This advice was given to me by an employee of the Egyptian Museum as I was attempting to cross a busy street downtown. I have been getting around Cairo either on foot or in a cab. Navigating the city requires vigilance, speed, and patience. Sidewalks cease to exist, only to re-emerge a block later. Occasionally trucks are parked on them. Cars will always honk obligingly, but rarely slow down. It is usually easy to catch a cab, and it has been great for practicing my colloquial Egyptian. Boys take the front seat and girls pile in the back. I’ve been tempted to hang my head out the window like an excited puppy, the better to enjoy the breeze, but don’t for fear of decapitation by the motorcycles that dart between the gaps in traffic.
School trips are complicated affairs. I went to Ain Sokhna this weekend for an overnight at a hotel on the Red Sea. Tired and sandy, we climbed onto our buses for the long drive back to Cairo. However, that was not meant to be. A car accident, which had taken place hours before, had not been cleared and the only road back to the city was totally blocked. People had abandoned their cars in the road and were sleeping on the grass on the side of the freeway.
We sat on the bus for about three hours. I think it was three hours; time didn’t seem to be operating normally. Nobody knew what had caused the accident or even what kind of vehicles were involved. The general mood on the bus swung from despondent to hyper and back again. We consumed innumberable juice boxes and packages of Oreos. After a failed set of negotiations with local police, it was decided that, rather than camp out on the bus overnight, we would drive back to the hotel and try to get back the next day. After some truly impressive maneuvering on the part of our drivers, we succeeded in turning around. The following morning, the roads were navigable, but there was still twisted and blackened wreckage on the sides. I was very happy to get back into the city, and even happier to be in a vehicle that was moving.
Egypt tries my patience sometimes, but the uncertainty of travelling here adds to the excitement of wherever you’re going. Sometimes you just have to sit on the bus, eat your Oreos, and enjoy the ride.