At Khan il Khalili market

The situation of women in Egypt is every bit under the thumb as I expected and could get worse – more and more seem to be in full hijab which is very weird.

Mohammed Ali Mosque, Cairo

Good to be in Athens where you don’t see the walking tents. But we also saw lots of loving couples and women out smoking in the coffee houses too – plus lots of younger women working, but they tend to stop when they marry except for the elite who do what they like.

Our guide (male, they are all male) had the perspective that men have a very hard life because women “have” to stay at home, so men have to do most of the work, all the women have to do is cook, sew, wash, clean and look after the house, look after the children and of course look after their husband.

This is Angie listening attentively to the Iman…

There was nearly an uprising a couple of decades ago when the govt made a law that a man had to inform his wife if he was divorcing her or taking a second wife. I think the imans are still outraged by this. The whole country is held back by religious conservatism – and can’t improve until the women are free, which will take a revolution.

Al Hussein Mosque, Khan el Khalili, right where the bomb went off recently.

But the mosques are beautiful.
The best books I read on this subject are
Geraldine Brooks, Nine Parts of Desire, eg http://www.islamfortoday.com/9parts.htm
and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel, eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel_(book)

OPINION: Phillip Adams | February 14, 2009
Article from: The Australian

THE Colossi of Memnon are blowing bubbles.

One of the colossal colossi
For thousands of years the increasingly dilapidated giants have sat side by side in what the ancients called the “desh-ert” or “land of the dead”.
Now they’re behaving like children, filling the air with opalescent spheres that float in the growing light of an Egyptian dawn. Dozens in every possible colour drifting high over the dunes and ramparts, lit from within as the great goddess Nut gives birth to the sun.

A few minutes later, I’m in one. Not a soap bubble, but a hot air balloon. The vast membrane fills as the propane burner belches its dragon flame, the heat singeing what’s left of my hair, until the basket lifts an inch or two to bounce and drag on the rock-littered sand … and suddenly we’re soaring. Up there with the falcons, looking down on the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Tombs of the Nobles and the other attractions of Thebes, the first and greatest theme park. Even the mighty Walt Dynasty is dwarfed by the Ramses.

In the middle distance at Luxor is Karnak, the largest temple complex on Earth. Between us the silver sliver of the Nile that for millions of years has rolled out Egypt’s green carpet – flowing from deep in Africa to the delta where Alexander built Alexandria. One of the dozen cities of the same name he left in his wake. Which must have made it very difficult for the postman.

Now we’re looking down on the temple of Hatshepsut, the cross-dressing queen who ruled as pharaoh in the 15th century BC.

No terrorists, but who is that suspicious Australian?
Hewn from solid rock and painstakingly repaired by the Poles, Hatshepsut’s sanctum was the scene of a massacre 11 years ago to the day. Terrorists versus tourists – 62 herded into the temple and shot. Just as the high dam above the first cataracts put an end to the annual inundation that had nourished the farms of Egypt for 7000 years, the Hatshepsut horror ended the annual inundation of tourism that had provided up to 80 per cent of the economy for Luxor and Aswan. The locals remember the years of deprivation that followed, and fear more as the events in Gaza and the global financial crisis empty the hotels.

Since the terrorists attacked in Luxor and Cairo, illusory security arrangements have been Egypt’s busiest employer. The country crawls with guards toting ancient rifles and AK-47s, and major movements of tourists still occur in convoys. Thus we’ll gather in Aswan at 3.30 in the morning for the cross-desert trip to the rescued monuments of Abu Simbel, the scores of vehicles passing through endless checkpoints.

“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair…”
Then there are the false doors. No respectable Egyptian tomb was without one. Massive thresholds between the lands of the living and the dead through which the spirit of the deceased could pass. The airport metal detector is about the same size and intended to protect the living from death – and Egypt must have a million of them. Tourists pass through them to enter every hotel, museum and public building. Twentieth-century technology provides the false doors for the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara and for every significant archeological site – false because few of them work. Nor do the X-ray machines, which cause long delays while bored guards pretend to search handbags.

Giza pyramids, and another suspicious Australian
This is, after all, Egypt. Where nothing works. Where buildings under construction become ruins as they rise, ageing more in months than the monuments in millennia. The only place where the metal detectors do operate is at the entrance of major hotels – and here they’re ignored in favour of racial profiling. If you’re foreign please come in and spend your money – though outside the four and five-stars there are sniffer dogs and men with mirrors checking vehicles for bombs. but mostly the security adds to feelings of insecurity. It’s the hollowest of theatrics and the soldiers and police who emerge from behind bullet-proof shields to check your ID from the Lower Nile to the Upper are the best performers.

The locust plague that Moses afflicted on the Pharaoh has been replaced by the chirruping plague of mobiles. Just as every hovel has a satellite dish, every Egyptian seems to have a Nokia. They beep on camels, donkeys and feluccas, allowing drivers to trade in tourists. Visitors complain of “hassling”, forgetting that their brief presence in the country provides, for many Egyptians, the only hope of feeding the family. But Egyptians remain cheerful and helpful; many are possessed of the gifts appropriate to stand-up comedy. A great people with great problems.

I meet old friends from visits going back 40 years. And next week I’ll tell you what they have to say about Mubarak, Bush, Obama and the Israelis.

Life on board the Felucca
Feluccas are simple sailing boats, no more and no less. They have no engines and no toilets. There is a single deck on which you can stretch out during the day under a shade awning. It is an extremely relaxing way of travelling down the Nile, however many people find the pace very slow, especially when contrasted with a busy life back home. We strongly recommend you take books, magazines, card games, walkmans and any other items which might help to while away your time on board. Meals are simple. They are prepared by your Nubian crew and include chicken, rice, local breads and vegetables. Each evening your crew pulls into the shore. They generally find a flat, sandy area for the night. Toilet facilities are very basic. Note that, during the winter months (Oct-Mar), it be very cold on the river at night so you should bring thermals and a fleece.

The reality proved very different.

Waiting an hour or three for the tourist police to finish their game of dominos...

As far as we can figure it out, in February, the prevailing winds are northerly. Certainly the feluccas could make no headway against the fresh northerly winds. So we went no further than the bank opposite Aswan. When they tried to sail, the rudder broke, but the crew did not replace the vessel with something watertight so our “voyage” could proceed.

Briefly under sail
We came to the conclusion that if the winds are northerly, the feluccas should sail from north to south, i.e. from Luxor to Aswan, not the other way around. Our guide told us that the Tourism Police in Aswan would not allow feluccas to start from Luxor, although it is clear that the large diesel-powered cruise boats must do this all the time. We spent an afternoon, a day, and two nights on the feluccas, in fairly abysmal circumstances given we were effectively marooned on a fairly inhospitable shore. And toilet facilities were not “basic” as in the Gecko trip notes, they were non-existent on a very public bank opposite the town. We are used to living rough, but this was exposed, continuous passersby, no privacy. Very unhygenic for the locals as well, who did not appear pleased,

Stranded opposite Aswan City
We left the feluccas a day early, somewhat disgruntled, and returned to the Cleopatra Hotel in Aswan for an extra night. Later, in the Luxor Museum the guide commentary explained to us that when the winds were southerly, the ancient Egyptians sailed north, and when it was northerly, they rowed north with the current, or sail south with wind. It seems that the weather conditions we experienced have been around for a long time!

The Nubian crew on the feluccas made little effort to put themselves out, or to be communicative. No comparison with the Bedouins! To be honest, they seemed sour and unfriendly.

What's wrong? Are we leaking? Who knows? Who cares?

To cap it off, by the end of the non-cruise, several of the group were badly indisposed in the nether regions, partly because of the poor hygiene, and partly because of a late night session with the local rotgut, which our guide joined in.

What we did enjoy was watching life on the Nile go past, and the bird life. The Nile is very clean and clear below the dams, and we did have a lot of time to observe the locals irrigating and tending their fields and animals. Amazing how much food is grown along the Nile, for 80 million people.

Before the rudder broke
A felucca cruise is an experience to be survived, preferably missed, just maybe enjoyed.

Room 301 at the Metropole

Journey to Alexandria
Feeling smug about avoiding ground transport and taxis, we boarded the Metro for Mubarek and walked into Ramesses Station. King Hotel to platform in 35 mins, carrying light packs and handbags. Train itself took about 2hr 20mins to cover the 200+km, would have been hard to have been one of Napoleon’s troops doing this through the desert on foot. From Iskandreya station we walked down Danial to the beautiful Metropole Hotel, a total joy with fabulous breakfasts, elegant furniture, the antique and slightly vertigo inducing central lift, and our gold gilded room was fit for minor royalty. Everything in the marble bathroom worked, a first for Egypt.

Most time was spent aimlessly wandering, though we did get to the musty catacombs of Kom el shoqafa, Quaitby Fort and the splendid Bibliotheca. We loved Iskandreya, but the “faded glory” cafes in guide books are hopeless and overpriced, best to strike out and find your own.
The 2nd class express was comfortable good value at 29LE, but on our return journey the minor disaster was finding the ticket office in Cairo made a mistake with the date which we didn’t notice at the time, meaning we had to buy duplicates, this slightly took the edge off budget train travel. But got back to Cairo without hassles, we’d like to stay in Alexandria for days longer, weeks, months…

our best find in Cairo!

A quest for the Al-Azbakiyya Cairo book markets was unsuccessful; they were either closed for Sunday or we couldn’t find them. However, the quest led us to a sympathetic coffee shop and gallery with free wifi. This was the Kunst Gallery in Sharia Sharif near the imposing neo-classical Supreme Court in downtown Cairo. To get there, go west along Sharia 26 July from the Ataba Metro, and turn left onto S Sharif after a couple of long blocks. After a very acceptable and acceptably priced cappuccino we back tracked and found the Alfi bey in a block a little NE of where S Sharif runs into S 26 July, in Sharia Alfi bey naturally. This was a beautiful clean restaurant from Cairo’s graceful past with charming staff and even more charming prices. We had a terrific whole grilled chicken with rice for lunch. Thus fortified, we walked North to Mubarek Metro where we navigated the maze of underground passages and emerged into the sunlight of Ramesses station. Here we bought 2nd class tickets on the 9am express to Alexandria…

Lane markings: there for decorative purposes only.
Horns: your car is equipped with a horn, so use it constantly.
Red light: You may stop, but only if you feel like it.
Drive on the right is the rule in Egypt, but is largely optional.
Seat belts: must be fastened at all times when approaching a police check point, then release immediately.
Headlights, when driving at night, turn on your headlights occasionally. But keep off most of the time to save power.
Pedestrians: pedestrians have right of way, except when run down and injured or killed.
Mobile phones: you have a mobile phone, so use it, especially when in difficult traffic conditions.
Accidents and collisions: these are an opportunity for a lengthy argument in the middle of the road, and you can legally create a traffic jam.
Taxis provide transport from A to B as well as death-defying thrills. It is not required that the taxi driver watch the road if he is pointing out sights.

But will we discover the tomb of Pharoah Hatsepshut???

but where's the beard??