Mumbai to Cairo

We left yesterday morning for the airport around 5:30AM on the advice of the front desk, who said we would need 3+ hours advance for our international flight due to how the airport works (or something very vague).  We realized as we got into the van with a couple from France that the hotel probably told us to leave so early so they could save a trip to the airport by having us share with the other tourists.  Oh well.  After getting through security and immigration to our gate in about 30 minutes (with two flight leaving from the same gate ahead of us) we got some coffee and waited for our 8:55 flight.  Mumbai to Cairo was about 7 hours, and went by fairly quickly with some naps and in-flight movies.  We got through customs in a couple minutes (by far the fastest immigration processes we've been through) and found our ride from the hostel we chose.  The hostel we picked was recommended by a friend of a friend, and is located in Downtown Cairo.  With news of a lot of protests and a strike of most transportation systems and businesses in the city the day before (because of the one year anniversary of former President Mubarak stepping down) we were a little nervous about how we would get through the city so the airport pick up was definitely a perk.  After dropping our bags in the room, we checked in with the manager and got an overview of the city on a map and a quick briefing on what to avoid and how to stay safe.

View from our hostel

Our room

We headed out by foot, our preferred method, and made our way around the heart of the city.  It was strange after two months in India to be somewhere with consistent sidewalks, and while the traffic is definitely hectic, it's no where near what we've been used to.  We stared, probably looking totally bewildered, as cars yielded for us and people apologized when they bumped into you.  It was quite nice.  We stopped by the U.S. embassy, hidden on a side street behind a large barricade right by Tahrir square, but apparently you can't just walk into the embassy and need an appointment (which was easily made online later).  We wandered around Tahrir Square, remnants of the protests still remaining, and back through the winding side streets of downtown, enjoying the little roads chained off so they were only for pedestrians.  With dinner in mind, we set in search of a popular kofta and kebab restaurant recommended to us by the hostel manager.  With no luck in finding in (and many people disagreeing where it was actually located) we gave up and headed to another recommended place closer to our hostel.

Tahrir Square

Remains of an effigy

As we turned a corner we were hit with the amazing aroma of grilling meat.  We smelled it far before we saw it, our first encounter with the large, streetside rotating spits of chicken and beef, freshly sliced for delicious sandwiches.  We order a small beef shwarma with intentions of still finding our recommended restaurant, and happily snacked as we walked.  The beef (which at this point we haven't had in over 2 months) was thinly sliced and incredibly flavorful.  It was tossed in a bit of tahini dressing with tomatoes and plenty of fresh herbs, and the bread was warm, fresh, and airy.  At around 3 Egyptian pounds or about 50 cents, a couple bites of the sandwich set the tone for what we'd be in for while in Egypt.  We found the restaurant, called Gad, and ordered a couple things from the different sections.  We had a small hummus, a small eggplant salad (small roasted eggplants stuffed with tons of herbs, zest and garlic, served cold with big ripe tomatoes), beef kofta (ground spiced meat formed into a sausage, served on a roll), and a chicken shwarma pie (a pizza made on thin crispy bread, served with a ton of cheese, marinated chicken, tomatoes, and olives).  It was quickly obvious that we had ordered way too much food, but everything was delicious and fresh, a great start to this part of the world's cuisine.  We ended the night at a small cafe playing backgammon.  There are many tea and shisha cafes that line the side streets here, and at night they're filled with big groups playing all sorts of board games, just relaxing.  Great first day in Cairo-- more to come!

Yes please.

Pizza?

Crazy horror movie wooden elevator in our hostel

Backgammon