Spent the past 4 nights and 3 days in Cairo. The hostel is on the 7th floor about 1/2 mile from the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and the polluted Nile river. I have my own room and the desk folks are super friendly. Like all Arab nations it seems when they are friendly, they are overly friendly.
I haven't had too much trouble with touts so far, but I went out on the street and found an older looking gentleman, asked him if he had a car and if he would like to drive me around to the sites. Got the trip far cheaper than I could have through a taxi or tour group, including the hostel.
The Giza pyramids were the first stop and were impressive indeed. It was amazing because the pictures give you the impression that they are way out in the desert when in fact they are right on the edge of the Sahara where it meets Cairo. Saw several pyramids south of Cairo and went to the old city of Memphis where the first pyramids were built and the ancient city of the pharohs.
On the next day I had my same retired engineer driver take me to the Coptic part of Cairo and by several of the old mosques in Egypt. I finally had him drop me off at the Egyptian museum and told him I would walk back to the hostel from there. The Museum looked like something out of the "Indiana Jones" movies. There was little if any air conditioning and had poor lighting. The building itself was completed in 1901. I had placed the theme song from the movie on my Ipod for when I got to Petra but had to play it here to add to the moment.
Today I spent just wandering around the crazy city of Cairo. It is a wall of wall of noise. Car horns honking, brakes squelling and calls to prayer from the many mosque about town. It is a game of chicken when crossing the street. If there is no cars in front of the driver then it is an invitation to go as fast as he can until he encounters another vehicle. There are no lanes, none that are honored at least, and pedistrians must just take their chances in crossing. Needless to say it was very much a challenge.
Tomorrow I catch a 9 am flight to Sharm el Sheikh and embark on a 7 night dive trip around the Red Sea. Hoping for clear water!
