A Train Journey Through Egypt

Yes, yes, it is airconditioned, do not worry effendi!

In Egypt, the National Railway is heavily used and links the country from Alexandria to Aswan.

In 1976 I took a second-class carriage from Cairo to Aswan. The train, I was assured, was air-conditioned. When the train pulled into Cairo station it was empty. Then everyone started jumping through the windows. This struck me as very peculiar. However, it was the only way to get a seat. By the time I got on the train, every seat was taken. Three guys, with their luggage, even took over one of the toilets.

The only room I could find was on the metal floor over the couplings between two carriages. I put my duffel bag down and sat on it. Immediately an Egyptian peasant woman sat on the other end of it.

The trip took 10 hours and was sweltering. The air-conditioning consisted of a couple of little fans bolted to the ceiling. All the windows were open. It was the middle of July and dust kept blowing into the carriages off the desert. The toilet had a hole in the bottom of it that opened straight onto the track without a flush mechanism. Unbelievably the passengers actually managed to plug the damn thing. This resulted in the toilet compartment becoming awash with urine and feces about halfway through the trip.

The Egyptians, though, are a good-humored lot, put up with all kinds of adversity, and are constantly joking. A typical exchange is as follows: A fellow in a car hits a bicyclist in the leg and says: ‘Don’t worry, just walk on the other leg.’

On the train, there was a Dutch guy and two Dutch girls. He had a bloody great bayonet about 10 inches long stuck in his belt. The Egyptians were making jokes about him the whole way: ‘Oh he is a very great Sheikh with his two wives! … He needs a sword to protect his wives!’ And so on. They were not impressed, and he didn’t have a clue.

One amazing thing about train travel in Egypt — at every station, boys would run onto the train selling bread, cakes, nuts, cigarettes, tea, and colas, then get back on the platform. People would drink their colas and then lean out of the window holding the empty bottles. The boys then grabbed the bottles as the train pulled out of the station. People were incredibly hospitable and friendly. At every station, someone bought me something. At one point, the woman sharing my duffel bag produced some hard-boiled duck eggs, which she gave to me to eat. Finally, at Luxor, a fellow who was getting off came over: “Effendi (gentleman), this way,” and made sure I got his seat so I had the last two hours in more comfort.

I took the train back to Cairo, first class. It was much more comfortable although not nearly so colorful. And it was air-conditioned.