The Egyptian Museum is Not Air Conditioned

Now, you might think that a gigantic, international institution full of foreign tourists would be visitor-friendly, gift shop-laden and air conditioned up the wazoo.

You'd be wrong. And you'd also have to explain to me what "wazoo" means.

Seen in this picture across Tagrir Square (no, I'm not sure that's how it's spelled) is the Egyptian Museum. It's the red, bedomed structure. My roommate and I went yesterday afternoon thinking we were in for a nice respite from the heat, even just the heat from our ten minute walk to the museum from our apartment. Instead, the antiquities were jammed all over each other and not given any of the preservational chilliness I'd expected. Although, these being Egyptian antiquities, perhaps they're better served by stifling heat.

Pictures were, theoretically, not allowed inside the museum. I still saw many a tourist snapping photos, including one blondie who posed herself next to a mummy and made a goofy grin for her own camera. Touching the antiquities was also forbidden, but there was nothing stopping visitors from doing so and, as a result, many a statue was getting felt up.

So, here I am outside the museum pretending that my head is attached to his here sphinx body. I did not break the no-picture rules. I won't say what I touched.




And this is a close(r) up of the museum's facade.

Incidentally, when my roommate and I arrived at the museum, this Egyptian dude "helped" us cross the street then, when we got to the first of three guard stations he patiently explained to us that the museum was closed until 1.30 for prayer. It was 12. We went in anyway, however, and found the place completely open and the E-dude full of scheisse. Now, according to my Lonely Planet guide, his behavior is a common scam at tourist destinations. I suppose, had we believed him, we would have been directed to a certain store to "wait for reopening," and he would get a commission for it.

I felt triumphant for having avoided the scam. Triumphant and sweaty.

There were these tourists in the museum dressed so inappropriately, watching them and being awed by their audacity was occasionally more interesting than looking at ancient dealie-bobs. One woman wore a belly-revealing tube top and short shorts that I'd consider too revealing for the beach, although only because of all the terrifying sun burn possibilities such an outfit presents. She was in a group given a tour by an Egyptian guide speaking French. There were also guides leading groups in Spanish, Italian, German and of course English. I don't think this is a scam, but guiding people around the museum is certainly a booming business. One very insistent gentleman followed be a bit even after I ignored his "madam, guide for the museum?" and left me alone only when I looked at him confusedly and claimed "no hablo Ingles." I would have been foiled had he then busted out perfect Spanish and started rapping like Daddy Yankee, but thankfully he didn't (although, on second thought, had he done so I would have gone on a tour with him just to bask in the awesomeness of a Reggaeton guide).

Triumphant again!

So, here is a view of AUC's main campus:


This is on a far corner of Tagrir square from the museum, and at night is lit up so that it looks like a Mormon temple.


Last evening was also the start of my Survival Arabic course and the night of our first international grad students event - a felucca (boat with sail) ride.

My roommate and I happen to be in the same Survival section. We were the only two grad students in the class; it's starting to feel overwhelmingly year-abroady around this place, especially since no more roommates have shown up.

The course was okay: the teacher spoke in Arabic nearly the entire time, then we left early to catch the boat.

And the boat itself was only okay. Basically, we went back and forth across the Nile for an allotted time, no narration of sights offered. The company was more interesting. Our AUC-ambassador was a young American who's been here three years and related all sorts of adventures, many of them creepy landlord related. He's also a scuba dive master. And a chain smoker. After the boat my roommate and I went out to dinner with various friendly grad students. I know ours was a tourist restaurant because the item I ordered from the menu actually stated "vegetarian." Very exciting.

To round out the night, four of us attempted to go to a party hosted by marines at the US Embassy. Can you imagine? Rap music! Uniforms! Well, I can only imagine along with you because once we got there we were informed that the party was closed. Insanity considering that it was only 11 and Cairo is meant to stay rocking until 5 am or the like. We're supposed to roam the streets all night and then go out for breakfast! Instead we attempted to find Hard Rock Cafe which, apparently, is where it's at (if "it" means drunken foreign tourists) but failed miserably. Did have an exciting adventure with a cab driver who wanted to charge 40 pounds for the ride which should have cost five pounds. Yes, there were six of us in the cab (two more came out of the Embassy party to join), but he wanted way too much. One of my new friends, who was born in Egypt but grew up in Oklahoma and (lucky lucky) speaks perfect Arabic proved herself the ballsiest girl on the banks of the Nile when she got right up in the cabbie's face and told him off. She even told off the three or four interlocutors who joined the fray. (Wherever I've been in Cairo so far there's been hordes of men hanging around the street or store or cafe who are ready, at moment's notice, to join any argument or white woman trying to order falafel situation.) We eventually paid the driver 15 pounds just to get him to shut up, then wandered some more hoping to find an exciting go-out location.

We failed and just went home.