Rafael - Living live a day at a time

Work took me for 5 days to the land of the Pharaos. Too little time to explore all, so this just leaves more things to discover in Egypt for my next trip. Egypt has been for a long time on the top of my list of places to go before I die, and after this short trip it just strengthen its position in it.

Gladly the first afternoon in Cairo a colleague and myself got on a taxi and went on the touristic ride all the way to the Pyramids to have a glimpse at them (as we knew it was that moment or never). We got there after 4pm and everything was close as it was during Ramadan and people were preparing for the Iftar (or break fast). The only thing we could do was to get on horses and see a bit of the pyramids before the sun set, and so we did. On our way back we stopped for some Shisha, to try some Egyptian scents made mostly from Lotus flowers, some tea and a short stop to a papyrus Museum for the explanation on how they are made, I must say it was a great way to start my trip to Egypt.

During the week we had the chance to go to Khan El-Khalili (Bazaar in the center of the city) for Iftar with a colleague from DHL Egypt. It was completely full of people as it is a place where many people go and meet with friends to break the fasting that last during Ramadan. There I had the first chance to try some local food: Kufta, pita bread, wara' enab, fettat and omaly among others, interesting and great food.

Last day before leaving we had the chance to spend some hours in the Egyptian Museum (although no cameras allowed inside, so no pictures are available), it was really interesting to see and experience first hand all of these things related to the Egytian millenarian culture, I for sure wish to go back with more time to spend there. The only thing I must say is that it is sad to imagine the richness, art, landmarks and many other things which have been damaged and taken out of Egypt through the decades of treasure hunting. It still goes on today as our tour guide said that it's common for pieces from the museum to disappear every week.

Somehow it seems that Egyptians and Latin Americans are related, we share more than the crazy way we drive, the traffic, the way we smile no matter what happens, as it seems that we also look alike. I was confused for an Egyptian at least 7 times during my stay there, and even the officer at the Egyptian Passport Control did not believe I was Venezuelan, and questioned me in Arabic and English for some minutes just to make sure. So I can only say that it is a really interesting link between our cultures.

Really looking forward for a next trip with more time to Cairo, so really explore it and get to know the culture better. For the time being enjoy some of the pictures from my trip.