Concluding Cairo: Time To Move On
Having visited parts of North Africa and the Middle East before, we know how common it is to see people spend a whole evening at an outdoor cafe table and only buy one mint tea all night, but here in Cairo there is another custom which has taken us by surprise: bringing your own food. Friends or families will occupy a cafe table all evening, order minimal coffee, tea or even just water, while tucking in to a bagful of food they’ve brought in from the bakers or from a takeaway, or even had delivered by courier to their table. How do these coffee houses make any money!?
And as another quirk on the food front, there is Fasahet Somaya. Tucked around a nondescript downtown corner, this is a proper family restaurant where there is no menu, mama just cooks two or three dishes from whatever ingredients she’s bought today – and that’s what you get. We visited twice, and on both occasions the food was simply delicious home cooking.
Cairo has one of only two metro systems on the whole African continent (the other, surprisingly, is in Algiers) and it is a good way of swapping one kind of chaotic madness for another, so popular and well used is the network. Every train on the system has two “women only” coaches in the middle, with corresponding areas on the platforms, a result of too many incidents rather than of enlightened thinking, apparently.
Taking the metro out of the centre to Old Cairo, we enter a traffic-free non-Muslim zone which is obviously therefore very different from most of the city for those two reasons alone. It’s popular with tourists too – it’s very noticeable that most of the visitors that we see at the big sights are nowhere to be seen downtown, where we’ve barely seen any at all.
Old Cairo is also known as Coptic Cairo, a tiny enclave of Christianity in this heavily Muslim city and built on what is thought to be the site of Babylon (no, not THAT Babylon, but a significant one nonetheless). Beneath the Church Of St George lies a chamber known as the “cave church”, believed to be the room in which, according to interpretations of the gospels of Matthew, the holy family hid as they escaped Herod during the Flight To Egypt.
Other churches, and a Greek Orthodox cemetery, surround St George’s and the Coptic Museum, as a steady stream of tourists either pay their respects and pray, or otherwise take a cursory look, buy an ice cream and get back on the bus. Despite visitor numbers, it is undoubtedly one of Cairo’s more peaceful corners. We don’t buy an ice cream, by the way – although to be fair we don’t say a prayer either.
We referred previously to parts of Cairo around the bazaar as looking like newsreel images of a bombed out city; in fact we thought that, if not war, then probably earthquake. Neither thoughts were correct. It seems that during the revolution starting in 2011 which ultimately overthrew President Mubarak almost two years later, the inevitable period of lawlessness saw, amongst other things, many residents build illegal dwellings. Once order was restored, the authorities simply took a proverbial sledgehammer to those buildings and made them uninhabitable despite them being home to hundreds of families. All that remains now is rubble and a vague plan to construct an apartment block or two.
When you’re getting close to ending your time in a place, you tend to go back to experience something for a second time, and here for us in Cairo, it’s another bowl of koshary at Abu Tarek. And it’s just as good second time around: great koshary and great fun, the whole place rammed again with everyone eating the one single meal on the menu.
So we end our time in Cairo with what is probably the most peaceful experience this hectic city has to offer, a felucca ride on the Nile. On a sailing boat with a tall mast in a city full of low slung road bridges, you don’t actually travel very far, but bobbing around on the gentle waters in the sunshine for an hour with the sounds of the city fading into the background feels like the perfect final act in our time here.
It’s fair to say that Cairo is not the easiest city we’ve been to, it is a relentless pounding of the senses from which it’s not always easy to find refuge, and, with a limited number of worthwhile sights for such a huge and ancient city, we have probably stayed a day too long. We haven’t disliked it any way at all, but it is definitely now time to move on.
Ribbons, garlands and bunting are appearing in the city streets as a sacred month approaches. The next few days will see the start of Ramadan, and it strikes us as perhaps a little odd that cafes should put out bunting to herald the fact that virtually nobody is going to buy any food or drink all day for a whole month. It will be so interesting to measure the effects of Ramadan on our journey through Egypt and into Tunisia, and see first hand how it changes daily life for the people here. And just as interesting to see how the character of the Nile changes as we move southwards.
Our next stop is Luxor.
17 Comments
Heyjude
It has been an interesting visit to Cairo with you guys, as it is definitely not going to be a place I go to in reality. In fact noisy cities and poverty are two things I try and avoid these days. I hope the rest of the trip works out well, I must admit that I was never felt comfortable travelling in north Africa, though that was a long time ago. I doubt I’d attract as much attention now.
Phil & Michaela
We know what you mean – Michaela’s blonde hair is still a target for attention!
WanderingCanadians
I would love to visit Cairo someday, but the constant hustle and bustle of the city would definitely stress me out. Safe travels to Luxor.
Gilda Baxter
I enjoyed seeing Cairo through your eyes, although I do hope to visit one day. How many days would you recommend?
We have done a Nile Cruise from Luxor and absolutely loved it. Are you doing a cruise?
Phil & Michaela
You don’t need more than 5 days in Cairo and 4 may well be enough. No we not doing a cruise, just boat trips in each city. We’re planning to do the next moves by train.
wetanddustyroads
Look at that bakery! Hmm, it looks like quite a busy city (and we only experienced the outskirts of Cairo) … I think the Nile is probably the best place to be! Looking forward to Luxor (another city that was on our agenda … but unfortunately … well, you know the story) …
Phil & Michaela
Luxor….first impressions are good, we arrived yesterday
wetanddustyroads
Great, can’t wait for your stories and pictures!
Toonsarah
I’ve loved reading your impressions of Cairo. I’ve always thought we spent too little time there but now I’m not so sure, although we didn’t get to visit the church (long story!) I’ll be interested to read about your time in Luxor, which I enjoyed more. I assume you’ll get to Karnak, which made a huge impression on me, even more than the Valley of the Kings.
Phil & Michaela
We’ve been to Karnak today Sarah…amazing place!
Monkey's Tale
Your boat trip sounds like a completely different trip than downtown Cairo. Funny about people brining their own food to a restaurant! Maggie
Latitude Adjustment, A tale of two travelers!
Interesting perspective on Caito. It’s not high on our list but still a place we will check out.
grandmisadventures
The architecture is absolutely stunning! I just love the buildings and those intricate patterns.
Phil & Michaela
And there’s so many!
Annie Berger
Such fun reading about your time in Cairo as we also loved the nonstop action, the quiet felucca ride on the Nile, Coptic Cairo, and the Quiltmakers Market. We’re not foodies like you both but I do remember very fondly the yummy bakeries that called my name! Looking forward to seeing more of Egypt through your eyes and stories.
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Annie, well despite the koshary, no one could describe Cairo as a foodie paradise, I reckon
rkrontheroad
How sad the government/military destroyed those homes. I’m fine with coffee and mint tea while traveling, if culture dictates, but bringing your own food to an outdoor cafe is another thing! In Japan, the major train lines around Tokyo have a women-only car. I’ve been goosed more than once while commuting–it’s so crowded you can’t tell who it’s coming from. Glad to see that respected in this setting.