Welcome to Cairo...

This photo was taken on August 20th, the first morning, from our balcony at the Tulip Hotel. Zeke had arrived two nights earlier and other Californians (we were the first of all the international students) began trickling in the same day. This is Midan Talaat Harb in the downtown are and is significantly less crowded that usual. Really I'm surprised at the lack of cars in this shot. Talaat Harb was a famous Egyptian economist in the early to mid 20th century and founder of Bank Misr (Misr is the Arabic name for Egypt). Downtown Cairo consists of two main squares, Midan Tahrir and Midan Talaat Harb on which several large roads converge. The layout was conceived in the 1860's after Paris' grand boulevards. Four to five blocks away is the AUC campus. Apparently, right now the city is relatively empty because many Cairenes have gone on vacation. Hard to believe on the walk to campus.

Right now trying get anything done is an adventure and a struggle. Getting a cell phone, buying food, finding soap, water and toilet paper and trying to haggle with taxi drivers (a must unless you want to be charged twice the usual price) makes you work up a sweat. Of course, the heat doesn't help at all. Neither does my lack of Arabic speaking ability.

By the first day some of us had already managed to "befriend" several Egyptians. Some good, others bad. On the 20th we were invited by a Sudanese guy, Ghandi, to "chillax" (his words) in Giza which is on the southern end of the city, right nearby the Pyramids. This sounded nice and we had nothing better to do so six of us decided to go. When we got there, after taking the metro and mini buses (which are cryptic in their routes and schedules to all but the most seasoned Egyptians), Ghandi introduced us to a tour guide who sat us down just outside the area that leads to the Pyramids (we were only 500 meters away and they really were enormous and beautiful) and gave us offers on a half day or full day tour of the Pyramids for what we later found out were very high prices. We weren't too thrilled about doing it since some of us hadn't brought enough money and Ghandi was being very pushy about it (much more so than the tour guide). When we showed any doubt he did a 180- he turned from being incredibly nice to pretty nasty. It was obvious that he was a hustler and was looking for a cut. We thanked the tour guide for the lunch, tea and shisha and left after some time, with Ghandi grumbling the whole way back home. We were glad to get rid of him and get back to the hotel.

Starting yesterday the students from UC's started their orientations (we get better treatment than anyone else) and last night we finally got to move into our dorms which are in a quieter and nicer part of Cairo called Zamalek. It's actually an island on the Nile and houses most of the embassies and consulates in Cairo. The rest of the international students started coming in mostly today and things are starting up in regards to university stuff. Classes however, don't start until September 5th. AUC security is pretty surprising with armed guards around the entire dorm complex and campus. I can count at least 15 security officers in the dorm lobby alone at any time. Also, the shuttle from the dorms to the campus (it's pretty far) takes a different route on every trip.

I'll be taking my camera around tomorrow and will try to take a good deal more pictures to give you all a better idea of what the city is like. For now, it's time for bed.