Egypt –land of the Pyramids.

The main Pyramid at Giza

Before I visited Egypt, I should probably have paid more attention or cognizance to my history knowledge. I was aware that for a relatively long period from the 1950’s to the 1990’s or thereabouts, Egypt was allied with and to a large extent supplied by, the Soviet Union. This had been at the back of my mind but I had assumed that it was a military thing because the US was supplying Israel so Egypt turned to the Soviets. What I didn’t realise was that Egypt didn’t just import Soviet/Russian armaments; they also adopted Soviet bureaucracy and systems. While Russia and to some extent the other former Soviet states have abandoned a lot of these old style bureaucratic methods, many are alive and well in Egypt.

But that’s just by way of introduction or as a way to explain that everything in Egypt moves slowly. When you ask people why, they’ll say it’s the system. When you ask why they don’t change it, they’ll generally shrug. As an example, it can take a person ten minutes to check into a hotel here whereas the same thing can be done in most places in less than a minute. The good news is that while people in the old Soviet Union often appeared to be depressed or downtrodden, there is no evidence of that here. In fact I found Egyptian people to be extraordinarily happy, bright and helpful to a fault. On my first day, as I didn’t have a local SIM (phone) card, I was told not to worry — if I got lost, ask anyone in the street and they would either give me a wifi connection or allow me to use their phone to contact my hotel. I didn’t get lost but on many occasions, I did ask people for a wifi connection and they all gave it gladly, asking for nothing in return. All asked me where I was from and welcomed me to Egypt. In fact, I was asked that question twenty times every day, sometimes in an effort to sell me something but usually just out of curiosity and a way to welcome me to the country.

I was only based in Cairo so I cannot do a full appraisal of the country as a tourist destination. However, there’s enough here to be going on with. There are 110 million Egyptians and twenty five million of them live in and around Cairo. Given that the infrastructure is relatively old and under-developed, the result is a city swarming with traffic, both motorized and pedestrian. Think India or Thailand. It’s a city that doesn’t sleep, a twenty four hour a day cacophony of car and motor bike horns; it almost seems to be compulsory to announce your presence to the traffic by sounding your horn. Traffic jams can be brutal, particularly at peak times. As one taxi driver told me, ‘in Cairo, we don’t just drive, we fight every day for space.’ There seems to be very few car parks so people park everywhere, often obstructing traffic and causing chaos. It is not unusual for a car to stop in the middle of the road and for the driver to abandon it.

Crossing the road here is an art form. There appears to be a complete absence of any form of official pedestrian crossings; at least I couldn’t find any and locals told me there are very few. You just have to wait for a break in traffic or if it doesn’t come, make your way through the cars and motor bikes. You actually get used to it after a while as everyone, pedestrians and drivers alike, seem to be adept at avoiding each other. How mobility impaired people cope, I have no idea. Many streets are narrow which favour the numerous motor bikes which seemingly appear from everywhere but are otherwise mostly pedestrianised.

The Sphinx

To be fair, getting around is not too difficult. There’s a reasonably good metro system and taxis are plentiful and relatively cheap. They have their own version of Uber called ‘In-drive.’ The app can be downloaded easily. Unlike its western counterpart, you enter your desired destination and you make an offer of a fare. Depending on the distance, you can start with fifty Egyptian pounds (about one euro). This will get you to a surprising number of destinations within the city. When you make an offer, you will usually get a driver to accept it within seconds. The maximum I paid was six euro and that was to the airport. You can also hire a car and driver for a full day and they will take you wherever you wish to go, wait for you and expertly guide you through the web of streets and tourist destinations. I paid $50 for a full day and it was excellent value. My driver spoke perfect English (as many do) and his knowledge was encyclopaedic.

But back to the city centre; most of the buildings are magnificent old relics, dating back to British rule. While they are neglected externally and are in the main very dirty, internally they are well preserved. Many have been converted into shops and hotels. I stayed in two of them and while they both featured ancient lifts, I was assured that these are part of preservation orders and the State doesn’t allow them to be replaced. Fine by me as all still worked efficiently. I stayed in old rooms with double doors and very high ceilings, all beautifully preserved but thankfully with modern day air conditioning. When I visited, the day time temperatures were between thirty three and forty Celsius so AC was essential. The city tends to be quieter in the afternoons but from around five pm until midnight, it really comes alive and is a seething mass of humanity. All shops and cafes are open and thronged. It was difficult enough to find a good restaurant as most people seem to like take-aways and street food. I did find a few nice places to eat but very few served alcohol. That said, the quality of food was good. I paid a visit to the famous Khan Alkali market but while it was as large as predicted, it was somewhat disappointing in terms of the quality of merchandise on offer. I found the city centre shops contained far better quality and prices were exceptionally cheap.

And so, to the tourist sites: Obviously we start with the pyramids and yes, they are magnificent. Many tourists only visit Egypt to see them as they are the only one remaining site of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The main site is at Giza, relatively close to Cairo, which contains the great pyramid, another slightly smaller one and the third pyramid which is the smallest of the three. There are other smaller pyramids and ancient ruins, many of which are still the subject of archaeological digs. The site also contains the famous Sphinx. Beware though if visiting; the pyramid sites are huge and the Giza enclosure covers twelve square kilometres. When it’s 40 Celsius, walking between these sites is difficult and you will need to be fit and prepared. Now, there are a number of alternatives to ease the burden. You can hire a horse or a camel or a horse and trap to ferry you around from site to site. I declined these offers as it would appear that the operators don’t treat their animals well. I actually witnessed severe cruelty to one of the horses. I preferred to walk and spent most of the day taking in what are magnificent feats of architecture, engineering and construction. The great Pyramid of Giza was built over four thousand years ago and was the world’s tallest building for 3,800 years.

But as they say, that’s not all; not by a long shot. My driver/guide explained to me that there are numerous sites which contain pyramids in the region and in total, there are over one hundred. We took another day and visited the stepped pyramid of Sankara and the ancient burial site of Memphes. We then went to what for me was the highlight: The twin pyramids of Dashur. One of these is the only pyramid which still contains most of the covering which all of the pyramids had initially. It is a smooth stone finish — from a distance, it looks like plaster but up close you realise that the covering is made from huge stone blocks, all expertly fitted and inter connected. How long it took to complete that work in Dashur and the other pyramids is anyone’s guess. Decades is probably a conservative estimate. When you consider that the pyramids were built as the burial places of the Pharaohs and that many of them had not been completed when the Pharaoh died, it gives an idea of the mammoth and complex construction involved.

But to come back to Dashur; I was delighted to enter both pyramids although it was quite an endurance test. To enter the inner chambers, you must first climb up the side of the pyramid to a platform, from which you descend, backwards on a ladder for almost two hundred metres. The ladder is fixed and safe but it is the only option because the shaft is very narrow. When you get to the bottom, you commence climbing upwards again, inside the pyramid, through many chambers until you reach the top. Lighting is provided but beware; when I was in the final chamber of the second pyramid, all lights failed and did not come back. Thankfully I was able to use my mobile phone light to get back to the surface. Not for the faint-hearted but I would highly recommend it.

Other tourist sites tend to pale into insignificance when compared with the pyramids. I did however visit the national museum on Tahrir square which contains numerous artifacts discovered in the pyramids and other ancient sites, including the tomb of Tutan Khamun. I saw many magnificent mosques, most notable of which was the mosque of Mohammed Ali. Speaking of Islamic sites and the practice of religion, I formed the impression that Egyptians were more devout and genuine in their beliefs than some other Muslim countries I have visited. Theirs seems to be a very peaceful version of Islam with no strict rules or compunctions about dress or behaviour. Whether that is a factor in the city being so safe, I don’t know, but Egyptians were at pains to tell me to feel safe in Cairo and I did, at all times. While I did receive numerous approaches from people offering ‘assistance,’ it was non-threatening and my polite refusal was always greeted with acceptance, usually welcoming me to the city and telling me to enjoy my time.

A few asides which brought memories back: They still use many old cars in Cairo so you will see modern day Mercedes and Toyotas battling for space with old Lada’s, old Renaults and Fiat 127’s, 128’s and I even saw a 124. Many of these cars are still in use as taxis and they compete with the numerous ‘tuck tucks’ which are also very popular. So they didn’t just import Soviet systems, they also imported Soviet cars. Incidentally, for those not familiar with Soviet systems, the main premise was that no one trusted anyone else; so, a person undertook a task and it was checked by another employee, then this was checked by someone else and so on. So it fulfilled the twin aims; to create a never ending confusing bureaucracy and job creation. Ironically, I would have little problem in trusting most Egyptians as they seem to possess an innate honesty, not always found in other cultures. The other positive is that they appear to be willing to learn, adapt and develop.

There are many signs of this on a macro scale. Whereas in the past, Egypt was involved in pointless wars with some of its neighbours and had many internal struggles, peace now seems to be the abiding principle. Resources previously wasted on weapons have now been freed for more practical purposes. I saw vast tracts of former desert which have been reclaimed through wise use of irrigation and are now growing vast amounts of fruit and vegetables which make Egypt practically self-sufficient in food production. This is in contrast with its nearest neighbour to the south, Sudan, where civil strife and competing militants have reduced the country to a wasteland and its people to a state of famine. Directly east of Egypt is of course Gaza, which is an entirely different conflict.

But to conclude, this is a travel blog and I merely mention these points to paint the country in a positive light. The message is that Egypt is a safe, peaceful destination and I would highly recommend a visit. As I was there on a combination of business and holiday, I didn’t get to see the Valley of the Kings in Luxor or the city of Alexandria but I understand from some of my new found Egyptian friends that these are also well worth visiting.

Egypt

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