I have now been a “resident” of Cairo for over a week. But first – my retreat from Rome.

My appointments finished early on the Friday afternoon and I was free to play tourist again. I was keen for a walk, so set off for a four hour “walking tour”. I had been conscious of not having seen the Spanish Steps during our previous visit so, although it was a fair way from my hotel, like a yet to be climbed mountain for the mountaineer, this became a target for me. I walked across the Circus Maximus, walked through the forum, viewed the forum from a vantage point above, and went to the Trevi Fountain. Taking an each way bet and keeping my options open, I threw a very small coin in.

I made it to the Spanish Steps (I walked down them – they were covered with tourists so I couldn’t really see the steps). There I realised how tourism works in Rome, when I was quoted 7 euros (around $11) from a kiosk for a Coke that costs $2.20 in Australia. I walked to St. Peters, and looked at the Pieta again. This was another icon from my art books and is truly magnificent. In fact the Vatican could not fail to impress and St. Peters is awe-inspirng.

I returned to my hotel a little tired but very much stimulated by the sights and sounds of Rome. The weather was changeable in Rome for my visit but clear and sunny on the last two days and pleasant to walk in. But it was very cold – ranging from 0 – 11 degrees Celsius.

Everything has gone smoothly so far, and so was the trip to Cairo. I flew Alitalia this time (all other flights are Emirates). It seemed more like our domestic flights than an international event, and was relatively short at a little over 3 hours. We flew across the “toe of the boot” – near to Calabria, and also over-flew Crete and Alexandria.

Arriving in Cairo I was met by a lady from the hotel who was first in the name-signs queue (before immigration), grabbed my passport and whipped me past everything and everybody. This is fairly valuable because the queues are long and the scene a little frantic when one arrives in Cairo. We beat my luggage to the carousel by 10 minutes. She had a car arranged for me. The drive across Cairo brought back a lot of memories and gave a reality to the notions of traffic and chaos that, although you think you remember them, need to be re-experienced to really be understood.

Maybe the contrast with the serenity of where I stayed in Rome was involved but I was quickly reminded that this is Cairo – it is not neat and it is chaotic. Egypt is a very poor country with a very large population. Like many similar countries, it has a lot of very rich people as well. Cairo is huge with some 8 million living in its boundaries and nearly the same moving in to work each day. The area I am staying in is Dokki – regarded as a good area but quite central and old. It is largely high-rise with narrow streets.

Cairo drivers are very skilled in avoiding one another. If we drove like that in Australia we would quickly become victims of road rage – but, beyond a few shrugs, everyone seems to accept it and squeezing ahead of the car next door seems part of a game.

The footpaths are often un-navigable so people walk along the edges of the roads. The locals are care-free about this and wander all over the road. The rule seems to be that the cars should look out for you. As they approach they sound their horns to let you know they are there. They do the same with every other car they encounter. This makes for a constant cacophony of car horns. Drivers always seem to have one hand on the horn. The other curiosity for us is that at night many prefer to drive with their headlights off.

My walk to work takes about 20 minutes. I have to cross three major roads. This is quite an art because there are no walk lights or crossings. The rule is to make eye contact with the driver and walk in front of the car. In effect, as one walks across there are cars (and buses and trucks) whizzing past in front and behind you. On the first few occasions the term “cheating death” came to mind but surprisingly, I have become used to it and the adrenalin doesn’t even flow any more. The secret is not to do anything “sudden” or unexpected. I did make the mistake of changing direction suddenly without looking and almost had an intimate relationship with a push-bike.

This will be a new experience for me – living in a hotel for three months. It was tempting to find a flat but that carries additional complications that I don’t need. I have pretty much settled down to the life here. Egyptians are very friendly people in general and are gracious to foreigners like me. They are keen to help. English is spoken by many but by a relatively small proportion of the general population. Sadly, my Arabic is non-existent – so there are some problems. This did come to the fore on my first walk home from work – one wrong turn and the language problem meant that I was consistently pointed in the entirely wrong direction. The 20 minute walk became two hours (but I did see a lot of back streets).

I had some button problems and needed some cotton to do some running repairs. I found an old cotton shop on the walk home from work. With a short diversion into a back street and two inquiries, I found the little shop with years of dust on everything, undisturbed by the ancient shop-keeper who hasn’t tidied up for a very long time. His movements about the shop are restricted by the ravages of age and by being unable to find a clear place on the floor to put his feet. But I got my cotton and enjoyed the exercise.

I am not planning to play at being a tourist here, at least not initially but I will regularly post some of my responses to “the report”. So, stay tuned and keep safe and happy.