First Day in Cairo

Monday, April 6--

Traveling 80 mph on both sides of the road in a car with a suspension on par with the Ford Model T with a chain smoking Egyptian driver who barely speaks English through the Sinai desert to Cairo is a fairly stressful experience; particularly on one's first day in a new country. As a result, Sam, Justin, and I found ourselves exhausted. (Sam had also contracted a virus which he later passed onto me) Upon arrival to the hostel we grabbed a quick bite, came up with an idea for our EgypTrip! movie and crashed for the night. Unfortunately, for one of the three of us (me) crash was a literal expression of what my bed did. In the middle of the night my bed started splitting sideways and the boards holding my bed together started popping out. After much struggle I gave up and took up the floor.

Don't be afraid of the maybe smoldering, roof ripped off, burned out bus on the side of the road (we were), you're in Egypt now.


We spared no expense traveling in Egypt (lie).

First night in Egypt: comfortable.

When we awoke we decided to seek out the Wakeup! Cairo hostile that we had booked in Israel. Though the location was only a five minute walk away we ended up driving for over 20 minutes with an English-less cab driver (trend?). The accommodations at the new hostile were significantly better. Air conditioning, working beds, (sometimes) hot water, free Internet, and a beautiful view of the polluted city were all included in the price of a night's stay. For breakfast we were directed to a local restaurant that served koshary, a popular local breakfast food primarily consisting of macaroni, rice, black lentils, and tomato sauce. Though the origins of koshary are shrouded in mystery it is believed that the recipe was found in a cave of wonders. Either that or it was brought over by Indian soldiers during WWI or that Coptic (Egyptian) Christians invented it for fasting because it is healthy and doesn't contain animal byproducts.

I'm eating koshary!

After a filling breakfast, Peter the hostile co-owner, took us to smoke Shisha (hookah) and drink delicious Egyptian tea (strongly brewed and served very sweet) and hibiscus juice followed by a tour of the Egyptian Museum, considered one of the premiere museums in the world and containing some of Egypt's greatest historical treasures. One of the most incredible displays contains the insides of King Tutankhamen's tomb. Though the tomb was grave-robbed [extravaganza--shameless shout out to Evan] thousands of years ago only the perfume, which was of great value at the time, was taken. When the tomb was found in 1922 by Howard Carter all of the modern day valuables--gold, precious stone, jewelry, etc. was intact. The sarcophagus and mask are incredibly detailed, well-preserved, and meticulously made with a very high concentration of gold. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed in the museum so you'll just have to take my word for it...or visit yourself.

Justin and Sam smoking an authentic Egyptian hookah.

Me and Justin in front of the Egyptian Museum (Aladdin's lamp was behind glass).

That night we got together with a friend of a friend of Sam's- Aliza. She works for a mini-publication that caters to English speakers and provided us with some useful tips about Egypt.

Drinks with Aliza

Note to travelers: Egyptian beer sucks.

Upcoming: Day Two in Cairo--Pyramids!!

More Upcoming: All the other stuff I promised.

XOXO,
Pavel