Immersing in the Wonderful Chaos of Cairo
We visited Cairo for five days, and it was a whirlwind to say the least. We would love to say it was a whirlwind because we spent each day exploring new neighborhoods and meeting new people, but if we’re being honest, this was not the case. Everything was sensory overload to the max. Normally we would have covered lots of ground in a city (and sometimes two or three cities) with this amount of time, but here we mostly spent time exploring Zamalek, the neighborhood we were staying in.
Zamalek is known for being one of the trendier, upscale neighborhoods, as well as one of the safest because it is where many embassies are located. The neighborhood was bustling with kids running around, college students hanging out, and shop owners gathering for tea at all times of day. We found ourselves content with staying in Zamalek and enjoying the culture of the neighborhood. This may also have been result of finding an ice cream shop that sold two scoops for $0.50… so we didn’t want to wander too far.
While we were excited to see the pyramids and eat pounds of shawarma, we were a little hesitant on Egypt. As we researched and prepared for our trip, we regularly came across cautionary tales about different ways that tourists are scammed in Egypt. Seriously, just go to YouTube and search “Visiting Cairo” and you’ll see all the warnings and tips that people have. Even our Airbnb host in Oman (shoutout @Ahmed!) was giving us tips on what and what not to do. And if the beginning of our trip was any indication of how our five days were going to go… we were in for a tough time.
Arriving at the airport, Justin checked in his drone at customs because drones are illegal in Egypt. What initially started as Justin trying to do the right thing turned into a two hour charade of intimidation and interrogation. One of the more frustrating things about this whole episode was that there were about 10 customs officers walking around more interested in hanging out with each other than helping us. It also turns out that the agent who documented the drone noted it as a firearm, which makes sense as to why he had to go around the airport speaking with various police officers. It also made getting the drone back more confusing and difficult. Luckily, this was the extent of it. No one was hurt and we thankfully got the drone back in the end!
We were mostly left alone from the scams and tricks we had been warned of during the remainder of our time. This may have been in part due to Justin’s tan from the Maldives being misjudged as him being Egyptian. It definitely gave us some breathing room as we walked the streets and markets. Many people came up to him either speaking Arabic or asking where in the Middle East he was from instead of introducing us to one of their tricks, so it helped he blended in.
Now, for the main event… the pyramids! This was a huge bucket list item for us and we were so excited to see them! We heard that visiting the pyramids was better with a guide to help fend off some of the scammers, so we decided to organize a private tour through Airbnb Experiences, a platform we love to use for local activities. One of the first things our guide told us when he picked us up was what to look out for and who not to speak with when we arrived at the pyramids. This is how prevalent these scams and tricks are! The tour consisted of visiting the pyramids, the Sphinx, a camel ride, and an ATV ride. It was surreal seeing the pyramids up close. They were breathtaking. It’s hard to describe their magnitude and the how impressive it is that the ancient Egyptians were able to construct such massive structures with perfect symmetry. We loved being able to see something we learned so much about during history class and at pretty much every history museum we’ve ever visited.
In addition to the pyramids, we were super excited about the food. Side note… it seems we say this about every place we visit… and it’s true. Says a lot about our priorities! The food in Egypt was incredible. Middle Eastern food (shawarma, falafel, hummus… the list goes on) is one of Britt’s favorite cuisines at home, and Egypt exceeded every expectation. We spent every night exploring trying to find all the different shawarma restaurants we could try and once we found them, we would stand there to watch them work their magic. Many times, the cooks would cut a slice and hand it to us, which helped us figure out which places would turn out to be our favorite!
We tried a wide range of Egyptian dishes while we were there, and there was not a single thing we didn’t absolutely love. Even the yogurt from the grocery store was top notch!
Would we go back to Egypt? Maybe. If we were to go back, it would most likely be for the food. We’re not ruling it out, but it won’t be at the top of our list of places to hurry back to. Everything in Egypt was just a little more difficult than it needed to be, and we’ll leave you with one final story to highlight how things just don’t really make sense and are unnecessarily more difficult. On our final day, we arrived at the airport four hours before our flight so we could rescue the drone, assuming the whole ordeal could easily take an hour… which it did. After they were done putting Justin through the whole rigamarole of questioning and running around the airport to meet with various police officers, we were we excited because we thought we were done with all the chaos and that it would be smooth sailing from there. We were mistaken.
We went through border patrol and two baggage security checkpoints before arriving at the gate. However, this wasn’t the extent of it. Going through two checkpoints is actually somewhat standard at a lot of international airports. The kicker was when we arrived to the gate and we were met… yet again… with another security check of our baggage. However, this time, everyone’s bags were searched by hand. There was no rhyme or reason for these searches, and the security officers weren’t looking for anything in particular because there were no x-ray machines to point them in the right direction. They basically made a mess of your stuff, found tiny zippers to open, questioned you about harmless items, and sent you on your way. It was the icing on the cake to a culturally enriching, but difficult trip.
