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| Glamorous in cairo |
From Amman in Jordan, it was a just a short 50 minutes flight to Cairo on EgyptAir. Being part of the Star Alliance group means that the airline has to maintain a certain standard of service and safety, which is reassuring, and I bumped up my ff miles too.
For some strange reason, I was under the impression that the dress code for females in Cairo would be less conservative compared to Jerusalem. So I wore out all my long sleeve blouses and trousers in Jerusalem and putting aside the shorts and tee shirts for Cairo. Luckily, I had a big shawl that I could cover my shoulders and bare arms with.
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| View of the Nile from hotel room |
The streets of Cairo can be quite a tricky affair especially when you're female and foreign. On the first day of my arrival, my companion and I were chatted up by two men who offered to guide us to our destination. After about 15 minutes of friendly chatting we realised that we did not want anymore to follow them. At this stage, the men got annoyed and raised their voices at us, saying that we were impolite to refuse their "kind" offer !?!
Later that evening I read that in Egypt female travellers are better off acting aloof and cold. Friendly smiles or casual chats are interpreted as invitations for further engagements. "Be firm, polite and go on your way" became my mantra for the following days. I have to say it worked. I wasn't bothered anymore.
We stayed at the
InterContinental Cairo Semiramis, a perfect location in the city centre, next to Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum and on the banks of the Nile. The hotel is huge and has seen better days, though it is still very popular with Middle Eastern guests.
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| Egyptian Museum |
My first foray was to the Egyptian Museum, where you will need a full day to see most of the exhibits including the Mummy rooms. As a gigantic new museum called the
GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) is nearing its completion (scheduled to be ready by end of 2020), some of the artefacts were being crated for transport to their new home. The famous Gold Mask of Tutankhamun can still be viewed here, but I don't know for how long more.
A visit to the Mummy Room can certainly send chills down your spine as rows upon rows of mummies in their glass displays lay with their heads exposed. Also the temperature of the room is kept slightly cooler than the rest of the halls, so that chill just adds up. The ancient Egyptians were fixated with life after death, judging by the varieties of burial artefacts. From huge jars to amulets, the list goes on. The museum is a depository of sarcophagus, statues, obelisks, steles, wall reliefs and I was told that there are a lot more in wraps as they have no more room.
Leaving the realm of the dead, I left the museum into the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun. I passed by a shopping street with one after another shoe shop. Seems like modern Egyptians have a fascination with shoes! I was very surprised at the incredible low prices of shoes. Ladies leather court shoes cost no more than 200 Egyptian Pound ( 10 Euros )!
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| Mosaic showing flight of Holy Family |
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| Coptic Cairo |
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| my favourite stance.. |
My next visit was to Coptic Cairo, the original home of the Coptic Christians. Churches date back as far as 7th and 4th century, like the St Mary Church ( Hanging Church ), Church of Saint Sergus and Saint Bacchus or Abu Serga in Arabic, respectively. The Holy Family is thought to have stayed at the Abu Serga when they fled from King Herod. Inside this church, there is a crypt where the Holy Family allegedly stayed and a well, where they drew water from.
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| Grilled Shrimps a la Cairo |
On the third day, my friend Kamile who has lived in Egypt for some 30 odd years was back in town. Together with her son and another girlfriend, we drove helter-skelter around town, narrowing missing a tricycle and driving into a "ghetto area" of Cairo, in search of the seafood restaurant Kamile wanted to take me to. After a few more detours, we finally arrived at the restaurant, where different kinds of fish, squid, shrimps lay on ice for you to choose. We ordered up some fried calamari, grilled shrimps, grilled sea bass and snapper. I didn't expect to be feasting on seafood this fresh as I hadn't thought of Cairo as close to the sea? But again, I was proven wrong.
After dinner, Kamile's Egyptian girlfriend invited us to her flat to have tea. That was the first time I've tasted true Egyptian hospitality, as this lady whipped up creme caramel a la minute to serve with tea!
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| Touristy poses... ugggh |
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| Non-touristy pose... better |
The following day we drove to Giza to see the pyramids. I was surprised to see Giza's proximity to the city. In reality, it was the other way around, the pyramids were there first and the city developed close to it. As the weather was too hot for walking, Kamile's son expertly negotiated for a horse chariot instead. The driver of the chariot made us take some of the most touristy shots I have ever done. We ended the day at the
Marriot Mena House for ice lemon tea with a view of the pyramids.
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| Posing fever.. |
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| Khan el-Khalili |
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| Souk.. not to miss |
In the evening, we visited the Khan el-Khalili souk, a colourful, atmospheric bazaar set within the old historic walls, mosques and alleyways. The bazaar is open all day but at night, when the mercury dips to a comfortable temperature and the stalls get lighted up by incandescent bulbs and fairy lights, the bazaar transforms into a magical, exotic place. All kinds of merchandise from carpets to papyrus art to hand-made silver jewellery can be bought here. A very attractive silver scarab pendant caught my eye, but since I now know about the scarabs' significance with the ancient mummies, I decided against buying it. I'm not superstitious but there are also nicer animal brooches one can buy.
My first foray was to the Egyptian Museum, where you will need a full day to see most of the exhibits including the Mummy rooms. As a gigantic new museum called the GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) is nearing its completion (scheduled to be ready by end of 2020), some of the artefacts were being crated for transport to their new home. The famous Gold Mask of Tutankhamun can still be viewed here, but I don't know for how long more.
A visit to the Mummy Room can certainly send chills down your spine as rows upon rows of mummies in their glass displays lay with their heads exposed. Also the temperature of the room is kept slightly cooler than the rest of the halls, so that chill just adds up. The ancient Egyptians were fixated with life after death, judging by the varieties of burial artefacts. From huge jars to amulets, the list goes on. The museum is a depository of sarcophagus, statues, obelisks, steles, wall reliefs and I was told that there are a lot more in wraps as they have no more room.
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