Egyptians are amazingly adept weaseling money out of tourists. The areas where it is worst (of course) is around the famous attractions. The biggest Pyramids and the Sphinx, Sakara, Dashur, and Memphis inhabited by a very insistent contingent of Egyptians hawking a multiplicity of identical crap. Then comes the welcomed invading task force of Japanese, British, and French uniformed in immodest clothing, floppy brimmed hats, Tiva sandals, full wallets and armed with cameras. Like most wars fought against former farmers on their land the invaders are beaten back with heavy losses. Since my roommate and I have grown accustomed to the force full selling techniques in downtown Cairo we thought we would be well prepared for the next league.
These people are pros. They move in small squads; none carrying the same product (weapon) so not only are they not stepping on each others toes, they can also cover more sectors with fewer people. Want a perfect replica solid alabaster Sphinx? Talk to Ahmed(100 pound good price!). Semi-Authentic Arabian headdress? Talk to Muhammad (100 pound good price!) . Authentic Egyptian jewelry made in downtown Cairo? Talk to the other Ahmed(100 pound good price!). I can't be sure of the true price of the products however with a bit of market research I am guessing that the average cost to the retailer (Ahmed Ahmed and Ahmed) has a rather extreme mark up. So the widget they are selling for US$20 cost them roughly 8 cents.
Hayk, my roommate, loves to barter. We had decided to see the Giza Pyramids in style. So instead of walking we decided it would be more memorable if we rented horses. The starting price was 420 pounds. After 15 minutes or so of... debate the price had dropped to 200 pounds. Not bad for two horses and guide for 3 hours. Hayk had never ridden a horse before. Having never developed a touch for animals and their particular temperament quirks he was ill prepared for riding his horse which had been abused by the aforementioned Camera wielding Japanese. My horse tried to bite me once. Since my brother's last horse was a particularly vivacious harridan who's alacrity in tormenting, demoralizing and expertly heckling anyone who got in her personal sphere still makes the base of my neck twinge; the location where she planted a particularly vicious bite while I was feeding her. I should be gracious though. As soon as my horse swung his head around to plant a nip on my shin I saw the scenarios unfolding. The first was I get bit and the horse loses the meager respect for me which in hindsight was probably the only thing keeping me in the saddle. So I selected option B. Moving my foot a touch higher resulted in the less common combination of boot and soft flatness between the nostrils. For the rest of the ride my eunuch was a saint.
Hayk however was less fortunate. The second time he snapped the reins the horse decided that it was better for both of them if they went their separate ways. Which incidentally was Hayk in the sand and the horse smugly cantering away. After Hayk's dirt nap we regained control of the horse and kept moving.
After trotting for about 10 minutes we crested a dune. There they were. The worlds three largest monuments to despotic opulence and their half woman-half lion guardian. When one is confronted with this type of sight for the first time there are several different reactions; I reached for my camera. Then our guide (Ahmed wouldn't you know) said "I make photo to you" and took my camera. After which he proceeded to (whoop) let my camera slip from his hands and fall (soft whistle) none to lightly (crack) to the rock (tinkle tinkle) his horse (whiny that sounded like "Ha! sucker") was standing on. So to reiterate the score: First time within a Berry Bond's swing of the three largest monuments to human slavery still in the world and our guide had broken my camera.
Swiftly moving forward to the Pyramids we went through a gate and were confronted with several Mounted (on camels) Egyptian Tourism Police who confiscated our horses and informed us we could reclaim them outside of the protected area. So we walked the rest of the way to the biggest Pyramid, which I though would be considerably bigger, and went in.
It is a 45 meter slide bounce and scramble down into to the stale and urine scented air. Moving a bit deeper in the air gets more stale and the scent diminishes or possibly I just acclimated to the aroma. After the jaunt through the stone chute we ended in a room. That was stone. And about the size of two short buses placed side by side. And I am having to draw out the description to make it seem copiously much more fulfilling than it actually was.
When we got out there was the expected regiment of tourist hustlers pushing Coke, water and odd lumps of clay which were supposed to be the Pyramids. Fighting through the horde we recovered our horses and proceeded back to the stable. Halfway there our guided demanded a "tip" which we "didn't understand."
Honestly would you tip the guy who broke your camera in front of a wonder of the world? I thought not.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
The White and Black ones don't stop for Pedestrians
One thing about living in a city is the constant movement. Not only are there people, cars, large amounts of cash and general stuff moving in and out of the city limits; there is a mass of material, people and junk that spends its life just moving around the city. If your lively hood depended on being able to move fast from one place to another you'd get rather impatient when someone is interfering with your means of making money. So naturally when a widget is having to wait in traffic for longer than 4 1/2 seconds it gets annoyed and tries to find a faster way. Then another widget sees the first going faster and says "Laa Zachma!" When you add fourth and fifth widget to the constipation things get painfully slow. Since Egypt is so amazingly old and the normal strictures of civilized society have been deracinated for several thousand years the term "Road rage" isn't used. Its the norm.
Taxi drivers should be noted as being particularly ruthless; not only for their driving but also in fare collection and customer acquisition. Historical note: In the mid seventies the president decided that Cairo needed to have a standardized taxi aesthetic and fare. Nearly all cabs that were put into service were Peugeot 504 series and had a mechanical meter. 30 years later all of the taxis are frayed around the edges and the meters are broken. The most common fare proposed to me is "Fifty Pound. Good price since first time Egypt." (50 pounds is about US$8.75) Enough to buy a large meal at US McDonald's? Here that is enough to go from Giza to the Airport with good tip; two of the furthest destinations apart from each other. To go from school to my hostel? "50 pound good price for husband and grapes! (I think he meant for a man and his family)" So naturally I have to negotiate the price down. If you're patient enough you can always get a good price since there 1/3 of the cars in the city are taxis. So after four rounds of "Hamza" "Laa Ashrah" "Hamza" the cabbie finally gives in and accepts a 10th of what he originally asked. So I'm happy and the he is wondering why a white guy is paying 90 cents to go across town.
There are no seat belts. There are no airbags. There is driver with anger issues and a 2000 pound French car that was build during the cold war. The first few times there was also an sweaty American clinging to anything resembling a handle so that he wouldn't be thrown dramatically through the windshield when the very light car ran into something with more mass and less inertia. Now that Ive acclimated to the lack of inhibition and air conditioning I am much less worried that any second I could be t-boned by a 4 ton bus. Atleast I don't have to worry if my driver is drinking on the job or not.
Taxi drivers should be noted as being particularly ruthless; not only for their driving but also in fare collection and customer acquisition. Historical note: In the mid seventies the president decided that Cairo needed to have a standardized taxi aesthetic and fare. Nearly all cabs that were put into service were Peugeot 504 series and had a mechanical meter. 30 years later all of the taxis are frayed around the edges and the meters are broken. The most common fare proposed to me is "Fifty Pound. Good price since first time Egypt." (50 pounds is about US$8.75) Enough to buy a large meal at US McDonald's? Here that is enough to go from Giza to the Airport with good tip; two of the furthest destinations apart from each other. To go from school to my hostel? "50 pound good price for husband and grapes! (I think he meant for a man and his family)" So naturally I have to negotiate the price down. If you're patient enough you can always get a good price since there 1/3 of the cars in the city are taxis. So after four rounds of "Hamza" "Laa Ashrah" "Hamza" the cabbie finally gives in and accepts a 10th of what he originally asked. So I'm happy and the he is wondering why a white guy is paying 90 cents to go across town.
There are no seat belts. There are no airbags. There is driver with anger issues and a 2000 pound French car that was build during the cold war. The first few times there was also an sweaty American clinging to anything resembling a handle so that he wouldn't be thrown dramatically through the windshield when the very light car ran into something with more mass and less inertia. Now that Ive acclimated to the lack of inhibition and air conditioning I am much less worried that any second I could be t-boned by a 4 ton bus. Atleast I don't have to worry if my driver is drinking on the job or not.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Walk like an Egyptian: Barefoot in the Desert
This weekend my Armenian roommate, Hayk (sounds like Mike), Nance and I went on a Safari in the part of the desert known as Bahria. This is divided in to two distinct sections called the Black and White deserts. The Black is in a formerly volcanic area and there are black stones on top of the yellow sand which gives the impression that the entirety is black; but in actuality there stones are about 1-3 inches apart so the blackened effect is only seen when looking over a large area. The white desert is sedimentary rock that is a very pure white color. Since it has been around for a few years and was formerly underwater, there are a good number of oddly shaped formations. I know this seems like a trivial geology lesson but it was enough to convince the three of us to drive down and see the sights.
Driving down was a quite..... something. We took the bus. If you have ever ridden on a bus in the States you'll notice that the normal clientele of Greyhound does not consist of people you would want to consort with or even sit next to for hours at a time. Egyptian buses are so much worse. Not only are all of the seats filled; the aisles are packed with standing room tickets and any overflow from there is put in the cargo compartment. Since bus drivers are always late they try and make up time by not stopping. Ever. So if you need to get out you have to hit the ground running or not get off the bus. The people under the bus tuck and roll to get off and it is rather startling to see a family of five roll and bounce as they sprawl out. After getting used to the scents and praying coming from people around it was finally our turn to tuck and roll into the hotel.
The next morning we had a traditional meal before jumping in our range rover and heading out to the desert. We started by going dune jumping in the black desert. From there we headed to an Oasis and went swimming. I made the mistake of jumping out of the water and running across the sand. As soon as the water had burned off my feet, my feet started to burn off. Since I hadn't realized what was happening until I was a solid 150 feet out, I made a rather long and hasty sprint back to make a timely dive into the water. Lunch consisted of Fuol (A type of bean and tomato soup pronounced Fool), flat bread and fresh melon.
After a 250 kilometer drive we went of road again to drive though a part of the white desert who's Awe inspiring ability rivals the Grand Canyon. We struck camp just in time to watch the sunset. After dinner Hayk and I decided to take a walk across the desert to go to another group of campers. We figured since it was sandy with a spattering of rocks where we were camped that trend would continue till we got to the other camp. Walking barefoot, in the dark, in starlight, over rocks you can't see is not a good idea. When we finally got close to the other camp we discovered that the 10 South Koreans were quite scared because of all the strange sounds coming from the void beyond their campfire. After assuring the Koreans and their guide that our bodies were indeed corporeal we were treated to Bedouin Whiskey or Whiskey Maroc. This consisted of tea mixed with a healthy amount of mind then sweetened. Think two tablespoons of raw sugar for a shot glass of tea. Coke seems bitter after drinking a glass.
I woke up at just before sunrise. Peeking out from under my blanket I saw the bright spot that foretold the coming heat and thought "Oh that's going to be a good picture. I should get my cam...ZZZZ." Unfortunately I have misplaced my right forearm so it was not under the blanket. I spent two days in the desert sun and the only place I got a burn was a 3 by 16 inch patch on the forearm. The rest of the ride home was rather uneventful. But hoo boy the shower after getting to the hostel was fantastic.
Photos can be found here.
Driving down was a quite..... something. We took the bus. If you have ever ridden on a bus in the States you'll notice that the normal clientele of Greyhound does not consist of people you would want to consort with or even sit next to for hours at a time. Egyptian buses are so much worse. Not only are all of the seats filled; the aisles are packed with standing room tickets and any overflow from there is put in the cargo compartment. Since bus drivers are always late they try and make up time by not stopping. Ever. So if you need to get out you have to hit the ground running or not get off the bus. The people under the bus tuck and roll to get off and it is rather startling to see a family of five roll and bounce as they sprawl out. After getting used to the scents and praying coming from people around it was finally our turn to tuck and roll into the hotel.
The next morning we had a traditional meal before jumping in our range rover and heading out to the desert. We started by going dune jumping in the black desert. From there we headed to an Oasis and went swimming. I made the mistake of jumping out of the water and running across the sand. As soon as the water had burned off my feet, my feet started to burn off. Since I hadn't realized what was happening until I was a solid 150 feet out, I made a rather long and hasty sprint back to make a timely dive into the water. Lunch consisted of Fuol (A type of bean and tomato soup pronounced Fool), flat bread and fresh melon.
After a 250 kilometer drive we went of road again to drive though a part of the white desert who's Awe inspiring ability rivals the Grand Canyon. We struck camp just in time to watch the sunset. After dinner Hayk and I decided to take a walk across the desert to go to another group of campers. We figured since it was sandy with a spattering of rocks where we were camped that trend would continue till we got to the other camp. Walking barefoot, in the dark, in starlight, over rocks you can't see is not a good idea. When we finally got close to the other camp we discovered that the 10 South Koreans were quite scared because of all the strange sounds coming from the void beyond their campfire. After assuring the Koreans and their guide that our bodies were indeed corporeal we were treated to Bedouin Whiskey or Whiskey Maroc. This consisted of tea mixed with a healthy amount of mind then sweetened. Think two tablespoons of raw sugar for a shot glass of tea. Coke seems bitter after drinking a glass.
I woke up at just before sunrise. Peeking out from under my blanket I saw the bright spot that foretold the coming heat and thought "Oh that's going to be a good picture. I should get my cam...ZZZZ." Unfortunately I have misplaced my right forearm so it was not under the blanket. I spent two days in the desert sun and the only place I got a burn was a 3 by 16 inch patch on the forearm. The rest of the ride home was rather uneventful. But hoo boy the shower after getting to the hostel was fantastic.
Photos can be found here.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Settled
I have a room! When I say "I have a room" I really mean that I just have a room. I splurged and got a bathroom which is more of a spacious walk in closet with the standard sink/toilet and a shower head above all of it. There are two beds with enough floorspace to side step from the door to the water closet, which, when viewing the entirety of the room from the door, seems like an afterthought. Ah well, but for $3.82 a day its perfectly fine. So I'm moving from Zamalek to Talaat Harb which is about a $1 difference in cab ride but a $19 change in boarding costs.
The building which I have moved to was built around 1905 which makes for some interesting architectural departures from the normal forms around the US. For instance, the main stairwell wraps around the open air elevator shaft. While the elevator is smart enough to know which floor is which, there are not any call buttons above the 2nd floor. This makes for a long trek down from the roof where the hostel and my room is.
Classes are going well but the technical complexities of the language are rather wearing. To give a brief over view of what I'm trying to absorb: Arabic has 28 letters and no vowels. Well thats not entirely correct. There are six vowels but in normal texts they arn't written. To make this even harder the sounds are OO, ooN, In, eEN, Ein, and en. Compounded with the very entertaining fact that 12 of the non-vowel letters have almost the same sound; only differentiated with a rolling R on the tongue (which sounds vaguely like a Spanish R) or a guttural R which sounds like a rat being drowned.
Luckily I haven't had to execute a mafia style disposal of a rat since most of them are quite friendly. They are slightly smaller than the average house cat and since they are better scavengers than the average Cairo street cat. Since the rats have more muscle and numbers the cats generally leave them alone. However when a fight does break out there are always a few bums to bet on it. The rats normally have the spread with 4.2 to 1.
The building which I have moved to was built around 1905 which makes for some interesting architectural departures from the normal forms around the US. For instance, the main stairwell wraps around the open air elevator shaft. While the elevator is smart enough to know which floor is which, there are not any call buttons above the 2nd floor. This makes for a long trek down from the roof where the hostel and my room is.
Classes are going well but the technical complexities of the language are rather wearing. To give a brief over view of what I'm trying to absorb: Arabic has 28 letters and no vowels. Well thats not entirely correct. There are six vowels but in normal texts they arn't written. To make this even harder the sounds are OO, ooN, In, eEN, Ein, and en. Compounded with the very entertaining fact that 12 of the non-vowel letters have almost the same sound; only differentiated with a rolling R on the tongue (which sounds vaguely like a Spanish R) or a guttural R which sounds like a rat being drowned.
Luckily I haven't had to execute a mafia style disposal of a rat since most of them are quite friendly. They are slightly smaller than the average house cat and since they are better scavengers than the average Cairo street cat. Since the rats have more muscle and numbers the cats generally leave them alone. However when a fight does break out there are always a few bums to bet on it. The rats normally have the spread with 4.2 to 1.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Settle
My eyes hurt. The air here is quite caustic. Not just from the heat and dust but also from the rampant exhaust and other fumes that fuse with the street scents. The final product is a sickly sweet smelling mixture that provides the same amount of carbon dioxide as smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes per day. Coincidentally most Egyptians smoke while walking down the street so even a non-smoking ambient person is inhaling a good deal of smoke. Since my hotel is in Zamalek, which is the northern half of an island in the middle of the Nile, there is usually a decent breeze which cools and moves stale air somewhere inland where it can settle.
My fight here was blase. The Boston to Zurich leg was unreasonably fast considering that I started reading a excellent book and had seen either of the inflight movies. From Zurich to Cairo I was seated next to a textile engineer and his wife who were both from a city in Germany I had never heard of and could barely pronounce with a great deal of coaching. Neither one spoke very good English so to kill time communication was attempted in German. Keep in mind my German consists of about 4 verbs, 20 nouns and wild gesticulations which are liable to put an eye out.
Flying into Cairo was one of the more spectacular landings I have witnessed. We flew over the Pyramids and Sphinx at about 1000 feet before slowly curving around to land on a strip of sand next to a low concrete building and a larger amount of less groomed sand.
That's all for now as the Internet cafe owner is giving me dirty looks for staying longer than my $1.42 purchased. Pictures and hopefully a video to come.
My fight here was blase. The Boston to Zurich leg was unreasonably fast considering that I started reading a excellent book and had seen either of the inflight movies. From Zurich to Cairo I was seated next to a textile engineer and his wife who were both from a city in Germany I had never heard of and could barely pronounce with a great deal of coaching. Neither one spoke very good English so to kill time communication was attempted in German. Keep in mind my German consists of about 4 verbs, 20 nouns and wild gesticulations which are liable to put an eye out.
Flying into Cairo was one of the more spectacular landings I have witnessed. We flew over the Pyramids and Sphinx at about 1000 feet before slowly curving around to land on a strip of sand next to a low concrete building and a larger amount of less groomed sand.
That's all for now as the Internet cafe owner is giving me dirty looks for staying longer than my $1.42 purchased. Pictures and hopefully a video to come.
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