|
Egypt
Impressions
& Musings
Many of our impressions are
scattered throughout our journal entries, but for other generalities or oddities, see
below. These are not meant to stereotype all of Egypt, these are simply things we observed
during our travels. $1 = ~3.4 Egyptian Pounds (LE)
Coffee: $.50 (they drank a lot of Turkish coffee here)
Cybercafes: $3 - $18 an hour
Banana juice: $ .91 full glass; also had fresh mango, strawberry, guava, and lemon
Bottled water (1.5L): $.30
Pack of gum: didn't have any "western" gum, Egyptian gum was about $.03
Typical Breakfast: included at hostels, pita bread, butter, jam, sometimes fruit
Typical Lunch: $2-$5 - falafel, chicken or meat kebabs, egg sandwiches
Typical Dinner: $3-$5 - koshary (bean/pasta concoction), omelets, couscous
Accomodations: ranged from $10 for a great place in Siwa to $35 in Cairo
There are no set prices in
Egypt. One must "bargain" for everything from sandwiches to fruit to taxis. If
time is not a problem, it can be fun. When we realized we had spent 15 minutes haggling
for the equivalent of 30 cents off our bananas, we learned we have limited patience when
it comes to this.
The honking cars! Drivers
beeped instead of using headlights or turn-signals. In Cairo and Alexandria there was
about a one-hour period (between 4 - 5 a.m.) when the incessant noise quieted down.
Obeying traffic signals and
lane divider lines is optional in Egypt, and especially in Cairo. Cars didn't stop for
pedestrians, pedestrians just walked into the street and would weave around the cars. We
quickly learned to follow the gallibiya-clad pedestrians into the street, or else we would
still be trying to leave the train station!
There were army and tourist
police with guns everywhere. Standing in front of buildings, guarding stores and hotels,
especially in front of tourist attractions like the Egyptian Museum. Metal detectors were
everywhere too. Sometimes we'd be sitting down at a restaurant and notice the guy next to
us had his gun laying on the table in front of him. We never knew if it was an undercover
cop or a civilian (or a terrorist?). The ironic thing was whenever we said we were from
Chicago everyone would imitate gangsters, and pretend to shoot. We had never seen as many
guns (and so close) as we did in Egypt.
A majority of men wore
gallibiyas, (long white caftan "dresses") more than we'd noticed in other muslim
countries
We became a tourist
attraction in many of the out-of-the-way places we visited: Marsa Matrouh, Siwa, even
parts of Cairo off the beaten path. A continuous chorus of "Hello!" "What's
your name?" "Welcome!" greeted us as we walked.
Nearly everyone we met spoke
English, most directional signs were in Arabic and English. If someone didn't know
English, a nearby friend or co-worker usually did.
Street markers, however, were
usually just in Arabic. Reading maps was a big challenge.
The stores didn't have silly
"closed on weekends" rules like in Europe. If you wanted to buy something,
anytime of day or night, you could. In Cairo especially, mothers, babies, and teenagers
were busy shopping at 11 p.m.
Men had to serve in the
military, but unlike the 18 months required by all men in Turkey, a man's tour of duty in
Egypt was based on his grades. If the guy had done very well in school, he would serve one
year; mediocre grades would require two years; bad students with poor grades would be in
the army for at least three years.
It was illegal for unmarried
Egyptian men and women to share rooms. An Egyptian med student we met in Budapest couldn't
even kiss the Portugese woman he was "dating" as it was forbidden for him before
marriage
Egyptian couples would each
wear rings on their right ring fingers if they were dating; on their left ring fingers if
they were married. The couple would agree together when to begin wearing the
"dating" rings.
A young man or woman would
traditionally live with their family until they got married. A tour guide we met had
purchased an apartment, but would live with his family until he got married.
Supposedly men and women were
"equal" in Egypt, according to several guys we talked to. Of course, men in the
US would probably say this too!
A couple of women we talked
to said that since they were adults, but unmarried, they still have to tell their father
where they are going and what they are doing, as they are still his responsibility. Once
married, women need to keep their husband informed of such things. I asked what would
happen if the father said no, you can't go somewhere? One woman said no problem! She would
just need to convince him.
Most people we encountered on the
streets wanted something from us, which of course made us jaded and tuned out others who
oftentimes just wanted to talk.
The curbs were extremely high
throughout Egypt. We thought perhaps they were measured in cubits (like the Pyramids) by
mistake. We got used to doing a lot of jumping.
|
