egypt

egypt: pyramids, desert, sphinx, history, ruins, tombs, sarcophaguses (or sarcophagi, your choice), pharaohs.. everybody knows that part.. but is there anything more? really, as far as general tourism, i don't think so..

at first, i hated egypt. it is hot, dirty, noisy, ugly, dusty, hectic, dry and polluted.. thinking maybe only cairo was like this, after a couple of days (and after seeing the pyramids and the museum) i decided to go to alexandria..

alexandria is by the beach, and i thought it'd more laid back, where i could get away from the chaos and relax, but i was wrong.. it was just as bad, but with worse accommodations and even less interesting stuff to see..

and then my luck changed: i met an amazing local girl through couchsurfing, and instead of sightseeing and doing touristy things, i made a friend.. we hung out for 3 days, talking hours over tea, stuffing our bellies with amazing egyptian food, playing guitar at the park or just walking around aimlessly..

it was some fantastic 3 days, but i had to go back to cairo and see more stuff.. so i did, and then i met more couchsurfers and some of their friends.. we were 6, all from different countries, different backgrounds and different reasons for being in cairo.. one of them never did much sightseeing, so we decided to go on a 'tourist day'..

we actually didn't see much, because it was pretty hot and we met kinda late, but we managed to go to the citadel, in islamic cairo, with some mosques (including the mohamed ali mosque) and an old palace.. then we waited for a dramatic sunset over a panoramic view of the city at the al-azhar park..

other than the good people, one thing i absolutely loved about egypt is the food.. shawerma (meat sandwich), fetir (sort of a pancake), gibna beida, baba ganouj, foul eskandrani, humus, mosaka (dips).. jeez, my mouth is watering already!

so there you go.. started with bad impressions, left wanting more.. five thousand years of history, and still surprising, this is egypt.

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hectic traffic and crowded streets in cairo

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mummy at the egyptian museum (ps: iphone shot.. cameras are not allowed ins ide, there's x-ray and baggage check!)

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the great sphinx of giza

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this egyptian r0cks!

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somewhere in old cairo..

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mohamed ali mosque, in islamic cairo

-- pt --

egito: piramides, deserto, esfinge, historia, ruinas, tumbas, sarcofagos, faraos.. todo mundo sabe dessa parte.. mas tem mais alguma coisa? de verdade, em geral, turisticamente, eu acho que nao..

a principio eu odiei o egito. e' quente, sujo, barulhento, feio, empoeirado, caotico, seco e poluido.. pensando que talvez isso fosse so' em cairo, depois de uns 2 dias (e depois de ver as piramides e o museu) eu decidi ir a alexandria..

alexandria e' uma cidade praiana, e eu achei que seria mais sossegada, onde eu poderia me livrar do caos e relaxar, mas eu estava errado.. era tao ruim quanto, mas com piores acomodacoes e ainda menos coisas interessantes pra ver..

e ai' minha sorte virou: eu conheci uma fantastica garota local atraves do couchsurfing, e ao ives de ver a cidade e fazer passeios turisticos, eu fiz uma amizade.. a gente passou 3 dias juntos, conversando por horas e tomando cha, enchendo a banha com a maravilhosa comida egipcia, tocando violao no parque e simplesmente andando sem rumo pela cidade..

foram 3 dias fantasticos, mas eu tinha que voltar a cairo pra ver mais coisas.. entao eu voltei, e conheci mais gente do couchsurfing e amigos deles tambem.. eramos 6, todos de paises diferentes, e todos em cairo por razoes diferentes.. um deles nao tinha visto muito a parte turistica da cidade ainda, entao a gente combinou de tirar um "dia de turista"..

nos nao vimos muito, porque o dia estava extremamente quente e a gente se encontrou meio tarde, mas tivemos tempo de ir ao citadel, no cairo islamico, com alguns mosques (incluindo o importante mohamed ali mosque) e um palacio antigo.. depois ficamos esperando pelo por do sol dramatico sobre uma vista panoramica da cidade, no parque al-azhar..

alem das pessoas, outra coisa que eu absolutamente adorei no egito foi a comida.. shawerma (sanduiche de carne), fetir (tipo uma panqueca), gibna beida, baba ganouj, foul eskandrani, humus, mosaka (tipo pates).. humm, ja ta dando agua na boca!

entao ta ai'.. comecei com uma ma impressao, terminei querendo mais.. cinco mil anos de historia, e ainda surpreendente, esse e' o egito.

(foto 1)
transito louco e ruas lotadas em cairo

(foto 2)
mumia no museu egipcio (ps: foto do iphone.. cameras sao proibidas no museu, tem raio-x, inspecao de bolsas e tudo!)

(foto 3)
a grande esfinge de giza

(foto 4)
essa egipcia r0cks!

(foto 5)
em algum lugar no cairo antigo

(foto 6)
mohamed ali mosque, no cairo islamico