European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Enigmas of Egypt by Cheryl Blackerby Cox news service at first glance Egypt seems strange. At second glance it seems even stranger a it is easy to think of the country As one big open air archaeological museum. Huncl reefs of pharaonic. Temples tombs Are scattered along the Nile from the magnificent Abu Simbell Temple near the Sudan Border to the great pyramids by Cairo. But there s More to i lie Arab Republic of Egypt than antiquities. The country is sometimes bizarre often exasperating am always fascinating even without its illustrious history. Colliding incongruities a a Donkey cart transporting automobile tires a businesswoman covering her suit High heels with the traditional Fong Vii a horse drawn Carriage a new Peugeot Loxi vying for the same customer a Are As amazing As the ancient temples tombs a a visitor in search of the real living Egypt needs patience a sense of humor a Book to read when the lines get too Long. On the Highway visitors must quickly adjust to egyptian eccentricities. At night egyptian Drivers on the six Lane highways of Cairo turn their headlights off. Only when they want someone to get out of the Way which is about every 15 seconds do they Flash the lights. It s a surreal Strobe effect on the main arteries of the City with thousands of c a lights blinking like a Christmas tree. To get away from the crush of it million people in Cairo Africa s largest City there s Only one place logo the subway the sleek trains underground stations financed designed by the French Are inexplicably As quiet As a Tomb extremely clean. Visitors should avoid them at Rush hour on weekdays but otherwise they Are a quiet Well mannered world beneath the chaos. And fora country with an infrastructure that s haphazard at Best i Gyp s numerous buses trains work like c Loc work even to the Point of departing Early. Ravelero in the1 Sinai the Southern desert often have been surprised to arrive1 on Lime Only to find out the bus left to minutes Early. The e worst things about the c nun try Are often also the Best the hustlers Echo in Nerc Trully hound tourists or a Iougas which h Means roughly Quot bottomless pit of Money Quot in arabic Are the same people who will Tell visitors that they re going the wrong Way to the ferry or that it s Best to Wail id minute s to take tin express bus instead of the Loc Al. Buy ing a bus or train lie bet particularly in Cairo s Ramses station could be the most taxing event of an egyptian journey. Dirty people crowd the ticket window waving their Money shouting their destinations pushing polite westerners to the  of the line. Still the tickets Are As close As a traveler i an 24 stripes Magazine a a minaret of the Ai umayyad mosque frames a View of the sprawl tag City of Cairo. Get to free a three hour train trip from Cairo to Alexandria costs less than $5 first class a seven hour bus trip from the Southern tip of the Sinai to Cairo costs less than $6 the Sinai local bus is the Best Way for travellers to see the arid Peninsula that has been fought Over for centuries. The burned out military tanks barbed wire surrounding leftover mine Fields Are remnants of Arab israeli wars. Every visitor to Egypt should see the Gulf of Suez with its two Way traffic of International tankers As far As the Eye can see. The first thing most visitors notice in Egypt is not the View of the great pyramids at Giza or the Graceful Felucca that Gliffe across the Nile but the dirt. Dirt is in the air covers every uncovered surface not surprising since the country sits in the Middle of the Sahara arabian deserts. Hair will soon be stiff with dust clothes will turn Brown pita bread even that bought in Fine restaurants will have the requisite amount of grit. The answer is to Wear a hat take Only Khaki clothes think of the grit in the pita As beneficial roughage. The second thing visitors will notice is Egypt s amazing collection of cultures a copts moslem bedouin herdsmen Fellah in peasant Farmers businessmen soldiers who Are much More relaxed than their israeli counterparts. Shoppers will find Cairo a strange Paradise. A visitor can buy an Yves Saint Laurent jacket in one of the designer shops a bag of dried vulture Testicles used for medicinal purposes in Khan Al Khalili one of the oldest bazaars in the world a woman can buy Elizabeth Arden cosmetics in stores near Tahir Square a Box of Henna or egyptian Kohl the same stuff Cleopatra used in the Bazaar. When travellers get Down to the business of seeing ancient Egypt they will first want to head to the egyptian antiquities museum at Tahir Square. Opened in 190j, the building has 87 years of fingerprints dust on the Walls looks More like a warehouse than a museum. Life size statues sculptures obelisks As old As 7,000 years stand in dimly lit hallways Corners As if they had no More importance than an office desk. But the casualness of the building seems to underline the tremendous Quantity of Egypt s antiquities. Most american visitors go straight to the second floor to i tank Haman galleries to gaze at the boy King s Gold throne the solid Gold mask that once covered the face of the Mummy the rooms of treasures recovered from his Tomb. Most american visitors to Egypt travel with tour groups. The hours generally go to Quot upper Egypt Quot which is really Southern Egypt All the Way to Abu Simbell 768 mites South of Cairo. The most colossal Temple in Egypt Abu Simbell was built in the first Century . By one of the greatest pharaohs Ramses ii. The Temple Nefertari s Tomb Overlook Lake Nasser. Americans can be proud of Abu Simbell because they helped underwrite the relocation of the Temple after the original site was flooded by the building of the Aswan dam the next Stop would be Temple of philae on an Island Between the old new dams in Aswan. Built in the fourth Century ., the goddess Isis reigned there. Even those seasoned travellers who cringe at the thought of sound Light shows might consider the show at philae. Visitors Are taken by boat to the Temple the Light brings the fantastic ancient paintings reliefs to life. Visitors should t miss the Aswan Market one of the liveliest in Egypt. Bare Light bulbs Strung along the winding allies spotlight baskets of herbs of Affel stands cages of Birds boxes of to shirts. Visitors travelling by cruise boat Between Aswan Luxor will see the temples Al Kom combo a Dou Isna. In Luxor they will explore Luxor Temple Karnak w Ith its magnificent Hyp style Hall the great Temple of Amun on the West Bank of the Nile in ancient Thebes is the burial ground of Nobles Queens pharaohs including King Tut. Visitors will want to see the tombs soon after 6 a.m., before the hordes of other tourists arrive if time permits travellers will want to take a taxi or train North to Dendera to see the Temple of Hathor goddess of heaven Joy love to Abydos the Temple of Seti i one of the most Beautiful in Egypt. Back in Cairo travellers should t miss the coptic Section. If they re not on a tour they should take the subway from Tahir Square or Ramses station to mar Giris w hich deposits passengers at the coptic Section s Gate. On sunday Friday mornings visitors will see services at the ancient Christian churches including St. Sorgius the oldest Church in Egypt. Legend says the Virgin Mary Jesus stayed in the Church on their flight into Egypt. And visitors won t want to miss islamic Cairo particularly Al Azhar founded in 970 a.d., one of the oldest universities in the world the Citadel Mohammed a i mosque with its spectacular Alabaster Walls domed cupola. When travellers weary of antiquities they can take the train to Alexandria to relax on the Mediterranean beaches or at Montazar Palace in the Park s 850 acres of gardens. Try to avoid the Park on fridays w Hen the traffic is bad All the benches Are taken. Visitors to Egypt should take time to appreciate the Small pleasures a a cup of the fragrant purple Arkade Tea sipped in the Shade of Date Palms a ride in a the tuck a the sail whipped by a Strong desert wind a Bike ride along the Shady lanes of Luxor