Trip to Egypt -- overview

We've been back from Egypt for a few days. There were so many sights, sounds, humorous moments, contradictions, and anachronisms. In this first post, I'll write a little about my impressions. In subsequent posts, I plan to describe what we did during our two-week visit.

Egypt is about the size of France, perhaps 650 miles north-to-south and 750 miles east-to-west. It's basically a huge desert, and would be entirely devoid of plants except that the Nile runs South to North, creating a green band on either side. With the help of irrigation canals, the band includes palm trees and much agriculture. However, the demarcation between irrigated land and desert is sharp. The two do not meld into each other, but rather stop and start abruptly.

The country has about 60 million inhabitants, 10% of which are Christian (mostly Coptic, with some Greek Orthodox), and the rest are Muslim, minus a few hundred Jews. About one-quarter of the population live in Cairo, jammed together. Most of the rest live along the Nile, and a few live in the desert, presumably near or on an oasis.

Muslims range from devout to religious-in-name-only. At one end of the spectrum, there are prayers five times a day. We saw many people praying, either in a mosque or just where they happened to be at the time. In Cairo one day, I saw a man who had pulled his car over to the side of the road and was standing shoeless on a little rug he'd taken out of his trunk.

Women typically wear clothes that cover them from neck to wrist to ankle, and wear large scarves on their heads. Men, especially if they live outside of Cairo, tend to wear long robes (called gallibayas) and turbans or scarves around their necks. However, in Cairo, you see all sorts of outfits, ranging from relatively conservative clothing that you'd see in the west to burkas and other head-to-toe coverings on women, who are presumably visiting from other countries.

There's a huge disparity between wealthy and poor; most people are poor even if they work, and supplement their salaries with a steady stream of small amounts of baksheesh in return for small favors. Everyone has clean drinking water (though travelers need to drink bottled water) and there's plenty of food and electricity. However, housing is well below American standards.

Transportation can be by car, though outside of Cairo, there don't seem to be a lot of private cars. It's typical to see people on bicycles or mules or horses or mule-drawn carts. You might see three people on one small motor bike. Along the Nile, there are many sail boats, called feluccas. People also use small, covered motorized boats for commuting. Tourists can ride on camels (we didn't get a chance to do so), in horse-drawn carriages, and on feluccas.

In Cairo, there are many fewer animals, at least downtown, and huge numbers of cars; rush hour seems to last about 20 hours a day. Driving is awful, which is saying a lot for someone who is used to driving in Boston. Drivers tend to weave in and out of traffic, create extra lanes, and treat traffic lights as mere suggestions or guidelines.

People are warm and funny, quick to laugh. There's a bit of a conflict when you're a tourist, of course, because people see you as a giant wallet. But if you smile at someone, you're likely to receive a warm smile in return. On the other hand, women are advised not to go out alone, and it's best if you can go out accompanied by a man.

Vendors are typically aggressive, and feel free to touch you, brush their wares against your skin, and follow you down the street if you decide not to buy from them. On the other hand, even the vendors have a good sense of humor and are good at verbal volleys.

I also found as a tourist that the way had been paved by cranky British and German tourists. Being an American tourist with relatively low expectations is a real boon in most areas, except for food. I had gone to the Middle East expecting to eat middle eastern food (which is called "oriental food" there). Unfortunately, we were mostly served British and German food (overcooked vegetables, weird meat, and so on). It took a bit of trying to figure out how to get Egyptian food while in Egypt!

Of course, one of the highlights of Egypt is all the history, which is often smacked right up against the hustle of normal modern life. In fact, the I once asked our guide (an Egyptologist) about an intriguing statue. He replied dismissively that it was Roman and thus really not worth talking about (it was too modern).

Overall, the trip was great and I'm very glad we went.