Walk like an Egyptagain

Day 2 - Alexandria

For our second day (really afternoon) in Egypt, we knew better than to adventure further inland than Alexandria, and even avoided setting foot in a cab.  We wandered the streets of the city and checked out the Alexandria National Museum as a consolation prize for missing the museum the day before.  But the biggest sight was the city itself.  It’s teeming with people and activity, but if you took away the bustle, you would think you were walking an abandoned former war zone. Cars and trams look like they were taken from a 1970’s film set. Because of the recent revolution, the garbage system is no longer running, and piles of garbage line the streets.  Occupied but unmaintained buildings and sidewalks are slowly turning to rubble.

But the people seem wholly unphased.  They sidestep debris in fashionable shoes, talking on cell phones or gossiping with friends.  Eastern and Western standards are juxtaposed as women in burkas link arms with women in jeans, make-up, and loose hair. The city made for some fascinating people watching,

But why stop at people watching when there’s a petting zoo’s worth of animal watching?  The horses could fall into two categories: the carriage horse, looking a bit tired but generally peppy and shiny, and the work horse, looking considerably more haggard and less nourished. Cattle ride in trucks or are led on foot through the streets. Sheep sit unwittingly outside of kebab shops, sometimes within a foot of a carcass of one of their own.  And there are enough stray cats and dogs to open a handful of shelters.

There aren’t too many brick and mortar stores – the bulk of shopping seems to be taken care of street vendors. On the main drag, vendors are set up by genre.  We walked past the plumbing, lumber, and school supply districts. 

Then we got ourselves lost in a neighborhood off the busy streets, and had a great time.  Kids ran around playing with dogs, and old men smoked hookah at a local teahouse.  This was an area no tour bus had been, and it felt like a special discovery – a true slice of Egyptian life. 

We popped back out onto a main boulevard, right across the street from some fascinating ruins (and the site of our favorite memory of Egypt):

On the adjacent plaza, some young boys were playing soccer with a tennis ball, but quickly spotted us with their American Radar.  They ran up excitedly. David tried to give the first boy a high five, but this was a new gesture for him, and he tried to shake hands at this awkward angle. So David grabbed his hand and walked him through the motions.  Soon all the boys lined up to practice with David, pushing each other out of the way to go back for seconds and thirds.  They were still high fiving as we parted ways.

As the sun began to set, we started attempting to navigate back to the ship.  A young man saw our confusion and obvious “not from around here”-ness, and asked us if we were looking for the port.  He happened to be on his way to work there, so we followed him – and, at times, several cows – as he quickly maneuvered through the dusty and often crumbling sidewalks, vendors, and death-defying cab drivers.  He dropped us quickly at the port gate with a handshake with David, and waved away David’s offer at the last remaining Egyptian Pounds we had no need for onboard.  In the pleasant 
human interaction department, Alexandria trounced Giza, and we realized how corruptive tourism can be on a city.