MARCH 2, 2022 – Based on enthusiastic recommendations of fellow undergraduates, during my junior year I took “Art of the Ancient Mediterranean” taught by the venerable Professor Beam. With mesmerizing exuberance and museum-quality slides, the good professor led a fascinating classroom tour of the artistic and architectural wonders of the ancient world. In planning my Grand Odyssey, I put some of those wonders on my map. Many were in the land of the Pharaohs.
First, I had to navigate through modern Egypt, showcased by upscale vehicular traffic in the heart of teaming Cairo. Late model, luxury European cars far outnumbered camels and donkeys. Elegant French coffee houses, bursting with authentic pastries, lit up fashionable intersections. New, high-rise construction—deploying Western building techniques—was commonplace. I was a long way from India.
I soon encountered, however, the “con of the cab ride”: the “broken” meter and general refusal to haggle up front.
My first ride in Cairo, I later learned (from an Egyptian professor), cost me nearly 20 times what it should have. I adapted. I’d hail a cab—invariably with its meter “broken.” I’d then hop in, haggle in vain, and announce my destination. Once there, I’d direct the cabbie to “move closer” to an especially crowded area where the traffic was stopped. I’d then alight and thrust through the driver’s window opening 20% of the driver’s stated fare. Before he could say, “Akhenaten,” I’d disappear into the crowd.
As I reported in a letter home, “[The foregoing method] worked every time but once, and that time three Egyptian passers-by jumped to my defense. I told the driver that if he didn’t want to be ‘cheated,’ he should ‘fix’ his meter. He knew, and I knew that he’d better [move on] or face the angry mob that had so kindly come to my aid.
“Another time I was feeling a bit ill [. . .] and not in the mood for haggling or ‘pulling a fast one.’ I approached a driver and asked, ‘How much to Al Garma Bridge [and my hostel]?’”
“‘One pound,’ came the predictably high response.
“‘I’ll give you 20 piasters,’ I countered.
“The cabbie smiled [. . .] and in perfectly good English explained that he was a ‘tourist taxi’ driver; that his rate was higher for Europeans than it was for Egyptians. He also admitted that [. . .] he made a comfortable living [. . .] by charging outrageous prices.
“I appreciated his honesty and his sense of humor, so I smiled back and said, ‘Okay, my friend. You charge 80 piasters too much, but your honesty is worth 60 and your humor another 20. Let’s go!’
“With that I hopped into his cab and headed for Al Garma Bridge, two kilometers but 20 minutes (because of traffic) away. We had a wonderful, stimulating conversation about President Sadat, Camp David, Israel, and America. It was worth the one-pound-fare.”
Near the Valley of the Kings outside of Luxor (Thebes), I ran into another con so quaint it would’ve drawn a laugh from Professor Beam.
But first . . . the (non-con) top Wonder of the World.
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
