Taxi Ride in Alexandria, Egypt

It took some time to process this.

Taxis in Egypt are an amazing and often troubling experience.

In Cairo, for instance, we wouldn't close the door of the taxi until the driver turned the meter on. If they didn't have a meter, if it didn't work or they would not turn it on, we would open the door, while moving, until they stopped the taxi.

The worse thing is coming into an airport and needing a taxi. There will be a posted rate for the taxi from the airport to downtown, but nobody paid attention to it. (It was probably set five years ago and never updated.)

Even worse is arriving in a city later at night and needing a taxi.

This happened in Alexandria. We arrived around midnight.

Tara and I were prepared. I had checked on the internet and it seemed that 75 to 100 Egyptian pounds was in the range of a decent rate.

Before leaving the safety of the airport, I said to Tara: "Show time."

We got immediately hit by a guy in the airport and not the taxi area that wanted to drive us down for 400 pounds. No way. Moved past him, stepped outside and there are probably 50 taxi drivers trying to get the few people who need a taxis.

Being the male, they came after me. I am offering 100 and there are no takers. They want 400. Eventually, I get a guy down to 250.

In the meantime, Tara moved on through the crowd and found a guy with a "yellow" cab. We read that these were the "official" cabs. She gets the guy to agree to 100 pounds.

She comes to get me and tells me that the guy has agree to 100 pounds. Upon hearing this all of the other taxi drivers go crazy. They basically are trying to prevent him from doing it for 100. My first thought is they are price fixing and he is breaking the cartel.

It should be noted that his taxi was in pretty bad shape. We start thinking that this guy needs the money and they should leave him alone. Basically, we are getting defensive for the guy. So we double down that he can take us.

At this point there seems to be some pow-wow where a group appeals to a higher body/group/individual.

The guy who offered 250 is willing to go to 200, but cannot go lower.

Also, another taxi driver comes up to us in a plaintive voice warning us that we should not go with that taxi driver. We sense the message, but don't completely receive it in the moment.

After some action to get doors open and closed, we take off with the 100 pound taxi driver. Bags are in our laps. It is small. Dinky is more appropriate.

We go about 100 yards and he pulls over and says he agreed to 200, at which we pretty much explode. One of the things about negotiating prices for taxis is once a price is agreed to, then there is a solemn pact to perform at that price. First time we have seen someone so blatantly violate this rule.

We should note that by this time in our trip in Egypt, we had developed an approach where we negotiate a price hard and then give a generous tip. If you don't, then when you give a normal tip, you end up either having to negotiate the tip or end up with the driver being irritated that we didn't tip him properly. The negotiate hard creates an expectation that he isn't making much and the generous tip changes the dynamic where he feels he came out well.

Anyway, we tell this cab driver to pull over and we start opening the door. At that point, we agree to 120.

Off we go again. We now realize with clarity that we are riding in a death trap. We understand the warning from the other taxi driver that we should not go with him. We recognize in his expression that he was feeling guilty that he is somewhat responsible for out impending deaths by letting us go in that cab.

We go about another kilometer and we come upon a booth where the taxi driver pays some type of airport usage fee. He tries to get us to pay. No way.

Off we go again.

At this point, it is important to note that in Egypt there are two ways to control traffic, neither of which involves having customary police speed traps. One is the speed bump and the other is what I will call a speed cut or ditch. This is where they cut about 10 inches into the road so that there is a 3 inch deep ditch in the road. Also, these bumps and ditches go across the whole road, otherwise, the drivers go into the oncoming lanes to avoid the bumps and ditches.

What you see is drivers, and especially taxi drivers, driving all across the road to go over the bump/ditch at the least intrusive spot, including the shoulder. They speed up, then they brake, swerving across the road avoiding other cars and trucks. The bigger the vehicle, the slower they are in going over the bumps and ditches.

The road we are on is this beautiful new highway from the airport to Alexandria, except that it has all these ditches cut into the concrete. Whenever he can, it is the pedal to the floor. Then it is swerving and braking to find the best spot to go over the ditch. Lots of traffic involved in this dance.

At one point, he reaches back across Tara's lap to close her door. He does the same at some point for the passenger side door.

We continue along. It takes a good 45 minutes to get to Alexandria.

We have no idea how fast he was going. Tara noted the speedometer was stuck at zero. I have learned that when going 40 miles per hour on a bike it seems like you are going extremely fast. With this taxi, we might have been going only 35 miles per hour, given the sorry state the taxi was in, but it felt like 80 miles per hour.

Just when we think it cannot get any worse, it starts to rain lightly. At this point my initial thought is how bald his tires must be. This coincides with these highway ramps going into the air. Needless to say, there are no ditches on the ramps slowing his speed.

After an eternity, we start coming into Alexandria. He tries on two occasions to take us to another hotel, but we note that we have already paid for our hotel, which seems to satisfy him.

We finally arrive at the hotel and in the middle of the street, he demands 200 pounds again. At this point the argument has gone into the hotel. It is about 1 am. He is demanding 200 pounds and says that is what was agreed to.

I note that you told my wife 100 and before all of the other taxi drivers he acknowledge the 100 and that we agree in the taxi to give him 20 more.

It is getting really heated. At one point I accuse him of calling my wife a liar.

The hotel owner at this point is saying go ahead and pay him 50 more. Noting he is a poor man. He also notes that he pays 400 when he goes to the airport. Not helpful.

At this point, we are still livid.

I finally agree to the owner that for him I will pay the taxi driver 50 more. At which point, I told the taxi driver to get the F$%#@ out of there. This caused things to flare up a bit, but the phrasing was not F%$#$ You, which would probably have been fighting words.

After the taxi driver left, I said to the hotel people: "Anna Amreekee, lehrkin, anna Younani." Which means, I am American, but I am Greek. We all laughed.

Here was a taxi driver that drove us around Giza and down to Saqqara and back. Whole day. We had him join us at the sights, which he had never seen. 

Thought on Malta

Although we posted some photos on Instagram and Facebook, didn't really say much about Malta.  Check it the Facebook posts, if you have access. 

After Egypt, it was a very easy place to visit.  Given that it was under English control for so many years, things were rather efficient and in decent shape.  A fellow partner who had spent a large chunk of his sabbatical on Malta had noted that he felt a certain 1st world veneer over a 3rd world base.  Coming from Egypt, we didn't really get that sense.  

What was so amazing about Malta is the depth of history.  The Neolithic temples were extensive and of incredible creative, complex and unique. Clearly a financially stable and rich society dating a good 1000 years before the first pyramids.  At some point it seemed to terminate and became repopulated again.

Malta's history of the Knights of Saint John, who came to Malta after withdrawing from Rhodes, is also a rich vein of history to explore.  The main cathedral is quite amazing.  It is not as huge as some we have seen, but the resources put into the facility is amazing.  The Knights had groups from the Crusades from the various places in Europe and each group, such as those from Provence, were given an area of the cathedral to decorate.  The Knights were basically pirates with respect to the Ottomans and other Muslim groups and amazed amazing wealth.  One is always amazed with what can be created when a bunch of men with extreme wealth start competing with each other.  Similar thing occurred with rich men during the Renaissance with gardens in Italy.  Tivoli Garden was one of such gardens.

In addition, there is the history of World War II and the role that Malta played.  It was bombed more heavily that any other place.  Nice nautical museum, as well.

Food on Malta was hard to find.  (Good food that is.). Seems a bit of the English influence.  The Italian influence was from Sicily and Southern Italy, so there is lots of heavy tomato sauces in everything.

Our last dinner in Malta was at a wonderful restaurant.  Too bad we didn't find it earlier.  I had an amazing rabbit in the style of Malta.  I was sucking the bones (learned from my Dad and sister).  The waiter commented:  "Finally a tourist that eats like a Maltan."

We ended up renting a car for two days in Malta to hit the sites outside of the main city.  Was a great way to see the islands.  Surprisingly small.  Was a kick getting used to a stick shift while driving on the left side of the road (English influence).

Being in Malta during Carnival was a kick.  Amazing how everyone was out night after night.  Lots of parades, floats, kids dressed up.  A real bonus.

Overall, a great rest and transition to Morocco.

Outdoor Art Lisbon

Love these. The Fox is on a burned out building.  Same artist?

Test

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157436953549658&set=a.10154175417244658&type=3&sfns=

Levadas in Madeira

Yesterday we went on an all day hike along a Levada in the rural area of Madeira. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levada

"The idea of this style of water channel was brought to Portugal by the Moors during the time of al-Andalus."

We saw similar irrigation systems and hiked them in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  In addition to the irrigation systems in the Nile Valley, I look forward to seeing Pont du Gard in Southern France. That is the Roman Aqueduct over the Gard River. 

These Levadas in Madeira are incredibly extensive.  They have 1350 miles of them. 

Being Shocked in Milan

Traveling in Muslim countries, one gets used to certain conventions with respect to behavior.

When we left Egypt we flew to Milan for about 36 hours before heading to Malta.

We stopped upon arrival in Milan at the airport for coffee.   While standing in line, an Italian man grabbed the breast of the woman he was with, as a joke I assume.

I should note that the couple were not your normal couple.  Lots of gold, designer sportswear, fascinating cropping of hair, but still, I found it so totally disrespectful, unacceptable and rather repulsive.  

Random photo for this blog to follow (cell phone cover):

Visiting a Palmeraie

After visiting the Sahara in Southern Morocco, we headed north toward Fes.  On the way up, we stayed in the Ziz Valley.

The Ziz river basically flows south and disappears and reappears.  When it reappears (water table is above ground) it is basically an oasis, and you find palmeraie (palm groves).  The palmeraie is more than just a palm grove, it is also a whole way of life around this precious water and making the most of the fertile land associated with it.

We had driving by many palmeraie on the way down to the Sahara, but had not actually gone into one in a meaningful way.

The stop at the palmeraie in the Ziz Gorge allowed such a walk through a palmeraie without any tourists or invasion of the outside world.

The palms basically provide dates, wood and fiber material for roofs, etc. They also provide a higher canopy for shade for crops that grow under them.  We saw both fava beans and alfalfa, both of which fix nitrogen.  The alfalfa is used mainly for feed for animals.  Lots of fruit trees, such as apricot and apple trees.  Lots of other vegetables, as well.

The walk also included an area where many of the buildings were slowly melting back into the soil.

We stayed in a Berber guest house. We have been amazed at how comfortable all of the beds have been in Morocco.  They seem to have that down.

Wonderful stop on the way to Fes.

Moslem Sites in Cairo

One thing that I didn't get to blog about while in Cairo was the beautiful mosques we saw in Cairo.

We had seen some mosques, including the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul, but they didn't really do much for me.

In Cairo, on our first complete day in Cairo, we started our day at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.  It dates back to 879 A.D.  It has a certain elegance and simplicity to it, which is often the result of spending less and focusing more on quality.  Beautiful place.  It is on one end of medieval Cairo, so we proceeded to walk all the way through medieval Cairo.  We were walking on basically a continuous market street, with us ending up in the main market area.  In the walk you could see the changes in the wealth of the community.  We started in a very poor area.  We were clearly strangers.  The community was active and people clearly were enjoying life.

The street had people, donkeys, bikes, three wheel scooters, motorcycles, cars, etc.  Vehicles communicated by honking horns.

Amazing vibrancy.

Eventually, we were overlapping with areas in which tourists frequented, which substantially changed the nature of the products being sold and the interaction with the vendors.  Rather than being left alone, we were hassled quite a bit.  Still these areas were areas that were predominantly serving the local community with some minor sales to tourists.

We came back into the area the following day and continued our walk North all the way to our hotel.  The market activity continued all the way to our hotel in a more middle class area.  Amazing the amount of commerce occurring on the street.

We are now in the Medina in Fes, Morocco.  It too is a vibrant market area.  Clearly the people live here.  What is being sold is mostly for the locals.  The quality of goods seem to be much better in Fes, as well.

New Music

The guy driving us around the Sahara was playing this. An Algerian band. Sweet. 

George Mardikes

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
1300 SW Fifth Ave., Suite 2400

Portland, OR 97201
Tel: (503) 778-5323

Fax: (503) 276-5830

Mobile: (503) 887-3514 
Email: georgemardikes@dwt.com

Shower Floor and the Hammam

The floor of our shower at the Kasbah du Toubkal. The writing is in Berber, which you read left to right, unlike Arabic. Our hiking guide said their alphabet is more like Greek. The writing says "Slippery when wet" and "Don't leave water running while soaping." :)

Goats

Favorite goat clip from today's hike.  I sometimes get that way in a feeding frenzy. 

Goats a big with the Berbers, but only meat and milk. Not for cheese. Not enough green vegetation for making good cheese. Northern Morocco produces the goat cheese. 

Hiking Today

Hiking in the High Atlas Mountains. These four shots were from the same place. Just turned around to take each. Loved the irrigation system covering the communities. 

This reminded me a lot of the family villages in Greece. 

Miscellaneous

Thanks to Bob Newell's suggestion to get a Bluetooth keyboard. 

Nothing like having to find something to get some interaction with locals. 

See attached panorama of one of the shops we were waiting in while someone ran around the area trying to locate a keyboard. 

We are now in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. We are here for three nights. Some rest and relaxation, as well as hiking in the mountains. 

The place is quite amazing.  https://kasbahtoubkal.com/m/en/

Health back to normal. 

Marrakesh compared to Egypt in the words of Tara "is like Lake Oswego."

We are just amazed at how well Egyptians were able to seamlessly integrate pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, three wheel motorized carts, horse carriages, taxis, cars, white minivan busses, tour busses, etc.  Incredible efficiency.  Moroccans are not nearly as good.  Not sure why.  Maybe the density of Egypt just requires it. 

Egypt - Aswan Area

These photos were taken around Aswan. We enjoyed the slower pace after Cairo.  It is more of a Nubian community given the displacement due to the Aswan High Dam. 

The people are more laid back and things are more relaxed. 

We really enjoyed the Nubian bread and the whole wheat (and probably rye) pita bread. It is amazing how much pita bread is made continually throughout the day in every Egyptian settlement. We also had incredible felafel. They use favas instead of chickpeas. Makes them incredibly light.

While in Aswan we arranged to visit Abu Simbel.  It is close to the border with the Sudan.  To go, we left our Nubian guest house at about 4:00 am, met up with someone who took us across the ferry (we were on Elephantine Island), while picking up more people, then we waited at the Corniche (the main road that runs along the Nile in Aswan).  Of the people waiting, we were all assigned to different minivans, which then went off and picks up people at other places in Aswan. Then the caravan headed off for the three hour drive.

Once we got there we had about an hour to view the site.  This is the site with the four huge statues of Rameses II sitting next to each other.  Basically, it was to let anyone coming down the Nile to beware the power and might of Rameses II.  The old, I will smite you threat.

The best artists were not used here since size was what mattered.  Nobody buried here.  Not that great compared to other things we saw.  Even so, the mass migration down and back was fun to watch.  It was a drive in the desert, which we had not experienced.  And we arrived before the large tour groups, so we got to see it early with decent light and no crowds.

Abu Simbel was the site that was moved when the High Aswan Dam was built. They did an amazing job of moving it and recreating the setting.  They had articles in Life Magazine back when I was growing up showing it.

We did enjoy the Philea Temple outside of Aswan.  It was another site that was moved do to the flooding.  Another nice job of moving.  This had some nice art, as well.  I believe the Ptolmies and Romans were responsible for it.

Thoughts on Egypt

We are now sitting in Milan. 24 hours ago we were sitting in a Kushari (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushari)place in Cairo, having our last meal in Egypt. More on that below. Returning to Cairo for the last evening was a great experience. Compared to our arrival, were were quite functional, at ease and really enjoyed walking the streets with the local Cairenes. 

The city is huge and intense.  Once senses that the continued struggle with entropy is slowly being lost.  But the struggle continues. 

Absent the first 24 hours in Egypt, I don't think I have ever been in a country where I have felt safer. We walked hours everywhere, in incredibly poor areas, and in the dark of night, and we always felt the sense that we were safe. People in Egypt had noted that this was the case, and we tested it. 

The people have a sense of humor and it was nice to engage it. 

I regret not to have posted more, but there have been a couple factors limiting posts. First, there has been a lot to digest and one does not want to be too quick to judge or to make pronouncements. Understanding sometimes takes time. Second, all the walking in the polluted Cairo air burned my lungs causing a cold and I had a bout of intestinal issues. Such ill health zaps energy, so the blog was the first to suffer. The low energy can lead to negative thoughts, which are more a function of poor health. Finally, I miss having a keyboard. It is a pain to write with just one finger.  

So back to the Kushari restaurant. We are sitting there eating and an elderly Italian couple are seated across from us. They were quite fashionable and we chatted a bit with them. Kushari has a mix of pasta, lentils and rice, garnished with chickpeas and fried onions. It is served with a tomato sauce, lemon juice, cumin, hot pepper and garlic vinegar. It is really amazing stuff. We had it three times, including our last night in Cairo. Quite healthy, as well. 

So we are eating away chatting with the Italian lady. She is a bit aghast that she is having pasta in Egypt. She is quite certain the cannot do pasta. The man is rather professorial and is going with the flow. 

It finally arrived and we help explain how to assemble it all. Tara notes the hot chili as a warning. 

The man begins first eating and is really enjoying it.  Then the women joins in and by the time we left them they were both really enjoying it. 

We need to open a Kushari shop in Portland. 

So the next day we are having lunch with the Milanese in Milan. How fitting. 

Today we are off to Malta for 5 days. 

Photo of Cairo train station. 

I Am a Source of Revenue

Given the dependence on tourism in Egypt and the fact that it is still low from it's historical highs of say ten years ago, any tourist is a potential source of revenue. 

An American tourist is even a greater potential source.  Partly this is because Americans basically want people to like them, so you hate to disappoint.  We also tend to have money.  We also don't travel in foreign countries as much as Europeans and Australians. 

Some coping factors that I have developed while here. 

My best so far is when they ask if I am American I always say:  "Ana younani."  Then I ask if they speak Greek in Greek. It terminates the whole spiel they use on Americans, which is tiresome, and makes English a common language to communicate. Used it on these kids and they proceeded to sing  Guantanamera followed by Freres Jacque.  Tara tells vendors she is from Canada. They have a reputation for not buying anything. 

When little kids come and start begging with a forlorn look and hand outstretched, usually asking for a dollar, I just mimic their expression and mannerisms and beg back.  It just cracks them up.  Pretty cute. 

The guards at archaeological sites often are the worst, but you can play it to your advantage.  They often have keys to things locked up, can remove gates in the way or grant special privileges to take photos.  But beware, once you give them some money, they will keep pestering you to show you more and ask for more. A blessing at a great site, a curse, if you want privacy or the site isn't that great.  Along that same vein, at mosques you can often climb the minaret or see a special tomb for a little baksheesh. 

Then there are the other coping techniques, such as don't linger, look straight ahead, never look at their goods, etc. 

Now for some snakes. 

Last Night in Cairo

For our last night in Cairo we signed up for a cooking class and dinner with a family in Cairo. Having hosted home stays in Portland, it seemed a nice way to have a experience in Cairo with people living there.

It was a fun experience. We learned about tools for hollowing out eggplant and zucchini, saw the varied spicing of foods, including a lot of dried ginger being used. Our hostess had a set of twin daughters about 6 years old who spoke English quite well, as well as a set of twin sons that were 4 months old. The husband was away leading a 10 day tour. We had a wonderful translator, although our host spoke English quite well.

Was a nice opportunity to interact. The daughters were quite excited and fun to play with.

Last Day in Cairo

We stayed in Giza the night before our last day in Cairo so that we hit the Great Pyramids early in the morning. Our hotel was over by the Sound and Light show entrance, which was great.  None of the tour groups arrive there, so we entered with no crowds and a great view of the Sphinx. 

I did the entry into the center of the Cheops Pyramid. One of those things I just had to do. 

Something we found quite fascinating was the solar boat museum. Full sized boats were packed in carved out granite chambers on each side of the Great Pyramid for sailing through the heavens in the after life. The boat was packed in 13 layers to be assembled when needed. 143 feet long. The museum contained one of the original boats fully assembled. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu_ship

Otherwise, the main things here are the big Pyramids.  

One story has it that a sultan wanted to destroy these pyramids. After working on one of them for eight months, they had a pile of rocks, but the pyramid didn't look any different, so the idea was abandoned. 

One of the guards took me over to the corner of the Great Pyramid and proceeded to tell me to climb it. This is contrary to the signs "Do not climb pyramids" everywhere. He felt he was providing something of value. I refused. He had a machine gun. He wanted a tip even though I refused to climb. Never fun to barter with someone with a machine gun. 

Other places the guards have keys to rooms not otherwise open to the public.  And for a small donation, one can often climb a minaret at a mosque.