After two full days in Cairo, I sorta feel as though I've established a feel for the place. I have learned some very hard lessons about trust!!
The first night I got here I was alone and was befriended by a man named Sam who claimed I was part of his family cuz he has a friend who used to live in Toronto. The next thing I know, I am in his tour agency drinking mint tea and talking to the friend on the phone (he is telling me that I should never trust Egyptian men). Suddenly I find myself in a cab with Sam heading to some far off duty free store so I can boot for him cuz (and I'm gonna blame it on my jet-lagged stupor and my Canadian-ness) I had just agreed to use my passport to get the guy liquor and smokes (which are unavailable to Egyptians at that price).
Now, of course I realise that the people here are just trying to make or save money and I likely have more money to spare than they do, but at the same time, I will admit to getting a little pissy when finding out that I paid 4 times what I could have paid! It is entirely my fault for not educating myself and it really is all part of the experience, but you'd think I'd be a little more savvy. For example, if a rather nice looking lad claiming to be a doctor of botanical research at the National Museum walks up to you and tells you the museum is closed until 11:30 so you'd be better off going to the bazaar for a while cuz they are having a sale (his wife and daughter are going to be there too!!!), you'd think some bells might go off saying that 'maybe there wouldn't be a botanist working at a museum dealing solely with antiquities'. But no, we let the guy show us to the 'government' store, assured him we would definitely come visit him in his museum office, and proceeded to buy the bleedin' place out (convinced that we were saving a bundle!!!). The moral of this story: never trust a botanist!
Now don't get me wrong, Aman and I are having a blast, but we have found that we need to readjust our personalities a little (okay, maybe only I have to readjust cuz Aman has adopted a full on Zen attitude about everything).
We thought we'd start things off big, so yesterday we went to the Giza Plateau to check out the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. The Pyramids were humblingly huge and very claustrophobic inside. It is unfathomable to me that they have been around for over 4500 years. We were able to go in the biggest one (for the Pharaoh Cheops) and were treated to a very steep and long climb up a passageway about the size of a TV only to find pretty much nothing at the top! Still, you gotta go inside, don't ya? Even if your thighs are really paying for it today!!! We also went to see the first pyramid ever made, called the Step Pyramid, at a site called Saqqara). There were far fewer people so it was a much more serene experience.
My favourite part of Giza was trying to convince one of the local salesmen that there were indeed fossils in the rocks. Even after I showed them to him he kept telling me "No animals, lady, only rocks." and he was even more incredulous when I tried to explain (as we stand in the middle of the desert) that these were marine animals so these rocks were originally in the ocean. Ah... the tough life of a paleontologist!
Today (after an expensive detour to the 'government' shop) we made it to the National Museum and were treated to an overwhelming array of artifacts. There were so many things stuffed in that building that it was hard to really see any of it. All of the stuff from Tutankhamen's tomb (including his death mask and tonnes of jewelry) was very well preserved and really cool. I went in to the Royal Mummy Room alone, as Aman refused and was in a state of interest, mixed with disbelief and a little of the heebie geebies if I stared too long at the faces of these long dead kings and queens.
Tomorrow we are heading into the desert for three days where I am likely to die of APC (or Asphyxiation due to Proximity to Camels), so I'll let you know how that goes!
Love y'all!
J
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