22.03.2018 - 23.03.2018
Egypt's population continues to
explode, and there are now just shy of 100 million Egyptians, 29 million
of whom live in the greater Cairo area. For anyone who has not
witnessed Egypt in general, or Cairo in particular, it is simply
impossible to adequately describe the chaos. Perhaps the most visible
sign of this chaos is, of course, the traffic. I clearly remembered the
incessant car horns from my previous visits, and we weren't even out of
the sprawling airport complex before we encountered the cacophony of
horns. Traffic lane markings and signs mean -- literally -- nothing to
Egyptians. They are not even suggestions, and the effort required to
even paint them is a waste of time and money. Cars drive where they
want, and Egyptian drivers use their horns to communicate. A single
horn is played to indicate to someone that you are there, such as coming
up on their flank, or to let them know you're there when a car
invariably drifts close to you. Two horns means "watch out," and three
horns -- while rare -- means "I'm seriously about to hit you." Seeing
the traffic for the first time, and trying to get a handle on the sheer
size of Cairo can be disconcerting for first-time visitors. The drive
to our hotel in Giza is only about 20 miles, but requires that you drive
southwest, essentially through the heart of the city. While Giza is
technically a suburb, as is the area with the airport, there is no
physical demarcation between any of these areas, as they have all
developing into one ginormous area of urban sprawl. The highway from
the airport is lined with billboards, too, advertising literally dozens
of new suburbs being built on the outskirts of the city to accommodate
the never-ending population swell. These new developments have names
such as "Mega City," City of Tomorrow," and "Shining Light." They are
also building a new administrative capital, where they hope to move
government agencies. Fittingly, it is called "New Capital."
The drive to our hotel took about an hour and half, part of which was due to our arrival around 6:30pm. It was well past 9:00pm before we had reached the hotel, completed the check-in procedure, secured our bags, and reached our rooms. We had very nice rooms overlooking the beautiful pool and spa, and with views of the illuminated pyramids, essentially across the street. All three of us were exhausted, and had no trouble falling asleep.
The drive to our hotel took about an hour and half, part of which was due to our arrival around 6:30pm. It was well past 9:00pm before we had reached the hotel, completed the check-in procedure, secured our bags, and reached our rooms. We had very nice rooms overlooking the beautiful pool and spa, and with views of the illuminated pyramids, essentially across the street. All three of us were exhausted, and had no trouble falling asleep.
 |
| View from Our Room Before Bed |
No comments:
Post a Comment