We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
That nice lady was our Cairo guide for 3 days. Hassam was our driver - excellent too but he had no English. Yes, we liked to stop for coffee.
From our trip:
- They like US dollars - not their own currency.
- Everybody expects baksheesh (in US dollars), even if you are an Asian tourist. No Euros either. For everything including using a bathroom.
- Everyone has a cell phone
- Nothing seems dangerous, but you are out of place in non-tourist sites without an Arabic-speaking guide. It's a bargaining culture too, so everything feels like they want to rip you off. Cairo is dirty, kinda random. Has some top-knotch hotels.
- Feral cats and dogs are everywhere. No pets.
- Zero recreational boats on the Nile. All work boats.
- The Coptic Christian religion is alive and well, thus all the Christmas decorations. There are no Jews in Egypt now, but there used to be.
- Every male smokes cigarettes, except a few who smoke hookahs.
- English is their second language. Not widely spoken, though.
- All those camels are just for tourist photos. I refused that.
- Even in Cairo, lots (not most) of guys wear thobes with turbans.
It's kind of jarring how the pyramids are in suburban Cairo.
I went a couple of times to services at the Karaite synagogue in Daly City. The founding members of the congregation were refugee Karaite Jews from Egypt. Very welcoming place. Interesting -- while very similar, it is also quite different from the synagogue service I was accustomed to.
I worked there for a while, many many years ago. Rode horses around the pyramids. When I was riding in a taxi to Ras Gharib to catch a workboat, the Egyptian tanks were out on range practice, which is to say, they were firing over our heads across the highway as we drove by. The areas around the highway down the Gulf of Suez were still roped off because of landmines from the Israeli war in the 70s. Then later, in our staff house in Cairo, watching TV one night, I was startled by rifle fire just outside. Egyptian soldiers, shooting strays because of a rabies outbreak.
Safety has a very different definition there, and so does common sense. You really have to pay attention - or trust in Allah.
