Restored Fort - Alexandria EgyptWe left Aswan by train on Sunday 18th Jan. It was an overnight sleeper train. The trains are oldish and a bit run down but comfortable if somewhat cramped in the cabins. We dressed in our galabeya's and hip scarves for the purpose of having a fun time. After the ghastly dinner that was served we rocked and rolled (due to train motion - not alcohol) to the club bar in the centre of the train and had a ghastly bottle of wine ... literally undrinkable.
The train attendants were there and as soon as they saw us they put on some music and we all got up and began dancing. Quite difficult when the train swung around bends at a fast clip, but we managed to stay upright most of the time. We provided entertainment for people standing on stations that we stopped at, and the glum/bored faces were transformed into big smiles and laughter ... platform patrons, station staff and police all waved vigorously as the train pulled out. It was a lot of fun. Most of us slept reasonably well, and none of us ate the ghastly breakfast that was served at 6am. It was drink coffee or tea or nothing - we arrived in Cairo at 7am. Boarded a waiting bus and set off for Alexandria.
It was a tiring trip as we were weary and hit a big traffic snarl on the outskirts of Cairo after fighting the milling and jammed traffic in getting away from the station and catching the morning traffic through Cairo. The normally 2.5hr trip took an extra hour.
About a 1/2 hour out of Alex, I got Ali our tour "chaprone/organiser" to phone Kerolos my friend with whom 4 of us was going to stay with, or I should say in an apartment he owned and had offered for free.
Kerolos picked the 4 of us up at the Sheraton where the other 1/2 of our group was staying. The apartment was smack in the middle of high rise local burbs. Very interesting to be thrust head on into a culture so different from our own. Rania, Kero's wife and 3 gorgeous kiddies were waiting at the apartment for us. We received a genuinely warm welcome. The people around the apartment block all greeted us with big smiles and warmth. It was really lovely.
The apartment was large and spacious, an old style place, with high ceilings and big rooms, the lift to the 11th floor was quaint with an open outwards door not the standard double door with auto close/open ( I can't remember, if anyone took a photo of it, I hope so then I can post a pic here later). It was great to experience 'culture' at its roots. The Hanna family are absolutely delightful, and treated us like beloved family. We all felt a little teary when we said goodbye this morning. We were well fed, with Rania's home cooking .... yum! we chatted and laughed, and enjoyed each others company.
Kerolos drove us around to see the sights of Alex. the city has wide spacious roads, and traffic is not as dense and crazy as Cairo's which is like Jakarta Indonesia. Both cities are spastic and crazy when it comes to traffic. But I must say Egypt's drivers are amazing, I don't know how many times I put on the 'invisible' passenger breaks and closed my eyes! The traffic and antics of the drivers had us in hysterics at times. The pedestrians all have 90 lives, not just 9, I am sure the 9 are used up by the time they are 5 years old. They duck and weave through wild, mad, push and shove traffic without blinking. I think every single car/truck/bus, old and new, has a dent or 2, it is just the way it is.
Alexandria is right on the Mediterrenean sea, and has a wide road which sweeps around the shore line, it is quite lovely, but there are many old and run down buildings. The city streets are very, very narrow 2 way streets and it is literally push and shove and who gives in first that dictates right of way, So cars are frequently seen backing up to allow other cars through passage. We had to do that a few times and other times we were the victors and cars had to back up until there was space enough to pass. The Egyptians from upper to lower Egypt are very welcoming and friendly people, We have had a wonderful time, not one bad moment the whole trip.
We had a great time at Kerolos's wharehouse, belly dance costumes galore. Lindy found 3 she loved and bought them, Christy found one, Ros found one, and me nothing, but I have ordered a bra/belt set and a black with red beading saaidi dress.
We left Alex at 10am this morning, and arrived back in Cairo after a fast run at 1.15pm even after stopping for a bite to eat 1/2 way.
Great Pyramid Lit Up
We just settled back into the Movenpick hotel ( we are in the same hotel that we stayed in when in Cairo at the beginning of trip). At 6.30 we went to the Pyramid Light & sound show. It was lovely and you could just about imagine the ancients doing their thing around the pyramids. To see the Pyramids and Sphinx lit up in bursts of colour was magic!
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