Back in Cairo, we decided to seek out some Grand Hotels of Egypt’s past. 

We caught up with a lovely friend of friends of ours who graciously took us on a walking tour of the old Islamic Streets of Cairo, before stopping at his favourite pancake place in the Khan el Khalili market for dinner.  He grew up in this old area, but now lives in a newer location outside central Cairo, so loves nothing more than strolling through his past in these streets that retain a mix of the old and of course, all the trappings of the new.  

To end a lovely evening with our new friend, we called into the Windsor Hotel, which served for many years as a colonial British officers club.  Interesting old photos were on the walls and the place retained an ambiance of faded grandeur.  The hotel’s famous Barrel Bar remains a popular Cairo rendezvous, however not being smokers, we couldn’t stay in this grand hotel for too long.  It seems nearly everyone in Egypt smokes!

With our Japanese friend we made at the Freedom Hostel, we caught a taxi through the crazy Cairo traffic to Mena House, with high hopes of watching the sun set over the Great Pyramids of Giza for our last time.  Mena House was built during the 1880’s and was the jewel in the crown of the greatest legends of the Orient.  Inside, you could just make out the tops of two of the pyramids through the windows.  We asked where we could watch the sunset over the pyramids, but alas that particular area was under restoration and was out of bounds.  Not satisfied and wanting more, we strolled through the gardens, collected some worker’s chairs and plonked ourselves where we had the best, but not grand, view of the setting sun’s glow on Kurfu’s pyramid. 

Our GPS showed a 2km walking path to a restaurant we had been to previously.  I felt like we were about to break one of our personal rules about not walking down dark allies at night.  Mmm…we continued and to our delight we found ourselves in the backstreets of Giza in a well-lit area where cameleers, horse and carts, and guides sauntered home after a day’s work at the pyramid complex.  Locals were friendly and simply going about their business.  It was a privilege to walk through this area en route to our delicious Egyptian meal at Sofra’s.

How Dale finds this sort of stuff, I have no idea.  From our Downtown hostel, we walked across to Zamalek Island in search of the Aquarium Grotto Gardens that once contained several aquariums with living fish swimming in clear blue water.  For what was most likely economic reasons, the aquariums were not maintained and all that is left is a green park with caves, trees and empty tanks with stuffed fish, marine life preserved behind glass, and stuffed ducks!  Apparently the government has plans to “restore and preserve the historical and archaeological nature of the park, hopefully transforming it into an international and local tourist attraction”.  For the moment though it looked quite “grotto-esque”!

Possibly no trip to Cairo is complete without a visit to the imposing UNESCO proclaimed Citadel.  The Saladin Citadel is a medieval Islamic fortification built on a hill with commanding views of the city.  Originally built in 1176, it remains one of the world's greatest monuments to medieval warfare and today houses a number of ancient mosques and some museums. We decided to walk a number of kilometres to the Khan el Khalili souq via some back streets. My turn this time to find something different - we were on the lookout for the Khan Khayamiya, or the Street of the Tentmakers.

On the edge of the market district, we found a narrow lane winding between tightly packed buildings where the Tentmakers of Cairo sell their wares.  Multi-coloured, richly designed kayamiyas, or tent panels, hand-stitched by the shopkeepers and tentmakers of this small Egyptian community, spilled from their shops.  Khayamiyas are the highly decorated canvas panels making up the roof and sides of traditional Egyptian tents. These panels are also used as backdrops for weddings, funerals, concerts, and other public ceremonies.  In recent times the market has become flooded with cheap, factory-printed fakes, and the Tentmakers have been forced to adapt their designs to make smaller pieces for wall hangings, cushion covers and tablecloths for the tourist market.  The applique workmanship was simply stunning.

We had heard that Mr Mahmoud Abdel Ghaffar’s Al Wikkala belly-dancing supplies shop located in the Khan el Khalili souq was legendary, and wanted to check it out for ourselves.  We didn’t know where to look when we first entered the store.  His shop is where you will find that perfect costume, that special scarf and other necessities for oriental dancing.  There was colour and bling everywhere, and photographs of famous dancers adorned the walls.  The ground level was mainly scarves and accessories, but we wanted to see outfits, so we were obligingly lead through racks and racks of beautiful outfits on the next two floors.  We made a couple of purchases and if we were staying in Cairo longer, we could have been fitted for custom outfits and given private lessons…

The last moments of our adventures in Egypt, AND at the end of our nine month African motorcycle Odyssey, AND our last moments with Australia non-resident status, were spent at the Intercontinental Semiramis hotel on the Nile.  Another of Cairo’s grand dame hotels that we seem to have visited too late.  A caption issued by the Associated Press in January 1976, read, “Nile landmark to go: The Semiramis Hotel, for years a landmark along the Nile River in Cairo, will soon disappear. The hotel, named for an Iraqi princess and built by Europeans in the early 1900s, closed last summer and will be pulled down and replaced by a pyramid-shaped, 850-room, $18 million hotel.”  Thankfully a pyramid-shaped building was not erected, but a grand dame she was no longer.  We lapped up the benefits of our remaining Air Miles and then all too soon it was time to board our plane from Cairo to Dubai.  

We weren’t looking forward to the 14 hour long haul flight from Dubai to Brisbane, but then some magic happened.  Our Cattle Class boarding passes mysteriously turned into Business Class boarding passes.  I noticed our seats were not together, so with great trepidation, I visited the Transit Desk.  The delightful woman behind the desk immediately said “Oh, you’re in Business Class.  Would you like me to move you together?”  “Yes, thank you…bye”!!  With welcome Moet on take-off, a three course lunch, free internet the whole way, and a full sized bed…we’ve decided we’re not going back to the dark side...ever...

How do you transition from a retirement dream of overlanding through east Africa on a motorcycle, to returning home after nine years of living an ex-pat lifestyle?  You need a project! 

Our project is to make a new home on wilderness land that Dale had the foresight to purchase in northern New South Wales, back in the late 70’s.  We plan to renovate the small cottage, erect a big shed to fit all our “stuff”, put a little boat on the dam and enjoy the many tall eucalypt, oak and red cedar trees on the property.  We call it “the farm”.  There won’t be any domesticated animals on our farm, but there will be fresh air, a million stars, vast wilderness and the kettle will always be on…