Cairo

And so to last stop on my Middle-East tour - Cairo. What a chaotic city. Pandemonium. While I have commented elsewhere on driving in middle-eastern cities, Cairo takes the biscuit. Our cab driver seemed very well adapted to the dodgems cum video game being played out before him. While using his left hand for his mobile phone his right was stretched across the steering wheel with his fingers used for turning the wheel while his thumb could press the middle of the wheel where the horn was located. And the horn was pretty much in constant use. 10 times a minute would be no exaggeration. So you can imagine what the traffic sounded like. Added to the sheer density of it, no one is going too fast so it is not the roar of traffic you hear but the honk of it. As for crossing the roads as a pedestrian, well forget it. Our guide said just find an Egyptian pedestrian and get inside him, and when he runs do so too, always keeping him on the traffic side. There is a video-game to be made here, although maybe "Egyptian pedestrian" is going to need a snappier name.

One very full day in Cairo. The inevitable trip to Giza to see the pyramids and the sphinx. Effectively there are 3 great pyramids and yes they do impress. But the one bit I hadn't realised is that they are not in the middle of the desert, but completely swallowed by Cairo's every burgeoning suburbs. A city of 20 million and rising rapidly.

Then onto the archaeological museum. A rather splendid collection. All the Tutankahmun stuff in there and surprisingly not totally obscured by tourists. And the sheer amont of gold really needs to be seen. There is also a lesser but not to be sniffed at treasure of Tarsis to see too, plus heaps of statues, clay models of every day lfe (very interesting - especially of boats - one excellent one with all the oarsmen straining against their oars (which sadly were missing) another of a pair of fishing booats complete with net and identifiable species of fish) and mummies (including those of every animal they had available - cats, dogs, birds, horses, ibex, baboons, cocodiles - if it moved they quickly stopped it moving and mummified it!)

And finally an evening walk around some of the City, the walls, mosque, a grand house now converted into a museum and the bazaar for a last chance to buy tacky souvenirs. I opted to guzzle mint tea rather than partake of the shopping experience, but that didn't stop vendors coming up to you in the cafe and offering jewellery and the inevitable genuine fake rolexes. For dinner decided to go for a local dish - two pigeons stuffed with rice. My first and probably last attempt to eat pigeon. Plenty of spicy rice but no noticeable amount of meat.

And then it was all over bar the 5:30am wake-up call for the flight home. At least that beat the traffic.

So, didn't see a broad spectrum of Egypt, although I had been to Loxor recently too. Chaotic feel to it. Not too easy to love Cairo although the buzz was pleasant enough. And the walk through the poorer commercial district did give a feel for real Cairo, right down to the herds of sheep being held for sale in the alley ways so that everyone could buy a fresh one to take home to slaughter and eat. Imagine buying your Turkey early for Christmas and keeping it in your back garden for a couple of weeks.

Certainly not a hassle-free holiday destination, but Dahab was a pleasant by the sea oasis of calm and good food, although definitely not typically Egyptian.

Overall, a great trip around the Middle-East - much enjoyed the tour group, the comfort of having your own little coterie of familiar faces as we pottered around, and of meeting new people. I really could travel perpetually I think. 3 months hasn't left me sated.