The Land of Lapis Lazuli & Gold.
Part 1
After twenty years of performing and teaching Belly Dance, going to Egypt felt more like an obligatory pilgrimage than a vacation, and she was ready to get started. As the plane’s wheels touched down on the Cairo International Airport’s runway, Nia snatched off her seat belt and jumped from her seat.
The flight attendant reminded her to remain seated until the ‘Fasten Your Seat Belt’ sign was turned off. With a reluctant glance toward the window, she sat back down. She let out a long sigh. It had been 10 hours from San Francisco to Germany, 3 hours doing nothing at the Frankfurt Airport, and then another 4 hours and 3 minutes to Egypt.
But, soon enough, Nia was maneuvering through a maze of Egyptian officials stamping passports and the chaos of tourists grabbing luggage and glaring at airport maps. The sound of Arabic blasting out loudspeakers only added to the confusion. Outside the airport, she moved toward a long line of taxi drivers, yelling, “Madam, Madam. Hina (here)!!. The suffocating smell of smoke and exhaust fumes choked her, but Nia didn’t care. She’d made! Made it to the Mother Land.
القاهرة
(Al-Qāhirah, Cairo)
It wouldn’t be Cairo without the smoke, dust, pollution, rickshaws, and piles of trash hauled by donkeys. Where else can you see an entire family balanced on one motorcycle weaving through gridlock or hear the perpetual blaring of car horns? And you can’t ignore the constant background chatter from the hordes of humans crowded into thousands of old, dilapidated apartments with heaps of abandoned furniture on rooftops and stray goats wandering around downtown.
Africa
A Feeling of Belonging.
Contrary to what many think, Egypt is one of 54 sovereign countries on the African continent with two disputed areas: Somaliland and Western Sahara. Even still, Nia knew she could easily blend in. So long as she hid her hair, kept her mouth shut, and didn’t betray that she was American. Her brown skin wasn’t an easy giveaway. Imagine being in a place where the assumption was that you were either from another African country or Jamaica because of her locks or some other island or another made it more accessible.
Nia spoke enough Arabic to let a taxi driver know where she wanted to go. “Men fadlak. al InterContinental Cairo Semiramis Hotel? Sukran,” she replied. She’d exchanged money before she left the US. and Nia knew how much to pay for the ride, plus a good tip from the airport to the hotel. She marveled at the skill of the driver. He beeped his horn at every corner as he maneuvered through the congested traffic. The pedestrians were weaving in and between the cars like a beautifully choreographed dance.
InterContinental Cairo Semiramis
The hotel bragged that it was one of the best 5-star hotels in Cairo. The hotel features a 26 m2 rooftop pool and fine dining with exquisite cuisine for every taste. A selection of twelve restaurants and bars reflect contemporary design, with the Nile Terrace offering stunning views of the sunset over the Nile. …offers complimentary WiFi and is located next to the Egyptian Museum and bazaars of old Cairo.”
It was a steal at $60 a night, but the dollar was 3.14 Egyptian pounds to one dollar. Once she arrived at the hotel and was escorted to her room, Nia settled in and took a long hot shower, careful not to swallow too much water. You never knew how polluted it was, she’d said. After drying her long dreadlocks and being too exhausted to order food, she dropped onto the bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Wake-Up To Prayer.
It wasn’t long before the deloudnd stereophonic sound of voices blasted her awake at 4:55 AM. Egypt is a Muslim country, and that was the first of the five daily calls to prayers she’d hear every day.
Cairo is the largest city in the Arab world, home to over 22 million people and 114,000 mosques. It’s reported that over the years, hundreds and hundreds of mosques have been built on any street in Cairo, and at prayer times, you’ll hear the call for prayer from everywhere.
Time Travel
The Heart of the City.
There was no going back to sleep, so after a breakfast of falafel, freshly baked bread, and hummus, Nia walked across Tahrir Square to the famous “Museum of Egyptian Antiquities”; the site of 100,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts and the greatest treasures on the planet, including the massive gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian, turquoise, and the glass mask of Tutankhamun, the boy Pharoah.
After hours wandering through the museum, Nia had a flashback of the times she’d spent with her Mother in the Egyptian room at the Boston Museum. It was on the basement level and always cold and damp. She’d sit on those polished stone benches staring at the ancient coffins’ for hours. On a trip to France, she visited the Louve and couldn’t believe how many Egyptian artifacts filled entire rooms.
Other People’s Stuff
Give it back!
Nia was aware that the battle to have Western countries return all African artifacts to their respective countries has been going on since the 1960s. So far, the best arguments, especially from the French, were paternalistic and insulting. ” They don’t know how to care for them,” was one response. “Many Western museums, including the Boston Museum where she’d spent hours and elsewhere, say they fear their walls and exhibitions will be empty if they return items.”
As she meandered from one exhibit to the other with all the rest of the tourists from one glass case to the next, it was as sad as it was spectacular. Was it right to remove the bodies of the dead from their resting places so we could stare at them? Was it right to remove the bodies of the dead from their resting places so we could stare at them? Was it right to remove the bodies of the dead from their resting places just so we could stare at them? he finally rested against a wall in the “Royal Mummy Room,” Nia was physically and emotionally exhausted as she wiped tears off her cheeks. (Traveler photo submitted by Myrella Ct_USA (Apr 2019)
Belly Dance Heaven
I’ll Take Them All!
Nia’s next stop was: Khan Al-Khalili. The vast marketplace was alive with loud scratchy music blasting from old cassette players, merchants calling on potential customers to come and look, tourists clutching purses, and frantic bartering. Stalls were loaded with spices, sweets, and traditional Egyptian soft cotton dresses. Nia stopped to buy a couple of them and wrangled for a reasonable price by adding a few bangles, earrings, and a pair of sagats (finger cymbals) to sweeten the deal. It was worth it.
The market is the Belly Dance mecca of the world, with hundreds of coin belts, colorful veils, and dusty costumes swinging from hooks. The cotton dresses “galabayas” would make perfect “cover-ups.“ Belly Dancers put these long embroiled dresses over their glitzy costumes between sets. Nia continued through Khan el Khalili and admired fake Pharaonic alabaster statutes, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and sweets.
Seductive Scent of Frankincense.
Nia was lured through a labyrinth of dark alleyways by the savory smells of incense. They led to softly lit underground shops. She saw some of the gorgeous costumes she’d ever seen. An old man She waved into one of the shops. Egyptian men, old and young, love to flirt.
After looking over an array of breath-stopping outfits, she picked one. “Be Kam (How much)?” she asked. The owner gave her the price. Once she calculated the exchange rate, Nia bought it. The intricately hand-beaded Bellydance costume came with matching hand-sewn gloves.
Years later, the shaking and swirling beads are still mesmerizing. Twenty-five years later, whenever she looks at that beautiful white costume with matching gloves, she thinks back to the day the tailor measured her. And then, a few days later returned for the final fitting before she took it into her possession.
Operation Cross the Street.
Nia had yet to figure out how to cross Cairo streets without traffic lights and was too petrified to try. Eventually, Nia decided it would be best to hail a taxi instead. Luckily, she made it just in time to catch a sunset and a glimpse of the Pyramids shrouded in a haze of orange dust in Giza.
Meanwhile, when the last call to prayer faded to silence, the city sighed in relief. Finally, back at the hotel in a small coffee shop, surrounded by smoke from Shisha pipes, Nia sipped the last of her mint tea and reviewed the details of her upcoming felucca ride down the Nile to the Valley of the Kings in Upper Egypt. She couldn’t wait to see Hatshepsut’s temple. The Queen reigned between 1473 and 1458 B.C. Nia remembered that one of the villagers had taught her to pronounce her name. “Chick-en-soup,” he said. Nia smiled and repeated, “Het-shep-sut,” and he grinned back. Again, Egyptian love to flirt.
Part II:
Not too fond of lizards.
The village of “Sheikh And el-Qurna (Luxor).
