Cheers from Cairo!
I am above a gigantic KFC, across from Giza pyramid, sitting next to Erik, trying to create a cooler blog than him.
I will consult my notes.
March 1. We stepped out into 75 degrees and a crowd of totally excited cab drivers speaking 18 different languages. (impressive.) I feigned ignorance, per Katrina's suggestion, to appear mysterious. I think it worked.
Frenchie, our first Couch-surfing (CS) host, kindly arranged our transportation from the airport. Upon arrival to his sick pad in Ma'adi (expat center of Cairo) he presented us with ample Saqarra (Egypt's Bud Light) Pizza Hut and billiards night with all his friends. Heaven.
March 2. Erik and I are way too excited and arrange a cab to take us to way too many pyramids in one day. We blink, and somehow we are adorned in hilariously lame headdresses, riding the world's most expensive camels, exchanging looks that say, "Did you sign up for this, or did I?" We quickly learn that the hustle in Cairo is as smooth as the tahini, and with zero tourists around, we are subject to the cream of the swindling crop. We return to Frenchie's place, somewhat dejected and down 100 USD a piece.. but with pretty awesome photos of some beautiful pyramids.
(In reality, we truly enjoyed the first two sets of pyramids. They were staggering. I'm just maintaining my Fonzie blog here)
March 3 - 8 (so lazy)
On Friday we joined our new CS friend, Matt, for a trip to Tahrir Square. The prime minister was set to speak to the Egpytian people for the first time, and it was a day of great celebration. Matt is a revolutionary film maker en route to Libya to document the nearly protracted civil war there. (And I thought MY mom was worried..) He is also deathly afraid of coming in contact with sugar because of his obsessive compulsive disorder. Go figure.
In the Ma'adi metro on our way to Tahrir, we came upon Ahmed, who was also headed to Tahrir to celebrate. Slowly, we began to realize this was not a Geezy, (our code word created for hustlers, from Giza and Sleezy) but one of the many many friendly and hospitable Egyptians, ready to help. He was also the leader of 7,000 people in the Egyptian Revolution and had four bullet holes in his car. Are you kidding me, dude? He was a riot, and constantly referenced US films like Airplane and Groundhog Day, in between his completely inspiring and intimate stories about being on the ground at Tahrir during the revolution. I can't speak enough about the electric patriotism in Tahrir that Friday, or how happy I am to have met Ahmed. We plan to catch up with him again before we leave Cairo.
This blog has already lost my attention, so I will conclude with a list of Egyptian Pros and Cons:
- Egyptians LOVE tourists, and aside from the Geezies, are thrilled to chat and help. pro.
- It is 75 degrees. pro.
- Frosted flakes are not nearly as frosty. con.
- The 'call to prayer' happens 5 times a day and sounds so pretty and reminds me of community. pro.
- The 'call to prayer' happens 5 times a day. Starting around 4:30 a.m. Yeah. con.
- Really cool old stuff. pro.
Egypt wins, 4 to 2. Spread the word; they need some tourists.
