A brief journey through the Egyptian parcel post system

Yesterday we popped to the post office to send a parcel of souvenirs to Australia. This is what happened...

i) we found the right building at the 3rd attempt and were told by the guy in the foyer to head up to the 2nd floor...

ii) where we saw The Man At The Packing Station. He examined the parcel for contraband and, on seeing it was just the standard tourist stuff, sent us to The Nice Lady Down The Hall...

iii) who took our details, the recipient's details and informed us there'd be a EP7 'application fee', which is payable at the office next door...

iv) which is staffed by three guys, one of whom - The Worker - took our paperwork and application fee and produced two triplicated receipts. He handed them to us and sent us to The Man At The Packing Station...

v) who showed us a patch of floor where we could box up the stuff while he checked our paperwork. (There was a short pause for noon prayers.) He then took a look at my Oz learner's licence (thankfully accepated in lieu of our passports) before sealing our parcel with official string and lead weight. He then sent us to The Weighing Man...

vi) who lives in a building round the corner. The Weighing Man ensures our papers are in order and our parcel properly addressed and weighed before taking our cash. He then hands us back our form and sends us back up to The Nice Lady Down The Hall...

vii) who takes it, swaps it for a chit and sends us back to The Weighing Man...

viii) who takes the chit, returns our exasperated "you've got to laugh" looks and confirms, to our relief, that it's over.

The Egytpian Post Office: an excellent way to get fit and meet people. (Give yourself 2 hours.)