Best Roads Traveled: Cairo, Egypt

Cairo has always been a destination that calls to travelers.

Street scene in old Cairo, the fruit and vegetable market.

Its ancient history predating the Christian era, the mystique of its monumental pyramids, exotic pharaohs and hieroglyphics, and its legends of Cleopatra and adventurous French legionnaires have made it one of the most exciting places in the world to visit. These days, though, safety issues have darkened its appeal. I thought it would be fun to share my first visit there more than three decades ago, before rolling luggage, digital cameras, and cell-phone communications changed the nature of travel forever, and when I still had a lot to learn about traveling light.

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I never thought it would be dark.

For years, while the kids were growing up and I wrestled with the realities of single parenthood and a developing career, I frequently daydreamed about driving to the airport, hopping on an airplane going in any direction and traveling for at least a month. In my dream it was midday, I was wonderfully rested and I was carrying only one small bag.

So why, when the time finally comes, am I stumbling around in the dark at 4 a.m., having barely slept, dragging along two huge duffel bags, a carry-on, a large camera bag, a luggage carrier and my purse? Where is the unencumbered gypsy living the simple life? How much clothing does one woman need for a month? Would you believe 7 pairs of pants, 8 blouses, 6 tee-shirts, a sweatshirt, a jacket, 2 dresses and 5 pairs of shoes? I also have 36 rolls of film, three camera lenses, four novels, two guidebooks, makeup and medicine kits, a curling iron and umbrella--and a stash of Payday candy bars!

Leaving from San Diego, the cheapest fare to Egypt means plane changes in St. Louis, New York, and Paris, with all the accompanying potential for delays. My checked-through luggage, on the other hand, would theoretically continue merrily on to Cairo with or without me. As it turned out, neither of us flew as scheduled. A missed flight in St. Louis caused me a day's delay, and my luggage took a long detour.When my flight finally makes its final approach to Cairo International Airport, I see the ancient city sprawled below like a dusty, brown camel crouched at the edge of the legendary green Nile. Her outskirts look carved from clay. My mouth is dry with excitement.

The third largest urban area in the Islamic world behind Jakarta and Karachi, Cairo teems with twelve million people (about 18 million if you include the Greater Cairo area); and yet, squinting through the dust-burdened haze, I can still glimpse her former majesty—along the skyline, through the narrow maze of cobbled streets in Old Cairo, among the turbaned hawkers, donkeys, veiled women and barefoot children, among the vaguely etched distant silhouettes of the pyramids of Giza.

Clearing customs is remarkably easy without luggage but, at my hotel, there are complications. “No, Madam, I am quite sorry but we have no record of your reservation,” the clerk says firmly, pressing his thin lips together for emphasis. I speak to a series of “people in charge” and each is gracious and pleasant with what I learn is typical Egyptian cordiality. But there are no rooms, they are sold out.

After much pitiful pleading and whining, and refusing to disappear (techniques learned at my children's knees), they discover they have one seldom-used room at the far end of the compound. Tomorrow they will see about a change. The porter will see to my luggage.“What? Madam has no luggage?” The clerk cringes away as one does in a crowded elevator or bus when the stench of body odor assaults your senses.

My “room” is a mere cubby hole located approximately one mile from the lobby. There are no windows and the entrance is through a double sliding-glass patio door. Heavy plastic curtains provide privacy but, once closed, encase me in musty darkness. “My first introduction to an Egyptian tomb,” I mutter, sliding the safety chain firmly in place.The room is depressing—the bathroom walls sweat moisture and there are no towels, even the sway-backed single bed feels damp. I decide to go to the bar for a drink and contemplate the mysteries of well-laid plans—but the chain is stuck fast in its slot. I am trapped in my Egyptian tomb! Life's most important matters race wildly through my mind: They'll never find me—they never use this room—no one will remember I'm here!

Eventually I reach the front desk by telephone and they send a man to cut the chain. I'm thankful, but is it necessary to chuckle and snort in that disgusting way while he works? Clearly, I am not the hotel's favorite customer.

After slurping down a refreshingly cool, crisp vodka tonic at the bar, I try the quick-laundry method of showering with my clothes on, hanging them to dry on my baggage carrier the first day, and on the balcony of my new room in the following days. Each day, the airline assures me my bags will arrive by evening.

I fill my days discovering the wonders of this magical city. One morning, I tour the King Tut exhibition halls in the truly fabulous Egyptian Museum. Here I begin to understand that fabulous is not a word used to describe an outstanding restaurant. It is a word derived from fable--a story of incredible times, wealth and deeds when legends were true and life was lived on an unbelievably grand scale. Wandering the halls, I feel I’ve slipped into a time warp. American civilization is only a little over 200 years old; this museum houses remnants of sophisticated civilizations spanning more than 5,000 years!

Travel is educational. It allows you to put everyday life in perspective, to understand that all circumstances pass. In the immense panorama of history, our one life is a speck. We can endow that life with a richness born of awareness of true values; we can treasure each minute by filling it with the people we love, by eliminating worry over trivialities.

During this first visit to Egypt, I learned things I never could have learned at home: How much luggage does one woman need for a month of travel? One skirt, one blouse, 4 novels, 2 guidebooks, a camera with 3 lenses and no film, makeup, a baggage carrier—and one pair of shoes! Don't leave home without ‘em.# # #