We woke up at 8:00 still tired from the day before. In the hour before we met the taxi drivers at 9:00, we ate breakfast and packed our day bags. Veronica decided to stay in the hotel as she was feeling tired. She was the only one who actually got to really enjoy the 5 star hotel.
At 9:00 we met our taxis outside the hotel. Melissa and I sat in the back as it was Chupi's turn to sit in the front. A little less super exciting than the day before, we still put on the music and clapped our way to our first destination.
The day actually started off a little slow as we first went to a perfume store, to hear another fast-talking presentation. The prices were better than the one we saw in Aswan and we got to try on a lot of scents. Antonio and I bought some for gifts for Heiko and Alberto. From the perfume store, we left to start our actual day of touring.
We drove through the dirty streets of Cairo, parking by the "community of religions." For the next 2 hours, we wandered the labyrinth of cobble stone streets and close buildings visiting the Christian and Jewish, "new" section of Cairo. We visited the convent of St. George, in which I took off my shoes to enter the chapel and took more pictures with little kids. We then went to the Ben Ezra synagogue, that was in great condition and absolutely decorated. I was really glad to see it and glad it was in such good condition. From there we went to another church to find it full of people holding newly baptized babies. We did a picture swap as they wanted pictures of us and the girls took a lot of pictures with the babies. The last church we visited was the "hanging church." Built on a suspended foundation, the church was open space underneath. It had beautiful wood beams and stained class windows.
Leaving the "community of religions," we drove to Cairo's most famous landmark, the Citadel of Salah Al-Din with its famous mosque and museums. We walked up the hill, the day having grown quite hot. We went to a smaller mosque and I took off my shoes and walked on the green carpet, the interior ring with pillars. We then walked up to the lookout, passing the famous mosque and heading to the military museum. The view of Cairo from the lookout was impressive. The pyramids of Giza stood in the distance like grey triangles. The city was dirty and the large mosques and hotels overshadowed the hundreds of thousands of apartment buildings. We then went to the military museum. I spent a long time looking around. Melissa and I had a deep conversation about politics. Not wanting to be late for the taxis we headed down the hill.
Piling back in the taxis, we went to a restaurant good but still a little touristy. I had a good conversation with the family from Madrid.
After lunch we drove to a beautiful mosque in old Cairo. Legend has it that the King cut off the hands of the architect so he would never be able to make something so beautiful again.
By this point my camera battery had completely died and I had forgotten to bring my other battery. We headed to the famous Cairo bazaar. A true labyrinth of shops, and multiple floors. Entering it is a a guaranteed spending spree. Melissa and I bought a music tape at one of the first shops we passed. We wanted to buy our taxi driver some new music. Our head taxi driver was our local guide and he took us to the second level to a store that had good prices and run by nice people. I walked around the top level, exploring the cute shops. We spent a long time there as everyone from our group bought souvenirs and gifts.
Back down in the city square we were invited to a wedding and the girls attracted a lot of unwanted attention. We met up with the taxis and decided to head back in the direction of the hotel stopping at a tea house first.
The drive back was so perfect, beautiful and exciting that I will never be able to fully describe it. We gave the tape to the taxi driver who was happy we'd thought of him. He took off the wrapping (taking his hands off the steering wheel while doing this). We popped in the tape and blasted the Arabic music. The sky was dark and we danced in the back seat. The taxis were racing again as we sped neck and neck on the freeway. We were driving so fast. Lara, the Spanish girl from the Madrid family, was taking pictures with her SLR camera. The flash from the camera seemed surreal as it shined against the paint of the cars speeding by. Our taxi took the lead and in the next moments I was given a most incredible image. As we crossed the bridge form Cairo to Giza, over the Nile, I looked out the window to see the outline of the pyramids, green and grey in the garden of lights below.
The drive continued to be otherworldly as we became submerged in the thick of the traffic. The taxi driver asked if I wanted to drive and I said "No thank you!" In the middle of the freeway, I saw two young boys run from car to car, jumping from truck to truck. I saw one of the most ridiculous things I'd ever seen in my life, a veterinarian (I'm assuming) artificially inseminating a cow in the middle of the freeway. He had on a huge glove... I couldn't stop laughing.
We pulled into the parking lot of the tea shop and found four tables. The taxi drivers set up backgammon. They ordered tea and hookahs. I gave some money to the begging little kids. The least I could do. I was sitting next to Melissa and the family from Madrid. Once everyone was settled in and talking, the wife from Madrid stood up, saying she wanted to dedicate a poem to me. I looked her in the eye and listened as she recited a poem to me that summed up this incredible year. I was really touched and had never had someone that I didn't know very well say something so nice about me. Rafa from Galicia "tinged" the glass and asked me to make another toast. I stood up and said thanks to the taxi drivers, the group for an incredible two days. I almost cried, but caught myself. I was little shaken but happy and enjoyed the last hours I would have in Cairo with a great group of people.
Back in front of the hotel, Hussein told us to pay him what we thought he deserved, I gave him a big tip and said thanks for showing us everything. Back in the hotel, I got cleaned up and joined everyone out on the balcony. We all knew the trip was soon over and didn't want to admit it. We stayed up late until dozing off on the balcony. We'd be getting up at 4:00am to head back to Spain.
No comments:
Post a Comment