Ma’assalama my Friend

I feel as if I am bidding farewell to an old friend today. “The Rough Guide to Egypt” has been, perhaps, the most useful book I have ever owned. I found the information contained in its well researched pages to be spot on. Dining suggestions were great, the historical info was helpful, the maps accurate, prices were current, really you couldn’t ask for more in a guidebook.

My Rough Guild lived well here in Egypt. It served its purpose and is now somewhere at the bottom of my suitcase. Now my bag containes the Lonley Planet Guides to Greece and Athens. We’ll see if they can come close to greatness of the Rough Guide. Big shoes to fill there, big shoes indeed.

I feel that I have been living by guidebook for so long, telling me where to eat, sleep, and what to do for two months now, that I will require a Rough Guide to the USA when I get home. How else where I know where to eat and what is meant by all the crazy American culture? Ah well, my bookself at home will have a nice edition when I get back. The Rough Guide to Egypt can cozy on up next to the Rough Guide to Kenya where they can talk about their greatness and collect dust.

Thinking about Cairo

My time in Egypt is almost at an end. I leave in four days to head over to Athens. The finality of my time left here in Cairo seems an appropriate time to think about my experiences here. As with most things dealing with pros and cons, a top 10 list seemed appropriate.

The TOP 10 Things I WILL NOT Miss about Cairo

10. Solicitation. This frequent occurence grates on my nerves in the worst way. Walking down the street, touring monuments, and even eating dinner will afford a few people who want to sell you something or another. It get’s old. I think I have said, “La, Shukran” (no thank you in Arabic) more than any other phrase I have ever used before.

9. The sidewalks. Walking around Cairo is an adventure. Pot-holes here are HUGE!! They along with cars parked on the sidewalks, steps, and curbs that are at least 15 inches tall everywhere (this is I have come to believe is used to keep the cars actually on the road, sort of like the blow-up things they put in bowling alley lanes for children so the ball never goes in the gutter) make walking interesting to say the very least. I told my friends that I felt walking around Cairo was like negotiating an obstacle course…I kept waiting for the giant mushrooms to come out that I would have to jump over/on (this joke only applies to those who have ever played Mario Bros. on Nintendo).

8. Traffic. The traffic in Kenya was bad…Cairo traffic is worse. In Cairo they have the benefit of fairly decent roads (due to their economy and weather with little or no variation). The drivers take advantage of these roads to drive like insane people!! I have actually come to not mind this so much. I no longer fear accidents or death…I just enjoy the ride. The traffic also lends itself to adding an interesting variation to walking around Cairo as crossing the street is often as interesting as a high level game of Frogger. I admit that I am a little nervous that these bad habits I have observed will influence my driving when I get home. Let’s hope not.

7. Baksheesh. (Bribe in Arabic.) Basically everyone in Egypt can be bought. Police will accept a bribe to show you a closed tomb. Cab drivers expect it. Bathroom attendants want it. I’m done with it. No more baksheesh from this lady.

6. Bargaining. I hate bargaining. Enough said.

5. Western women stereotypes. Nearly all Egyptian men think western women are whores. I don’t exaggerate this point at all. They don’t just think the women are slutty….they think they are prostitutes. This notion is largely from American cinema and then fueled by the scantly clad women tourists who visit the country. It will be nice to head to a country (Greece first and then America) where tank tops, white skin, and showing off ones knees do not equal being a whore.

4. Flushing toilet paper. It’s a simple as it sounds. The Egyptian septic system can’t handle toilet paper so it is thrown in a trash can beside the loo. Won’t miss this at all.

3. Islamic Society. I have learned so much from living in a muslim culture, yet I will be very happy to return to a secular society where religion takes, at least somewhat of a backseat to the functions of society. You may not have known this but Egypt actually has it written in the Constitution that polytheism and atheism are illegal. Can you believe it? I was incredibly frustrated with Egyptian society one night, and began a Stella (Egyptian beer) induced rant about how I was converting to polytheism and adhereing to the Olympian order. Oppression really makes me want to rock the boat! Of course add frustration with a foreign culture, a couple of beers, 110 degree heat, and maybe you too would want to change religions to make a statement. I have since calmed down.

2. The pollution. Living in a city of 20 million people is bad for my asthma. My lungs hate me.

1. Solicitation from Egyptian men manifesting itself often as kissy noises and crude Arabic slurs. I HATE this about Egypt. A woman can’t walk anywhere in this country without being objectified in terrible ways. Until my ipod finally died (RIP Dex) I would walk around the streets when I was alone with my sunglasses on and my ipod in so I would not hear the taunting. After Dex broke I had the opportunity to practice my glare and got to shout “la’ah” (hell no) or “harram” (forbidden) at my offenders in Arabic. You grow a little callous to it, sure, but wow is it ever annoying! What is even more annoying is that this does not happen when you walk with men. Because women are men’s property you know!! Aaahhhh!!! Before I leave I am ordering Egypt a sexual revolution. Stat.

10 Things I WILL Miss About Cairo

10. The prices. Egypt is a cheap country to live in, can’t beat that.

9. History. I love ancient history. Being surrounded by the pyramids and easy access to history I have only seen in books so far is incredible. America is a young country. We restore buildings to how they looked “over fifty years ago” (all the Eddie Izzard fans will love that). Life here is much older: you can feel it, you can see it.

8. Kushari. One of Egypt’s finest contributions to cuisine. A delicate combination of rice, pasta, lentils, dried onions, chickpeas, and tomato sauce that is AMAZING. Kushari joints are little hole in the wall restaurants where all you can order is kushari in small, medium, or large. A small kushari and a bottle of water for lunch cost about 5 Egyptian pounds or $0.90. Can’t beat that!

7. Teaching English in Giza. I hope to blog about this experience in greater depth later, but while I was here I worked with a refugee program and taught English to Iraqi refugees and Christian evacuees from Upper Egypt twice a week. Each trip out to Giza took about an hour via microbus and trekking through slums, but the journeys were all worth it. My students where so warm and kind they absolutely made my day each time I saw them. It was the hi-light of my week for five weeks.

6. Sheesha. This is an Egyptian past time that I love! Sheesha, or hooka, is flavored tobacco smoked through a water pipe. The streets of Cairo are lined with sheesha bars that help fill Cairo with some wonderful smells. I would often sit in these sheesha joints until all hours of the morning spending time with my friends. Bars are not how people spend time together here as Muslims do not drink alcohol, sheesha is their vice and it’s a good one.

5. Turkish Coffee. Lots and lots of Turkish coffee.

4. The poverty. I know this may seem like a strange thing to miss but for me it is a great learning experience each and every day. I have had a lot of time to think here in Cairo. Mostly I spend this time fretting about my life; student loans, career path, failed relationships, and the rest of life than can get me into a pretty yucky place if I let it. Here though, you can’t think too much about yourself. Society won’t let you. It’s hard to think that your life is hard when you pass mothers with month old babies and old women in the streets who try and sell packets of tissue to make enough money to eat. There are also throngs of street children, mostly boys, who have been kicked out of their homes (mostly because once boys hit the age of 13 they can’t be alone with women according to Islamic law, and since most of their families live in one room homes the boys are left to their own devices) and left to beg on the street. About 30% of them die within one year. All of a sudden my life looks easy. I hope to bottle this feeling and carry it with me wherever I go.

3. Fruit juice. Pulp lovers would be so at home here in Egypt. All of their fruit juices are basically blended versions of the fruit. Strawberry and Mango are my favorite, you can bet money that I am going to drink as many as I can in the next four days!

2. Public Transport. I love my Jeep but give me a metro and bus system and I don’t think I would ever drive.

1. My friends. I have met some of the most amazing human beings here in Cairo. They come from all over the globe: Australia, Lebanon, Switzerland, England, and the US. I will miss them all terribly when I leave. They made my trip here a wonderful experience and I am deeply grateful.

I suppose those lists don’t sum it all up, but it comes pretty close. I really did love Egypt. I would never want to live here full time, but I got to see a side of the country most tourists never see. Though, I am happy to be returning home and will never be more excited to see a Starbucks venti soy latte, I will miss it here. I learned so much. I felt so much. I even ended up with a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the day of its release. You can’t ask for more than that.

Crypt Spelunking and Other Fun in Alexandria

On my first weekend here in Egypt our group took a trip up to the Mediterranean coast to visit Alexandria. The city was founded by Macedonian explorer, conqueror, and all around “great” guy, Alexander in 323 b.c.e. Alexandria quickly usurped Memphis as Egypt’s capital during Alexander’s time, serving as a vibrant port city and cultural center. This period also marked the end of what we know as Pharonic Egypt and ushered in Greek, and eventually Roman influence that would survive until the Arab Conquest of Egypt in the 800’s. Sadly, most of what made up ancient Alexandria was lost to fire (thank you Roman empire) and earthquake. Today Alexandria is Egypt’s second largest city and, in sharp contrast to those who founded it, it is a very conservative Muslim town (even more so than Cairo).

Crypt Spelunking

The first sightseeing excursion our group went on in Alexandria was to the Roman catacombs. After a long spiral decent into the ground, the path opened up into a somewhat large space with benches and pillars that served as a banquet and entertainment hall for family and friends of the recently interred. A party in a grave. Interesting.

There are two levels of the catacombs open for viewing. Other levels, three or four are speculated, are completely submerged in water. The second level was extremely interesting as that is where all of the important folks, generals and such, were buried. Reliefs, statues, and carvings did absolute justice to their counterparts across the Mediterranean. In homage to the new land, however, the subject of the carvings reflected ancient Egyptian iconography. Imagine that, Romans copying some other societies gods and art! I know they’re copycats, but I love them anyway.

The main chambers were great and all, but the best fun was had when a small sect of our group began what I lovingly refer to as crypt spelunking. Some of the corridors in the catacombs were blocked off due to water. There were, however, many rooms that could be accessed by climbing over crypts and crawling on hands and knees through tunnels. This is what we crypt spelunkers engaged in unabashedly until we were chased out by a very angry man. Oh, well. There is certainly a lot of fun that can be had in a country that has no Tort law and signs posted in a language that bears no resemblance to English. Due to preservation restrictions I have no photos of these shenanigans. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

The Roman Amphitheatre

Away from the Cornice, where most of the historical landmarks are, archaeologists found a Roman Amphitheatre. Though dwarfed by its cousins in Italy and Turkey, this theatre certainly had charm. The preservation alone was extremely remarkable. I even stood in the lectern spot (a point in the middle of the stage where the acoustics are perfect) and may or may not have said, “friends, Romans, countrymen! Lend me your ears!” Okay, I did, but what else do you say when in an ancient theatre. For some reason, “testing, 1, 2, 3” seems like a dreadful bore.

Pompey’s Pillar

Though named after the famous Pompey of Julius Caesar’s time, the pillar was not built for him or by him. In fact, it is likely a mishap of history that it is called that at all. Uninformed Egyptian tour guides will try telling you some hullabaloo about how Pompey’s head is buried under the pillar, but it is simply not true.

The pillar itself is quite an impressive structure. It is over two hundred feet of solid red granite on a hill overlooking the sea. There are also two Roman sphinx copies (i know *gasp) flanking the pillar as if to guard it. As with the Roman theatre, and most sites in Egypt really, there are ongoing archaeological digs uncovering new things each day. The Rough Guide to Egypt, a book has become my best friend, 2005 edition remarked that Pompey’s Pillar was rather unimpressive. Two years later, this statement is not true. Paying a small bribe (or baksheesh in Arabic) to some police officers afforded my small group the ability to enter some dig sites. Surrounding the pillar is an ancient city waiting to be uncovered. We wandered down a long corridor on marble steps visible under the dirt and dust to what our guide was calling a library. He was wrong of course, as most tour guides are. The were large cutaways in the walls that he insisted was where the Romans put their books. Romans did not have books. Rather they used scrolls which were stored in small holes in the wall, not big ones. Whatever the true function of this part of the ancient is yet to be determined, but give Egypt about another 50 years and the site around Pompey’s pillar will be incredible to behold.

Fort Qaitbey

This magnificently restored fort was built in 1480 on the site of Pharos. Pharos was Alexandria’s great lighthouse that is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (Props to Egypt for claiming two out of the seven, the other being the pyramids of Giza!) Fort Qaitbey has a beautiful mosque in its center and looks like a perfect Lego castle.

Our larger tour group attempted to visit the fort on Saturday but did not arrive in time. (I visited the fort on Sunday with a smaller group.) Deciding to make the best of it, our group leader gave us an hour to wander around the fort and take in the sites. Following the example of local children, (an arguably bad idea) members of our group began climbing the fence surrounding the fort in order to go play on the rocks of the coast. I, naturally joined them, as did the director of our program. After a few great group photos a child ran around the corner and yelled, in Arabic, “Police!” The next few moments were filled with running, yelling, and scrambling over the fence before we got in trouble. I don’t really think the Antiquities Police cared that much, but it makes a great story.

Bibliotheca Alexandria

If you are familiar with ancient history you will know that Alexandria is most famous for its ancient library. Thanks to Julius Caesar the library was destroyed in 48 b.c.e. by fire when he went to the aid of Cleopatra in defense against her brother Ptolemy XIII. Such a shame. Sometimes people just don’t think things through. It is amazing and sad to imagine what the world would be like today if those 400,000 manuscripts were not destroyed. In those times Alexandria had the largest library the world had ever known. Unlike other libraries, such as the ones in the Middle Ages which were limited to Christian texts, Alexandria welcomed “the writings of all nations.”

The new Bibliotheca Alexandria was completed in 2002 and was built in the spirit of its ancient predecessor. Etchings on the outside of the building come from every known written language on Earth. The design is beautifully modern yet pays homage to the history on which it is based. One day Bibliotheca Alexandria hopes to achieve the title of the worlds best library again.

Ok, Camel and the Mountain of Moses

Climbing Mt. Sinai has been one of the most amazing things I have done in my life, let alone here in Egypt. The peninsula itself bears no resemblance to any other landscape I have ever seen. Craggy brown rock mountains go on and on, as far as the eye can see, with nearly zero vegetation. I have been made fun of for this, but I find the best way to think of it is like the land of Mordor in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” Minus the scary eye of Sauron and Mt. Doom of course. It takes an eight hour bus ride to get from Cairo to the town of St. Catherine’s which is home to a famous Coptic Monastery and Mt. Sinai itself.

The Monastery of St. Catherine’s has quite an amazing history. Built in 527 c.e. (common era) to enclose what was believed to be the burning bush and the well where Moses me his wife, Zipporah, it has remained largely unchanged for 1500 years. The monastery began as one of the first Christian Orthodox churches. (The proper term would be Coptic Orthodox. Coptic meaning Egyptian, coming from the Greek of Egyptos to Copt.) It’s ability to survive this long is due directly to the Prophet Mohammad himself. During the Arab Conquest of Egypt in the 800’s the Prophet recognized the church’s significance to not only the Christian and Jewish faiths, but to Islam as well. The monastery is seen as holy to Muslims, Christians, and Jews to this day.

Though the monastery itself is fascinating, it is no secret that it is on the tourist map mainly because Mt. Sinai is out its back door, so to speak. There is some debate currently as to whether or not the Mt. Sinai of today was really the Mt. Sinai of Moses’ time. Other contenders are Mt. Saint Catherine’s, which can be seen from the top of Mt. Sinai, and is the tallest peak in Egypt, or a lesser known mountain on the outskirts of the Sinai peninsula. The debate mostly focuses on where the Israelite army could have camped while Moses was atop the mountain, large valley areas etc. Which ever mountain was the real one seems trivial when you stand at the summit and watch the sun rise.

The best way to climb Mt. Sinai is starting around 2 a.m. (needing around 3 hrs. to reach the peak) in order to snag a cozy spot on a rock to watch the sun crest over the mountain range. Our group followed this typical plan. I must admit that I did not climb all of way myself, much as I wanted to do so. Like most of my travel companions here I have suffered from Pharaoh’s revenge (you know stomach distress of extreme proportions) and was not quite feeling up to par. I like to think that I got the better end of the deal, though, because I got to ride a camel most of the way up.

I know I’m not an expert camel rider, but I sure do think it’s a great time. My first ride was on Christmas Eve 2005 on the coast of the Indian Ocean with my friend Emily wearing a Santa hat on a camel named Suzuki. Hard to beat, I know. This ride was completely different. Away from all of Cairo’s pollution (which has taken up permanent residence in my lungs it seems) the view of the night sky surrounded by the jagged peaks of the mountains was amazing. The first part of my camel journey was a bit rougher than the last. I got my camel from a guy who had two camels. Only one of me. The Bedouin camel guides are nothing if not savvy business men, so having only one rider when he had two camels was simply no good. This meant that he rode in front of me, on his other camel, following closely behind my two buddies, Micky and Nuri. Every time Micky fell a step behind Nuri the guide would say, “Ok, Camel. Camel now. Good camel. Ok, Camel.” This was annoying. There was one point when I actually asked Micky and Nuri if the guy was on a cell phone (it was night and I couldn’t see) because he literally did not stop talking. “Ok, camel. Good camel.” Thankfully the crazy Bedouin yelling ended when we passed another woman on our trip who thought she wanted a lift. Turns out she was wrong. Riding a camel for her was about a 25 second trip of terror. The guide then wanted my friend to pay him the full amount they agreed upon, around $20, for a ride of less than a minute. Lucky for me, another Bedouin came along (a quiet one) leading me away from the argument and the rest of the way up the mountain. “Ok, camel.”

The ascent up the mountain was peaceful (once the yelling stopped). Sitting astride my camel I had to trust the animals surefooted-ness in the dark as much of the time we were walking along steep ravines. Silence seemed to fill up the night, the only sights were millions of stars contained in craggy outlines of the Sinai mountains and the silhouettes of lumbering camels ahead of me in sharp contrast against the sky.

The director of our program mentioned to us that climbing Mt. Sinai could be a very spiritual time full of reflection and clarity. I found myself not thinking much of anything, but rather enjoying the stillness. One thing that I did come to understand on the assent: climbing Mt. Sinai must be as close as you can come on Earth to feeling like you are walking up to God. People

thousands of years ago thought this, and people today feel it too. There is something surreal about being surrounded by mountains and mountains of nothing but rock, cliff faces of solid granite, where the only water is in the bottle you brought with you. The emptiness and majesty are amazing. Religions the world over have believed that following God is not easy, the path is narrow and dangerous. Mt. Sinai is a beautiful metaphor for this belief. Climbing the mountain is not easy, there are many obstacles in the way, survival is dependent on faith (in others or yourself), and whether or not this is the place where Moses really spoke to God doesn’t matter much. The people believe it to be and so to them it is.

I said goodbye to my camel for the last leg of the trip, and began to climb the 6000 steps to the summit. The steps were built by Coptic monks in the 7th century and have survived remarkably well for 1400 years. My journey ended somewhere around 5:00 a.m. on the top of Mt. Sinai. There is not much up there besides the remains of a small mosque and a tiny church. Plenty of room, however, for the 300 or so who choose to make the pilgrimage each night. I found a seat on the edge of the rock face and waited on the sun.

Promptly at 6 a.m. the sun crested the mountain range and began to shed light on the night’s journey. I knew I had chosen a seat on the edge of the rock face, but in the light the thousand or so foot drop became amazingly clear. Fear is not something I really feel, but I was reminded of how very close to the edge we come sometimes and how very lucky we should feel to know we have not lost our footing. The sunrise brought more than light to the area, it also brought singing, praying, wailing, crying, and even people speaking in tongs. Regardless of what faith you cleave to, if any, the sight, sounds, and people where profoundly moving. It made the nights journey of stumbling in the dark, falling and slipping on the steps, pulling muscles, and near misses all worth it.

The descent was not nearly as remarkable as the climb yet did provide some time for really appreciating what had be accomplished in the dark. Most people said that if they would have seen the path during the day they never would have done it, they were all glad they went though. Just as I was.

I have to end this post with an experience I can’t claim as my own but that I bore witness to and found deeply touching. One of my fiends in the program worked extremely hard throughout the night in an attempt to reach the summit by sunrise. Despite her best efforts, she did not make it. She reached the top of the mountain about 20 minutes after the sun had risen and this normally happy woman was reduced to tears because she felt like she failed. We all tried to cheer her up, but had little success. When we began climbing down the stairs we passed a tiny Italian woman in her 80’s who was finishing her climb. My friend saw the woman almost fall and caught her. The woman was extremely grateful and began climbing again a little unsure of herself. At this point we were about 200 feet down from the summit. My friend noticed the woman’s hesitation, so she linked arms with her and they climbed the summit together. The Italian woman turned to my friend at the top kissed her hand, smiled, and walked away. When my friend returned all of her frustrations of not reaching the summit in time for sunrise were gone and she was thrilled to have been able to help someone else with the same difficulty she faced. Our outlooks are all about the perspectives we take. Maybe you did not reach the summit in time to see the sunrise, but you did cross paths with a stranger in time to stop them from falling and made their path a little easier. Reminders of what is important are nice. We should all be so lucky.