"When in Rome, do as the Romans do"

Had a very interesting experience that last week, which re-enforced the fact “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. We were trying to locate a street in Garden City by the name of “Mohammed Ali Jinnah”. Now, I was familiar with this name as being that of the first President of the then newly created state of Pakistan. But my chauffeur totally disregarded the “Jinnah” in the name when he asked for directions the first couple of times. Obviously, he thought that the “Jinnah” in the name was a mistake in my understanding, and I actually meant “Mohammed Ali Pasha” of Egypt

When he met with no success, on my prodding, he asked for the street by its complete name of “Mohammed Ali Jinnah”. But everyone he asked said “marafsh” (I don’t know), while shaking their heads. When after much driving around, we finally did stumble onto the desired street and my chauffeur read the street name written in Arabic, he said "oh you mean Mohammed Ali Genah!”, pronouncing the “J” in “Jinnah” as a “G”. I had completely forgorgotten that the Egyptians pronounce the “J” as “G” –so the name “Jamal” becomes ‘Gamal”, and “Jinnah” becomes “Ginnah”.

Now only, if I would have remembered this small detail, I could have spared myself the trouble and saved on some precious time.

Counterfeit Money

I have been frequenting the branch of Al Shabrawy on the 26th of July street in downtown for a couple of weeks now. Imagine my shock when one day, the cashier approached my friend and me and told us that the 20 pound note that we had our bill with the previous day was a counterfeit.!

My friend was pretty calm about it and just took the counterfeit note and gave him another 20 pound note. I later learnt that she had had such experiences earlier and the LE 20 pound note is particularly susceptible to being a counterfeit. This had me worried and in my quest to know how to recognize a counterfeit note, I tumbled upon this great site that details what one should look for to scertain that one has a “real” note. The site is http://www.moiegypt.gov.eg/english/Departments+Sites/PublicFunds/SecurityFeatures/LE20/

It details clearly the security features that one needs to look into a LE 5, LE 10, LE 20, LE 50, LE 100 and a LE 200 note.

The nest time you exchange money, you might want to look out for these features.

COSMOPOLITAN CAIRO

It has been little more than a year now that I have been in Cairo and the quality of this city that has impressed me the most is it being a cosmopolitan city. What is so impressive about being like many other cities across the world? The fact that Cairo is a city in what we call “Middle East” and an Islamic nation too makes it a challenging task for this city to retain its cosmopolitan flavour

The church, the mosque and the synagogue form part of the skyline of Cairo. The Eid celebrations are stupendous, no doubt, but the city also gears up for Christmas and New Year. Fir trees adorn the sidewalks, Christmas ornaments do brisk sales and Santa Claus caps and stockings are on every child’s wish-list in Cairo. Come March and the city will also celebrate the Pharonic festival of Sham-el-Nessim.

Italian, Indian, Mexican, Korean, Thai, Chinese-all kinds of cuisines can be enjoyed in Cairo in addition to the Egyptian cuisine. If you are a movie buff, Cairo affords you opportunities galore to see some brilliant films from all over the world. At the Cairo International Film Festival held annually, films from countries such as France, Spain, India, China, Japan, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon etc are screened. You want to get a peek into the Columbian society without traveling there? You had your chance in Cairo when four Columbian films with English subtitles were screened at the Columbian film festival held a fortnight back Opera, ballet, jazz music, blues, reggae, hip-hop form part of the cultural scene in Cairo. Night clubs are packed on week-ends. At the same time, the tannura dance performances and traditional music also see a full house.

Learning to belly dance in Cairo?-the expected thing!. Learning foxtrot, jive, salsa?-possible in cosmopolitan Cairo. Again whatever language you want to learn, Cairo is your destination with classes being conducted for Italian, French, English etc. You are feeling homesick?-you can bond with other members from your country through the various clubs operating here. Again, these clubs welcome members from all countries. In addition to the locals, Cairo boasts of a very large and vibrant expat community that gives Cairo its flavour as a world capital. The latest in designer wear and global trends can be found and bought here.

I am not writing here about the differential rates charged to foreigners at the tourist sites, the rip-offs by the taxi drivers, the inflated prices demanded by the “Khan” vendors, the higher rates charged by the hotels, maids etc to expats etc…This post is about all good things:-)

Baksheesh, please

According to a survey conducted by Expedia, an online travel company, Indians ranked as the "second worst tourists" in the world. One of the reasons for this dismal ranking is the fact that they got average scores on their "generosity" or to put it simply due to their lower propensity to tip. However, one year of stay in Cairo, Egypt can change this forever. As I have discovered!

During the initial months of my stay in Cairo, I had this in-built inertia against tipping-why should I pay for a service that I did not ask for and did not want? Why should I tip a person who is just doing his job? But soon the “tipping culture” gets to you and you start understanding the nuances.

My first brush with tipping was when on landing at the Cairo international airport, I visited the washroom and came face to face with a lady holding a toilet roll in her hand and handing me a swathe of tissue. I thought to myself-what a great way to ensure that there is no wastage of tissue and to encourage conservation!!. And then I saw the other ladies who had used the washroom tip the woman. The woman then looked expectantly at me-since I had only large denomination notes with me, I mumbled a thanks and left the washroom.

"Baksheesh", as tips are known in Cairo is a way of life here. At the supermarket, the person who puts the groceries inside bags, then insists on carrying it out to your car needs to be tipped. The person who opens your car door for you-whether you want such kind of service or not has long ceased to have any relevance-is not being chivalrous

While going out for dinner, the "baksheeshing "begins when you are parking your car. A man will suddenly materialize and insist on guiding you on how to turn your wheels to park your car-it is a different matter that he may never have driven a car in his life! Of course, you need to tip him. The person who guides you to your table expects a tip. You need to leave a tip on the bill amount, even if they have already added service charge. When you are walking towards your car, suddenly a man darts in front of you and takes a swipe at your windshield with a cloth-his idea of cleaning it. Your windshield is, of course, absolutely clean and you did not ask for it but you need to give him baksheesh. Decide to fill up on gas? Keep a pound ready to tip the guy who is filling up your tank-never mind that he is just doing his job

Of course, all this baksheesh business can sometimes get very uncomfortable. Like the time we ate at the Egyptian Pancake House in the Khan. Our cheque had just been brought to the table when one of the waiters came over and asked if we had liked our food. What care and courtesy! We assured him that we had enjoyed the food but he kept waiting while we sorted out the money for the cheque. We then realized that he was hanging around to ensure that we left a baksheesh.

At other times, it can get unpleasant too. While leaving from a pub, we handed LE 5 to the person “in charge” of the parking on that street. He took the money and then demanded LE 20! He held onto the car window and let go of it only after we firmly refused to pay anymore. On another occasion, outside the Boulaq market, our driver handed over LE 1 to the man who had helped him find parking. But the man got into an argument and demanded more money saying that the place where our car had been parked was his!!! (when did the authorities of Cairo hand over this tract of land to him?). Finally, the matter was settled at LE 7. Whew!

Sometimes, it is plain funny. The liftman who took us up the Cairo tower, kept telling us “welcome” and repeated again and again that he loved India and of course, loved Amitabh Bachchan. He completely ignored the other Egyptians in the lift and we were quite amused to being singled out for attention. We, of course, had to give him baksheesh! Another time, when I had gone to see off my friend traveling to Paris, we entered the wrong terminal. We were looking around trying to determine the correct terminal when a man in overalls (probably the maintenance staff at the airport) approached us. On hearing that we were there for the Air France flight, he pointed to the adjacent terminal and insisted on leading us there. My first thought was that people are so helpful and polite here...but I soon realised the folly of these thoughts. Even after we had thanked him, the man kept standing around and then it dawned on me that he was expecting a tip!

Soon you learn to judge situations. In some cases, the amount that a person gets through baksheesh are his only earnings, thus justifying tipping. Sometimes, the employers deliberately underpay the employees, hoping that they will make up in tips. This moves you to give baksheesh. Of course, in certain cases, culture overrides the necessity angle and compels you to tip. Therefore, it is important to use your judgment. Good service and need of the person should win over coercion.

P.S. Don’t leave your house without your mobile, house keys, wallet etc. In Cairo, they add…Don’t leave your house without sufficient change!

NO PARKING!

I had yet to see a “No Parking” sign in Cairo. Cars parked on both sides of a narrow street, cars parked on the pavements, cars double parked or at times even “triple parked” are a common sight here. I thought that the city of Cairo had never heard of “no-parking” areas. So, the incident that took place last week took me by surprise.

I was visiting the Al-Kotob bookstore on the El Lasilky road in New Maadi. Once I had alighted from the car in front of the bookstore, my driver kept waiting there on the curb, thinking that I would be back soon. Soon a traffic policeman approached him and asked for his license. He said that he was sorry and would go away but the police insisted on “seeing” his license. When my driver took it out to show him, the policeman just took it from his hand and walked away. My driver approached him with LE 10 in his hand to get back the license but the policeman just shook his head and said “No… don’t make me angry”, implying that he was not happy with the tenner that my driver was offering. The policeman quoted LE 30 for giving back the license. After much haggling and bargaining, the matter was settled at LE 25. The money would be split between the three traffic policemen on duty at that place! Nothing to go the government’s coffers!


This is a nice way to extract money from the unsuspecting souls-the no parking signs on the Lasilky road are put up so unobtrusively so as not to be visible at all, thereby luring cars to be parked there. Two sign are put up in front of a building housing a bank, giving the impression that the no parking regulation is specific to that building; and another is put up between trees, so as to be almost invisible!

According the new traffic law passed by the Egyptian government in August of this year, parking in no-parking zones is punishable with your license being revoked for a period of not less than 30 days. For more on the new traffic rukes, check out this link. The new stringent traffic rules may not have resulted in better traffic discipline and more money in the government’s coffers but has definitely increased the earnings of the traffic police. According to my driver, before the new traffic law came into force, the matter would have easily settled at LE 10 but the stiff fines and the prison sentences under the new law has also seen an upswing in the money extorted by the traffic police.

Cairo Tower

My visit to the Cairo tower turned out to be very disappointing, maybe because I had been looking forward to it for a long time-since the time I arrived in Cairo a year back. But the tower had been closed for renovations. The 187 m high tower with its lotus flower design seemed to beckon me every time I passed it.

The Cairo Tower has been the subject of controversy, mainly with respect to the source of funds for its construction. According to one theory, the tower is said to have been built with American hush money given to the then Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser to bring him over to the side of capitalist America. Outraged that the Amercicans thought that he could be bought, he decided to funnel the money into building the Cairo Tower as a symbol to the Americans’ “monumental folly”. Also, this tower has been the favourite spot for suicide, including that of a German student who leapt to his death from the tower in 1998, to prove his Pharonic belief that the dead are resurrected. Read http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=2666 and http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/881/special.htm

In its newly-renovated avatar, the entrance fees are a steep LE 65 (foreigners) to go to the top of the tower and obviously raises expectations. I have visited the Berlin tower and expected something like it. A glass covered viewing station, model maps put up around the viewing station to serve as a guide to what you are looking over and powerful telescopes to give you a closer look…..

But what I found is the following…

A viewing station that is not covered-has only a railing running around it. It can be dangerous and also gets very cold and windy. No guidelines to tell you what landmark/ monument you are looking over. A couple of telescopes have been placed for better viewing but beware! I inserted the requisite two LE 1 coins and following the instructions, pressed the button and peered into the telescope but my eyes were met with only darkness. I made a couple of more jabs at the button but no luck. I tried to get my money back by hitting the telescope but the non-functioning telescope coughed up 1 LE only! My other coin was lost forever. So try the telescope at your own risk!

A single lift takes you up to the viewing station. The lift can hold only 7-8 people at a time-the wait can be long if many people are visiting. The waiting area outside the viewing level for the lift is small and gets very crowded with people jostling for space and trying to elbow their way to the front of the line. If you want to take a break from the viewing station, there is the coffee shop one level below or the restaurant “360 degrees” where you can have a meal while enjoying the view of the Cairo city.

However, there is no denying that the view is fabulous, encapsulating the city of Cairo, as it were. The mosques, the skyscrapers, the twinkling lights of the plush hotels, the green open spaces, are all laid out in front of your eyes. The River Nile, snaking its way towards the Mediterranean sea, seems to almost divide the city into two. Visiting at twilight lends a surreal charm to the view with the pyramids in the distance silhouetted against the setting sun, the lights coming on in the dark grey and brown buildings characterstic of the Cairo city and of course, the River Nile flowing placidly. For the view, you could definitely give it a try!

INDIAN RESTUARANTS IN SHARM-EL-SHEIKH

Sharm el sheikh, a Red sea resort town, on the list of the global party hoppers has some of the best Indian vegetarian food in Egypt. Unbelievable but true!

I ate at three Indian restaurants there and saw another two, which I could not try out. “Tandoori” on King of Bahrain Street and close to the PaschaSharm discotheque is an award winning restaurant. It is located in the courtyard of the Camel Hotel and the dining is al fresco with an open kitchen. Though I did not much care for the vegetarian food, my dining companions were very happy with the chicken curry that they had ordered. The quality of cottage cheese (known as “paneer” in India) is my yardstick for the quality of food at a restaurant and “Tandoori” was a huge disappointment in this respect. The paneer was like rubber and very hard to chew. Also the potato in the “aloo paratha” had gone stale.

“Rangoli”, the Indian restaurant at the Sofitel Hotel in Na’ama Bay is a posh restaurant with a lovely terrace seating. Here, the cottage cheese preparation is good. The mixed pakoras that we had ordered as starters is tasty too. The methi paratha (bread stuffed with fenugreek leaves) is absolutely divine. The vegetable biryani is mildly spiced and fragrant. They insist on advance reservations, especially if you want to enjoy your dinner on the terrace overlooking the Red Sea. However, the evening we dined at Rangoli, many tables were vacant. The maitre d’hotel was very helpful in guiding us as to the quantity that would be sufficient for our group. Considering that this Indian restaurant is part of the Sofitel Hotel, the prices are reasonable.

The restaurant that I liked the best is “India House” opposite the Buddha Bar. Managed by the same people who run the “Dragon House” in Maadi, Cairo, it has the best Indian vegetarian food that I have eaten in Egypt. The dal fry is so good that I could not have enough of it. The butter nan and the butter rotis are baked just right. My friends, who tried the fish curry loved it as they did the chicken masala. And I was really pleased with the butter paneer masala. Pieces of soft cottage cheese dunked in tomato-onion gravy. Yummm….delicious!

Saw a couple of other Indian restaurants like “Taj Mahal” and “Maharaja”. However, the drawback is that all these restaurants are closed for lunch and open only at around 6.30 p.m in the evening. Therefore, this limits the number of restaurants that one can try out during your stay.

ROAD FROM CAIRO TO SHARM

The distance between Cairo to Sharm is approximately 520 km. The road is fairly simple.

From Cairo, you first need to get onto to Suez road. You can approach the Suez road, either through Maadi /Katameya road or through Nasr City. Once you get onto the Suez road and reach the entrance to the Suez protectorate, take a U-turn to reach the Ahmed Hanafi Tunnel, which snakes under the Suez Canal, connecting the town of Suez to the Sinai peninsula-in a way connecting the African mainland to Asia.

On exiting the tunnel, keep to the right and get onto the Cairo Sharm highway. There is a signpost here to guide you. Then it is a fairly straight road till you reach Sharm

From Cairo, it is approximately a six-hour journey, depending on the number and the length of your stops for WC and benzene. Fill up on gas whenever you see a petrol station. Though there are petrol stations on the way, you might not find one when you need it.

The drive is through some beautiful landscape. It is fascinating to watch the play of sun over the sea and the mountains.

Hijab and Cairene Women

A friend of ours who has been living in Cairo for the last 10 years commented that he had seen the city undergo multiple transformations. The “change” that most intrigued me was that according to him, the number of women wearing the hijab had significantly gone up since he arrived in Cairo in the year 1999. At that time, the women wearing the hijab were in a minority, especially in work places. All along, I had been under the impression that due to the increase in the number of women studying abroad, exposure to western culture, fashion consciousness etc, fewer Egyptian women were taking the hijab. However, my research validated my friend’s comments.

There does seem to be a greater number of Egyptian women taking the hijab in recent years, though their decision may not always be welcomed. In the year 2002, two TV presenters who took the hijab were excluded from appearing on the state- run TV station where they worked, by the employers, despite obtaining court judgments in their favour (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6565145.stm). In the year 2006, the Egyptian culture minister came under pressure to resign after he commented that wearing the Islamic headscarf (hijab) was “regressive.”

Taking the hijab is a serious decision and one that you need to go through the rest of your life. It is reflective of your upbringing, your outlook on life, your priorities; indeed of the very person you are. It is not uncommon to come across a group of Egyptian girls-some of them wearing the hijab and others not. Yet, they are together, they are friends and they are enjoying the same things. I find it strange that though they are part of the same group and doing the same things, there must be such a vast difference in their thinking and attitude. One might say that it is not necessary for two people to be alike to be friends. Even in India, two girls who are friends may have totally opposite styles of dressing-one always wearing the traditional “salwar kameez” and the other wearing halter tops and off-shoulder dresses. But the hijab represents a division or difference that is much deeper than differing levels of modesty. Hijab is something that is the topic of heated debate in Egypt as well as the other Muslim countries. Even in western countries having a sizable Muslim population, the hijab dominates news. It has religious implications and is a way of life.

In Cairo, some women wear the hijab tied under the chin, covering neck, shoulders and the chest. Yet others wear it tied at the back of their head, leaving part of the ears and the neck exposed. I think the different styles of wearing the hijab will form the basis of another post.

At the fitness classes that I go to, the girls/ladies wearing the hijab and attending these classes are few. They make sure that their scarves are tightly wound. And go through the routine with equal fervor. These girls/ ladies have learnt not to let the hijab stand in their way!

Coptic Cairo

Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo and is home to a number of Coptic churches. It is an important destination for the 12 million Coptic Christians in Cairo.

Early in the 2nd century, the Romans established a fortress here that was known as the Babylon fortress. The fortress had 5 layers of stone and then 3 layers of brick One of the major attractions of Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church is built on one part of the fortress of Babylon and hence gets its name. This church has no domes and is rectangular in shape. Its inverted ceiling, made of wood, is representative of Noah’s Ark. As part of the “architectural re-cycling”, a number of marble columns from old Roman churches can be found in the Hanging church. Many of the wooden panels in the church are inlaid with ivory and ebony, without the use of adhesive, leaving just enough space to allow for expansion. Though in earlier times, the churches had frescoes on walls; the Hanging church has wood icons as they are portable and could be rescued in times of attack. In the year 451 A.D, the Church of Egypt split from the Church of Rome because of dogmatic differences. During mass, in Coptic churches, men sit on the left aisle and the women on the right aisle.

The Hanging Church suffered destruction in the 9th century and has been restored since then a number of times. At some places, Arabic writing can be found on its walls; this was added post the decree which necessitated that all writing must be bi-lingual. Egypt was the first country to accept the infant Jesus after his flight from Herod. The palm trees that provided the dates to the Holy Family when they were in hiding is to be found in the forecourt of the Hanging Church.

The newly renovated Coptic Museum has some wonderful displays relating to Coptic Christianity in Egypt. The displays have been arranged chronologically and it is easy to see how the early Coptic art and artifacts were influenced by the Greek and Roman myths. Thereafter as the understanding pertaining to Christianity grew, a mix of the Roman and Christian art can be found. For example, there is a figure of a saint dressed in Roman clothes. The Pharonic art potrayed the figures sideways whereas the figures under Coptic art gave a frontal view. The most amazing display of mashrebeya can be found in the Coptic museum and the lavishly painted wooden ceilings are originals taken from homes of the wealthy Coptics in Egypt. Texts from the Nag Hammadi Codex are on display here.


The Hall of the Churches of Old Cairo has many beautiful displays taken from old churches. Candlesticks and bible cases made of metal and inlaid with coloured glass, some beautiful wooden frescoes from old churches and even a door from St Barbara Church (6th century) can be found. You cannot carry your camera inside the museum

Other interesting churches to visit in the Coptic area are the St Sergius Church and the Ben Ezra synagogue.