Its been two weeks to the day since I arrived in Cairo. And boy, do I have stories to tell. But we'll go over them bit by bit. As I type this, am looking over my back lest the egyptian secret police jump me from behind. Like this poor sap.

The basics (one) : Money and Living

The currency here is the Egyptian Pound; Guinea to his family and friends. The cents are piastres. In my whole two weeks here so far, i have only seen a piastres coin once. Its mostly in paper currency and they're usually so dirty and that they're definitely on my list of Things That Can Unceremoniously Kill You In Egypt (TTCUKYIE). Coincidentally I found a 5 piastres note (which is supposedly really rare) and I intend to bring it and all its middle kingdom germs back with me.

One Australian Dollar is equivalent to about 4.45 Guineas. One Ringgit is roughly 1.60 Guineas.

You could survive a day on one Fu'ul (beans) sandwich per meal, which would set you back 1.00 Piastres. Food is cheap like Malaysia, which is endearing to the heart and the tummy. For those craving a bit more, there's the Shawarma, Kofta or Kebab (basically meat sandwiches), which at 5.00 Guineas, is a real bargain.

The Big Mac index (you nerds) : 12.50 Guineas for a small value meal. But don't eat that pro-Zionist garbage (in front of your pious arabic teachers) if you know what's good for you. An anecdote I shall leave for later.

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This is later. The following is a patched recollection from my visits to various museums and memorials and they may bore you. You have been warned.

Anti-Israeli sentiments are moderately high in this region, despite Egypt's 1979 acknowledgement of Isreal's right to exist. These two nations have quite a thing going on with their wars. Click here to read more. The last war which was the Yom Kippur war or Ramadhan war began as Egypt attempted to regain the Mt Sinai - Suez area that was occupied by the Israeli forces. Asleep yet?

There's a big expensive tribute to this war called the 1978 war Panorama to commemorate the glorious might of Egypt's Military forces. The irony is that they didn't actually win in the end. Ooh, the minor details.

Mr Hosni Mubarak (Egypt's current president) was a general during this war, and came to power shortly after the then head of state (Sadat) was killed by a progressive element (ixnay on the erroristtay) during a parade. The reasons for his assasination : A fatwa on his head for betraying the Arab League's stance on Isreal (by acknowledging it).

What we can learn from this episode is :
a) Don't mess with Israel
b) You don't really have to read every single thing at Museums and Monuments. Its best to just go "ooh" and "aah" and move along. Especially in a country with 40 Centuries of History. I now know too much.
c) A Fatwa goes on the list of Things That Can Unceremoniously Kill You In Egypt (TTCUKYIE).
d) Being at the right place, at the right time and having your immediate superior die from the TTCUKYIE can be a catalyst to success.