*** Thursday, 27Apr06 ***
I went to the Zambian Embassy and, in addition to previous requests, they now wanted an invitation letter, proof that it was a tourism trip and three copies of my passport. All news to me but the fact that I was willing to provide cash in hand seemed to smooth things over. I had brought all the materials for my trip including a nice letter from my travel agent to someone in my company explaining the need to send the tickets, etc., to me and that turned out to be an invitation letter. The multi-page, plastic-bound itinerary was found to be most convincing. I was told my visa would be ready on Tuesday, there being a weekend and a holiday in between. So I would have to face the traffic yet another time. I will learn the subway system here to make more efficient use of my time.

Tonight my cell phone rang. Yes, I have a cell phone but I try not to use it. Still it is -- occasionally -- useful. It was 11 P.M. and it seemed late for a call. I answered the call and the connection flickered in and out and there was some clipped sound but I couldn't make out who was calling or why so I hung up. Then the phone rang again and I answered again but now no one was there. This happened several times and I finally shut the cell phone off. In the morning my cell rang again, always to short to allow me to answer. Someone is having fun but not me.

Tonight at midnight Egypt implement Daylight Savings Time. Clocks move ahead at midnight: they don't wait until three in the morning. I guess everyone gets to bed earlier that way.

*** Friday, 28Apr06 ***
I began my experience with Metro, Cairo's subway system, and managed to make a real fool of myself. I ventured into the Sadat station wondering what I would find and found a large, modern urban train system. I had no idea how to do anything so when I came across the turn styles for the direction I wanted to go, I saw one electronic kiosk and tried to use it. The kiosk had a multilingual touch-screen but it didn't show anything like a train ticket, just options to pay taxes and utilities. I was very confused.

On of the worst smogs I experienced in Cairo.

A white uniformed man who didn't speak much English pointed me over to a place away from the turnstyles. When I got there it was clearly the place to buy train tickets if only because there were three people behind glass when two machine dispensers would do. I asked for a ticket and he asked me how many trips I wanted. I had decided to go to the railway station, photograph the colossal stature of Rameses there and walk back to Tahrir Square so I said, "Two, no, one, no two, no one," and he looked at me with a bemused expression.

Then he said in English, "Seventy-five," so I shoved a 20 LE note and he pushed it back and said, "Seventy-five" again so I pushed a 50 LE note through the slot while I fished for another in my wallet. He said, "Seventy-five" again and with a twinkle in his eye, "piasters," meaning pennies. This made a lot of economic sense (about 12 cents) so I gave him a one pound note and he gave me a ticket (a small bit of cardboard with a magnetic strip) and a 25 piaster note. We looked at each other with the 50 LE note on his side of the glass. I said, "Thank you," and he slid the 50 note back to me. All this with his bemused expression unaltered. Clearly he had dealt with a lot of tourists.

The Rameses statue in front of the main railroad station.

I went to the turn styles and was lucky to see someone entering before me. They slipped the ticket into a small slot (it was a very small ticket) and went through the turn style. I tried to do the same but the slots I tried didn't seem to work. I tried several and ended at the turn style that I had seen working and walked in -- a public transit passenger at last. I walked over to the rails and was considering myself quite successful when another white uniformed man tapped me on the shoulder and handed me my ticket. Like in the Metro in DC you need to use your ticket to exit -- the fair is distance based. My guidebook says 8 stops. Do you buy a second ticket if you go 9 stops? Oh well. Live and learn.

My exit was only three stops and I found that I could get a picture of the Rameses statue from where I exited. Not a good one but I wasn't up to dashing through the traffic to get a better one.

I walked south, back toward Tahrir Square (where I had entered the Metro) and decided to go to Pizza Hut for lunch because I had a hankering for pepperoni pizza. I examined the outside menu and it revealed what I suspected: it was "beef pepperoni". Still I decided to go for it to see what the experience would bring.

I went in and ordered a small thin crust pepperoni pizza and the blandest mishmash of dough, tomato sauce and cheese I have ever experienced. I saw some evidence of "beef pepperoni" but couldn't taste anything at all. The "beef pepperoni" wasn't even spicy. A real bust! I went back to the hotel and went to the pool. At least I was safe from myself there.

*** Saturday, 29Apr06 ***
Took the Metro and was almost cleaved by the doors. I was amazed when I saw Caireens barging into the train cars before ANYONE had exited. My politeness cost me dearly because when I tried to enter (after all had exited) the doors closed on me. Four (maybe six!) people tried to hold the doors for me and I was pushing for all I was worth but I barely got in. This is the triumph of efficiency over practicality.

The back of the Rameses statue.

I got out of the Metro at the stop nearest Ain Shams University. My plan was to follow the elevated highway and see where it went relative to the Ministry buildings. I walked through a confused (at least to me) set of walkways that seemed to take me further and further away from my simple plan to walk along the edge of the elevated roadway. Still, I managed to get back to my plan and walked -- in the sun -- where I had intended.

Outside the University, I found myself behind a large mosque with a green dome. The street network pushed mw further away from the highway. I managed to get beyond the various entrance and exit ramps and keep within sight of the highway, always walking in the right general direction. Eventually I reconnected with the elevated highway and even sought shade beneath it. On I walked. I met a street sweeper who clearly wanted to be photographed so I did and showed him the result -- he was very pleased.

After more walking, mostly in the shade I could see the Ministry buildings. Now I knew where they were on the map and now I was tired of walking in the heat. Not yet the end of April and the heat is becoming really intense, even with light clothes and a cap. My walking will be severely limited in the near future.

The Egyptian Mail newspaper is delivered to my door each day and I find it interesting for its perspective on world affairs and for its articles on Egypt and Cairo. Today's issue had an article that reported that the government's proposal to standardize the call to prayer had been accepted -- finally. It had only taken two years.

Let me explain the problem. It is a Moslem tradition to have a muezzin summonn the faithful to prayer at a mosque. Now-a-days that is done through loud speakers high on the mosque's minarets. The problem is that different mosques start the call at different times which is at least disorganized. Under the government's apparently accepted proposal, 4,000 wireless receivers (a hint at the number of mosques in Cairo) will be used to have one muezzin broadcast the call throughout the city at the same time.

There also seems to be a vague plan to see that each chosen muezzin has a quality voice. I have listened to the calls to prayer and, at their best, they are wonderful to listen to. I think this is a great idea but I note that it took the government two years to win approval for this change.

Still, the result is likely to be of general benefit -- even to foreigners like me.