Egypt 2007 (Part Seven)

Ain Sokhna – Beach – 429/7837 – sunny/cloudy

Continued from "Egypt 2007" Part Six

Cairo – MISR Travel Parking – 147/7984 – sunny

At 8 we set off again for Cairo, the weather is nice and we almost regret leaving the beach, Daniele had a swim in freezing water, unfortunately a new problem looms, there's a strange noise from the camper, like a siren: we stop and I open the porthole and notice that the TV antenna is bending considerably, SuperBruno thinks it's the cause of the noise and it's removed, then it's noticed that the screws of the hinge on the porthole have come loose and they're immediately re-tightened and secured, we set off again with SuperBruno on board, the noise continues, another group stop, the bonnet opened it's found that the air intake hose isn't secured and the gasket on the filter duct doesn't exist, it's worn out, with some adhesive tape what's been lost is replaced, off we go again: at first the whistling is heard again and then it will fade, SuperBruno has fixed the fault.

Back at the MISR parking area we arrange ourselves differently, in a comb layout and not parked at the sides as last time, we don't understand why!!! The women straight off to do the shopping in the nearby shops, they're all there: from the greengrocer, to the butcher, to the fishmonger and the greengrocer, they're certainly not the shops of our home, dirt and poor hygiene prevail, but Amuchina saves us. In the afternoon a visit by minibus to the Egyptian Museum, very interesting, among the many things that Aiman explains to us and shows us, there's the treasure of Tutankhamun's tomb: it's a fabulous objective reality, the wealth of objects, jewellery and furnishings is fantastic, not to be missed, unfortunately you can't take photographs inside the museum.

The next visit was to the Cairo bazaar, for two hours we wandered through these alleyways full of local folklore, with insistent sellers offering us very poor-quality products.

Cairo – MISR Travel Parking – 0/7984 – sunny

Today was an intense day of visits: - The Citadel with the Mosque of Mohammed Ali and the Mosque of Hassan - Mosque of Ibn Tulun - Blue Mosque, in the old city among narrow streets and rubble - An essence shop - Mausoleum of Ibn Barquq - Mosque of Qaitbey At lunch at the Soirèe restaurant similar to the one in Luxor, we ate well, Western-style; on the way out the usual tour guide trap: a visit to a perfume workshop-shop, where the women went crazy, they bought everything and more, so we lost almost two hours, with the complaints of those who, like me, were interested in Cairo and not in the essences, which we then found out came from India; in fact a truck was unloading boxes and we confirmed their origin. Another unplanned stop at a glassworks, where again there were purchases of glasses, bottles and chandeliers.

To finish, the visit to the City of the Dead, a cemetery inhabited by the living, poor people who live among the tombs, in absolute filth. Aiman, as usual, was very thorough in his explanations, even though an extreme nationalism comes through in him. Today we saw several mosques; in all of them we had to take off our shoes, but no one asked the women to put on a veil as happened in other countries; we were allowed to film or take photographs; everywhere we noticed neglect and garbage; they all have their architectural beauty, but they have nothing to do with those seen in Iran: beautiful with their ceramics, their colours and especially their cleanliness.

Cairo – MISR Travel Parking – 0/7984 – sunny

Before setting off for the various excursions, Leader Luisa collected 15 € per camper to give to our guide as extra compensation for his services; Tony prepared a nice thank-you letter and, as it was read, the gruff Aiman was moved and thanked all the members of the group with a hug. Today was Emanuele's birthday, no celebrations.

Minibus at 9, visit to: - Mausoleum of Al-Ghouri - Coptic Museum - The Hanging Church - Convent and the church of Saint George - Ben Ezra Synagogue, very beautiful but you can't take photographs - Roman Towers - Souq al-Fustat with the Gate of Misr al-Qadima - Al-qahira district - House of al-Suhaymi - Mausoleum of Al-ghouri - Al-Azhar Mosque I must say that the mosques seen today were more satisfying than yesterday's: they were clean, you could see a lot of restoration work and they were more frequented; the old city presented itself as an agglomeration of old houses with dirt roads and unfinished excavations everywhere; here too, with all the difficulties of the case, cars speed along at a crazy pace.

Some in the group were enchanted by this sight, claiming that this is the real Egypt, this is the real people of Cairo: I saw only poor people living precariously without any help from the state, some reduced to begging; I was ashamed to be in that place with my 1000 € camera and I couldn't bring myself to take many photos, thinking I would offend these people's dignity. After the visit to yet another mosque, we headed back, passing by a supermarket to stock up; big purchases by everyone in anticipation of a few days of pure travelling for the return to Libya. This evening, final preparations: filling the water and emptying the grey water; tomorrow we leave at 6 to avoid Cairo's chaotic traffic.

– Marsa Matruh – Parking by the sea – 502/8486 – sunny/cloudy

Departure at 6, traffic still light, we leave Cairo without problems; Atef isn't in the guides' car, he didn't even say goodbye when he left us: he was very rude. After filling up with diesel, we arrive at El Natrun for the visit to the Coptic monastery of Bishoy, beautiful and interesting, explained and described by a monk in Arabic and translated by Aiman; we noticed that the monk would have preferred to speak in English with one of us rather than have to depend on a Muslim. The visits in Egypt are over; now we head toward the border, we stop for the night at Marsa Matruh, along the sea near Rommel beach where we stopped on the way there; our guides initially had suggested for the night a dirt lot full of garbage on the outskirts of town; at our objections they immediately opted for this place.

Now Tina and some others have taken two taxis and gone into town; my foot still hurts, it's better not to strain it except for interesting things or visits; I just hope she doesn't spend too much.

Tobruk (Libya) – Hotel Parking - 378/8864 – cloudy/rain/sandstorm.

Last night I got lucky, Tina spent nothing, she didn't find what she was looking for. Departure at 8, heading for Saloum; without rushing we reached the Egyptian/Libyan border at noon; Ghead had arrived earlier to prepare the documents needed for customs clearance; anyway, to leave Egypt and enter Libya, where Sofian was waiting for us, it took 3.30 hours. At customs we met another group of Italians, 12 campers, doing the same tour as us with the same guides; some of us knew a few participants in the other group and they greeted each other through a fence separating the entrance and exit from Egypt. While we waited, something very ridiculous happened: we campers, climbing over mountains of garbage, went to a dumpster, empty, to deposit our waste; many people watched us smiling; I hope we set them an example.

Finally free of the Egyptian police, escorted by Sofian and a single policeman, we headed toward Tobruk; for the night's stop we stayed at the hotel that hosted us on the way there. In recent days a discussion had arisen between the crews of the campers that were at the back and those that were in the front positions; those behind were accused of slowing down the trip and of not being able to keep the group together. I (no. 6) reiterated several times that due to the elastic effect: those at the back can't keep the pace of the first one, there's always something holding you back and to catch up with the group you have to drive faster than the first one, with the risks that entails. My proposal, as I had done on other trips, was to alternate: today's first will be tomorrow's last, so that everyone understands in turn what it means to be in front and to be behind and behaves accordingly.

Leader Luisa talked about it with a few people, asking only for opinions; the no. 2 crew, annoyed, on their own initiative, at yesterday's departure placed themselves at the back; today the no. 3 crew placed themselves behind no. 2; Leader Luisa took care to point out that this was not done on her orders but through the arbitrary initiative of two crews; in fact all this is no longer of any use, traffic is almost nonexistent and being behind or in front changes nothing; anyway, the whole thing was a spark that set off an argument between me and Tina, who had proposed rotating the positions, and no. 2's wife; I hope it ends here so as not to break the good harmony that had reigned until now, also because I don't want to argue with Super Bruno, her husband, a person I greatly respect, not for what he has done to help me or others but for the person he is in himself.

During the journey in Libya we ran into a storm of sand and water; it was worse than fog, a side wind pushed the campers, the windshield was dirty with sand mixed with water; I was afraid to use the windshield wipers because they might scratch the glass; then, as so much water was spraying, I decided to use them; fortunately everything went fine and it allowed me to see the road; then, once the sand stopped, the water cleaned everything, making visibility clear.

Continued in "Egypt 2007" Part Eight