The flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Cairo was uneventful. We slept through the flight, never realising that an eventful morning is awaiting us upon landing. Early morning encounters with immigration officials anywhere in the world is something not very desirable. Cairo immigration officials were no exception. Though excited to have finally made it to Egypt, the early morning grogginess made us a little tired. We were on the 'Q' waiting for our turn to be grilled at the immigration counter, when we heard our names, loud and clear, on the public address system. The announcement sent a chill-wave down our spines! Nigeria, those days, was notorious for drug peddling, and we feared the worst. I thought they found some drugs in our baggage! My mind raced to the prospect of getting caught in an Islamic country with drugs. I felt my feet heavy like a rock and could not move them at all....when the announcement was played out once again. This time, we headed for the Chief Immigration Officer's room. Hundreds of pairs of eyes pried on us, some filled with pity, others with detestation. We were already convicted.
Three of us stood in front of the Immigration Officer like school boys, hand palmed together at the back. He asked for our Passports. The sight of our luggage at the corner of the room made me numb. I felt the end was drawing near. My head started spinning. Images of my wife and daughter flashed across as I thought I will possibly never see them again! And then the Officer asked us for the 'letter'! Letter? What letter? Three of us looked at each other perplexed at the question. We started pleading with the Officer that we are good souls and that we come from India, from good families....and we did nothing wrong. We even said that we had locked our bags to ensure there no one could pilfer with them. "But where is the letter you are carrying for me?" It was then the matter dawned on me! That was the fastest reflex action I ever managed in my life - in one swoop I opened my handbag and gave the letter to the Officer. A smile flashed across his face and relief across ours! We wiped off the sweat on our faces, as we took seats. Nice camaraderie followed when the Officer realised what we went through the last ten minutes. It was time for tea, toast and banter as the sun peeped out for the day.
The letter what the Officer wanted was the one given to us by the Egyptian Ambassador in Lagos. He had told us to hand it over to the Immigration official. Needless to say we forgot about it completely. The excitement of having made it to Egypt made us completely forget about the letter till we were jolted out of our senses. We had been planning about the Egypt trip for sometime, but the sudden declaration of a 4-day strike in Nigeria gave us the opportunity to get out. We just had a day to plan for the trip. First we booked our tickets with Egypt Air. It was late in the afternoon when we finished with the travel agent and landed up at the Embassy of Egypt in Victoria Island, Lagos. We stood outside the closed iron gate. Business was closed for the day. We being Indians, tried cajoling the security guard into opening the gate for us, though he repeatedly said that there was no staff to attend to us. But we managed to charm him out of his resistance. That took us only as far as the Security Officer, who was a burly Egyptian, not interested in any of our stories. He was more mad at the security guard at the gate for allowing us inside. His yelling drew the attention of no less than the Ambassador himself, who was passing by on his way to his residence, just at the back of his office. That was the stroke of luck we needed!
On learning that we were Indians, he promptly invited us to his office. What happened next is unbelievable and will forever make me love the Egyptians. The Ambassador himself called up Cairo and spoke to someone. He ensured that we had our visa within half an hour. During the time in between he went out of his way to make us feel good. He did not stop at the small pleasantries. He gave us a lesson on history on why Indians are loved by Egyptians. He said: 'all Indians are our brothers. For what they did to Egypt through the NAM, every Egyptian will go out of their way to help an Indian. Pandit Nehru is someone who we admire, for no one else had the guts to stand up to the superpowers back then'. That flattered us. And made me rethink about my views on NAM. He promised that we will have a great experience in Egypt - one that we will remember forever! Just when we were about to take leave, he handed us the 'letter' and told us to walk straight to any Immigration Officer at the Cairo airport and hand it over. And we forgot to do exactly that!
We did not know what the letter had to say, but this is what happened next. As we were escorted out of the terminal, we could see the awe-struck faces of the co-passengers, who a while ago had sported a smirk on their faces. There waited a car for us that drove us straight to The Intercontinental, instead of the three star accommodation we had booked for ourselves. We had a lovely looking lady guide at our disposal who was a wonderful host. The 4-day trip covering Cairo & Alexandria was a spellbound affair, both for the experience and the hospitality we received.
And Egypt turned out to be a very liberal state, contrary to what we had thought it would be. Young girls were out on the streets till the wee hours without a fear. We could see girls wearing sleeveless tops comfortably mingling with those with the burkha! Night life was buzzing with action and street food was something which the locals loved! By sundown, almost all street corners were filled with food carts ferrying food. I particularly loved the falafel...I never had such good falafel. Rolled into the pita breads, the crispy hot falafels tasted out of the world. The early morning camel-ride (actually it was a run rather than a ride) on the Sahara made me feel tiny. The camels can run real fast on the sands of Sahara. I realised that the wee hours was the best time to see the Pyramids in their full splendour.
Alexandria drove me crazy. The clear azure water of the Mediterranean was something I admired for hours. The old town housing most of the historical monuments was awe-inspiring. The general architecture of the city had a distinct character if its own. Alexandria had an air of invincibility, much the same way Alexander himself had! If the 1000 pillar mosque was mindbogglingly large, then the place where Mary & Jesus supposedly remained exiled for a while was unbelievable. As the return flight to Lagos took off, I promised that someday I will come back with family.
If we did not pay a visit to The Ambassador in person on our return to Lagos, to thank him for all that he did, we would have done a great harm to our reputation. But the visit was less out of courtesy and more out of gratitude. He did what no one else possibly will ever do to anyone. I still do not know what prompted him to do so, but I guess we have to thank our forefathers for that. I can only hope that the Muslim Brotherhood would allow the Egyptian society to retain its multi-cultural and liberal outlook and not turn it into a talibanised country once the new regime takes over.
Three of us stood in front of the Immigration Officer like school boys, hand palmed together at the back. He asked for our Passports. The sight of our luggage at the corner of the room made me numb. I felt the end was drawing near. My head started spinning. Images of my wife and daughter flashed across as I thought I will possibly never see them again! And then the Officer asked us for the 'letter'! Letter? What letter? Three of us looked at each other perplexed at the question. We started pleading with the Officer that we are good souls and that we come from India, from good families....and we did nothing wrong. We even said that we had locked our bags to ensure there no one could pilfer with them. "But where is the letter you are carrying for me?" It was then the matter dawned on me! That was the fastest reflex action I ever managed in my life - in one swoop I opened my handbag and gave the letter to the Officer. A smile flashed across his face and relief across ours! We wiped off the sweat on our faces, as we took seats. Nice camaraderie followed when the Officer realised what we went through the last ten minutes. It was time for tea, toast and banter as the sun peeped out for the day.
The letter what the Officer wanted was the one given to us by the Egyptian Ambassador in Lagos. He had told us to hand it over to the Immigration official. Needless to say we forgot about it completely. The excitement of having made it to Egypt made us completely forget about the letter till we were jolted out of our senses. We had been planning about the Egypt trip for sometime, but the sudden declaration of a 4-day strike in Nigeria gave us the opportunity to get out. We just had a day to plan for the trip. First we booked our tickets with Egypt Air. It was late in the afternoon when we finished with the travel agent and landed up at the Embassy of Egypt in Victoria Island, Lagos. We stood outside the closed iron gate. Business was closed for the day. We being Indians, tried cajoling the security guard into opening the gate for us, though he repeatedly said that there was no staff to attend to us. But we managed to charm him out of his resistance. That took us only as far as the Security Officer, who was a burly Egyptian, not interested in any of our stories. He was more mad at the security guard at the gate for allowing us inside. His yelling drew the attention of no less than the Ambassador himself, who was passing by on his way to his residence, just at the back of his office. That was the stroke of luck we needed!
On learning that we were Indians, he promptly invited us to his office. What happened next is unbelievable and will forever make me love the Egyptians. The Ambassador himself called up Cairo and spoke to someone. He ensured that we had our visa within half an hour. During the time in between he went out of his way to make us feel good. He did not stop at the small pleasantries. He gave us a lesson on history on why Indians are loved by Egyptians. He said: 'all Indians are our brothers. For what they did to Egypt through the NAM, every Egyptian will go out of their way to help an Indian. Pandit Nehru is someone who we admire, for no one else had the guts to stand up to the superpowers back then'. That flattered us. And made me rethink about my views on NAM. He promised that we will have a great experience in Egypt - one that we will remember forever! Just when we were about to take leave, he handed us the 'letter' and told us to walk straight to any Immigration Officer at the Cairo airport and hand it over. And we forgot to do exactly that!
We did not know what the letter had to say, but this is what happened next. As we were escorted out of the terminal, we could see the awe-struck faces of the co-passengers, who a while ago had sported a smirk on their faces. There waited a car for us that drove us straight to The Intercontinental, instead of the three star accommodation we had booked for ourselves. We had a lovely looking lady guide at our disposal who was a wonderful host. The 4-day trip covering Cairo & Alexandria was a spellbound affair, both for the experience and the hospitality we received.
And Egypt turned out to be a very liberal state, contrary to what we had thought it would be. Young girls were out on the streets till the wee hours without a fear. We could see girls wearing sleeveless tops comfortably mingling with those with the burkha! Night life was buzzing with action and street food was something which the locals loved! By sundown, almost all street corners were filled with food carts ferrying food. I particularly loved the falafel...I never had such good falafel. Rolled into the pita breads, the crispy hot falafels tasted out of the world. The early morning camel-ride (actually it was a run rather than a ride) on the Sahara made me feel tiny. The camels can run real fast on the sands of Sahara. I realised that the wee hours was the best time to see the Pyramids in their full splendour.
Alexandria drove me crazy. The clear azure water of the Mediterranean was something I admired for hours. The old town housing most of the historical monuments was awe-inspiring. The general architecture of the city had a distinct character if its own. Alexandria had an air of invincibility, much the same way Alexander himself had! If the 1000 pillar mosque was mindbogglingly large, then the place where Mary & Jesus supposedly remained exiled for a while was unbelievable. As the return flight to Lagos took off, I promised that someday I will come back with family.
If we did not pay a visit to The Ambassador in person on our return to Lagos, to thank him for all that he did, we would have done a great harm to our reputation. But the visit was less out of courtesy and more out of gratitude. He did what no one else possibly will ever do to anyone. I still do not know what prompted him to do so, but I guess we have to thank our forefathers for that. I can only hope that the Muslim Brotherhood would allow the Egyptian society to retain its multi-cultural and liberal outlook and not turn it into a talibanised country once the new regime takes over.
I have heard the oral recant of this story a thousand times over. Yet my reaction to the reading was the same....have goose pimples and am all teary eyed. I guess that is just me. If Chachima was around, I am sure she would have had so much more to add to our understanding of the situation not just in terms of history but also in terms of the current crisis.
ReplyDeleteI know Muthu. She was always a Nehru admirer, but this story made her love for Nehru grew fonder
ReplyDeletevery well written.Eager to read more of your posts.
ReplyDelete