Aisha’s Egypt: Let’s Take A Ride!

My Daughter And I Riding A Camel Up To The Pyramids

One glance at the pyramids is proof enough that the date on the calendar holds no meaningful relevance to the age of anything in Egypt. They say character has no age, but in Egypt, the older something gets, the more character it acquires. Time runs at a very unique speed here. Even the traffic runs at a very unique speed. This is because Egyptian streets are full of surprises. Relics of every form of transportation known to man are still jockeying for position on the lively highways and byways of this amazing country. Let’s take a ride!

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I am particularly enchanted with modes of transportation not dependent upon fossil fuels. Not enchanted enough to build a barn for it, but I definitely want a photograph of it! Horses, donkeys, mules, camels, waterbuffalo, whatever it is, and the more the merrier. If it’s attached to a cart of any configuration, that’s even better, and if it’s colorful, we must stop NOW! I have to have a picture of that!

Egyptian Donkey Carts Can Be Very Colorful!

See what I mean? Honestly, I can not lavish enough praise and respect on the artist responsible for this incredibly beautiful donkey cart! Who has time for such a masterpiece as this, these days? This is one of the mysteries of Egypt, in my book. Just imagine the time and patience it must have taken to paint all this colorful expression of delight… even the underside of the donkey cart has not been missed. I am incredulous in my appreciation of the anonymous artists of Egypt who brighten our days with these colorful apparitions of wonder and joy!

Egyptian School "Bus" In El Mahala

They are like beautiful bright mobile masterpieces, randomly appearing in the midst of drab, dreary landscapes. This beautiful wagon delivers elementary school children to and from school every morning. Isn’t this an adorable schoolbus? I’ve seen similarly painted horse drawn wagons in virtually every city we’ve travelled through from Alexandria to Cairo, so this colorful mode of travel is apparently quite common for school kids. They are even more delightful to see filled with happy little children all dressed up in brightly colored clothes, smiling and laughing on their way to school.

Egyptian Man Driving Horse Cart Full Of Crates

It is March now, and it’s the Coptic month of Wind. “Wind” is an affectionate term for “miserable, ugly brown dust storm” that blows superfine dust into Egypt from the Libyan Desert. For a month. Everything turns dreary and drab, and driving in this strange daylight is difficult. It also makes me even more appreciative of those colorful donkey carts. It didn’t stop me from taking this picture, though. How do you suppose all those crates got stacked so high on that horse cart? Help from someone on a second floor balcony? I can’t imagine it!

Horse And Buggy Taxi In Mit Ghamer ©Vail

This is another common Egyptian alternative to the gas guzzling taxi. Not a tourist attraction, these horse and buggy carts are in service all over the country in cities where most tourists would never visit. I love the yesteryear feeling in the sight of these “taxis,” the loud sound of the clip clopping horses hooves on the asphalt paved streets, and the crack of a whip snapping above the horses’ head as the driver yells, “Haaaa!”

Egyptian Man Driving A Donkey Cart In Mit Ghamer ©Vail

Many of my family members visited us here in Egypt, and we hired a microbus to drive us from Cairo out to our village and back for the day. We stopped in Mit Ghamer, a large city near us, for refreshments. A microbus with 5 uncovered western women snapping photos out the window attracted a lot of attention in this city where they don’t see many tourists. The locals were as amazed with the women, as the women were with the locals!

Egyptian Couple On A Donkey Cart ©Vail

This unforgettable couple driving their donkey cart behind our microbus seems to have differing thoughts about having their picture taken. Can you come up with a suitable caption for this photo? I hope you will accept this challenge and write your caption in the comments below!

And, finally, I’ll leave you with this poignant image of probably the earliest form of transportation known to humankind. With an interesting twist, as you see. I always carried my children on my hip, but Egyptian mothers and fathers prefer carrying their babies on one shoulder! I’ve never tried this, have you?

An Egyptian Woman Carrying Her Daughter On Her Shoulder ©Vail

This is my first post linked up with the nice folks participating in Sue Llewellyn’s A Word A Week photo challenge. The theme for this week is “Transport.” I thought it was a great opportunity to share some fun sights from the streets of Egypt. I’m interested to see the other responses, too, come join us!

;^)