Egypte / Egypt 2002

July 19, 2002 – Alexandria – Cairo

Early wake up due to the reflection of the sun on the Cecil Hotel and above all due to the noise of the street.

I go outside to walk in the street while it is not too hot, I go to the mosques of Abu Abbas Al Mursi and Busseiri, all in a pure white color and then I come back slowly towards the tomb of the unknown soldier just next to the French consulate.

The white mosques : Abu Abbas Al Mursi and Busseiri

The unknown soldier monument

I go on on the other side of the Saad Zaghloul square to reach the new library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina), a huge modern piece of work.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the background

I come back to the hotel through the little streets and that leads me to Midan Ramla, the terminus of the East (blue) and West (Yellow) lines of tramway.

At the Café Delices on square Saad Zaghloul, I am very surprised and pleased to see two familiar faces, that’s Jack and Cathy having a breakfast here. It has been a week since I didn’t see them and we meet there in Alexandria. They arrived yesterday like me and we are in the same hotel but without noticing it. They will go to Siwa on the next morning as I go back to Cairo today. They have one more week to spend in Egypt and for me the countdown til the end is right there.

Just before noon I check out from the hotel and I walk to Masr train station. At the station, I didn’t go to the tourist ticket office so the guy at the desk was laughing when I ask him a ticket and he explained me where I had to go. I will take the 1pm train to Cairo and I choose the 1^st class coach as I have a lot of Egyptian pounds but the air conditioning in the coach is too cold so I prefer to spend the next minutes talking to Mohammed, the drinks and food seller on the platform. On the other rail track there is a 3^rd class train and it is crowded.

Mohammed and his stall

As the air conditioning is still there, the temperature in the coach is just below 20°C whereas outside we are over 35°C!!! the trip to Cairo will last 3 hours and the landscape is so green as we pass by the Nile delta. Once we leave Alexandria suburbs, there are a lot of cornfields with, from time to time villages or towns. The rail track is going along the highway which enables me to look at the life of the locals on the sides waiting for buses or minibuses to stop or buying some food from the small stalls on all the route.

At 4pm, we arrive in Cairo and I am very happy to see again this town. As I am no more a complete stranger to the city, I have no problem finding my way to the subway to reach Midan Tahrir and the New Sun Hotel. Essam, who works there is happy to see me again for the last time. I ask him if wan, the Malaysian, is still in the dormitory as I bet with him that he will still be here when I will be back. But unfortunately, he left the hotel a week ago. Tonight I will be alone in 4 beds room for only 15 EGP.

I have no time to waste here as it is my second to last day in Egypt. So after buying a bottle of water, I take a taxi to Khan Al Khalili to buy some souvenirs and presents for my friends and family. For the first time I will enter this huge touristy mall where the concentration of tourists is so high. Bargaining will be a game there.

After this shopping I walk back to the hotel. This second stay in Cairo enables me to really appreciate the town and its inhabitants, I feel great here, I have my own marks.

Tonight I try a local fast food but it is not that great…

As I will spend the next night at the airport waiting for the plane at 4am, I have to sleep later so I watch the Shawshank Redemption on TV starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins until 1:30am.

Main expenses of the day :

Night at the New Sun Hotel : 15 EGP (dormitory)

Train ticket for cairo : 18 EGP (student fare) otherwise 27 EGP

Meal : 15 EGP

Internet : 10 EGP

Postcards and stamps : 20 EGP

Drinks (water, soft drinks, tea…) : 15 EGP

Other travels

Contact

D1 : Luxembourg – Amsterdam – Cairo

D2 : Cairo (part 1) (part 2)

D3 : Cairo