The Fun Begins

Arriving in Cairo Airport's third terminal was a delightful surprise. It is a beautifully designed building, with the exterior architecture made to look as if it has come out of the vast expanse of sand that the runway seems to float atop!!! The building looks like compressed sand, with lotus-like motifs carved into it as decoration, & with plenty of glass & steel to give it a light, bright, contemporary feel. We were met before even going through customs, by one of Mena House's Meet & Greet team, who whisked us effortlessly through customs, getting us a phone card & finding the assigned driver to take us to our home for the next few nights. This was an added bonus & one we truly valued, as neither of us having slept throughout the long journey to get here...we were a tad zombified! They are developing beautiful gardens at the entrance of the Airport, using water features & lots of cacti, so impressive. We took the 'Ring Road' south to Giza, & were highly amused that our driver commented how lucky we were that the traffic was light. With 4 cars sharing the space across two lanes & tooting & jostling for right of way, not to mention the occasional donkey & cart in the mix...we didn't share the same opinion! What an eye opener. It is one thing to read about Cairo traffic, it is another to experience it, even in it's, alleged, mild form. Another surprise was the apartment housing...miles & miles of, mostly, ugly apartment blocks to house this city's 22 million. We went past a number that were in various stages of incompletion, and yet they were obviously inhabited. Apparently the interiors have all been finished, but in order to avoid taxation for as long as possible...the exteriors are left in their raw, undressed state! We continued to see, rather ugly & uncared for apartment blocks, & then all of a sudden, out of the smog, a couple of huge, monumental triangular shapes appeared. We had arrived.