Cairo Airport

The always helpful folks at blipcentral fixed my photos so they are now posted on the right date from the iphone. So now I can post this scene from the Cairo Airport around 8 AM sunday! We were going to leave at 7 but had to wait for the curfew to be lifted in order to drive there. Have better quality photos with my canon, but liked this one from the iphone better because it's a bit blurry - matching how we were feeling! This is the scene on the departure floor, BEFORE going thru the 1st security check. don;t see a lot of headscarves. We arrived downstairs and took the escalator up one floor - there were so many people that one could not get off the escalator and we thought we'd be crushed by the people riding up behind us. (the only real danger of the trip :-)) but fortunately someone stopped the escalator. It took us 3 hours from here to go thru security, get in line for our boarding pass ( the extra money we had paid for business class was so worth it!! this line was much shorter!) and then another long line for emigration. Many workers didn't show up for work so the managers were trying to do the checking in! One business class lounge was closed and the other mobbed and hot. The airport was running out of food. But our flight was less than 5 hours late leaving. We clapped when it took off to fly west! this was our regular flight we were supposed to be on. of course many others were trying to get out early. We talked to some who were also on an Odyssey tour =- they just arrived on thursday, got to see the pyramids on friday morning and then were literally stuck in the hotel til sunday am -they did have ringside seats for the demonstrations!
We feel so fortunate with our timing - we saw essentially everything - maybe missed a few minor sights on way from Alexandria to Cairo. And surprise!!! when we got to JFK, Odyssey Travel reps were there (flown in from Boston) to meet our plane ( parts of 3 tours were on it, 3 more the next day) - they had hotel and dinner reservations and had rebooked everyone for monday for the connecting flights (since all these were missed.) What a classy outfit! - especiaiy now that I've been listening to the news at home with many horror stories of other groups and individuals and their problems leaving. I don;t think the pictures of the airport are any worse than this one. We also feel very lucky having barely missed a major US snowstorm both going and coming back! Thank the gods and goddesses!