The Giza Club

In spring I went to Egypt for three weeks and what an experience that was. I stayed with a friend of mine who was already living in Cairo and traveled by myself to the Sinai Peninsula and Luxor. Cairo is an amazing city, densely packed with eight million people. Nonetheless, it was pretty clean and although there was poverty, it was not as bad as I heard it would be. People seemed to have the basic necessities. I saw less homeless people in Cairo than in the US, but this is probably since families help each other out more than here. (I think more out of a sense of maintaining the family image versus actual welfare, since honor killing is still practiced throughout the Middle East.) Although most Muslim women wear veils over their heads, Christian women and wealthy women do not. But women don't seem to move about as freely as men do. It seemed there were zillions of men especially between the ages of 16-30 everywhere, but I only saw a few women in the streets. A lot of women stayed at home all-day or work in shops. Since schools now teach English, many of the parents I talked to asked the children to translate for them, which they did very well.

The men were very annoying and crazy. Since sex is highly suppressed in Muslim countries, it ends up leaking out in weird ways. Homosexuality is supposed to be rampant since men cannot be around women, although no one will admit it. Also some of the most covered up women are prostitutes. Which is the essence of Egypt in that nothing is what it appears to be. Egyptians usually tell you what you want to hear or what will make them seem more pious. I truly experienced culture shock, since there were none of the western bearings to keep me straight (Well I was still straight, but you know what I mean). I still feel strange sensations when I think of some the encounters I had there.

Egyptian men asked me to marry them so many times I lost count. It was usually how most Egyptian men stared a conversation. They were turned on by almost anything, even by just talking to a woman. And they ask all sorts of personal questions, especially taxi drivers. Usually I spent the time teaching the phrase "it is none of your business." One guy I taught this to loved learning it so much, he excitedly chirped the phrase several times. I don't think he knew what I meant, but loved it just the same. Egyptians are very playful people. And of course think western women are easy and that all Americans own guns and shoot their children. Some were afraid to even visit the United States. Another funny thing was that although the men were very obnoxious in the streets and cabs, when I sat next to them in the bus, they sat very stiff and still without ever looking in my direction.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed traveling there. Since I stayed with my friend in a suburb of Cairo, I was outside the tourist track. One good experience was when I left my backpack in a taxi. I thought it was gone forever, but at a car dealer near where I was staying, one guy went chasing after the cab (even though I am not sure he knew which one it was) and another sat me down for some tea and told me to wait. Sure enough the taxi cab driver came back after 40 minutes with my bag. Would that ever happen here? I doubt it. The best you could hope for is to call lost and found.

All Egyptians were very curious about this giant, smiling white woman traveling by her self. Girls giggled, men ogled and women smiled. The Sinai Peninsula is a playground for the Egyptians and Israelis. They have resort towns with beautiful beaches. It was a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of Cairo (zillions of cars whizzed by inches from pedestrians using signals just a suggestion.) This may seem just like any other tourist destinations except for the camels and Bedouin people who pass by on the beach regularly. Unfortunately I had a really bad cold when I was there because the diving there is supposed to be great.

On the peninsula is also Mount Sinai where Moses is thought to have talked to the burning bush. Christians everywhere, especially Italians climb up with a camel and then walk up 3000 steps to the top of the mountain to see the sun rise. One of the Bedouin guides acted as my personal trainer since I was sick as a dog and it was freezing cold up there. He got a couple of easy thrills out of it, (he hugged me the whole time up) but I didn't care since I felt like I was dying. Riding a camel was pretty cool too. They were so cute! It is the best way to travel there. Once at the top, the sun rose and everyone started singing a hymn. Although I am not the most religious person, I had to admit it was moving.

I also went to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Although the ruins did not impress me much, the tombs were breathtaking. I couldn't believe that people were so talented so many years ago. They seemed to have almost everything we have. The Nile valley was also very beautiful with dense grasses and palm trees against the desert and sky.

I also saw some belly dancers, which was one of the main reasons I came to Egypt. One named Lucy was absolutely fabulous and really put on a huge show. I also saw some dervish dancers that wore bright colored skirts/capes that they spun around endlessly.

Another favorite activity was riding a felucca, a small Egyptian boat, around the Nile as the sun rose. Seeing downtown Cairo and the Nile by moonlight is the best way to see the City.

Of course this is only a glimpse of some of the things I saw there. I recommend going there to anyone, but some less adventurous types should stick with a well guided tour with all the amenities. Also go early in the year since the heat is horrendous. Even in April, the temperature at Luxor hit 103 degrees. I barely went the bathroom since everything just evaporated out of me.