| Why did we bother avoiding Jerusalem because of political turmoil? Crossing the street in Cairo is much more dangerous. Somehow, the Egyptians make it look easy, nonchalantly standing in the road between lanes of speeding cars and buses, inches from being clipped by side mirrors, waiting for a smallest space in traffic to dash to the other side. We spent our day in this Cairo street madness, wandering around the city and occasionally finding tourist spots like Coptic Cairo, the bastion of the Coptic faith, where some of the oldest Christian churches can be found. We also tried out Cairo's metro, where men are not allowed in the first few train cars. We boarded one of these women-only train cars, not realizing our mistake despite the baleful stares from a carload of veiled women. We began to suspect something amiss and an attendant confirmed our suspicions at the next stop. We apologized and claimed we were just ignorant tourists from Canada (Canada, unlike the USA, has a surplus of international goodwill - they haven't upset anyone but the secessionist French in Quebec). |
