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Cairo to Istanbul: Overland - Cairo

March 11th 2009 10:04

This post is part of the series "Cairo to Istanbul, Overland (with Intrepid)" & the first post can be found here: Really Long Link

Day minus 2 to Day 1: Cairo!!!

At the Pyramids of Giza

Egypt is cheap! We arrived 2 days early ahead of the start of the Intrepid tour to explore the Giza Pyramids, Egyptian Museum, a quick sail on the Nile, and do some shopping.

Keep in mind that most of the Pyramids are quite a ways from Cairo so you will need to plan to travel to them if you want to see a range of sites & pyramids.

Tips & Tricks
When someone comes up to you and says, "You look lost, can I help?" and they seem genuine and friendly and you REALLY REALLY think they are genuine despite what you have heard, and you REALLY REALLY think this isn't a sales pitch... stop, slap yourself, and tell them "No thank you." smile, break eye contact, and keep walking, pretending that you can't hear them calling after you.

Try to always know where you are going and if you need to consult your map, do so discretely and politely dismiss anyone who tries to help. I'm pretty savvy but these guys are AMAZING at sucking you in with social engineering. If you enter into any kind of conversation, they will find out where you are from & say, "Oh, I have a cousin in Sydney!" and then bring out photos and before you know it they have guided you into their shop, telling you that they have just become an uncle and you MUST celebrate with them, it's a tradition... and then before you know it, you have merchandise all over your lap... and then it's all over and they will appear insulted that you aren't buying anything!

Of course, if that's the kind of experience you are after, go along with it at least once and then dismiss everyone thereafter.

Unless they are leading you down a dark alley...

Pyramids of Giza
I was expecting the pyramids to feel touristy and maybe even a bit cheesy, but they were literally awe inspiring. To stand at the foot of something that was old when Christ was a baby is bigger than you, literally and metaphysically. We came by taxi and somehow jagged it so that we got there in between tour busses and we were almost alone while we explored, as you can kind of see from the photos. At sunset it got really busy and then they kicked everyone out, which was weird.

The Pyramids and the Sphinx

I used the Lonely Planet guide, which was very handy: it even predicted the upsell by the taxi driver on the way to the pyramids "You want camel?" and when we didn't quite understand, stopping, picking a random someone up who 'had better english' (?) who also wanted to sell us a camel ride or donkey ride or any ride as we discovered when we figured out what he was saying. A few firm and polite "No thank you"s in Arabic and he was dropped off again on the side of the road a few kilometers from where the taxi driver first picked him up. They were very pleasant though, probably because we were firm but polite. We found out later that another person on our tour had the same thing happen but he accepted and he got completely ripped off for his camel (jem-mel) ride, if I recall correctly he paid something like the equivalent of over $140 AUD for a whip around the pyramids. Crazy! But as I said to my friend, if he was happy to pay it and had a good time, they were happy to take his money and give him a good time, then it's all good... he will never forget his expensive tour around the pyramids and the grin on the tour guide's face.

I would bring some loose change for tips, even the guards at the pyramids get in on it. I knew what was happening from my lonely planet guide but you don't really want to say "No" to a guy with a machine gun when he offers to take your photo... and then proceeds to put out his hand. You just laugh and give him some money and consider it part of the experience. If you get there between buses they will let you climb on the pyramids, but I didn't feel comfortable with that (they are just so WORN) so even though he tried to make us pay to climb into one, we didn't. I was quite happy to stand by them and walk around them. I also bought 3 scarabs (dung beetles) from a guy at the base of the pyramids and (over)paid $5 for the three ceramic blue bugs worth no more than 50 cents (with holes in them to thread a necklace). I totally loved his thick accented "You remind me of my daughter... so beautiful" .. "and these three beetles are your family" (placing them in my hand one by one) "this one is you..." (places the middle sized one in my hand) "this one is your husband..." (presses the bigger one into my hand) "...and this one is your little baby that you will have..." (and puts the teeny tiny one in my hand). I mean, how could I not buy them? And who minds being so charmingly ripped off? Just a quick note, people tend to complain no matter what you pay them. You have to know what something is worth, overpay slightly (that's just my opinion) and then just walk away from their protests. The protests tend to be halfhearted when you have overpaid anyway, so you will get to understand the concept after a while. I quite like the idea once you get used to it. Sometimes if someone just smiles and walks away somewhat fast you know you REALLY overpaid, ha ha.
The Giza Pyramids rise directly out of a suburb. It's crazy! You're going through streets thick with traffic and dirt, and all of a sudden the city drops away and there they are buffered up to shops and houses and beyond them is sand and desert stretching as far as the eye can see. It's quite a shock to stand on the edge of a city and see these monolithic creations. I recommend spending the taxi ride to see these, and even the super expensive coke (really, I think it was $8) sitting at the base of them looking back over the Sphinx & pyramids. Lovely!

Egyptian Museum

It freaked me out that everyone TOUCHES everything despite the signs up everywhere and despite everything being thousands of years old...! And the guards never say a thing. While I was very shocked but you just gotta get over it because everyone does it, even the guides were putting their hands all over the statues, etc. It was particularly funny to see Egyptian Guides touching the artifacts when they were touring Americans, stiff-backed and tight lipped... who were obviously uncomfortable but didn't want to say anything. I totally related to them and wanted to swat people's hands away! After going through the Middle East further I understood the attitude a little better - there are statues and ancient buildings and mosaics EVERYWHERE out in the rain rotting away with animals and people running all over them, or people living in them, unkempt and very much normal to see in every town. I'm guessing that when you see that kind of thing on a daily basis you lose a little respect for things being treated with kid gloves, when you have one almost the same in your back yard or your neighbour's back yard... perhaps forgetting how unique and fragile it is.

The museum was really worth going to, but very poorly signposted as to what is what, what age it is, what it means, etc (I believe that is so the guides can stay in business). It's not worth going unless you have a second source of information: I'd recommend buying the Lonely Planet guide which has a written tour telling you what various exhibits are, or, if you have the money getting a reputable (and I emphasise reputable) guide. One of the most amusing things was if you stayed by one statue for a while you would hear different guides describing it as someone entirely different. It was hysterical.

Felucca on the Nile

We just wandered up and down the Nile (the Felucca drivers yell out prices at you) and stopped when someone yelled out a price that was close to reasonable, then haggled him down (check your guidebook for current pricing & exchange rates). The driver stopped in the middle of the river and insisted on payment. Don't give payment unless you feel you have already gotten your money's worth, they might just turn around and drop you right off. We only wanted half an hour anyway to see the sunset, get a feel for it and get going shopping again.

Markets & Souks

We went to several markets and souks, the best of which was the Old Market Khan el-Khalili - dating back to the 1300's - for all kinds of stuff: food (stopped for lunch at a great pancake type place), clothes, pashmina, carpets, trinkets, and anything else you could think of! The markets are usually divided into sections: copper, silver, gold, cloth, food, spices, sweets, etc. The market can be overwhelming, but just ensure you have your wallet tucked away in a place it can't be pinched, then relax and enjoy the craziness. You will be harassed and yelled at as you walk around. Expect it, appear confident, be polite but don't engage people unneccessarily, don't let your eyes get too big, and if you see something you like remember you will probably see it ten more times. Get a feel for price as you go, remember to haggle, and get off the main drag if you want to bring down the price a bit, and make sure you use even just a little Arabic, a few numbers, yes, no, thank-you etc - it will help with prices. You might want to come back a few times to this market, it's huge!

Onwards to Mount Sinai next...

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Comment by Postmodern Critic

March 16th 2009 05:29

Postmodern Critic
Relativity Watch
Padsoc

Fantastic tips, Teknicolor! I enjoyed reading your post.

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