Arid and Awash in A Day

Yesterday we went to the Pyramids at Giza. The necropolis consists of three larger and three lesser pyramids; all erected as tombs for famous kings or queens of ancient Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops in Greek) is the last remaining monument of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”. I climbed through a narrow chamber down into the Pyramid of Khafre, a 4,500 years old tomb (if not older, consult Graham Hancock is you are particularly curious)! And I mounted a camel.

The picture below is a shot of our group in front of the Sphinx. Notice that the nose is missing -- when Napoleon entered Egypt he deemed the facial features to be too "African" and ordered that the nose be smashed and removed.


One note of interest is that the stones used to construct the pyramids are only found in northern Sudan. Well, this is if you reject a recent theory that the blocks were constructed onsite from a “limestone concrete”. Tens of thousands of builders camped in the desert and worked in teams over a 20-year construction period. Even more curious is the astronomical alignment of these enormous polyhedron – the faces of the three larger pyramids are all aligned to true north-south and true east-west. In fact, the precision of the structures’ astronomical alignment is unbelievable, all perfectly replicating the three stars in Orion’s belt. Heaven on earth.


After our trip to the Pyramids we took a falooqa (large sail boat) ride down the Nile. It was absolutely beautiful. Spending two full hours in a boat gently gliding down the Nile (despite its sordid waters) was not only refreshing but induced a reflective mood that permitted some musing on Cairo. Below is a shot of the dock before sunset.



I maintain that Cairo is an incredible cacophony of beautiful features and unfortunate conditions. The infrastructure is stagnant and steadily collapsing under corruption, pollution, apathy, poverty, and overpopulation. The people don’t appear to care about their conditions – the exceptionally wealthy ignore the poor and the poor resent the affluent. Apathetic acceptance of one’s status seems to be the modus operandi and social mobility appears nonexistent. While Egypt is undoubtedly a police state governed by force, the legal system is corrupt and highly ineffective. For example, last week a cab driver got out of his car to solicit a ride to several of us returning from Zamalek (a “region” in Cairo); at which time a random guy jumped inside the cab and sped off down the street. The driver blitzed (on foot) after the cab screaming obscenities, to no avail. This entire time a triad of policemen were quietly observing – without action towards helping the unfortunate cab driver, who is now without both a “cab” and “driver” status.

Despite the many thorns of Cairo, there are equally as many roses – which makes characterizing the city highly challenging. Yet sadly, many of the things I enjoy here are highly westernized – like the Gold’s Gym that sits right of the Nile and caters exclusively to Westerners and incredibly wealthy Egyptians. Or the hotels that are as luxurious as the priciest spots in New York. Or the ritzy Italian and French restaurants (few and far between) tucked away in small, dingy neighborhoods. But at the same time the people are almost universally very friendly and receptive – regardless of status or wealth.

As divisive as the "effects" of the economy may be, the baker down the street, and the man at the corner shop missing several teeth are both just as friendly as the waiter at our favorite French restaurant (La Aboudega). People are incredibly honest – honor is central to their culture, a feature of Islam and the Arab world. For example, a few days ago I was short 1 LE (about $0.20) when purchasing some bread at the bakery. Instead of making a fuss about it, the man calmly said that I could come back the next day with the 1 LE. Granted the money is an insignificant amount, I was impressed that he trusted a foreigner, much less a young person, to walk off without paying the full price. And today I had a great conversation with some random guy (around my age) about the upcoming soccer match between Turkey and Germany. Like most places, a simple greeting in the native tongue and a bright smile goes a long way.



Cairo is too thick to sift through too quickly. There is simply too much to digest. The city is a collage of the Arab culture, the Muslim tradition, the strains of an African country plagued by recent wars and governments, and a fervent desire to both westernize, modernize, and maintain its ancient historical roots. Yet Cairo continues to impress me, and delight me in unforeseen ways. As many frustrations as I encounter, they are often relieved by a fortunate experience or a friendly Egyptian who proves quite helpful rather than devious.


Perhaps in time my thoughts will start to percolate into a more concise and articulate understanding of Cairo. In shaa Allah.

Jonathan