Cairo - Mother of the Earth

Feluccas on the Nile
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Published in the Weekend Argus Travel supplement in February 2003

Obscured by a veil of pollution and dust from surrounding harsh deserts, is the vast sprawl of a city of contradictions that, miraculously live in harmony with each other. Cairo is an all-out assault on the senses, the chaotic, dusty streets and constant drone of traffic and blaring horns is broken by the haunting cry of the muezzin calling men to mosque for ritual washing and prayer.

Cairo is an all-out assault on the senses

Evening on the Nile
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Juice stands on practically every corner are draped with displays of fruit and vegetables in season. Sidewalks around the squares are difficult to negotiate with the crush of hawkers and long-robed, over-friendly men discussing deals, the weather, women, who knows? Young Cairean women dressed in western-style fashions mix with sigana, totally covered in long dress and scarf, apart from kohl-rimmed eyes. Hawkers pay sigana a few coins to waft a potion of smouldering herbs over merchant’s goods to bring them luck with sales.

The great bazaar of Khan-al-Khalili, Cairo
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The highest point in Cairo is the Mohammed Ali Pasha Mosque, centrepiece of the Citadel, in the Moqattam Hills. In the distance the vague outline of the Pyramids of Giza float like a mirage, dwarfed by giant skyscrapers. A visit to the world’s ancient wonder requires stamina, a disappointing experience with in-your-face hawkers and camel owners, it is hot, bright and dusty. For baksheesh, crooked guides dressed in turban and long white gown allow tourists to climb the pyramids or offer to take them into forbidden areas. Guarding the entrance to the pyramids and created as a ‘living image of the sun-god’ is the man-animal Sphinx.

Luxor
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Desert wind ripples the waters of the world’s longest river as it sinuously winds through the seething compress of people and forest of minarets, Egypt could not exist without the Nile. Along the Corniche, touts negotiate fares for a ride on the flock of Felucca’s languidly sailing across inky water.

During the Pharaohs time crop yields were predicted and taxes were set according to the river’s level as measured by the many Nilometer’s dotted along the river. This has dropped dramatically over the years as seen by the Hanging Church in the Coptic City, so called because it was built on pillars directly above the river.

Aswan and the temple built by Rameses III - a man I would have loved to meet
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Heading east is the old medieval heart of the city and a labyrinth of cobbled alleyways dotted with mosques while laden camels wait. This vast souk tempts the senses with spices, perfume and glittering gold, silver and brass. At its centre is the great bazaar of Khan-al-Khalili and home of Al Fishawi, Cairo’s oldest ahwa, coffee house (that doesn’t sell coffee!) Men sit in the alleyway, smoking a sheesha with water gurgling in the glass bowl, the tobacco is blended with fruit and molasses. The ahwa is a great social institute in the Arab world, a typical collection of battered chairs and tables open to the street. Women rarely feature and conversation is inevitable along with the incessant clacking of slammed domino’s and backgammon pieces.

On the outskirts of Khan-el-Khalili is one of many cemeteries known as ‘Cities of the Dead’. With bare-bottom-babies and washing fluttering in the wind dozens of mausolea rise from a sea of dwellings, an unforgettable eerie sight.

Chaotic Midan Tahrir is the centre of Cairo, nearby is the greatest museum in the world. Allowing one minute to view each of the 136,000 artefacts would take nine months. Of course the centrepiece is King Tutankhamun’s lavishly tooled death mask, jewellery, gold rooms and sarcophagus. The hallowed halls are filled to capacity with tour groups, a cacophony of mayhem and languages.

Food in Egypt is disappointing and crude, a typical main dish would be potato, rice and meat, all heavy with oil. Street food consists of mashed fava beans, usually ladled into a piece of shammy, similar to pita. Ta’amiyya is a large, flatter version of felafel, mashed chick pea and spices balled up and deep-fried. Pigeon is a delicacy usually served stuffed with rice and spices, or as a stew cooked in a clay pot with onions and tomatoes.

Cairo has a growing population of 14 million, a sixth of the total population of Egypt. Around twenty percent of the city is slums, placing a strain on the city’s decaying infrastructure of sewers with no fresh water or garbage collection. The public transport system is lethal with dilapidated vehicles belching out clouds of fumes, regular bus smashes and train wrecks.

There are many problems to assail visitors, with horrific stories from women traveller’s about Cairean men. A large number of Egyptians see western women as sex-obsessed and immoral. It is unwise for a female to leave her hotel with wet hair as local men assume that she has come from a night of passionate love-making! The golden rule of less skin shown means less harassment. Even males encounter the problem of walking down the street and being greeted every few metres, at first this can be quaint but after a couple of blocks one finds oneself averting eyes.

Many westerners have the misguided concept that Egyptian women are repressed victims forced to wear the veil. This is more complicated than first meets the eye. There is a return to ‘traditional values’ with many women adopting more conservative dress. For every woman who adopts the hejab for religious reasons, there are those who wear it because it allows them to walk around more freely, not many men would dare hassle a muhaggaba, girl/woman who keeps her hair covered with a scarf!

One of the world’s most densely populated cities, Cairo, also known as ‘Al-Qahira’ ‘The Victorious’, is to many Arabic speakers the semi-mythical capital of the Arab world, the so-called ‘Mother of the World’. The bloated home to a collision of the most populous city in the Arab world, as well as the African continent with remnants left by Turks, Greeks and Romans.

As the last rays of the sun set over the desert and whispering date palms the pyramids glow pink as they have for centuries past, and hopefully for centuries to come.