It was late. I was tired. I’d spent nearly an hour getting my visa and clearing customs/immigration at the Cairo airport and was looking forward to a quiet night and soothing drink at the Hilton that I’d reserved for a few nights before heading to Luxor.
Instead, I blundered into the middle of the Egyptian equivalent of a Shriner’s convention --- except that these were real Arabs. Thursday night in Cairo is like Saturday night in the U.S., and this Thursday was apparently an extra-special one. Half the Arab world, it seemed, had gathered in the hotel lobby. Being Muslims, they didn’t drink alcohol but they did smoke hookahs, elaborate pipes filled with water and other substances. (It wasn’t a ‘recreational’ smoke I could recognize.) Whatever they smoked, like America’s pseudo-Arab Shriners, they PARTIED.
The Arab equivalent of a small marching band climbed halfway up the lobby’s grand staircase and launched an impromptu concert. At first I resented the noise, and retreated into an off-lobby cocktail lounge where I could at least partially escape it. But then the band tore into something that --- despite the strange instrumentation --- strongly resembled a New Orleans jazz group doing ‘The Saints.’ I asked the bartender to open the doors, so I could hear better, and decided this was a party I could actually enjoy. After all, I’d done the same sort of ‘barnstorming’ myself years ago in a drum and bugle corps.
By Saturday, they’d all gone back home and I almost missed them. And, I kinda wished I’d asked one of them to let me try his hookah.
It was my first time in a predominately Muslim country, and there were a few other cultural differences to get used to:
- The carpet spread on the floor of the main railstation is not for welcoming visitors: It’s where the faithful kneel to face Mecca for daily prayers. Walking over it while wearing shoes is a serious offense. Luckily I only did it once -- and was forgiven --- before catching on.
-The ‘Metro’ --- or subway --- is clean, convenient and fast. However, according to Muslim law, the front car is reserved for women travelling alone or with small children. Blunder into it, if you’re a male, and you’ll be shooed out --- sometimes forcibly.
Cairo has many private athletic and social clubs that look like public parks but are not. They may not be identified as private property in English-language signs, but if you get hostile looks that say, ‘You don’t belong here,’ give a gesture of apology and leave.
Though taxi drivers may rip you off for petty change, Cairo is actually very friendly to Westerners. But the friendliest receptions go to visitors who learn and respect Muslim customs.