I wouldn't recommend this.But I wouldn't completely discourage it either.
It makes for quite the adventure with some interesting encounters with some unscrupulous characters as well as many decent folks who remind you that humanity is universal, and it does exist. Really the only downside to our absence of preparation on details like oh, you know, visas, was spending a little extra cash here and there.
Also, we went during the last week of Ramadan, which was the most unique and wonderful time I think to go. Although we did as the Muslim Egyptians did and "fasted" during the day more out of necessity than respect because restaurants were closed for the fasting, the festive atmosphere of Ramadan manifested best by the bustling streets at night until 3 in the morning and the holiday cheer of blinking Ramadan lights was well worth surviving daily off of peanuts, apple soda and cookies until the nightly break fast.
I'm trying to think of the best way to describe my week-long frolicking around Cairo, Alexandria, and Petra. I can bore you with daily itineraries, but I think I'll just describe each city as I remember them and tell a few anecdotes, lessons learned, and pictures of course (!) from our daily romps discovering each city. I'll also include a few tips and suggestions if ever you find yourself in these cities in the future.
First, however, I must recount for you the tale of our entry into Egypt...Finally, Ulpan was over! We'd taken our final Hebrew exams, our bags were packed, the sandwiches for the long ride ahead were prepared, and we arrived bright-eyed to the central bus station ready to buy bus tickets down to Eilat where we would cross the border.
Here was our first obstacle: there were apparently no tickets left for the 2:00 pm bus, and the next one would not leave until 5:00 pm. Total traveling time would be approximately 11 hours. We had to get on the 2:00 pm bus because we were already paying for the hostel that night. Of all the obstacles, I never expected a shortage of bus tickets, and I never expected an obstacle to hit us so soon.
Lesson: Don't ever take no for an answer. Don't be afraid to be persistent and ask lots of people lots of questions. Like the Israelis say, there's never a "can't" only a "don't want to".
We did end up getting on that 2:00 pm bus; we just had to wait by the terminal and wait patiently.
So, as we were driving along, out of curiosity, I flipped open my trusty Lonely Planet guide book and read up on how to obtain visas to Egypt. The book said that visas could be obtained in Eilat (good), but only at the Egyptian consulate (okay...), and the Egyptian consulate was only open from Monday-Thursday from 9:00am-12:00pm (shit.). Here I was driving to Eilat at 5:30pm on a Thursday.
I turned to my friend and told her, "I'm sleeping in Cairo tonight if it means I have to sneak across the border in the trunk of a car." (I hope my mom isn't reading this.)
We got to Eilat at around 6:00pm and proceeded to the Israeli-Egyptian border where we planned on futilely staring the guards down until they just let us on through. Instead, we got lucky! We met a "Mr. Salaam" through a "Mr. Shimon Levy" who was lurking around the border. After a few calls in Hebrew and Arabic, we shuffled through the Israeli border into Egypt with freshly stamped Egyptian visas in our passports and a little less cash in our pockets.
Lessons learned: like famous Professor Randy Pausch said, obstacles "give us a chance to show how badly we want something". Though this is particular example is most probably not what he had in mind, I think it still fits. In the end, we took a risk with a little extra cash and a little underhand dealing, but we figured it out, and we were bouncing our way across the Sinai into Cairo.
NOTE: there is a time difference of one hour backwards from Israel to Cairo.
CAIRO The loudest and most crowded and most congested and hectic city I've ever experienced.
Literally, people were spilling out into the streets because the sidewalks were too crowded.
Walking around downtown Cairo at night was quite the work-out. It's like a giant obstacle course as one is constantly dodging popcorn carts, pushing through the crowds walking the opposite way, maneuvering around street sellers and rogue children, breathing in car fumes and shisha smoke, being deafened by the incessant honking and marketing of wares, barely avoiding getting hit by cars or motorcycles zooming by, being momentarily blinded by a mass of bubbles blown into the air, stepping over puddles of mysterious, dark, smelly liquid.
Like any other city, there was a wide spectrum of characters we met of the Cairene population. Most of the people (men) in Cairo were very helpful and curious, although some were too overtly aggressive. But once you respond to their "welcome!"s or continue a conversation that was intended to end after receiving directions, everyone wants to stop and have coffee with you.
One facet of Cairo I will never forget is trying to cross a six-lane street where no one will stop and wait for you; and once you cross, there's no turning back even if you have to lose a leg.
We visited the great souk Khan el-Khalili, got some marriage proposals, trekked up the pyramids, explored the Egyptian museum, strolled along the Nile, and smoked shisha by Al-Azhar.
TIPS: Stay in the Lialy Hostel-good deal, great location, and wonderful host: Moustafa. Don't take a Nile River dinner boat cruise-it was trashy and touristy in the worst sense, and the food was awful. Don't miss out on dinner and the Turkish coffee at Abou Shakra. 5 Egyptian pounds is usually sufficient to take you almost anywhere around Cairo even if it seems very far away. That's about a dollar.
ALEXANDRIA
I really love this city. It's like Cairo-light. Alexandria is really a jewel. It's known by name and by history but not really as a tourist destination. It's charming and beautiful and by the Mediterranean. I couldn't ask for a more relaxing destination.
Our nights were characterized by perching on the harbor walls overlooking the bay for hours and talking to locals, late-night $2 dinners of "fool" and fried eggs with crunchy falafels at Mohamed Ahmed, haggling alongside the nightly Ramadan crowds in downtown Alexandria, listening to readings of the Qur'an blasting on loudspeakers while sipping sweet tea, and Arabic coffee and shisha in crowded street cafes in narrow alleys until 3am.
We were only supposed to stay in Alexandria for a night, but our plans to head south to Luxor via a sleeping train were altered by the crowds heading down for Eid al-Fitr. But I'm glad we got to stay and relax another day in beloved Alex.
TIPS: The Union Hotel has a great location but never has change. And credit cards are rarely accepted by most places around Egypt, so cash is a must. A late bite at Mohamed Ahmed around midnight is also a must. Pompey's Pillar is not really worth seeing or paying to see-at all. Get a free tour of the Alexandria Library at the front desk.
PETRA
Egypt and Jordan, though both Muslim countries close to each other, have totally different societies and Arabic accents. I was surprised by how patriarchal Jordanian society is. It's very much more "Islamic" in tradition than Egypt.
For instance, on the van ride to Petra from the border, I was sitting alone on a two seater, and I had to switch with another man for a single seater in the back seat so two men could sit in my two seater as women and men who aren't familiar are not supposed to sit with each other. Then, when I was asking my friend something from the back seat, I had to raise my voice slightly and the man sitting next to me shushed me because it's improper for women to raise their voices especially in the presence of so many men.
Most of me just thought, well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; but later it made me upset that although this may be culture, it doesn't make it okay. But truly, as T pointed out to me, there is no right or wrong no matter which cultural perspective one sees through. And one could say Jordanian soceity is not "modern" enough, but we surely can't equate modernity with Westernization.
Petra itself was beautiful and unbelievable. Just check out the pictures!
TIPS: Although a cab ride from the Israeli-Jordan border to Petra of 60 Jordanian dinars sounds like a lot, it may very well be worth it. Start your day in Petra early to avoid the midday crowds. Take up an offer of tea by the Bedouin jewelry sellers. Befriend the young donkey ride sales-boys; their proficiency in sweet-talking in several languages will impress you. Make sure to have at least 5 dinars with you when leaving the border back into Israel as you will have to pay an exit fee.
It was really a wonderful trip. I think it was the least convenient traveling I've ever experienced, but it was also the most surprising and fun way to explore these countries in the Middle East. And now, I'm glad to be back.
