Not quite the furthest we’ve flown in distance from our home, but certainly the furthest we’ve flown from the intrinsic parts of our home. Weeks, months, and years of planning, pleading, and praying for the stars to align and here we are upon our arrival to our fifth continent and latest addition to our passports, the Arab Republic of Egypt. A few glasses of orange juice later, we learn that over 20 million others are in town, not just because they live here, but many made a similar journey to the capital city to celebrate the end of the month of Ramadan. Busy streets loud with errant horn honking hide the smiles and joys of some of the most hospitable party animals I’ve ever met.
Flying to Egypt is a little bit of a logistics challenge. First off, Delta ceased operations to Cairo amidst concerns stemming from the Arab Spring, and specifically the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. So, getting here means you’re having to fly on someone else. Codeshare partners AirFrance and KLM both fly here, but our thoughts were if we were to get stuck somewhere, might as well make it somewhere new. So a few hours in Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport took us aboard the new Alitalia experience on ITA Airways. Three hours and twenty eight minutes later, we stepped foot on Egyptian soil and found ourselves excited for what’s to come.
An hour or so driving through the crowded streets of Cairo, where lane markings are mere suggestions and a general lack of road signs make it quite clear there’s no way in hell that I’m driving in this place, we arrive at our accommodations for the week. Down a dusty alleyway between buildings, we have no idea what we’re in for, until we meet our new friend and the man behind making all this possible, Mido.
Mido is an amazing man. Having lived in this country his entire life, he’s found out the genuine power of kindness and hospitality. Any active Delta employee who’s a part of the various non-revenue travel groups online can attest to this man’s ability to take one of the top ten most populated cities in the world and make it feel like home. Having been in regular communication with Stefani for the better part of six months or more, he’s taken our ideas of the experience we wish to have for our family in our world travels and made them all possible.
While Mido shared with us a lot of the history of these sacred spaces, much of what he shared with us centered on the similarities of our beliefs and that of the ancient Egyptians. Speaking from a common level of understanding that even my children can keep up with, Mido’s ability to communicate deep philosophical questions and answers is something that I truly appreciated. An impressive inquiry into the question why that has been asked since our specie figured out how to have thought being shared to my family while our driver for the week Ayran dodges errant pedestrians and vehicles that again have no concept of lanes and/or sidewalks are memories that will last a lifetime.
On that driving note, I asked Ayran if he was interested in teaching my daughter how to drive in Egypt. My thought…if she could even just barely survive driving around Cairo, anywhere in America she would thrive. Mido replied “to be a good driver in Egypt, you need three things. A good horn, a good set of brakes, and good luck.”
Roads were busy with all manners of wheeled conveyances. Thousands of VW busses with the many marks of being “hugged” (read: impacted) by other vehicles are intermixed with dozens of similarly white vans stuffed with various passengers in what appear to be makeshift taxi services, and a few tuk-tuks take advantage of the suggested manner of driving efficiently and somehow turn it into a safe, thought out orchestra. Well, safe in the manner that I haven’t yet seen anyone actually get hit (only the evidence of such) and that our driver has a seat belt insert that replaces where his actual seatbelt goes so the van doesn’t go beep all day (in his defense he did change to the actual seatbelt on the faster elevated highways).
Amidst what some may call the errant chaos that is a few million people celebrating the end of a month of fasting sunrise to sunset, the kindness and genuine hospitality of the Egyptian people continues to soften my heart (and, knowing that a light heart is the key for that successful voyage into the afterlife, I could use some work in that area). The US State Deportment assigns levels of caution for Americans traveling abroad, and has assigned Egypt a Level 3, meaning “Reconsider travel”. Other countries similarly assigned Level 3 include Jamaica (we’ve been there), Pakistan (probably not for a while), and Rwanda (same). Level 4 is reserved for “Do Not Travel” and holds North Korea and Afghanistan on its list.
Most of my internal trepidations on coming to Egypt rested in this classification. “Due to terrorism” the State Department says, and a few Google searches for articles, stories, and personal experiences to solidify the State Department’s assessment made it clear. And I’ll help justify my thoughts on the matter adding in less than ideal load factors on flights from SLC to ATL to FCO to CAI and back, but again the softening of the heart (and more favorable load factors) and my excitement to come here eventually mirrored Stefani’s.
The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only surviving one, surely was a huge draw to come here. The Great Pyramid of Giza stands tall in the view of our hotel’s rooftop terrace, where morning breakfasts and evening games of cards were played. We walked around them, rode ATVs around them, and even took a few camels for a jaunt around them to see the Great Sphinx of Giza. We (shh) touched the stones that made these massive monuments possible, stared at them day and night, and through all this, learned many things that again helped relate ourselves to those who first called this place home.
And if Mido wasn’t enough, his brother Ramy spent the next day with us, sharing with us the commonalities between nature, religion, and Egyptians. Walking around pieces of stone unearthed in canals dug throughout the city, we learned the importance of a name. And not just anyone’s name, but the name of the powerful leaders of this great civilization, having been meticulously carved into the solid stone, surrounded by an oval shape. These cartouches made it clear that not everyone was honored or memorialized with such grand monuments, and those that were did many great things for their fellow citizens.
And finally, our friend Ayran. For without him, our treks across these dusty lands would have not been as safe or as comfortable as I could have made possible. Always smiling, making sure our ride was right where it needed to be, and always offering a hand to our Oakli as she made the climb in and out of his van. Before we said our final goodbyes, Mido, Ramy, and Ayran embraced us with the same warmth and love we’ve felt since we arrived. But before we played Crossy Road to get to the terminal, I felt inspired to write something in one of my translate apps (having made sure the reverse translation didn’t take anything out of context) and, while I keep some of those words between Ayran and I, I wished him well with his health and family, and quoted some of the first few words of the Quran.
In a mere three days touring Cairo, we accomplished many great tasks. The obvious, crossing continent number five off the list. Immersing ourselves in a faraway land, we learned the deliciousness of Baba Ganoush, and how important family is to our Egyptian brothers and sisters. We saw many important leaders of these people mummified in museums, and immortalized in monuments. And while all of this just by happenstance came at the time of the feast after Ramadan, we learned we have a lot more in common with our Muslim brothers and sisters than previously thought.
But most importantly, I learned more about the power of love. Love for one’s self, one for one another, and one for our God. It wasn’t one minute after stepping foot in this amazing place that I could feel that genuine love for one another, and having embraced Mido and Ramy on our arrival, that immeasurable love immediately silenced any previous trepidations felt on coming here.
Love is truly an amazing thing. My only hope is that through these experiences, my children can see the true power love has to conquer all things. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear.”
God is great, or as they say here in Egypt, Allah Akbar.
