SOME INFORMATION ABOUT EGYPT

A few words about Cairo and Egypt.  Our trip actually took us to THREE CONTINENTS.  First, we had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany (Europe), we were in Egypt (Africa) and then in Jordan and Israel (Asia).

Egypt is a 3rd-world developing nation in the northeastern part of Africa.  Cairo International Airport is the second largest airport in Africa, following Johannesburg. Tourism is very important to Egypt and it has been hit very hard by the CCP virus.  However, the virus doesn't seem to be of much concern and only 20% of the people are vaccinated by the "water-based" Russian and Chinese vaccines that have been provided to it.  Pfizer apparently gave Egypt about 750,000 doses. 

After World War I, maps were drawn forming the Middle Eastern countries - "Middle East" being a term used in relation to the location of the area vis a vis Great Britain, I was carefully reminded of by Ahmed. 

It is important that we remember that from the reign of the last Egyptian Pharaoh, Nectanebo II, 358 B.C. to 340 BC until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser gained power, Egypt had been ruled, dominated, invaded, governed, etc., by Romans, Turks, Arabs, Nubians, Mamluks, Syrians, Greeks, and on and on and on.  

Nationalism began to rise against King Farouk and Great Britain and, thus, in 1952, Egypt gained independence being governed by Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarek, the Muslim Brotherhood under Mohamed Morsi and currently President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.  (Although the Muslim Brotherhood won the election in 2012, it was never able to garner the support of the six major factions in Egypt:  the army, legal, police, media, intelligence and the State Department.)  Currently, President el-Sisi has the support of all six.  Because of the disdain for the English, Egypt would not even adopt the then policy of driving on the left side of the road after gaining independence.  

Before 1952, it had a 85% illiteracy rate.  There was no free education.  After 1952, education, health care and transportation was government subsidized.  However, socialism was not practical and Egypt couldn't feed itself.  Egypt imports just about everything. 

Like many major cities, it's outgrown itself and it's extremely expensive to come in and re-do the already-there infrastructure;  like many places, it's easier to spread out to the suburbs and start anew with better urban planning.  What's left are areas that are very run down and not very functional at this point.  

What was once a grand ancient civilization is now, unfortunately, a very poor country.  It doesn't have oil but it does, fortunately, have natural gas.  It is struggling to build an identity.  Who are the Egyptians?  Uneducated people have no interest in its past glory.  Many are pro-Arab because of their families; descendants of Turkish families, identify more as Turkish.  Many do not identify as "Egyptian."

Its current population is 105,000,000 people, an increase from 5 million just 220 years ago at the time of Napoleon.  It is a very real problem today and it continues to increase by 1 million every two years.  This is not good.  While we see lots of animals in U.S. airports, we saw see lots of kids in Cairo's.  In the 1950s, the mortality rate was 50%; today, it's 0%.  Longevity has improved as well:  at the time of the Pharaohs, the average age was 40; today, it's in the 70s.  To allow birth control is considered a religious heresy today.  It is projected that Egypt's population will be 160-175 million by 2050, not that far away.  Right now there are shortages of water, jobs, supplies, food and farming land and it will only get worse. 

One positive thing though - there are no unwed mothers in Egypt and thus no illegitimate children.  Basically against the law, men would be forced to marry a woman who was pregnant.  Even a single middle-aged man could not have a regular girlfriend visit him in his apartment.  Neighbors would not look kindly upon such a set up.  Likewise, a single woman in an apartment would even be less welcome.  The wives in the building would pretty much shun the unattached woman for fear that she was a threat to them and a temptation to their husbands.  Unwed mothers are not something you see in either Jordan or Israel as well.   You also don't see female room service workers at the hotels in Egypt or Jordan because it would not be proper for a woman to enter a man's bedroom.  We did see women providing room service in Israel.  

The work week is from Sunday through Thursday.  The weekend is Friday and Saturday.  The only words I can use for traffic are COMPLETE AND UTTER CHAOTIC INSANITY!  Our friend, Paolo, from Rome, has often said the traffic lines in Rome are "suggestions," however, having been driven on the Ring Road in Cairo, there might as well be no painted lines on the roads.  Also, there are no traffic lights on the Ring Road and we really didn't see many on the actual streets of Cairo either.  If there were any, Hossam said they were merely "ornaments." 

Throughout my travels, I've always found that there is a distinct "rhythm" to every city and Cairo is no exception.  People seem to know how to drive and how to walk as pedestrians and when to cross streets.  While it definitely looked chaotic to us, we saw no accidents or anyone hit by a car. 

Believe me when I say that I actually saw a car, inches from us, with little foam bumpers on the door handles used to prevent scratches on the door panels - that's how close cars drive to one another.  I could easily touch the window of the car next to me and sill have my elbow bent!  

 

There is a very limited subway system in Cairo, but most transportation is by bus and minibuses.  The minibuses are a hybrid of public and private transportation.  I'm not positive, but individuals get licenses to operate by the government.  They drive around the Ring Road, for example, and pick up and drop off people on the side of the highway.  Yes, people just stand on the side of this extremely busy road and flag down a minibus by making hand signals  - depending on where they want to go, e.g., courthouse, city center, higher dam, lower dam areas - if the driver is heading that way, they stop;  if they're not, they don't stop.  It also depends on whether there is room in these vehicles.  The guy up front with the driver collects the money from the passengers.  It's an unusual system, but it apparently works.  There is no certainty that one of the minibuses will actually stop for someone, so if they have to get to a place by a certain time, a person has to leave extra early because it really is very random.  Believe me, there is no "timetable" in Egypt!  

 

 

Although I could not get an actual photo, I did see one of these "Bread Cyclists of Cairo" which I thought was absolutely fascinating.  

 

How they actually navigate through the city's traffic is truly skillful!