Al-Qahir

I finally arrived in Cairo yesteray after a day that began at 330am, but really began the day before, since I hadn't slept all night. As soon as you get off the plane, the heat hits you and then, sometime thereafter, you notice the thousand Egyptian men offering you a taxi. Of course, before the haggling begins, you have to buy two visa stamps and get through customs, a process that is simpler than it sounds.

Although I am one of the few Western women in the customs line, I notice most of the Arab/Egyptian women, covered head to toe in dresses and scarves, carry a fistful ofAmerican or Canadian passports for their passels of children. In fact, I don't see many local or even regional passports at all.

Once you leave the customs area, the onslaught begins. Egyptian men are very aggressive, and they probably manage to put Egyptian women in their place, but I find that a combination of ignoring them and responding in curt, vague phrases seems to neutralize them. After a few minutes of deflecting them, I find a less aggressive driver who I manage to talk into driving me for 20 Egyptian pounds less than the going rate, and we leave for my hotel, in Giza, on the other side of the city.

It's only 430pm, but not having slept the night before, I am not really up for a tour, although the driver can't help himself and offers a thousand times anyway. I have found that you can't leave a taxi without their name and number, either scribbled on a receipt, or on a typed on business card.

The hotel, although in a dilapidated part of town, is very modern. The main draw for me is a pool that is infamous for being the largest in Cairo. I spend the rest of the daylight hours swimming and lying in the somewhat less fiery sun, before a dinner of Egyptian mezze and some much needed sleep.

Today, I am heading to the Egyptian museum to see Tutankhamen and other artifacts and the famous Kala-al-Khalili market. More updates later.