Cats

One thing about the Middle East, or at least the two countries I have visited thus far, is that cats dominate the streets. Never in my life have I seen so many cats – everywhere. So, in honor of all the cats, roughin’ it on the streets of Egypt and Jordan, a story from a few weeks ago.

After our trip to Israel, Greg and I embarked on the 30LE-a-day challenge, meaning we were to spend no more than 30LE on food/cab fare a day (I had wiggle room with the cab fare, since I have to take them twice a day). To put it in perspective, 30LE is just south of 6 USD – though it is much easier to accomplish this in Egypt than it would be in the US.

So, on our way to grab our main-30LE-staple, falafel and fuul, we encountered two cats, one stuck in a tree, and the other waiting below. Highly entertained by the classic cliché of a cat stuck in a tree, contemplating the suicidal jump to a car below. Arguing over whether or not it was going to jump, Greg and I watched intently until… it did. And as an instant measure of “congrats!”, the cat waiting below jumped up, not only onto the car, but onto the other cat and began an instantaneous congratulatory hump. Like a boss. One of those things that’s just inexplicably hilarious to see, and something I thought about today, even more inexplicably.