Do you remember the candyfloss pop song ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ from the Bangles in 1986?
Well they should make one about the insane driving skills in Cairo.
The road markings to indicate the lanes are a waste of paint in Cairo. If three lanes are provided, the drivers will make it four, or five. Depending on their driving skills. Many roads lack dotted lines, but that is not a problem. Navigating from left to right w/o using indicators feels even more organic. Call it orchestrated chaos. Every Uber driver we had played it along masterfully.
And to top it all off, you have the motorcycles whizzing through the chaos like ballerinas honking their horns.
Always without a helmet and sometimes with their wife sitting in Amazon on the back holding a baby in her arms.
23 million people. That’s how many people live in the Cairo metropolitan area.
Yes, you read that correct. And that number is underestimated. You can clearly see and smell that the city suffers from that high number. Or rather, what you can’t see clearly. That’s how much smog hovers above the city.
You see cars from 1970 driving with a smoking exhaust as if it were a coal factory. Europe’s idea to make the fleet greener and/or drive electric is not so crazy.
We have also visited the old Cairo or Coptic quarter. An oasis of quietness in the busy and bustling city.
We went to see the Christian Hanging Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George.
The entire site is somewhat hidden in green surroundings behind an ancient wall. There are several churches and a cemetery throughout the entire site. It was a wonderful place to relax because it was somewhat secluded from the hustle and bustle of the city. It remains remarkable that Christian, Orthodox and Muslim influences coexist peacefully in a cemetery. This is something that is becoming increasingly difficult in life. It is something we can learn from the dead, that it is possible to live together. Once you die, you are little more than a few stones in a cemetery, regardless of your belief.
In the Christian faith, it is believed that Joseph, Mary and Jesus travelled here while fleeing from Herod. The Hanging Church is one of the earliest build in Cairo and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
