Cairo, Egypt

I got the chance to leave Yanbu so I went to Cairo, Egypt for a few days. Cairo is characterized by crazy drivers, lots of smog, security in front of all tourist attractions, and most of the people working odd jobs to make a living. Egypt as a whole is way more liberal than the rest of the Arab world as people are allowed to drink and women aren’t as oppressed here. The people are friendly for the most part but are this way for a reason. They always want you to buy something or have something else in mind to take your money, especially in the tourist areas. This place kind of reminds me of parts of India but more liberal. Amitabh Bachchan!...this was the general call-out by everyone after they found out I was Indian. I told one guy I was from America and he gave me a dirty look…. The good part about being in another country is that you can be who you want to be as tourists often get haggled a lot here. So from then on, I was ‘an Indian from India with bad English.’

Come Happy, Leave Happy. This is Egyptian motto. After being in jail for a month, it was nice to smoke shisha and drink some beer.

I went to the Egyptian Museum to look at all the artifacts of the Egyptian kings/queens of the old, middle, and new kingdom. They also had a pretty large section for all of King Tutankhamuns’ burial possessions. Sadly you couldn’t take pictures inside but this was one of the better parts of the trip. I went to the Cairo Tower for some pretty good views of the smog-filled city and the Cairo Opera House. The next stop was an open market (souq) called Khan El Khalili. So as I went along, a random guy, who’s name I later found out to be Moud, showed me the “real” Khalili after noticing me taking pictures on the street. He spoke English pretty well but I knew in the back of my mind he had a purpose of being so friendly. He showed me some of the famous mosques in Islamic Cairo and took me to a place called Saids’ Papyrus store where they sell authentic Egyptian Papyrus. I couldn’t really take pictures inside but it was so unreal. The highest quality paintings, hues, and textures... all crafted by 7-12 year olds. So I sat there and chit chatted with the owner and his guests/staff. He explained how to spot a fake papyrus and how to absorb the beauty of the colors and the art. They are in such a small corner of the town that they don’t get advertisement of the shop…so they do this type of thing for tourists. I gave them my contact info and thanked them for their time and hospitality. The Khalili is a place to get accosted by Egyptians trying to sell things (and who look like they’re on drugs). Some even take to pulling you by the arm into a store for live demonstrations. In my case it was for cologne and perfume. I ended my first whole day smoking shisha on the street with the taxi driver that picked me up that night and had a buffet style dinner thereafter. Why, you ask? Yeah, you try communicating with someone who speaks only one language.

So the best part of the trip was seeing the Pyramids of Giza, Sphinx, and the temples surrounding the Sphinx. I was able to go for a horse ride around the area of Giza and see the real poverty of Egypt too. Once again, it reminded me a lot of India. There are three pyramids that are advertised most of the time and nine total. After dodging the Egyptians who love to pester tourists at Giza, I went to the Salah Din Citadel and the Coptic areas of Old Cairo (pics below). Everything in these areas is decently cheap and the people really want tourists’ money (as with any other part of Cairo). By this time in my trip, I had learned how to fend off these types of people, but did meet some pretty Indian-friendly folks on the street in Old Cairo.

I will be in Yanbu for about another month or so (?). Then again, I may just be stuck here for a while.

Cairo

Yanbu Al-Bahar, Saudi Arabia

Bukra Kallas. Bukra Kallas.

Those words essentially sum-up the Saudi Arabian mentality. They translate to "Tomorrow, finish," and is said throughout the day when they don't want to work anymore. Alas, Saudi's are lazy. Very lazy. I guess its the sun and horrendous heat that makes them be that way. Instead of going to Al-Jubail, I came to an even more remote town called Yanbu. After a little over two weeks in Saudi Arabia we haven't made much progress on the startup of the unit I am on. Most of the people here are not that friendly, dislike any foreigners (even those that are of Islam but from other countries), think they can coerce anyone (or think they can), and have this indifferent, do-what-I-want attitude to everything. Women are beyond oppressed in this country and are treated like property. I kind of feel sad in a way for the women here as they are just a prisoner in their own society. There is not much to do in this town besides look at a bunch of desert and stay indoors... that's not saying I can't venture outdoors, but I prefer not to be burnt to a middle-eastern crisp. On the plus-side... the food is fairly cheap everywhere, and tasty. There are alot of south indians and pakistanis everywhere so I don't feel too out of place....oh and there are other people from UOP here to feel my pain so that isn't a bad thing either.

I guess I had all my fun on my last assignment in Europe as this is about a 180 from all of that. I expect that I'll be here for another 1.5-2 months...but with the way Saudis work...it may just be longer...so hopefully I can visit some of the surrounding countries.