Egypt in 20 hours

Egypt in 20 hours
We arrive without a clue of where and whether we are even allowed to stay and sleep in the airport fi Cairo. On arrival we are shuffled over to a counter and are told for two 15 bucks visa’s we can get free 5 star hotel housing for free, with three square meals. For you travellers out there, this may be a good glitch to replace staying in airports for extended times, some airlines may cover a stay in hotel if there is sufficient time between your two flights. Check it out!

I think to myself, so much for my two Europe Barcelona peanut butter and apples plan for the airport, off to the hotel. But before arriving I have my first taste of Egyptian Bakish, which is an informal tipping and bribing system. The guard dressed in a white freshly ironed military suit looks at my dad, and whispers something in Arabic while hiding his fingers rubbing together behind the passport, "Baksheesh?" My dad smiles and pretends not to not understand and grabs his passport out of his hand. We arrive and settle in and eat plentiful buffet with fresh beef, rice, fish, chicken and over goodies like fresh hummus, Egyptian Feta, Olives and fried Egyptian veggies.

We than go to the concierge, and my father asks “is it possible to organize a personal tour for tomorrow, before we leave for our plane?” Hady, who works at the front desks, says “mumkin,” maybe. He speak to Yousef, and than goes with my dad to meet another man, and finally he speaks to Jamal. After deliberation, the price is set 60$ for a five hour tour of the city. Before going to bed, I hear some unique music playing, and there ends up being a Christian Coptic wedding occurring at the hotel that night.

We awake, eat our fresh foul from the foul bar, with ample choices of Tahini, Zatar, Paprika, baby limes, oil and foul, a kind of brown bean, an Egyptian staple which is in a metal container, still boiling from the stove. We nibble and run into Gamal’s car. Which is owned by the Hotel, which used to be called Iberohotel, but is now called La Paradise, since after the “roua,” revolution, the ownership changed to the Egyptian people. The hotel and casino is owned by business man from Qatar though. We are in a black Mitsubishi, with lightly tinted windows and some sort of a secret license plate.

My dad explains to me the government is doing their best to take care of tourists, probably because they want us to feel safe here, and spread the word to others. Since tourism is a major source of economic development in the country. We visit the Citadel, pyramids, the first Egyptian Mosque, where my father lived in Zamalak, hookah shop, a perfume shop and general tour around the city as well. Not bad for four hours in Cairo traffic.

Seeing God in Everything
I learned a powerful lesson that was burned into my eyelids today. Its one thing to do what you want, but its another thing to trust and allow God to lead you towards he wants for you. But there is also the goals that I set in my life, what I want and the actually day to day reality of how will I get there.

Learning how to do actions for God, rather than always for myself, and only what I want and need and thinks are my immediate needs is a powerful action. But on the other end, being to too open, and trusting and thinking only God will take care of my prayer or intention is naïve as well. I need to act and be active in how I actualize my prayer, but also know how to prayer for Guidance from God in the process. A subtle practice and balance between planning and letting go is surely needed, in perfecting the power of prayer, and being open to the universe.

He Sphinx Cool
As I stood beneath the Sphinx, by the towers of Giza, it was a moment to job with the joy to return to the birth place of my father, with him, and re-experience the country. Its explained to our driver and friend Gamal, that the area leading towards the Giza pyramids, which in Egyptian Arabic one pyramid is called Haram and the plural is Algazeera, just 20 years before was all farm lands.

As we drove through the highway, the stark contrast between the city and the rural areas right underneath the highway was extremely different. Gamal says; “this area, which is a farm right at the edge of the desert, the farmers live in that shack right by where they work, so they can take a break when the sun is hot. At night, animals like desert foxes even come out when they smell the food from their little camps.

We drove by a cemetery, and saw a satellite sticking out of what looked like a mausoleum. Gamal said “Free housing.” I ask, “do people actually live there right next to the dead bodies?” He says “yes, they do some sort of ‘security’ of it. Not bed, free housing. In Egypt, if you own a house from your family, its not as difficult than if you don’t own anything, and have to work from scratch in order to earn enough for you family.

We arrive at one of the medium sized pyramids, and are immediately accosted by the camel renter. They don’t budge and after man no Shakrun’s from us and Gamal, Gamal says “Wallah” which means. As my dad snaps his camera at a faster and faster rate, we notice a man in black glasses who is looking over us. We see him again at the larger pyramids, still staring at us.

A man with a light blue scarf stands up shakes the hand of Gamal as we walk towards the smaller pyramids. He says hi, shakes my hands and starts talking quickly. Before I know it, a head scarf is wrapped around my head, and a guy my age is lifting me up into a camel. My father is say “No pictures forget it. And is walking away. I’m a bit amazed at how I ended up on the camel. So I ask to get down a few times.

Eventually Jamal says something they get me off. “Bakshis,” the blue scarf man and the camel driver says. I say, once second, I need to speak to my father. I’m trying to reason with them how much do I need to pay for the picture with money that I just cashed two hours before and can barely count. 6 Egyptian pounds is 1 dollar. Gamal passes him 6 pounds and he scrams. But without asking for “20?” I finally understand what they word “Mashy” means, walk as well as let it go, its never enough what you’ll give someone as a tip anyway.

We walk into a temple where there are faded hieroglyphics on the war. Underneath there was an opened esophagus. I placed my hands on it, and the cold stone was gently pulsing a warm powerful energy into my palms. Jamal and my father weaseled and wedged there way down and towards the back where I stood. Gamal says “This cover is so heavy, how was it possible that they could have lifted this up down here on top. My dad says “They were masters of harnessing energy!”

Before leaving, Gamal, took us around his neighborhood by Giza pyramids. We pass through unpaved roads, where camels chewed on grass, ladies sold veggies by the road, pita bread was freshly baked and chicken was freshly fried by KFC. God Bless America. I need my Kuntucky Fried Chicken Fix. What American would come to Egypt and Eat American Fried Cholesterol heart attack food by the foothill of the ancient Phaoronic pyramids?

LeavingAs we left the city, we passed through towards Heliopolis, which was the way that we came going towards the pyramids. The traffic became worse and worse, until we were barely moving at all. Its 230 and we need to be back by 250 for our bus. We pass by a main road going to Heliopolic and airport, 15 blocks from the Citadel in the area of town where leather is process, before it is sent to be made into jackets. A man with the hides of animals, looks like goat skins drove down on the elevated sidewalk. Gamal says “Egyptian people can create a road anywhere.” A mini truck zooms by my head on pot holes on the wide side walk. Beyond the old aqueducts which were build a 1000-1200 years ago, when Islam arrived here.

We return back, grab a quick goat stew rice meal with a fruit salad, jump into the shuttle, and get into the plane from Cairo to Beirut. I look at all of the heads, as I sit in the second to last row, 40 C by the window. Only Black colored hair on people’s heads stairs back at me, and in some strange way, I find my trip to the middle east in some way a sort of exodus back to an ancetral homeland, (since both my grandparent are born there) I’ve always felt closs to, but never knew how to explain in words before today.