Travel: A wedding in Abusir

The Prague Wanderer (Karen Yi)

Demetri and I wanted to break away from the mold -- the beaches of Cancun and Acapulco -- so we decided to spend our spring break in Egypt. Back in New York one of our friends had strongly recommended we get a driver. He gave us the email of a man named Wageih, who he insisted, had been "the best tour guide ever." A few quick email exchanges in broken English, and we were set. With a guidebook in hand, a local guide and a Nikon digital ready to snap away at the Pyramids of Giza, we were ready to take on the Egyptian hagglers.

"I have surprise for you, if you like," Wageih said to me, an hour into our friendship, as he drove us from the airport. "Friday we have wedding party for my friend." Thrilled, I scoured my Lonely Planet guide searching for the bold headline that would tell me what to expect, but to no avail. I was unprepared, as Friday night in Cairo arrived, knowing nothing of Egyptian wedding parties. I assumed there would be belly dancing, music and exotic décor, and maybe some type of throne. I might dance in the richly decorated room, devour some good food and listen to loud Egyptians celebrating in every corner.

But no paragraph in the Lonely Planet book could have prepared me for the celebration we were about to experience. Hint: I played a central role in making the festivities...unique.

We drove along the Nile and then finally turned down a dark, narrow, alley. We were in a small cluster of homes next to the Abusir pyramids. Clothes that had been hung out to dry decorated the bare, mud-brick walls. The car trembled on the bumpy dirt road as we made our way deep into the maze of Egyptian homes. Wageih spotted a small opening just large enough for our vehicle. He squeezed between two cars, scratching the side door, but he did not seem remotely concerned. We stepped out of the car and headed towards the roaring music.

In was not a fancy venue, not a dance hall or a ballroom, just an open space. Multi-colored strips of cloth were hung in seemingly endless succession across the open pavilion with bright lights strung from end to end. Clumps of people sat around rectangular tables smoking and enjoying the music, but then they were suddenly occupied with something else.

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