"You can do anything in Egypt - just not in the street." - My airbnb host. That, I would say, is a pretty good description of Egypt. From the outside, we see a picture of a culture soaked in poverty and oppression...but there's a lot going on behind closed doors. A lot that makes the country seem just like every other country in the world.
Egypt has been on my bucket list for a long time, but I wasn't sure what to expect actually arriving.
I'd heard so many mixed reviews varying from, "It's the most amazing country ever!" to "Never go there as a female!" After a week in the chaotic capitol, I am tending to lean towards the first option. Right away when I got here, I was captivated by the historic beauty. The architecture, the mosques, the beautiful artwork that is the Arabic language.
Rebekah (the girl I met on the tour in Greece) and I, by some miracle, got to sit next to each other on the flight! So, we shared stories and travel experiences, and shared the chaos upon arriving to the Cairo airport.
We took an hour to organize ourselves, use the bathroom (you never know when you'll get another one!) Figure out a SIM card for phone service, and withdraw money - all part of the arrival checklist to a new country, and of course, take the welcoming tourist photos.
Rebekah and I stopped first at my new apartment and dropped our stuff, chatted a bit with the host - a sweet 27 year old and her kitty Mimi.
We got a bit lost, and a cute little boy was sitting on the ground outside a mechanic shop. He eyed us curiously, then said, "Cairo tower, left, left!" I asked in Arabic if he spoke English to which he responded again, "Cairo tower, left, left!" (Back the way we came.) I looked at him confused so he got to his feet and motioned for us to follow him. After we figured out where we were going, I snuck him a 200 bill ($4) in his hand. He went back the way we came and we continued towards the tower but a few feet later he turned around and yelled, "Shukran! Shukran Jenna skuran!" - Thank you. The joy in his voice, and the smile on his face as I turned around to wave was genuinely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, the fullest joy, purest gratitude. To him, that $4 was $200. It's a joy I will never forget. A joy that kids who have everything may never experience.
Once we arrived, we had our first Egyptian meal. We sat cross-legged on some ground cushions by a low table and ate beans and bread and meat and vegetables all made to perfection with incredible seasonings and probably one of the best latte's i've had this side of the Atlantic. The total price, $16 between the two of us.
After the tower Rebekah headed back to her airbnb to rest, and I went out to explore the area. So many people talked to me, asked if I needed help, and one led me to a painting shop, then disappeared. I met Enzo, who was super friendly, spoke English, and is also a tour guide. And here is where I made my first currency mistake. Instead of doubling the currency, I halved it. OOPS. So, when he charged me 5,000 EGP for three paintings, I thought, $25, perfect. My regret was deep when I realized it was actually $100. But, I guess I now have some expensive paintings, and Enzo even wrote my name on one in Arabic. And, you better believe that I learned the currency conversion pretty fast after that! (Happens every time, ha)
The next several days were filled with more of the same - tours in the morning, teaching classes in the afternoon. Some of the highlights were a papyrus gallery where they showed how they made the first paper plus an essential oil shop where they explained the process of getting oil from the flowers for the precious oils.
Each place offered a welcome coffee or tea or juice.
I hadn't planned more than one more day with Rebekah, but we got blessed once again to run into each other at the Pyramids!
It was absolutely incredible, seeing the pyramids in person, and there aren't quite any words to describe their presence, their energy. Each block is two tons, and about two million blocks make up the biggest one. No one quite knows how they were made, but I'm glad they were.
I made my way around the pyramid, and on the way, got stopped by some school kids to take selfies. After one selfie, another kind came up...and suddently I was surrounded. I somehow broke away from the mass of children where a man laughed and said, "Shakira?" Hahah. Apparently. A few feet later, the mass of kids returned and the man came shooing them away saying, "Khalas, Khalas!" - That's enough.
After the pyramids, a ride on a camel. My camel was seven year old Ollie, who liked to give kisses.
The owner (or at least the care taker) of the camel was a guy in his early 20s, who told me Ollie eats lots of grass, alfalfa, and clover, and can live to be 25 years old. A lot of animals in these countries aren't well taken care of and I feel bad for them toting around tourists, but Ollie seemed strong, well fed, and content.
Afterwards, I gave the owner a $4 tip, 200 Egyptian pounds, to which he responded, "Are you sure?" The gratefulness from each person I tip is nothing like what I heard in reviews from other tourists.
We were on tours for all of these trips, but honestly, the immense amount of information mostly passed through my brain and instead only my eyes took in the sites. But, the Bent pyramid would have been bigger than the Great Pyramid, except halfway through they decided to change the angle. I didn't get the real reason for the change, but for some reason in my mind they just got lazy and didn't want to continue. Ha.
We got to go into the pyramid, and it is genuinely one of then most indescribable things I have ever done. We crawled down a long 4X4 square tunnel that went on and on and on and on and on. When we got to the bottom, we started crawling up again.
Eventually, the route opened up a bit and we were able to see the inside of the pyramid. Like a big cave, but the energy was...sacred. And it was a bit intimidating. I felt that at any minute the walls could cave in, crushing me and burying me like the kings buried there before me. But, I lived to tell the tale, and got some nice black pictures to prove it.
We also got to see a few tombs that are way off the beaten trails. We also drove by a palm forest - more tall palm trees than I've ever seen in my life. Our guide told us they were date trees. The whole day I think we saw about 20 tourists, in comparison to the hundreds surrounding the Great Pyramid near Cairo.
The tombs were the most sacred, breathtaking thing. It was like stepping into a history movie - the original sketches and red dye still visible.
We had the tombs to ourselves, thanks to a bit of a drive on an old dirt road, and then a walk through the desert. But it was so worth it.
In one of the tombs, we crawled down under the growned into another cave-like structure, where a big rock tomb was lain open. No mummies though.
A stop at a carpet making shop, where it takes three months to make one of these magestic pieces of art.
They showed us how to make the carpets and even let us try. A 13 year old worker made a cute bracelet that he gifted me, and another man said he had been weaving for 40 years, and now his son was also in the same work.
After the day, I hugged Rebekah goodbye, so thankful to have spent my first experience in Egypt with her. Both of us had been a bit apprehensive about the country, but together we calmed those fears. So thankful.
I also got to meet my Arabic teacher, Kerolos. He took me on his motorcycle through the sketchiest streets ever - dirty, pot holes, crowded, goats and cats and dogs and people running every which way. (I couldn't get any photos, except for this one on a side street.)
Our gps messed up about 100 times so he had to ask for directions and turn around countless times, but, we made it to our destination - a Christian sanctuary in the middle of the muslim territory, the Cave Church.
The churches (seven) were carved down into the rock in a mountain, and hands down, the most sacred place I've ever stepped foot.
The churches were created before Christianity was legal in Egypt, and people had to worship in hiding.
The carvings on the walls told the story of Jesus and his followers...
...and, though I've never felt the presence of God in a church with stained glass windows and chandaliers, the caves under the rock felt like the Holy presence was everywhere.
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