Getting Around

Sucks. And is impossible. You see, nobody knows where anything is, even in their own neighborhood. Addresses are virtually non-existent, and even if they were around, they'd be useless anyway. So lets break it down:

The neighborhoods that I have frequented, Ma'adi, Zamalek, Tahrir/Downtown, and those that are more upscale that I haven't yet been to like Dokki, Garden City, and Mohandessin, are, in a sense, planned. When looking at a map- from above, mind you- the neighborhoods tend to make shapes with the streets, and there is some sort of semblance of order. That means NOTHING on the ground. Even if the streets themselves are in order, there is no sense to the street names. In Ma'adi for example, all the streets are numbered (I finally figured out that I live on the extension of street 14), but street 9 intersects with street 86. Why? I have no idea. Streets 199-205 are all in the same general area, but street 252 intersects all of them. So especially in Ma'adi, cabbies have no idea where they are going. Furthermore, because cabs are the de facto mode of transportation, lots of people who live in the neighborhoods don't even know where things are.

Because street names and addresses are virtually irrelevant, everything is "next to that kushk with 2 freezers outside, and in front of the Serbian embassy." Or, "Take a right at the AUC dorms till you hit the corner with the cafe, then hop on one foot while rubbing your belly and patting your head, say the magic words, and then you MIGHT find it. But call me if you need me to come get you." And then ensues the whole conversation of figuring out where the hell you are in order for the person who so graciously offered to find you can do so.

Cabs will also take you for a ride if you don't know where you're going, or if you speak english. That being said, I have definitely seen much more of Cairo than I've bargained for. For example, Jenny and I went to Zamalek on Friday night, and the Corniche (the road that runs along the nile. 8 official lanes which means 16 by Egyptian standards) was incredibly backed up. So, the cabbie suggested we take the Autostrad, or ring road. We both knew it was an alternate way to get to Zamalek, but neither of us had taken it before. And so we drove. And drove. And one of the things about driving in Egypt is that every road is a divided highway, so often you have to drive a while past your turn in order to make a u-turn to get back to make the turn you want. So, this cab does a couple switchbacks, and drives through some sketchier areas, and when we fiiiiinally made it to Zamalek, it was 30LE, when it should have cost 20.

At least we got where we were trying to go.