By Sorrel Moseley-Williams
Herald staff

“What the hell are you doing, you idiot?” threatened the handsome young man who had screeched to a halt in the middle of a motorway, light brown eyes flashing like lightning, to start an argument with the mini bus driver. Well, not understanding Arabic, I imagine that’s what he was indicating…

Having observed the traffic jams in downtown Cairo from on high when the plane was coming in to land, what sounded like an extremely heated conversation ensued between the two and was in fact a baptism of fire into the Egyptian psyche: they’re passionate people, whether it’s singing and dancing along to a belly dancer over dinner, haggling for a deal in the market or demonstrating who’s got right of way on the roads (although I still have no idea who should have been shouting the loudest in that discussion.) Although Buenos Aires’ drivers are notorious for their crazy behaviour on the roads, the Egyptians take the baklava for beeping, honking and death-defying weaving. On Saturday, that first morning provided a reality check of what I was up against when, in a fit of impatience, a large black Mercedes decided to drive the wrong way around a roundabout, almost taking out two bikes, three pedestrians and a traffic cop.

But don’t panic. Where there’s mayhem on the motorway there is also a driver taking it in his stride, used to five lanes of traffic squeezing into three. And although it’s hard to get a feel for the real Cairo when taking organised tours from a bus seat, the heritage is so rich it is bordering on an overdose, there is so much to get under your skin. From the last standing wonders of the ancient world to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities stuffed with mummies and artefacts and Al-Mu’izz Li Din Illah, one of the world’s oldest streets to excursions north to Alexandria and south to Luxor, Egypt remains high on many travellers’ tick-box list and received more than 12 million visitors in 2009, according to Samy Mahmoud from the Egyptian Tourist Authority, who spoke to the Herald on Monday.

Tourism represents around some 13 percent of the country’s GDP at US$11 billion, but the rich culture is not the only reason tourists come here: last year more than two million Russians visited although they made a beeline for the beach resort Sharm El Sheikh. Argentine numbers are modest by contrast at around 10,000 a year because there currently aren’t any direct flights to Cairo, although Argentines go for classic excursions, eager to lap up the culture.
 
ROUND TWO. And so the second baptism of fire is wandering the crowded, hectic lanes in the Khan el Khalli bazaar. Bargain hunters need to test their mettle and take on this assault course of tiny shop after shop and shouldn’t feel bad about starting to haggle from a very low price – the pushy salesmen revel in it, pulling faces of comic outrage and dismay when you go in at five Egyptian pounds but once your hands slap and the booty is in the bag, everyone walks away happy.

Walking deeper in to Khalli, the European faces with cameras slung about their necks reduce in number and the market becomes a lot more local with underwear, bedspreads and spices for sale, a thick cinnamon and clove scent battling against the apple tobacco in the dense air while skinny cats sit upright next to shop keepers smoking from a shisha tobacco pipe. From keffiyeh (the Arab head scarf) made out of thick Egyptian cotton to lucky scarab beetles, dried fruit and belly dancing garb and camels stuffed with goodness knows what, I picked up a pack of 10 bookmarks for E£5 (AR$3.50) and hand-painted papyrus drawings for E£2 (AR$1.40) – and the shop keeper even rubbed off some of the paint to prove they were unique.

Those first few hours in Cairo and the mayhem of motorists and the market prepared me for this fun city which Muslims from other Arab nations visit for the good times they are forbidden from having in their homeland. Alcohol laws are relaxed, meaning bars in international hotels aren’t the only places to get a drink plus there is a thriving night-life scene with young Egyptians making the most of salsa and house music although clubs wind down by 3am.

KINGS AND QUEENS. One way to avoid the tourist throng is to see the sights in reverse. The three pyramids in Giza and the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities are on the weekend schedule for many people and although they will always be teeming, try going mid-week although you need to remember that attractions including the Pyramids and Bayt Al-Suhaymi house close their doors at 4pm so an early start is necessary.

Located in Tahrir Square, the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Buenos Aires’ pink Government House, holds more than 150,000 artefacts dating back 4,000 years. Clearly impossible to display all these objects at any one time, plus some are lent to museums in other countries, the Ministry of Culture will open an additional museum in Giza, close to the pyramids, in 2011.

To clear up myths and not miss out on any detail, it is of genuine value (and “not Ali Baba style,” as they joke in the bazaar) to hire a guide, who are all looking for eager wards in the court yard, and Mohammed cunningly led us to the Mummies’ Room on the first floor to avoid the throng.

The black skin, charred to a crisp, was physically recoiling. Films, pictures and books were little preparation for these intact bodies lying embalmed in their 21st century glass tombs, with teeth and nails in excellent condition.

Tuthmosis IV, the eighth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (circa 1397BC and 1388BC), is wrapped in yellowing bandages and both arms are crossed to indicate royalty. Well-preserved with a reddish tinge to his hair, the black skin is startling at first sight, and he had been buried with plenty of jewellery to see him through to the next world although when his remains were uncovered, it appeared a lot of it had been stolen.

Considered one of Ancient Egypt’s greatest pharaohs who ruled for 67 years and was married to Nefertiti, Ramses II (1279-1212BC), also known as Ramses the Great who was the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, shares space in the Mummies’ Room. Perhaps it was his oddly long second toe on his right foot that helped him maintain power for so long. Ramses II’s embalming process used different chemicals to that of Tuthmosis IV as his skin is browner with orange tones and the remaining tufts of hair are visibly ginger.

Although the museum holds many mummies, just nine are currently on display including Queen Hatshepsut, the self-declared “woman king” ruler after her husband died and whose son was too young to take the throne, who was discovered by British  archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings. In fact it wasn’t until a missing tooth was found and fit exactly inside her mouth that scientists could confirm it  was actually Hatshepsut, even though she had one arm crossed in a “queenly” fashion, according to guide Mohammed.

Carter was responsible for many discoveries but he will always be remembered for unearthing the star of the museum show, Tutankhamen (1341-1323BC). Dead at 19, a ruler for 10 and unusually worshipped in a god-like way by his people, the discovery  of Tutankhamen’s tomb have revealed plenty of information about the Ancient Egyptians, vital when hieroglyphics still haven’t been totally deciphered. Scientists always thought Tut died from a head injury but in February 2010 the Journal of the American Medial Association said it was likely he had malaria and also was suffering from Kohler disease II, a bone disorder of the foot.

Located in a special room, the iconic navy blue and gold mask is smaller than expected but in excellent condition. The blue eyeliner is feminine yet the eyes are black and piercing, and the headdress indicates he was prepared for battle.

Items of interest found in his tomb include pairs of golden flip flops in perfect condition, the four small replica coffins which contained his liver, stomach, lungs and intestine, copious amounts of jewellery, spinning tops, perfume boxes and food such as bread, so he wouldn’t go hungry in the next world.

Proving his star quality, Tutankhamun continues to cause excitement as just last week, archaeologists found Amenhotep III, his grandfather. Found in Luxor (formally known as Thebes), the granite head, dating circa 1390-1352BC, proves Tut had a direct line to royalty as well as the fact that there is still a wealth of hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered in the Upper Kingdom.
 
GOLDEN TRIANGLE. Battling the early morning traffic and it’s south to Giza, away from the heavy Cairo air. A glance out of the left-hand window and rising tall, like a giant among men, behind the apartment blocks lies the Great Pyramid. Silent, still, while Giza bustles away next to it, police checks take place before entering the area. It turns out that as from last week, police escorts are no longer accompanying tourist buses in the southern part of the country, according to Mahmoud from the Egyptian Tourist Authority. The government has taken security issues very seriously since the Dahab terrorist attack in 2006 which killed 26 but now believes it is safe to remove such escorts in that area. Regardless, all international hotels in Cairo have X-ray machines and sniffer dogs on the premises in order to maintain high levels of security.

The Great Pyramid was built over 20 years for Pharaoh Khufu, and his final resting place was the tallest man-made construction in the world for more than 3,800 years at 146 metres, although sand storms and erosion now have it standing at nine metres less. Comprising three chambers, the two-million-plus limestone rocks simply gel together in a way that no one can explain and the acute, straight Ascending Passage leads upwards to Khufu’s tomb.

Once inside the pyramid, the air is damp and reduces considerably and visitors need to stop to let others pass by, as the passage is extremely narrow. Although I measure up at 1.65m, my knees were bent and my back doubled over as I followed others up the steep steps made for the 21st century. With no end in sight, walking up was both claustrophobic and hard work, and after a few steps I had to return as both those factors got the better of me. Until an elderly Egyptian lady made her way down delicately with her grandson’s assistance. Once they had left the Ascending Passage I could see where the end was, and so I drew a deep  breath and went for it.

Hot, sweaty and in need of fresh oxygen when I finally reached the King’s Chamber, it is surprisingly spacious and geometrically perfect, measuring a double 10 by 10 cubit square floor with a height exactly half that of the square’s double diagonal. While I was trying to catch my  breath the fact that the impossible was made possible back in circa 2551BC became a reality to leave one speechless, incredulous and in awe.

THE MILLENNIUM. Back in Cairo, a late afternoon, early evening stroll down Al-Mu’izz Li Din Illa Street is in order, not only because it’s one of the world’s oldest streets clocking up over 1,000 years but it is overloaded with jewels of Islamic architecture set within the perfectly preserved walls which contributed to Cairo being named the first Islamic city on the World Heritage List in 1979. In fact the Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, who has been in this role for over 20 years, oversaw a complex project to restore and resurrect the area which had, he says “suffered from long periods of neglect and underestimation,” and in an interview with the Herald on Sunday, said the area was “unmissable.”

Bayt Al-Suhaymi house is a regenerated Ottoman house built in 1648 by Abdel Wahad el Tablawy which presents the perfect example of living quarters in old Islamic Cairo. With the additional luxuries of a sauna, a massage room complete with coloured glass shapes in the ceiling and even a special place for giving birth, the family enjoyed all the trappings of wealth living in this beautiful three-storey home that kept men and women separate. An almond perfume is strong within the house but back on the narrow alley wax mixed with shisha tobacco dominates again.

As dusk sets and the mosque awakens for the final time before beginning a new day at dawn, the street lights up and comes into own, the walls and building shimmering in a golden light. Walking its substantial length, its end leads you to the start of  Khan el Khalli and although it is quicker to go by golf cart and stop off along the way at the mosques, monuments, baths and mausoleums, the essence of Egypt is lost unless you’re almost mown down by a speeding moped in this pedestrian area while being pursued by a friendly turbaned musician playing a coat hanger while young boys kick a ball about with the World Cup in their continent on their mind.

where &
when

Bayt Al-Suhaymi house, Al-Mu’izz Li Din Illa Street, Cairo. Open until 4pm every day. E£30 entrance.
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Tahrir Square, Cairo. E£50 entrance. Open until 6.45pm every day. www.touregypt.net/egyptmuseum
The Pyramids, Giza. Open every day until 4pm. E£60 to enter the area, then E£30 and E£50 to enter the two pyramids, Tours. Contact Emeco Travel, 2 Talaat Harb Street, Cairo for English- and Spanish-speaking guides, tours and boat trips website www.emeco.travel