Froody and I have been in Jordan for about a week now, maybe more. Leaving Egypt, crossing Israel, and entering Jordan was fairly easy and much cheaper than the ferry. We stayed in Aqaba for about 4 days. Aqaba is Jordan's one seaside city, so it has a port, huge resorts and cheap hotels, and skindiving!! The corals were breathtaking and the fish were great. Not as many different types as we had seen in Hurgada but it was all right off the beach and we saw a ton of lionfish each time! On Christmas day we were skindiving (of course) and Froody found an octopus, my favorite animal, for me.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
Monday, December 29, 2008
On Top of Mount Sinai
OK-So, after visiting St. Katherine's Monastery the other thing to do in St. Katherine's Village is hike to the top of Mt. Sinai. If you're really cool, you hike up for the sunset, sleep out, and wake up for the sunrise. We're not that cool, but we've got all the time in the world and, that's what we came to Sinai to do. (Actually, it's what I wanted to do since we were passing through and Froody eventually bought into the idea after talking to a few folks who had done it.)
We agreed to let a taxi take us to Nuweiba, so the driver happily drove us around the morning of our hike up the mount, buying some water, chocolate, and koshari to help us make it to the top. Additionally, he saved us about 85LE. He told us that the police check-point will ask us what we were doing and we were to say that we were going to spend the night at the monastery's hotel, because if we said we were going up the mount the police would insist on us taking a guide for 85LE otherwise they wouldn't let you go. At first I thought this was just a bunch of baloney. The guidebook said nothing about this but we went along with it. Later, we learned that everyone else on the summit had to buy a guide, so I guess this is true. I'm not sure why because it's a very easy to follow trail.
Anyway, we started up the camel-path which was a bit long but a nice, steady climb up. We were the only ones up there for a long while, not counting the black cat who conveniently crossed our path! Halfway up we stopped for koshari and were passed by another couple. We passed by many closed little stands and rest huts which was great because it meant no one could harass us into buying anything. About 30 min from the top we found a couple of "cafeterias", really some sturdy 3-sided wooden structures covered in tent material and wool- and camel-hair rugs which sold hot and cold drinks and snacks, and asked about renting some blankets and sleeping mats for the night. (20LE per blanket and 10LE for the mat). We also asked if we could sleep inside his cafeteria, since it was very cold at night and there were long benches hugging the walls. Surprisingly, he said no and that we should really sleep out on the summit. We were flummoxed. No one had ever passed the chance to take our money, and here was a guy who was sending us away! He did explain that at 3am we'd be woken up by 400 Russian tourists, all up in his little shop. !!! Well, we kept on walking (wanting to make it to the top) and , about 5 min from the summit we stopped at another cafeteria and asked the price to rent blankets and mats, were told the same as before, and, again, we asked if we could sleep in his store. Again, we were told that at 3am, 400 Russian tourists would arrive and wake us up, so we should sleep out on the summit.
A few minutes later we were on the summit of Mt. Sinai, the very place where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. The landscape was beautiful and us and a few other hearty souls enjoyed the quiet sunset together. There were two men selling tea and coffee and with a cuppa in hand, I asked one of them if, really, 400 Russian tourists would be arriving at 3 in the morning? He was thoughtful for a moment and said that during the high season, 400 Russian tourists really do arrive at 3 am for the sunrise on Mount Musa (as it's known in Arabic; Musa = Moses) but since it's so quiet only 200 will show up. That's still a lot of tourists!
Froody and I walked back down to one of the little cafeterias after sunset and decided to sleep out on a flat surface behind the shop (with many benches leading up to it) and joined another couple sleeping out for dinner. Let it be known that if you're planning on sleeping up on Mt. Sinai you really don't need much. The store provided us with a warm, filling dinner. Everywhere up there you can buy water, coffee (turkish or nescafe), sodas, chips, and cookies. We got 3 mats and 7 blankets (for about 110LE), changed into long underwear, and fell asleep underneath a sky full of stars.....
....Until about 3am when I was woken up by 200 Russian tourists! At least! In fact, there were tourists from all over the world who had been driven in from the coast on huge buses at midnight and had climbed up in the dark and were now drinking tea and coffee, eating cookies, talking, and waiting for the sunrise. I managed to doze off and on until 5am when Froody and I decided we couldn't sleep and wanted to find someplace to see the sunrise without 200+ people in the way.
That done, we enjoyed a lovely sunrise with 200 other souls, all of us in awe of the lovely golden ball peeking out above the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
Then, we all got to hike down together. This time, we took the Steps of Repentance. It's much more dramatic than the camelpath.
We agreed to let a taxi take us to Nuweiba, so the driver happily drove us around the morning of our hike up the mount, buying some water, chocolate, and koshari to help us make it to the top. Additionally, he saved us about 85LE. He told us that the police check-point will ask us what we were doing and we were to say that we were going to spend the night at the monastery's hotel, because if we said we were going up the mount the police would insist on us taking a guide for 85LE otherwise they wouldn't let you go. At first I thought this was just a bunch of baloney. The guidebook said nothing about this but we went along with it. Later, we learned that everyone else on the summit had to buy a guide, so I guess this is true. I'm not sure why because it's a very easy to follow trail.
Anyway, we started up the camel-path which was a bit long but a nice, steady climb up. We were the only ones up there for a long while, not counting the black cat who conveniently crossed our path! Halfway up we stopped for koshari and were passed by another couple. We passed by many closed little stands and rest huts which was great because it meant no one could harass us into buying anything. About 30 min from the top we found a couple of "cafeterias", really some sturdy 3-sided wooden structures covered in tent material and wool- and camel-hair rugs which sold hot and cold drinks and snacks, and asked about renting some blankets and sleeping mats for the night. (20LE per blanket and 10LE for the mat). We also asked if we could sleep inside his cafeteria, since it was very cold at night and there were long benches hugging the walls. Surprisingly, he said no and that we should really sleep out on the summit. We were flummoxed. No one had ever passed the chance to take our money, and here was a guy who was sending us away! He did explain that at 3am we'd be woken up by 400 Russian tourists, all up in his little shop. !!! Well, we kept on walking (wanting to make it to the top) and , about 5 min from the summit we stopped at another cafeteria and asked the price to rent blankets and mats, were told the same as before, and, again, we asked if we could sleep in his store. Again, we were told that at 3am, 400 Russian tourists would arrive and wake us up, so we should sleep out on the summit.
A few minutes later we were on the summit of Mt. Sinai, the very place where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God. The landscape was beautiful and us and a few other hearty souls enjoyed the quiet sunset together. There were two men selling tea and coffee and with a cuppa in hand, I asked one of them if, really, 400 Russian tourists would be arriving at 3 in the morning? He was thoughtful for a moment and said that during the high season, 400 Russian tourists really do arrive at 3 am for the sunrise on Mount Musa (as it's known in Arabic; Musa = Moses) but since it's so quiet only 200 will show up. That's still a lot of tourists!
Froody and I walked back down to one of the little cafeterias after sunset and decided to sleep out on a flat surface behind the shop (with many benches leading up to it) and joined another couple sleeping out for dinner. Let it be known that if you're planning on sleeping up on Mt. Sinai you really don't need much. The store provided us with a warm, filling dinner. Everywhere up there you can buy water, coffee (turkish or nescafe), sodas, chips, and cookies. We got 3 mats and 7 blankets (for about 110LE), changed into long underwear, and fell asleep underneath a sky full of stars.....
....Until about 3am when I was woken up by 200 Russian tourists! At least! In fact, there were tourists from all over the world who had been driven in from the coast on huge buses at midnight and had climbed up in the dark and were now drinking tea and coffee, eating cookies, talking, and waiting for the sunrise. I managed to doze off and on until 5am when Froody and I decided we couldn't sleep and wanted to find someplace to see the sunrise without 200+ people in the way.
That done, we enjoyed a lovely sunrise with 200 other souls, all of us in awe of the lovely golden ball peeking out above the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
Then, we all got to hike down together. This time, we took the Steps of Repentance. It's much more dramatic than the camelpath.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Making Way to Sinai
After our great few days in the desert (this is Froody and a huge piece of quartz from Crystal Mountain) and oases, we returned to Cairo to take yet another bus to yet another beautiful place- Sinai. We had to take it easy in Cairo because I had some bad sinuses after our time in the desert dust. But, I did get better and we boarded a big bus for the long trip to St. Katherine's village near the base of Mt. Sinai.
OK, so we arrived at the village and, let me tell you, there really is nothing to it. It's main attraction is that you can sleep in a hotel or camp before hiking up Mt. Sinai. It's unknown attractions are that it is the base for lots of trekking in this area (with a guide, of course) and if we had known we might have opted to stay longer and do some hiking. Also, being in the interior of the peninsula it gets pretty frikkin' hot during the summer, so the hotels are built to stay nice and cool during the summer months, thus being frikkin' freezing during the winter. The hotel was called Safary "Moonland" Hotel and Camp and the managers were friendly. We paid 100LE for the room plus 15LE for breakfast (each). The food was OK, but not worth 15LE, but there really wasn't anywhere else for brekkies. Our room had hot water but not enough pressure for the shower to work. But, it was cheap.
ANYWAY-we spent our first full day at the St. Katherine Monastery. I've never visited a monastery before so really didn't know what to expect, except that we'd see the burning bush (yes, this is supposed to be THE. BURNING. BUSH. MOSES. GOD. and all that). Whoa, it wasn't what we thought- we expected to see some half-dead, dusty bush-thingy and not this amazingly healthy plant. Many people were quietly contemplating this miracle, praying around it, touching it. A few broke off pieces to take home. One surprise at the monastery was the gallery which featured many pieces in the monastery's private collection. Photos are not allowed! but we really liked all the icons (images of holy people) and appreciated the fact that it's the most complete collection of it's kind, the monastery having been declared protected by Mohammed so no one came in and defaced all the images like they did all over Egypt (and everywhere else, I imagine). We had to rush b/c the monastery is open from 9am-12noon and we wanted to check out the church. It was small and packed with chandeliers which, I was glad to see, were not electrified. It was so different from all the mosques we had seen. It was full of icons, gold leaf, the scent of burning candlewax.
I liked it.
OK, so we arrived at the village and, let me tell you, there really is nothing to it. It's main attraction is that you can sleep in a hotel or camp before hiking up Mt. Sinai. It's unknown attractions are that it is the base for lots of trekking in this area (with a guide, of course) and if we had known we might have opted to stay longer and do some hiking. Also, being in the interior of the peninsula it gets pretty frikkin' hot during the summer, so the hotels are built to stay nice and cool during the summer months, thus being frikkin' freezing during the winter. The hotel was called Safary "Moonland" Hotel and Camp and the managers were friendly. We paid 100LE for the room plus 15LE for breakfast (each). The food was OK, but not worth 15LE, but there really wasn't anywhere else for brekkies. Our room had hot water but not enough pressure for the shower to work. But, it was cheap.
ANYWAY-we spent our first full day at the St. Katherine Monastery. I've never visited a monastery before so really didn't know what to expect, except that we'd see the burning bush (yes, this is supposed to be THE. BURNING. BUSH. MOSES. GOD. and all that). Whoa, it wasn't what we thought- we expected to see some half-dead, dusty bush-thingy and not this amazingly healthy plant. Many people were quietly contemplating this miracle, praying around it, touching it. A few broke off pieces to take home. One surprise at the monastery was the gallery which featured many pieces in the monastery's private collection. Photos are not allowed! but we really liked all the icons (images of holy people) and appreciated the fact that it's the most complete collection of it's kind, the monastery having been declared protected by Mohammed so no one came in and defaced all the images like they did all over Egypt (and everywhere else, I imagine). We had to rush b/c the monastery is open from 9am-12noon and we wanted to check out the church. It was small and packed with chandeliers which, I was glad to see, were not electrified. It was so different from all the mosques we had seen. It was full of icons, gold leaf, the scent of burning candlewax.
I liked it.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Desert!
*We finally made it to the desert! Not everyone goes, but you really should some day.
*Mahmoud was our guide. He may not have talked about the desert much, but we didn't mind because he let us explore to our hearts content.
*Froody and I had fun in the dunes.
*So much treasure in the sand!
*Our first night was spent in the tippy-most part of the Great Sand Sea.
*Wagdee was a great cook.
*The next day we checked out some springs that have been around since the Romans. Yes, this is a Roman mummy and there was a lot of broken Roman pottery everywhere. It was easy to pretend you were an anthropologist on a dig.
*Time to go, but I want you to see a bit of the White Desert.
*Mahmoud was our guide. He may not have talked about the desert much, but we didn't mind because he let us explore to our hearts content.
*Froody and I had fun in the dunes.
*So much treasure in the sand!
*Our first night was spent in the tippy-most part of the Great Sand Sea.
*Wagdee was a great cook.
*The next day we checked out some springs that have been around since the Romans. Yes, this is a Roman mummy and there was a lot of broken Roman pottery everywhere. It was easy to pretend you were an anthropologist on a dig.
*Time to go, but I want you to see a bit of the White Desert.
Luxor: Part 2
Wow, so much has happened since Luxor that I'm just going to finish up *talking* about some of the pix from that trip.
*The Colossi of Memnon
*The Valley of the Queens. Cameras were not allowed into the tombs so we can't show you the neat painted interior walls. Not only the queens, but royal children were also buried here.
*The Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharoh. This is a chapel deep inside the temple. Again, I love all the residual color! I also loved these columns topped with the head of a goddess.
*We also went to the Valley of the Kings, but, again, photos inside the tombs were forbidden. And we were too cheap to buy more postcards.
*Sunset from the top of the Nefertiti Hotel. You should stay there if you go to Luxor. The staff are friendly and offer tours at reasonable prices and don't pressure you into buying them.
*One of the few ways you can make a sunrise even better- in a hot air balloon! The hotel offered balloon rides at the bargain price of 300LE which was less than USD60 at the time, so we had to try it.
*Luxor Temple at sunset and sunrise.
*The mosque built on top of the Luxor Temple. They man who gave us the tour said it was the oldest mosque in Egypt, so I guess built during the 1st century sometime. It's pretty cool to see how they used the column tops and lintels of the temple (and weird to think that they were sticking up out of the ground instead of being up above you). They even carved into one for the mirhab. btw-it was being rebuilt when we were there.
*Taking the train back to Cairo. While we were there the Feast began. (This one celebrated Abrahim about to sacrafice his son to God, then God sending a ram instead.)In the more rural areas you can actually watch the sheep, calfs, and goats being slaughtered but in Cairo that all happens in the less tourist parts of town. Everyone else just has fun in downtown.
*The Colossi of Memnon
*The Valley of the Queens. Cameras were not allowed into the tombs so we can't show you the neat painted interior walls. Not only the queens, but royal children were also buried here.
*The Temple of Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharoh. This is a chapel deep inside the temple. Again, I love all the residual color! I also loved these columns topped with the head of a goddess.
*We also went to the Valley of the Kings, but, again, photos inside the tombs were forbidden. And we were too cheap to buy more postcards.
*Sunset from the top of the Nefertiti Hotel. You should stay there if you go to Luxor. The staff are friendly and offer tours at reasonable prices and don't pressure you into buying them.
*One of the few ways you can make a sunrise even better- in a hot air balloon! The hotel offered balloon rides at the bargain price of 300LE which was less than USD60 at the time, so we had to try it.
*Luxor Temple at sunset and sunrise.
*The mosque built on top of the Luxor Temple. They man who gave us the tour said it was the oldest mosque in Egypt, so I guess built during the 1st century sometime. It's pretty cool to see how they used the column tops and lintels of the temple (and weird to think that they were sticking up out of the ground instead of being up above you). They even carved into one for the mirhab. btw-it was being rebuilt when we were there.
*Taking the train back to Cairo. While we were there the Feast began. (This one celebrated Abrahim about to sacrafice his son to God, then God sending a ram instead.)In the more rural areas you can actually watch the sheep, calfs, and goats being slaughtered but in Cairo that all happens in the less tourist parts of town. Everyone else just has fun in downtown.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Luxor! Part 1
OK- from Aswan we woke up early to catch a bus to Luxor. On the way we were to stop at a couple of temples. They were pretty cool, but not that old- Ptolemic instead of Pharonic, so only, like, 1300-2000 years old.
My jaw dropped when I first laid eyes on Kom Ombo. It's a temple dedicated to two gods: a crocodile god Sobek and the other I can't remember. It was so amazing and I just love the residual color. In all the textbooks you just see these old buildings that are just mud- brown, but I loved them just the same and to see that they had colors!!! It makes my head swirl just imagining the walls and columns as they were first built.
Sadly, we only had 30 min to enjoy it before heading to Edfu temple, dedicated to the god Horus. This was even bigger than Kom Ombo!! And the carvings, the details, are so rich. We had a bit more time to explore so we got to see some of the storage rooms and climb the stairs that the priests would climb carrying a statue of Horus so that it could be bathed in the sun and get more energy and live longer, etc. One of the storage rooms was where they made perfumes and stuff, so the walls were carved with the recipes. Unlike Kom Ombo and other temples we've seen, Edfu still had ceilings. In the chapels, they were painted blue with stars carved into them, representing Mut, the sky goddess. The ceilings helped preserve even more of the colors. Blue! Red! Black! Yellow! It is amazing when you stop and think that these columns were actually handcarved by people! BTW- I really liked the falcon statues.
That night, because we hadn't seen enough temple for one day, we saw the Sound and Light Show at Karnak temple. It. was. awesome. First, we decided to walk, being only a couple of kilometers from our hotel and the guidebook made it sound like it was just straight up Karnak Temple Street (no brainer, right?) So, down the street we go. It's very busy but no touts so we don't mind. But eventually we began to feel lost because the street got very quiet and the tour buses and caliches just disappeared towards the Nile. We did happen upon the rest of the Avenue of the Sphinxes. It starts at Luxor Temple and runs all the way to Karnak. It was weird to realize these ancient sculptures were right here where the sidewalk should be and even weirder still to see kids playing hide-and-go-seek among the sphinxes!
Anyway, Froody asked for directions a couple of times and we reach a locked gate to the temple parking lot and so we have no choice but to walk all the way around, but we did make it to the ticket booth just as the music was starting! I haven't seen any of the other light shows (this was supposed to be the best one), but the show starts at the main portal to the temple along the Avenue of Ram Sphinxes. There's dramatic music, colored lights, and voice actors talking about the history of the temple and a bit about the pharohs who added on and about some of the festivals that took place here. I'll admit that it was a little over-theatrical, but I didn't mind at all. In fact, it seemed to fit because Karnak is, in itself, over-the-top and surreal, this 3000+ year-old structure. The story leads you through the temple itself. It was like a dream, finding yourself walking through an ancient temple at night. The end of the show has us all seated by the Sacred Lake and I'm sitting there, allowing myself to get carried away by the music and voices, and that's when it hits me: I'm in Upper Egypt, someplace that seemed so far away when I was in junior high (ahh, so long ago) and first learning about Ancient Egypt, the pharohs, the Nile, the desert and wishing I could see these things for myself.... And now I was! For a while, even after the show, I was so full of warm happiness. Froody said he was glad I was happy and glad he could be there with me.
So, the next day we ventured to the West Bank- the side of the Nile dedicated to the afterlife whereas the East Bank is dedicated to this life. (A restaurant owner said that it's kind of true even to this day. The people of the West Bank all go to sleep when the sun goes down and don't stay up late like the Egyptians of the East Bank.) We decided to go on a guided tour of the Valley of the Queens, Al-Deir Al-Bahari temple, and the Valley of the Kings.
My jaw dropped when I first laid eyes on Kom Ombo. It's a temple dedicated to two gods: a crocodile god Sobek and the other I can't remember. It was so amazing and I just love the residual color. In all the textbooks you just see these old buildings that are just mud- brown, but I loved them just the same and to see that they had colors!!! It makes my head swirl just imagining the walls and columns as they were first built.
Sadly, we only had 30 min to enjoy it before heading to Edfu temple, dedicated to the god Horus. This was even bigger than Kom Ombo!! And the carvings, the details, are so rich. We had a bit more time to explore so we got to see some of the storage rooms and climb the stairs that the priests would climb carrying a statue of Horus so that it could be bathed in the sun and get more energy and live longer, etc. One of the storage rooms was where they made perfumes and stuff, so the walls were carved with the recipes. Unlike Kom Ombo and other temples we've seen, Edfu still had ceilings. In the chapels, they were painted blue with stars carved into them, representing Mut, the sky goddess. The ceilings helped preserve even more of the colors. Blue! Red! Black! Yellow! It is amazing when you stop and think that these columns were actually handcarved by people! BTW- I really liked the falcon statues.
That night, because we hadn't seen enough temple for one day, we saw the Sound and Light Show at Karnak temple. It. was. awesome. First, we decided to walk, being only a couple of kilometers from our hotel and the guidebook made it sound like it was just straight up Karnak Temple Street (no brainer, right?) So, down the street we go. It's very busy but no touts so we don't mind. But eventually we began to feel lost because the street got very quiet and the tour buses and caliches just disappeared towards the Nile. We did happen upon the rest of the Avenue of the Sphinxes. It starts at Luxor Temple and runs all the way to Karnak. It was weird to realize these ancient sculptures were right here where the sidewalk should be and even weirder still to see kids playing hide-and-go-seek among the sphinxes!
Anyway, Froody asked for directions a couple of times and we reach a locked gate to the temple parking lot and so we have no choice but to walk all the way around, but we did make it to the ticket booth just as the music was starting! I haven't seen any of the other light shows (this was supposed to be the best one), but the show starts at the main portal to the temple along the Avenue of Ram Sphinxes. There's dramatic music, colored lights, and voice actors talking about the history of the temple and a bit about the pharohs who added on and about some of the festivals that took place here. I'll admit that it was a little over-theatrical, but I didn't mind at all. In fact, it seemed to fit because Karnak is, in itself, over-the-top and surreal, this 3000+ year-old structure. The story leads you through the temple itself. It was like a dream, finding yourself walking through an ancient temple at night. The end of the show has us all seated by the Sacred Lake and I'm sitting there, allowing myself to get carried away by the music and voices, and that's when it hits me: I'm in Upper Egypt, someplace that seemed so far away when I was in junior high (ahh, so long ago) and first learning about Ancient Egypt, the pharohs, the Nile, the desert and wishing I could see these things for myself.... And now I was! For a while, even after the show, I was so full of warm happiness. Froody said he was glad I was happy and glad he could be there with me.
So, the next day we ventured to the West Bank- the side of the Nile dedicated to the afterlife whereas the East Bank is dedicated to this life. (A restaurant owner said that it's kind of true even to this day. The people of the West Bank all go to sleep when the sun goes down and don't stay up late like the Egyptians of the East Bank.) We decided to go on a guided tour of the Valley of the Queens, Al-Deir Al-Bahari temple, and the Valley of the Kings.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Aswan
OK, I'm about to try to squeeze everything into one post. Here goes!
Us budget travelers take the train from Cairo to Upper Egypt, either Aswan or Luxor. It is a long ride so we opted for the sleeper car. We went to Aswan first. It is really lovely with a set of islands in the middle of the Nile, the largest being Elephantine Island. Most people who go there take a day to go and see Abu Simbel, a very famous temple, but we decided it was just too dang far- 4 hours one way! Instead we happily toured the Aswan Museum, wandered along the narrow streets of a Nubian village on Elephantine, and checked out the ruins of Satet Temple. At the temple, Froody and I were amazed by the details of the carvings (as always). I mean, what were they doing in Europe at the time? Fingerpainting on some cave walls? The Egyptians just blow that all away with their carvings and writings.
In Aswan we took our first felucca ride. We went at sunset which is beautiful in Upper Egypt because the sun actually sets instead of sliding into the murk.
We also spent some time at the High Dam which once and for all put Nubia under water. That day was weird. Feeling adventurous, we took the train to the end of the line where we were told the dam was. We figured we'd walk or hitch a ride to the top of the dam. Well, we were approached by a taxi driver who was there with his two clients (French girls I had seen at our hotel) and said that if we were interested he'd take us along with them to Philae Temple, the top of the dam, and back to Aswan. After some negotiating, Froody got a decent price and a trip NOT to Philae (bleh, we were almost done with temples)but to the unfinished obelisk instead. And the top of the dam. So the taxi driver, Abdul, hustled us all into his car and took us to the top of the dam. Then he started to say something about a ticket, and did we have one, and do we want one, and there is a guarded checkpoint coming up and do we have a ticket, and if not it's OK but...now it's too late. I tapped the shoulder of one of the girls and asked her if she understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "No" she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Instead of letting all of us off at the viewpoint he stopped his car a couple of times and hurriedly waved, practically shouted, at Froody to get out and take a picture. In retrospect we all four tourists figured out that if we wanted to stop at the viewpoint we needed tickets (which the girls had so I don't know if they ever ended up going or not) but the tickets were about LE20 each, and the taxi driver didn't think it was worth it since all you really needed at the viewpoint was 10 minutes to take your pictures, so he "saved" us some money and let Froody get some pictures.
The French girls were taken to the ferry for Philae and then Abdul took us to the Unfinished Obelisk. When he dropped us off, he invited us over to his home later on that night for tea with his wife and two daughters. We politely said we didn't know, he said the French girls were going to be there and that he wasn't trying to get money from us he just really wanted us to have tea with him. Eventually we exchanged mobile numbers and said if we weren't too tired we'd try to make it.
The Unfinished Obelisk is pretty cool. It's in the Northern Quarry and it's supposed to be where a lot of the red granite we've seen in all the temples, pyramids, and the statues in the Egyptian Museum came from. Story goes they were making an obelisk which was to be the twin for one that is now in Rome and would have been the tallest one around, but before they were done a crack was discovered so it was abandoned. Being there just got us to ask a whole bunch of questions: how long did it take to carve something like that? what types of tools did they use? how the heck were they going to lift up that thing? how did they get all the granite out of the quarry?
After the quarry we wandered through the Fatimid Cemetery (actually much older than the Fatimid dynasty). It was interesting to see how different these "modern" graves are from the tombs and pyramids.
That evening Froody and I discussed whether or not to have tea with Abdul and his family. I was pretty tired and fed up with people trying to get us to spend money (felucca captains, touts, shop owners) and I was convinced that Abdul was going to try to sell us something. Froody was convinced that his offer was sincere, and wanting to believe in the good of mankind again, I gave in (also, it helped when Froody promised that we would leave if Abdul did try to make a sale). Man, was I so glad to be so wrong!! Abdul and his wife and children were very nice and hospitable. I think, if he did have any ulterior motives, it was to get pix of his kids and you can't really blame him as cameras are very expensive and his girls are very cute. The French girls also showed up so it was a pleasant evening. We all left at about midnight and even then it was a bit difficult. Abdul couldn't understand why we would leave so early. :-)
Us budget travelers take the train from Cairo to Upper Egypt, either Aswan or Luxor. It is a long ride so we opted for the sleeper car. We went to Aswan first. It is really lovely with a set of islands in the middle of the Nile, the largest being Elephantine Island. Most people who go there take a day to go and see Abu Simbel, a very famous temple, but we decided it was just too dang far- 4 hours one way! Instead we happily toured the Aswan Museum, wandered along the narrow streets of a Nubian village on Elephantine, and checked out the ruins of Satet Temple. At the temple, Froody and I were amazed by the details of the carvings (as always). I mean, what were they doing in Europe at the time? Fingerpainting on some cave walls? The Egyptians just blow that all away with their carvings and writings.
In Aswan we took our first felucca ride. We went at sunset which is beautiful in Upper Egypt because the sun actually sets instead of sliding into the murk.
We also spent some time at the High Dam which once and for all put Nubia under water. That day was weird. Feeling adventurous, we took the train to the end of the line where we were told the dam was. We figured we'd walk or hitch a ride to the top of the dam. Well, we were approached by a taxi driver who was there with his two clients (French girls I had seen at our hotel) and said that if we were interested he'd take us along with them to Philae Temple, the top of the dam, and back to Aswan. After some negotiating, Froody got a decent price and a trip NOT to Philae (bleh, we were almost done with temples)but to the unfinished obelisk instead. And the top of the dam. So the taxi driver, Abdul, hustled us all into his car and took us to the top of the dam. Then he started to say something about a ticket, and did we have one, and do we want one, and there is a guarded checkpoint coming up and do we have a ticket, and if not it's OK but...now it's too late. I tapped the shoulder of one of the girls and asked her if she understood what was going on. She smiled and said, "No" she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Instead of letting all of us off at the viewpoint he stopped his car a couple of times and hurriedly waved, practically shouted, at Froody to get out and take a picture. In retrospect we all four tourists figured out that if we wanted to stop at the viewpoint we needed tickets (which the girls had so I don't know if they ever ended up going or not) but the tickets were about LE20 each, and the taxi driver didn't think it was worth it since all you really needed at the viewpoint was 10 minutes to take your pictures, so he "saved" us some money and let Froody get some pictures.
The French girls were taken to the ferry for Philae and then Abdul took us to the Unfinished Obelisk. When he dropped us off, he invited us over to his home later on that night for tea with his wife and two daughters. We politely said we didn't know, he said the French girls were going to be there and that he wasn't trying to get money from us he just really wanted us to have tea with him. Eventually we exchanged mobile numbers and said if we weren't too tired we'd try to make it.
The Unfinished Obelisk is pretty cool. It's in the Northern Quarry and it's supposed to be where a lot of the red granite we've seen in all the temples, pyramids, and the statues in the Egyptian Museum came from. Story goes they were making an obelisk which was to be the twin for one that is now in Rome and would have been the tallest one around, but before they were done a crack was discovered so it was abandoned. Being there just got us to ask a whole bunch of questions: how long did it take to carve something like that? what types of tools did they use? how the heck were they going to lift up that thing? how did they get all the granite out of the quarry?
After the quarry we wandered through the Fatimid Cemetery (actually much older than the Fatimid dynasty). It was interesting to see how different these "modern" graves are from the tombs and pyramids.
That evening Froody and I discussed whether or not to have tea with Abdul and his family. I was pretty tired and fed up with people trying to get us to spend money (felucca captains, touts, shop owners) and I was convinced that Abdul was going to try to sell us something. Froody was convinced that his offer was sincere, and wanting to believe in the good of mankind again, I gave in (also, it helped when Froody promised that we would leave if Abdul did try to make a sale). Man, was I so glad to be so wrong!! Abdul and his wife and children were very nice and hospitable. I think, if he did have any ulterior motives, it was to get pix of his kids and you can't really blame him as cameras are very expensive and his girls are very cute. The French girls also showed up so it was a pleasant evening. We all left at about midnight and even then it was a bit difficult. Abdul couldn't understand why we would leave so early. :-)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Last Minute Stuff
Froody and I were lucky enough to stumble into a Thanksgiving dinner invite. Of course it was with a small crowd of American expats. We had a good time and both enjoyed speaking to people who 1) were native speakers of English and 2) were people we were not married to. We laughed a lot except when us girls got around to sharing our harassment stories. But still, a good time was had by all. :-)
Other than packing up our bags (gee, did it all used to fit in one bag?) Froody made a final batch of chili and took pictures of the people he bought ingredients from. I guess it takes a village to make some chili!
*butcher #1 and butcher #2 of this shop
*hot peppers
*tomatoes and herbs
*cleaning supplies
********************
Hey, is this really in Cairo?
Other than packing up our bags (gee, did it all used to fit in one bag?) Froody made a final batch of chili and took pictures of the people he bought ingredients from. I guess it takes a village to make some chili!
*butcher #1 and butcher #2 of this shop
*hot peppers
*tomatoes and herbs
*cleaning supplies
********************
Hey, is this really in Cairo?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Where Are You From?
I get this question a lot, usually after someone has spoken to me in Arabic and seen the puzzled look on my face as I try to make out what they said.
"Where you from?" is the natural question. "America," is my answer. They blink, after which they either ask me again or say "Really?" Sometimes they'll even ask if I was born there.
Once I convince them that I really am an American, born and bred in the USA, they smile and tell me that I look Egyptian. (Here I am with a native Egyptian. What do you think?)
I was sharing some pix of my family with our Egyptian neighbor, which she enjoyed, and once she saw my father she exclaimed, "He looks Egyptian!" and "He looks like an Arab!" and "If I met him on the street I would speak Arabic to him!" Then I showed some pix of my husband's family, and our neighbor pointed to our niece and happily said, "That's an American!"
Most of the time, I see reactions like these as an opportunity to educate others on the diversity of my country's citizens. :-) Americans come in every color. I mean, really, we just elected a black president! :-))) But when our neighbor said that about our niece, it does remind me that there is a reason we, American people of color, are a minority. And that is that most Americans are white and most American tourists are white.
So I can't really blame people for double-checking where I come from. Especially since I'll continue to be mistaken for a local for the next couple of months!
"Where you from?" is the natural question. "America," is my answer. They blink, after which they either ask me again or say "Really?" Sometimes they'll even ask if I was born there.
Once I convince them that I really am an American, born and bred in the USA, they smile and tell me that I look Egyptian. (Here I am with a native Egyptian. What do you think?)
I was sharing some pix of my family with our Egyptian neighbor, which she enjoyed, and once she saw my father she exclaimed, "He looks Egyptian!" and "He looks like an Arab!" and "If I met him on the street I would speak Arabic to him!" Then I showed some pix of my husband's family, and our neighbor pointed to our niece and happily said, "That's an American!"
Most of the time, I see reactions like these as an opportunity to educate others on the diversity of my country's citizens. :-) Americans come in every color. I mean, really, we just elected a black president! :-))) But when our neighbor said that about our niece, it does remind me that there is a reason we, American people of color, are a minority. And that is that most Americans are white and most American tourists are white.
So I can't really blame people for double-checking where I come from. Especially since I'll continue to be mistaken for a local for the next couple of months!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Final Cairo Sights
Well, the time has finally come. Froody and I leave Cairo this weekend. We took some time off of class to see a few more sites before we go.
The last thing we did with my in-laws before they left was see Saqqara. We all agreed it was much more interesting than the pyramids at Giza, yet everyone needs to see them, too. Many of the artifacts in the Imhotep Museum were so well-preserved, it was like they were just made yesterday. And remember, this is the oldest of the pyramids and started that whole pyramid trend. Even cooler than the pyramid and its complex was the tomb of a high official and Teti's pyramid. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed inside either and I wish I could share the details of the river scenes in the tomb and the star-covered ceiling of Teti's burial chamber.
After the in-laws went home, Froody and I were on our own. We did more exploring; there are still some things that still surprise me, like goats grazing in the street and huge mosques coming out of nowhere. We found the Ibn Tulun Mosque and the madrassa right next to it. We also met some school children who asked Froody to take their pic. Again, I love the friendliness of the people we've met here and everywhere. The minaret of the madrassa was a nice place to take pix of my hubby, too. The Ibn Tulun Mosque was lovely and there was something peaceful in the large, quiet space and the graceful curves repeating over and over again.
We also found Bab Zawela and the Tentmakers' bazaar. The walk through fabrics and quilts gradually became a walk through a market street, though with a "small meats" section we don't have in our own neighborhood. Sometimes we had to stop because the sidewalk and street were too crowded for anyone to make it through. Another surprise! an ancient door, probably 600 years-old and crumbling.
Finally, we made it to Rifai mosque and the Sultan Hussen madrassa, somewhere we've been meaning to see since Ramadan. Pretty incredible, don't you think? I find it strange that one was built in the 1400s and then in the late 1880s someone built another huge mosque right next to it. The new one (Rifai?) is also a family tomb.
The last thing we did with my in-laws before they left was see Saqqara. We all agreed it was much more interesting than the pyramids at Giza, yet everyone needs to see them, too. Many of the artifacts in the Imhotep Museum were so well-preserved, it was like they were just made yesterday. And remember, this is the oldest of the pyramids and started that whole pyramid trend. Even cooler than the pyramid and its complex was the tomb of a high official and Teti's pyramid. Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed inside either and I wish I could share the details of the river scenes in the tomb and the star-covered ceiling of Teti's burial chamber.
After the in-laws went home, Froody and I were on our own. We did more exploring; there are still some things that still surprise me, like goats grazing in the street and huge mosques coming out of nowhere. We found the Ibn Tulun Mosque and the madrassa right next to it. We also met some school children who asked Froody to take their pic. Again, I love the friendliness of the people we've met here and everywhere. The minaret of the madrassa was a nice place to take pix of my hubby, too. The Ibn Tulun Mosque was lovely and there was something peaceful in the large, quiet space and the graceful curves repeating over and over again.
We also found Bab Zawela and the Tentmakers' bazaar. The walk through fabrics and quilts gradually became a walk through a market street, though with a "small meats" section we don't have in our own neighborhood. Sometimes we had to stop because the sidewalk and street were too crowded for anyone to make it through. Another surprise! an ancient door, probably 600 years-old and crumbling.
Finally, we made it to Rifai mosque and the Sultan Hussen madrassa, somewhere we've been meaning to see since Ramadan. Pretty incredible, don't you think? I find it strange that one was built in the 1400s and then in the late 1880s someone built another huge mosque right next to it. The new one (Rifai?) is also a family tomb.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
My Thoughts So Far-DELETED
The other day I was talking with my sister, who is a professional Middle Eastern dancer and has made several trips to Egypt. She asked me about my impressions of Arabic culture. This was a good question; I've never taken the time to make them comprehensible to anyone else. Or to myself, for that matter.
So I started blogging on how Egypt is different for female tourists than for male tourists, and a bit about the dirt, garbage, and pollution, and a bit more about how religion is a part of your life. Everyday. 5x a day.
BUT after reading what I wrote it all sounded like whining and I don't like whining. I don't want to get all down on Egypt, because it really is a cool place to be. Do I want to live here for ever and ever? No. Am I glad to have been here for 2.5 months? Heck yes!
Instead, I will share a couple of amusing bits of conversations we've had with locals.
The waiter(? owner?) at the fuul place we frequent complimented my husband on the fact that I was dressed appropriately. That was weird: my way of dressing was a good reflection on my husband! Of course, this was all said in a nice, friendly way with lots of smiling.
Our neighbor has told us that she really wants to go to America, especially Las Vegas where she hopes to make it rich on the roulette table. Then, she tells us that gambling is not allowed in Islam, but she wants to do it anyway! She also told us that if she was to meet Bin Laden she would hit him with her shoe!
I do want to share this pic with you: In Cairo the sun doesn't set as much as it sinks into a thick sky.
Another neat cultural difference is in all the greetings! Every other day we find another way of saying "How are you?" There's also greetings for the normal stuff like congratulations, condolences, and welcome back. The funniest one is the greeting for having just gotten a haircut or taken a shower: "naiyman" to which you reply "allah yenaiym aleek." There is no direct translation, but based on all the other greetings and their resposes it might be something like this: "That is a nice haircut/ You are nice and clean." "Yes, but God has the best haircut/God is always April fresh." XD
I do hope you make it to Egypt.
So I started blogging on how Egypt is different for female tourists than for male tourists, and a bit about the dirt, garbage, and pollution, and a bit more about how religion is a part of your life. Everyday. 5x a day.
BUT after reading what I wrote it all sounded like whining and I don't like whining. I don't want to get all down on Egypt, because it really is a cool place to be. Do I want to live here for ever and ever? No. Am I glad to have been here for 2.5 months? Heck yes!
Instead, I will share a couple of amusing bits of conversations we've had with locals.
The waiter(? owner?) at the fuul place we frequent complimented my husband on the fact that I was dressed appropriately. That was weird: my way of dressing was a good reflection on my husband! Of course, this was all said in a nice, friendly way with lots of smiling.
Our neighbor has told us that she really wants to go to America, especially Las Vegas where she hopes to make it rich on the roulette table. Then, she tells us that gambling is not allowed in Islam, but she wants to do it anyway! She also told us that if she was to meet Bin Laden she would hit him with her shoe!
I do want to share this pic with you: In Cairo the sun doesn't set as much as it sinks into a thick sky.
Another neat cultural difference is in all the greetings! Every other day we find another way of saying "How are you?" There's also greetings for the normal stuff like congratulations, condolences, and welcome back. The funniest one is the greeting for having just gotten a haircut or taken a shower: "naiyman" to which you reply "allah yenaiym aleek." There is no direct translation, but based on all the other greetings and their resposes it might be something like this: "That is a nice haircut/ You are nice and clean." "Yes, but God has the best haircut/God is always April fresh." XD
I do hope you make it to Egypt.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Citadel
Well, the in-laws are safely back home in the US. Froody and I ejoyed their visit and are glad they had a good time.
We all spent a whole day at the Citadel together. Like much of Cairo you find a lot of monuments from a lot of different times in history all clumped together. The walls were built by Salah al-Din to protect the city from the crusaders, around 1180. Inside there are two mosques and two museums. The Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir was built in the early 1300s and is an empty shell as all its marble was carted off to Turkey later on. It's still great to wander in, and I love the striped arches and wooden ceiling. The military museum was OK. The most interesting part was the building itself, built for a sultan's harem (his wives and children), but we didn't want to pay the camera fee so there aren't any pix.
The police museum was one none of us had any interest in, but the view from the terrace was pretty sweet. Last thing we did before leaving was to go into the Mohammed Ali Mosque which sits on top of a hill and looks down on the city of Cairo. (Sadly, with all the tall buildings you have to be high up and pretty close to the Citadel to see it watching you.) It was built in the 1800s and its interior is the most beautiful I've seen. Mohammed Ali is still there, in fact. By now it was well after noon and the sun was coloring the limestone on the outside of the mosque and playing in the shadows.
We decided we weren't tired enough so we walked the 1.2 km to Al-Azhar park to show off the view to Froody's parents. It's wonderful standing there at dusk and hearing the call to prayer reaching up to you from all over town.
And, we all got a kick at watching the young people act like young people seem to do all over the world- hang out and play with their cell phones!
We all spent a whole day at the Citadel together. Like much of Cairo you find a lot of monuments from a lot of different times in history all clumped together. The walls were built by Salah al-Din to protect the city from the crusaders, around 1180. Inside there are two mosques and two museums. The Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir was built in the early 1300s and is an empty shell as all its marble was carted off to Turkey later on. It's still great to wander in, and I love the striped arches and wooden ceiling. The military museum was OK. The most interesting part was the building itself, built for a sultan's harem (his wives and children), but we didn't want to pay the camera fee so there aren't any pix.
The police museum was one none of us had any interest in, but the view from the terrace was pretty sweet. Last thing we did before leaving was to go into the Mohammed Ali Mosque which sits on top of a hill and looks down on the city of Cairo. (Sadly, with all the tall buildings you have to be high up and pretty close to the Citadel to see it watching you.) It was built in the 1800s and its interior is the most beautiful I've seen. Mohammed Ali is still there, in fact. By now it was well after noon and the sun was coloring the limestone on the outside of the mosque and playing in the shadows.
We decided we weren't tired enough so we walked the 1.2 km to Al-Azhar park to show off the view to Froody's parents. It's wonderful standing there at dusk and hearing the call to prayer reaching up to you from all over town.
And, we all got a kick at watching the young people act like young people seem to do all over the world- hang out and play with their cell phones!
Teh List
This blogger that I like to read had posted her TO DO list. You know, the one comprising all the things you want to do before you....die. And last night I was reading an article in Oprah's magazine that mentioned the Bucket List. So, I think the signs are telling me to finally write down the list I carry inside my head, which is good because then I can cross them off! (Or, the signs are telling me to remember all the great stuff I have already done and therefore stop thinking that I am a very boring person who hasn't done anything. Hmmmm...definitely another post.)
Ladies and Gentlemen- Janola's To Do List:
fly first class
see Turkey
dive among ancient greek ruins
see Antarctica
see wild polar bears
go to Alaska
visit all 50 states, even the square ones in the middle
walk on the Great Wall of China
visit the Louvre (actually go in it next time)
see the Sistene Chapel
see Da Vinci's Last Supper
visit rat temple in India
see Mt. Everest and hike along its foothills
ride a hot air balloon
see cave dwellings
experience a winter with snow
become fluent in Spanish
swim with whale sharks
write a book
paint and draw more
rebuild an old car
visit Australia
fly a plane
knit a beautiful cable-knit sweater
participate in an archeological or paleontological dig
take a ceramics class
*whew* of course, there's more I haven't thought of yet.
Your turn!
Ladies and Gentlemen- Janola's To Do List:
fly first class
see Turkey
dive among ancient greek ruins
see Antarctica
see wild polar bears
go to Alaska
visit all 50 states, even the square ones in the middle
walk on the Great Wall of China
visit the Louvre (actually go in it next time)
see the Sistene Chapel
see Da Vinci's Last Supper
visit rat temple in India
see Mt. Everest and hike along its foothills
ride a hot air balloon
see cave dwellings
experience a winter with snow
become fluent in Spanish
swim with whale sharks
write a book
paint and draw more
rebuild an old car
visit Australia
fly a plane
knit a beautiful cable-knit sweater
participate in an archeological or paleontological dig
take a ceramics class
*whew* of course, there's more I haven't thought of yet.
Your turn!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Which are 3LE per Kilo??
Buying produce is, like everything else here, different. And it's taken us a while to learn how to it.
Not every produce stand is alike. Some sell only veggies and some only fruit. Some stands only carry herbs. And, they may only sell one or two types of fruit/veg. Also, about half of them have a price on any of their wares, usually printed or written on a card and stuck into the lovely pile. We've seen some that have one fruit priced, but not the others. I take it to mean that the sellers expect me, the customer, to already know how much everything costs. I've learned to pay attention to the pricetags whenever we're wandering the market street.
Another thing is that the quality of the produce varies from person to person, so the tomatoes of the person you bought from today may look good, but they might look worse later on in the week. So while we do try to buy from people whose produce and prices we like, there are times when we have to go elsewhere.
Then it becomes an opportunity to learn how to "look".
For example, we found a man who was selling oranges from a cart. He had a price, 3LE (that's about USD 0.75 for two pounds), on a card stuck in the front of the only pile of orange oranges we could see. We gladly walked over to buy some and he directed us to the back of his cart. I just thought he wanted us to not disturb the neatness of the front of the pile. After picking 2 kilos, he weighed them and we gave him 6LE. He asked for 1LE more. ??! But the price is 3LE a kilo! we said that comes to 6LE. Yes, he said,smiling, but that's for the oranges in the front. The ones you got are 3.50LE because they are bigger. Of course, all this was said in very broken Arabic on our side, broken English on his side, and a lot of pointing on both sides. *grrrrrr* We paid him, grudgingly. But it was a good reminder to be careful. Especially with that guy.
Part 2: Since then, we've gone to other places for oranges, as that's all I've ever seen him sell. But the other day we found ourselves in front of this same cart of oranges. And there was the sign, 3LE per kilo. I got another two kilos of oranges, this time from right around the sign. He weighed them and I gave him 6LE and, again, he asked for one more pound. What do you mean? I said the sign says 3LE a kilo! Yes, he said, but that is for these oranges over here on the side. See how they are smaller?
*grrrrr* If we weren't so tired we would have dumped the oranges right there and filled the bag with small ones.
*sigh* But then, I say to myself that I'm getting upset over USD 0.20. But then, another side of me says: I don't like getting taken advantage of.
Not every produce stand is alike. Some sell only veggies and some only fruit. Some stands only carry herbs. And, they may only sell one or two types of fruit/veg. Also, about half of them have a price on any of their wares, usually printed or written on a card and stuck into the lovely pile. We've seen some that have one fruit priced, but not the others. I take it to mean that the sellers expect me, the customer, to already know how much everything costs. I've learned to pay attention to the pricetags whenever we're wandering the market street.
Another thing is that the quality of the produce varies from person to person, so the tomatoes of the person you bought from today may look good, but they might look worse later on in the week. So while we do try to buy from people whose produce and prices we like, there are times when we have to go elsewhere.
Then it becomes an opportunity to learn how to "look".
For example, we found a man who was selling oranges from a cart. He had a price, 3LE (that's about USD 0.75 for two pounds), on a card stuck in the front of the only pile of orange oranges we could see. We gladly walked over to buy some and he directed us to the back of his cart. I just thought he wanted us to not disturb the neatness of the front of the pile. After picking 2 kilos, he weighed them and we gave him 6LE. He asked for 1LE more. ??! But the price is 3LE a kilo! we said that comes to 6LE. Yes, he said,smiling, but that's for the oranges in the front. The ones you got are 3.50LE because they are bigger. Of course, all this was said in very broken Arabic on our side, broken English on his side, and a lot of pointing on both sides. *grrrrrr* We paid him, grudgingly. But it was a good reminder to be careful. Especially with that guy.
Part 2: Since then, we've gone to other places for oranges, as that's all I've ever seen him sell. But the other day we found ourselves in front of this same cart of oranges. And there was the sign, 3LE per kilo. I got another two kilos of oranges, this time from right around the sign. He weighed them and I gave him 6LE and, again, he asked for one more pound. What do you mean? I said the sign says 3LE a kilo! Yes, he said, but that is for these oranges over here on the side. See how they are smaller?
*grrrrr* If we weren't so tired we would have dumped the oranges right there and filled the bag with small ones.
*sigh* But then, I say to myself that I'm getting upset over USD 0.20. But then, another side of me says: I don't like getting taken advantage of.
Monday, November 10, 2008
CHOCOLATE!!!
This is a desperate call for help. I am on my "moontime" and have a huge chocolate craving. I've tried all sorts of chocolates on this trip, and have failed to find anything satisfying. :-( I think the problem is where we've been- Tanzania, Kenya, and now Egypt. These are all hot places (AFRICA hot), and chocolate does not seem to survive well out here. The chocolates I have bought (and eaten. hey, it's better than nothing... sometimes) are either stale-ish or taste very waxy. We bought chocolates for the wedding (under the advice of our tutors) and placed them in an inlaid box we had bought as a souvenir, and had a few left over. These were bought at a fancy chocolate shop/patisserie so we thought we had some decent chocolate, but no. They were really bad. :-( really.
*sigh* And looking forward, we seem to be moving even deeper into non-chocolate friendly territory.
*sigh* And looking forward, we seem to be moving even deeper into non-chocolate friendly territory.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
In-laws in Cairo
Our first apartment guests arrived earlier this week- Froody's parents! I've been looking forward to their visit and am real glad they're here. It's always nice to have visitors and share a new country with them. This is their first trip to Egypt, too.
Froody and I have shown them bits of Cairo we've already seen and much that we've never gotten around to. Of course, we showed them around our neighborhood- fruit and veg stand, the bakery.
Then we all wandered Islamic Cairo together. I particularly love how minarets are just everywhere here. Naturally the streets led us to the Khan il Khalili, a huge bazaar or souk where you can buy almost anything. We went into the Hussein Mosque which we later learned non-muslims are not allowed in, so I don't know how we got in. Froody's mom and I had to cover our hair, of course, but then had to enter on the other side of the mosque and stay in the harem section. Froody and his dad got to enjoy the huge interior. But both sides led to this smaller room and I wondered what was inside the silver box. Turns out that a grandson of the prophet Mohammed was beheaded, and his head now lives here. :-O
MIL made a friend during lunch and did a bit of shopping. (Really, it's hard to resist buying anything here, although I did the first time around.) As we followed the Muski (this street here) we eventually left the tourists behind and found all the locals and most of the women- shopping, of course. The Muski gets more and more narrow and you get more and more squished as you walk through. I think my in-laws found it a bit overwhelming. I know I did my first time there!
Of course, we haven't done everything together. They spent a day at the Egyptian museum and we met them on the top of the Nile Hilton in the evening, as we had class that day. We also invited Morad and his family over to meet them.
Froody and I have shown them bits of Cairo we've already seen and much that we've never gotten around to. Of course, we showed them around our neighborhood- fruit and veg stand, the bakery.
Then we all wandered Islamic Cairo together. I particularly love how minarets are just everywhere here. Naturally the streets led us to the Khan il Khalili, a huge bazaar or souk where you can buy almost anything. We went into the Hussein Mosque which we later learned non-muslims are not allowed in, so I don't know how we got in. Froody's mom and I had to cover our hair, of course, but then had to enter on the other side of the mosque and stay in the harem section. Froody and his dad got to enjoy the huge interior. But both sides led to this smaller room and I wondered what was inside the silver box. Turns out that a grandson of the prophet Mohammed was beheaded, and his head now lives here. :-O
MIL made a friend during lunch and did a bit of shopping. (Really, it's hard to resist buying anything here, although I did the first time around.) As we followed the Muski (this street here) we eventually left the tourists behind and found all the locals and most of the women- shopping, of course. The Muski gets more and more narrow and you get more and more squished as you walk through. I think my in-laws found it a bit overwhelming. I know I did my first time there!
Of course, we haven't done everything together. They spent a day at the Egyptian museum and we met them on the top of the Nile Hilton in the evening, as we had class that day. We also invited Morad and his family over to meet them.
Egyptian Wedding
According to some blogs I've read, wanting to go to an Egyptian wedding seems to be a not uncommon desire among travellers. I always thought it strange that anyone would go to another country where they don't know anyone with the hope of being invited to a wedding. I mean, in America the wedding couple spends weeks making and editing a guest list. I can't imagine going to someone else's wedding and inviting two strangers. But that is what happened to us a couple of weeks ago.
We found our landlady in the apartment next-door. Seems she was helping the woman of the house (Sarah) cook for the wedding the next day. After receiving the rent money, the landlady invited us to the wedding that was to take place in that apartment. This invitation was seconded by Sarah,who is the step-mother of the bride. What could we do but accept? The event was to take place "early"- 7 or 7.30pm. I say "early" because most weddings don't start until after the final prayer ends, around 9pm. And, I think most weddings happen on the weekends.
OK. What to wear? Froody and I take a look at our meagre wardrobes. I wanted a splash of color so wore a kanga from Kenya as a wrap and pinned it shut- don't want my arms to show too much! In spite of our tutors' reassurances that women wear whatever to a wedding, we decided to go conservative. Good thing as all the women were covered (and still looked great, btw).
We got there at 7.30pm and sat in the living room with all the other guests, including the father of the bride and the landlord. Sarah seemed very pleased to have us there. :-) Just then we all gathered outside along the stairwell to watch the wedding party arrive. I think there was a ceremonial part somewhere else and now was the community part/ party! There was a dj in the livingroom along with some friggin' huge speakers which pumped out loud music all night long. I mean really loud- it would have been a bit challenging to hear the tv in our place, the music was so loud!
After the happy couple arrived they were given the seats of honor. There was a lot of clapping and cheering all night. In Egypt it's mainly the women who cheer by making a trilling sound which carries throughout the neighborhood. Whenever you hear this sound it's almost always a wedding.(Morad said it could also be a new baby). Then the bride and groom have their first dance. At first, it looks like your first jr. high slowdance, but then the music changed and they both started shimmying and shaking, dancing like everyone dances here. And, the music and dancing pretty much continued during the rest of the night. The dancing stopped for the jewelry ceremony (Sarah walked around slowly with a box containing rings, bracelets, earrings, and a watch. Then the couple put the rings, etc. on each other and everyone got up to congratulate them.), the food (ah, so good! There were plates and plates of meat, chicken; cabbage leaves, eggplants, peppers, and squashes stuffed with savory rice, samosas, and a different rice), and the cutting of the cake. Once these events were over, it was back to dancing! Even we got pulled in and tried to dance with everyone.
Eventually, the bridal party left and we all ran to the balcony to see them off. They made a convoy behind the couple's car, which was decorated with bouquets of flowers and ribbons, and proceeded to drive around town, honking the horns and blasting their music! Sarah kindly gave us a plate of leftovers while they were cleaning up.
Once home, Froody and I reflected how everyone seemed to have a good time and even got a little crazy. It seems to me that here, any occasion for music and dancing is seen as a time to let off some much-needed steam.
Man, I really wish I could paint a better picture of all the food, music, and happy people.
We found our landlady in the apartment next-door. Seems she was helping the woman of the house (Sarah) cook for the wedding the next day. After receiving the rent money, the landlady invited us to the wedding that was to take place in that apartment. This invitation was seconded by Sarah,who is the step-mother of the bride. What could we do but accept? The event was to take place "early"- 7 or 7.30pm. I say "early" because most weddings don't start until after the final prayer ends, around 9pm. And, I think most weddings happen on the weekends.
OK. What to wear? Froody and I take a look at our meagre wardrobes. I wanted a splash of color so wore a kanga from Kenya as a wrap and pinned it shut- don't want my arms to show too much! In spite of our tutors' reassurances that women wear whatever to a wedding, we decided to go conservative. Good thing as all the women were covered (and still looked great, btw).
We got there at 7.30pm and sat in the living room with all the other guests, including the father of the bride and the landlord. Sarah seemed very pleased to have us there. :-) Just then we all gathered outside along the stairwell to watch the wedding party arrive. I think there was a ceremonial part somewhere else and now was the community part/ party! There was a dj in the livingroom along with some friggin' huge speakers which pumped out loud music all night long. I mean really loud- it would have been a bit challenging to hear the tv in our place, the music was so loud!
After the happy couple arrived they were given the seats of honor. There was a lot of clapping and cheering all night. In Egypt it's mainly the women who cheer by making a trilling sound which carries throughout the neighborhood. Whenever you hear this sound it's almost always a wedding.(Morad said it could also be a new baby). Then the bride and groom have their first dance. At first, it looks like your first jr. high slowdance, but then the music changed and they both started shimmying and shaking, dancing like everyone dances here. And, the music and dancing pretty much continued during the rest of the night. The dancing stopped for the jewelry ceremony (Sarah walked around slowly with a box containing rings, bracelets, earrings, and a watch. Then the couple put the rings, etc. on each other and everyone got up to congratulate them.), the food (ah, so good! There were plates and plates of meat, chicken; cabbage leaves, eggplants, peppers, and squashes stuffed with savory rice, samosas, and a different rice), and the cutting of the cake. Once these events were over, it was back to dancing! Even we got pulled in and tried to dance with everyone.
Eventually, the bridal party left and we all ran to the balcony to see them off. They made a convoy behind the couple's car, which was decorated with bouquets of flowers and ribbons, and proceeded to drive around town, honking the horns and blasting their music! Sarah kindly gave us a plate of leftovers while they were cleaning up.
Once home, Froody and I reflected how everyone seemed to have a good time and even got a little crazy. It seems to me that here, any occasion for music and dancing is seen as a time to let off some much-needed steam.
Man, I really wish I could paint a better picture of all the food, music, and happy people.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
President Obama!
Thanks to everyone who got out and voted! It's so amazing that we now have a new president and that power will peacefully pass from the old to the new. :-) Today is a day of celebration in Kenya. My father-in-law (Brit now American citizen) said that the world always watched the American presidential elections, but this particular one has generated a lot more interest due to the war and, of course, the global financial crisis.
As happy as I am for Obama, I don't envy him the task of cleaning up the huge messes we're in.
As happy as I am for Obama, I don't envy him the task of cleaning up the huge messes we're in.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Americans Are Voting!!!!
OMG I AM SO EXCITED IT'S FINALLY HERE ELECTION DAY IN AMERICA.
Random Election Thoughts
*I've said before how lots of people, once they discover that we're from America, ask us who we want for president. And I've said how glad they were to hear us say that I (Froody can't vote, remember) was going to vote for Barak Obama. Everyone seems to like him. I did hear a blurb from Germany that said basically how "business as usual" didn't work (think: global financial crisis) so he wanted something new and different. So, I guess Obama represents a change to everyone.
*I mean, according to CNN, my little vote added to your little vote added to their little votes will affect policies that influence the WORLD. Man, I never thought about it like that.
*Some folks here get confused over the fact that if all the Americans they speak to don't like Bush, then how did he get elected in the first place? They look skeptically at us when we explain
that people who like Bush tend not to travel to East Africa or the Middle East and if they did they didn't do the budget safaris etc.
*Our Arabic tutor listened with eyes wide when we said that, as Americans, we could stand in front of the White House and yell out how much Bush sucks and how we hate him and all his policies from the top of our lungs and no one would do anything. Except maybe some police might watch us and eventually might ask us to leave. She said, "And that's it? You'd be allowed to go home?" And we said "yes." And Froody added how this trip so far has made him appreciate the Bill of Rights.
*Anyway, if you're able I hope you vote or have already voted!!
Random Election Thoughts
*I've said before how lots of people, once they discover that we're from America, ask us who we want for president. And I've said how glad they were to hear us say that I (Froody can't vote, remember) was going to vote for Barak Obama. Everyone seems to like him. I did hear a blurb from Germany that said basically how "business as usual" didn't work (think: global financial crisis) so he wanted something new and different. So, I guess Obama represents a change to everyone.
*I mean, according to CNN, my little vote added to your little vote added to their little votes will affect policies that influence the WORLD. Man, I never thought about it like that.
*Some folks here get confused over the fact that if all the Americans they speak to don't like Bush, then how did he get elected in the first place? They look skeptically at us when we explain
that people who like Bush tend not to travel to East Africa or the Middle East and if they did they didn't do the budget safaris etc.
*Our Arabic tutor listened with eyes wide when we said that, as Americans, we could stand in front of the White House and yell out how much Bush sucks and how we hate him and all his policies from the top of our lungs and no one would do anything. Except maybe some police might watch us and eventually might ask us to leave. She said, "And that's it? You'd be allowed to go home?" And we said "yes." And Froody added how this trip so far has made him appreciate the Bill of Rights.
*Anyway, if you're able I hope you vote or have already voted!!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Hey! Cool Things in Cairo
At last more pictures have been uploaded so I can share a few more cool things we've been doing with our time.
* We are always on the lookout for tasty food. Froody got to try stuffed pigeon- a local speciality. I enjoyed my mixed grill. That's Froody's bowl of meat casserole in the foreground.
* We don't mind the non-alcoholic atmosphere here in Egypt. Froody finally ordered a "cocktail" which is really a fruit smoothie. I'm having a big glass of hibiscus tea.
* Spent part of a morning in Islamic Cairo and got to see a mosque from the inside for the first time. I had to cover my hair which was no big whoop. I do always try to keep my arms and legs covered. Each mosque has water available for washing before entering. This is inside Al-Hakim mosque. It's in the process of being restored inside and out.
* This is the Sabil Sulayman Aga al-Silahdar mosque. Beneath it was an old reservoir with a cool echo. I liked the stripes! In a Christian church this would be called a pulpit. I forgot what it's called in arabic, but serves the same purpose.
* Part of an old madrassa or school. This part of Cairo is full of wonderful architecture!
* There were many art students trying to capture the beauty of this place. I hope you can see how stylish the young women are. I particularly like how this young woman smiled for Froody's pic, unbeknownst to us!
* We went back to the Egyptian Museum to see the second floor.
* The courtyard has some neat granite statuary. At first you catch yourself thinking about how the weather and stuff might affect them. Then you remember that they've been around for frikkin' evah.
* Sadly, we can only bring you pix from outside the museum. Cameras aren't allowed inside.
* Take it home!
* One of many local butchers.
* Not too many women in the coed car of the metro.
* We are always on the lookout for tasty food. Froody got to try stuffed pigeon- a local speciality. I enjoyed my mixed grill. That's Froody's bowl of meat casserole in the foreground.
* We don't mind the non-alcoholic atmosphere here in Egypt. Froody finally ordered a "cocktail" which is really a fruit smoothie. I'm having a big glass of hibiscus tea.
* Spent part of a morning in Islamic Cairo and got to see a mosque from the inside for the first time. I had to cover my hair which was no big whoop. I do always try to keep my arms and legs covered. Each mosque has water available for washing before entering. This is inside Al-Hakim mosque. It's in the process of being restored inside and out.
* This is the Sabil Sulayman Aga al-Silahdar mosque. Beneath it was an old reservoir with a cool echo. I liked the stripes! In a Christian church this would be called a pulpit. I forgot what it's called in arabic, but serves the same purpose.
* Part of an old madrassa or school. This part of Cairo is full of wonderful architecture!
* There were many art students trying to capture the beauty of this place. I hope you can see how stylish the young women are. I particularly like how this young woman smiled for Froody's pic, unbeknownst to us!
* We went back to the Egyptian Museum to see the second floor.
* The courtyard has some neat granite statuary. At first you catch yourself thinking about how the weather and stuff might affect them. Then you remember that they've been around for frikkin' evah.
* Sadly, we can only bring you pix from outside the museum. Cameras aren't allowed inside.
* Take it home!
* One of many local butchers.
* Not too many women in the coed car of the metro.
How to Cross the Street
Some of you have shared your harrowing tales of street-crossing in foreign lands, and I'm here to add my own observations. As I've said, Cairo is full of aggressive drivers so this is no easy thing. Below is a list of the ways I've used to cross:
Crossing the Street
1- Not me, but I've read on the internet how some folks will just not even bother, instead choosing to plan their route so as to not cross a busy street! Sheesh!
2- By far the safest way is to use the Metro, as each stop has an entrance on either side of the street. I think we've done this once when we were really tired.
3- The best way is to stand near or "downwind" of a local who is also crossing and going when s/he goes. This works very well and is my favorite way.
4- Another way is to cross where the local police are directing traffic. There is a brief window in-between his stopping the cars one way and allowing the others going the other way.
5- Or, walk down the street to the next busy intersection, waiting for the cars to slow down before they cross or turn.
6- Many times you just have to do it piecemeal. You see an opening, but it only gets you half-way so you end up standing in the middle of some very busy lanes, cars whizzing closely by you. Usually, after a minute, you're able to make it the rest of the way across.
7- If it's not that busy cars do speed up. In that case you walk slowly across, making sure there is enough room on either side of you for the cars to swerve around you.
Note: There is an understanding between drivers and pedestrians. Pedestrians trust that the cars won't hit them and the drivers trust that the pedestrians aren't so stupid as to get hit.
Crossing the Street
1- Not me, but I've read on the internet how some folks will just not even bother, instead choosing to plan their route so as to not cross a busy street! Sheesh!
2- By far the safest way is to use the Metro, as each stop has an entrance on either side of the street. I think we've done this once when we were really tired.
3- The best way is to stand near or "downwind" of a local who is also crossing and going when s/he goes. This works very well and is my favorite way.
4- Another way is to cross where the local police are directing traffic. There is a brief window in-between his stopping the cars one way and allowing the others going the other way.
5- Or, walk down the street to the next busy intersection, waiting for the cars to slow down before they cross or turn.
6- Many times you just have to do it piecemeal. You see an opening, but it only gets you half-way so you end up standing in the middle of some very busy lanes, cars whizzing closely by you. Usually, after a minute, you're able to make it the rest of the way across.
7- If it's not that busy cars do speed up. In that case you walk slowly across, making sure there is enough room on either side of you for the cars to swerve around you.
Note: There is an understanding between drivers and pedestrians. Pedestrians trust that the cars won't hit them and the drivers trust that the pedestrians aren't so stupid as to get hit.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Eyes Wide Open and I Still Can't See
The other day Froody and I stopped at the local bakery to buy some bread. It was a bit crowded so I opted to wait on the sidewalk. This meant that I had several minutes of being outside and not moving, something that doesn't really happen much for me in Cairo, so I was able to look about me and soak in a bit more of my adopted neighborhood. Being on Sharia Tahrir means lots of people and many cars honking and trying to zoom past. But now I actually got to see it all as well as look UP at the tall buildings lining the sidewalks. It felt a lot like a river in a rainforest- the one place where there aren't any trees overhead which means that the sun can finally reach the ground. The city is like that, too. On the smaller, narrow side-streets it's a bit dim and the buildings are so close that looking up rarely affords a good look at them.
Why not look up more? I, for one, like to see where I'm about to place my foot so that I can avoid potholes (yes, on the sidewalks, too), manhole covers (again, on the sidewalks), trees, cats, garbage, mysterious puddles, beggars, beggars selling tissues, shoe-shiners, people selling any of the following: shoes, headscarves, clothes, sunglasses, ties, watches, pens,food. Oh, and cars. Because the sidewalks are so...full... most folks choose to walk in the street, which still requires one to keep their wits about them, as you may be run over by cars, trucks, bikes, pushcarts, horse carts, donkey carts, and motorcycles.
So, while I walk about with my eyes ever scanning the ground beneath and ahead of me any opportunity I get to raise them to the sky is usually taken advantage of. And I'm usually glad I did.
Why not look up more? I, for one, like to see where I'm about to place my foot so that I can avoid potholes (yes, on the sidewalks, too), manhole covers (again, on the sidewalks), trees, cats, garbage, mysterious puddles, beggars, beggars selling tissues, shoe-shiners, people selling any of the following: shoes, headscarves, clothes, sunglasses, ties, watches, pens,food. Oh, and cars. Because the sidewalks are so...full... most folks choose to walk in the street, which still requires one to keep their wits about them, as you may be run over by cars, trucks, bikes, pushcarts, horse carts, donkey carts, and motorcycles.
So, while I walk about with my eyes ever scanning the ground beneath and ahead of me any opportunity I get to raise them to the sky is usually taken advantage of. And I'm usually glad I did.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Quirks- We Has Dem
Every old apartment everywhere has Quirks. Ours does, definitely. Some of them are: 1)None of the doors close very well. 2)The showerhead and bathtub are at an odd angle, so that a lot of water shoots off our bodies and onto the floor. Meaning that 3)There is a squeegie in the bathroom we use to push the shower water into the drain on the floor. And also for 4)The washing machine drains through a hose on the floor that is very close to the drain in the floor, but not quite. 5)You have to pick the lid up off the toilet tank in order to flush. 6)The kitchen sink has no cold water. 7)The doorbell ringer sounds like birds chirping. This was done on purpose. 8)The chandeliers each have two (one has 3) different light sockets and wire sources.
But, overall, we do like our diggs. Like Froody said, everything is very conveniently located. It's a nice enough neighborhood and much quieter than downtown. I thank the embassies for that. If you're ever in Cairo, you'll be amazed at the huge (and ever growing) number of street cats. There are hardly any dogs so there's no infernal yelping and barking at ungodly hours. About a thousand years ago, the caliph Al-Hakim ordered every dog to be executed because he hated their noise! I'm sure that isn't the reason for the lack of wild dogs here, but it couldn't have helped. (I think this, and a few of his other actions, made him a pretty sick cookie.)
Another quirky thing- at Cilantro, an Egyptian chain coffeehouse, you can order an American coffee...served in a french press.
But, overall, we do like our diggs. Like Froody said, everything is very conveniently located. It's a nice enough neighborhood and much quieter than downtown. I thank the embassies for that. If you're ever in Cairo, you'll be amazed at the huge (and ever growing) number of street cats. There are hardly any dogs so there's no infernal yelping and barking at ungodly hours. About a thousand years ago, the caliph Al-Hakim ordered every dog to be executed because he hated their noise! I'm sure that isn't the reason for the lack of wild dogs here, but it couldn't have helped. (I think this, and a few of his other actions, made him a pretty sick cookie.)
Another quirky thing- at Cilantro, an Egyptian chain coffeehouse, you can order an American coffee...served in a french press.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sheesh!
Man, where did all that come from?? Let's go to what you all came here for...more interesting stuff! Pictures!!
*These pastries came from the little bakery that Froody told you about. All that for 5LE or US$1.
*Ya' know, I really love looking at the Nile. I bet the pharoh's never expected anything like these hotels!!
*Yes, this really is a sushi place and yes, we did eat there. Pricey but not bad sushi!
*View from a 4 star hotel nextdoor. The food was pretty bad,
though.
*We invited Morad and his family over for dinner. We wanted to make them good ol' American ribs but due to the existing language barrier we couldn't. It was still a tasty dinner, though.
*Spent some time in Coptic Cairo. Of course, the architecture was amazing. Inside the Hanging Church is this high altar they use during special occasions like Palm Sunday. Can you find the column that represents Judas?
*If you go to this page you can click on the movie-tour Froody gives you of our Cairo apartment.
*We are constantly discovering new mosques. We need to actually go inside one before we leave.
*Sunset in Cairo as seen from the rooftop lounge of the Nile Hilton. Yes, those are the pyramids in the background. Was a pleasant evening and waaaayyy cheaper than the Cairo Tower.
*These pastries came from the little bakery that Froody told you about. All that for 5LE or US$1.
*Ya' know, I really love looking at the Nile. I bet the pharoh's never expected anything like these hotels!!
*Yes, this really is a sushi place and yes, we did eat there. Pricey but not bad sushi!
*View from a 4 star hotel nextdoor. The food was pretty bad,
though.
*We invited Morad and his family over for dinner. We wanted to make them good ol' American ribs but due to the existing language barrier we couldn't. It was still a tasty dinner, though.
*Spent some time in Coptic Cairo. Of course, the architecture was amazing. Inside the Hanging Church is this high altar they use during special occasions like Palm Sunday. Can you find the column that represents Judas?
*If you go to this page you can click on the movie-tour Froody gives you of our Cairo apartment.
*We are constantly discovering new mosques. We need to actually go inside one before we leave.
*Sunset in Cairo as seen from the rooftop lounge of the Nile Hilton. Yes, those are the pyramids in the background. Was a pleasant evening and waaaayyy cheaper than the Cairo Tower.
I VOTED!!!!!
Yup, I practiced my God-given right to vote! And it's still October! Many of you already know that you can request an absentee ballot so I went online to learn how to request mine. Seems some states, like California, will allow you to fax in your vote on an emergency write-in ballot if you promise to mail in the hard copy, and that's what I did! People do vote here in Egypt, but seems it doesn't matter much, as the same guy always wins as president. In fact, Morad says he already knows who the next president will be- the son of the present president! We hear about the continuing power dispute in Zimbabwe and we have seen burned-out villages- the result from Kenya's last election. There's also the protests in Thailand over their prime minister- someone died there! And yet, in less than two weeks America will have an election and emotions will run high. In two months the power will shift from George Bush to ... well, we'll see. Will there be anger? Will there be accusations of stuffing the ballot boxes? Probably. But will there be huge mobs of people raping and setting their neighbors homes and businesses on fire? Definitely not. This election and traveling have really made me appreciate all sorts of things that I took for granted.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but God Bless America! I know it isn't perfect but I'm so glad my home is there. I'll admit, this song has popped into my head more than once this trip while talking to people and seeing how different their lives (the norm for that country) are. I thank goodness for Planned Parenthood, for pre-natal care, for welfare, for medicine that works, for tax dollars that really are at work, for free public education that really is free, for most kids staying in school through high school, for respecting ourselves and everyone else, for clean drinking water, for minimum wage, for a government that can change albeit slowly.
I truly believe in the American Dream. I do believe that anyone can have a good life if they are willing to work hard for it. I know we are not all created equal and that it's rigged so that the big guys stay big, but us little guys get a chance which is more than I can say for people living in some other free countries.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but God Bless America! I know it isn't perfect but I'm so glad my home is there. I'll admit, this song has popped into my head more than once this trip while talking to people and seeing how different their lives (the norm for that country) are. I thank goodness for Planned Parenthood, for pre-natal care, for welfare, for medicine that works, for tax dollars that really are at work, for free public education that really is free, for most kids staying in school through high school, for respecting ourselves and everyone else, for clean drinking water, for minimum wage, for a government that can change albeit slowly.
I truly believe in the American Dream. I do believe that anyone can have a good life if they are willing to work hard for it. I know we are not all created equal and that it's rigged so that the big guys stay big, but us little guys get a chance which is more than I can say for people living in some other free countries.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Global Economic Crisis
Ok, so according to BBC World News, CNN (internation edition), and NPR there is a global economic crisis going on. So, I'm assuming that a lot of you have or are asking yourselves "How does this affect me?" and "What can/should I do?" Well, Froody and I have been asking ourselves these questions, too. Basically, we're going to "wait and see," which seems to be very popular with everyone in the news. We are fully prepared to alter our trip, perhaps hanging out in northern Africa instead of visiting Turkey and SE Asia, or coming home a lot earlier so as to have more cushion while looking for work. We both feel pretty good that I'll be able to find a job quickly, but wonder how long it might take Froody to get hired anywhere and I really don't want to support the two of us on a teacher's salary.
On the other hand, I'm not too sure how this plays into the life of the average Egyptian. If I knew more arabic I'd totally ask someone how they felt about this global crisis and the possible upcoming global recession. As it is, I'm not all that sure that folks around here keep up on international news. (The juice-man keeps telling/asking us about Hillary Clinton becoming the next president.)I think this is just part of "being Egyptian", the whole "insha' allah" attitude that everyone here has.
On the other hand, I'm not too sure how this plays into the life of the average Egyptian. If I knew more arabic I'd totally ask someone how they felt about this global crisis and the possible upcoming global recession. As it is, I'm not all that sure that folks around here keep up on international news. (The juice-man keeps telling/asking us about Hillary Clinton becoming the next president.)I think this is just part of "being Egyptian", the whole "insha' allah" attitude that everyone here has.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Cairo Living
Well, we've been in our apartment for a week now and, no, we haven't done any "real" sight-seeing until today. But, I don't feel too bad about that (now that we've seen a sight). There's just so much to do when you first move in as many of you know. Plus, living in another country makes everyday living an adventure. Oh, I mean an ADVENTURE!!1!
List of Adventures Had This Week
1) Crossing the street- it's like living a game of Frogger each time
2) Buying produce from the street vendors. Are they ripping me off or not? Actually, they're probably not.
3)Riding the Metro. Took us a while to figure out the right exit so we don't have to cross the street every time (see #1). Also, I feel a bit weird every time because I'm one of the very, very few women in that car. Most women use the "Women Only" cars, which is very colorful and pretty as it zooms past you and then everything goes blah when the men's cars go past.
4)Buying groceries. What is in stock? Egyptian versions of American foods! How much everything really is since the blurb on the shelf doesn't match what is on the shelf about half the time.
5)Buying meat from the butcher. How do you know it's a butchery? Why, by the carcasses hanging outside, of course! We wanted to cook some ribs and serve them up to Morad and his family. You know, give them a taste of American food (to which Morad answered, "Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Hardees...aren't these American?" I sheepishly agreed and Froody said we wanted them to have real American food.)OK- so-back to the butcher who didn't speak English (natch) and had difficulty figuring out what we wanted even with a pic. Eventually, everyone figured out what we wanted and he went into the big fridge and pulled out 2.5kg of rib meat and lion (no bones) of veal. We bought 2kg of it and it was really nice. Froody thinks this can become a weekly thing: go to the butcher, get whatever loose meat he has laying around (in the fridge), and cook it up.
6)Eating lunch. Yup, it's an adventure when you A-Don't know what the heck that stuff is, and B-Don't know how much it should cost. At least it was tasty and cheap for us Americans. :-)
7) Go to the Post Office. It's adventurous when you can't find it! And we had two maps!! Anyway, ended up going to the Main Post Office instead which is a bit overwhelming because of all the windows with digital numbers over them and all the people sitting down in front of them. Are they waiting for their number to come up? Are they waiting for the window I'm about to go to? Which window sells stamps? (OK, we know the answer to this one now.)
8) Standing in Line. Not sure what it is, but Egyptians have no sense of the "queque" that we westerners have. Yeah, there's a "line" but older women seem to have the right to cut right to the front of the line! And, when your turn is next, there's no sense of personal space and the person behind you will crowd and get in front of you if you're not aggressive. And once you're at the window the people directly behind you are now right at your elbows (srsly, I'm not kidding) and some even have their money out and in the window! And you're still waiting for tickets or change!!
9)Driving in Cairo. We definitely aren't ballzy enough to even dare to imagine driving in this crazy city. I thought Nairobi was bad. Still, Cairenes do seem to follow a couple more driving rules than the Kenyans, but,...sheesh! You have to see it to believe it. For instance, at night, they don't turn on their lights. They do drive with the running lights on and use the headlights to warn other cars and pedestrians of their approach. During daylight hours the horn has this job. They also use their turnsignal for things other than turning corners. And they have a total disregard for the lines in the road. Basically, the road is going to have anywhere from 3 to 5 lanes, depending on how busy it is. I've even seen roads hardly big enough for one car fit two cars!! There's no real speed limit, either. If there's no one in front of you, you can floor it!
List of Adventures Had This Week
1) Crossing the street- it's like living a game of Frogger each time
2) Buying produce from the street vendors. Are they ripping me off or not? Actually, they're probably not.
3)Riding the Metro. Took us a while to figure out the right exit so we don't have to cross the street every time (see #1). Also, I feel a bit weird every time because I'm one of the very, very few women in that car. Most women use the "Women Only" cars, which is very colorful and pretty as it zooms past you and then everything goes blah when the men's cars go past.
4)Buying groceries. What is in stock? Egyptian versions of American foods! How much everything really is since the blurb on the shelf doesn't match what is on the shelf about half the time.
5)Buying meat from the butcher. How do you know it's a butchery? Why, by the carcasses hanging outside, of course! We wanted to cook some ribs and serve them up to Morad and his family. You know, give them a taste of American food (to which Morad answered, "Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Hardees...aren't these American?" I sheepishly agreed and Froody said we wanted them to have real American food.)OK- so-back to the butcher who didn't speak English (natch) and had difficulty figuring out what we wanted even with a pic. Eventually, everyone figured out what we wanted and he went into the big fridge and pulled out 2.5kg of rib meat and lion (no bones) of veal. We bought 2kg of it and it was really nice. Froody thinks this can become a weekly thing: go to the butcher, get whatever loose meat he has laying around (in the fridge), and cook it up.
6)Eating lunch. Yup, it's an adventure when you A-Don't know what the heck that stuff is, and B-Don't know how much it should cost. At least it was tasty and cheap for us Americans. :-)
7) Go to the Post Office. It's adventurous when you can't find it! And we had two maps!! Anyway, ended up going to the Main Post Office instead which is a bit overwhelming because of all the windows with digital numbers over them and all the people sitting down in front of them. Are they waiting for their number to come up? Are they waiting for the window I'm about to go to? Which window sells stamps? (OK, we know the answer to this one now.)
8) Standing in Line. Not sure what it is, but Egyptians have no sense of the "queque" that we westerners have. Yeah, there's a "line" but older women seem to have the right to cut right to the front of the line! And, when your turn is next, there's no sense of personal space and the person behind you will crowd and get in front of you if you're not aggressive. And once you're at the window the people directly behind you are now right at your elbows (srsly, I'm not kidding) and some even have their money out and in the window! And you're still waiting for tickets or change!!
9)Driving in Cairo. We definitely aren't ballzy enough to even dare to imagine driving in this crazy city. I thought Nairobi was bad. Still, Cairenes do seem to follow a couple more driving rules than the Kenyans, but,...sheesh! You have to see it to believe it. For instance, at night, they don't turn on their lights. They do drive with the running lights on and use the headlights to warn other cars and pedestrians of their approach. During daylight hours the horn has this job. They also use their turnsignal for things other than turning corners. And they have a total disregard for the lines in the road. Basically, the road is going to have anywhere from 3 to 5 lanes, depending on how busy it is. I've even seen roads hardly big enough for one car fit two cars!! There's no real speed limit, either. If there's no one in front of you, you can floor it!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Killing Time in Cairo
Well, well, well. Froody and I have now been in Egypt for about 2.5 weeks, yet I feel as if we just got here. One reason is because of Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan all good muslims are fasting during the daylight hours, which means a lot of shops and sites have strange hours and good luck finding cheap, local food. Also it was frikken' hot so we were not motivated to do much during the day anyway. However, the nightlife during Ramadan cannot be beat. The streets are (finally) full of people, all the stores are open, as well as all the coffee houses and juice bars. (yah, yah, I know I blogged it before, but whatever.)
So, yesterday we FINALLY ate food at a locals-only type place. No, we don't speak Egyptian yet (class hopefully to begin tomorrow more likely Saturday), but the waiter was very nice and by smiling and pointing we got some fuul (mashed fava beans with onions and flavor), falafel (not what they call it here, but can't remember the real name), some sort of eggplant stuff, and aisha or pita bread. We also had a side of cucumbers and tomatoes and pickled veggies which Froody didn't like but I find OK. The waiter asked us if we wanted Pepsi and we said, "yes," and he served us nice, cold Sprites. I guess "Pepsi" is the general term for "soda". Dinner was spent at a kushari place which serves only kushari (very easy to order!). Kushari is made up of short macaroni, noodles, rice, lentils, fried onions, and a choice sauces: tomato-y, garlicky, and spicy! In spite of (or because of) the inordinate amount of carbs this was a very filling meal and very tasty. Tonight we stopped at a fried food stand that showcases all sorts of fried fishes, shrimps, and pigeons. We got whole blackened fish that came with pita bread and more pickled veggies. We got it to go and looked forward to more tasty egyptian food, but that fish was a lot of work! The black stuff just got everywhere and the veggies were really salty. :-( Luckily, we had bought some tomatoes and cucumbers at the street market yesterday (man, a smile and pointy-finger really go a long way in this world!) and we each enjoyed this makeshift salad. (BTW- one kilo of tomatoes set us back 2 LE, about 45 cents!)
Now it is evening and we walked around a bit. I got a deck of touristy playing cards, the kind with pictures of ancient Egyptian gods and stuff, and we made our way to this internet cafe. Cairo is chock-a-block full of internet places and you can smoke in all of them! We're thinking of getting satellite TV, mainly for the American football and BBC news, but Ithink know that I'll like listening to well-spoken English.
The Color of Cairo
Cairo is the color of dust. Each building is a different shade of something that isn't brown. To me, brown is a very solid color, warm and soft, but that doesn't describe Cairo. Sometimes, while I'm waiting for a break in the traffic so that I can cross the street, I'll look up and find that I can see through the layers of dust, all the way down to the building's original beauty: a mosaic, a reference to pharonic times, wrought iron vines, art deco lines and curves. Through all this grime emerges the imposing bulk of the mosques, the only things enhanced by the dusty environment. It's as if the dust emphasizes the details, making the delicate structures appear more solid and allowing the minarets to pierce through the haze.
The true color of Cairo is carried by it's women. I love how the women are drenched in color from head to foot, the colors layered expertly on each other. These colors undulate, moving between headscarves and long, flowing skirts. Even those who are all in black have a sparkle of sequins about them.
No matter how they are covered, the women's personalities still shine through. I've seen women in full veil laughing with each other and cuddling their children.
I wish I had new pix to show you, but Froody hasn't found fast-enough internet to upload them yet. :-(
So, yesterday we FINALLY ate food at a locals-only type place. No, we don't speak Egyptian yet (class hopefully to begin tomorrow more likely Saturday), but the waiter was very nice and by smiling and pointing we got some fuul (mashed fava beans with onions and flavor), falafel (not what they call it here, but can't remember the real name), some sort of eggplant stuff, and aisha or pita bread. We also had a side of cucumbers and tomatoes and pickled veggies which Froody didn't like but I find OK. The waiter asked us if we wanted Pepsi and we said, "yes," and he served us nice, cold Sprites. I guess "Pepsi" is the general term for "soda". Dinner was spent at a kushari place which serves only kushari (very easy to order!). Kushari is made up of short macaroni, noodles, rice, lentils, fried onions, and a choice sauces: tomato-y, garlicky, and spicy! In spite of (or because of) the inordinate amount of carbs this was a very filling meal and very tasty. Tonight we stopped at a fried food stand that showcases all sorts of fried fishes, shrimps, and pigeons. We got whole blackened fish that came with pita bread and more pickled veggies. We got it to go and looked forward to more tasty egyptian food, but that fish was a lot of work! The black stuff just got everywhere and the veggies were really salty. :-( Luckily, we had bought some tomatoes and cucumbers at the street market yesterday (man, a smile and pointy-finger really go a long way in this world!) and we each enjoyed this makeshift salad. (BTW- one kilo of tomatoes set us back 2 LE, about 45 cents!)
Now it is evening and we walked around a bit. I got a deck of touristy playing cards, the kind with pictures of ancient Egyptian gods and stuff, and we made our way to this internet cafe. Cairo is chock-a-block full of internet places and you can smoke in all of them! We're thinking of getting satellite TV, mainly for the American football and BBC news, but I
The Color of Cairo
Cairo is the color of dust. Each building is a different shade of something that isn't brown. To me, brown is a very solid color, warm and soft, but that doesn't describe Cairo. Sometimes, while I'm waiting for a break in the traffic so that I can cross the street, I'll look up and find that I can see through the layers of dust, all the way down to the building's original beauty: a mosaic, a reference to pharonic times, wrought iron vines, art deco lines and curves. Through all this grime emerges the imposing bulk of the mosques, the only things enhanced by the dusty environment. It's as if the dust emphasizes the details, making the delicate structures appear more solid and allowing the minarets to pierce through the haze.
The true color of Cairo is carried by it's women. I love how the women are drenched in color from head to foot, the colors layered expertly on each other. These colors undulate, moving between headscarves and long, flowing skirts. Even those who are all in black have a sparkle of sequins about them.
No matter how they are covered, the women's personalities still shine through. I've seen women in full veil laughing with each other and cuddling their children.
I wish I had new pix to show you, but Froody hasn't found fast-enough internet to upload them yet. :-(
Monday, October 6, 2008
Hurghada and the Red Sea
Just got back from a week at the Red Sea. We shared a flat with our Egyptian family and, for the most part, had a good time. We didn't do too much together, which was sad, but Froody and I had are hearts set on doing a lot of snorkelling, and they didn't. We did all spend an evening in the desert on safari, which meant riding quads across a wasteland. Really. Egyptian deserts are not at all like California or Arizona desert. It looked like the surface of the moon. This desert was in the shadow of the Red Sea Montains, hugely tall and jagged-y peaks, like Mordor. Really.
OK, back to the safari. You ride the quad to a "bedouin village" which, in reality, is a desert theme-park. I expected to learn a little bit of the bedouin lifestyle, but instead you go there and do some desert-y stuff, like climb a sandy peak to watch the sunset, ride a camel (for all of 2 min), drink bedouin tea (tastes a lot like egyptian tea), ride your quad in a circle, and then eat lunch. The food was pretty good. I think if I knew ahead of time that the safari was I would have enjoyed it more while I was living it instead of in retrospect. But, riding the quad at night back to the beginning was pretty sweet! Especially when the crescent moon and stars showed up.
But the most frikken' awesome thing was the snorkelling!!1! We went with two different organizers. The first called Prince Safaris and it really was the cheapest snorkel trip out there. For about 20 LE each we got on a boat (with 40 others) to some nice snorkel sites, gear rental, and lunch (if you were quick; they ran out before we got ours). The ride out was rough and several people hurled. :-( But once there it was calm enough. Froody and I kicked out away from the boat to the main reef both times so we were pretty much left alone. Most of the other tourists (German and Arabian)stayed very close to the boat,but there was plenty of fish for everyone to see! It was amazing. I wish I had the words to describe it for you. Clear water. Warm sea. Hard and soft corals. Every kind of fish: Angel, Butterfly, Trigger, Wrasse, Parrot, Damsel, Pipe, Puffer. And, several species of each kind! I felt like I was seeing famous celebrities in person- so many fish I had seen dead, floating in preservative, or alive and in small tanks, nothing like being in the ocean right along side of them. Our second trip with Aquanaut, a very good outfit, it felt like being on a dive trip at home it was so well run. For starters, it left ON TIME and not 45 min late. Plenty of food. All staff spoke English. Nice gear. And it only went to sites depending on weather, not to some pre-arranged-must-be-followed itinerary. We had perfect weather so the sea was nice and calm. And again, the skin diving was amazing. Heavenly? yes. I had to keep from crying I was so happy to be somewhere I never thought I'd go. The dive guy said they rarely got Americans as it's so expensive compared to the Caribbean, and it's true. Even Froody loved being in the water here. AND, he said if we go again (in December! cross my fingers!) we might even go DIVING!!! Though I will admit, there isn't much more you can see diving. We saw everything, even lion fish and a beautiful file fish that hung out with us about 2 m below the surface. Again, I wish I could tell you about the clouds of black stripey sergeant major fish and cardinal fish and half-and-half fish. Each fish was like a work of art (hello, picasso trigger fish), really, and just when I think you couldn't do more to a fish, there would be one with a crazy tail or freaky color mix.
My kind of heaven. I was sad that day, knowing that it was our last snorkel and that we were going back to Cairo the next day. The good thing was knowing we were going to our own apartment. We are ready for all the freedom that entails, our friendly hosts notwithstanding.
OK, back to the safari. You ride the quad to a "bedouin village" which, in reality, is a desert theme-park. I expected to learn a little bit of the bedouin lifestyle, but instead you go there and do some desert-y stuff, like climb a sandy peak to watch the sunset, ride a camel (for all of 2 min), drink bedouin tea (tastes a lot like egyptian tea), ride your quad in a circle, and then eat lunch. The food was pretty good. I think if I knew ahead of time that the safari was I would have enjoyed it more while I was living it instead of in retrospect. But, riding the quad at night back to the beginning was pretty sweet! Especially when the crescent moon and stars showed up.
But the most frikken' awesome thing was the snorkelling!!1! We went with two different organizers. The first called Prince Safaris and it really was the cheapest snorkel trip out there. For about 20 LE each we got on a boat (with 40 others) to some nice snorkel sites, gear rental, and lunch (if you were quick; they ran out before we got ours). The ride out was rough and several people hurled. :-( But once there it was calm enough. Froody and I kicked out away from the boat to the main reef both times so we were pretty much left alone. Most of the other tourists (German and Arabian)stayed very close to the boat,but there was plenty of fish for everyone to see! It was amazing. I wish I had the words to describe it for you. Clear water. Warm sea. Hard and soft corals. Every kind of fish: Angel, Butterfly, Trigger, Wrasse, Parrot, Damsel, Pipe, Puffer. And, several species of each kind! I felt like I was seeing famous celebrities in person- so many fish I had seen dead, floating in preservative, or alive and in small tanks, nothing like being in the ocean right along side of them. Our second trip with Aquanaut, a very good outfit, it felt like being on a dive trip at home it was so well run. For starters, it left ON TIME and not 45 min late. Plenty of food. All staff spoke English. Nice gear. And it only went to sites depending on weather, not to some pre-arranged-must-be-followed itinerary. We had perfect weather so the sea was nice and calm. And again, the skin diving was amazing. Heavenly? yes. I had to keep from crying I was so happy to be somewhere I never thought I'd go. The dive guy said they rarely got Americans as it's so expensive compared to the Caribbean, and it's true. Even Froody loved being in the water here. AND, he said if we go again (in December! cross my fingers!) we might even go DIVING!!! Though I will admit, there isn't much more you can see diving. We saw everything, even lion fish and a beautiful file fish that hung out with us about 2 m below the surface. Again, I wish I could tell you about the clouds of black stripey sergeant major fish and cardinal fish and half-and-half fish. Each fish was like a work of art (hello, picasso trigger fish), really, and just when I think you couldn't do more to a fish, there would be one with a crazy tail or freaky color mix.
My kind of heaven. I was sad that day, knowing that it was our last snorkel and that we were going back to Cairo the next day. The good thing was knowing we were going to our own apartment. We are ready for all the freedom that entails, our friendly hosts notwithstanding.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Oh, Cairo!
Well, I finally have the computer to myself. Admittedly, I haven't tried too hard to wrestle it away from Froody. But now I can bring you up to speed on our Cairo stay.
Whatever you opinion on Egypt Air, I will say that their flight attendants worked to get everyone seated and the plane off on time. I think it's the first time I've been on a plane that left when my ticket said it would. Could be that we were the first flight of the day, too, but those stewards do run a tight ship! We got here at 9am on Sept 17, which meant leaving Kenya at 5am. Cairo is an interesting city. It is a sprawling metropolis overflowing on both banks of the Nile. "Downtown" Cairo is on the east bank and that is where all the charm is: ancient mosques, giant bazaars, Coptic and Islamic Cairo are all here. The west bank is a bit more upscale (according to our guidebook) and home to many embassies. We spent our first night in Zamalek, a more Western neighborhood on an island in the Nile.
The next morning we called a family of friends of my sister Dre. She said they would offer to put us up for a bit and, sure enough, they did and have let us stay here ever since. They've even asked us to join them on their holiday to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast and we said yes and are paying for half our stay, thank goodness! When we told them our plan to stay for two months and rent an apartment they were quite vocal and couldn't understand why we would even think of renting a place "for a short time" instead of staying with them. I don't think we every convinced them that it is just our way was Americans. They really are nice and Amani is a good cook, but we had to tell them that when we returned from Hurghada we'd be ready for a place of our own.
Say It With Pictures!
*Our room while we stay with Morad and his family.
*Their daughter Merna, teaching me Arabic and showing off her English. Somehow, we manage to communicate just fine. Once, when I couldn't understand the housekeeper she stepped in to translate, which just sounded exactly the same to me.
*Posing at the juice stand. Morad is back there buying sugar cane juice for us to try. If you're good (or six years old) sugar cane juice will give you a nice moustache!
*Wife and mother Amani with their dog, Nini (well, that's what we say). She loves animals, even allowing herself to be adopted by a street cat.
*Egyptian salesmen are very smooth, much cleverer than the ones we found in Kenya and Tanzania. He did have the best flower essence shop we've been to (took us a while to learn the M.O.).
*Yes, almost all of the women we've seen follow the muslim code of covering themselves up, but that doesn't mean they don't have any fashion sense!
*Al-Azhar Mosque and a bit of the huge Khan al-Khalili bazaar. During Ramadan, Cairo comes alive at night and stays that way until after 2 am. We've even started going to bed "early" at about 1 am and sleeping in until 11 am!
*Only sad thing about Ramadan is that none of the small, local restaurants and food stalls are open during the day. Us non-fasting tourists must find other breakfast alternatives.
*I really love islamic architecture. That was a mosque and this is the ceiling of a house built by a rich man 100 years ago.
*Of course. we had to try sheesha. Neither of us liked it. Yes, mom, it was only flavored tobacco.
*This isn't how you expect to see the pyramids, but it is your fist view of them. It seemed a bit more real than when you are really there. I did finally get to ride a camel! The pyramids are cooler up close and personal.
*At last! Froody gets to buy some street food.
*View from our family's living room window and another from the balcony of the room we're in.
*Oh, I forgot that we went to this giant western-type mall in Nasar city (a suburb of Cairo). Froody took advantage of the air conditioning and free wifi, along with a giant smoothie- taller than his compy!
*Drugs! are cheap abroad. What cost us $50 in America was about 40 LE here, about $8.
*A peek into our new diggs.
Whatever you opinion on Egypt Air, I will say that their flight attendants worked to get everyone seated and the plane off on time. I think it's the first time I've been on a plane that left when my ticket said it would. Could be that we were the first flight of the day, too, but those stewards do run a tight ship! We got here at 9am on Sept 17, which meant leaving Kenya at 5am. Cairo is an interesting city. It is a sprawling metropolis overflowing on both banks of the Nile. "Downtown" Cairo is on the east bank and that is where all the charm is: ancient mosques, giant bazaars, Coptic and Islamic Cairo are all here. The west bank is a bit more upscale (according to our guidebook) and home to many embassies. We spent our first night in Zamalek, a more Western neighborhood on an island in the Nile.
The next morning we called a family of friends of my sister Dre. She said they would offer to put us up for a bit and, sure enough, they did and have let us stay here ever since. They've even asked us to join them on their holiday to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast and we said yes and are paying for half our stay, thank goodness! When we told them our plan to stay for two months and rent an apartment they were quite vocal and couldn't understand why we would even think of renting a place "for a short time" instead of staying with them. I don't think we every convinced them that it is just our way was Americans. They really are nice and Amani is a good cook, but we had to tell them that when we returned from Hurghada we'd be ready for a place of our own.
Say It With Pictures!
*Our room while we stay with Morad and his family.
*Their daughter Merna, teaching me Arabic and showing off her English. Somehow, we manage to communicate just fine. Once, when I couldn't understand the housekeeper she stepped in to translate, which just sounded exactly the same to me.
*Posing at the juice stand. Morad is back there buying sugar cane juice for us to try. If you're good (or six years old) sugar cane juice will give you a nice moustache!
*Wife and mother Amani with their dog, Nini (well, that's what we say). She loves animals, even allowing herself to be adopted by a street cat.
*Egyptian salesmen are very smooth, much cleverer than the ones we found in Kenya and Tanzania. He did have the best flower essence shop we've been to (took us a while to learn the M.O.).
*Yes, almost all of the women we've seen follow the muslim code of covering themselves up, but that doesn't mean they don't have any fashion sense!
*Al-Azhar Mosque and a bit of the huge Khan al-Khalili bazaar. During Ramadan, Cairo comes alive at night and stays that way until after 2 am. We've even started going to bed "early" at about 1 am and sleeping in until 11 am!
*Only sad thing about Ramadan is that none of the small, local restaurants and food stalls are open during the day. Us non-fasting tourists must find other breakfast alternatives.
*I really love islamic architecture. That was a mosque and this is the ceiling of a house built by a rich man 100 years ago.
*Of course. we had to try sheesha. Neither of us liked it. Yes, mom, it was only flavored tobacco.
*This isn't how you expect to see the pyramids, but it is your fist view of them. It seemed a bit more real than when you are really there. I did finally get to ride a camel! The pyramids are cooler up close and personal.
*At last! Froody gets to buy some street food.
*View from our family's living room window and another from the balcony of the room we're in.
*Oh, I forgot that we went to this giant western-type mall in Nasar city (a suburb of Cairo). Froody took advantage of the air conditioning and free wifi, along with a giant smoothie- taller than his compy!
*Drugs! are cheap abroad. What cost us $50 in America was about 40 LE here, about $8.
*A peek into our new diggs.
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