Foot in the World
Egypt and Israel
Cairo and the Pyramids…
Changing the scenery a bit, we went to Egypt and Israel. We were a little apprehensive because, at the time, there had been an attack at a hotel restaurant in Cairo. But, when we spoke to the Egyptian consul in Rio de Janeiro, the question he asked us was crucial to our decision. He asked what the chance was of being robbed and shot at a traffic light in São Paulo. Decision made, we went back to Amsterdam and then to Cairo. However, we only bought a one-way ticket to Cairo and a return ticket via Tel Aviv. This is because we planned to travel by bus between Cairo and Tel Aviv, to see the desert and the nomadic peoples up close.
And so, we arrived in Cairo around two in the morning. We had booked a hotel, which we didn’t know much about, but it would have a shuttle. We landed and our luggage didn’t show up. After a lot of searching, the passengers from that flight had left and the airport was practically empty, we saw the two pieces of luggage in a corner, separated. We thought it was strange. At immigration, another strange situation occurred. We entered the country, but both passports were held. Without much explanation, the immigration officer said that the passports would be delivered to the hotel the next day. We didn’t know what to do. In fact, we had nothing to do. The hotel driver was waiting and we followed him to a huge bus for the only two passengers.
When the sun came up, we woke up to the sound of horns honking. We opened the curtains on the windows of our room and had a wonderful view. The huge pyramids were right in front of us. We were staying at a hotel in Giza. Then the phone rang. We thought it was someone asking about our passports. But it was someone offering tourist services. We dismissed it.
When we went to have breakfast and see if our passports had arrived, the receptionist handed us the documents, without any comments, but with a visa for a week in the country. It was a great relief.
Now more relaxed, we left the hotel and saw a taxi in front of us. We went to downtown Cairo, on the other side of the bridge. From then on, Salaha, who was the driver of this taxi, was our constant companion. He was our driver, our friend, our guardian angel. With him we went to see all the tourist attractions in the city – the fantastic Cairo Museum, the Khan El Kalili Market, the Citadel, the Mosques, Sakkara, Memphis, ruins, pyramids...
Salaha showed us the inner workings of the city. We went to a friend’s house, then to another friend’s house, to his cousin’s house and to his entire family’s house. All this while we walked through alleys that we would never have entered without him. In all these places there was someone selling papyrus, carpets, perfumes and other trinkets. They were very simple people, but very friendly. Good people.
We got to know the pyramids in an unconventional way. A friend of Salaha's had some horses and camels near the pyramids. And off we went riding in the desert. We arrived at the pyramids like two Tuaregs. But there was a difference between the two horses. Vera had a beautiful, purebred, black Arabian horse that was always paired with our new friend. The other one, Helinho's, was a real Arabian nag that always fell behind. That didn't dampen our good mood. After all, women were the favorites in those parts...
Alexandria is known for the Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the Royal Library, which was also considered the largest in the ancient world. In addition to these, another wonder of the medieval world, the archaeological site with the catacombs of Kom and Shoqafa and many other points of interest. We saw what we could and returned to Cairo.
Finally, we also visited other ruins and made a fool of ourselves, like all tourists, by riding one of those clumsy camels. This was, without a doubt, a very strange experience on our trip.
Crossing the desert ...
With our visa only valid for a week, we didn’t get to see the camel market in the desert because we didn’t have time. It was a shame. So, our challenge was to find a bus to Tel Aviv. Salaha, once again, helped us buy the ticket. He said that the regular bus wouldn’t be very safe at that time. We went to a small travel agency and, the next day, a bus would leave for our exact destination. We had to be at a certain place by 5:00 a.m. Salaha, once again, offered to take us.
It was still dark when we were stopped at a military checkpoint. Everything was fine, and without any problems we arrived at the point where we were supposed to meet the bus. It didn't take long for a minibus, which would carry seven passengers, to arrive. It was us, a Dutchman, two Englishmen and a couple whose nationality we didn't know, the driver and an armed security guard.
Less than 10 minutes into the trip, the bus was stopped at a checkpoint, already in the desert. It was still dark when two soldiers kicked the door open and rudely asked for our passports. They asked if there were any “Americans” among us. We handed them over our passports and they left with all of them. At that moment, we were scared, not knowing if they were military or from some extremist group. But, within a few minutes, they released our passports and the ticket for our minibus and another large bus.
We were escorted the entire way. There were 6 heavily armed soldiers in a pick-up truck in front and 6 more soldiers in another pick-up truck behind the buses. They took turns with other soldiers who were waiting in the middle of the road. Suddenly, a tire on our minibus got a flat in the middle of the desert. We tried to stretch our legs and maybe take a quick leak, but one of the soldiers pushed us back in with his machine gun. After that, we decided to stay quiet and hope that nothing would happen during this stop. We noticed a sense of tension in the air.
Finally, we arrived at the Suez Canal crossing. Although it wasn’t a very long distance, it was a few hours of pure beauty and tension. The scenery was wonderful. The monochromatic desert, the camels, the men and women of the desert in their colorful clothes. A sight we wanted to see and that we will never forget.
The journey continued as we crossed the Suez Canal. But just before we reached the border, the Dutchman, upon seeing a bus with children coming in the opposite direction, decided to open the window to greet them. He shouted: “children”. The security guard, next to the driver, was startled and quickly stood up, pointing his gun at us. There was general silence. Trembling, fright, all at the same time.
Finally, we arrived at the border of Israel. There were questions and more questions, searches and more searches, of us and our luggage.
Finally, we crossed over to Israel, but the tension was no less. The delay in resuming the trip on the Israeli side was due to the inspection of the other bus that would continue to Tel Aviv. Someone asked why it was taking so long and the answer was that they needed to check that there were no bombs on the bus. Huh?!?! Bombs??? Okay! We said they could take as long as necessary.
And the trip continued to be very strange for a long time. In addition to all of us, the Israelis boarded the bus. And they were all armed. Normal for them, but very strange for us. Well, that was just the first contact, because from then on it would be like that on the streets, in the bars, in the markets and even on the beaches... Each one with a weapon slung over their shoulder.
A certain tension in the air...
In Tel Aviv, it was very easy to get to the hotel. The city was very organized and safe. There was 100% control at all times. We noticed that when we threw anything in the trash, someone would always check what it was. The result of all this security was that we could sit on the beach until the early hours of the morning without being bothered, and walk around the city without any worries, including Old Jaffa and its Flea Market, Carmel Market, the Dizengoff Fountain, etc.
We don't know if it was because we entered Israel from Egypt on a trip that was not very conventional for two foreign tourists, but we always had the feeling that we were being watched. In Jerusalem, heading towards the hotel after a long day of walking, we noticed a familiar face. In fact, we searched our memories and remembered that everywhere we had been that day, that face was present. We decided to stop and discreetly check if our suspicions were correct. And yes, we were being followed.
At one point, we entered a building through one door, exited through another, and, in the midst of a crowd, crossed an alley. We were brave, but honestly, I don't think it was any use. They probably only changed their faces the next day. And if our suspicion is true, they must have been a little disappointed because we were just two very curious travelers. So curious that we decided to enter the neighborhood of the Orthodox Jews. And we only abandoned this crazy idea when we saw many of them coming out of their houses, with very unfriendly faces. We realized that we were not welcome.
Jerusalem is an intriguing city. We were very moved by our visit to the Holy Sepulchre. One thing we will never forget was the perfume that lingered after we touched the stone where Jesus was laid after his death. Believe me, that perfume stayed with us all day. Later, walking along the Via Dolorosa, we met a Brazilian priest from Mariana, Minas Gerais. He explained the route to us, and we walked the entire route. When we got close to the Mount of Olives, he recommended that we enter an Orthodox temple. We descended a stone staircase into the temple, into a cave. Inside, we saw only a monk sitting on a bench. An uncontrollable emotion took hold of us. Next to this temple was the cave where Jesus had been imprisoned. These were very impressive and inexplicable experiences.
After this catharsis, we continued to explore the Jewish, Islamic and Armenian sides. We went to King David's Tomb, the Western Wall, saw the beautiful Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In short, we visited all of old Jerusalem.
We also went to Qumran, the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, a collection of the oldest biblical texts.
At the Dead Sea, we couldn't help but experience the sensation of floating in its waters. Because of the high concentration of salt, floating is very easy and a very good feeling. Afterwards, we continued on to Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where we saw the Golan Heights, Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation.
Finally, our last night in Tel Aviv arrived. This time, we had to look for another hotel. Since there was a small hotel next to the one we had already stayed at, and it would only be for that one night, we decided to stay there. A very friendly old man welcomed us. We thought it was all very strange, but we have been to so many strange places that we didn't even realize that this was a brothel. Yes, we slept in a brothel. Or rather, we stayed awake to the "arfs-arfs" of the place.
And then it was time to leave. The plane was supposed to leave at 3:00 AM. But we went to Ben Gurion International Airport early. We sat there, holding on to our luggage, as recommended by security. Loose luggage is suspicious luggage! But what we thought would be peaceful was the most stressful place in Israel. The security and search procedures are extreme. We were searched, our luggage was searched, rummaged through, and X-rayed four times. They asked us everything we were entitled to. After this marathon, we were allowed to board. But only in small groups of ten people, taken on a bus to the plane that was far away on the runway. All this in the name of security.
We had seen specialized teams disarming bombs twice during our travels around Israel. The first time was in an American hotel chain, and the second time was on the street. But it was at the airport that we got the biggest scare. The alarm sounded, and everyone ran. And we ran towards a group of people we identified as being from the UN. Fortunately, it was a false alarm, just a suspicion. But we saw that many of the people at the airport were security guards disguised as passengers.
Scares aside, we returned to Amsterdam on a KLM plane all decorated for Christmas. Only then did we realize the date, December 22nd. We spent Christmas and New Year's in Amsterdam. But the funniest thing was that after Christmas we changed hotels. We had an upgrade from KLM and stayed at the Krasnapolsky Hotel, a beautiful 5-star hotel, for 3 days on New Year's Eve. We arrived with backpacks and were welcomed like VIP guests. A very friendly Portuguese man who greeted us, curiously wanted to know more about us. We briefly told him our story of traveling through Egypt and Israel. We became celebrities! At least to him.