Cairo, 29-08 / 02-09
Door: Jeroen
04 September 2006 | Egypte, Caïro
Back in Cairo. This morning, still in Alex, I met an American who actually ran away from Cairo. He was so fed up with the crowds, the noise and the constant hassles, that he got out of the city and went to Siwa, an oasis near Libya. Not me.... I'm back here and decide to bite the bullet instead. I go to Khan-al-Khalili, the great market in the Islamic part of town. But the heat, the noise and the masses of people are too much for me... and as soon as I get there I want to get away again. I'd rather pay double if I can buy my things in a nice quiet shop. Walking back, I have no idea where I am, I just head in the general direction of downtown. This is a poor part of town. Small streets filled with rubble. After a while I realize something is strange. This street is quiet! Its not silent but its quiet and relaxed. There are no cars, in fact not even one car-sound can be heard. Its a carpenters street, a lot of workshops. People sitting in the street but not like in the citycentre, here they are working. Most of them are working on a piece of furniture. Chairs, tables, they make the most beautiful things. Here its good to remember that the Egyptians are capable of creating beautiful and artful things. There are moments that I tend to forget that.
Walking from the trainstation to my hotel I witnessed a car accident. One car stopped abruptly and another hit it from behind. Just a broken light, but the man from the first car got out and started shouting at the other one immediately. He punched him in the face through the open window, punching him and pulling his ears. People gathered, they just stood around and watched. After a while the man cooled down a little and I walked on. I'm ashamed to admit it but it made me feel good. Later I saw two parked cars with wheel clamps on them. Finally some justice was done! This city is just crazy. When travelling you're not supposed to judge other cultures. But really, spitting in the street, throwing your garbage on the street, honking your horn constantly, parking where ever you like, not signaling when turning, not stopping for a red light, driving at night without lights, that's not culture, that is lack of it.
I stayed another 4 nights in Cairo. Made the pyramid trip with the driver from the Berlin hotel. George is an accountant but didn't like the nine to five mentality, so now he works for his friend, the manager of the Berlin. He is married and has two children, 10 and 8 years old. After that, he says, we stopped talking to each other. In Shakkara there are some tombs to see besides the stepped pyramid. They are closed, but luckily there is a man who has the keys. He opens the tombs for me and explains some details. Of course he requires a tip for his services. One of the pyramids I go in is pitch dark. There is no light..... but luckily there is a man with a flash light. Needless to say he needs a tip too! At Dashur there are three pyramids, the black one (that is made out of clay blocks) the bent one and the red one. The bent one is called that because they started building at a steeper slope than usual. But it appeared unstable so they continued at the normal slope. The red one is made out of a reddish stone. All these three pyramids are for the same king. He didn't like the first two, so he ordered another one. In Giza there is the well known stuff. I'm shocked because of the (lack of) organization around the site. Once inside the territory, there are no facilities. No toilets, nowhere to sit or buy a drink, nowhere to put your garbage even. Hardly any information to be found, of course there are many 'helpfull' egyptians. And its dirty, very, very dirty. The pyramids don't do much for me, the Sfynx is sweet (she smiled at me!) but there is one thing that takes my breath away. Its the Solar Bark, the ship they transported Cheops in to his pyramid. A wooden ship, 45 meters in length and highly impressive.
I visit the Coptic centre in Old Cairo, meet some nice people, and some almost nice people. I even smoke a sheesha, a waterpipe with flavoured tobacco. A must-do thing of course, but once is enough. And then I leave Cairo, for another travelling day. The first one was when I went to Alexandria, had to wait for the train for 5 hours, and had a hard time finding a bed, most hotels appeared to be full. This time its to Aswan, 913 kilometers, a 14 hour train trip.
Walking from the trainstation to my hotel I witnessed a car accident. One car stopped abruptly and another hit it from behind. Just a broken light, but the man from the first car got out and started shouting at the other one immediately. He punched him in the face through the open window, punching him and pulling his ears. People gathered, they just stood around and watched. After a while the man cooled down a little and I walked on. I'm ashamed to admit it but it made me feel good. Later I saw two parked cars with wheel clamps on them. Finally some justice was done! This city is just crazy. When travelling you're not supposed to judge other cultures. But really, spitting in the street, throwing your garbage on the street, honking your horn constantly, parking where ever you like, not signaling when turning, not stopping for a red light, driving at night without lights, that's not culture, that is lack of it.
I stayed another 4 nights in Cairo. Made the pyramid trip with the driver from the Berlin hotel. George is an accountant but didn't like the nine to five mentality, so now he works for his friend, the manager of the Berlin. He is married and has two children, 10 and 8 years old. After that, he says, we stopped talking to each other. In Shakkara there are some tombs to see besides the stepped pyramid. They are closed, but luckily there is a man who has the keys. He opens the tombs for me and explains some details. Of course he requires a tip for his services. One of the pyramids I go in is pitch dark. There is no light..... but luckily there is a man with a flash light. Needless to say he needs a tip too! At Dashur there are three pyramids, the black one (that is made out of clay blocks) the bent one and the red one. The bent one is called that because they started building at a steeper slope than usual. But it appeared unstable so they continued at the normal slope. The red one is made out of a reddish stone. All these three pyramids are for the same king. He didn't like the first two, so he ordered another one. In Giza there is the well known stuff. I'm shocked because of the (lack of) organization around the site. Once inside the territory, there are no facilities. No toilets, nowhere to sit or buy a drink, nowhere to put your garbage even. Hardly any information to be found, of course there are many 'helpfull' egyptians. And its dirty, very, very dirty. The pyramids don't do much for me, the Sfynx is sweet (she smiled at me!) but there is one thing that takes my breath away. Its the Solar Bark, the ship they transported Cheops in to his pyramid. A wooden ship, 45 meters in length and highly impressive.
I visit the Coptic centre in Old Cairo, meet some nice people, and some almost nice people. I even smoke a sheesha, a waterpipe with flavoured tobacco. A must-do thing of course, but once is enough. And then I leave Cairo, for another travelling day. The first one was when I went to Alexandria, had to wait for the train for 5 hours, and had a hard time finding a bed, most hotels appeared to be full. This time its to Aswan, 913 kilometers, a 14 hour train trip.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
