Cairo is unlike any city I have ever experienced. It is sprawling and dusty and friendly and hectic. I love it already. This week, AUC organized some outings for international students, which was a great way to become familiar with the city. On our very first day, we saw ancient Coptic churches and the mosque of Amr ibn al-As. The soft carpet and serene atmosphere were a welcome respite from the sun and heat.
I was completely overwhelmed by the pyramids. I went inside the third, smallest one, which involves walking downward at about a 45-degree angle, bent double in sweltering heat and dust, with the passage ceiling scraping your head. The passage opens up to a series of chambers, which long ago held everything that royalty could possibly need for a comfortable afterlife. After crawling back out of the pyramid, the desert wind feels like a cool breeze.
There are so many sarcophagi in the Egyptian Museum that they are stacked against the walls like so much firewood. I could spend hours in there; I had my obligatory touristy freak-out over Tutankhamun’s collection. Our guide showed us the difference between the idealized figures that dominate Pharonic art and the warts-and-all approach of the monotheistic Akhenaten. My favorite artifact was a simple, perfect bust of Nefertiti, who is considered to be the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
As with any new city, there are definitely some challenges I will have to get used to. The primary one, I think, will be the traffic. There seem to be few "rules of the road" here. Babies ride motorcycles on their fathers' laps, and cars snake around each other at dizzying speeds. Occasionally they back up or make U-turns in the middle of the highway (as I experienced yesterday, on my first taxi ride). Sidewalks disappear without a trace, leaving one to walk in the gutter, trying to avoid colliding with a fruit cart. Usually I will be commuting to campus in New Cairo, and taking the Metro around the city. A more superficial challenge is the heat; all one can really do is wear comfortable clothing and drink lots of water. Every time I feel air conditioning, I appreciate it more. And did I mention the dust?
I am looking forward to practicing my Arabic, seeing more mosques and churches, and meeting students from all over the world. And of course, I want to see the archeological sites at Aswan and Luxor, in particular the palace of Hatsepshut at Deir-el-Bahri. But right now, I'm going to go deal with the challenge of filing an absentee ballot for the upcoming election.