Cairo Capers

Lakshmi Subramanian time travels through the capital of Egypt, alternating between ancient pyramids and night clubs in five-star hotels…

It was a cold, windy evening when we drove into Cairo city from the airport. The greenery around the airport and on either side of the road, stood in contrast to the sand and stones image I had conjured up of the fabled place. However, it was not long before the colour changed gradually from green to brown. This was what I had come to see - sandy desert, pyramids, sphinxes and not to forget dead people (mummies).

Cairo astonishes in the manner in which the past and present co-exist harmoniously. On the one hand you see incomplete brick houses, remnants of a civilisation thousands of years old, while on the other there are massive computer stores, shopping complexes, branded products, five-star hotels, fast food joints, so on and so forth. In addition, the pyramids are visible from buildings across the length and breadth of the city. It is perhaps the only city where one can time travel in a matter of seconds.

Though it is not easy to appreciate the chaos and noise here, a certain magical charm overrides it and not surprisingly tourism is the major driving force. The numerous monuments and attractions are perpetually teeming with people from all over the world and during peak season it is no exaggeration to state that it is sometimes hard to find a place to stand.

It was late in the evening that we rolled into the ancient city and on the advice of tour co-ordinator Elsam we checked into our cosy hotel suppressing the impulse to explore the city immediately. I was really excited to see the Giza Pyramids from the balcony of my room. Tomorrow we would actually get to see it.

The next morning, we began with Central Cairo, home to the massive Egyptian museum, with 120,000 relics from almost every period of ancient Egyptian history. Brimming with tourists, it needs a good one-day to cover all its major sections such as the Tutankhamen galleries, old-kingdom rooms, ancient Egyptian jewellery, animal mummies and the royal mummy room. Although the exhibits were arranged neatly in chronological order, little has been done to categorise it with respect to relevance. Central Cairo has several other sights such as the Arab League Building, American University and Abdeen Palace but we gave them a miss and headed for the timeless bylanes of Old Cairo, popularly known as Coptic Cairo. The Ben Ezra Synagogue, the hanging church and several small churches were highlights of this place.

Islamic Cairo was next. It spans a huge area and one must plan your schedule here. It's best to drive through with emphasis on the Citadel of Saladin. Within the Citadel of Saladin lies the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, which took nearly 18 years to build. The Blue Mosque has its name due to its indigo and turquoise tiles.

All this was just a preliminary to the most exciting aspect of our journey - the pyramids. Giza, earlier a village on the West Bank of the Nile stretching 18 kms westwards, showcases the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), the Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycerinus) and several other tombs.

It's a whole new experience to drive through the desert to visit these pyramids. I truly enjoyed climbing down one of the pyramids. It's an awesome experience. In the past, climbing the outside walls of pyramids was a popular adventure though it led to several deaths. However, it is forbidden now. Each pyramid has a unique structure.

The Sphinx is another must see attraction. Known in Arabic as Abu-al-Hol or Father of Terror, the Sphinx, with a woman's head and lion's body, set riddles and killed anyone unable to answer them. The Sphinx has to be seen to appreciate its beauty and grandeur. It's so huge that you can't capture the entire structure with the widest lens you own. This fascinating edifice is being slowly eaten away by pollution and rising ground water. However, restoration is being attempted.

There is also a nice sound and light, which shows the beauty of Giza at nightfall but the narration leaves much to be desired.

While the three great pyramids are located in Giza, there are 87 more pyramids located across the country with most of them South of Cairo. Abu Sir is one of the most important venues with four pyramids and the sun temples. According to our guide Mohammed these days the Egyptian government requires permission for tourists to visit the destination. Apart from Abu Sir, there is the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, located 25 kms south of Cairo.

On the way to the Step Pyramid, we climbed one of the sand dunes to see Cairo breaking away temporarily from acres and acres of sand. It's a great feeling sometimes to be in the middle of nowhere. Here again, a ride on camel back was the added attraction. Panic might make you yearn to get down but hang on tight. It's great fun as the camel casually whizzes past the desert sand with effortless ease.

About 10 kms south of Saqqara there is Dahshur with about 11 pyramids. At present only the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid are worth seeing. While experimenting with ways to create a true smooth-sided pyramid, architects started with a steep angle but it showed signs of instability. Therefore, the angle was reduced and hence the name Bent Pyramid. Further North is the Red Pyramid, which derives its name from the red tones of its craggy limestone. This pyramid is open to the public only sometimes.

The legendary pharaoh Narmer who is credited with unifying upper and lower Egypt founded his new capital on the exact spot where the Nile Delta met the valley, in Memphis. However, Memphis has almost vanished into thin air. With just a small museum and a couple of statues outside, it is hard to imagine that this place was a settlement at some point in time. There is one colossal statue of Ramses II and a huge Alabaster Sphinx, which are worth seeing

In between visits to Pyramids if you have time for some live entertainment, there are casinos, cinemas, discos, nightclubs, belly dancing, theatre and Sufi dancing. Most casinos are in cosy five-star hotels open only to foreigners. Our guide said that it is increasingly difficult to find belly dancers these days and most of them have stopped performing in nightclubs. The best belly dancers usually perform in Cairo's five-star hotel nightclubs. As for bars or pubs, most of them are again in five-star hotels. Remember Egypt is a very conservative country.

Cairo has a wide range of restaurants catering to every segment of the population. For a quick bite there are the cheap ta'amiyya (something like a stuffed paratha) stalls. There are plenty of fast food joints such as Pizza Hut, KFC etc. However, if you're in a mood for a relaxed fine dining experience visit the more expensive venues such as Bird Cage and La Tour d'or. There are several budget and mid range hotels such as Café Riche, After Eight and La Chesa. If you're a lover of Indian food like me, visit Kandahar, an exceptional Indian restaurant operated by the Oberoi group. Also, try out the traditional Egyptian cuisine, basically a mixture of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. Kefta, Kebab, Mulukhia, Tahina Salad, Falafel, Mixed Green Salad, Vine Leaves, Foul and Ta'meya and Kusheri are some of the most popular Egyptian dishes.

The people of Cairo are not very hospitable, but interacting with them you realise that they don't mean to be rude. They also love Indian people. One example was our tour co-ordinator, who said, "Europeans definitely give us good business but Indian people are very nice at heart." The oft-repeated word by almost every Egyptian I met was 'Amitabh Bachchan'.

Accommodation

Deluxe Hotels Nile Hilton Corniche El Nil Street, Tahrir Sq. tel: 5780444 website: www.hilton.com Semiramis Intercontinental Corniche el-Nil Street, Garden City tel: 7957171 website: www.cairo.intercontinental.com Sheraton Cairo Hotel Galaa Sq., Dokki tel: 3369700 Mid Range Hotels Siag Pyramid Hotel 59, Sakkara Road tel: 3856022 Carlton Hotel 21 Sharia 26th of July tel: 5752323 email: carlton@menanet.net Lotus Hotel 12, Sharia Talaat Harb tel: 5750966 website: www.lotushotel.com Windsor Hotel 19, Sharia Alfy, Downtown tel: 5915277 website: www.windsorcairo.com Budget Hotels Garden City House Hotel 23 Sharia Kamal ad-Din Salah Garden City tel: 7944969 website: www.gardencity.plus.com Lialy Hotel 8 Midan Talaat Harb, Downtown tel: 5752802 website: www.hostelworld.com