Category: UK, EG, IL ’07

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Midnight Dinner in the Suburbs of Cairo

Last night stands as the highlight of the trip. After a two-hour con from Adam, an older man who gave us tea, a Marlboro, and fresh juice, I’m glad that something nice happened here in Cairo.

After all those pleasantries yesterday, Adam took us shopping. He bought us dry teas, natural mosquito repellent, and a box of sweets. Whenever he bought something for us, he made us stand outside so he could get the “Egyptian price.” Though warning flags went up, Laura and I really wanted to trust the amiable gentlemen who said he was an artist.

He said he’d draw us something that included our names in Arabic. He took us on back streets where everybody knew him and talked about the history of Cairo. The whole time, Laura and I kept having aside conversations that revolved around trusting Adam. He seemed to have his heart in the right place, didn’t act like he needed money, and only seemed like he wanted to be helpful for us (and to practice his English).
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Photos from Cairo, Egypt

Talaat Harb Cairo Egypt

The craziness of Talaat Harb Street, outside the Hotel Luna. Honking, noise, yelling, etc. 24/7. For those who know the book (and the movie), the Yacoubian Building was located at 34 Talaat Harb St.

Sphinx of Giza

Like an old friend, the Great Sphinx eternally sits and erodes along the Giza Plateau. The Pyramid of Khafre in the background. Fenced off from those who aren’t willing to climb to it, the Sphinx seemed smaller than I thought. It still holds power, majesty, and that unmistakable buzz of ancient history. The haze in the sky is compliments of over 2 million cars and 20 million people in Cairo! Continue reading “Photos from Cairo, Egypt”

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You Speak English?: Day 1 in Cairo, Egypt

“You speak English?” the cabbie named Mohammed asked me for the fifth time. By then, I kept trying to throw him off by saying things like “No, I speak Spanish. ¿Hablas Español?” He didn’t get it and would eventually ask again, then yelling “I test you!”

Laura and I got our first real bite of Egypt when we piled on to a shuttle bus at the Cairo airport en route to the car park. People got out of the way and made us both sit down. The boy beside me tried to grab my case, but I smiled and said “No. It’s OK.” Most of the men sitting around us kept staring at Laura.

In the taxi, we hit the road into Cairo around 1 AM. That’s when Mohammed began to prank me.

“What hotel you go to?”
“Luna, the one that hired you to pick us up.”
“It’s closed.”
“You lie!” Laura, being intentionally ignored by the man, yelled out that last comment.
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A Painted London

Some of you may not know that I don’t take normal travel photographs. I spend most of my time on long walks, not looking for churches, bridges, and museums, but instead trying to find all the stencils I can and sometimes shooting interesting shots of touristy things with as few people as possible. My mother used to comment, “maybe try to photograph some people every once and awhile.” So I began to answer, “I don’t photograph people.” I’ve gotten better and putting myself, and friends, in the shot, but I still compose most shots with no one in it. I’ll even wait minutes until people move out of the frame.

deaddad

This being said, this was the first London photograph and the first photo of the trip. Street art makes me laugh all the time, and this poster was too hard to not photograph. I try to contain myself with only shooting stencils, but sometimes have to document another media.

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dreamsDreams at Brunswick Gardens

March 6, 2007

I sit in a backyard with a group of friends. In that circle I only recognize Stephen B. and another person who resembles a combination of two other friends (Pod and Jonathan). Stephen excitedly asks me, “how is your trip going, Russell?” I start talking to him about it as the combined person has to leave the group circle to begin setting up for a rehearsal. As I talk to Stephen, I realize that I’m still on my trip, so I must be dreaming.

As three circus performers show up to rehearse, I walk over to a large, raised circle made from small pieces of wood. Ropes have been tied across the structure. “It’s flimsy, but it’ll work,” the combined friend tells me.

______________________

A race is on so I ride a motorcycle contraption and try to keep up with the leaders. We hit traffic, so I begin to dart through cars. Things become quite dodgy when I approach a car with a snow shovel sticking out of its back window. I get by and the race ends up a hill at an old 70s-style suburban house.

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