Egypt Part II

Day Three

I woke early in the morning and got ready for a trip I’d been waiting for since the very beginning of the voyage.  We boarded a bus and took the same three-hour ride back to Cairo to see the pyramids of Giza once more.  As we got into town on the long stretch of road from Alexandria to Cairo, the silhouettes of the three pyramids came into view in the distance.  Driving up next to them they seemed infinitely bigger than when I saw them at night during the lights show.  Unlike many historic sites that tend to fall short of our grand expectations, the pyramids in real life do not disappoint.  I had pictured the pyramids as having small steps that you could climb, but in actuality they’re made of enormous cubes of stone, some taller than the average person.  We were first taken to a site about a kilometer away for a panoramic view of all three pyramids.  We hopped off the bus and were immediately pounced on by merchants trying to sell headdresses and other souvenirs.  Others walked around with camels, scamming unsuspecting students by offering to take pictures of them on the camels then forcing them to pay for a ride.  I saw one guy yelling, “Let me down! I’m not paying for a ride!” as the huge camel walked off with him somewhere, but I had better things to attend to.  We took some group pictures then got back on the bus to see the pyramids up close.  On the way there our guide offered to take us into the second pyramid for about ten bucks, so I signed up with a few others – after all how many people can say they’ve been in a pyramid?  Once we arrived the guide took us straight to the base of the middle pyramid.  There was a long slanted surface going down into the ground, and you had to crouch as you descended the steps because the opening was about four feet high.  Eventually it leveled off into a stuffy corridor, which led to another set of steps going back up into the middle of the pyramid.  Feeling a little claustrophobic in the oven-like corridor I hustled up the steps and ended up in a small chamber.  Against the wall was an empty stone casket (I’m guessing it wasn’t the original), but otherwise the room was dark and empty.  After a few minutes I had seen enough and went back down and up the stairs to get outside.  It wasn’t the most exciting thing but well worth the ten bucks to see the tomb of an ancient king.  We had about fifteen minutes left to take in the sight of the pyramids from outside, so we took some pictures and walked around until we had to leave.  Next we took a short drive down to see the Sphinx.  We walked through a crumbling building and found ourselves about fifty feet away from the legendary stone figure.  After admiring the Sphinx for about half an hour we were driven to a private country club back in Cairo, where a parking lot full of Jeeps were awaiting us.  Six of us hopped in and we immediately took off for a ride through the desert.  Our driver spoke no English but quickly sensed that we wanted to go off the road.  We bounced around against the ceiling, startled but laughing as he drove up and down the dunes.  Never in my life did I expect to go on a jeep safari in the desert in Egypt, but things got even crazier from there.  As I stuck my head out from the window I saw in the distance a massive line of camels sitting in the middle of the desert, and the jeep sped toward it and stopped.  The doors flung open and we were led out – and before I knew what was going on a guy handed me a whip and helped me up onto a camel.  Making a sound that was like a cross between a cow and a dinosaur, the camel stood up and I was suddenly seven feet high in the air.  The man that helped me on took the rein and started leading the camel as I struggled to maintain my balance on the massive hump.  Our caravan of about thirty camels mobilized, and we spent about half an hour strolling through the desert.  Eventually we made it back to the country club where we were treated to an amazing buffet of shawerma, pasta, fresh fruit and bizarre pastries.  After lunch we drove to our final spot: the Step Pyramid of Zoser, which is said to be the first pyramid ever built in Egypt.  We walked through a 5,000 year-old building and arrived in a huge empty square, at the end of which stood a series of massive stone steps that rose into the sky.  We spent some time wandering around and admiring the pyramid, then finally boarded the bus to head back to Alexandria.  Three hours later, we were back on the ship.  After two hectic days figuring out our way through Cairo, it was great to have such an incredible day completely planned for us.  I didn’t have to worry about a thing, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of the summer.  After having dinner on the ship, the three of us walked around in search of a bar.  We wandered along the corniche, stopping for ice cream at a Baskin Robbins.  As we passed a dark alley I caught a glimpse of a sign: The Spitfire Bar.  I recognized the name from a WikiTravel article on Alexandria, which listed the few bars that existed in the city.  Despite its sketchy entrance, we decided to walk in.  Right as we entered a man came out from behind the bar and asked where we were from.  Upon hearing our answer he greeted us with a wide smile and asked another question: what would you like to drink? Happily we sat down at a table with Sakkara bottles in hand, taking in the atmosphere.  It was a small hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but there was a very unique feel about it.  Bob Marley was playing on the speakers, there were flags from all over hanging overhead, and the wall was covered with sailors’ photographs and scribbled writing in black markers.  The bar owner Ari brought over a crumpled and faded magazine article that had been written about the bar some years back.  It said that the bar had been in the same family for three generations, and was a popular spot for sailors who were stationed in Alexandria during the wars.  Ari proudly recounted how Eisenhower, Jim Carrey and some other famous Americans had been there as well.  We spent the rest of the night talking, enjoying the beer and reading the countless messages on the walls.  Eventually we said goodbye to Ari and walked back to the ship.

Day Four

I slept in and had a late breakfast at 11:30, where I ran into the girls I met going to Cairo.  We decided to go see the Library of Alexandria, and so we walked out of port and took a cab there.  Before going in we stopped for drinks at a café outside, then bought our tickets.  The new library is one of the most modern and spectacular libraries I’ve ever visited.  I spent an hour online looking up things to do in Morocco, and then decided to go wander around outside.  We crossed the street and found an outdoor café/hookah bar overlooking the beach, so we sat down for pizza.  We walked back to the ship, taking the long route through a random neighborhood.  We unintentionally went through one of the poorer areas of the town, and suddenly I felt like I was in a completely strange place – even by Egyptian standards.  The buildings were in disrepair, a flock of sheep stood feeding in the road, and the people stared at us as we walked by.  Fortunately nothing happened to us, and we were able to see a completely different side of Alexandria.  We also passed by an enormous mosque, though we didn’t feel too good about walking inside.  After having dinner on the ship, we went out with a small group to try and find the bar from the night before.  On our way through Alexandria we met a small Egyptian guy probably around sixty years old.  With a lazy eye and missing teeth he was about the creepiest guy I’d ever seen, but a few of the girls had apparently met him before and he had helped them find their way around.  He told us about his life as he led us through the town to find the Spitfire Bar – he had been in the Egyptian navy, during which he had traveled all over the world.  He spoke relatively good English and boasted fluency in four other languages.  As interesting as he was I wasn’t too sure what his motives were as he led us to the bar, which was closed, and then to another place down the street where we sat down for a few beers.  Fortunately we didn’t run into any trouble, though I suspect the prices of our drinks were marked up because of him.  We eventually parted ways and hung out at a café near the coast, then took a cab back to the ship.

Day Five

With no other places in Alexandria that I felt I needed to see, I took it easy on my last day in Egypt.  We aimlessly walked through the city for a while, stopped for some mango juice, and then took a cab down to the bazaar.  There we strolled around looking at the goods, then walked along the coast back towards the ship.  We stopped at the last of the three bars listed online: the Mermaid Bar.  We walked in and sat down upstairs in a booth next to an open window, where a cool breeze was blowing in from the sea.  With the last of my Egyptian pounds I ordered a beer and some calamari, and we leisurely spent the afternoon sitting there listening to a rotation of Bob Marley songs.  We walked back to the ship and jumped into the pool upstairs, laying out on the deck until the ship set sail from Alexandria.  It was a surprisingly relaxing end to the most chaotic port of the voyage.