Aug 082011
Friday, 23 July
I was always fascinated by Egyptian history and always wanted to see the last standing ancient world wonder (of course Egypt is so much more than that). So I invited my two sisters, Burcu and Nilgün (called Nille) to accompany me what finally meant I had travel buddies and was not alone as usual.
We were picked up free of charge from the airport by the Meramees Hostel in Cairo where we were staying for two nights. The hostel was located in downtown Cairo which used to be the area of the well-to-do in the past. Over the decades the wealthy found better places and moved to other parts in the city leaving the wide boulevards and French Architecture of the downtown area. Today it looks quite neglected and left to its own decay. Our hostel was on the fifth and sixth floor with no sign on the wall outside the building. It looked like a normal apartment building, doors wide open. Once you stepped in you found yourself in front of these old antique elevators that are all over Egypt. I had read in one of the reviews for the hostel that the reviewer got stuck in exactly this elevator and advised against using it. Knowing that I vehemently refused to take it up. Even the loud persuasion of the superintendent in Arabic who was sleeping next to the elevator on a bench (his sleeping place for the night, meaning his bedroom) couldn't change my decision. My sisters were lamenting but I knew better and insisted on marching up. I was not in the mood to get stuck and endanger my prospect of a good night sleep in a cozy bed. Once upstairs what seemed hours later we found out that the elevator has been working fine and that everybody was using it. I chose to ignore the faces of my sisters avoiding their grimaces of complete annoyance and raised eyebrows.
We were not in our room yet when we met Cody from Seattle working at the pc that was right in front of our room. He had just arrived the day before and was planning to go to the Pyramids the next day. Perfect! That was exactly what I had planned as well. So we agreed on going together in the morning.
Cody had worked for an NGO in India and was finishing his stay there by traveling to several countries before returning back to Seattle. His friend Elliot was with him as well. We were also joined by Michael (pronounced Mickel) from France who was half Malian and whom we met later in the evening.