Monday, October 8, 2012
It's almost "Adieu" to Egypt :(
Well, our visit to Egypt is almost over. I've been thinking about it today and it makes me sad. I feel like I've just gotten used to this place and comfortable here, and now we're uprooting ourselves and going to another place that will take me a while to get used to. Totally different culture, totally different area (rural instead of urban), different languages, etc. It's hard to be prepared for India when I just got used to Egypt. However, I'm also really excited!
On Saturday a couple of us went to the Cairo Operahouse and saw the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. It was beautiful and they played Beethoven and Schumann. It was a beautiful, classy show, and our tickets were only 6 US dollars (35 Egyptian pounds)! It was nice to hear music again and made me realize how much I miss St. Olaf music.
Yesterday we had our last day of touring in Egypt. Our tour guide took us to Old Cairo, which consists of a lot of mosques built in the 800s AD and onward. We went to Ahmad Ibn-Tulun's mosque, which was different from the mosques we saw in Turkey because it was open air and had a huge courtyard with a fountain, as well as columned halls called riwaqs and a large minaret with a spiral staircase. That minaret was fantastic, especially when we found out we could climb to the top! We climbed up the spiral staircase and got to what we thought was the top, with a small wall that only went to my knees and no guard rail. There are no guardrails in Egypt that I've seen yet and a couple of us surmised that this was probably because everything in Islam is up to the will of Allah--whether you fall or not! It's all in God's will, so if it happens it was meant to be. Anyway, at the top you realize that you're not actually at the top, and you can take a smaller spiral staircase to a circular room with large windows at the very tip top. When you step out of the windows you find yourself on a two-foot ledge with no wall, no guardrail, no nothin'! You look down and see the people on the streets looking like ants and in front of you is the skyline of Cairo, at least some of it because it's so smoggy you can't see much. It was literally breathtaking because it was so beautiful but you also realized how perilous it was. We took some pictures and then got down pretty fast. After this we went to two more mosques that were very intricate and then we went on a bus tour of Cairo with our main professor from Egypt. He took us to the quarries that house the wealthier people of Cairo because here they are outside of the polluted air of the city (that land is in high demand, if you can afford it!). We also saw part of the slum ring that surrounds the city and a lot of illegally built apartments in the middle of the city. I actually fell down the bus stairs that day, badly bruising my leg (it's the biggest bruise I've ever had) and hurting my foot, so I didn't listen to much of his lecture because I was in pain! I'm better now though.
Today was a day of studying. Study study study. That's all I did all day, except for lunch and dinner breaks. We got delicious falafel, mango popsicles, and milky rice for dessert and I also had a piece of chocolate cake. No sweets for a while for me--I'm almost sick of them after that!
Our final test is tomorrow--wish me luck!
On Saturday a couple of us went to the Cairo Operahouse and saw the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. It was beautiful and they played Beethoven and Schumann. It was a beautiful, classy show, and our tickets were only 6 US dollars (35 Egyptian pounds)! It was nice to hear music again and made me realize how much I miss St. Olaf music.
Yesterday we had our last day of touring in Egypt. Our tour guide took us to Old Cairo, which consists of a lot of mosques built in the 800s AD and onward. We went to Ahmad Ibn-Tulun's mosque, which was different from the mosques we saw in Turkey because it was open air and had a huge courtyard with a fountain, as well as columned halls called riwaqs and a large minaret with a spiral staircase. That minaret was fantastic, especially when we found out we could climb to the top! We climbed up the spiral staircase and got to what we thought was the top, with a small wall that only went to my knees and no guard rail. There are no guardrails in Egypt that I've seen yet and a couple of us surmised that this was probably because everything in Islam is up to the will of Allah--whether you fall or not! It's all in God's will, so if it happens it was meant to be. Anyway, at the top you realize that you're not actually at the top, and you can take a smaller spiral staircase to a circular room with large windows at the very tip top. When you step out of the windows you find yourself on a two-foot ledge with no wall, no guardrail, no nothin'! You look down and see the people on the streets looking like ants and in front of you is the skyline of Cairo, at least some of it because it's so smoggy you can't see much. It was literally breathtaking because it was so beautiful but you also realized how perilous it was. We took some pictures and then got down pretty fast. After this we went to two more mosques that were very intricate and then we went on a bus tour of Cairo with our main professor from Egypt. He took us to the quarries that house the wealthier people of Cairo because here they are outside of the polluted air of the city (that land is in high demand, if you can afford it!). We also saw part of the slum ring that surrounds the city and a lot of illegally built apartments in the middle of the city. I actually fell down the bus stairs that day, badly bruising my leg (it's the biggest bruise I've ever had) and hurting my foot, so I didn't listen to much of his lecture because I was in pain! I'm better now though.
Today was a day of studying. Study study study. That's all I did all day, except for lunch and dinner breaks. We got delicious falafel, mango popsicles, and milky rice for dessert and I also had a piece of chocolate cake. No sweets for a while for me--I'm almost sick of them after that!
Our final test is tomorrow--wish me luck!
Friday, October 5, 2012
 |
| The Felucca! |
 |
| A giant statue of Ramses II |
 |
| The Step Pyramid |
Today we toured Memphis and Sakkara! There were a LOT of things to see so we woke up at 8 am to get going on the bus. First we went to Memphis where we saw yet another open air museum and learned about how Ramses II always put his name on statues that weren't even of him (they were of previous pharoahs) so that's why he has the most statues to this day. Ancient identity theft! We also saw a gigantic statue of him taken from the Ramesseum (a temple he built) that took up a whole building. And it wasn't even the whole statue! After this we went to a museum in Sakkara with remnants of ancient tombs (Sakkara is an ancient cemetery) and then went to see the tombs of some nobles. They consist of a mastaba, which is the mound or building built over a shaft with hieroglyphs everywhere and offering tables, and then a shaft leading to a burial chamber. These shafts were so deep, we couldn't see the bottom of some! We also saw the Step Pyramid built by King Djoser who tried to build a pyramid but couldn't get it exactly right... and the huge complex around it had a temple and shrines and all sorts of interesting ruins, along with tons of stray dogs that greeted you as you stepped off of the bus. It's the last 5 days in Egypt, I can't believe our time here is almost up! It's crazy to think about. I feel ready to go to India though. Here's some pictures from the day!
 |
| The narrow gangplank leading up from an underground tomb |
 |
| Stray dogs are EVERYWHERE |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Since we got back from Alexandria, our week has been full of classes for the most part! Today I went to small group dinner with Paul and Julie (our awesome professors) and the seven of us talked about observations we've made about Egyptian society. There were both positive and negative encounters with the people around us: some people were treated by the Egyptians with contempt and fear at times, while others of us had had pleasant encounters with the people around us. It's been hard to experience true Egyptian life when we're on Zamalek island, which is very westernized and full of AUC students. But from going to the Khan al-Kalili bazaar and talking to people there, I've had great encounters with people who ask where I'm from and, when hearing I'm from America, they say "Ah, America. Very good people. You are welcome here." However, there have also been catcalls and people who aren't as friendly, but I haven't had any openly hostile encounters. One thing I really have contemplated on is the view I'd created of Arab nations in my mind, before I came to Egypt. I'd thought they were pretty unhappy people and not very friendly, especially when I hear them speak in Arabic. Arabic is a harsh-sounding language and it always sounds like people are yelling at each other here. However, I was in a taxi with a really nice Egyptian driver who knew English on my way to Khan al-Kalili. At one point a motorcycle sharply cut in front of us from out of nowhere, and the driver shouted something to our taxi driver, who in return shouted something back. It sounded like a nasty exchange to me and I asked him what he'd said. He replied that the motorcyclist had said something to the extent of "I'm coming in, watch out for me" and our taxi driver had responded with a phrase meaning "Do not be afraid, I won't hurt you/I'll let you by." I thought that was a beautiful back-and-forth and I was shocked that what I thought was a bitter exchange was actually very friendly. It made me rethink my opinion on a lot of stereotypes I'd had of Arab nations and wonder whether they were accurate. We talked a lot about this at dinner, as well as the experiences other people had. It was pretty thought-provoking!
After dinner, we got a big group of us students to go on a felucca ride down the Nile! A felucca is a small boat with lights all over it, and we just sat and played music and danced for 2 hours, watching other boats go by and acting out songs from Moulin Rouge. It was a blast.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
This weekend was full of guess what-- even MORE touring! We took a bus to Alexandria in northern Egypt, stopping on the way at a Coptic Christian monastery and getting the tour from one of the monks there. It was interesting, and very different from anything I've seen before. When we got to Alexandria we had free time because we weren't touring until the next day so we walked in the area around the hotel and found a Four Seasons Hotel, with a MALL inside of it. A five-story mall, to be exact. It was insane--we walked around for hours just to cover all the floors and we got yummy gelato. It felt nice to be in a mall and it almost felt like we were back in the United States. Apparently the malls in South Korea will put this one to shame though, according to some other people on Global. Can't wait to see those.
The next day (Saturday) we went to Qaitbey Citadel, which is a fort standing on Alexandria's Royal Harbor in the Mediterranean Sea. It's the site of the old Lighthouse of Alexandria which was one of the ancient wonders of the world, but was ruined so Qaitbey built a fort where it used to stand. This fort was one of my favorite sites so far because it reminded me of my dad (he likes to take us to see forts) and it had a gorgeous view of the sea and fun rooms everywhere to explore. And cannons. I like cannons. We took tons of pictures and I felt like we didn't have enough time there, but we headed over to the catacombs of Alexandria. They were rediscovered in the 1900s when a donkey fell into them, and they were spooky and half full of water--the third floor down into the earth is blocked off because it's entirely flooded. After this we went to see Pompey's Pillar, the only remnant of ancient Alexandria that is still intact in the city, and then to a Roman amphitheater. This was really fascinating because it is the only Roman amphitheater in Egypt and it's pretty small but there is a circle in the center that amplifies your voice through the whole theater when you stand on it. It sounds like you're in a cathedral all of a sudden when you stand there! We had a lot of fun with that. Finally, we went to the great Library of Alexandria. The original library was ancient but it burned down and they built a modern library in 2002 but it's still extremely amazing and very modern looking. The whole building was designed by a Norwegian architect to look like the rising sun and there is a planetarium next to it that, from an aerial view, is meant to look like Earth circling the sun (the library). The whole idea is pretty cool, and the library was huge and had multiple museum exhibits inside, as well as five levels of computers and books. I loved it there and I wish I had brought a book to be able to read in the Library of Alexandria. We got a lot of looks there from all of the college students and many young Egyptian girls came up and asked to take pictures with the blonde girls in our group. It was funny. After all this touring a couple of us went to the market, bought pomegranates, and ate them by the Mediterranean Sea.
Today we woke up and saw the World War II museum, the World War II cemetery, and the German memorial from WWII. It was completely new to me to learn about WWII from an Egyptian perspective!
We got back to Cairo safely and now have class tomorrow again. It's been a good and eventful weekend!
The next day (Saturday) we went to Qaitbey Citadel, which is a fort standing on Alexandria's Royal Harbor in the Mediterranean Sea. It's the site of the old Lighthouse of Alexandria which was one of the ancient wonders of the world, but was ruined so Qaitbey built a fort where it used to stand. This fort was one of my favorite sites so far because it reminded me of my dad (he likes to take us to see forts) and it had a gorgeous view of the sea and fun rooms everywhere to explore. And cannons. I like cannons. We took tons of pictures and I felt like we didn't have enough time there, but we headed over to the catacombs of Alexandria. They were rediscovered in the 1900s when a donkey fell into them, and they were spooky and half full of water--the third floor down into the earth is blocked off because it's entirely flooded. After this we went to see Pompey's Pillar, the only remnant of ancient Alexandria that is still intact in the city, and then to a Roman amphitheater. This was really fascinating because it is the only Roman amphitheater in Egypt and it's pretty small but there is a circle in the center that amplifies your voice through the whole theater when you stand on it. It sounds like you're in a cathedral all of a sudden when you stand there! We had a lot of fun with that. Finally, we went to the great Library of Alexandria. The original library was ancient but it burned down and they built a modern library in 2002 but it's still extremely amazing and very modern looking. The whole building was designed by a Norwegian architect to look like the rising sun and there is a planetarium next to it that, from an aerial view, is meant to look like Earth circling the sun (the library). The whole idea is pretty cool, and the library was huge and had multiple museum exhibits inside, as well as five levels of computers and books. I loved it there and I wish I had brought a book to be able to read in the Library of Alexandria. We got a lot of looks there from all of the college students and many young Egyptian girls came up and asked to take pictures with the blonde girls in our group. It was funny. After all this touring a couple of us went to the market, bought pomegranates, and ate them by the Mediterranean Sea.
Today we woke up and saw the World War II museum, the World War II cemetery, and the German memorial from WWII. It was completely new to me to learn about WWII from an Egyptian perspective!
We got back to Cairo safely and now have class tomorrow again. It's been a good and eventful weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)