Monday, September 03, 2007

Ramadhan in Cairo
Me riding a camel, Cairo Egypt

Marhaban ya Ramadhan…it's just round the corner… we will be in the month which is full with barakah. Somehow Ramadhan remind me of my visit to Cairo during the month of Ramadhan few years back. I went there with my Libyan friend named Khalifah. We decided not to join any package since he speaks Arabic. Before I went to Cairo, I have different kind of perception about this capital city of Egypt. This is due to Al Azhar University, world-renowned for its position as a center of Islamic scholarship and education. There are a lot of our religious scholars graduated from here. But when I arrived in Cairo, then I can see the true color of Cairo which is not up to my expectation. I experienced it all, taking the public bus up to the taxi, but most of (not all) the public are not civilized enough. When we were on the cab, the taxi driver tries to cheat us. Luckily Khalifah was aware of this and he argued with the taxi driver. When we ride the camel, the same thing happened. The camel operator tried to cheat us. Khalifah did quarrel with them and at last he reported to the police. I’m so scared at that time and I told Khalifah its ok with the money. But he told me we can’t just let them go but teach them a good lesson. At last we managed to get our money back. The worst thing is that when they cheat, they just simple swear with the name of Allah..Wallahi! Wallahi! (I swear to Allah). That’s terrible!! I don’t make any blanket rule here, but this is based on my experience. Not all of them are acting like a moron. Surely there are always good and bad people. If all are good people then we don’t need any police institution or court jurisdiction at all right…uhhuhuhu. A part from this, Cairo is a good place to visit. Just join the tour group which is better and safe, everything is arranged for you. I’m so excited to see the pyramid and sphinx. The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the seven wonders. We also had an opportunity to visit the Masjid of Muhammad Ali in the Citadel of Salahideen in Old Cairo. Don’t forget the museum to see the mummy. The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Egyptian Museum) is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world.


Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids
Arab proverb

I told Lin that I really want to experience the fasting month in Makkah. InsyaAllah after I settle all my unfinished business, then I will arrange for the trip. Hope Allah will grant me a good health and prosperity to see more …..the other side of the world!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

arsaili..
maybe that man really need the money, that's why he ask for more.

ps: arsaili ke yg naik unta tu~??
ngelat.. apsal gambar tu blurrr jer~???

Noushy Syah said...

Well, true indeed, the same scenario also hppnd in KSA, bad and good pple--everywhere regardless,they swearing the same thing especially the typical Nomad type Arabian taxi driver!..wallahi..wallahi!!

So disgusting....

(as told by my mom then--I was small when we were living in KSA)

arsaili said...

Re: kuncup - ehehe tu yg di blurrrr kan tu..uhuhuhu

Re: Noushy syah - thats why la noushy..tak paham dia org nih..they are very harsh too..i think thats is the reason why Koran di turunkan kt tanah arab...eventhough egypt kat benua africa tapi dekatla tu kan..ehehe

Mimiamilia said...

salam..
your entry buat i tak sabar-sabar nak gi Cairo. I akan berpuasa kat sana Ramadhan ni.

Memang dah dengar macam-macam dari kawan kat sana perihal Pak Arab kat Mesir ni.Harap2,selamat la selama duduk kat sana nanti.Do pray for me k..

Anonymous said...

well .. sorry to say

no wonder Malaysian scholars from Mid East carried some negative side of the Arabians ..

(bukanlah maksud saya pula bersifat anti aliran pendidikan Arab)

Suara Perindu said...

Arsaili,

Saya pernah mengalami pengalaman yang sama seperti saudara ketika bertugas di Mesir sebagai wartawan suatu ketika dahulu tetapi selamat kerana dah tahu karenah mereka lebih awal. Antara perkara pelik saya perhatikan. 1. teksi tak pasang lampu waktu malam tetapi flash ke arah kereta depan. yang depan pula flash yg di depan mereka. 2. kenderaan sentiasa bunyikan hon. 3. kalau naik unta, pemiliknya buat helah kalau anda nak turun disuruhnya unta terus mundar mandir. Dia juga beri air mineral tetapi semua itu di charge. Hati2 jika ke Mesir!

Jamal Abd Rahman said...

Bro

Pak Arab ni perangai dia mg semua mcm tu... semua nak swear dgn nama Allah, waima benda yg kecik2 pun..sedap jer mulut diorg tu sumpah2...kang jadik sumpah2 baru tau..ekeke

arsaili said...

re:mimi - salam..bes aa mimi..InsyaAllah shld be ok..adatla travel kan..kena extra careful jer..sure ada kenkawan kan..nanti leh share pengalaman.

re: Jeff - itu la..memang ada kenal yg dh terikut2 perangai tak baik org mesir nih..tapi ramai yg ok InsyaAllah

re: Nordin - itu la abg nordin..memang dah culture cam tu kan..lagipun negara dia org tak membangun sgt..

re: Uncle J - tu la uncle org arab ni...kawan arab dulu uisyhhh sabor jer..tapi lama2 kawan ngan kita..dia org pun berubah sikit. Cakap pun soft spoken..kalau idak cam nak gaduh jer..kasar kan...jadi sesumpah..ekekeke