. I pretended to like them so she poured about 30 on my book for me to eat. They were nice and salty but would not break down in my mouth, no matter how long I chewed. She wasn't spitting any seeds out either, so I knew I was eating them properly. I just ended up swallowing most of them whole. We stopped at a few gas station places, where I bought some cookies and offered them around to everyone just like she had. We stopped at a few official looking border-control type places where a man in uniform would come on the bus, walk up to me and me only, asking for my passport. I was the only non-egyptian on the bus. But everyone was completely nice and there were no problems whatsoever. My view to the left:

My view to the right, the entire way:

It was pretty monotonous, and I had time to read an entire book cover to cover.

I am now in Cairo in the embassy district, which is a nice safe neighborhood of tree-lined streets and old mansions. My hotel is run by Germans, and when I called them from Sharm el Sheikh and gave them my name, the woman on the phone asked me excitedly "are you German? Is a very German name!" I said no, but my ancestors were. I haven't taken any photos in Cairo with the exception of this sign which made me laugh:

Tomorrow maybe I'll go see the pyramids and I might meet up with my friend Trisha's friend, who is studying here at the American University. So far so good in Cairo...

I was a fuul for not trying it sooner!

I wisely scheduled a good 4 lazy days here in Dahab. Every night I watch the sun set from my porch at 5PM. I can hear the cool music playing at the Penguin restaurant and the Funny Mummy (bar/restaurant) below. It's right on the main walkway, and yesterday I saw 2 camels walk by! Actually, they sauntered. They sauntered by. I tried to take a picture but it was too late. I love the music they play in the places near my hotel. The funny mummy plays such cool funky arab-indian flavored electronica that I asked them if they would put out a CD. They will, eventually. The other day I heard "fine day" by Kirsty Hawkshaw playing in a restaurant. What a good song that I completely forgot about.


Monday night I was walking down the street, tripped and sliced my toe open. Luckily, I was also walking by a pharmacy so I just walked in and within 10 seconds, I was in the back of the pharmacy with a woman was cleaning up my gushing blood and wrapping my foot up. She sold me bandages, tape, antibiotic cream and hydrogen peroxide all for less than $20.




Yes, that is a beer in the picture as well. It hurt!!

I was really worried about not being able to snorkel or dive again, but I went yesterday and it was completely fine! Yes, I know my feet are looking worse by the day. But there's really nothing I can do about it right now.





Like any sensible person, after the accident I consoled myself with a new purse. But we are in Dahab, so it's a $10 hippie purse. I love it!






The dilemma every morning is to find a place for breakfast without too many flies. What is it about Africa and flies? In the morning they are everywhere. You have to eat food with one hand, constantly swatting flies with the other. The one place that has great coffee also overcooks the eggs, which is a huge pet peeve of mine. I tried a new place yesterday, that had more than 5 people eating there, which is always a good sign. They play loud, LOUD ominous chanting music in the morning. I noticed that a lot of places do. The same spooky music. But only in the morning before about 10-30, 11AM - what a mystery! This place also burns so much incense that I feel like I am back at Michigan State University, circa 1989, poking around the skateboard shop that also sells hemp clothing, wind chimes, "free mandela" bumper stickers and bongs, before I go back to my dorm to change into my doc martens for dinner in the cafeteria. THAT level of incense smoke. There is a time and a place for incense and chanting, and I never thought it would be 8AM for breakfast. But no matter! The breakfast at this place was awesome. And I tried Fuul for the first time. A national dish of Egypt, stewed beans. It was delicious! The waiter told me that "80-85% of all Egyptians eat fuul every day". I told him that I had a 90% chance of having them again tomorrow. (I love percentages) It turns out the incense is to keep away the flies. It sort of did. You can see the fuul below:





After hearing more ominous chanting in the internet cafe, I asked the guy what the music was. It is the Koran, being sung/spoken. Many places play it in the morning to give them luck in business and to set the tone for the day. This is separate from the call to prayer, which you also hear several times a day, but on loudspeakers. Mystery solved! It does sound pretty cool. I get it now. I also want to clear something up for anyone who is wondering (I wondered before I came). There is no law in Egypt or Jordan that says anyone has to wear a veil or long robe (except in a mosque, maybe). Women do not have to dress that way, they choose to or want to - depending on their family, job, faith, and maybe what the people around them do. You see women in modern dress and in traditional dress. Both men and women cover their heads in many different ways but there is absolutely no law that dictates anything. Most places prefer that you don't show knees or shoulders, but in a beach/resort town anything goes.


I also love the supermarket. I like dates and guava juice from the market. If I had a kitchen, I would go nuts and buy all kinds of mystery items. For example, what is this? pudding?





Yesterday I went snorkeling at the dive site. I am getting much more comfortable in the ocean, and went far off shore. There is the most amazing reef with a cliff that drops off and all kinds of beautiful fish. My favorite is a big greenish fish with a horn on its head. It's called the unicorn fish! I have dive #2 with Abraham in a few hours. I think he thinks I'm kind of a chicken but I'm making progress. I'm going to try to do it without clinging on to him and whining this time.

I've met a few tourists here, from the dive shop and hotel. Lots of Canadians here. I had a beer with some of them last night. Everyone is pretty friendly. This isn't a sceney place at all - everyone looks slightly grungy and is just here to dive. Now that it's finally OK to wear shorts and tank tops - I still feel kind of weird about it. I still cover up a little more than I would in, say, Mexico, when it's not blazing hot and I'm not in the water.

At night, there are no flies, but there are cats everywhere! This is a common sight while you are eating:




The shopkeepers and people are a little more nosy and outgoing than in Jordan. Sometimes the salespeople and guys at the restaurants on the walkway are a little exasperating. But it's the shoulder season and they are just trying to drum up business. It's like Greece, but some of the people here just make me laugh. Last night I was walking and a guy called out to me and said "hello! you are looking for me?!" we both laughed. They are harmless. I have yet to hear a rude or heckling comment (in English) I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a blanket observation. In Jordan, there is a sweetness to the people and in Egypt, more of a playfulness and showmanship. I don't know how else to describe it. They are both charming in their own way. But I haven't been to Cairo yet. We'll see what I say then.

There is a town across the gulf of Aqaba in Saudi Arabia that I see twinkling across the water every night. I would love to see what goes on in that town. Husam #2, Sam, used to work in a fancy hotel in Saudi Arabia. He hated it. Also there are no tourists there. I don't think I could go or would even want to. But the little twinkling town captures my imagination. It looks so close! What is it like?

I've gotten more hits on this site in the past week than I have in 5 years, combined - just a crazy amount. Who is reading? Drop me a note!

Dahab - Diving, Electronica music and Pillows

I first read about Dahab through travel blogs - it's smaller than Sharm el Sheikh, famous for diving - sort of a traveller's mecca. I have been interested in coming here for years. Coral reefs surround the town on the red sea, and every restaurant on the water has pillows where you sit on the ground with low tables. There are no sandy beaches, but in its own way, it's paradise!




Crazy fabrics are also for sale, everywhere. I have a fantasy of decorating my entire apartment with Dahab fabrics. In reality, it will probably end up in my closet. But anyhow, this is where I am going to pull all the stops out on the salespeople and unleash buyer Sara. The salespeople here are all kind of annoying. Hello friend! Where you from? Because you are the first customer of the day, I give you special price! But I think at the end of the trip I can buy some cool stuff here and ship it home if I offer them a price for bulk. The more annoying they are, the more annoying I will be within the boundaries of still being polite. Everyone wins in the end with a sale. This is what I do for a living. How cool is this?! I love it! I could look at this all day long.




Remember when I told you how I laid on some pillows at Sawa beach all day and got devoured by mosquitos? Well, they really itch. We have ourselves a little situation:




Sorry for the gross picture. But this is my reality. I talked to a pharmacist, where I picked up some of this:




It stopped itching and is clearing up nicely.

Dahab is small. When you walk a few blocks, you just come up to desert:





Here is my balcony at Penguin Village, for only $22 per night. The shower is right next to the toilet, so when I shower, I am cleaning the entire bathroom along with myself. But whatever!!






View from my balcony of the Penguin restaurant, red sea and Saudi Arabia in the distance:





I came here to conquer a fear. I have never been diving before. I am not afraid of TOO many things, but the thought of breathing underwater terrifies me. I am pretty claustrophobic and really, really don't want to drown. I signed up for an introductory dive and went today. They remembered me from inquiring yesterday, and greeted me by saying "are you ready to drown?" which I actually thought was hillarious. I will not lie, It was every bit as terrifying as I pictured, perhaps more so. I had a really nice teacher, Abraham. He literally had to hold my hand every second. But I did it (didn't go TOO deep) and it was FUN!! Many people come here to get their PADI certification. It's tempting, but I don't think I'm there yet. Because I have 4-5 days, I am just doing my own version of an open water course. Beginning dive today, tomorrow practice snorkeling deeper to get used to breathing and reduce the anxiety of the ocean, day after tomorrow another dive with Abraham. I worked out a deal with a dive shop for reduced rates for three days of stuff. We dived around a coral reef not far from shore, and I saw neon fish, a few big fish. It is so peaceful under there. The thought of my mask filling with water and not being able to see or accidentally having the regulator slip out of my mouth is so scary to think about. There are things you can do in every situation, and I have to not think too much and just not be a spaz. I kind of can't wait to do it again! I'm making friends with the ocean bit by bit.