When we were driving from the airport to the hotel after arriving into Cairo, I felt that the stories about the city’s congested traffic are exaggerated… I thought, hey, Amman can be pretty bad sometimes when it comes to traffic and how people drive, no?
Um, No! Not as bad as completely disregarding a red traffic light (when it’s been red for a while). It wasn’t an isolated incident; everyone just keeps going. A sign like the one below must tell you something about how bad it is…
What it says is “abiding by traffic lights is a civilized behavior”. I found it particularly amusing to see how it’s intended as some sort of awareness. I mean, just ticket people 50 JDs for crossing the red light and see how people’s attitude changes 
the tone was somewhat different in this:
This was in Talaat Harb St., downtown, and it says that honking without a good justification is punished by the law.
I was very impressed by the way the city is mapped out, and how very clear street names are. I had a map, and quickly learned to make good use of it. Unlike Amman, people in Cairo give directions using street names. At first it confused me… Dude, just tell me the name of the shop at which I turn, and how many blocks I need to count! But no, they tell you “at the intersection of 26 July St and Brazil St”, and you’re on your own.
We were staying in Zamalek, in a beautiful inexpensive hotel on the Nile called “Flamenco”, or as I learned to say it “Filamenco” 
Zamalek is an island in the Nile, connected by bridges to the rest of Cairo. Apparently it’s one of the richer neighborhoods, although the buildings don’t quite give that air. It’s also very close to downtown, to the crowded Cairo, as opposed to all the new “cities” being built on the peripheries. Zamalek is where most of the embassies are concentrated, and where a lot of foreigners choose to live. Funny enough, it’s where the Ahli Club is based! I mean, are both Ahli in Zamalek based in Zamalek???
Looking for a nearby pasta place to eat lunch on our first day, SM recommended Didos… and he hit the mark perfectly. It’s a tiny neighborhood restaurant, with a very cozy, welcoming feel to it. The food is superb, although it takes them forever to prepare. The prices are so cheap. A yummy meal of pasta cost the equivalent of 1 JD. ONE JORDANIAN DINAR!
Speaking of food, another one of SM’s terrific recommendations was Maison Thomas, apparently the best pizza place in town. But don’t think that I stuck to pasta and pizza on my first visit to Cairo. The trip wouldn’t have been complete without a good dose of the famous Egyptian Koshari, taamiyyah, and Ummu Ali, from places like Felfela and Abul Sid. Oh, and Basboussah.
I don’t know what it is with Egyptians and “foul” (i.e Fava Beans)… not only do they make their falafel from it (what they call taamiyyah, here in Jordan Falafel is made of chick peas), “Foul” also occupies a category of its own on restaurant menus.
Could that be the secret ingredient behind Egyptian’s great sense of humor?? I mean, if there’s one thing you’ve got to love about Cairo, it’s the people. One of the stories that stuck in my mind happened as I was in one of the old characteristic black and white taxis. We arrived at an intersection where a police officer was regulating the flow of traffic, and yet the driver completely disregarded that it wasn’t his turn, or perhaps misunderstood the signs from the officer, and plunged forward before being forced to stop by other vehicles. The officer came and started yelling at him. The two yelled at each other, with the driver trying to explain his position and the officer telling him that he is blind and disrespectful of police presence, and then all of a sudden, one of them said something funny and the two started laughing and cracking a couple of jokes. A third police man joined them laughing and helped the taxi driver out of the traffic mess he created. All the while I was watching the scene with a smile of amazement. This is NOT the kind of thing that can happen in Amman… nope… not as far as I know from the attitudes of taxi drivers and police officers.
But speaking of police, I must say that I really do not like that white uniform they wear in Egypt. I don’t like the uniform of army and police officers in Syria either. I respect the attention to attire here when it comes to the armed forces. It is also interesting to see the difference in corruption levels. I mean, in Jordan, you can’t pass on a money bill to an employee or officer for some procedure you need to get done. In Egypt, it’s common practice. One taxi driver was telling us about inflation and how prices have gone up. He was like “even an employee’s commission has gone up”, and when we asked what he meant by “commission”, he said you know, tip, little bribe to get your paperwork done. Interestingly, he started defending this, and saying how you can’t blame those government employees because life keeps getting harder and their salaries barely change.
On the one hand, I felt that Cairo really is much cheaper than Amman, but then when it came to certain places and items, there probably was no difference. I found the building blocks in the photo below interesting; they are not old buildings, they’re all the in the process of being built… in a busy and dynamic part of Cairo. Yet they couldn’t be any more hideous, or random!
In contrast with remnants of colonial architecture present all over Cairo as well…
Many of my friends who have been to Cairo disliked it saying it’s “too dirty and crowded”! I personally loved it. I would go there again in a glimpse if I get the chance. I would live there for a while, to get a better experience of this incredible, warm, vibrant city. One can’t really define what it is about Cairo in words!
I have more to share; Le Caire, the music of Wust El Balad, the artificial Borg El Arab, coffee and well… bits and pieces. Meanwhile, here are the pictures I uploaded on my flickr so far.
