Into Egypt

Everyone dreams of being somewhere else. Even when you like where you are, there’s always somewhere you’d rather be; somewhere you’d love to be. An escape; where you can drop your day-to-day life and immerse yourself in the new and unfamiliar. The world is a big place. Your options are endless.

Anyone with even the slightest touch of wanderlust has a shortlist of dream destinations that absolutely must be visited before the end of the world. It could be just one place. It could be 100. If you’re really ambitious (or really sick of your real life), it could be 1,000 and you could be ticking them off straight out of that book, one overcrowded tourist spot at a time.

For me, it was always Egypt. And finally, after years of waiting, I was on a flight to Cairo.

The Common

Chalk it up to books and the Discovery Channel — ancient Egypt fascinated me.

How could anyone not hope to see Egypt? The drama and intrigue of a civilization that spanned millennia, the intricacies of its culture and mythology; Egypt is a dream for those who are in love with (hi)stories.

From the second I saw the obelisk outside the Cairo International Airport, I knew that a longtime dream would finally become fulfilled. And the thrill was consistent from temple to temple. From the first day at the enormous Karnak complex to the still-painted hieroglyphs in the tombs at the Valley of the Kings.

From the breathtaking Abu Simbel (which was amazing enough on its own, but doubly amazing because the temples were moved from their original locations, piece by piece, when the Aswan High Dam was built) to the majestic pyramids at Giza. Egypt was incredible.

To be within the walls of monuments that were still standing thousands of years after the deaths of the kings and queens who built them, to actually see and touch the stones that made up some of mankind’s greatest achievements — it was overwhelming, and deeply humbling. I touched history with my fingertips.

The Curious

Egypt was everything I expected, but at the same time, many things that I never imagined.

I expected the Nile River to be wide, tranquil and beautiful. I never expected that men garbed in traditional galabea garb would row alongside our boat, with their own boats full of wares to sell, yelling “Hey! Hello!” up at the cabin windows. I definitely didn’t expect them to start throwing merchandise into open windows (with deadly accuracy). But there they were, with their shawls and their knick-knacks, rowing against the current and hoping to make a little money.

I expected a little hustling from vendors, especially in tourist hotspots, but I never thought they’d try to get sales with that much zeal. Every time we were within 15 feet of the bazaars at the exit of every temple, vendors would come walking up, arms loaded down with all sorts of souvenirs, yelling “One dollar! One dollar!” and putting things on our heads, on our shoulders, and in our hands. It’s never one dollar. (Especially not for camel rides in Giza, no matter what they say. It’s one dollar to get on, and 100 to get off somewhere that isn’t the middle of nowhere, if you hire an unscrupulous camel driver.)

But perhaps what I least expected, and was most pleasantly surprised by, was how curious people always were about us. Not a day went by in Egypt that we weren’t asked where we were from and responded to with wonder or amusement every time we answered “the Philippines.” Schoolchildren on field trips would stare, and often greet us cheerfully with a wave and a hello. When we were at the Giza Pyramids, a group of young girls (who had been smiling at me for a while) walked up to me and asked me what my nationality and name were. I answered them, we all huddled together for a photo, and they blew me kisses as I waved goodbye and walked away.

That’s what I love about traveling. Whatever your destination, you arrive with your stock knowledge and your expectations, but you leave with a collection of curious (and usually fun) little surprises that end up making the trip truly memorable. You arrive with the stories everybody knows, but you leave with stories of your own, stories that are yours.

I’ll remember the awe-inspiring size of the Pyramids. I’ll remember the spectacular Abu Simbel. I’ll remember all the things that everyone else remembers. I’ll remember everybody’s Egypt. But from now on, when I think of Egypt, I’ll also think of those Egyptian girls’ beautiful smiles. And that will be my Egypt.

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You can e-mail me at vivat.regina@yahoo.com and see more photos at vivatregina.tumblr.com.