Cairo - day 2 - cooler out

Forgot to mention how hot is was yesterday! I even had to switch rooms as my AC was broken and I couldn't stop sweating.

Cairo seems very spread out like Toronto. In the areas nearby there is not much to see. When you look at the overall map there are single tourist sites available however they are some distance apart and none are close to me. The city is quoted as being very safe. There is a definite presence of armed police and military and security guards at every second corner. Now I am in the embassy area and there are many armed guards surrounding every embassy.

The driving here is amazing. I was told by many people that the drivers in Cairo are some of the worst and best. The lines on the road mean nothing. Headlights are used at night for flashing other drivers not for having on while driving. During the day everyone honks all of the time. It seems to be a reverse onus that when you are driving it is not the other driver’s responsibility to notice you is it is your responsibility to notify ALL other drivers that you are one the road and driving. Therefore you constantly honk to let everyone know you are in the area. Seat belts are only required for the driver and definitely not required for children. The more people you can fit in a vehicle the more stable the vehicle becomes..LOL. Motorcyclists MUST have a helmet; however they do not have to wear it. These are just a few examples of things that I have noticed…. More to follow…

Cairo is a city of 22million people. To give that perspective Toronto has 3.5 million and Canada has 33 million people. So you could say that Cairo has almost the entire population of Canada within it city borders. Egypt itself has been under the control of many different cultures. Egypt was controlled by the French, Roman, Greek and Turkish. In 1956 it was finally its own republic.

My UNMO mate Kai arrived at 930pm today. Once he got settled in we headed back to the same tented restaurant that I was at last night. He agrees that is was great atmosphere with good food.

Tomorrow we begin our tour of Egypt.