Flashbacks: Toilets in Egypt

I apologize in advance if I get too graphic in describing Egypt's waste system (please notice the lack of the word "sanitary" there). I do feel the need to describe my first encounter with toilets in Egypt, though.

Before we even crossed the Israeli border into Egypt, we had been warned several times about the sanitary situation in Egypt. We knew not to touch the camels, not to eat the lettuce, and not to swim in the Nile. But somehow, no one remembered to tell us about the toilets.

After driving through the Sinai desert for several hours, we stopped at a "rest stop"/restuarant (whose owners, coincidentally, knew the bus driver and paid him for bringing them customers...a common tradition in Egypt) to eat our lunches and use the bathrooms. After eating my lunch, I casually walked over to the bathroom, thinking I was prepared because I had brought my own toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

However, once I got into the bathroom, I was stunned. Inside each stall was a hole in the ground, with a hose you could turn on and off next to the hole to wash everything down. I had heard of outhouses before, but these were missing the toilet on top!

My friends had brought toilet seat covers with them to help with the sanitary conditions of the bathrooms in Egypt. However, to use a toilet seat cover, you need a toilet seat!

Later, I found out that there were a few "flushing" toilets at the very back corner of the bathroom. However, one glance inside told me I had made the right choice in using the hole in the ground. The toilets were full and running over with waste. I guess the reasoning behind the hole in the ground is your toilet doesn't get clogged!

These were the only bathrooms like this I had the privilege of using in Egypt, thankfully, and later I heard that these are "Turkish" style bathrooms--but still, it was my very first introduction to Egypt. I think it might have been a ploy to scare the students away from doing anything stupid or dangerous food/drink-wise in Egypt, and it worked for me. Needless to say, I didn't swim in the Nile or drink the water there--I didn't want to be sick if those were the only bathroom options I had!