Stu's visit to Egypt (year 2)
03/05/2003
I was supposed to go diving this weekend, but the trip was cancelled at the last minute because the Egyptian government suspended all diving activity and banned all boats from leaving the marina. The Arab League Summit Meeting in Sharm El Sheik caused a heightened sense of security. The meeting had been scheduled for weeks, but the government didn't decide on the security measures until the absolute last minute. We were lucky that we didn't make the six-hour drive first. In fact, I was waiting at the door for my ride when I got the phone call.
As soon as I hung up I went into scramble mode. I initiated the telephone tree and began the emergency backup weekend plan. I had declined several invitations because of my travel plans and suddenly found myself with 48 hours to kill. In Cairo. A daunting task even with a group of people much less on your own. After several calls I had formulated a plan to go out with people to the "bars".
Going "out" in Cairo is pretty much the same as going out anywhere else in the world. It all depends on your definition of "pretty much the same." There's beer, smoke filled rooms, places with the word "pub" in their names, cocktail peanuts, and music so loud that's it's impossible to carry on a conversation. I guess the differences mostly have to do with the variety available. There isn't a lot of choice.
For example, there are only two brands of beer. And, because Egyptians are not allowed to purchase alcohol, there aren't many people in the bars. In fact, there aren't many bars. I think there are five. In a city of sixteen million people. Also, the music sucks. So when you "go out" you usually bring your own booze, people, and music.
On Thursday night we went to a bar called Matchpoint. There were about ten of us and it was safe to assume that we were the only customers in three days. The waiters were tripping over themselves bringing us beer and peanuts. They invited us to put our own CDs in the stereo and even ordered take out food for us from a pizza place down the street. They finally kicked us out around one AM.
Then, a few of us went to a "dance club" called Jackie's Place. This was more typical of a North American bar. Loud dance music, overpriced beer and a younger crowd. Apparently there are establishments that turn a blind eye to Egyptians drinking and this is one of them. There were hundreds of twenty something Egyptians drinking and dancing. A disproportionate number of them were male, not unusual for any public place. Of course, any female that was there would have been accompanied by a male. Groups of single girlfriends simply do not "go out." I got home about five AM Friday morning.
Friday night was more of the same. We started at a place called "After Eight" where live music was on the schedule. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the stage. The bartender gave no explanation other than, "No music tonight." Even after we showed him the flyer that was hanging on the front door, he repeated himself with a "duh" look on his face as if to say, "So what. There's a flyer. Did you expect us to have live music just because we said so?"
So it was off to the Cairo Jazz Club. I had heard that this was the hip place to be seen. So I was a bit surprised when it was so dark that I don't think anyone could be seen there. The windowless room had a black painted ceiling and a black tiled floor. The walls were hidden by heavy black drapes. The lighting was scant and it was difficult to see the person next to you. You couldn't hear them either because the music was so loud. And to complete the Dante's Inferno theme the air was thick with smoke. After about thirty minutes it dawned on me that I was there of my own free will. I excused myself from the people standing near me, who may or may not have been the people I came with, and took a taxi home.
Tuesday was Islamic New Year and a school holiday. So we went out on Monday night. The plan was to do a good, old-fashioned Pub Crawl. Anyone who went to college in a small town knows what this is. A bunch of friends go from one bar to the next and have a drink in each one. The goal is to visit as many bars as possible in a single night.
I was skeptical about the success of a Cairo Pub Crawl. The lack of pubs was certainly an issue as was the logistical nightmare of getting thirty people around in taxis. But the most interesting hurdle we encountered was the fact that many places do not serve alcohol on Muslim holidays. Luckily my friend Michelle is an avid party-er with a type-A personality. She organized a recognizance team that would scout out the next bar and report back via cell phone to confirm the serving of alcohol.
We started at Harry's Pub in the Marriott hotel. This is a popular expat hangout and was sure to be serving. When we were all assembled and had drank at least a beer or two each we moved the wagon train to the next place. We only had to walk about fifteen minutes to "Pub 28" a small restaurant that recon had recommended. After an hour we circled the wagons again and waited for the word to move to the next place. The scouting party called from four different places always with a negative report. We ended up staying at Pub 28. Two bars does not a Pub Crawl make, but we still had fun.
At least painting the town red is easy to do here. You don't need a big can of paint. In fact, you could probably do it with a magic marker.