My Cairo Snapshots

 Next month, it'll be 26 years since I first visited Egypt, to spend much of my working life here, and to fall in love with Cairo. I thought I'd share some snapshots, as the city becomes the focus of attention with the arrival of President Obama on Thursday. It seems like he'll meet with President Hosni Mubarak, visit the Sultan Hassan mosque, speak at Cairo University and tour the Pyramids. It's not a bad itinerary for an eight-hour stay. But if Obama is like me, even a quarter century would not be enough to fully appreciate Cairo's riches, starting with the most kind-hearted people in the world.

 Mubarak's portrait hangs in many places in Cairo; here, along with framed Arabic calligraphy spelling ”Allah,” it adorns the wall of a car-repair shop near Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. Although Mubarak has not promoted a cult of personality like some other Arab leaders, democracy has a very long way to go; with no other clear alternative on the political horizon, Egyptians are waiting anxiously to see if Mubarak, 81, will arrange for his son, Gamal, to succeed him.

 Cairo is home to thousands of mosques, with Islam permeating daily life as it has for hundreds of years. One of my favorites, for the elegant geometric patterns and beautiful shades of stone, is the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, built in the 9^th Century and possibly the oldest of Cairo's mosques. I took the photo from the minaret last November.

 Here's a simple antique shop in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Note the faded official photo of Mubarak's predecessor, the late Anwar Sadat, and the beer poster for local Stella beer featuring the famed ‘40s crooner/actor Farid El-Atrash and his equally famous sister, the singer known as Asmahan. Despite the Islamic political tide of recent decades, Stella and many new brands of Egyptian-made beer are popular and widely available—although, of course, at a price out of reach for the multitudes of impoverished Egyptians.

 It's becoming rarer and rarer to see Muslim Egyptian women on the street without the hijab, or traditional headscarf. But the flashy styles and colors suggest that it's a cultural trend reflecting Egypt's relaxed spirit, not a sign of religious or social fanaticism.

Tourism, a major source of Egypt's revenues, has been hit more by the global economic slump than lingering fears about Middle East terrorist attacks. But the visitors are still coming by the millions every year to view the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, on the outer edge of Cairo; with its pharaonic monuments, Islamic treasures, Red Sea beaches and generous hosts, the country is one of the incredible tourist destinations on earth. When I saw a college friend off at the airport last month, she threw her arms around me and blurted, “Egypt is the best vacation I've ever had!”

 Cairo, as with any metropolis of comparable size, is mired in problems like poor education. Nonetheless, the Egyptian economy has made important strides, notably in the tourism industry. Not only is English now widely taught—this picture was a class project in a school on the Corniche el Nil—but young Egyptians are in China studying Chinese to be prepared for the expected future wave of Chinese tourists.

 People grouse about Cairo's traffic, but I think it's just as bad or worse in every other big city I've visited. Still, the easiest way to get around is in a rickety, black-and-white Cairo taxi—usually an Italian Fiat, Russian Lada or French Peugeot. Inevitably the owner has souped it up with interior furnishings, like worry beads, stuffed animals, mini Korans, flags for the beloved Ahly football team and flashing lights. More often than not, the driver will have the radio tuned to an old concert of Egypt's diva, Um Kalthoum, even though she's been dead 35 years.

 The Nile gives Cairo its beauty, its food and its patience. Cairo's teeming streets can be stressful, but the river never fails to bring some calm. Nor is there a better way to take in Cairo's majesty than to cruise along in a simple Nile sailboat, known as a Felucca. When we moved back to Cairo 10 years ago, one of the first things I did was hop on a felucca for a night-time sail with my then seven-year-old.

 If you think this fellow is a good balancing act, you should see the guys who transport those huge trays of freshly baked bread on bicycles through the crowded, potholed streets. (Sorry, I don't have a photo that right now.) Balady bread is a delicious daily staple and a cause of riots if the price gets too high.

 Here's a tray of mint tea at El-Fishawy, a landmark café in Cairo's medieval quarter. Like Paris, Cairo is a city full of them, lining major boulevards and back alleys alike. They serve tea, coffee, water and soft drinks, and are packed until the wee hours mainly with Egyptian men discussing the news of the day and exchanging the jokes that make Egyptians renowned for their sense of humor.

 Sheesha pipes--sold everywhere in Cairo-- have been a craze for the last decade or so. They've probably been around since the invention of tobacco, but the hubbly bubbly became a real phenomenon-- and serious public health hazard-- starting in the '90s. Puffing the water pipe's exotic tobacco flavor is  a favorite social pastime of ordinary and well-to-do Egyptians, and a foreign tourist is as likely to go home with a sheesha pipe as a statue of Tutankhamen.

 --By Scott MacLeod/Cairo