My first glimpse of the Nile River
Another view of the Nile
My first view of the pyramids. Photo taken from a cab window.
View from cab 2
absolutely beautiful
With the girls on the way into the downtown Cairo Marriott for karaoke
Mhairi and Hot Egyptian
Mhairi with Mahmoud and Ez, (Mahmoud's best friend)
Getting hopped up on sugar and waiting for the karaoke action to begin!
I LOVE Turkish coffee!
Home at last! 5 am pizza with the Katies
The first weekend we were here, the girls and I decided our most important goal was to see the pyramids. After we finished work that Thursday, we went home to change and then met at 5:00 to take a cab to Giza, the neighborhood where the pyramids are located. Five of us crammed into one cab, and we chatted excitedly the entire way there. We were very wound up because this was the end of our first week of work, (prepping to get things ready for school to begin), and it was also our first venture out of Maadi, (our neighborhood).
Five minutes after the cab left our street, we were on a main highway that crossed the Nile. The NILE!!! This was our first glimpse of the infamous river, and when we saw it, we started shrieking and snapping pictures like crazed Japanese tourists! The cab driver laughed to himself and pulled over to the side of the road so we could get out and take more photos.
I can’t describe how absolutely amazing it was to be standing over a bridge looking at the Nile River for the first time. It was everything I had imagined it to be. Lush, green palms and foliage surrounded the river, and lights from nearby buildings softly reflected off the water’s surface. In the distance I could see farmers harvesting their crops; corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and many other vegetables are planted in the fertile soil of the river banks. Donkeys drank peacefully from the water, and birds glided through the air. It was spellbinding.
The cab driver waited patiently while we got our fill of the view, and then we hopped back in and headed towards the pyramids. We drove about another 5 minutes, and then someone started screaming. Literally screaming. “Oh my Goood, there they are!!!” I looked to my right, and through the cab window I could see the tips of the 3 largest pyramids brushing the sky. The sun was setting at that moment, and the sky was bathed in the most amazing hues of orange and gold. I thought I could die at that moment; it was SO incredibly beautiful.
We all started shrieking with excitement again and taking pictures from the cab windows. The driver laughed and drove on. Eventually we turned off from the highway and headed into the Giza neighborhood. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We had entered another world. This was the real Cairo, not the foreigner-filled la-la land of our neighborhood Maadi. Donkeys that were attached to carts plodded alongside cars, peasant women stood at the side of the road selling their fruits and vegetables, barefooted children ran everywhere, and wise, weary-looking men sat outside of shops and restaurants at little plastic tables, smoking shisha and watching the world go by. I was entranced.
A few minutes later the cab driver stopped and told us in his broken English that we should walk up the street and ask someone about tickets for the pyramids. There were barricades up in the streets and guards standing nearby, and he couldn’t drive us any further. He wished us luck and gave us his number in case we would need him when we were done. We said goodbye, thanked him, and made our way up the street. We were instantly swarmed by men. “You want the pyramids?” “You want to ride horses?” “200 pounds, 300 pounds” We ignored them and walked on. Bonnie had told us there was an official ticket office for the pyramids and that it would cost 150 pounds to get in, (which is about $30). There were many men who took people on horseback and camel riding expeditions around the pyramids, but we were told it wasn’t always safe for girls to do alone, and that we should stick to the ticket office.
However, when we got there, a gaurd standing near the entrance told us that the tours for the inside of the pyramids close at 3:00 every day, so we were too late. I was so disappointed! The gaurd continued to explain to us that there are also sound and light shows right outside of the pyramids every evening, but the final show that night had started at 6:00. We had just missed it. Although we were bummed, we decided just to try again the next day. I looked up once more at the tops of the pyramids jutting proudly into the sky before me, and I got goose bumps. I couldn't wait to see them even closer up and to explore the rooms inside of them, but I would have to!
Since it was our first night out on the town in Cairo, we decided we should make the most of it. Hot Egyptian had called Mhairi and told her that there was karaoke going on in one of the hotel bars downtown, so we got another cab and made our way to meet him and his friends.
The hotel bars in Cairo are very expensive, and even more so during Ramadan when booze is especially prohibited and frowned upon. Many places have a minimum cover charge, or a minimum amount that you have to spend when you are there. This hotel bar had a minimum cover of 100 pounds each, (about $20), and alcoholic drinks were anywhere from 50 to 75 pounds each, ($10 to $15 each). However, Hot Egyptian likes to play sugar daddy to us, so he paid for us to get in and also bought a round of drinks for us.
I ended up having so much fun that night! For starters, I couldn’t believe how big the karaoke binder was and how many different songs they had for people to choose from. At first there was no one really in the place besides us, but after an hour it was packed. However, I was the only one in our group who was singing, so after we were there for a couple of hours, the other girls got bored and we decided to go somewhere else. (I really wished you could have been there, Annie…)
Mahmoud got his car and drove us to another place downtown called the Cairo Jazz Club. This place has a lot of live music, but this particular night there was a DJ who was playing house music. Mahmoud knew the bouncers, so we all got in for free, and he also got us a great table. We stayed there until 4 in the morning dancing and drinking coffee. Mahmoud and Mhairi were very happy and they were getting along great for once, so we all had a wonderful time.
