Attempting to explore a city with 20 million people and 5000 years of history

Walking into a pyramid.

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Coming to Cairo from Paris was definitely like landing on a different planet.

First, the bad stuff. Cairo is overcrowded (20+ million live here), horribly polluted, full of hustlers trying to sell you stuff and no one seems to be able to give decent directions to anything you're trying to find.

That said, it's an amazing city. You can eat a great meal for 1 dollar, the locals are incredibly friendly (even the ones not selling you stuff), and oh yeah, it's got the pyramids, 600 years of being the center of the christian coptic world and 1300 years of being one of the major centers of islam. The history here is unreal. And outside of the pyramids, the bazaar and the citadel it can be hard to find another tourist, something we've found hard to believe. Hand the custodian a few egyptian pounds in any ancient mosque and he'll unlock the door to the minaret and let you go up.

Sufi dancing in a 16th century mausoleum

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A highlight was seeing a Whirling Dervish troupe dance in a 600 year old mausoleum. The music and the performance was spellbinding, Whirling Dervishes are part of the mystical sect of Islam called Sufism. The drums reminded me of Stomp, but once the music got going it was like being transported to another world.

Here's a few insights into Cairene life.

Food

The food here is typically middle eastern. Falafel, pita, schwarma, mashed eggplant etc. It's quite tasty and SO cheap. A lamb schwarma will cost you 50 cents here. Paul also opted for an Egyptian specialty, stuffed pidgeon. Tastes like chicken if you can find any meat. The dessert is also quite good, we've mostly been sticking to pistachio/honey pastries that you can pick up anywhere in town. Finally the fruit juices here are amazing. 25 cents for a 100% freshly squeezed fruit of your choice, be it pomegranite or mango. Our personal favorite new fruit is fresh figs. We have to find where they sell them in Toronto as they are so good.

Arcade of Mosque.

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Traffic

The traffic here is something to behold. No one obeys any lights, signs, lanes or anything else. Pedestrians just have to step into traffic and let it part around them. Incredibly we haven't seen a single accident since we got here so it seems to work for everyone involved reasonably well. Discovering how taxis work was also a mindset adjustment. You get in the cab, say where you want to go and then give the driver cash (you choose how much) and leave. No meters, no discussions about money, we just give sums that seem low to us ($1-2) but bring smiles from the cabbies when they get it.

So we'll be back here at the end of our mideast trip to see the Egyptian museum and wander the city some more.

But next up is the oasis of Siwa, near the Libyan border.