Cairo

 

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Cairo

Cairo

Cairo is a little like the Karnak Temple complex in that it is a glorious melange of architectural styles, eras and peoples.

Cairo is a little like the Karnak Temple complex in that it is a glorious melange of architectural styles, eras and peoples. Everything seems to be on top of each other and this gives the Egyptian capital its effervescence, the dynamism which surprises, captivates and frightens all at once. But I had come for something specific.

How should I explain? I had been looking forward to finally discovering the pyramids, seen and reseen and endlessly described, praised, photographed and dissected by a mass of visionaries, scholars and scientists after renown or failing that at least their five minutes of fame. Finally, they are here in front of me, under the light of a mildly hazy late afternoon. I don’t know if it’s the fatigue of a morning arrival at Cairo airport, of a horribly short night spent at Luxor saying my goodbyes to my cruise companions or of this past day subjected to the noise and dust of the Egyptian capital. ???
The pyramids are right here in front of me yet i find them incredibly small! Sat down on a stone, I closed my eyes, tried to calm the chaos that was reigning in my mind, came to terms with my disappointment and took stock of the situation. I recited to myself the figures that I’d learnt by heart: Khufu, 479ft high (453ft today), 755ft base, around 2.3 million blocks, average weight of 2.5 tonnes par block and built on 201 levels. The scholars of the Egyptian expedition calculated that if one were to lay all the blocks of the three pyramids end to end, a wall of just under 10ft could be built around the entire perimeter of France. Anyway, it doesn’t rain much here, so nothing can really shrink. Right, that’s it, I reopen my eyes. Wow! It works. There they are again, my beautiful pyramids, Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura, massive certainly, but slender too, taking on proudy that elegance, that nonchalance acquired over the centuries. Below the pyramids of Giza is enthroned the Sphinx. At the feet of the Sphinx sculpted with the head of the pharaoh Khafra, hide the ruins of a temple dating back to third millennium BC and restored by Thutmose IV.

A passing warden advises me to go and visit the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. «　There,　» he says, «　you’ll find all of Egypt’s riches and a lot more besides.　» The museum is packed full of these riches, over-flowing even. Tutankhamen’s gold is there, of course, as well as his usual fan club. There is a multitude of mummies, innumerable statues and a host of sarcophaguses; the head turns from one marvel to another without stop. Started in 1858 by Auguste Mariette and enriched and enlarged by Gaston Maspero and his successors, the museum’s collection is said to be home to around half a million objects, of which only 120,000 are on exhibit! Just like during my site visits, I prefer to wander round in a random manner down the aisles and past the display cabinets, steer clear of the all too learned guides and continue on my love-struck way. I leave exhausted, but happy. I’ll go back tomorrow.

A moment of relaxation with which to round of the day brings me to a café, but any café: the El Fichawi.
The sculpted and upholstered wooden benches and gold chairs stretch down the tourist souk’s alley, the essential passage for mobpedallers and kids with the smiles of angels selling bread rolls from trays. Everyone does business here while seated. The leather worker carries out his quality demonstration, burning his leather with absolutely no effect. Shoe shiners wait by the side of the allies while the peddlers try and shift arts and craft, necklaces, paper tissues and lighters. ??? A large crocodile, stuck to the ceiling looks down at you in the company of some imposing glass lampposts.

Hardly a second goes by without someone approaching you; kids, men or this Canadian-Egyptian lady! She has lived here for 15 years but reproaches the Egyptians for their over-the-top conviviality which can put off foreigners. A European lady fills in her travel journal, drawing unusual scenes. Hours pass and the pace of activity doesn’t slacken. People take to cats pleading for their caresses, neighbours chatter and strangers take photos of each other to a background of conversations and laughter. You may be lucky enough to see groups of trendy young Egyptians sit down around you which means noise, laughter, drums and a good feeling which jumps from one group to another. Eternally trendy, the El Fichawi café attracts great crowds. Lost in the tourist souk, they stay for hours on end to recharge their batteries, alone or in groups, and to smoke hookah.


???. But time means nothing here. Here we are, sitting in front of the embers of our hookah, filled with wonder at this scene of dissolute characters, extending our glass in order to receive this holy beverage. “Dayman” (May your hospitality last forever). In reply “damit Hayat” (may you live a long life). The tea, this sweet liquid, honey-coloured, golden, bitter, soft and hot, is always served with purpose and sensuality, from small red teapots decorated with tiny flowers.



Every evening, six o’clock, the lights go on to create a night time atmosphere full of laughter and good humour.




A whirlwind.


Naguib Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988, came here to write. He took an interest in the more working-class suburbs through his novels, the most famous of which were the Cairo Trilogy.

Category : Egyptian Towns
items Date : 01/08/2009
Author of items : Senakht