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As a child and long
before Discovery and National Geographic were part of our
everyday TV diet, glimpses of Cairo in a hardcore Hindi movie
called "The Great Gambler" had caught my fancy.
A lot of action in the film involving Big B and her leading
ladies were in Cairo. I knew I had to visit this hell of a
city some day and so on arrival I found every bit of Cairo
welcoming me. Where on earth can you get to see the awesome
Pyramids, the enchanting Nile, the mind-boggling museums,
the roadside sheesha joints, confident outgoing Egyptian women,
their flirting male counterparts and breathtaking belle dancers
who are part of a rocking nightlife that perhaps challenges
the hedonism of the West. Cairo can be more rocking than New
York. The reasons may be the viagra of Egyptian zest for life.
For an Indian, it is also about the warmth with which they
perceive us. "You Indian? Good nationality. How is Amitabh
Bachchan?" said the camel man at Giza. They are all great
Hindi movie fans and Amitabh Bachchan is as adorable to an
Egyptian as us. Then at a shop selling papyrus, the wealthy
shopkeeper turned all his attention to me as he enquired about
our film stars and passed a final judgement on Hindi movie:
in three hours you are wronged and you get justice and your
revenge. Cairo also resembles Mumbai a lot, especially the
Nile riverfront which is quite akin to Marine Drive.
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Founded on the site of Babylon, near
the ruins of ancient Memphis, Cairo has been the largest city
in Africa for centuries. Modern Cairo encompasses many former
cities and their monuments: the pyramids of the Pharaohs,
the Sphinx, early Christian monasteries and churches, Salah
Al-Din Citadel, and mosques of the Mamluke and Ottoman sultans.
Five thousand years of culture are concentrated here at the
centre of three continents. In Cairo you travel through time
in a city that is a living index to civilization while offering
all the comforts of a cosmopolitan twentieth-century capital.
Cairo is chaotic and noisy and perhaps in its chaos lies the
soul of the city. Today's skyline of Cairo mixes minarets
and palm trees with art deco buildings and multicoloured neon,
but you can still see the sunset over the Nile. Cairo has
a unique atmosphere: both exciting and relaxing. The city
pulses with life while the Nile flows on toward the sea. "The
Mother of the World" is one of the friendliest and safest
cities in the world: Egyptian hospitality will ensure that,
wherever you come from, you"ll feel quite at home.
Egypt, especially Cairo, means the pyramids.
The Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids to be tombs to preserve
the bodies of their dead kings as they believed in resurrection
and immortality. While the Giza Pyramids, one of the seven
wonders of the world, are what we see in pictures and television,
the tourist guide would first take you to the Saqqara region
for a visit to the step pyramid. Our burly driver drove at
a breakneck speed to Saqqara which is a major funerary site
of the Old Kingdom. North Saqqara has the Step Pyramid of
King Djoser (the first pyramid). It is of the mastaba-type.
Mastabas are rectangular tomb-chapel belonging to ancient
Egypt. The first tombs of the pharaohs were large, unimpressive,
bunker affairs called mastabas. They were made from sun dried
mud brick and most have long since crumbled to dust. This
all changed around 2630 BC with the erection of the step pyramid
for Djoser. It began as a normal mastaba, but was subsequently
enlarged by adding one mastaba on top of another until it
consisted of six terraces some 200ft (60 meters) high.
Saqqara is noted for the mastaba-type tombs of the nobles,
the most prominent of which are the tombs of V and VI Dynasty
nobles. The tomb walls bear inscriptions of religious rites
and the offering of sacrifice to the dead. South of the Step-Pyramid,
lies the Pyramid of Unas, last of the V Dynasty pharaohs.
This pyramid is noted for its tomb chamber, whose walls are
inscribed with what is known as the "Pyramid Texts."
Near to the Pyramid of Unas lies the Persian Shaft, a tomb
of XXVI Dynastry known as the "Persian Dynasty".
The Shaft is 25 ms deep and at the bottom lie several tomb
champers.
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Saqqara completed we left for the Giza where
the pyramid compound boasts of the world famous The Great
Pyramid, the Sphinx and other monuments in a vast funerary
complex spanning the range of the dynastic history. Perched
precariously on a camel, it was an exciting time. On the west
bank of the Nile facing Cairo and on top of Giza plateau rises
the three Pyramids and it is one of the seven wonders of the
world surrounded by small Pyramids (totaling seven) and hundreds
of Mastabas and tombs for kings and nobels. The Great Pyramid
is the most famous structure in the world which was built
by king Cheops(IV Dynasty) around 2650 B.C. Its height now
is 137 ms (original height: 146ms). Almost 2.5 million blocks
of stone were put into building this pyramid, which measures
230 ms square at the base. All this, however, dwindles when
compared to the precision and astounding ability of the ancient
Egyptian in building this pyramid. Close to the eastern flank
of the Pyramid of Cheops lie three small pyramids dedicated
either to his wives or family members. The Second Pyramid
was built by Kephren, south-west of his father's pyramid though
lower in height: 136m., it still retains, on some of its upper
parts, the remains of the limestone that had once covered
it all. The base measures 215.5 m square. The Third Pyramid
was built by Mycerinus (Menkaure) south-west of the Great
and Second Pyramids. It is much smaller than either one (62
ms). It is distinguished by the fact that the lower part of
its sides still retain their granite slab coverings. In the
same compound is The Sphinx, a legendary statue with the body
of a lion and head of a man with the headcloth indicating
that he was a king. It is 60 ms long and 20 m high, carved
from an outcrop of rock left after quarrying operations. The
Sphinx is the venue of an enchanting light and sound show
where a visitor can relive the history of the Pyramids and
the glory of the Pharaohs.
Well, on your way back from Giza to Cairo
central, you can ask your guide to take you to some famous
Egyptian perfume outlets and there you can choose from an
array of perfumes something with a name as enticing as Secret
of Nile, which is actually called Egyptian viagra for the
aphrodisiac power of its fragrance.
Also not to be missed in Cairo, is the Egyptian
Museum, one of the most famous in the world. It houses 250000
antique pieces, including mummies and the fabulous treasures
from Tutankhamun, the 18th dynasty king who died at 18.
But a trip to Cairo is not complete
without enjoying a slice of its hedonistic nightlife. Just
take a cab and head for the Nile where there are several cruises
are on offer. In one of those cruiser enjoy a wholesome buffet
dinner and be a voyeur watching the stunning come-hither belle
dancers shedding their clothes to the Arabian beats and taking
your breath away. In Cairo be a Pharaoh and whet the hedonist
in you!
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