The Indian connection !

One evening, I left office about an hour early and after dropping my stuff in the hotel, rushed down to the Corniche to take a sunset ride along the Nile in a felucca (tradition Egyptian wooden boat) …..This was highly recommended by most of the travel guides, and hence I couldn’t afford to miss it!

There were a large number of colourful, illuminated feluccas of various sizes docked in front of the Ramses Hilton hotel by the Corniche…..and an equal number of touts canvassing passers-by as well ! I opted for one of the larger boats – with an open deck on the top. For 5 Egyptian pounds ( and an extra 1 pound as tips), it seemed to be a great deal! I got on to the top deck and reserved myself a place……but it seemed like it would take a while for the boat to actually start, as the operators kept waiting for more passengers.

In the meanwhile, I observed that there were no other tourists at all in the boat….the felucca was filled with Egyptian families and young couples – trying to have a good time ! With the stunning view of the setting sun across the horizon, and being amidst the serene waters of the Nile, you just couldn’t ask for a more romantic setting !

Just when I was trying to settle in and get used to all the Arabic chit-chat happenning around me, something distinct caught my ears….. sort of sounded like French …..I turned around and saw that it was coming from an Arab man and a black guy speaking to each other…….and it definitely was French ! Having no other company and no other choice, I decided to put my meagre French skills (that I had acquired a couple of months earlier at the Alliance Francaise in Bangalore) to some practical test ! …… I went up to the them and mustering all my confidence, said “Bon soir, je m’appelle Akhil …Comment ca va ? “

The guys seemed quite pleased, and chose to give their reply in French too …………………..NON-STOP …………………..for the next 5 MINUTES !!!

I just stood there frantically blinking my eyes, not being able to make head or tail out of what they were saying, cursing myself for stamping myself on the foot !

Finally, when they were finished, I asked them, “By the way … do you speak any English ?”

[me and Mourad on top of the felucca]

Thankfully they did ! Phew, I sighed in relief ! However, the guys appreciated my efforts to speak French …stressing on the fact that one couldn’t possibly learn the language, unless he made a genuine attempt to speak it !

The Arab guy was actually an Algerian and the black from Senegal ….both erstwhile French colonies.

They were quite impressed by the fact that I was from India ! Day after day, I just kept realizing how much India was liked and respected in this part of the world ! It was amazing …and something you couldn’t even dare imagining to happen in the far West !

They told me they knew about Gandhi …and even Amitabh Bachchan !

Mourad, the Algerian asked me if I had heard about Algeria.

“Of course”, I replied, simultaneously trying to think of a famous Algerian … but Zidane was the only one I could think of, so mentioned his name …..I wasn’t really sure on how the Algerians felt about Zidane (who had migrated to France in his early days). I was reluctant at first, hoping that the guy wouldn’t head-butt me [....I didn't quite fancy the idea of being hurled into the Nile, u see ! ] Fortunately he didn’t …….he turned out to be a football fan himself !

Coincidentally, these guys were in the IT business too, and were employed by Huawei technologies. The North-African headquaters of Huawei happened to be in Cairo, and they were here to attend some meetings there.
We soon began chatting about our respective countries, our jobs and the IT industry in general. These guys had heard about India’s growing IT prowess and held us in great awe ! They clearly didn’t like their Chinese bosses and complained that they hardly even knew proper English !

About half an hour later, the boat finally started and slowly began gliding towards the North. The other two guys went downstairs to have take their seats, but I decided to stay back on the deck and enjoy the view !

By now, the sun had fully set and this was even more spectacular …….. with the tall, modern skyscrapers on the eastern banks being entirely lit-up, and their reflections streaking upon the dark waters of the river!

To add on to the effect, the speakers were now blaring out hit-Arabic pop numbers ! The songs seemed real catchy and melodious……and I instantly started to like them! The ambience on the boat was fantastic too ……there were girls dancing, kids playing around and the crowds cheering !

I stood there on the deck capturing the moments on my camcorder.

A while later, all of a sudden, somebody started shouting out to me in Arabic .I looked around and it was one of the boatmen. He was yelling at me something I just couldn’t comprehend ! I tried to ignore him, concentrating on my camcorder, but he just wudn’t stop …and now was frantically gesturing with his hands. Something told me he was asking me to get down …..

I looked around, and noticed that everyone else on the deck were now seated ! I happened to be the only person who was standing ! The music had stopped too, but I had been so engrossed in sights of the Cairo skyline that I had not even realized it. Still unconvinced, I decided to give in, and sat down….unable to understand the pointless protocols these guys followed !

As I turned around, something startling caught the corner of my eye ! Straight ahead, sort of camouflaged in the darkness, was a huge bridge that extended right across the Nile ! Holy Cow !!! The bridge was so alarmingly low, that with the boat speeding its way towards it, it seemed as if we would just barely scrape ourselves underneath it !

I immediately laid flat on my back on the deck floor ! The base of the bridge was just about a metre above my face as we passed below it ! I could even touch it if I wanted to !

Shortly later, the music started playing again and the festivities resumed. Downstairs too, a few girls were performing something that resembled the traditional Arabian belly-dance, albeit fully clothed !

The ride lasted about an hour, during which we had sailed past many beautiful buildings and under quite some bridges, but none as low as the first one. In all, it was worth every pound I had spent on it, and had presented some classic views of the city and the Nile!

Before getting off, I bid goodbye to the Huawei Technologies guys, and started walking back to my hotel …..still pondering about how much the locals here respected and loved Indians ! This had not been an isolated incident at all…..but over and over, I had come across so many people on the streets being so happy and excited at the prospect of meeting an Indian !!!

Earlier in the week, on one of my usual walks around the busy city streets at night, I had dropped into a small provisionary shop to pick up some olives, bread, butter and Yoghurt. As the cashier calculated the prices, he had looked at me with scorn and blurted out, “You Pakistani ?” ….I felt disgusted…..I didn’t answer…….

“Pakistani ???” , he asked again, this time a little louder.

“No”, I replied, “INDIAN ! “.

What happened next, I could’t possibly have imagined in the wildest of my dreams ……His face instantly brightened, and his entire demeanour changed . “Mabroook” …….he exclaimed, raising his hands, showing a thumps-up …….now the other men in the shop were cheering too  ! I looked around at them…… They were all smiling and waving their hands in friendship !

I couldn’t really think of a cogent explanation to this remarkable effect ! Was it just ME ? or was it the fact that I was Indian ? ? ? ………this seemed to be quite an enigma and was worth being tackled …..I had a few theories myself, but I knew that I had to resort to expert opinion .

So the next day at office, I checked up with Aby – the tester who I worked with and my personal encylcopedia on a wide variety of matters ! He explained that it was a due to many factors …one of the primary ones being Bollywood !!! Lots of people here watch Hindi movies and they just love it ! Almost every Bollywood hit is available here (with Arabic sub-titles, of course!) …. hence the people could relate to Indian sentiments and Indian culture and they just loved it! Secondly, India and Egypt had historically possessed powerful ties…….trade links between the two countries had been quite strong…… Further, there were aspects from much recent history too, of Nehru being good friends with the then Egyptian President – Gen. Gamal Abdel Nasser. It must be remembered, that it was the trio of Nehru, Gen.Nasser and President Tito of Yugoslavia who had started the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ….. I had also heard from one of my uncles on how during one of our early wars with our great neighbours, the US (then a staunch Pakistani ally) had sent out a few Naval ships to aid Pakistan ….but our man Nasser, had done India a tremendous favour by blocking these battleships at the Suez Canal and not letting them pass !

As Indians, our memories are short ….Not too many of us would remember all this today, but to the Egyptians, India is still held in high esteem!

A typical day in Cairo !

By my second and final week in Cairo, I had finally managed to find some order into my daily routines here, and become quite accustomed, or rather spoilt by the comforts and luxuries of this majestic hotel.

7:30 Am – Bang !!! ….. the electronic alarm would ring. About 3-4 ‘snooze’s later, I’d reluctantly wake up and drag myself to the balcony to feast my eyes on the marvellous view of the placid waters of the Nile flowing by, under the golden rays of the sun !

The next 1.5 hours would be a mad rush in getting ready for office ……..barely managing . somewhere in between, to bite a few slices of bread and butter as breakfast ! Finally, by around 9 Am, I’d tighten the noose around by neck ……..or rather the neck-tie ! The Egyptian clients, unfortunately, could not compromise on this ! [Personally, I've never been able to comprehend how a narrow piece of cloth hanging around your neck, choking your air supply and drastically cutting down the flexibility of your neck, could add to professionalism ! ]

At the office, most of the guys would have already been in by the time I walk in.

“Sabhah Kheer” (Good morning) …….“Kaif halak” ( Kya haal hai ? )

………… the usual platitudes would be exchanged, and I’d proceed to shake hands with the guys in the room. It was good to be friendly with the clients one worked with……..but more importantly, shaking hands also ensured that you do not get kissed on the cheeks ! ……as it is customary for Arabs to greet each other doing that  !!!

In the room, there were about 5-6 guys besides me , all real nice chaps !…….It was a young and jovial crowd, and really couldn’t have been more fun…….. and supportive at the same time ! They made me feel quite comfortable ! Thankfully for me, it was the first time they were meeting a consultant from India and were quite happy about it ! There was Aby, the tester who I worked with – my very own encylopedia on anything technical or otherwise [ yeah, he's the guy who had earlier taught me the real cause of the Tsunami that struck India 2 years back (refer to my earlier post 'Some Egyptian Gyan' if you would like to be enlightened yourself ! ) ]

Then there was Ayman, a huge bloke – about twice as big as me and maybe thrice as heavy ! Though every single day, he comes to office in nothing less than blazers/suits, the only productive thing that I’ve ever seen him do is play the ‘Age of Empire’ on his comp ! Then of course, there was Bayoumi – a very friendly and helpful guy …….and Megeth – who had been to Delhi on a work assignment about 5 years ago, and still raves and rants about the place ! Besides ….. there was Amr – a total freak on Fighter planes [ he even taught me a point or two about the Indian Air Force ! ] ….and Moustafa - the only hard-working chap among the lot, and of course Yacine – a French-Moroccan consultant, who was quite a fan of Bollywood movies. He liked Shah Rukh Khan, and the other day, was telling me about an SRK movie that he had recently seen when he was on holiday in Morocco. He couldn’t really remember or pronounce the name, but said that it consisted of some 4 smaller words !

[ Hmmmmm...sounds like a Karan Johar movie ! ]

He said there were lots of songs, almost every few minutes !

[ Yeah.....must be a Karan Johar movie ! ]

He could distinctly remember one song ……where Shah Rukh gets out of a helicopter, dressed in black suits and runs towards his house, where an ‘old, bearded man’ was waiting !

[BINGO ! .......thats gotto be 'Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham' ! ]

And he supposedly liked the movie !

[ ????? *&$^£&*^$"*??!^$!**&%*^£(*& ]

For lunch, I’d generally order Shawarmas with the guys …..The Shawarmas here are massive …much, much bigger than the ones I’ve grown up eating back in Kuwait ! We used to order combos – for 10 Egyptian pounds, we get 1 shawarma, 1 pack of French fries and a Pepsi. I used to struggle to complete the shawarma, because of its sheer size and the amount of meat in it……but by the time I manage to do that, Ayman would have finished two !

The guys would start leaving the office by 4 PM. I used to stick on till a little past 5 and then walk back along the Nile, to my hotel. Once there, would relax in the pool until sunset.

It was on one of those evenings in the pool that I made friends with Aly – a Lebanese kid, who was here on holiday with his parents. [Quite a rich family he must have, I reckoned ...... to be holidaying here in the Conrad ! As it did indeed later turn out, his dad owned a huge construction company back in Beirut ! ] ………This guy was the youngest cool-dude I’d ever seen …….. All but 10 years of age, he was sporting a David Beckham-stlye Mohican hair-cut, had a Scorpion tattooed on his arm and spoke about 5 international languages ! We used to play with his football in the water.

Later in the evening, I’d venture out into the city, exploring the sights and sounds of this vibrant, exotic place ! I would walk around, easily for about 2-3 hours, each time trying to explore a new area ….thanks to my sense of direction [which has almost never let me down so far ], I’d always manage to get back to the original spot I started from ! The areas around the city centre, very much resembled a typical European city of the early 30′s or 40′s ……with its architecture and tree-laden boulevards ! I later learnt that those central districts had been modelled on Paris by the early developers of Central Cairo !

Contrary to public perceptions, I found the city to be very safe and friendly. In fact, even upto midnight, the streets would be buzzing with activity and it wouldn’t be uncommon to see women and children out in the open, or enjoying the breeze by the banks of the Nile !

On my way back, I’d get into one of the many huge malls around and grab some junk food for dinner. By around 11 PM, I’d be back in my room….and watch TV for a while, or go out into the balcony and enjoy the live Arabic music and dance performances by artists along the poolside-Lebanese restaurant ………..and then finally doze off on either one of the 2 large double-beds !

What I liked best about this 5-star accomodation (….. that I was fortunate enough to be bestowed on by my very generous clients); was not really the 2 large double-beds, nor the luxurious bathroom ……..nor the beer-and-goodies filled refridgerator, the electronic safe, nor the TV with cable and DVD player …………… but honestly, was the simple fact that I could throw my shoes or clothes around in the room in the morning, and come back from office in the evening to find them properly arranged inside the wardrobe and the shoes neatly polished ! Ah ……the sheer joy of Luxury !!!

Islamic Cairo !

After leaving Coptic Cairo, I took the Metro and got down at the Ramses station, now called the Mubarak station (after the current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak) . One of the incentives of being an Egyptian President (…….I soon came to realize), is that you get a station named after you in Cairo ! Apparently, the three Presidents to rule Egypt – Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak; have Metro stations named after them !

The Mubarak metro station was just adjacent to the famous Mubarak (..yeah, u guessed right ! erstwhile ‘Ramses’) Railway station. This is the largest and the most important railway station of Egypt; with trains connecting to other major cities like Alexandria, Karnak, Aswan etc, from here. I went into the station to have a look around. The place was huge and crowded, and didn’t look much different from any big Indian station.

The cabbie who had driven me from the airport on my arrival here had told me then, that this station was built by the Britishers back in the 19th Century. Apparently, the trains too looked as if they had been left behind by the Brits over a 100 years ago !

There was a Tourist Information desk at the station. The elderly official explained to me in his broken English on how to reach the Khan-Khalili Bazaar in Islamic Cairo. I had to take the metro and get down at Attaba, and from there possibly take a bus or walk down to Khan-Khalili. He even wrote the names of the roads and landmarks for me in Arabic, on a piece of paper…….so that I could just show it around to people on the streets to ask directions !

I thanked him and took the metro to Attaba as instructed. At Attaba, the scene was extremely chaotic. I found myself in the middle of a very crowded market place and commercial area…..it was dusty, dirty, busy and polluted ! There was a bus-station too nearby……..This had to be Cairo’s answer to ShivajiNagar ! I walked by the Attaba Square, cut across the market-places and onto the main road. The traffic was chaotic ….smoke and dust filled the air ! Western tourists term Cairo’s roads as being alarmingly polluted . But to me ……..coming from Bangalore, it felt like walking into an Oxygen Bar !

I set out to find my way to the reknowned Khan-Khalili Bazaar. I asked a couple of old men at the bus stop on which bus I could take. They told me some bus numbers in Arabic . I was stuck ……… though I knew the Arabic numbers to an extent, I did not know bigger numbers, particularly those greater than 100 ! I tried applying all the logic I could think of, to come up with a rational conclusion on what the numbers could have been, but in vain. All I wanted was them to say the numbers in a way I could understand ! I attempted to ask this in sign-language. But ………. “Please break the number into its individual digits so that I can understand what you are saying” – was by no means an easy sentence to say by mere gestures !

I even took out my cell phone and showed the key-pad to the old man, demonstrating that I wanted him to press the appropriate keys corresponding to the numbers ! However remarkable and ground-breaking that idea was, he still didn’t get it ! Damn !

Before he could possibly get the wrong impression that I was asking him to make a phone call to his grand-uncle’s third wife’s step-brother’s father-in-law in Aswan, I grabbed the phone back and aborted the plan ! Instead, decided to walk all the way to my destination.

As if things weren’t tough enough till then, I soon came to realize the grave fact that none of the people I met on the streets seemed to know a word of English ……I showed the note in Arabic that the official at the Tourist Info desk had written for me, but got mixed reactions from the people who read it. Some of them just looked at me suspicously, while others pointed towards conflicting directions. I seriously began to wonder what exactly the guy had written on the piece of paper …..I could think of a million nasty possibilities, but only hoped that the guy wouldn’t have been so creative !

Finally, a cop pointed towards the right direction……this was further substantiated by the fact that I came across 2 Chinky tourists, armed with maps, heading that way…….Confident, I set out behind them.

The areas I passed enroute, seemed to be the epi-centre of Cairo’s commercial activity ! The place was buzzing …… As I approached deeper and deeper in to the heart of Islamic Cairo, I could sense the real exotic flavour of Egypt – a far cry from the Modern Sky-Scrapers of Downtown Cairo where I lived, or the enigmatic Pyramids of Giza ……… or the Biblical settings of Coptic Cairo ! This place was absolutely medieval ……..truely Authentic and purely Arab ! I was amazed at extent of diversity and stark contrasts a single city could offer !

Here, there were ancient mosques all around, open street bazaars and narrow lanes going around in all directions. It seemed straight out of an ‘Arabian Nights’ tale !

As I walked by, along a street where there were a number of peddlers (selling just about everything from clothes to wooden chairs) on the footpath, something unexpected happened ! All of a sudden, a guy came running, frantically shouting out something in Arabic ! Instantly, there was a flurry of activity ……the hawkers – men and women, quickly folded up their mats, packed up their merchandise, and in a matter of a few seconds, had vanished into the crowd, clearing out the entire pavement !

I stood there watching the whole scene, not knowing what was going on. Just then, a Police truck came speeding by ……. and I saw that at its back, were stuff that they had possibly confiscated from other street-peddlers………There was even a guy at the back of the truck who constantly seemed to plead with the cops to return his goods !

In a little over half an hour, I had reached the Khan-Khalili bazaar ! Khan-Khalili is an ancient 14th century bazaar, that is functional even to this day ! This is an important landmark in the tourist map, and needless to say, the place was thronging with 1000′s of tourists from across the world …… who were here to either shop for exotic goods, or just feel and witness the exciting ambience ! The bazaar was massive …….with typical Arab style arches and narrow lanes stretching endlessly in every direction….. forming a very intricate maze ! There were droves of Western tourists around, and one could see all sorts of merchandise being sold – spices, jewels, hookahs, souvenirs, vessels, silk ……..you name it – and it would be there !

Haggling was the order of the day …….and one had to be a master of the art in order to survive ! Since I was nowhere close to being one, I didn’t even try !

One thing I noticed about the sellers in general, was that they were extremely multi-lingual (not to mention, street-smart as well) ……and more interestingly, could make out the nationality of a person just by seeing him ! If a Spanish tourist passed by, they would instantly call out to the ‘amigo’ in Spanish, or to French guys in French ! And they would converse to them in perfect fluency in all these tongues ! To me, they would just say “Namaste” !!! One guy even asked me “Kaise ho?” When I replied, “Bas …. badiya” , he frowned……. and explained to me that the correct answer was “Teek hoon”!

There were a couple of big mosques within the Khan-Khalili bazaar itself.

I went into one of them (yeah, the one depicted in the picture above), to see what it was like ! I left my shoes at the counter by the door and walked into the huge praying hall . There were lots of people inside – resting, praying, even sleeping ……I sat there for a while on the soft carpets ….taking a respite from the hot sun outside !

By about 5 pm, I was on my way back to Downtown Cairo, back to the luxurious comfort of my hotel ! I had survived one week here in Cairo, and now had one more to go ! And I was enjoying every minute of it !

Coptic Cairo !

By around 8 AM, quite early by my standards (especially for a weekend), I started out towards the ancient Christian quarter of the city called Coptic Cairo. I set out to walk all the way to the Tahrir Square Metro station ……on the way, stopping by the Corniche to click a few pictures of the magestic Nile gleaming under the golden rays of the morning sun!

But one of the problems I always faced while travelling alone was getting my picture taken on my camera, as it would invariably be difficult to find a reliable person around to click it for me ……At the big tourist spots, it wouldn’t have been too much of a problem – for there would always be enough camera-savvy tourists around to do me the favour…. but out here by the Corniche that September morning, there were none ! The picturesque view in the background was so beautiful that I couldn’t afford to miss getting photographed with it.

I looked around ……..in the distance there was an old Egyptian man approaching ……He didn’t quite look like the ideal candidate, but I had no other go……I went up to him and in sign language explained to him that I wanted him to click a picture for me ….He nodded his head !

That was half the job done, now for the tougher part ! I instructed him to how to look through the LCD display and click the button…….he nodded his head again, in confidence …..Quick learner, I must say !

I went back and struck a pose ……..He clicked !
And that was the most AMAZING picture of my left foot that had ever been shot !!!

At the Tahrir Metro station, I took one of the south-bound metros and got down at the Mar Girgis station. From the station platforms itself, I could see portions of the tall ancient towers, that were once part of a Roman fort.

I got out of the station and stepped into Coptic Cairo – one of the oldest parts of the city ! It was truly as if I had been instantly transported back in time……quite a far cry from the rest of Cairo that I had seen. This place was remarkably calm and serene, and had such an ancient feel to it ….. but at the same time, was very well preserved and very much functional. The streets were narrow and cobble-stoned.

There were ancient churces all over. Every single structure around had a huge history associated with it. It was truly an archaeologist’s gold-mine !

I started with the Hanging Church, that was just down the street. This was one of the most famous and among the oldest of Coptic churches.

The Copts are a sect of Christianity, local to Egypt, but almost as old as the religion itself. This Church is called Al-Muallaqa (or ‘Hanging’) because it was built on the edge of the remains of an ancient Roman fort. It dates back to the end of the 3rd Century A.D, but some historians believe that it was built earlier, and it might have been a pagan Roman Temple that was later converted into a Church !

The architecture of the church was amazing, the walls and the ceilings – extremely ornate ! There were marvellous paintings and murals adorning the walls, just like any European church.

That morning, there were lots of local worshippers around and a service was in progress as I entered the inner chambers. I quietly stood in a corner and witnessed the whole event.

The chamber was candle-lit, and the choir being played presented a very poignant backdrop to the stunning ambience ! The Copts seemed to be a beautiful race, and looked distinctly different from their fellow Egyptians. Their costumes were different too, with the men adorning traditional suits and the women, floral frocks …….. sort of the like the Anglo-Indians back in India !

I came out of the church and walked down the street, passing by the ruins of the ancient Roman fortresses, into a few more churches ……each of them extremely beautiful and ornate. There was the Mar Girgius (St.George) church , the Coptic Cemetery, the Abu Serga Church ……..
Now what is special about this church is that below it is a crypt, which is believed to be the place where the Holy Family – Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus, lived for a while during their exile into Egypt, when the ruler of Jerusalem had ordered that the first born of every family be killed ! The exact spot was marked by a board written in French ……Thanks to my French classes at the Alliance Francaise back in Bangalore a few months back, I could comprehend what was written

There also was a well in the crypt, which is where the virgin Mary is supposed to have drawn water from !

Truly amazing !

By now, the day was starting to get warmer…….I walked around and explored the many narrow, winding streets of Coptic Cairo….

Nothing much had changed here since the times Jesus is believed to have walked around this place ! The architecture was the same, the houses would have been the same and the streets – not different at all ! There were Copts still living in these small ancient houses, and little kids were playing around in the court-yards.

I quickly visited the many smaller churches around, and finally came to a large souvenir shop that was thronging with western tourists.

As I entered inside, I couldn’t help being enchanted by the huge collection of artefacts being displayed for sale ! The shop was big …….sort of like a super-market of treasures ………and it was being manned entirely by young Coptic girls !

As I stood around, aimlessly examining the many collections on the racks, a Coptic girl came forward and offered to help me out. I thanked her and politely told her that I was ‘just looking around’ [ euphemism for 'I am not going to spend a single penny here, so you might as well save your time and energy on some other potential customer !' ].

But being the determined sales-person that she was, she still accompanied me from one desk to another and explained about the various artefacts that were on display. Finally she led me to a deck containing a set of sparkling pendants and necklaces !

Out of the blue, she asked me ……..

“Do you have a mother or a girl-friend ???” ………. [ Boy, the Egyptians never cease to surprise me !!! But frankly, I had heard similar questions before, from the touts at the Pyramids ....who had wanted to sell me souvenirs for the girl-friend I didn't have !!!]

“Yeah, I have a mother …..”, I replied to her [ how else, did she imagine I came into this earth ? Drove-in from Neptune in a BMTC bus ??? ]

…… “but no girl-friend !!!”, I continued.

“Why ?????”, she asked trying to seem genuinely concerned .

“Well…..thats a big story !” , I replied, but as her eyes continued to probe, I gave her the classic reply, “Ok…I just didn’t find the right girl !”

“Then what about me ?”, she asked satirically.

I was taken aback ……..

[ Had this been good ol' Kuwait, I'd have asked her how many oil-wells she had ! but this was Egypt ...there ain't any oil-wells here ]

“Oh, are u available ?”, I joked ………Both of us knew that all she wanted was to sell me those pendants and strictly meant business……and with yesterday’s experience at the Pyramids, I knew the better of Egyptian women to trust them .

…….After all, this was the land of Cleopatra. When Julius Caesar came in to Egypt to invade it, she had seduced him and subsequently bore a child with him! Now, who apart from a manipulative woman could have done that ??? [ Not the child-bearing part ....that of course, is their prerogative ! But the act of 'sleeping with the enemy' to one's advantage ! ]

In fact, later she had even taken their son Ptolemy to Rome to ask Caesar to name him as his heir, which apparenty didn’t happen, thanks to the intervention of Caesar’s Roman wives.

That didn’t end there ……..Interestingly, after Caesar’s death, Cleopatra had managed to seduce his General, Markus Antonius – known to the English speaking world as ‘Marc Antony’ …..Such is the weakness of man, that Antony defected from the Roman side and joined hands with Cleopatra against the very man he had fought alongside a while earlier – one Mr.Octavian, who later went on to be the Emperor Augustus Casear….. Antony and Octavian had earlier battled against the armies led by Brutus and Cassius - the purpoted murderers of Caesar ……and ultimately avenged Caesar’s death !

But now Antony turned against his own countrymen and fought alongside the Egyptians in protecting Cleopatra’s empire against Augustus Caesar ….sadly the ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ saga did not enjoy a typical ‘Mills and Boons’ ending ! Instead, their armies were completely routed by the Romans……Cleopatra committed suicide, followed by Marc Antony too, who took the nasty step by diving onto his sword. Ptolemy Caesar – Cleopatra’s son and the only established son of Julius Caesar was mercilessly killed, thus quashing any possibility of a claim to the Roman throne !

Whew ……!

Ok ….so the Moral of the story is “never trust Egytpian women ( however beautiful they are !)” ….Though its been several milleniums since then, I’m sure there is atleast an ml of Cleopatra’s blood flowing somewhere within the veins of every Egyptian gal

I excused myself from the shop, telling her that I’ll be back ….and quickly headed for the inner segments of the Coptic town.

I soon realized that the tourist police – in their neat white uniforms and huge guns were omnipresent across Coptic Cairo…..not surprising, considering the Copts were a minority community within Egypt’s predominantly Arab society.

As I walked around the maze-like, winding streets, I finally reached a place where a few Tourist Cops were standing guard. There was a narrow gate to their right, but not wanting to take the chance, I turned back and decided to leave.

“Hey India …!!!”, shouted out one of the cops…..

[Ok, I guess that would have got to be me ! ]

I turned around and looked at him. He pointed towards the gateway and said “More …..”

I thanked him and followed his advice. The gateway led into more narrow cobble-stoned pathways…ultimately at the end was a very ancient building ….There were more tourist policemen there at the entrance to the building …A small board said that it was the Ben Ezra Synagogue !!! I was instantly excited and at the same time, quite surprised ! [ After about half a dozen wars with Israel in as many decades, and being largely constituting of Arabs (thus anti-Jewish) , I was amazed that this Synagogue actually still existed here in Egypt ! ]

I’d always wanted to see the inside of a Synagogue ! All my life, I had visited countless temples, quite a few churces, a couple of Mosques …… but never before had I ever entered a Synagogue !

[ Closer home, there is a famous ancient Synagogue in Cochin, Kerala......but whenever I'd been there to the historic Jew Town area, it coincidentally had to be exactly on the one day of the week that the Synagogue is closed to public ]

The Ben Ezra Synagogue was small but magnificent ! I overheard a guide telling some Western Tourists that according to local legend, it was somewhere near this spot that the baby Moses was found floating in a basket, by the queen ! Though the Nile is a about a dozen kilometres away, it is widely accepted that it had changed its course over the centuries and back then, the area of Coptic Cairo had been on the banks of this holy river.

In all, Coptic Cairo was much more than what I could ask for ! …….. I had never expected it to be so interesting and fascinating ! In fact, frankly, I liked this place more than the more popular Pyramids of Giza !

As I had some more time on my cards, I decided to go back into the Hanging Church and photograph the altar (which I couldn’t do earlier this morning, as the prayer services had been going on when I went there)

As I entered the church, I noticed a western couple seated on a bench outside the chamber, who seemed to be more interested in each other, than the historic surroundings they happened to be amidst! Now given the circumstances, I knew that there could just be one couple who would do that, and my guess wasn’t wrong at all……

It was indeed Tanner and Amanda – the couple I had met inside the inner-most chamber of the Pyramid of Cheops yesterday, at Giza !!! [ refer to my earlier post 'The Great Pyramids' ]
They instantly recognised me too ! We sat down and chatted for a while…….. we discussed about our respective jobs, our homelands……They hadn’t heard about Bangalore, and Amanda asked me if it was a ‘Touristy’ place or strictly a ‘Work’ kinda place. I explained that once upon a time it was more of the former, but sadly now was in the latter category. They were interested in visiting India sometime, and wanted to know about the kinds of places to see there ….

[ By the manner in which they've been 'seeing around' Egypt, I knew that they were quite capable of travelling all the way to Agra and not look at the Taj Mahal at all !!!]

We took a couple of snaps, exchanged business cards and split up.

It was just a little past noon, so I decided to visit the areas of Islamic Cairo as well, and headed towards the metro station.

Dating the ‘Mummies’ !!!

[ The thing about travelling in Egypt is that, no matter how far away you are from home, you just don't miss your mom ................'cos there are too many 'Mummies' around ! ]

Now that I had just seen the Great Pyramids of Giza, my next destination had to be the world re-knowned Egyptian Museum at the city centre, that among other things, housed the ‘Mummies’ and some of Tutankhamun’s treasures !

Outside the Pyramids complex, I was appalled that the cabs there, now demanded double the amount to go to the Metro station, compared to what I had paid in the morning to get here ! Disgusted, I walked down the road, hoping to catch a bus to the station.

At the bus-stop, I noticed a Western guy along with an Arab youth, waiting together. I went up to them and asked, “Hi ..can you tell me which bus I can take to the Giza Metro station ?”

“Yeah…….I can tell you”, replied the Western guy, “…….but that’ll cost you 5 pounds!”

[ What in heaven's name is with all these guys here at Giza ??? Am I the only honest/generous person left in this world ? ]

“Just kidding, dude….”, he added, “……..we’re heading that direction too …..so why don’t you come along with us ? “, he offered.

I agreed, and since there were 3 of us, we decided that it might work out better to take a cab. We stopped the first one that came by and got in………..

The Western guy – an American, named Quinn was doing a 4 month internship here at the American University of Cairo, and his friend was an Egyptian who called himself Ramy, and studied at the Cairo University. These guys had just gone on a horse ride into the desert around the Pyramids, and were equally frustrated with the number of touts, who apparently kept pushing them around, telling them what to do, where to go and finally extorting money !!!

Quinn was from New York, and strangely was wearing a heavy stubble ….which he explained was in an effort to try and merge with the crowd ! [ But obviously, that didn't help, 'cos the skin was different !]
We got along very fast, and over the taxi ride, as Quinn and I chatted, Ramy seemed to be involved in a major verbal argument with the cab driver …….. in Arabic ! Quinn and I were wondering what on earth was the whole fuss about ….we could barely make out though, that it had something to do with the taxi fare !

As we reached the Metro station, I paid the 8 pounds for the Taxi, where as the other two guys paid for the metro tickets. As we waited for the train, Ramy explained that the whole argument with the Taxi driver had been because he wanted to charge extra money since 2 of us were foreigners ! [ Crazy logic, I say !!! ]
As we chatted, each of us were describing our backgrounds……..Interestingly, Quinn had heard about Bangalore ….about it being the Silicon Valley of India !

I asked Quinn, about how badly the folks back at New York hated us Bangaloreans ….for stealing away their jobs [ ........or getting them 'Bangalored' ! ] …….but he was of the opinion these were just heavily bloated speculations created by the media, and in fact, not too many people bothered about it. Atleast, not about the Call Centres being transferred to India……. because Call Centre jobs are not considered very fashionable in the West anyway !

According to him, if someone called-up an American Call-Centre, he/she most probably would be greeted by something like …… “Yeah ….what do you want ?” ………obviously, some sad guy, without any job-satisfaction and lacking the education to find a better job would have answered the call !!! On the other hand, whenever he called up the Customer Services of his bank, and experienced very polite and pleasant service, he used to ask them where they were sitting , and it had always turned out to be Kolkata or Mumbai or Bangalore ! ! !

I was impressed ! I explained to him how the Software/ BPO boom was helping transform the economic demographics of India ….about how people from poor families, today, are able to find a good livelihood as soon as they pass out from college ……..all thanks to the industry !

Soon, our metro reached its destination ………we got down at Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. We shot some pictures in front of the huge Government building …….. 

 

 Quinn and Ramy wanted me to join them for some “Koushari” – a traditional Egyptian dish. But since I had to get to the Egyptian Museum before it closed, I declined.

We exchanged e-mail Ids and split up. I crossed over the Square and entered the Egyptian Museum ! Tickets cost me 40 Egyptian Pounds and I had to leave my cameras at the desk outside, ‘cos photography was strictly prohibited inside the museum.

The place was thronged with Western tourists, who seemed to come in huge flocks of 1000′s of people !
[ With all these guys holidaying here in Egypt, I wondered if there would be anybody left to walk the streets, back in Europe ! ]

Also, finally, after being here in Egypt for about a week, I was able to spot an Indian ! …..a Sardar ! [ ...who I sincerely hoped hadn't mistakenly come here looking for his 'mummyji' ! ]

The museum was huge !!! …and contained collections from all phases of Egyptian history – right from the early Pharoahs through Alexander, Julius Caesar to the later Arab rulers………Stopping at every single artefact present and reading about it would take a solid 3 days , and obviously I didn’t have so much time ! Hence I just walked around, giving not more than a perfunctory glance to most of the exhibits, but concentrating on the stuff that interested me.

And one of those, was the section attributed to Tutankhamun ! This was the most frequented section of the museum, and included all sorts of paraphernalia discovered in his tomb by Howard Carter and Co, back in 1922, and also a glitterring display of jewellery – which were specially housed in a fortified room ! The jewels were fabulous ……….my eyes were bedazzled seeing such a rich collection of gold, silver ,rubies etc………….and it is said that these were just 25% of the total treasures present at the tomb !

I got the creeps thinking about the billions and billions of dollars that these might be worth !

More importantly the room also housed the Golden mask of King Tut, which possessed resemblance to the boy Pharoah’s face, and also a set of coffins in which his mummy had been found. The only thing missing though, was the ‘Mummy’ itself …..which apparently was kept somewhere in ‘The valley of the Kings’.

The other important section of the museum was the ‘Mummies Gallery’, for which I had to shell out another 100 pounds to enter ! [ The highest I'd ever paid to see a bunch of carcasses ! ]………It consisted of two rooms on either flanks of the building, and housed some 30 ‘mummies’ of various Pharoahs, queens and high priests ! Each of these ‘mummies’ were about 4500 years old, and were kept in temperature controlled glass caskets.

Amazingly, the facial features of the mummies were remarkably intact……..but the skins were darkened and the bodies emaciated [ ....as part of the mummyfication process, the internal organs of the bodies were usually removed and preserved separately in smaller vessels ! ] …….however, most of the mummies had their hair and teeth intact ! But one peculiar about them was that most of them had yellow teeth ! [ Clearly 'Colgate Dantmanjan' wouldn't have been available those days ! ]

I approached the casket of the most famous inhabitant of the Egyptian Museum – the pharoah Ramses-II [ ........who, in a highly disputed claim, is believed by many to be the Pharoah of the Exodus - meaning the Pharoah from whom Moses had demanded his people be released from slavery !!! ]. I came close to the casket, and was now face to face with Ramses II………he had long flowing white hair, but was bald in the front !

As I moved from one mummy to another, I was particularly struck by one belonging to a queen…….what was wierd was that her face resembled somebody I knew, or had seen in flesh and blood !!! …….but I just couldn’t get who………I stood there for a few moments thinking in vain !

Also exhibited at the museum, were a huge collection of ‘mummies’ of animals …….like rabbits, boars, cows, and even a huge 15-feet long crocodile !!!

Finally, by about 5 PM, I decided that I had seen enough carcasses for a day, and exited the museum . I walked back to my hotel, and relaxed for a few hours in the pool, wiping away the exhaustion of all the travelling I had done during the day !

The Great Pyramids !

The taxi drove me along the straight road leading up to the Pyramids complex in Giza ! The Pyramids are located on a large plateau …..because of this and due to its height, the peaks of the Pyramids can be spotted from miles away !

The first sight was simply breath-taking ! As we approached closer and closer, the enormity of the structures just kept becoming more evident !

I paid the cabbie the agreed 7 pounds and walked towards the Pyramids complex. It was about 9 Am , and already quite a few tourist buses and loads of western tourists were at the site. I bought my ticket for 40 pounds and after being subjected to stringent security checks, got into the complex.

Right ahead was the great Pyramid – the biggest of the 9 Pyramids at the site. Known as the Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops, as the Greeks called him), after the Pharoah for whom this was built, it towered a good 150 metres and consisted of about 3 million blocks of stones each weighing around 2 tonnes !

The Pyramid was just huge ! Though it appears to be a perfectly smooth triangle from far, in reality the surface is quite uneven and stepped, and consisting of huge stones laid in rows one above the other. Standing right at the base of the Pyramid and looking up, the structure appeared to look like steps leading up to infinity! [ one of the symbolic purposes of the Pyramids was to serve as a staircase leading up to heaven, which the dead Pharoah could ascend in his afterlife !]

There was an opening near the base of the Pyramid which led into the chambers inside. There were lots of people queuing up to get in. I went to the counter nearby and bought the required ticket ……It cost me 100 Egyptian pounds …not bad , considering that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience ! But what hits you hard is realising the fact that for local Arabs, it costs only about 20 Egyptian pounds for the same ticket!

[ now I know how foreigners feel when they visit the Taj Mahal and see that for Indians, it costs Rs.50 where as for them it costs $50 ! ! ! ]

They only allow 200 people to enter into the Pyramid in a day ! And I was lucky to be there early enough! The security guards at the entrance collected my cameras (photography is banned inside) and I entered the pathway leading inside !

The path consisted of a tunnel inclined upwards at about 45 degrees and wide enough just for one person to move in either direction. The fact that the tunnel was only about 4 feet high made it even worse, as one cannot stand upright ! So effectively one had to be crouching while trying to climb up the slope !

The climb was arduous and half way through, I was nearly exhausted ! Finally, I reached the final segment of the climb which constituted a much larger sized tunnel ! It was very elegant and impressive with heiroglyphic ornamentations on the walls on either side !

By now, the top of the tunnel was visible to me ! So close yet so far!
There was a young western couple standing at the top, who, seeing me struggle my way up, were kind enough to encourage by shouting out, “Come on , you can do it!”, or ” ….just a lil’ bit more!”…….. With this new found inspiration, I dragged my tired body up ……..when I finally reached the top, I was nearly overcome with fatigue, and gasping for air ! There wasn’t too much ventilation around there and the air was extremely humid ! The chamber was straight ahead, the entrance to it being yet another low passageway.

As I stood there trying to compose myself, I picked up a conversation with the couple, who seemed to be more interested in each other, than the historic marvels that lay around ….the girl was Australian, named Amanda and the guy an American named Tanner! They were engaged and in true Western fashion, were going around the world on their honeymoon, even before getting married !

I crouched through the passageway and entered my destination – the chamber, located geometrically somewhere in the heart of the Pyramid. It was a small room, with an empty Sarcophagus lying at one end [ ……..the mummy would have been long removed ! ] . There was an amazing sense of calm and peace in the chamber, and many western tourists were seen to be sitting on the floor and meditating ! The Pyramid is said to have lots of positive energy properties about it, and maybe it was just wishful thinking , but it did feel as if there was something different inside the chamber!

I stood there for a few minutes , savouring the feeling, and then went back out. Along with Amanda, Tanner and many other tourists, I commenced my climb down.

Next, I walked towards the Solar Boat Museum, just behind the Great Pyramid. This housed a large wooden solar boat belonging to the Pharoah Khufu (Cheops), that had been excavated from that exact spot !
There were lots of camels nearby, with touts offering tourists rides on them at exorbitant prices ! I avoided them , but couldn’t resist getting photographed sitting on one, for which I had to pay around 5 Egyptian pounds as ‘Baksheesh’ !!!

It was starting to get increasingly hot at the Pyramids complex. Being at the edge of the desert, the sun was scorching and unbearable…….I had been carrying just one bottle of water and soon my throats were dry. The thing about the Pyramids, is that due to its design, it does not cast too much of a shadow, and hence there was no solace from the hot sun.

South-west to the great Pyramid was the second Pyramid – the Pyramid of Khufru. This was almost the same size as the Pyramid of Cheops, but technically, a few metres shorter. Here too, there were lots of tourists trying to enter the Pyramid, but the thought of another strenous climb inside and having to part with yet another 100 pounds, refrained me from doing so. After all, the interiors of this Pyramid couldn’t be too different from that of the Great Pyramid, which I had just seen.

Besides the 2 big ones there were 7 more smaller Pyramids of various sizes, meant for the queens or high priests! Apart from that, there were lots of excavations still in progress at many spots around the Pyramids…………

As I walked towards the third Pyramid, an Egyptian lady approached me with some postcards, souvenirs and other paraphernilia ……I refused and as I was walking past, a strong desert wind blew at us, throwing away the postcards that she was carrying ….scatterring them over the small dunes around !

Being the chivalrous person that I was, I went forward and helped her pick them up …..as I was leaving, she stopped me and put a ‘Keffiyeh’ – the traditional Arab head-scarf, on my hand ! I refused saying that I didn’t want to buy it , but she was adamant, saying that it was a gift from her ! After much nagging, I finally accepted it, and she tied it around my head for me…….She asked me to give me my camera and shot a couple of pictures for me with it ! As I thanked her and was about to leave, was when she brought out her true intentions …..she asked for ‘Baksheesh’ !!!

“WHAT ??? …..I thought you said it was a gift !!!” , I protested……..but she wouldn’t let me go…….frustrated, I took out 2 pounds and handed it to her….but it was hardly enough. …..She had eyed the extra pounds in my wallet and wanted them as well ……finally, left with no other option, I handed over 2 more pounds and walked away ……

[ So much for showing a little generosity these days ! ]
I had hardly covered 15 metres, when another guy came to me and said that the Keffiyeh on my head was not proper ……he offered to tie it properly for me , which I refused ….however, he was adamant too, and re-did it for me in a better fashion ……..just as before, he too took a couple of snaps for me and demanded a ‘Baksheesh’ …..I couldn’t get rid of him either until I paid him another 4 pounds !

Cursing myself, I decided not to even respond to any of these touts, who try first to be friendly and then churn out some ‘Baksheesh’ ! By now, I had learnt their Modus Operandi ….the best thing to do was to outright ignore them ….be rude if need be, but never entertain these touts !

I braved the heat and walked down the sands to the third pyramid……..with the desert as the backdrop, the Pyramids presented a very poignant picture ! They just stood there ….with a silent, arrogant beauty about them ! What was even more fascinating was realizing that they had been standing so, for the past 5000 years !

Mark Antony, [ not the singer who was dumb enough to marry J Lo , but the original Roman who had ‘roman’ced Cleopatra ] is said to have climbed the great Pyramid……….. Napolean is said to have slept inside it ………… Hitler’s Nazi army had been photographed sitting on it …………Kajol had run around it in a chiffon saree in the song “Suraj hua madham” [ from the highly-torturous movie “Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham” ] …………….and here I was standing next to it ! It was an amazing feeling!

Today the Pyramids are around 5000 years old …..the only one remaining of the ancient 7 Wonders of the World !!! …… even at Mark Antony’s time (sometime in the first century BC) , the Pyramids were ancient at around 2500 years ! The architectural marvel of the structures just cannot be described in words ! Each of the structures are so geometrically accurate, that in spite of being so huge, the margin of error at the base is just under a few inches ! While building the Pyramids, the huge stones comprising it must have been lifted to heights of upto 150 metres to the top of the structures …..which is a very tough task even with the modern technology available today !

In addition, the 9 Pyramids are aligned in a manner precisely corresponding to some particular constellation in the sky. This proves the advanced knowledge of astronomy possessed by the ancient Egyptians.

But how the ancient Egyptians managed to build them without any modern gadgets is one of the greatest mysteries facing mankind ! A lot of theories had been proposed for it, but none had been devoid of flaws. This essentially means that to this day, there is no clear explanation to how these Pyramids could have been built 5000 years ago, at a time when the rest of the world hadn’t even discovered Iron !

What is known though, is that the Pharoahs had employed slaves in their construction, and that the stones used to build the Pyramids were actually quarried 100’s of kilometres away and transported to the construction site over the Nile. Back then, the Nile used to flow right beside the Pyramids complex, but over the past 5000 years it had naturally changed its course and today is about 20 kilometres away !

But the even GREATER mystery to me was how, not even a teeny-weeny bit of this intelligence possessed by the ancient Egyptians, had sunk down to the present-day ones ! [ Clearly evolution couldn’t have worked backwards !!! ]
With all these questions ringing in my head, I walked towards the eastern end of the complex, where stood the Sphynx ! Compared to the Pyramids, the Sphynx looked tiny – a stone structure of a Pharoah’s head super-imposed on the body of a lion …….meant originally to protect the great Pyramids !

Beside the Sphynx were the chambers where mummification of the carcasses were carried out! By about 1 PM, I was nearly dehyrated and almost dying of the heat and thirst ! I had truly underestimated the desert ! I got out of the complex through the exit in front of the Sphynx and went straight into the KFC store for refreshments! After a few chicken legs and a refreshing Pepsi, I set out to return back to the city of Cairo.

The road to GIZA !

September 15th, Friday!

Finally the weekend was here! My first break in over 15 days ! I had somehow survived my first week at office here in Egypt without any major issues, and now, this was the chance for me to visit the various historic/tourist spots that Cairo is so famous for!

My first stop had to be the Pyramids at Giza. Giza was a plateau about 20 kms south-west of the down-town Cairo, and over the past few days, I had been doing a lot of research on how to go about visiting that place …..the guys at office had asked me to take a cab (costing about 25 pounds) , or take the metro to Giza Square and subsequently a cab to the Pyramids. Besides, as I was browsing the Lonely-Planet guide on Egypt at the book-shop inside Arkadia mall, I had noticed that there were special Air-con buses to the Pyramids, meant for tourists – that could get you there for just 2 pounds ! These buses were available somewhere around the Egyptian Museum.

So I rose early in morning ….after my usual breakfast of bread and butter, I loaded my digi-cam and my handycam into my bag, threw a bottle of water in…..and by ard 7:30 AM, set out towards the Egyptian Museum.

I walked all the way, along the Corniche del Nile, and by about 8 PM, reached the museum. But nowhere around the musuem, could I find the big, Air-Con, special buses to the Pyramids
I walked over to Tahrir square, just across the museum, and decided to ask some people around.

As I emerged out of the subway, along the pavement, I noticed this gorgeous Western damsel perched high on a railing, apparently waiting for somebody.

Knowing that Western tourists are always armed with these Tourist Information books which give you every damn detail ( probably even the name of the shoe-polisher on the street corner ) that you would ever want to use, I figured that she had to be my best bet !

I approached her and asked her if she knew where these special buses to Giza would be available ……She replied in perfect American accent that she had no idea, and asked me if I knew Arabic……

I explained that I did not and that I was from India…….

Smiling, she offered, “Do you want me to ask some people around for you ?”

[ Huh ? .....now how could this American female possibly communicate to the locals here and what could she tell them that I cannot ? ]

But even before I could say, ” No, thank you ….its fine” , she leaped down from the railing, pulled me along and led me to the hawkers on the sidewalks …

Being the obedient person that I was, I followed ……….

She narrowed down on one particular newspaper seller on the foot-path and said to me, ” Ok, lets go ask that guy !”

[ Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun .....I smiled at the prospect of getting to watch this American babe play dumb-chardes with the street vendor ! ]

But what happened next hit me like a thunderbolt ……
She started conversing to the guy in perfect, fluent Arabic …..

[ Boy, had Himesh Reshamiya taken off his cap on TV, I may have been less surprised !!! ]

After conversing with the vendor, she turned to me, looking rather unconvinced and explained that according to the guy, these special buses could be boarded at the south-western side of the ‘Egytpian Museum’, behind the ‘Nile Hilton’ hotel.

She looked around, and suggested that we ask a few other people as well….as normally here in Egypt, according to her, men are too egoistic to admit when they do not know something …instead, they just make wild guesses !

We went over to the group of men chatting at the nearby traffic signal, and she enquired with them – again in Arabic…..soon 4-5 men were circling around her and major discussions were on ….all I could make out was each person pointing his hand in distinct directions, as they explained !
Finally she thanked them, turned over to me and explained that it was better for me to take the Metro to ‘Giza Square’ ( that would cover about 80% of the total distance ), and from there take a bus or cab to the Pyramids.

I asked her on what would be the bus number that I should take from there ….she said that I just had to ask for the “AHRAMM” ( Arabic for ‘Pyramid’ ) and they would say Yes/No ! Sounded quite simple !

She showed me to the entrance of the nearby Tahrir Metro station.

“Have you ever been in the metro before ?”, she asked.

“No”, I replied.

So I attentively listened as she explained to me in detail the whole procedure, on how I should first go up to the counter, pay 1 pound and get a ticket [ a mere 1 pound can take you from any end of Cairo to another, irrespective of the distance ! ], look at the map, and find out the platform meant for the right destination, punch my ticket and get in the train , etc ………….

I was amazed at the manner in which she was so pro-actively helping me out ….By now, I could wait no more …. I just had to pop the question – the one that any sensible guy in my situation would have asked her at this juncture……..
I took a deep breath, and asked ….

“So….. how on earth do you know to speak Arabic ???”

With a sly smile, she explained that she had taken up Arabic studies in her University back in California, and had also done a 4-month internship in Jordan …….

She went on to say that she could have accompanied me to the Metro station below and put me on the right train, but happened to be waiting for a friend and so had to rush !

[ There was no foul word left in my vocabulary that I did not use on her friend that day ! ]

I bid good-bye to her and descended the stairs into the Tahrir Square Metro Station. Located centrally in down-town city, this was one of the busiest Metro stations in Cairo, where various segments of Metro lines converged, making it an important junction and transit point. I bought the ticket, found that platform meant for Giza, and waited. The entire station was extremely clean and beautifully maintained! It so happens that Cairo is the only city in entire Africa to have a metro !

In no time, a colourful train arrived and within the 5 seconds or so that it halted, I boarded it. The journey was smooth, and very convenient. I noticed that there were only locals in the train, and no other tourists at all ! The tourists normally took the cabs to visit Giza, but I was quite happy this way. Not only does this save me a lot of money and time, it also avoids the hassles of the chaotic Cairo traffic.

After a few stations, the metro line emerged out of the sub-terrain, and the rest of the journey was on land, giving me wonderful views of the suburbs that we were passing through. We passed via the Cairo University, where quite a lot of students got down.

Finally in about 20 minutes since starting from Tahrir station, the metro reached “Giza Square”.

I got down and noticed a bus-station just adjacent to the Metro station. I walked in, but was stopped by the Arab guard. I tried explaining that I wanted a bus to the Pyramids ….he somehow explained that I had to go to a different bus-station …….So I walked down the dusty streets searching for this other bus-station.

Giza was a distant suburb of Cairo and one of the poorer quarters of the city. It also was heavily populated ….and the people here hardly spoke any English …The roads were lined with small, humble shops …..I stopped a couple of guys on the streets and asked about the bus to the Pyramids …but they just couldn’t understand what I said ! [ quite evidently, by this time, I had forgotten the Arabic word for Pyramids, that the American gal had taught me earlier!] …..even checked up with some shop-keepers , still no luck ……Finally a little further I noticed another private bus-station on the other side of the road. I walked over, and entered the complex ….but this was more of a bus Depo, and was almost entirely deserted, except for a couple of Arab care-takers – dressed up in traditional attires….. I approached them and enquired ….Still no English
I somehow used gestures and explained that I wanted to go to the Pyramids, trying to make a Triangular shape with my hands ! They somehow got the message and pointed to the other side of the street, and said something in hard-core Arabic….I barely made out that he wanted me to catch some bus from there, and he even wrote some bus numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to me. The numbers were written in Arabic ….but thankfully, I knew the Arabic numbers [ ....atleast this I remembered from my school days back in Kuwait ! ] and so could read it.

I bid good-bye to him and walked down the street, trying to find where I could get these buses. A lot of buses passed by, but nothing seemed to stop anywhere in the near vicinity.

Walking a little further up the street, I saw this Pharmaceutical shop, and went in. Inside, there were about 3 young Arab guys at the counter, watching a Football match on TV. Fortunately, one of them knew broken English. He adviced me to take a cab, as buses were not frequent and would be crowded…..he further re-iterated that I should not pay more than 5 pounds for the taxi to the Pyramids.

Outside I stopped a speeding cab, and checked for the price. The cabbie quoted 10 pounds, I said 5…… finally we settled for 7, and he silently drove, along the long street, that led straight to the Pyramids complex !

Some Egyptian gyan !

There’s a Chinese proverb that roughly means that with every mile that you travel, you earn enough wisdom tantamount to reading one page of text !!!

Never had I realised the true implication of that statement, until now …..for, the experience here in Egypt has been so enriching and my interactions with the people here has taught me so much practically, that I possibly could never have learned it all from any book !

In fact, the best perspective to back the above claim would be the fact that I had to travel all the way here to Africa to learn the cause of the Tsunami that struck India back in December of 2004 !!!

That day morning, at office, I was chatting with this tester with whom I worked, and we were seriously discussing all sorts of stuff that were as remotely as possible related to our work ……one topic led to another, and finally we were talking about my home-town in Kerala…..I was explaining to him that it was on the coast …..so he asked me if it had been inflicted by the Tsunami back in 2004. I explained that it had not, since it was on the West Coast of India, and basically the damage was on the Eastern Coast.

He thought for a while and asked me, “So ….do you know the reason behind the Tsunami ?”

I replied, “Yeah, it was an earth-quake …..that occured somewhere in the middle of the sea, towards Indonesia”.

“Huh”, he sighed sarcastically !

Surprised by this, I reckoned that probably he didn’t really understand what I meant by an earth-quake [ and maybe mistook it for some variety of an Indian CAKE ! ] .…. so went on to add…. “You see, its basically when these seismic plates under the earth get suddenly displaced due to intense pressure build-up and ………”

Before I could complete my statement, he shook his head in disagreement, and said ” the Tsunami was not caused by any earth-quake !”

[ ??????? ]

I was puzzled, “Then what ?”

He went on to explain, “Somebody put a NUCLEAR BOMB there !!!”

[ My jaw dropped !!!! ........ I couldn't believe my ears ...... I was literally speechless !!! If only I had access to an ISD telephone from somewhere, I'd have immediately called up NDTV to report about this major scoop ! ]

I nodded my head and admired him on his amazing in-sight …. I wanted to seek explanations to a lot of other unanswered questions/mysteries that I had in mind, but then, it was prayer time …… and the guys in the room, all got up, laid their mats on the floor and started their Namaz ! This used to happen about twice during the office hours…..initially I used to feel quite out-of-place…… being the odd one out – sitting and trying to work, while everyone else in the room were praying ! ….. but with time, I got used to it….. and they made me feel quite at home too !

Another interesting aspect I noticed here is the extent of similarities between Arabic and Hindi…..There are so many common words between the two languages (probably due to the Urdu influence on Hindi).

For example, “Thank-you” – is “Shukran” in arabic (as against our “Shukriya”), “chair” is “Khursee”, “market” is “bazaar”, “law” is “Kanoon”, “wrong” is “galat”, “straight” is “seedhe” and many many more !

Apart from these, there are quite a lot of other interesting things – major or trivial, that I learnt here in Egypt. Like for example, the various slangs or colloqial connotations of the English language that the locals used here.

For instance, here in Egypt, they don’t say ‘change’ for smaller denominations of money….It so happened that I wanted to break a 100 pound note, and so I went up to the Money Exchange at the basement of my hotel, and asked the guy at the counter for ‘change’. But to my surprise, however hard I tried explaining him ‘change’, the guys there just did not seem to understand. Finally, after some serious visual demonstrations, the guy said, “Oh !!! …you mean ‘SMALL MONEY’ ??? You could have just said that before !”

So there it was …..In Egypt, when you want ‘Change’, you just say you want ‘small money’ !!!

Starting out to work

Sunday morning …..8 AM , Egyptian Time

Reluctantly I got out of the comfort of my double-bed and started getting ready for office. Apparently in Egypt, as with many Arab countries, the weekend is Friday/Saturday.

This meant that, after working heavily from Monday to Friday back in Bangalore, and spending the whole of Saturday travelling from B’lore through Mumbai to Cairo, here I was on a Sunday morning, starting out on a fresh week, with no break in sight for a further 5 days until Friday !

Neverthless. I dressed up in my new pair of “Peter-India” [ that's the way I prefer to call it ] formals, nearly strangling myself with the neck-tie …..[ that's the problem with onsite - the dress-code can't be compromised ]

Down at the lobby, I checked up if breakfast was complementary as part of my deal….. The elegant Egyptian lady at the counter, verified the records and gracefully answered that it was not…….

DAMN !!! this meant that I’ll have to forgo my breakfast for today …… eating at this 5-star hotel would cost me more than my Per Diem….. and there were no other decent restaurants/cafes in the vicinity !

I enquired with the Bell-captain about the directions to the office, and it turned out to be just about 5 minutes walking distance away.

As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, I was stopped by a security Guard armed with what looked like a cheap imitation of a Kalashnikov …..he wanted to see my ID and enquired where I was going. I showed him my THBS Id card ( the only ID I was carrying ) , fearing that he might require something more, but strangely, he was satisfied and let me go.

I walked down the few blocks towards the address of the office. The office was in this complex called the Nile City – a huge pair of twin-towers beyond the Arkadia mall…….The complex housed the offices of some of the biggest corporates of Egypt, and also included a mall in itself. In fact, yesterday while exploring along the banks of the Nile, I had seen this and had been wondering what these huge pair of buildings were about.

The facade was grand and heavily fortified……This is one thing I noticed everywhere in Egypt – the security arrangements were extremely stringent…..While entering my hotel, or the malls or the office building, I have to pass through a metal-detector and any bag I carry ( even a plastic cover ) has to go through the X-ray machine. [ .....quite in contrast to the just-for-namesake metal detectors in place at Garuda mall, back in Bangalore ...that too in spite of the numerous bomb threats it had received ]

In fact, the office had the same ‘Group 4 Securitas’ team ( just as in my office back in Bangalore ) providing the security…… but what was different was that the personnel – both male and female, were extremely well-groomed and smart ! I had to pass atleast 3 reception desks upto the lobby of the office, and each of them had a pair of receptionists – a guy and a gal, dressed up in neat, formal western suits …… [ I slowly started to realise how beautiful Egyptian women were ]

At the office, the person I was supposed to report to had not turned-in yet…..Instead, his manager came and welcomed me. I was ushered to his cubicle where we sat down and casually chatted . The office ambience was simply marvellous ! The interiors were grand, and the layouts amazing ! What was even better was that the people were all very colourful ! Everybody dressed up in tip-top formals ….even the gals in classic western business suits ! The general office crowd was young and extremely trendy …..In one look, it seemed just like some office in Europe, or even better, for Arab gals are simply the best in the world !

The Manager seemed to have some work on his cards and excused himself….As I sat there waiting for my contact person to turn up, the gal sitting in the adjacent seat [ ...easily one of the prettiest ones I'd ever seen ]…. came forward and introduced herself…..

[ P.S: Names undisclosed ....not for the fear of losing my job, but more for the simple reason of not having the millions in my bank-account....in case, somebody decides to sue me ]

She asked me if I’d like to have some tea/coffee ….I didn’t refuse ….opted for coffee. She showed me to the nearby kitchen and started out to make the coffee for me !

[ Boy, I'm starting to love Egypt already ! ]

As I stood there, watching her make my coffee, I couldn’t resist imagining ….. that had she been in India, she could have easily been a top bollywood actress or model …..call it destiny, today she’s just another employee in a Telecom firm in Egypt !!!

Wanting to keep the conversation going, I commented, “Nice office you’ve got here”.

“Oh ….thanks!”, she replied, “I especially love the sky-roof there” …pointing towards the beautiful glass ceiling just across her desk, from where bright sunlight poured in, illuminating the entire room!

I sipped my coffee slowly as we chatted and then returned back to the desks…… soon the guy arrived, and after some basic introductions we dove straight into business. I was given a place with the testing team, in the far end of the floor, and was introduced to the guys around.

There were about 5-6 guys in the room, all huge Arab guys, but quite friendly fellows.

Slowly, I settled in and set out to work !

The lap of LUXURY !

After bidding good-bye to Hameed (the guy who had ceremoniously welcomed me saying “KILL KOMMADATH” ), I boarded my limo and started my journey through the busy Cairo streets towards my hotel in downtown Cairo. The roads were nice and wide, and the city seemed buzzing with activity …. The cabbie was a friendly, smiling guy ……and after some basic introductions, we quickly started out a conversation…….

Cabbie: First time Egypt ?

Me: Yeah, its my first time ….

Cabbie: So ..where you come from ?

Me: India !

[ He suddenly seemed quite impressed by this ]

Cabbie: India ?? India very nice ……..I love India !!!

Me: Oh great ! Thanks !!  [Wow ... normally, one  does not get to hear even too many Indians saying that !!!]

Cabbie:  [with a bit of a frown] “….but India …too many people !”

Me: Yeah , right !  [ Ok, so did I travel half the globe to hear this ? ]

Cabbie: “How many people ?? …… 1 Million ???”

Me: WHAT ???  ……..

[ Did he just say 1 M-I-L-L-I-O-N ????? ...... as in, beginning with an "M" ????  ...... "M" as in 'Mallika Sherawat' ??????

What the hell ? Are people really so dumb here ? Or are they just trying to be satirical ??? ]

…… I took another look at him, and realised it had to be option (a) ….for he seemed genuinely like a guy who must have had major trouble with numbers back at school !

Me: “No …its more like a little over 1 Billion !”

Cabbie: “1 Billion ???  ooohhhh !!! [ He turns around and gives me a big sarcastic smile as if I was the one responsible for it ! ]

Me: ……..   [ Dude, turn ard and drive .... ! ]
The rest of the journey too was equally interesting ….with us chatting about a multitude of topics – he telling stuff he knew about India and me about what I knew about Egypt…… and at the same time, with him explaining to me about the various places and landmarks that we passed on the way ! We had passed by the Football stadium (where an important match between some local clubs was about to kick-off), Hosni Mubarak’s (the Egyptian President) fortified residence, the Ramses Railway Station, a couple of churches, quite a lot of mosques…….and finally the river Nile !!! ….. my hotel – ‘The Conrad’ was just alongside the banks of the Nile.

As I got down and the cabbie helped with my luggage, he asked for a tip. I was surprised …tipping cabbies was something that I’d never been used to doing …..My brain raised for an excuse …..finally I intelligently told him that I wasn’t carrying any local currency with me ! But this guy was smarter …..he quite conveniently said that US dollars were acceptable too !

Damn …….. !!! Refusing to give up, I lied that I only had Indian Rupees with me, whilst confirming that the envelope containing the 800 dollars was intact in my pocket.

But this guy was just too determined …….he could do with Indian money too !

Now I had no choice ….. I pulled out my wallet and took a Rs.50 note and handed it over to him ….. His eyes glowed on seeing the 50 !!!  [.....only when he goes to a Currency Exchange and convert, would he realise that 50 Indian Rupees is only about 6 Egyptian Pounds, just enough to fetch him a sandwich on the streets !!! ]

I pulled my luggage and walked into the grand lobby …..it was simply mind-boggling !!! The hotel itself was absolute luxury !!! I checked in and a guy took me to my room … Number 827 , on the 8th floor. As he ushered me in, I was literally taken aback !
The room was majestic ……much bigger than my modest apartment back in Bangalore, and totally luxurious ……It included a huge set of wardrobes, 2 large double-beds (as if 1 double-bed itself was not enough for me !!!), a study table, 2 sofas, 3 telephones, TV with cable, DVD player, a fridge (stocked with 6 cans of beer, 1 red wine and 1 white wine !!!) a majestic bathroom, huge balcony and much more !!!

The sight from the balcony was simply marvellous …….Right below was the swimming pool and on the right side – the River NILE ..in all its glory!!! I was completely spell-bound !!!

After quickly unpacking my stuff, I went straight for the pool……Later in the evening, I converted some of my US dollars into Egyptian Pounds and ventured out into the streets……

Immediately outside the hotel was this huge, landscaped Corniche alongside the Nile ! The Nile was simply majestic ……with the cool breeze blowing in and the waters- dark under the night sky, being so placid, had such a mystic feeling about it ! I stood there for a few moments simply staring at the placid waters; and absorbing the reality of the moment !

1000′s of years of history about which I had been religiously reading over the years, came flashing in front of my eyes ! ……….I mean, this was the river that Moses had turned into blood by wielding his baton ….. this was where the armies of Julius Caesar and later Marc Antony had sailed through in their conquests of Egypt !!!!! …….and here I was, standing on its banks …….. It was just MAGICAL !!!

What was surprising to me was to see the huge number of young Egyptian couples sitting along the railings on the banks, canoodling or simply holding hands, having  quite a romantic time ! The strange thing about it all was that this was an Islamic country, and though I had travelled extensively across the Arab world, nowhere had I seen anything remotely like this !!! The Egyptians were clearly very liberal and forward-thinking ! I suddenly realised how badly conservative even our Bangalore was !

A few blocks away was this huge mall called ‘Arkadia’ ……sort of like Cairo’s answer to Forum mall – but just a lot less crowded and lot more peaceful. This happens to be one of the fave malls among Cairo’s urban youth, and quite conveniently for me, it had a huge Food Court with everything from junk (Mac, KFC, Hardees … ) to Pizzas to Chinese to some authentic Arab food.

I settled for some Chicken Shawarmas …..and that was when I realised that the people here somehow think that I look like an Arab ! The waitress came up to me and started speaking in non-stop Arabic, and I had a tough time trying to explain to her that I did not speak Arabic, and came from India. [ my birth and up-bringing in Kuwait was the last thing I wanted to reveal to anybody here....... they'd hit me on my face, for the fact that though I had spent half my life there, I still did not know proper Arabic ....]. I had faced the same problem with the porters back at the hotel …….

After the meal, I explored a little further up the Nile. The ambience was great ….Even close to mid-night, there were women, children, couples and people in general, strolling and relaxing along the riverside ! The city didn’t seem to sleep and also felt like quite a safe place to me.

The areas along the Nile in downtown Cairo are among the more modern quarters of the city. This is where all the big Sky-scrapers and the umpteen number of 5-star hotels are concentrated.

I walked back into my hotel and settled down in my room, quite tired from all the day’s travelling. Deciding on which of the 2 large double-beds to sleep in, was quite a task by itself….. Finally, I settled for the one near the wall and almost immediately , fell into a deep, sound sleep !