After showering and preparing everything for our last day in Egypt, my roommate and I went down to the dining room to meet with the rest of the group and enjoy a great breakfast, the day before.
Upon entering the room, do not see anyone from the group, we think we are the first and later go down, so we are at breakfast. When we finished, we are surprised that nobody has dropped, we asked at reception if they know anything about our group, but do not understand us, we go out and everyday autobusero waiting, we asked and we do not understand. There is widespread nervousness, so we went and played in front of fellow travelers. Opens the door, thank goodness, we thought we had slept and had left without us.
The good part is that it served to wake up at all, so after waiting for all go down and eat breakfast, drive to the Alabaster Mosque, built in the Citadel of Saladin, the other side of town.
As there was much traffic, I had time to dwell on the vision of becoming the city daily. Surprised to see big avenues like English in Madrid full of cars, and in the middle of the jam, a car loaded to the brim straw markets near the motorway and half-built houses, hundreds of houses built with the ground floor and two or three plants in which only the bricks are placed, no more, no coating, no windows, no doors, as if the block was half-built flats.
The topic of traffic in Cairo is a mess, is 100% real. The advice we gave Pepe to cross a street was that either cogiésemos the subway, or eyes and cruzásemos cerrásemos without pensárnoslo, and the truth that although he was little that were loitering nearby or other areas of the city, the time of crossing was always a little adventure.
After more than a hour, got off the bus and entered the Alabaster Mosque. Another pharaonic construction, much more modern than all the temples visited so far, but another great masterpiece of architecture. A large mosque built in one of the highest in the city, the Citadel of Saladin, made of alabaster and looks very similar to the great Turkish mosques, a large central dome supported by four columns and other smaller domes around .
Inside, there are hundreds of oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. As the guide says as we sit on carpets covering the ground, these lamps create light inside that helps to prayer and reflection, although the number of tourists is quite complicated I see that is possible.
In one of the walls inside, is the white marble tomb of Mohammed Ali, the builder of this mosque.
From the side doors, access is a large courtyard in which is the fountain of ablutions (venue for the purification of body parts before some religious activities) and a clock gave Luis Felipe in 1846.
Through the latticework of the windows, there are incredible views of the city, but between pollution and the day dawned cloudy, you could not fully appreciate the immensity of the city.
Leaving the mosque, there is a viewpoint from which you understand very well why they call Cairo a city of 1000 minarets.
The next visit of the day, and last trip, is the huge street market of Khan el-Khalili (Khalili), a maze of streets with hundreds of stalls, bazaars and cafes.
This visit we make each one of our own, since all you do is walk among hundreds of stalls where you can find just about anything.
I notice that the subject of haggling in the bazaar is much more complicated over which I had on the trip. You will ask why, but the answer is simple. In towns or cities located in the southern region, the population is much poorer than in Cairo, the number of potential buyers is also much lower, although most positions are more than acceptable level of potential customers to be located in the vicinity of the tourist spots. Because of these factors, in the south of Egypt are more "needy" of tourists, have to wait for buses to take them up, so each person concerned is a potential customer who tried to grab as they can, with what are more flexible when it comes to haggling.
The Khalili, they simply sit and wait, customers spend in large numbers, and if you do not buy something, they know that soon another will come up and sting. Although it seems that there is much competition with so many put together, the prices are very similar, and do not know how far did not have "agreed" between them. Still, there are some who curran what is left over and lower the price more than others. The trick is to sound out various positions.
All this that I just told you already comprobareis yourselves, so I'll continue with another of my favorite experiences of my trip.
After touring the busiest street nearly a mile, we turned down another street parallel. It seemed another world, this road passed almost no people, we came across a group of children returning from school alone and that their homes would have no more than 6 years (just in Spain). We waved and held a very short conversation in English with us. We were pleasantly surprised.
I leave the map of the route we did so much for the more touristy Khalili as the most authentic street:
View larger map
We walked down this street, where we saw real stores , hers, which bought their food, their salons, bars, etc., nothing to do with the artificial world that there were two streets away. We looked surprised, not to be very common to see tourists in the streets, and although the setting could infuse fear or insecurity, walking talking quietly, more even than some neighborhoods of Madrid at certain hours of the night. To rejoin the main street of the bazaar, we had to cross several lanes in which virtually no light and came with a thousand and one turns, the truth is imposing, but when we returned to the hustle, we miss the peace and the reality just left behind.
After completing purchases and reconvene the group boarded the bus bound for another restaurant that the guide recommends.
When we arrived, more than half the group takes the option of returning to the hotel by bus, others stayed to eat in the restaurant, the truth was very well situated on the banks of the Nile The problem came when ordering food, almost anything that we liked was in the letter. At that moment I remembered seeing a Pizza Hut in front of the pyramids the day before. I suggested we go to eat there the three fellow travelers with whom I shared almost all the experiences I have had over these posts, so the four decided to go on our own over there.
mentioned it to Peter and then get some stick, we left, so suddenly we find out the restaurant, not knowing where we are and with a street 3 lanes each way forward. When we are clear about where they need to be the Pyramids, crossed the street to the danger that this entails in a city like Cairo.
stopped the first taxi that ignores our instructions, but we have the misfortune of finding a taxi driver who has no idea of \u200b\u200bEnglish or English. When we are about to give up and wait for another taxi, you pass a child who tells us if we can help. Again we were surprised with the level of English of the teenager, who was not more than 10 years, and that makes us an interpreter with the driver. We ended up negotiating the fare in the crap accumulated on the glass of the taxi, 30 pounds (about 4 €).
We left our little shell and let ourselves be carried away by taxi to the pyramids. When we take a while, you begin to see the Pyramids, sighs of relief, going in the right direction, but not for long. Suddenly the driver stops and makes us understand that we have come. I teach the entrance to the site of the pyramids and tell sign that it is there where we want to go. His response is to point the finger at a hotel called Pyramids. There is widespread nervousness, to see how we understand the driver is not there, that must lead us to the pyramids of truth. Again, I point out the entrance of the pyramid and look out the window, luckily see the tip of one of the pyramids, so I tell him that gesture I guided to our destination.
After these times of uncertainty, starts up and begin to carry the GPS through the streets of Cairo, the pyramids are becoming closer and we end up crossing a very dodgy neighborhood that there is near the pyramids. The driver insurance us down and up the windows, the people you see on the street does not seem friendly, the police look the other way. At a traffic light approach us saying a guy down the window, I say no to the finger and the driver starts. When we left the neighborhood, the driver gives us his hand and gives us the way thanks. As we have seen come out unscathed from a conflict zone. After 5 minutes, we reached the door of the pyramids, and Pizza Hut, right in front.
Everything that came after were great moments, one after another. First, eating a pizza after being stirred with the gut and avoiding many of the sauces and meals (especially on the boat), it tasted like heaven. But if that's what the boards will be eating with the three pyramids and the sphinx in front when night falls, and is far post. Here you have several pictures to prove it:
When we are almost ready to leave, the waiter tells us that for 1 € more each tip, we can stay to watch the spectacle of light and sound from the roof of the restaurant.
If you have the opportunity and free time, I recommend it. Never mind that the audio is in another language, what is interesting is the play of light and music. If you go to this Pizza Hut, you will be thrown out, I think the input is about 50 or 70 pounds and going to see about the same, indeed, but I liked it and is very inexpensive to change, I do not think it worthwhile pay almost 10 € for this show.
These are some of the photos show, taken from the Pizza Hut. As you can see, it looks pretty good the whole.
Once the sound and light show of the pyramids it was quite dark, there was hardly anyone on the street and we thought we were having trouble finding a taxi to take us back to the hotel.
Do not wait even 5 minutes when a taxi, it stopped and the owner is very English gibberish. After agreeing the price of the trip, another 30 pounds, we got and we indicate our destination.
While driving, we see that the car's odometer does not move, I wonder if it has crashed and says that she has so many years, he has turned the odometer once, but had been damaged. Still, it marked more than 800,000 km The taxi was an ancient seat, we say that English is a trademark and begins to tell us it is very good car, it has for over 15 years and has not given problems. Another
stories this journey by taxi, is that the driver was telling us things about his family, his zillions of children, for candy or asking us what we had. We gave all our surplus of the trip, several pens and a lighter, but could not wait until we arrived, as he drove, he turned and let go of the wheel so we were throwing it in both hands all the candy and other things a nice guy but quite kamikaze.
Once at the hotel and after leaving the last shopping day in the room, we went for a walk and a small shop, I order a sugar cane juice. Anywhere else in the world do not think even I would have raised reused to accept the glass that "scrubbed" before me in a stagnant black water that was in the sink and did not do much, because the cup in which I poured the juice was still really nasty. The sacrifice paid off toilet, the juice was delicious, and it cost me the equivalent of about 10 cents.
Moreover, the manner in which it developed, putting a huge trunk of sugarcane on a machine that should be over 60 years, was also a curious thing to see.
The last hours of the trip, we had almost everyone in the group in a hotel room until the wee hours of the morning. Once back the room to rest, I saw that there was only a couple of hours to get up and leave for the airport, so I decided to stay calmly sitting on the huge terrace of the room while the sun the last day of my stay in Egypt was hovering between rooftops of the city of Cairo.
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