We got up at 3:30. I took a quick shower, we packed up and went downstairs. The manager was waiting to see us off, and made us a cup of tea.
The taxi showed up right at 4:00 and waited while we finished our team, then we loaded up and set out. The airport is about 45 minutes away.
It is interesting out at four in the morning. There are a lot of people out walking, starting work in the cool of the day, drinking tea or coffee at the cafés, or sitting and talking.
There are armed police at all the intersections and entrances to each village, monitoring who comes and goes.
Everybody drives with their headlights off, instead each car or motorcycle or truck has multicolored flashing lights so you look like a Christmas tree moving down the road. You can see surprisingly well when you are not constantly blinded by pesky headlights.
Speed limits and stop signs are generally ignored as are proper lanes so you might be driving in the middle (no lane) or the actual right lane or even the left lane, depending more on road smoothness than anything.
There are small trucks loaded down with four big cows and motorcycles driven by a man with a suitcase between his arms, while his wife balances behind him holding the baby and the older child stands on the frame holding onto moms shoulders.
Some people have their houses or trees decorated with lights; one place had a full on Egyptian flag made of colored lights strung up and blinking.
We got to the airport and had to go through three security stops where they checked the drivers ID, used a mirror to look under the car, and stared hard at us while a twitchy 18 year old kept his finger on the trigger of an AK47.
We were dropped off and made it through the first x-ray, pat down and document check. By now I needed a coffee. We stopped at the first little coffee shop with comfortable seating and ordered. Gail lent them her pen so they could do inventory. Yes, you read that right. I did a credit card payment but they had no pen, so I got one from Gail, then they asked to use it to do inventory. Funniest things here in Egypt.
Our Australian friends from the cruise found us and joined us. Now we find out our flight is delayed and so I am worried about the suddenly tight connection in Cairo. On a hunch I stepped up to the EgyptAir counter and the guy just fixed it, no problem, booking us on a connecting flight one hour later.
Allah bless him, as this saved us from a certain-to-miss connection.
Because...
We had to go through another x-ray and pat down (Gail lost her nail scissors here and was really mad. Nail scissors she has carried for ten years through multiple airports in many countries are now, suddenly, illegal. Perhaps we should have tried to bribe them with a pen?) then through passport control, then walk way out to the F gate, then through another x-ray and pat down.
Then we just had time to walk into the plane.
At least we are on the most secure flight of all of the safest people in the universe.
After coffee and talking we made it through x-ray, pat down and document check number two. This one was really thorough, I even had to show the guy the belt loop on my shorts when he felt it.
So, quintuply safe and secure we boarded the bus (after another document check) to the plane (another check) and took off.
It is a one hour flight so... right after takeoff the petit stewardess shoved the food service cart up the aisle, then glided downhill towards the back throwing us juice and cookies.
We created and started down again as she struggled, dragging the cart back uphill, and we all passed the empties right back to her.
And suddenly we are back in Cairo.
We said goodbye to the Australians (They are off to Qatar) and we headed through to the international transfers part of Cairo Airport. It is great we had the full hour fifteen to do this transfer, because it took a full hour. First we had to check out of the country through passport control, which wasn’t too hard. Then it was a long walk to our gate where there was a long line waiting to go through…
Yet another x-ray and pat-down station. This line just took forever. A bunch of Japanese tourists acting like they have never been through a screening before, just mucking the whole thing up. It was pretty entertaining to see the Muslim women turn around, faces totally covered, and seeing them roll their eyes.
So we boarded the plane and took off about ten minutes late. We were fed a full meal this time because it was a two hour flight.
We landed in Istanbul, and I pulled out our VISAs from Turkey (again you can get them online, which saves a delay at the airport). You have to purchase your VISA at a kiosk or online before you can get your passport stamped.
A lot of non-readers were sent back from the passport officers to the VISA station for not having it, and then they had to wait in the long line all over again.
We were through pretty quickly, walked out, ignored the fake-cab touts and caught a real taksi direct to our hotel for 60TL (under $13US).