DAY 26 - HOMECOMING
SYNOPSIS: About coming home to Pension Roma after a much delayed flight, revisiting Tahrir Square, and meeting a new set of characters.
For the second day in a row I had to rise before dawn. That sits not well with me especially, since the plane was delayed for nearly four hours! We were strung along with empty promises of 30 minutes, then 60 minutes of delay and then, our flight disappeared from the display board all together, only to be replaced with the next flight scheduled four hours later. Really, our plane never flew. It looked like we were consolidated with the afternoon flight instead officially due to a sand storm in Cairo. Rumor has it that Egypt Air (like just about every other business in Egypt) is hurting to the breaking point. But as things work out, I joined a Danish couple for the free coffee we were offered as compensation for the delay: Lars and Inge. They have been to Egypt numerous times, own a feluka, love the country and are just simply very charming people. We talked and talked and as our plane was ready to leave we looked at each other in amazement on how the last three hours had passed without us hardly noticing. All it takes is good company!
I did not recognize Cairo or my neighborhood.
Already, when I drove in from the airport, there were no tanks, traffic was three times as thick as three weeks ago and my hotel is not in a dark, dirty, deserted street but in an upscale shopping district, full of life, honking cars, flashing neon signs, and thousands of people hustling and bustling about, especially at night. The neighborhood check points have disappeared and I could take street pictures today without being pulled into an army check point!
Tahrir Square is a full-scale party now. Still, there were at least three to four areas where stages are set up and protesters are leading the crowd in chants. It’s now mainly about getting rid of various ministers and high officials in the Mubarak regime and about following through on promises. That’s what I am told by people of varying English-speaking skills. But I also got a link from a blog reader who found a U-tube video of the crowds shouting “Death to Israel” recently and supporting the returning Sheikh Jussuf What’s his name, an Islamist who was banned from Egypt, and who recently returned from exile.
Just to put this in perspective: When you have a crowd cheering on a particular speaker at the square you never have the entire crowd supporting that person. You cannot even hear a speaker across the square as it is too big – three or four speeches are going on simultaneously at any given time. The range of opinions and goals spans the full gamut from supporting a theocracy to adopting an American-style democracy.
I looked for Shema, but I think her business at the square is finished. If you were there a month ago, risking your life for this revolution, I don’t think you could appreciate the carnival atmosphere of vendors and curious visitors that have replaced those who were wounded, cold, hungry, exhausted and at the brink of physical break down.
The crowd at Pension Roma has changed. But the welcome by the staff was wonderful. “My queen is back!” was the broad-smiled receptionist’s greeting. The room that looked dark and a bit run down three weeks ago, feels like home now. To have internet right here is a luxury. That it is slow and intermittent is a small price to pay. Sharing a bathroom is no problem. I will miss this place! I could imagine just living here writing a book about the characters that roll through Pension Roma in the course of a year.
One BBC reporter is still here from my first stay. They are doing an in depth report on the revolution including Shema and her friends’ role in it. Temoris, the Mexican journalist has left for Libya. The anarchist/communist/dominatrix… I don’t know if she flew back. After striking up a relationship with Temoris that will live on in the memories of the entire staff at Pension Roma for the nightly noise it produced - she might be leading the revolution in Libya for all I know. Michalis is probably back in Cypress.
Now there are more travelers than journalists. Guess who? Aubrey, the Mountain Man is here. I just can’t get away from him! Then, there is long-haired, soft-spoken David from Oregon – first time traveling in the Middle East. We had a good chat about travel logistics and about the fact that once you are bitten by the travel bug, you just can’t cure yourself. There is John from England with a most distinct bow-tie shaped moustache – not quite Dali yet, but nonetheless impressive. He is biking through Africa. We philosophized about the future of the world and whether being optimistic about the next generation is a good thing. Then, there is tight-lipped philosophy professor Keith from Scotland. He hardly looks up and certainly is not taking part in any of our far-flung conversations. He is here on academic business and does not quite relate to us outsiders. Pedro from Spain does not say much either as he is tuned into his iPod. And no, I am not the only woman. There is Stephania, a free-lance photographer from Italy with the most radical political views. Here is just a sampling: The US will invade Libya, and the UK is ruling the US since the civil war was just a fake, 9/11 was a US conspiracy and the reports of second hand smoking were all based on fake numbers. Do I need to mention that she is a chain smoker? I am pulling the "I am just an art historian, I don't know a thing" card. Nothing surprises me anymore, but I am in no mood for an argument.
But the most colorful person in this crowd is Tim.
After 9 PM only John, Tim and I were left. Both John and I were typing away at our computers throwing bits of sentences back and forth when Tim said to me: “And there you are sitting next to the most fascinating man in the world and you are typing away!” Now that’s a pickup line. “I am 90% here” was my response. “What makes you so fascinating?” John chimed in that 90% is a pretty good rate for a woman under any circumstances and we had a good laugh about that. Tim is a tall, slightly overweight, thin-haired, pale-skinned, limping man in his 60’s from Wimbledon. He is at the start of a one year journey that will take him through 18 countries. From what I can tell, he has retired about 20 years ago and has been traveling ever since.
He laid out for us his plan of ruling the world as a single “world-ruler” with a sort-of parliament chosen in a rotating fashion from all the longitudinal points of the globe. An unresolved issue is whether the world ruler should dictate policies or reflect the wishes of the people. He has groomed himself for this role and put already, as he phrased it “tens of thousands of dollars” into that plan. Now that is dedication, not to mention the resources! What a man with plans and money like this is doing at the Pension Roma is anyone’s guess. From there a most interesting conversation unfolded about world politics, religion, human nature, etc. Certainly a man of principles, Tim has given up phone and computer and kept teasing both John and me about our addiction to modern media. I decided that Tim is no name for a person of such lofty ambitions and decided to knight him to the rank of Sir Timothy. Too bad he is leaving tomorrow already. I would have enjoyed a few more conversations with him especially, since he is an excellent flirt. Too bad, I did not get a picture of any of them. You have to create your own.
For now: Good night.