Welcome to Egypt

Cairo, Egypt If American tourists’ only exposure to Egypt was the Cairo airport, there wouldn’t be any rush to visit. Chaos abounds, and signage is minimal. Though English is generously used, clear directions are rare. It took two hours to get an Egyptian visa (recommended to buy at the airport), survive passport control, get luggage and try to find our pre-arranged driver — who never showed.

And then there are the cab hustlers who make brethren in India look calm as they attach like leeches to your arm. Thank goodness we were only coming off a five-hour flight from one time zone away. International travelers who flew for 10+ hours and across six time zones must really get the shakes.

In any event, we ultimately got to our hotel by midnight, and checked into our lovely room, overlooking the Nile.

But enough about us. Our plan for the day was to visit the nearby Egyptian Museum — not to be confused with the new one. Though Tut has decamped to the Grand Museum, many treasures are still here.

Number one is something so important that I couldn’t believe we were the only people looking at it. It is called the Narmer Palette, and is an artifact of the first pharaoh who united the North and South of Egypt. It is called a palette because the round circle on one side was used to blend eye makeup, used by both men and women to counter the sun.

It took our breath away to see it, after months of studying Egyptian history.

Unless you have likewise spent your time on Egypt 101, you can look at some of the wonders we saw from an aesthetic perspective, marveling at 3,000 years of creativity and artistry.

We also saw the original capstone of one of the great pyramids. The range of the collection is amazing — everything from household goods and musical instruments to royal coffins, grave goods and mummies. And, while most display cases might merit a bit of dusting, the magnitude of the job would be daunting.

If you are lucky enough to have access to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, you may be well-versed in the nuances between the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, and appreciate how those eras are represented there.

If not, check your local resources! It’s amazing there is so much left here in Egypt, considering what was sent abroad. (Trivia note: There are more Egyptian obelisks in Rome than there are left in all of Egypt. Plus, one in London and one in New York City. The centerpiece of the Place de la Concorde in Paris is an Egyptian obelisk.)

Don’s Food Corner

It was a slow day food-wise day. The breakfast buffet wasn’t as elaborate as the one we left behind in Madrid. And the only option for lunch was the “restaurant” at the Egyptian Museum. We were trapped! The restaurant itself was actually outside of the museum in a courtyard. That meant we had to go through the gift shop twice — once to get a little lunch and once went we left later in the afternoon. Jo was not displeased by this required repeat action.

The lunch options were meager. Meager, that is, beyond some welcome Coke Zero. Jo ordered something called a fried chicken sandwich. It was covered with some type of sliced cheese in a large, long roll. Unfortunately, it was slathered with curry powder, as were the french fries. Yuck.

I ordered a falafel sandwich. Falafel in Egypt is made from fava beans and not chick peas. The falafel disks were served in pita bread with a side of tahini sauce. The fries that came with it were also sprinkled with curry powder.

All in all, disgusting. Now, several hours later, at least we are not sick, which is a blessing.

The Cokes were the highlight of the meal.