Volume Three

Hello All,
In Cairo there are lots of roads, lots of people and lots of cars. The roads have lines painted on them and the largest are three lanes wide. Most roads in Maadi are smaller two lanes or less. There are road signs like at home like One Way and Do Not Enter and cars parked up and down the smaller streets.

However there are NO RULES that are absolutely obeyed here! This place is nuts for driving, I thought I knew what it would be like.....no way. I've seen cars pass each other in places I thought only one car would fit while I was in it. I think with no doubt that you could make a NASCAR driver our of any taxi driver in Cairo. We've driven down those supposed three lane highways at 80km/hr in our Mercedes school bus zig-zagging in and out of dump trucks, other buses, cars, small trucks and usually they are four and sometimes even FIVE wide on a road that is worse than the 401. Imagine honking to others and they actually move over a little for you to get by.

In town they go fairly slow 30-50km. No one speeds excessively because of all the speed bumps.I have complete faith that these guys are capable but sometimes when you are edging into oncoming traffic or going around a midan (round-about) it gets a little crazy. I have my 'Taxi-Arabic' down pretty well and can get around Maadi if I know where I am going. Outside Maadi is a little hairier, less English and they expect more money.

Paula and I are enjoying ourselves and booked a trip to Turkey in November. We are going to Capadocia and Istanbul over four days and there are 6 teachers going altogether. School is in full swing now with most kids back and the beginning of our first full week here.

Hope everything is good at home,

Grant