Stuck in Cairo

Left: View of Cairo from the hostel roof. Every apartment building roof is covered with satellite dishes.









12/28

Woke up at 6 am and ate breakfast at the hostel (which they provided: one hardboiled egg and two pieces of bread with some jam and spreadable cheese, woohoo!) and then had another breakfast from a street vendor. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Saba alkhrer (good morning).

Him: Saba anoon (the response to "saba alkhrer")

Me: asaf, anna mbkeesh arabi (sorry, I don't speak Arabic)

Then I pointed to what someone else was eating, having no idea what it was. The vendor just laughed and gave me what I assume was the same thing. It was some vegetables and in bread with some kind of sauce, it wasn't bad. I still haven't seen anyone selling koshery, I heard it was everywhere in Cairo.

There's a big Starbucks-looking store across the street from the hostel called Costa Café, I went in and got a coffee. It's amazing how much I miss brewed coffee, the only thing available in most of the Arab world is instant coffee, and bad instant coffee.

Headed to the embassy again, which thankfully was only five minutes away from the hostel (five pound cab ride, less than a dollar). At the end of the street that the hostel is on there's a McDonalds, next to a Pizza Hut, next to a KFC, next to a Hardees. Who thought it was a good idea to open a Hardees in Egypt? Other than the McDonalds all of them were empty.

I told the embassy staff what had happened yesterday, and they said I should have contacted the Egyptian embassy before I left the US (which of course I did, and they said I didn't need to do anything beforehand) to get their permission to go to Gaza.

I told them the Egyptian police had said I need special permission from the Egyptian government to travel to el-Arish, and that since I don't know how to contact the Egyptian government myself I'm coming to my embassy so they can help me do so.

"No, we can't do that."

My embassy can't help me liaise with the government of the country in which the embassy is located?

"No, I'm sorry."

Isn't that why we have an embassy, so you can help Americans in foreign countries contact the government of that country when they need to?

"No, we don't do that."

The American embassy in Egypt doesn't help Americans communicate with the Egyptian government?

"Not for going to Gaza."

But you said you can provide consular services when I'm still in Egypt, just not when I'm in Gaza.

"No, we can't."

So apparently the American embassy isn't just powerless when it comes to Americans on the Gaza side of the Gaza-Egypt border, it's even powerless to help Americans in their office in Cairo contact the Egyptian government. Be warned people: the United States of America is officially the most helpless country in the world.

To be fair, I'm sure the staff was told to tell anyone inquiring about anything related to Gaza that they can't help. After a while (I think when they realized I really am not part of the march and wasn't just lying to them about it) the staff suggested I get the letters from Harvard and the Mezan Center translated so that I can show them to the soldiers on the way to el-Arish and at Rafah, so I did that across the street in a lawyer's office. I'm pretty sure the guy who runs the place had his twelve-year-old daughter do the translation, he didn't speak a word of English (and she didn't speak much more, hopefully the Arabic letter makes some sense).

Other than that, I just sat around the hostel all day. I don't have much interest in spending money in Cairo, and I certainly don't want to go alone to see Giza. Getting around the city is quite expensive, especially when you ask to go to a hotel or another tourist destination, as is admission to the tourist attractions themselves. If I'm going to spend money anywhere here I'd rather it be Gaza. I wouldn't mind going to see that October War Museum I passed in the taxi on the way to al-Maza, but I'm guessing it's not all that informative.

While sitting around the hostel some woman from Montreal came in and, once again, started yelling at everyone because they didn't find her reservation instantaneously. "This is not a hard job!" she yelled. I really don't understand how Egyptians put up with this crap. When they finally did find her reservation they had given her room away because she had made the reservation over the Internet, but hadn't paid a deposit. "Nobody told me to make a deposit!" They kept apologizing to her and said they would put her up in another hostel where there is room.

"And now I have to carry my bag over there!? It is very heavy and I am tired!!" she yelled. "And to pay for a cab!" No, they said, we'll pay for your cab and carry your bag.

"But now I must go somewhere else!" What else can we do ma'am?

The staff walked out of the lobby to call a cab, so I tried to make small talk with the lady. "Where did you come in from?" She replied "Montreal" but in the slurred way of Quebecois French, and I was expecting a country name, so I didn't understand her.

"Sorry, from where?"

"FROM CANADA!" she screamed.

"Uh huh. Thanks." Canadians in Montreal definitely do not act like that towards each other.

The hostel doesn't have space for me for tonight, so I found a cheap hotel (the Pyramids Egypt Hotel) for $50/night. I was worried they would charge me taxes and fees above and beyond that but they didn't, and they provide a free breakfast, and they're in downtown Cairo, so I figure I can just walk around here and smoke sheesha until I'm actually able to get in to Gaza.

As far as what I'm going to do about going to Gaza: the embassy, despite being annoying as hell, told me that all of this will probably blow over after December 31 (I think the march was scheduled for New Year's Eve), and suggested I go then. I'm going to call the Egyptian embassy in DC today, I just need to figure out how to make international phone calls here.