Sunday
Dec302007
Greetings from Cairo
Sunday, December 30, 2007 at 4:43PM 
What an experience this is. Egypt is a fascinating country with a unique culture. It feels like an Arab nation to me, but the Egyptians say they're neither Arab, nor African - they're Egyptian. They're very warm and friendly, that's for sure. Egypt is much more than ancient monuments.
Tourism is an important part of their economy so they take very good care of us. The Tourist Police are everywhere we go and they're all carrying guns.
It's a poor country, too, and many of the people we meet ask for "baksheesh." It's hard not to give it to them. There are five Egyptian pounds to the dollar, so giving someone a couple of pounds means more to them than it does to us. The children love ballpoint pens. We visited a weaving school where 6-14 year old kids sit all afternoon making oriental rugs and the guides gave out pens.
Population growth is probably the most pressing issue Egypt faces today. It's a big country but mostly desert. The entire population lives on just 6% of the land and grows by one million people every 10 months. Cairo itself is the third most populous city in the world with 16 million people. It sometimes seems like everyone of them is on the road at the same time, in cars, trucks, or donkey.
Cairo abandoned traffic lights a few years ago and there don't seem to be any rules of the road - even lane markings are ignored. Pedestrians blithely thread in and out of the traffic at will. There seem surprisingly few accidents. Perhaps it's due to the language of the car horns, which are used constantly and can express a wide variety of meanings.
Today we visit the oldest mosque in Cairo then celebrate New Year's Eve Bedouin style. Tomorrow we board the Sun Boat IV to sail up the Nile. It will be good to get out of the city.
I've uploaded some pictures on the Photos page. I'm also taking some video, too, but I'm trying not to be too much of a tourist. There's so much to absorb I don't always want to have a camera in front of my eyes.
Reader Comments (34)
Thanks for sharing your experience. My wife and I plan on traveling to Egypt someday.
Great pictures Leo! If you get a chance can you upload some video at maybe 960 x 540 on blip.tv so we can download it? Thanks so much Leo! Have fun!
Hey Leo and fam! Glad you made it safely to Egypt; I was praying for you...hope ya'll have a great trip!!!
It's good to see that you are enjoying your once-in-a-lifetime vacation!
Boy, rub it in. We are barely about freezing and it is pouring outside and you are sitting in warm sunny weather. ;-)
Have a good time. Look forward to listening to the report during the podcasts next year. Happy New Year all.
@John: Are you handicapped?
He's on vacation, why would he upload high-res footage on some random website for you? Your demands are ridiculous, if you want to see Egypt I suggest you book a flight.
Piece of shit.
P.S. Hope you are having a good time Leo.
The Egyptian government just announced that they are copyrighting the likeness of the Pyramids and the Sphinx worldwide to help pay for their upkeep
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7160057.stm
More FLOSS weekly please pleeease!! I just listened to the old stuff with Chris and I like the history. You are right it needs to be documented.
Have a good break.
I was so scared that you are not going to like, but it seems that you are enjoying it.
My wife is ansAmerican and I take her every two years to Egypt to visit my family and she loves it and her son is dying to go back.
It's too much fun to be in Egypt, you can stay on the street till 3:00 am and you will find open cafe and you will find people around you.
Sounds fascinating! I've never been to Egypt myself, but I would very much like to!
Cool Photos Leo. I'm glad that you're having a great time with your family. Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing your vacation photos Leo! Looks like Abby is packing her own digital camera. What is she using?
What a fantastic experience you are giving to your children! How many kids get to go anywhere over seas much less to a place as historical and exotic as Egypt. It will broaden their horizons. :)
Leo:
While you are there try some Baklava (probably spelled wrong).
What's the weather like out there? Is it hot, dry, humid, rainy, what?
Think I'd stick to the fish though!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7166152.stm
Have a great time, look forward to more pics
Happy New Year Leo! Hope you are enjoying your vacation! I've been there several times. I wish more people from the US traveled with their kids like you. You can't understand the world from CNN.
Thanks for sharing this trip with us. For some reason this seems like I'm on the trip. Look forward to more updates... oh' wait your on vacation. :)
Great photo's Leo, Full res too. Keep them coming.
You are right, it is huge.
Thanks
I am a U.S. Soldier right around the corner in Iraq and not having nearly as much fun. I am glad that you are taking time for you and your family. I hope that you come back with renewed vigor. I love your podcasts and can't wait for you to return to the mic.
Leo,
please tell both me and Adam Jackson about your travels and more, in 2 weeks time at Macworld 2008. Yup I'll be flying over from the UK to the USA on Sunday 13th January for a 10 day stay in SF.
I sent you a email, to tell you all about the intended coverage we will be doing, and of course we want to interview you!
Further details online at: www.dailytechtalk.com
and my own website will be updated soon, with my Macworld plans, online at: www.dsoundz.co.uk
Have a great time in Egypt !
SAM DOWNIE
presenter/tech guru/apple solution expert (UK)
Happy New Year from the gang at the W6TRW Ham Radio Club located in Redondo Beach California! Be careful and have fun!
Great to see you spending quality time with your family Leo. This will be one of those trips of a lifetime. Your family will remember it always. It looks like you are having a great time. Are the pyramids as magnificent as they say? I have seen the Mayan Ruins (pyramids) at Chichen Itza in Mexico, that was a great trip. Glad to see that your enjoying yourselves. Have fun be safe.
Thanks for sharing this great experience with us. I hope to take my wife and daughter there one day.
Leo, thank you for the wonderful photos! Egypt is such a fascinating place, I'd love to go there someday.
I'm so happy for you and your family enjoying this trip abroad. Living in the US we only care about us. G-D Bless you and yours, and a safe return.
But do they have the internets?!?!?