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IN
THE DAYLIGHT we looked out of the tall, elegant windows of our chic
hotel and saw that our neighbors across the way (we were many floors up)
had piles of trash on their roofs, which
I videotaped. We had been woken up, incidentally, at 7:15 a.m. by Ramses
and his wife, who seemed eager to hang around
with us for the day. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that, but decided
not to fight it in case there was a reason for it.
The Cosmopolitan
An
elaborate breakfast buffet was included in the room price—scrambled
eggs, crêpes, croissants, tomatoes, potatoes, coffee and more—served
in a fancy old dining room filled with non-Egyptians.
Seeking
a little more local flavor, we scanned through our Lonely Planet book again and decided to check out an interesting-sounding place called
the Windsor Hotel, located in a more exotic section of Cairo. It
described splendid double rooms for less than $30, including bath, plus
a belly dancing show. While Joy went to change money I took off with
Ramses and his wife in a taxi to look at the Windsor. They could easily
afford the Cosmopolitan but were willing to switch in order to stick close
to us.
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FROM THE
WINDSOR'S WEBSITE:
Located in the heart of Cairo's shopping, business and theater
districts, the hotel is within walking distance of some of the
city's most celebrated attractions. The Egyptian Museum,
Opera Square, Khan Khalili Bazaar, Abdine Palace and the River
Nile are just steps away and the Cairo Metro (subway) is easily
accessible for points further afar. The Windsor Hotel is an
oasis of tranquility amid the bustle of downtown Cairo. The
Windsor is also a venerable Cairo institution and boasts a rich
history and warm hospitality.
Built
at the turn of the century as the baths of the Egyptian royal
family, the Windsor served for many years as a colonial British
officers club before being purchased by a Swiss hotelier as an
annex of the legendary Shepherds Hotel and converted into the
'Hotel Windsor-Maison Suisse.' Today, the Windsor's
guestrooms retain an ambiance of faded grandeur and the hotel's
famous Barrel Bar remains a popular Cairo rendezvous. More
recently, the Hotel has been featured in a number of Egyptian and
Hollywood films. |
The
Windsor was the last word in “faded glory.” Across the street men
were sitting around smoking from their water pipes. I took an enormous
corner room that included a living area, armoires, a huge bathroom, tall
ceilings and views of noisy, smelly, charming Cairo streets, and the
Indian couple reserved a similar room for themselves.
Our room looked a lot like this
The Windsor lobby
Across the street, men smoking from water pipes
Besieged by tour operators at every
turn, we made our way back to the Cosmopolitan and met up with Joy. Here
we split up as Ramses and
his wife wanted to visit the pyramids while we wanted to see the
mummies. Again leaving our packed bags in the
lobby, we walked through the crowds to the
Cairo Museum, risking our lives each time we crossed a street, dodging
honking cars, motorcycles and assorted reckless vehicles.
The Nile River
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WHO
ARE THE EGYPTIANS?
…
Egypt was first dominated by the orange man, then by the green,
followed by the indigo (black) man, and still later by a mongrel
race of indigo, blue, and modified green men. [728]
[When
the Adamites in Mesopotamia] suffered from population pressure,
instead of making war to secure more territory, they sent forth
their excess inhabitants as teachers to the other races. The
cultural effect of these earlier migrations was not enduring, but
the absorption of the Adamite teachers, traders, and explorers was
biologically invigorating to the surrounding peoples. Some of the
Adamites early journeyed westward to the valley of the Nile. . . .
[870]
For more than thirty thousand years Egypt received a steady stream
of Mesopotamians, who brought along their art and culture to
enrich that of the Nile valley. But the ingress of large numbers
of the Sahara peoples greatly deteriorated the early civilization
along the Nile so that Egypt reached its lowest cultural level
some fifteen thousand years ago. [889]
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The Cairo Museum
The crowds
were dense at the famous museum, mostly schoolchildren with their
teachers and foreign tour groups, but relatively few Western-style
tourists. Here
we viewed incredible displays of ancient Egyptian treasures, including
the mummies and ancient artifacts.
After
exploring as much as we could, we foraged our way to the Hilton Hotel
for information on the bus from Cairo to Israel, which we were advised to book
in advance as soon as possible. We were directed to a travel agent who
proved impossible to find. Instead we wandered into a different place
and bought the tickets (E110 pounds each, about $30) for Wednesday
morning, leaving at 5 a.m. from the Sheraton Hotel.
Joy:
“There was also an annoying but relatively harmless scam that we fell
for more than once. It
worked like this: Once we were on a street corner, map open, trying to
find our way through the confusing streets of Cairo. A friendly youth
approached us and asked if he could help us with directions.
We told him where we were trying to go, and he replied, “I'll
take you there. Follow
me." We followed him
for a block and suddenly he darted into a shop, motioning us to follow
him inside. The shop turned
out to belong to his brother, who then
attempted to sell us something. In fact, as we learned later, the shop
was in the opposite direction of the street we were trying to find!”
Some street scenes
along the way
Returning
to the Cosmopolitan, we picked up our bags and took a taxi to the
Windsor. After settling into our spacious corner room, which had windows
all around looking out on Egyptian street scenes, we went downstairs to
the historical Barrel Bar for a drink, to write postcards and do some
people-watching.
The view from our hotel window, taken with a zoom lens.
The famous Barrel Bar
The lounge
Afterwards
we took a walk down one of the main streets near the hotel. Every person we made eye contact with smiled back at
us—men, women and children. These people seemed very friendly and
hospitable, and some were eager to practice their English on us. Several
times college-age Egyptians walked up to us to ask where we were from
and how we liked Cairo.
Around eight we returned to the hotel to try out
its restaurant, to see who else was staying here and to sample some
Egyptian food at the same time. (We were expecting to bump into our
Indian friends but they never appeared.)
The dining room
Alas
we were the lone diners in the fancy dining room. It was a fixed
menu—lentil soup, bread, a macaroni/rice dish, vegetarian falafels
with potatoes and lima beans in a sauce—good but so filling that by
the time the main course arrived we were full. We also drank a bottle of
Egyptian wine. The two waiters tried to strike up our acquaintance and
offered to escort us after midnight to a belly dancing show, but we
declined their invitation. Instead we headed back to our room, still
being on an “early-to-bed” schedule, and went straight to sleep.
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THE
ANDITES ALONG THE NILE
From
the times of the terminal Andite migrations, culture declined in the Euphrates valley, and the immediate center of civilization shifted to the valley of the Nile. Egypt became the successor of Mesopotamia as the headquarters of the most advanced group on earth.
The Nile valley began to suffer from floods shortly before the Mesopotamian valleys but fared much better. This early setback was more than compensated by the continuing stream of Andite immigrants, so that the culture of Egypt, though really derived from the Euphrates region, seemed to forge ahead. But in 5000 B.C., during the flood period in Mesopotamia, there were seven distinct groups of human beings in Egypt; all of them, save one, came from Mesopotamia.
When the last exodus from the Euphrates valley occurred, Egypt was fortunate in gaining so many of the most skillful artists and artisans. These Andite artisans found themselves quite at home in that they were thoroughly familiar with river life, its floods, irrigations, and dry seasons. They enjoyed the sheltered position of the Nile valley; they were there much less subject to hostile raids and attacks than along the Euphrates. And they added greatly to the metalworking skill of the Egyptians. Here they worked iron ores coming from Mount Sinai instead of from the Black Sea regions.
The Egyptians very early assembled their municipal deities into an elaborate national system of gods. They developed an extensive theology and had an equally extensive but burdensome priesthood. Several different leaders sought to revive the remnants of the early religious teachings of the Sethites, but these endeavors were short-lived.
[894]
For
ten thousand years religion in Europe was at a low ebb as compared
with the developments in India and Egypt. [891]
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or
read on by clicking on any of the following
links:
1.
From Los Angeles to Amsterdam
2. The Flight to Greece
3. Ancient
Corinth
4. The
Citadel
5. To Piraeus
6. Hania on
Crete
7. A
Day in Limbo
8. Back
to Athens
9. From
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10. Cairo
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11. The Pyramids
12. The Bus to Israel
13. Jerusalem
14. Bethany and Bethpage
15. An Old Palestinian Hotel
16. The Drive to Galilee
17. Capernaum and Environs
18. The Ancient Boat and Nazareth
19. The Golan Heights and Mt. Hermon
20. The Eastern Shore and Scythiopolis
21. Mount of the Beatitudes
22. Ptolemais and Caesarea
23. A Day in Piraeus
24. Santorini
25. A Rainy Day
26. An Eventful Day in Athens
27. Return to Amsterdam
28. Going Home
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