The Pyramids of Giza seen in the distance from Cairo Tower
It isn't a fair comparison. The population of Cairo is 22 million, compared to Addis Ababa's 4.5 million souls, while Egypt's 2019 nominal per capita GDP of $3047 is almost double that of Ethiopia's $1066 (and in terms of purchasing power parity, it's $14,023 vs. $2701). The point I'm trying to make is that these are two very different cities, and for us, being in Cairo was almost like being back in the developed world, with its intact sidewalks, fashionable clothing boutiques and Western franchise outposts, at least in those few areas that we visited. Of course, there's the city's notorious traffic chaos, which has to be experienced to be believed (look on YouTube), as well as the country's political troubles since the 2011 Tahrir Square protests. But it's all part of the travel experience in one of the world's most ancient and amazing destinations.
For my family and I, however, getting to Egypt was a bit of an ordeal, thanks to the 0415 hours Friday departure time for our EgyptAir flight out of Bole International Airport. There was only one restaurant open near our gate at that time in the morning, and only beer or sodas to choose from (no food). My choice didn't help in keeping me awake:
The flight took around 3½ hours, and landed without incident. Prior to departure, I took a liking to the Egyptian-themed safety demonstration videos:
It was still too early to check in, so we left our bags with the front desk and had breakfast at a Dunkin Donuts (!) around the corner, which both satisfied our hunger and enabled us to break some larger Egyptian pound notes into smaller denominations, necessary for baksheesh, the numerous tips provided for everyday services in Egypt.
Following breakfast, we took an Uber to the Cairo Marriott Hotel to meet our friend Doering, who took us on our first sightseeing jaunt, to the nearby Cairo Tower. The cat sunning itself below was just one of the many felines we encountered on the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor:
We were fortunate as the weather cooperated to provide us with clear 360° views of the city from the 187-meter (614 feet) structure:
Doering poses with our daughter:
In the distance stands the Citadel, dating back to 1176 and for which we unfortunately didn't have time to visit:
The pink building in the foreground is the Egyptian Museum, which we did make the time to see later on in our journey:
And, of course, the Nile, the longest river in Africa and the lifeline of the country:
A glimpse of things to come. According to Doering, we were fortunate to be able to see the Giza Pyramids in the distance:
After Cairo Tower, we took a stroll through the neighborhood, passing by the Friday afternoon prayers in progress:
Our first lunch in Cairo was at the Zamalek branch of a Lebanese restaurant called Taboula:
Eventually, we bade farewell to our friend and took an Uber back to the Safir to check into our rooms. The view from our balcony as the sun as the afternoon drew to a close:
In case we needed a reminder that we were in a country where 85-90% of the population identify as Muslims (primarily Sunni):
And if we needed additional reminders, the Asian restaurant on the ground floor of the Safir where we had dinner on that first Friday did not have alcohol on its menu:
Fortunately, though, Egypt isn't a dry country, and hotel staff were able to direct us to a nearby shop where my wife and I purchased the first of what would be many Egyptian beers during our stay in the country. For the record, Shu-E prefers Stella, while Sakara is my lager of choice.
And so a long day came to a satisfying end, having arrived and getting settled in without incident, and then being able to catch up with a friend. The sightseeing would begin in earnest on Saturday, starting naturally with the pyramids:
To be continued...
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