A Weekend in Asia

So my travels breached a third continent for the summer as I made my way across the Suez Canal and onto the Sinai Peninsula, the border of Asia and Africa, early Thursday morning. Our bus left the dorm around 2am Thursday and took about seven or so hours to get to St. Catherine's which sits in the middle of a large mountain range. I slept for a few hours that night but awoke as the sun was rising over the harsh desert sands and mountains- everything was still as we serpentined through the windy desert roads and into the town of St. Catherine's. We stopped at the Daniela, a tiny little hotel tucked into foreboding rock cliffs, ate breakfast, through our stuff into our rooms, and hopped back on the bus to tour the monastery.

Umm...That's Not on Fire

St. Catherine's Monastery is a 4th cent. Greek Orthodox monastic community set at the base of Mt. Sinai. As we walked in, we were told that the monks may be cranky and not to disturb them too much- I also had to wear a sarong of sorts because I'd forgotten to change from shorts to jeans and apparently Egyptian monks are kind of conservative. As we walked into the tiny walled-in village, I noticed how many people were there, probably bothering the monks and how many had shorts on. Oh well.

The monastery is built on what is believed to be the site of Moses' encounter with the burning bush. The monks have planted the same type of bush on the spot where the original one was. This, my friends, is no tiny shrubbery; it's planted on a wall of sorts and must be about 4x7x4. It was not on fire- nor was God talking from it anymore. While it was impressive to stand in that spot, it was made less so by the small size of the passageway in which it sits and the large amounts of tourists walking about. However, we continued on.

Next, I ducked into the chapel which, despite the same annoying, non-reverent tourists, was more of a contemplative and quiet space. This was enforced by an angry looking monk standing guard at the front. The chapel was small, with delicate and intricate icons on the back wall. From the ceiling hung beautifully gilded lamps and braziers. I sat for a bit and prayed and took in the importance of my surroundings, trying to get out of the tourist mindset, if only for a minute. I walked through the back of the chapel which houses the remains of St. Catherine of Alexandria, who was martyred in the early 4th cent.

After leaving the chapel, I headed up to the museum, which is the second largest repository of Christian religious texts in the world, behind the Vatican. The texts and icons kept in the museum include a letter from the Prophet Muhammad to the Bedouin people of the area, telling them to act peacefully toward the monastery, 6th cent. paintings of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai, and ancient copies of Homer's Odyssey and Illiad. After the museum and roaming about a bit more, we headed back to the Daniela for lunch and naps.

My Bedouin Birthday

So last Thursday I turned 24 (thanks to those who sent me birthday messages- for the rest of you, God has delivered a curse upon you, it will arrive in 5-7 business days). After we all woke up from our naps, we headed to the Daniela for an underwhelming dinner. As the dinner came to a close, I heard a noise coming from the kitchen and turned around to see seven or so of the Bedouin men who work in the hotel coming out with a cake, TGIFriday's style. Apparently, one of my classmates had asked for a candle in a piece of the dessert they had out for us, but they refused and insisted on baking me a Bedouin birthday cake. Also, they must have had drums and tambourines lying around in the kitchen because their Bedouin birthday song included a rhythm section. They brought my cake and everybody stood and clapped to the music as an incredibly sweaty man started dancing and insisted I join in. So my 24th birthday wound up being celebrated with a quickly made cake (complete with bday message), drums and tambourines, Egyptian singing, and me dancing with a man while I wore a chef's hat and wielded a knife someone had given me to cut said cake, at the base of Mt. Sinai in a tiny little hotel. Could have been worse. By the way, pictures and video will begin to surface of this event on facebook. I'll do my best to suppress them, but if you look hard enough, you'll probably be able to spot some.

After the embarrassment that was my Bedouin dancing came to a close, we all went outside and sat. The hotel workers had laid out blankets for us and we sat under the quiet night sky as the stars and moon collaborated with a fire to light up our little area in the middle of the mountains. Our program director, Dr. Freamon, led us in a discussion and people took turns giving their assessment of the future of the program as well as reflecting on their time in Egypt and their ambitions for their careers. We sipped tea and talked and sat until the men at the hotel got bored and insisted they put on a party for us. So once again, out came the drums, out came the tambourines, and out came Hipsy, that was the name I gave to my birthday dance partner who could shake his hips like no man can or ought to ever do. We danced and talked and laughed and shot photos until it started to get late and then we made our way back to our rooms for a couple of hours of sleep.

The Climb

We gathered again on the bus at 2am, ready to take on Sinai. Not really, we were all pretty tired, but excited for our climb. For those of you who don't know, Mt. Sinai is the place where God gave Charleton Heston the 10 Commandments. It's best to summit the mountain at night because of the heat of the Egyptian sun and the fact that the country can't afford shade. Our group started up the mountain with our tour guide, who apparently climbs the things every night and people were annoying as hell with the stupid flashlights. A few of us ventured ahead of the group to avoid these annoying lights and climb like God intended, aided only by the light of the moon (don't worry, it's safe, the moon's pretty bright). Our tiny band hiked and hiked up the rocky sandy mountain, accompanied by my adopted pet, Buddy, a stray dog that apparently just likes hiking mountains.

We stopped intermittently at little coffee-shacks set up along the path and rested. Despite the fact that it was night in the desert, it was still pretty warm out and my backpack made me lose about six pounds of sweat. The climb wasn't terribly difficult, but hard enough and continued for about 2.5-3 hours at a pretty steady incline. Finally, when we felt like we should really be at the top, we hit the hard part. You'd think stairs would be easier than hiking rocks- or so thought the monks who carved the stairs into the last 1,000m of the mountain. They were wrong. Sure it may be easy for the Bedouin guys who hike up and down the mountain every day to get to work in their little coffeeshops, but let me tell you, those stairs sucked! I literally thought I was going to pass out at some point, or maybe my legs would just give out and I'd tumbled to my blissful death. Luckily, I'm friggin' awesome and made it to the top of the mountain at about 4:50am, where I found a nice flat surface amongst the chapel ruins and promptly laid down.


I sat with my friends Sarah, Lena and Brian at the top of the Mt. Sinai, none of us really saying much, looking out over the vast mountain range as the sun came up. I was exhausted and thought about living there so I wouldn't have to walk back down, but there was just a serenity there. As the stars and the moon gave way to lighter hues of blue and the mountains turned from dark silhouettes to burly brown rocks below, a stillness existed that only nature can create. I understood then how so many years ago, after fleeing slavery and wandering the desert, one could see God on the top of this peak. It was a fleeting glimpse of perfection.

The Rest of the Day

Walking down mountains is the unfortunate and stupid side effect to walking up them. Sarah, my partner in crime here in Egypt (don't get any ideas, folks, she's happily engaged), and I trudged back down the stairs and the sandy path as we dodged lazy people on camels and the gross mines camels leave behind.



We talked and complained about this and that and the heat and what not and finally found ourselves at the bottom of the mountain again. We hopped on the bus exhausted and ready to get to Sharm. After breakfast and a much needed shower, everyone got on the bus and made the 1.5hr or so trip to Sharm el Sheikh and the beautiful Sofitel Hotel.

Any Egyptian will tell you that Sharm is not Egypt; it's a European resort town that just happens to be within the Egyptian borders. Upon arrival at the Sofitel, we realized how true this was. Arab decoration adorn beautifully bright white buildings overlooking the Red Sea where sandy beaches spotted with pink flowers buttress clear blue water. The whole town is a bit extravagant and overdone, but at such a low price (by Western standards) it's hard to pass up. When we got in, I headed straight to the beach and swam along the the reefs where exotic fish darted along, one of which bit my shin. I sported my SPF 60 forcefield and was able to skirt around a sunburn- take that, the sun!

That night a few of us found a tiny little restaurant with seating on the roof. We walked upstairs and found tables surrounded by pillows on the ground. Little lights guided the path through the dining area and the rooftop overlooked the city lights and sea below. It was pretty nice.

Darling It's Betta, Down Where It's Wetta...

On Saturday morning a group of us gathered early after an amazing Sofitel breakfast feast. We met with a Brit, a German and an Italian and went out for a day of boating, snorkeling and scuba diving. They took us out on the Red Sea to a place called Ras Katy and anchored the boat near the reef. We were instructed on how to use scuba gear and took turns with the diving instructors under water for 30 min. increments each. While we waited our turn, everyone else snorkeled around the reef which was absolutely amazing. The marine life at the reef and the reefs themselves are known worldwide as some of the best things to see as a diver. We were lucky enough to be able to go with instructors who stayed with us the whole time so we didn't need to go through certification. We spent the day swimming and eating and just having a good time. It was a terrific way to relax and enjoy the sea.

That night we all gathered for dinner at the hotel's Indian restaurant. While the food was good, the service was horrendous and we wound up waiting hours for our meals. However, we got to talk more and just enjoy the company of our classmates. This group is a lot of fun and everyone seems to be able to get along and have good, fun, interesting conversation with each other. I'm amazed by the caliber of person that the program has drawn and how dedicated each one is to knowledge, service and bettering themselves personally. I'm sure every one of them will be successful both in their careers and their lives in the future. Later that night we just kind of walked around and had a drink or two. It had been a long day on the high seas.

Sunday morning my roommate John and I awoke at 9:58am when the maid came in. By 10:02 we were out the door, worried we'd miss the gigantic breakfast buffet. We didn't. We tore that buffet up! After breakfast I went and swam in the pool for a while and sat around. I also paid a male classmate a considerable amount of Egyptian Pounds to join the women in the water aerobics class in the pool. It was money well spent- top 4 funniest things in Egypt, ever. We sadly packed and made our way back on the bus for the 9 hr. ride back to Cairo. No one wanted to leave the shining Western beacon that is Sharm for the dirty loudness that is Cairo. By the time we got home we were all exhausted. I passed out pretty quickly after I got in and responded to the myriad birthday messages on facebook. I woke up unenergized for my last week of classes. Here we go...!

It's a River. Cool.

So yesterday we were duped into a trip to the Suez Canal with promises of lectures, slide shows, virtual trips on faux tanker ships, swimming and just all-around joy and happiness. Lies. We hopped on the bus at 8am and made the two hour trip to the canal. When we got to Ismaila, the town where the Canal Authority is based, we ate a quick breakfast and made our way over to learn about the canal. Our guide, who works at the Authority, took us on a quick boat ride in the canal and then gave us a lecture.

The lecture/ Q&A session was actually pretty interesting and we learned about both the history of the canal (which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea for the geographically challenged amongst you). Some of the more startling facts about the canal: roughly 120,000 Egyptians died during the building of the canal; it takes a ship about 13-15 hrs. to make it through the canal; about 20,000 ships pass through the canal each year. However, after the talk we were simply given free reign to swim amongst the jellyfish (which I did- it was pretty salty) and eat a typically poor Egyptian lunch. The idea of vegetarian meals here in Egypt always makes me laugh- whatever everyone else is eating, minus the meat, no matter how little is left.

If you've noticed I haven't written quite as much lately, don't worry. I still like Cairo and am still happy here. However, the more we've gotten into the day-to-day of classes, etc., and the more I've gotten comfortable here, the less striking things have become and the more I really have to look for things that might interest you all. This weekend was kind of a lazy one and everyone in the program seems to be kinda dragging. This upcoming week holds promise though- St. Catherine's Monastery, climbing Mt. Sinai, a couple days at the beach in Sharm el Sheikh. Please keep the comments and emails coming, it's so nice to hear from you all.

6th of October

Hassan Mouhdi (pseudonym) is an endoscopic surgeon and renowned in his field as a competent and skilled practitioner. At one point, Hassan worked as Chief of Surgery at a community hospital, ran a private practice, owned two cars and three homes. He has two children: Layla, age 9 and Ahmed, age 7 (both pseudonyms). They both go to private schools and speak English exceptionally well. Despite all of this, however, Dr. Mouhdi has been living on savings for the last two years and will run out of money in the next two months because he's not allowed to work.

Dr. Mouhdi, like most of the other Iraqi refugees living in Egypt, resides in a neighborhood called 6th of October, an outskirt of the city dirtier and poorer than many other parts. Most refugee families live together in ramshackle apartment buildings and none of them are able to get work permits in Egypt, despite their mostly upper-class status in their native country and their general high intelligence and skill.

I taught English yesterday, along with seven of my classmates, to a group of these refugees in tiny "community center" in one of the apartment buildings in 6th October. We piled into a van and made the 50 minute journey through traffic and most of the city out to the fairly impoverished neighborhood to meet up with the group of refugees who have come to learn English in hopes of bettering their situations and maybe, for those who wish to, emigrate to America or another English-speaking country. Most of them already spoke some English and the lessons were geared toward practical, everyday situations like directions, ordering in a restaurant, general conversation and resume building. All of the students, including the few children who were there, were enthusiastic, welcoming, very hopeful and happy and very smart. I absolutely teaching what, to them, is an incredibly invaluable skill that I take very much for granted.

Almost immediately after meeting Dr. Mouhdi, he began to tell me his story. He began by telling me how much he liked and appreciated the American military for "breaking us out of a prison we'd been in for 30 years." This sentiment is not shared by all, but is not uncommon, as many of the Iraqi refugees in Egypt were collaborators with the US and forced out of their country for such acts. Dr. Mouhdi was the first person to greet the American soldiers when they landed at his hospital in his Northern Iraqi village. Unfortunately, after the soldiers left, terrorist organizations moved in and set up shop in the village. After his seven year old son was kidnapped by one of these organizations and held for a day, he was told that he had 30 hrs. to pay them $100,000 or they would kill him (apparently because of his wealth and his American sympathies). Dr. Mouhdi collected what important papers, etc. he could and left with his young family to Jordan, Syria and eventually Egypt.

In his heyday, Dr. Mouhdi had been invited by some of the international medical organizations, many of which he is a member, to speak on his work in the surgical field. He even took his family to South Africa for a couple months after leaving Iraq, where he found work. Unfortunately, his children were not acclimated to the area and fell ill- so he moved back to Cairo. Now, Dr. Mouhdi, despite his impressive background, and much like the thousands of other Iraqi refugees living in Egypt (some estimate 100-200,000) is unable to gain immigrant status anywhere and is also unable to work in Egypt. It is simply a failing of the human family when such an exile of genius is allowed to happen again and again, country by country throughout our history. Is there any doubt that war destroys more than just what the bombs hit? Can we stand by and allow this to continue without taking action? Food for thought.

Peace to you all

New Pictures

So apparently the old link didn't work. This new one is for the Alexandria pictures and the updated Cairo folder.

http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=91561454

Alexandria: a Tough Life

So this past weekend we headed up north to Alexandria. It's supposed to a 2.5 hour drive, but it took us about 4 hours due to a late start (sitting in the bus), a traffic accident ahead of us and a bathroom break 1.5 hours in. We got there at about 7pm on Friday night and checked into the Windsor Palace Hotel, which sits fairly unassumingly on the Corniche, overlooking the Alexandria Bay.

The hotel was a beautiful example of classical 1920s architecture, with a large sitting room off of the lobby housing a piano, exquisitely upholstered couches and frescoes on the ceiling. The lobby opened into a large winding, carpeted staircase which encompassed an open elevator shaft where two dark-wood cars climbed up and down with the help of a visible dumbwaiter system. John (my roommate) and I checked into our $115/night room which had a little balcony with a view of the bay.

Friday night, we walked and walked to find a suitable restaurant (which really wasn't all that hard, but we took a poor route and spent a lot of time waiting for a giant group to form). After a while, four of us just wound up at a place called the Grand Cafe which had mediocre food and very good ice cream. After we ate, we headed up to a classmate's room (he got a gigantic single with two balconies) and a good number of us hung out there for the night.

Saturday was an incredibly relaxing day at the beach. We started it out at the rooftop cafe of the hotel, which gave a whole new meaning to the term "Continental breakfast," what with pastries, eggs, potatoes, beans, six different fruit and veggie salads, etc. We then made our way to Mamurah, to a private beach resort where everyone swam in the Mediterranean, laid under the big umbrellas, played soccer on the beach and just enjoyed themselves (tough life, eh?). The price of the beach for the day (11am-7pm), including lunch, was 120 L.E., about $22 per person. Despite applying lotion three times (SPF 60, no less) I did get some color on my shoulders and scalp, but have yet to actually be sunburned in Egypt, knock on wood.

By the time we got back to the hotel, most people were pretty exhausted- is there an actual physiological reason that the sun and outdoors makes you tired? I was so tired, I forewent dinner and fell asleep at about 8:30. I slept until 7am. After another incredible "Continental breakfast," we checked out of the hotel, sadly, and hopped on the bus for some sightseeing. We went first to the catacombs, which were discovered in 1900 when a donkey fell through the ground into the hole that made up the well in the middle of the tombs. While the tombs were historically interesting (they dated to the 2nd century), there were no actual remains left and compared to the vastness that were the Parisian catacombs, they lacked a bit.

Next, we went to the new Alexandria library, built in 2000 (I think). The ancient library in Alexandria was the foremost of academia in its day, but was destroyed in two fires, with all of its texts, save one- which now sits in Austria, for some reason. The new library isn't actually even on the site of the old library, but it is a pretty amazing library with amazing state-of-the-art technology- the coolest of which is a machine which will, for a particular price, copy an entire book from the library's archives and bind it for you. We spent some time on a tour of the library and then wandered around the archives for a bit. Then it was off to lunch- which for most, sadly, was McDonald's. Come on, people. I walked across the street to a pizza/sandwich place with a couple friends where we watched a guy flipping dough to make stuffed pies and cook them in a big stone oven. Take that, Ronald!

Finally, we drove to Quait Bay, a fort set on the site of the Alexandria Lighthouse (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). Here, we walked through a short tour of the fort and saw some of the great architecture before we headed out to the outer walls which the Mediterranean waves smash up against. The sky was an amazingly brilliant blue and it was picture time- speaking of which, I've updated all my photos to the Alexandria folder. If the old link doesn't work, let me know. I'm also putting some others in the old Cairo folder.

We hopped back on the bus after Quait Bay and ended our Alexandria excursion. All in all, the city itself is similar to Cairo (though less crowded). It's still not the cleanest city in the world and the food, while different, isn't the best in the world. However, the waterfront in Alexandria is absolutely gorgeous, helped by the fact that the weather is perfect every day. It never rains and the heat is better than in Cairo, with a soft little breeze to move through the palm trees. While the historical sites weren't as stressed on the trip as other Egyptian history is, having a day to just sit around at the beach and goof off was nice (despite all the writing I do about Egypt's culture, etc. and sites I've seen, and despite my Dad's last comment, we do actually get quite a bit of reading to do for classes).

A City of Surprises

So today was quite a day. This morning we got up early and headed to Al Azhar Mosque, the oldest Muslim university. We were met by an expert on the Mosque's history who gave us background on the architecture and studies from the 13th century on. We walked in (took off our shoes of course) and through a stone corridor into a large open square with brilliant white marble floor, beautiful arches all around and two tall minarets reaching into the bright blue sky. Young men, and some women, sat here and there, studying, memorizing, praying. It's finals time right now for Egyptian students. We next made our way into the main teaching and prayer room of the Mosque, a long room with red carpet, stone pillars and young men sitting and studying. It was peaceful inside and, despite some stares from those who wondered who this large group was and why they were taking pictures of a study session, we were well welcomed.

After a normal day of classes, we all got dressed up for our first official program dinner. We went to Al Azhar Park, and it was absolutely amazing. The park was actually built by a religious group over a landfill that had become an eyesore in the city. Now waterfalls and shallow pools run through beautifully lush garden lined with palm trees. The restaurant sits at the top of a hill overlooking the park and we watched the sunset to one side over the city and looked out to another side and saw the Citadel- Salahadin's great fortress- looming over the city nearby. The food was great and after the sun went down, the park lit up (but just a bit, leaving a feeling of mystery and self-reflection to the night). The call to prayer could be heard from all directions- each mosque has its own muezzin who does the call.

Later, a few of us walked through Khan Al Khalili (the famous bazaar) again. It's different at night, especially on a Thursday night. Friday, in Islam, is the holiest day of the week and the midday prayer on Friday is very important. Therefore, the weekend here starts on Thursday night and the week starts Sunday morning. That means everyone's out late on Thursday and the bazaar is packed with families and merchants well passed 11:00. We walked around and were goaded into this shop and that. It was nice to be in a smaller group and be there at a time when most tourists weren't.

When the sun goes down in Cairo, the temperature is perfect. It's warm, but not hot, and a soft breeze usually blows in to keep things cool. I never would have expected the lush vegetation that hangs in the park or in other parts of the city, the contrast of that green to the city's old browns and grays makes it stand out brightly. The people here, as I've mentioned before, are incredibly friendly- rarely does a day go by where I don't get a "welcome" while walking down the street. A smile goes a long way here to start off an interaction and people usually reciprocate with a huge smile, usually a wave, sometimes a "hello"- I've run into no anti-American sentiment; though I'm sure it exists here and there, people are always excited to hear I'm from America and try to find some family connection to the states (usually it's pretty distant). Also, family is very important here and it's very evident when you walk around the parks and the bazaar on a Thursday and everyone is out with their children. This city has surprised me in many ways and, despite my talk of its dirty streets, terrible pollution, rampant poverty and sub-standard food, there are so many redeeming things (and even the not-so-great stuff you get used to) that have made this a great city to try out for a while.

I Want My Babyback Babyback Babyback

Just a couple things on Westernized Cairo. I'm not really sure what the general idea of Cairo (or Egypt in general) is as far as "modernization." However, I figured, as we were at Chili's last night for a classmate's birthday, that most people would be surprised how familiar much of Cairo's businesses are. (I'm also writing this while sitting in the square on campus using the school's wireless internet network)

After class yesterday, a few of us got a ride from Sherif, the AUC liaison to our program, to the mall in New Cairo. I swear this mall is exactly the same, if not nicer, than any mall I've been to in the US- by the way, I hate the mall in every country. One of my classmates was looking for a decent, cheap, digital camera and, though she didn't find one she wanted, we did get some delicious ice cream (I went with mango and strawberry). We got a cab (read: death trap) back to Zamalek. We then met up with some other people at Chili's for dinner (don't worry, I do spend time studying).

Across from the Sphynx is a Pizza Hut and a KFC, sorry to ruin that for you. Both of the restaurants are all over the place, as is Hardee's and of course, McDonald's which sports the McArabia sandwich (seriously). Besides these things, Western dress is pretty much typical, as I said in earlier post, and wouldn't be hard to get around without knowing absolutely no Arabic words at all.

Also, there are a couple different coffee shop chains in Cairo that are probably nicer than Starbucks, albeit, usually smaller.

I wasn't sure exactly how "backwards" people though Cairo was, and it does have its inefficiencies and oddities (it's pretty dirty here and cleanliness with food is no exception). But Cairo is also a major city in the world and as such has many amenities most people (including me, to an extent) don't expect.


p.s. Turkish coffee is delicious.

Who Ruined The Pyramids?

So yesterday was the big day- pyramid day. But before that, let's go back to Friday. We all met in the morning for a bus tour with Dr. John Swanson, Egyptologist Extraordinaire, to see the city of Cairo on a broader scale. Once we started out, an hour early mind you because of runs to Costa Coffee, we made for Cairo's ring road. The highway encircles the entire city of Cairo and we were able to see the city, with the invaluable commentary of Dr. Swanson, in a very large and historical scope.

To say that the outskirts of Cairo are poor would be an unethical understatement. The city's 19+ million population is expanding rapidly and the city is constantly swelling outwards. Because of this move, the poorest of the city have been pushed to living in slums in the city's outer ring- which has now begun to break one of Dr. Swanson's general rules of urban Cairo and build "housing" on incredibly fertile farmland. The people who live in these areas make about $200-300 per year and live in unthinkably deplorable conditions. This is about 10% or 1.7-2m people. Because of this extreme poverty, and because of the fact that I landed in Egypt with about $900 cash, I don't feel all that annoyed when I'm asked to pay and extra 2 or 3 Egyptian Pounds (L.E.) for things. I think I can afford the $.20.

We saw a lot of Cairo on this bus trip, eventually making our way up to the cliffs that overlook the Nile river valley and the city. Cairo's wealthiest people, another 10% of the city's population, have made their way out to these cliffs beyond the outskirt slums and begun to build beautiful communities there. We also drove through the "city of the dead," or the neighborhood near the cemeteries, Old Islamic Cairo, medieval Cairo and downtown Cairo, initially set up to imitate the Champs d'Elysees in Paris. The majority of Cairo is very poor and polluted by American standards, some of it is very beautiful and amazing. Generally, the people are incredibly friendly. The tour was a great tool to get to know where the city has been and why it is who it is today.

The Rock Piles

Yesterday was our trip to Giza and Sakara. We made our way by bus (with a terrible tour guide who may or may not have known things about the pyramids, but definitely couldn't convey it well in English) first to the Giza pyramids (about a 20-30 min. drive from the dorms). The great pyramids actually aren't at Giza. At one time, they were about 15 miles from Cairo- to get to them, you'd have to use the outer village of Cairo, called Giza, as a jumping off point. However, now the city has expanded so far that it surrounds the pyramids on almost all sides. Despite the surroundings, the monuments are impressive. The structures stand tall (there's three pyramids there) and the stones from which they're built are massive unto themselves. We walked into the mid-sized pyramid, which is really more of a crawl down a long shaft (which smells like Egypt's armpit) and then up another shaft, and eventually into the burial chamber which is a large room with a small tomb. A man stood inside, pretending to work there and direct traffic in and out of the room, he was really just there to take tips by taking pictures for people.


We wandered around the pyramids for a bit. Not a lot of shade there. And we told countless people we didn't want camel rides (secretly I did, but I didn't want to get hosed on the price). Even more people are there selling bottled water (a necessity- though if you didn't bring your own, you're dumb), head scarves and souvenirs. All of these things suck and aren't worth the price and the people get pretty pushy. I finally resorted to speaking the few Irish Gaelic phrases I knew when people tried to sell stuff to me, knowing there's no way they'd be know that language- it worked pretty well and threw people off their game.


We next made our way to the Sphynx, which sits behind a small labyrinth of stone pillars. I found this to be the most impressive of the monuments, as the sculpting is absolutely exquisite. To think that such work lasted so long, except that whole nose incident, kind of floors you. However, these people hawking their wares were even more pushy than at the pyramids! It would have been nice to get 5 minutes just to stand and look at the sculpture without 10 kids crowding around me trying to sell me useless bookmarks and overprices postcards. It's hard to
balance the knowledge that these people are incredibly poor with the fact that you just want to enjoy the history of the sites, but at the time, it's just so distracting. I did, however, talk to a little girl who was selling bookmarks. She was 7 and her name was Dina. She told me, in very good English, that she likes school and learns English and Math there. I paid her a little to take her picture and it reminded me of the kids I used to work with back home and how good a life they have, and I had growing up, in comparison to children in almost all other parts of the world. Yet she was still a sweet little girl, happy and funny- it'll take me a long time to figure this world out.



We finally made our way- after a short lunch and trip to a small museum dedicated to Imhotep, the ancient architect- to Sakkara, the site of the oldest pyramids. The step pyramids at Sakkara sit behind an elaborate hallway of large columns, the residence of many stray dogs. By the time we got there, we were all exhausted and the sun was blazing hot. There is no shade at the ruins and we stumbled slowly around, taking pictures and missing air conditioning. The beautiful part of Sakkara is the view out to the desert, where you look and see a few other pyramids in the distance, the great pyramids the other way, and vast fields of sand in between. However, the beauty was a bit lost on me, due to the heat. I got some good photos and hopped back on the bus.

Last night was not all that interesting. Long nap after the trip and drinks and sisha (don't worry, that's just the name for the Egyptian tobacco pipes everyone- and I mean everyone- smokes here; aka hookah) with some people in the program. Today should be an uneventful day of studying.


My old link for snapfish should work for my new photos. If it doesn't, email me and let me know. I got a lot of the group in the last couple days. Peace

A Short One

So there's not much of a point to go through a day-by-day for the latter half of this week. I've been reading a lot, going to class, hanging out in coffee shops near campus, drinking as much bottled water as I can and eating at suspect restaurants.

However, a few things:

Tonight we moved from the Victoria Hotel near downtown Cairo (the hardware district of the city) to the AUC dorm on Zamalek (a tiny island in the Nile) which is nice, homier and in a bit of a more upscale neighborhood- we have a Cinnabon!

Tomorrow is a bus tour of the city with John Swanson, an amazingly brilliant Egyptologist who will show us the entire city and it's scope when we get out of the valley and look down on everything.

Saturday is the pyramids, Sphynx, Memphis and Sakaara.

I'm getting a few of the common phrases down (Egyptians use a lot of their own phrases outside of typical Arabic).

I've become really cheap. I spend a lot of time arguing with taxi drivers (before I get in) over 5 and 7 Egyptian Pounds (the difference between a little under $1 and $1.20).

Guys who ride on bicycles with about 100 pitas on a board balanced on their heads are amazing and if I don't see one wipe out in the crazy Cairo traffic before I leave here, I'll be very upset.

That is all. More to come.

Photos II

Below is a link to my updated snapfish account. I've got my last pictures from Paris and Marseille (I don't think there's anything new in the Marseille album). Also, I've got a few pictures from Cairo up, but haven't taken very many so far because I've been spending a lot of time in orientation or class. What I do have up is from Khan-al-Khalili, the famous large bazaar of Cairo. Enjoy

http://www1.snapfish.com/shareereg/p=6221212413013235/l=382049857/g=91561454/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/pns/share/p=6221212413013235/l=382049857/g=91561454/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Falafel? OK, You Sit!

So we finished up our two day orientation both to AUC, our program and Egypt in general. AUC has three "campuses" but they're all so close to each other that they're pretty much one campus spread 0ut over a few blocks. The Greek Campus, which is where I'm sitting right now, is beautiful (though AUC is in the process of moving from this location to the outskirts of the city where the rich Cairenes are building new communities). The vegetation is plush with palm trees and lots of green space which is nice for shade at midday. By the way, the heat isn't too bad unless you're in a sunny area at midday- otherwise it's definitely hot, but sometimes more bearable than a humid day in Chicago. People are young and friendly on campus and it definitely has the feeling of a real academics (and seems a lot like a hotter US).

We were given a long, incredibly interesting and incredibly boring lecture by the Associate Provost (an American who has been here for about 30 yrs. and is one of the utmost scholars on Egypt) about recent Egyptian history and the issues that have shaped the current country. It did a lot to explain how a country with such an amazing history and such promise has become so impoverished, overcrowded and undereducated.

I also had a day of classes today. International Human Right Law is a mix of reading articles on a plethora of human rights issues, United Nations and other governing bodies' works, IMF, etc. work and discussion in the context of our background in American law. It should be really engaging and will focus on globalization and its pros and cons toward human rights issues. Islamic Jurisprudence will be incredibly interesting as it looks at how Islamic jurists have interpreted the laws set forth by Muhammad in the Qur'an and how those interpretations differ and shape the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Interestingly (for those law-minded of my readers) Islamic law is based on private individual interpretations of the Qur'anic laws as opposed to State legislated laws, as there is no authority in Islam besides God and Muhammad- therefore it's like American courts using the Restatements as their bases rather than the legislated laws, since the legislators would have no authority over the Qur'an.

Dinner

So last night, a small group of us stopped studying for a bit and headed out for some food. We wandered a bit and into a couple restaurants, some of which didn't have English menus. In Cairo, as in Paris's Latin Quarter, the restaurant owners all stand outside and goad you into their businesses- oftentimes by having an employee run and set up tables and chairs when they see you coming. We finally settled on a place with outside seating and asked if he had food- he told us "falafel? OK, you sit!" We sat. He then told us it was a coffee shop and he didn't serve food and bade us to wait. A minute later he came running from down the block with the menu from the restaurant we'd been the night before. Shortly thereafter, the waiter from that restaurant came down with the owner and told us if we wanted to sit inside, he'd save our table at the coffee shop. It was weird. We went. I once again had a bowl of lentil soup with hummus and pita which once again ran me 9.50 Egyptian Pounds (a little under $2). The marketplace in Cairo is, needless to say, a lot different than in the States. In some ways, it's much freer and more fun.


A Note on American Misconceptions of Cairo

People here don't all dress differently than in the US. On campus, it pretty much looks like the US, though many of the women do keep their heads covered. In the streets, most young people dress like American youth and the men dress similarly. I have seen some women in full burkahs, others cover their heads with scarves, some don't. Women often walk together or alone without a male companion.

The people of Cairo are incredibly friendly. They don't hate Americans, though some probably do, as some Americans probably hate Egyptians. I get a lot of "hellos" and a lot of "welcomes" while walking down the street and a smile goes a long way to making friendly encounter.

Cairo is not the desert. It's hot, no doubt, and it's definitely dirty and polluted. However, there are plenty of trees (palm and otherwise) and plenty of grass. The desert is close-by, but the city, for the most part is not in it.

I haven't seen a camel yet. I have seen a number of donkeys pulling carts. I have also seen a good number of men on bikes with gigantic boards with upwards of 100 pitas on them.

There's a toilet and toilet-paper in every bathroom so far.

I think that's all I've got so far. If you have any other questions about Cairo, let me know.

Cairo- First Couple Days

Cairo, It’s Loud and Busy

First off, I have to say that a Boeing 777 is a comfy plane. We flew from Amsterdam to Cairo fairly easily (despite about 11 children who cried the entire time) and landed at 2:20am Cairo time (GMT +2). When we got into the terminal I looked around for a sign from the guy who was picking me up- no dice. Eventually I ran into three other people who looked equally lost and all turned out to be from my program. Our merry band made its way through the passport line and picked up our luggage after calling our program director and being assured our ride was waiting for us somewhere out there. Finally, we linked up with our driver and a few other program mates and headed off toward the hotel.

Cairo defies your first stereotypes. It isn’t all sand and desert. It isn’t all poor. It is pretty typical as far as the highway system, the stores and foliage. It is quite dirty and a little rundown in most places- it’s a poor city in a poor country. We finally got to our hotel and checked in by about 4am- the Victoria hotel is an old style British hotel with high ceilings, large armoires made of dark wood and old “lifts.” As we made our way inside we heard the first call to prayer. It’s early and loud- starting with a low rumbling voice and eventually calling out to the whole city in treble tones. I made a quick call home and crashed on my semi-OK bed.

I woke the next morning to the sounds of a loud city. I looked out my window and saw Cairo for the first time. There’s not one person in Cairo who drives without his hand on the horn- there are no lanes on most of the streets, they just kind of drift where they may- and they don’t stop or slow down for people to cross the street (think a real life Frogger). I found another program mate and we decided to just wander about for while. We walked outside and wandered the streets, people staring at her a bit with her long hair uncovered and some saying “hello” and “welcome to Egypt.” We quickly dubbed our area “Mechanictown” since every shop sells some sort of hardware, appliance or machine part. We walked through an open fruit market as the midday call to prayer sounded and men knelt down on mats in the street to stop and pray for a bit- their dedication to their faith is incredible.

Khan-al-Khalili- Social Anxiety Disorder Sufferers Beware

We met up with some other folks from our program who were headed out to Khan-al-Khalili, the famous open market/bazaar. I experienced my first Cairene taxi ride which is easy and deathly frightening at the same time (we haggled our price before we got in). Brian, our director’s assistant, was a student in the program two years ago and was able to give us some good tips as we walked through the market. As soon as we got there, we were bombarded. Anything you could possibly want to buy, and many things you wouldn’t, you can find at the Khan; from spices, to jewelry, to silk scarves, perfumed, tobacco, toys or knock-off watches. You’re constantly goaded by the shop owners “please sir, I show you the second Egyptian museum,” “little shop, big price, how can I take your money?,” “Amerikah, where from?” It certainly is a noisy, crowded, hot, amazing barrage on the senses. But it’s Cairo, you tell yourself, and this is what I’m here for, and you press on. Step after step is an adventure and is exhausting as you politely, then forcefully tell them you’re not interested. We left the Khan after a walk through (about 45 minutes) and found (another) pizza place near our future home on Zamalek Island (in Cairo, middle of the Nile).

We ended the day as a group (about 30 or so of us were in the city by that point) at a nice restaurant on Zamalek. We sat on a deck alongside the Nile as the sun went down and the breeze came in. While dirty, poor and loud, this place can also be absolutely gorgeous, when the sun hits the water and the temperature goes from the mid-90s to the mid-70s and the breeze sways the palm leaves. We drank Egyptian beer (Budweiser-esque) and paid a little under $20 for a big, great meal at Sequoia, the place to be seen in Cairo.

School? Really?

Saturday was spent, for the most part at American University Cairo campus, in orientation. The campus is pretty, the main building is a large white open building with large columns and a plush courtyard where students sit and study. We went over, mainly, the way the program would work and what we should expect from our time in Cairo. I also signed up to teach English to Iraqi and Sudanese refugees twice a week which I’m excited and nervous about. Tonight a small group made our way into the neighborhood and, after telling an impromptu tour guide we wouldn’t pay for his services, found a coffee shop where we sat and sipped Egyptian coffee- small espresso cups full of unfiltered coffee which tastes like thick strong chocolately sludge. It’s actually some of the best coffee I’ve ever had. Finally, a large group (too large) wound up at a local restaurant where I had hummus and pita and lentil soup and (bottled) water for a little under the equivalent of $2. Cairo should be good on the wallet. I’m in my room now as I prepare for another day of orientation, studying and lamenting the fact that my computer’s wireless card is broken.