Cairo, Egypt

Cairo just may rival Beijing for pollution. The sky is beige, the buildings tinted grey and my boogers, black. I have a nagging cough that between the constant cigarette smoke of the Middle East and the pollution just won't go away.

Grim, grit and health concerns aside, the city has a charm. The buildings look faintly Parisian and the tempting aroma of falafel wafts through the streets. The hassles and harassment is much less than anticipated - at least beyond the tourist meccas of the Giza pyramids and National Museum. It feels more like a New York-style hustle, but with women in head scarves rather than Hermes and men with pants belted an average of 3 inches higher than Western standards.

Walking through the streets many men call out "Welcome!" - sometimes to lure me into their shop and sometimes into their pants...both unsuccessfully, of course. The most persistent are those selling perfume and papyrus. They'll go as far as lying about museum hours or directions to entice you to peruse their wares. The scar-like darkened mark on some of their foreheads is no sign of honesty even though it is a sign that they pray regularly, touching their forehead to the ground in the direction of Mecca.

The buildings of Cairo seem to go forever into the horizon and seamlessly transition into Giza where the pyramids spring from the ground. While impressive, the romanticism of the desert pyramids is slightly tainted by the bordering urban sprawl and thousands of daily visitors with cameras flashing around their necks.

At night people congregate on the streets filling up food stalls and coffee shops. Markets stay open late as well. The most devout Muslims press their heads to the pavement covered in straw mats to observe the day's final prayer time while others sip fresh juices and puff on their sheesha pipes with flavored tobacco.

At night people congregate on the streets filling up foodstalls and coffeeshops. Markets stay open late as well. The most devout Muslims press their heads to the pavement covered in straw mats to observe the day's final prayer time while others sip fresh juices and puff on their sheesha pipes with flavored tobacco.