I spent the past 5 days in Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort "city" in the Sinai on the Red Sea. I say "city" because no one actually lives here besides the people who work at the hotels and restaurants. Bascically, the entire town consists of hotels, one after another, on the beach, with desert and mountains behind. It's packed - you can barely see the sand because it's covered in beach chairs, restaurants, volleyball courts, etc.
Despite that, it's beautiful - the water is crystal clear and there are reefs right off the beach with huge, colorful fish swimming around, the mountains in the back are fantastic, and the weather is perfect every day. I can see why it's such a tourist destination!
My first day in Sharm I went snorkeling, and unfortunately forgot to bring my camera. The water was perfect and the scenery - views of Sharm and the mountains - was beautiful. But of course, the best was underwater. The reefs themselves were probably the best I've seen, but that's not saying much as I've mostly seen dead coral. But the fish were out of this world - thousands of fish, all different shapes and sizes, and some of the most vivid colors I've ever seen. Really unbelievable.
Although I spent most of the rest of my time in Sharm delirious in bed (apparently Egyptian food isn't so good for me), I did make it out to climb Mt. Sinai. The Sinai trip begins at 11pm, for a 3 hour drive to the foot of the mountain. Still sick, this wasn't so pleasant - especially since the driver (typical for Egypt) decided that 100 km/hr (fast for Egypt) through the desert "roads" wasn't fast enough for him.
At the foot of the mountain, we were met by a Bedouin guide and given two options - the 7km hike, or riding a camel almost to the top. Perhaps it was the fever talking, but I decided that on this spiritual journey I had to walk up myself, even though I couldn't really stand up straight. Ah well. It was about a 3 hour walk up, and I was joined by the guide and a man from Spain who's lived all over the world and spent the walk telling interesting stories.
I love sunrise hikes - the walk at night is an adventure and all the sudden when the sun comes up, you see a whole world you didn't realize was there. I watched the sunrise from a landing slightly short of the top (the hardest part is at the end, and I thought it in my best interest to stay below), which was actually a better decision as the top was packed with people and tour groups and my landing was very uncrowded. I was joined only by an Irish middle aged couple, who were hilarious and my kind of travelers - always looking for the next adventure (they booked tickets for Thailand after I told them about riding elephants).
The Sinai desert is spectacular to see, especially at sunrise. The entire penisula is covered by mountains the turn red at sunrise, and there's no vegetation for miles. It's beautiful, and my pictures only tell half the story. If anyone is inspired to go to Sinai for the beautiful beaches, I urge you to take a side trip into the desert.
The hike down was mostly uneventful, but with more amazing views. At the bottom, we ate breakfast and then toured the Monastery of St. Katherine, built around the "burning bush" and at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The monastery was interesting to see as a piece of architecture. It was built in the 4th century and the structure is interesting... check out my pictures! I spent a lot of time speaking with a Kuwaiti couple (also in our group) about pretty much everything - religion, politics (American and otherwise), women's rights, trafficking, the rentier economy. It was a really interesting conversation, and it was a shame that we didn't have much time to talk. As it turns out, her best friend graduated from Georgetown the same year as me and is currently living in Cairo, so I'm hoping we can get together before I leave.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Luxor and Suzanne Mubarak, part II
I want to start this entry by apologizing in advance for anyone who has visited Egypt as part of an organized tour group. I don't mean to offend anyone...
My strongest impression of Luxor – even more than the phenomenal monuments – was the detrimental impact of tourism on this beautiful part of Egypt. Because big tour agencies dominate the area, they also control the prices. Tours are generally booked overseas (UK, US, Germany, etc) and most of the money stays there. Tour guides, drivers, etc are paid very little, and are forced to “moonlight” in often unsavory professions (frequently male prostitution). Hotels also aren’t making enough money. At the same time, because of the increase in tourists, many people who traditionally worked on family farms are leaving traditionally employment to work as beggars, in hotel housekeeping, drivers, selling tourist items, etc. This leaves their families very vulnerable, as their traditional livelihoods are disturbed.
On top of this, tourists are totally oblivious. Almost all the tourists are, predictably, from Western countries and are completely ignorant of modern Egypt and Egyptian life and culture. The most obvious example was the American girl wearing a tube top with her stomach showing, short-shorts that were much closer to underwear, and a traditional kafiyah. People show no respect for the Egyptians who serve them their $15 martinis. Despite these problems surrounding tourism, however, people are remarkably upbeat and can still find humor even in the worst of times.
My visit happened to coincide with a visit by Suzanne Mubarak, President Mubarak’s wife, who was in town opening a library. Wads of money were spent in the weeks prior to her visit in beautifying the town. This led to a lot of resentment among the people of Luxor, and prompted several conversations on people’s opinions on Mubarak and the Egyptian government. I was very surprised by people’s knowledge of the issues and by their openness in raising negative aspects of their country and government (very different from what I faced in Aswan and Cairo).
People were overwhelmingly against Mubarak, frustrated by his rule, frustrated by the lack of democracy, and angered by pandering to foreigners (in particular, the tourist sector) at the expense of their own people. Some of the more interesting comments/stories:
- One man told of his attempt to vote in the presidential election. He went to the ballot box, and had his finger stamped (to show that he voted), and was told to go home. He said that he hadn’t voted yet, and the man running the booth held up a ballot with “Mubarak” marked and said “Yes you have.”
- One woman spoke of what comes next – ie, plans for a post-Mubarak government. Conventional wisdom holds that Gamal Mubarak, his son and generally assumed to be very weak, will follow. This woman believed strongly that civil war would follow immediately, and that would probably be preferable to the Mubaraks.
- One man spoke of the corruption surrounding the building of Suzanne Mubarak’s library. The official cost of the library was $100,000, but the actual cost ran up over $1 million because of under-the-table payoffs. In a city that is desperately poor, this man was appalled by this system in which those in power get richer and more powerful while the poor suffer more.
- One man reacted angrily when I suggested that tourists be encouraged to donate to local causes, saying that Egypt is a rich country (in terms of resources and tourism income), and could provide for itself without the corruption and misplaced priorities of the Egyptian government.
Lastly, I want to talk some more about the poverty. Those of you on my email lists two years ago may remember my stories of poverty in Cambodia (or my mother’s), and the difficulty in not buying crappy postcards from everyone starving child you meet. It’s beyond depressing to see these children suffering, and the knowledge that even 10 cents would mean so much to them – and the constant refrain of “you can’t save everyone” doesn’t really help.
What does help is more knowledge of these children (and it is, overwhelmingly, children). Throughout the world, the poor children who surround tourist sites begging or selling cheap things rarely profit from the sales they make. In the worst case scenarios, these children are being controlled by older children or adults in a gang-like scenario, in which they’re forced or coerced into begging/selling things and have to turn over all the money they receive. Even in the least-exploitative situations, they are often performing the same function for their parents, who keep them out of school because they can earn more money this way. Regardless, the story is much more complex than it can appear to you as an outsider, and giving them money will not help to alleviate the situation long-term.
When faced with these dilemmas, I urge all of you to save the money to donate to organizations that work on sustainable interventions to bring these families out of poverty, through microfinance initiatives, skills trainings, formal education, medical services, etc. I’ve listed below some of my favorite international organizations that do this work, but also check out local organizations in your country of interest as they often do twice the work for half the price. I’d be more than happy to help anyone find an organization they believe in and would be willing to support financially; just leave a comment on the blog or email me.
Last note: I traveled around Luxor with an amazing travel agency, run by a British couple, which tries to work more within the communities and support Egyptians, while showing tourists the real Egypt. The Quest for the Egyptian Adventure is a fantastic organization (and their tours were some of the best I’ve had), and I highly recommend that you use them if you’re planning a trip to Egypt – http://www.questfortheegyptianadventure.com/.
International organizations:
Save the Children
CARE International
Heifer International
Doctors Without Borders
UNICEF
World Food Programme
Update (6/30): An error was brought to my attention: I neglected to mention Women for Women International, a great organization doing grassroots work worldwide.
My strongest impression of Luxor – even more than the phenomenal monuments – was the detrimental impact of tourism on this beautiful part of Egypt. Because big tour agencies dominate the area, they also control the prices. Tours are generally booked overseas (UK, US, Germany, etc) and most of the money stays there. Tour guides, drivers, etc are paid very little, and are forced to “moonlight” in often unsavory professions (frequently male prostitution). Hotels also aren’t making enough money. At the same time, because of the increase in tourists, many people who traditionally worked on family farms are leaving traditionally employment to work as beggars, in hotel housekeeping, drivers, selling tourist items, etc. This leaves their families very vulnerable, as their traditional livelihoods are disturbed.
On top of this, tourists are totally oblivious. Almost all the tourists are, predictably, from Western countries and are completely ignorant of modern Egypt and Egyptian life and culture. The most obvious example was the American girl wearing a tube top with her stomach showing, short-shorts that were much closer to underwear, and a traditional kafiyah. People show no respect for the Egyptians who serve them their $15 martinis. Despite these problems surrounding tourism, however, people are remarkably upbeat and can still find humor even in the worst of times.
My visit happened to coincide with a visit by Suzanne Mubarak, President Mubarak’s wife, who was in town opening a library. Wads of money were spent in the weeks prior to her visit in beautifying the town. This led to a lot of resentment among the people of Luxor, and prompted several conversations on people’s opinions on Mubarak and the Egyptian government. I was very surprised by people’s knowledge of the issues and by their openness in raising negative aspects of their country and government (very different from what I faced in Aswan and Cairo).
People were overwhelmingly against Mubarak, frustrated by his rule, frustrated by the lack of democracy, and angered by pandering to foreigners (in particular, the tourist sector) at the expense of their own people. Some of the more interesting comments/stories:
- One man told of his attempt to vote in the presidential election. He went to the ballot box, and had his finger stamped (to show that he voted), and was told to go home. He said that he hadn’t voted yet, and the man running the booth held up a ballot with “Mubarak” marked and said “Yes you have.”
- One woman spoke of what comes next – ie, plans for a post-Mubarak government. Conventional wisdom holds that Gamal Mubarak, his son and generally assumed to be very weak, will follow. This woman believed strongly that civil war would follow immediately, and that would probably be preferable to the Mubaraks.
- One man spoke of the corruption surrounding the building of Suzanne Mubarak’s library. The official cost of the library was $100,000, but the actual cost ran up over $1 million because of under-the-table payoffs. In a city that is desperately poor, this man was appalled by this system in which those in power get richer and more powerful while the poor suffer more.
- One man reacted angrily when I suggested that tourists be encouraged to donate to local causes, saying that Egypt is a rich country (in terms of resources and tourism income), and could provide for itself without the corruption and misplaced priorities of the Egyptian government.
Lastly, I want to talk some more about the poverty. Those of you on my email lists two years ago may remember my stories of poverty in Cambodia (or my mother’s), and the difficulty in not buying crappy postcards from everyone starving child you meet. It’s beyond depressing to see these children suffering, and the knowledge that even 10 cents would mean so much to them – and the constant refrain of “you can’t save everyone” doesn’t really help.
What does help is more knowledge of these children (and it is, overwhelmingly, children). Throughout the world, the poor children who surround tourist sites begging or selling cheap things rarely profit from the sales they make. In the worst case scenarios, these children are being controlled by older children or adults in a gang-like scenario, in which they’re forced or coerced into begging/selling things and have to turn over all the money they receive. Even in the least-exploitative situations, they are often performing the same function for their parents, who keep them out of school because they can earn more money this way. Regardless, the story is much more complex than it can appear to you as an outsider, and giving them money will not help to alleviate the situation long-term.
When faced with these dilemmas, I urge all of you to save the money to donate to organizations that work on sustainable interventions to bring these families out of poverty, through microfinance initiatives, skills trainings, formal education, medical services, etc. I’ve listed below some of my favorite international organizations that do this work, but also check out local organizations in your country of interest as they often do twice the work for half the price. I’d be more than happy to help anyone find an organization they believe in and would be willing to support financially; just leave a comment on the blog or email me.
Last note: I traveled around Luxor with an amazing travel agency, run by a British couple, which tries to work more within the communities and support Egyptians, while showing tourists the real Egypt. The Quest for the Egyptian Adventure is a fantastic organization (and their tours were some of the best I’ve had), and I highly recommend that you use them if you’re planning a trip to Egypt – http://www.questfortheegyptianadventure.com/.
International organizations:
Save the Children
CARE International
Heifer International
Doctors Without Borders
UNICEF
World Food Programme
Update (6/30): An error was brought to my attention: I neglected to mention Women for Women International, a great organization doing grassroots work worldwide.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Luxor and Suzanne Mubarak, part I
I spent a really interesting 3 days in Luxor, but I have to admit that I was impacted less by the amazing temples and tombs than by the social and political condition there. However, since there's so much to say about both, I'm splitting them into 2 posts, starting with the historical beauty of Luxor, formerly Thebes, the capital of all Egypt during the New Kingdom (from 1550 to 1069 BC).
As the capital of Egypt, Thebes was the center of some spectacular architectural innovations - many of which are still around. I'm not going to go into too much detail on the history, because there's way too much to even begin. But, if you're interested, I'm posting links to sites with more info.
The Valley of the Kings is a collection of tombs of the various Pharaohs during the New Kingdom. These are the Pharaohs whose names you know - Tutankhamen, Ramses II, etc - for a total of 64 tombs. The Pharaohs picked this area, on the west side of the Nile, for their tombs because of their belief that since the sun sets in the west, the west side of the Earth (which is everything beyond the Nile, obviously) is where people go when they die (this also explains why the cities are generally built on the east side of the Nile - true for Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan).
Rather than build pyramids, these Pharaohs found mountains in the shape of pyramids and built long tombs in the mountains. To access the tombs, you walk through a long passageway, about 8 feet tall by 8 feet wide, down to the room that holds the tomb. The walls are covered with carvings of hieroglyphics and pictures depicting the religious rites before and after death, and are brightly painted with colors you can still see 3000 years later. It's unbelievable to see. I went into 3 tombs, each more spectacular than the next.
For more info go here.
The Temple of Hatshepsut was built by Queen Hatshepsut, who is widely considered the strongest female leader of Egypt. The temple is built into the side of the mountain in the desert, and is an architectural masterpiece. There are carvings throughout, and huge statues. It's beautiful. Much has been defaced by the following Pharaohs, but it's still an amazing site. For more on Hatshepsut, read this and for more on the temple go here.
Medinat Habu is a huge temple built by Ramses III. In its heyday, Medinat Habu served as a temple to the god Amun, a funerary temple for Ramses III, and a palace for various Pharaohs. The carvings are spectacular, scenes from wars and various foreign conquests, and some of the colors on the walls remain, which is unbelievable. This temple (as opposed to the two sites described above) is a bit further off the beaten path, and was much more peaceful than the other places (which were overflowing with tourists). For more info, go here.
The Tombs of the Nobles was my favorite place of the first day. Because there's a short hike up a desert mountain to get to them, these tombs were literally deserted. It was so peaceful on top of the mountain - there was a beautiful view of Luxor, the temples I'd seen, and the villages on the West Bank. With no one around, there was total silence. It was beautiful.
The tombs themselves were unreal. These tombs were built for the advisers to the Pharaohs - important men but still mere mortals. In exchange for good work, the Pharaohs would often fund the building of these tombs (instead of a traditional Christmas bonus). They were similar in shape to the tombs in the Valley of the Kings (though smaller), but instead of carvings the tombs were literally covered in paintings (including on the ceiling - often of grape vines, to give the impression that the tomb is bigger). The vibrancy of the colors was phenomenal, and the scenes were so interesting. They depicted scenes of everyday life in Egypt - farming, hunting, men eating dinners with their wives, etc. I wasn't able to take pictures, but go here, here, and here for some interesting pictures.
Karnak Temple is the highlight of the East Bank. It's unbelievably huge - 1.5 km by 800 m - and there is literally no way to see everything. It seems very haphazard (which makes sense, as it was constructed in phases by more than 5 different Pharaohs). There's too much history and descriptions to even begin, so look at my pictures and this website for more information.
Luxor Temple is another temple on the East Bank, on an enormous scale but much more coherent than Karnak. In front of the temple are 4 gigantic statues of Ramses II, and inside the great hall (the first entryway) are more huge statues. All are remarkably well preserved. Most interesting to me was the mosque built into the temple; in the 14th century, unaware that a temple lay under the ground, a group of people built a mosque into the ground, attached to stone in the ground which turned out to be the top of the temple. It's a fascinating site - look at my pictures!
Those were the sites I saw in Luxor; view my pictures at summerincairo.shutterfly.com. (Note: As of 5/25, these still aren't up - coming soon!)
As the capital of Egypt, Thebes was the center of some spectacular architectural innovations - many of which are still around. I'm not going to go into too much detail on the history, because there's way too much to even begin. But, if you're interested, I'm posting links to sites with more info.
The Valley of the Kings is a collection of tombs of the various Pharaohs during the New Kingdom. These are the Pharaohs whose names you know - Tutankhamen, Ramses II, etc - for a total of 64 tombs. The Pharaohs picked this area, on the west side of the Nile, for their tombs because of their belief that since the sun sets in the west, the west side of the Earth (which is everything beyond the Nile, obviously) is where people go when they die (this also explains why the cities are generally built on the east side of the Nile - true for Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan).
Rather than build pyramids, these Pharaohs found mountains in the shape of pyramids and built long tombs in the mountains. To access the tombs, you walk through a long passageway, about 8 feet tall by 8 feet wide, down to the room that holds the tomb. The walls are covered with carvings of hieroglyphics and pictures depicting the religious rites before and after death, and are brightly painted with colors you can still see 3000 years later. It's unbelievable to see. I went into 3 tombs, each more spectacular than the next.
For more info go here.
The Temple of Hatshepsut was built by Queen Hatshepsut, who is widely considered the strongest female leader of Egypt. The temple is built into the side of the mountain in the desert, and is an architectural masterpiece. There are carvings throughout, and huge statues. It's beautiful. Much has been defaced by the following Pharaohs, but it's still an amazing site. For more on Hatshepsut, read this and for more on the temple go here.
Medinat Habu is a huge temple built by Ramses III. In its heyday, Medinat Habu served as a temple to the god Amun, a funerary temple for Ramses III, and a palace for various Pharaohs. The carvings are spectacular, scenes from wars and various foreign conquests, and some of the colors on the walls remain, which is unbelievable. This temple (as opposed to the two sites described above) is a bit further off the beaten path, and was much more peaceful than the other places (which were overflowing with tourists). For more info, go here.
The Tombs of the Nobles was my favorite place of the first day. Because there's a short hike up a desert mountain to get to them, these tombs were literally deserted. It was so peaceful on top of the mountain - there was a beautiful view of Luxor, the temples I'd seen, and the villages on the West Bank. With no one around, there was total silence. It was beautiful.
The tombs themselves were unreal. These tombs were built for the advisers to the Pharaohs - important men but still mere mortals. In exchange for good work, the Pharaohs would often fund the building of these tombs (instead of a traditional Christmas bonus). They were similar in shape to the tombs in the Valley of the Kings (though smaller), but instead of carvings the tombs were literally covered in paintings (including on the ceiling - often of grape vines, to give the impression that the tomb is bigger). The vibrancy of the colors was phenomenal, and the scenes were so interesting. They depicted scenes of everyday life in Egypt - farming, hunting, men eating dinners with their wives, etc. I wasn't able to take pictures, but go here, here, and here for some interesting pictures.
Karnak Temple is the highlight of the East Bank. It's unbelievably huge - 1.5 km by 800 m - and there is literally no way to see everything. It seems very haphazard (which makes sense, as it was constructed in phases by more than 5 different Pharaohs). There's too much history and descriptions to even begin, so look at my pictures and this website for more information.
Luxor Temple is another temple on the East Bank, on an enormous scale but much more coherent than Karnak. In front of the temple are 4 gigantic statues of Ramses II, and inside the great hall (the first entryway) are more huge statues. All are remarkably well preserved. Most interesting to me was the mosque built into the temple; in the 14th century, unaware that a temple lay under the ground, a group of people built a mosque into the ground, attached to stone in the ground which turned out to be the top of the temple. It's a fascinating site - look at my pictures!
Those were the sites I saw in Luxor; view my pictures at summerincairo.shutterfly.com. (Note: As of 5/25, these still aren't up - coming soon!)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Gods Love Nubia
Aswan, the edge of Egypt's kingdom and the beginning of Nubia, is a a laid-back, lazy town with a handful of residents, a few beautiful antiquities, and about a million tourists. You may know Aswan as the town north of the big dam - famous because the construction of the dam, which provides electricity for all of Egypt, required specialists from around the world to move 22 temples and statues to prevent flooding. I was there for business, and had two totally different experiences - working and sightseeing. So rather than my normal structure, I'm dividing this post into 2 components.
Before I start, I wanted to point out that I've added a map of Egypt on the right-hand column, which might help people understand where I am...
Another sidenote: I am currently in Upper Egypt, so named because it's the beginning of the Nile (in Egypt), since the Nile flows north. As you'll note on the map, Aswan and Luxor are actually in southern Egypt. Anyway, on to the post...
1. Sightseeing
The Unfinished Obelisk was our first stop. Aswan is known for its quarries, particularly for beautiful granite. In one quarry, they found a half-carved obelisk, which if it had been completed would be the largest obelisk in the world. It's gigantic, and very revealing of the methods the ancient Egyptians used in carving obelisks.
The Temple of Isis on Philae Island (aka Philae temple), is a huge temple, constructed during Greek rule, dedicated to the Goddess Isis. It's in spectacular condition and it's beautiful. The walls of the temple are covered in carvings - illustrating the stories of Isis, hieroglyphics, etc. It was really spectacular, and you should really look at my pictures to get a better idea of what it looks like. We went there twice - once during the day with a tour guide (more on this later), and another time at night to see the sound-and-light show. The sound-and-light show was beautiful, seeing the temple completely lit up at night, though the "sound" part (an audio show with the voice of the Nile, Isis, etc) was extremely corny.
One of the most interesting parts of this temple is how it got there. When they built the dam, the island the temple was on flooded, and they had to move the temple to a whole new island. They selected an island that was a similar shape, and block by block moved the ENTIRE temple to the new place. It was an amazing process...
Nubian Museum: We got a private tour of the museum from the manager of the museum, who happens to be a world-renowned artist. The museum is very new and spectacular - it's very well designed and has fantastic pieces of work. I haven't yet been to the Egyptian museum, but I got the impression that it's similar to the Egyptian museum, though slightly smaller and focused on Nubian history and culture.
Sidenote: the manager of the museum, Ragab Said Mohamed, was responsible for the architectural design, the interior design, and the overall artistic management of the museum. In addition, he owns a gallery which was designed in the shape of a Nubian house which is on a mountain outside of town. We went there our last night to see the sunset over the Nile, which was spectacular. It was also cool to see a traditional design for a Nubian house, and to see his paintings which are beautiful. Look at my pictures for an interesting fact about the pictures :)
Elephantine Island is an island which primarily is a home for a traditional Nubian community that has ruins of communities that lived there in the past. The island has been inhabited for over 3000 years. There's not too much else to say about it. By the way, if you're wondering about Nubians, click here for more information.
Kitchner's Island is an island that was given to the British builder of the original Aswan dam (built in the 1800s) which is now a botantical garden. It's pretty, but I don't have much else to say about it.
2. Trafficking Research
You may have noticed that I've been saying "we" throughout this post. That's because I was joined in Aswan (and now in Luxor) by Jasmine, an Egyptian-Swedish woman who works at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cairo. She and I were met in Aswan when we arrived by a wonderful man who out of pure kindness and devotion to the cause set up meetings for us throughout Aswan and made sure we were taken care of throughout (his sister cooked us dinner one night, he ensured we were properly fed the rest of the time, and arranged several excursions, including the Nubian museum and the Philae temple sound-and-light show).
This was my first opportunity to really lead the meetings the way I wanted to, and the experience I gained in the first meetings way exceeded everything I'd learned (in terms of professional development) up to that point. I've conducted these sorts of interviews in the states before, so I was a little overconfident. It's very different here. Aside from the language barriers - which were formidable - I had to spend the first half of the meeting trying to assuage their suspicions of me, as an American, walking into their town and asking sensitive questions. I learned a lot about how to act, what things to say, and how to ask questions around the issue to get the answers I needed.
One overarching theme of all the meetings I had was the high level of support that Aswan offers to disadvantaged communities. The community is extremely multicultural: I already mentioned the Nubian population, but it should be said that Aswan is also diverse religiously, which a huge population of Christians. Despite (or perhaps because of?) these differences, the community seemed to be very close-knit and understanding of and sympathetic to people of different ethnic and religious groups. I've never really experienced anything like it, and it takes a lot to take away my cynicism!
I don't have pictures yet to post, but I will hopefully get them up by Sunday night.
I'm currently in Luxor, and will post on my time here soon.
Before I start, I wanted to point out that I've added a map of Egypt on the right-hand column, which might help people understand where I am...
Another sidenote: I am currently in Upper Egypt, so named because it's the beginning of the Nile (in Egypt), since the Nile flows north. As you'll note on the map, Aswan and Luxor are actually in southern Egypt. Anyway, on to the post...
1. Sightseeing
The Unfinished Obelisk was our first stop. Aswan is known for its quarries, particularly for beautiful granite. In one quarry, they found a half-carved obelisk, which if it had been completed would be the largest obelisk in the world. It's gigantic, and very revealing of the methods the ancient Egyptians used in carving obelisks.
The Temple of Isis on Philae Island (aka Philae temple), is a huge temple, constructed during Greek rule, dedicated to the Goddess Isis. It's in spectacular condition and it's beautiful. The walls of the temple are covered in carvings - illustrating the stories of Isis, hieroglyphics, etc. It was really spectacular, and you should really look at my pictures to get a better idea of what it looks like. We went there twice - once during the day with a tour guide (more on this later), and another time at night to see the sound-and-light show. The sound-and-light show was beautiful, seeing the temple completely lit up at night, though the "sound" part (an audio show with the voice of the Nile, Isis, etc) was extremely corny.
One of the most interesting parts of this temple is how it got there. When they built the dam, the island the temple was on flooded, and they had to move the temple to a whole new island. They selected an island that was a similar shape, and block by block moved the ENTIRE temple to the new place. It was an amazing process...
Nubian Museum: We got a private tour of the museum from the manager of the museum, who happens to be a world-renowned artist. The museum is very new and spectacular - it's very well designed and has fantastic pieces of work. I haven't yet been to the Egyptian museum, but I got the impression that it's similar to the Egyptian museum, though slightly smaller and focused on Nubian history and culture.
Sidenote: the manager of the museum, Ragab Said Mohamed, was responsible for the architectural design, the interior design, and the overall artistic management of the museum. In addition, he owns a gallery which was designed in the shape of a Nubian house which is on a mountain outside of town. We went there our last night to see the sunset over the Nile, which was spectacular. It was also cool to see a traditional design for a Nubian house, and to see his paintings which are beautiful. Look at my pictures for an interesting fact about the pictures :)
Elephantine Island is an island which primarily is a home for a traditional Nubian community that has ruins of communities that lived there in the past. The island has been inhabited for over 3000 years. There's not too much else to say about it. By the way, if you're wondering about Nubians, click here for more information.
Kitchner's Island is an island that was given to the British builder of the original Aswan dam (built in the 1800s) which is now a botantical garden. It's pretty, but I don't have much else to say about it.
2. Trafficking Research
You may have noticed that I've been saying "we" throughout this post. That's because I was joined in Aswan (and now in Luxor) by Jasmine, an Egyptian-Swedish woman who works at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cairo. She and I were met in Aswan when we arrived by a wonderful man who out of pure kindness and devotion to the cause set up meetings for us throughout Aswan and made sure we were taken care of throughout (his sister cooked us dinner one night, he ensured we were properly fed the rest of the time, and arranged several excursions, including the Nubian museum and the Philae temple sound-and-light show).
This was my first opportunity to really lead the meetings the way I wanted to, and the experience I gained in the first meetings way exceeded everything I'd learned (in terms of professional development) up to that point. I've conducted these sorts of interviews in the states before, so I was a little overconfident. It's very different here. Aside from the language barriers - which were formidable - I had to spend the first half of the meeting trying to assuage their suspicions of me, as an American, walking into their town and asking sensitive questions. I learned a lot about how to act, what things to say, and how to ask questions around the issue to get the answers I needed.
One overarching theme of all the meetings I had was the high level of support that Aswan offers to disadvantaged communities. The community is extremely multicultural: I already mentioned the Nubian population, but it should be said that Aswan is also diverse religiously, which a huge population of Christians. Despite (or perhaps because of?) these differences, the community seemed to be very close-knit and understanding of and sympathetic to people of different ethnic and religious groups. I've never really experienced anything like it, and it takes a lot to take away my cynicism!
I don't have pictures yet to post, but I will hopefully get them up by Sunday night.
I'm currently in Luxor, and will post on my time here soon.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Alexandria
I took the train from Cairo to Alexandria on Thursday, and have been here since. Alexandria is north of Cairo, on the sea, and in the heart of the Nile Delta. The city was built by Alexander the Great (surprising, I know), and is still filled with influences by Greece, Rome, and Turkey. It's an amazing city - the entire city is built just off the Mediterranean, and feels more like a European city than an Arab one. The architecture is gorgeous, the food is amazing, and it's not nearly as busy and chaotic as Cairo. It's much cooler than Cairo, and in the summer is a resort for people from throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Friday morning, Nazek - one of the members of our assessment team - picked me up for a tour around town. We started at Montazzah gardens, the former summer home of the king. It's beautiful - on the sea - and enormous. They've built a few hotels and restaurants on the ground, and it was fascinating.
Next stop was for a famous Alexandrian drink made with sugar cane. In Alexandria (and maybe in Cairo as well - I'm not sure) you can get "drive through" at many stores/restaurants - basically, you pull your car up to the side of the road, and honk. Someone who works at the store/restaurant comes out, takes your order, and then brings out your food (more like Sonic than Burger King drive through). We did this for the sugar cane juice and for ice cream later (which was excellent).
After juice, we drove along the coast for a while and then went to Fort Qaitbey, built out of stones from ancient Alexandria (including from the lighthouse, one of the original 7 wonders of the world) to defend against Napolean (didn't work out that well). It's a really interesting building, with lots of small passageways and secret rooms. I took tons of pictures.
After the fort, we drove around for a while, and eventually stopped at the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. It was in very good condition, and they're in the process of excavating nearby ruins, so in a few years there will probably be even more to see.
Next was lunch - and this meal was a feast! We first walked into a room full of freshly caught fish - all kinds of fish, shrimp, crabs, squid... amazing. We picked out what we wanted (Nazek ordered enough for 4 people!) and they cooked it as they wanted. We started with appetizers and bread - baba ganoush, eggplant (Tony, you'd be so proud of me), fresh tomatoes, etc. Then the fish came out... grilled fish (don't know what kind) with a pico de gallo-like sauce, sauteed shrimp in garlic and spices, fried calamari, and crab (taken out of the shell) in a butter and garlic sauce. I stuffed myself silly (like you expected anything else).
After lunch, wewent to the souk – the Zan’ah, as the call it, because of the narrow passageways. It was my first time shopping in Egypt, but luckily Nazek was with me to help show me the ropes. We wandered around for a while and looked at lots of things, and I ended up buying 4 beautiful scarves. We looked at a silver store, where there were beautiful silver candlesticks for over $200. Not this trip…
We drove around some more after that, but we were both exhausted, so we went back and slept. On Saturday and Sunday, I was mostly busy with work, but I did manage to get a “backstage” tour (thanks again to Nazek) of the Library of Alexandria. The Library was built in 2002, modeled after the ancient library. The architecture is amazing… I don’t have pictures up yet, but I will soon. It’s a huge complex, designed to store 8 million books as well as an antiquities museum, collection of 30,000 rare and ancient manuscripts, and roving exhibits. They’re scanning all the books in their collection (they’ve already completed all the manuscripts, I believe, including translating everything into Arabic, French, and English), and it’s all available electronically. They also have internet access available – and all of this is open to the public. On top of that, they have 12 research centers spanning from reform in the Arab world to marine biology, and they also have a cultural center that has an orchestra and a theater group (I think). Pretty impressive…
Sunday night was a “workshop” with NGOs, held at a gorgeous restaurant on the sea. We’d held one of these in Cairo during the previous week, in which we brought a group of NGO representatives together, explained what trafficking is, and listened to what they do. It’s pretty amazing what these people are doing – dedicating themselves to thankless tasks that often put themselves in grave danger. I hope that through this assessment and future work we’ll be able to work with and support these fantastic people. If you have any questions about what exactly I’ve been doing, please email me.
I’m currently in Aswan – I transited today over several hours from Alexandria to Cairo to Aswan. I’ll be here for 2 days, sightseeing in the morning and holding meetings with NGOs in the afternoons/evenings. I don’t have internet in my room here, so I’m not going to put up pictures – or update this again – until after I leave. On Thursday morning, I fly to Luxor, where I’ll be until Sunday or Monday. Then back to Cairo for a few days at least…
Friday morning, Nazek - one of the members of our assessment team - picked me up for a tour around town. We started at Montazzah gardens, the former summer home of the king. It's beautiful - on the sea - and enormous. They've built a few hotels and restaurants on the ground, and it was fascinating.
Next stop was for a famous Alexandrian drink made with sugar cane. In Alexandria (and maybe in Cairo as well - I'm not sure) you can get "drive through" at many stores/restaurants - basically, you pull your car up to the side of the road, and honk. Someone who works at the store/restaurant comes out, takes your order, and then brings out your food (more like Sonic than Burger King drive through). We did this for the sugar cane juice and for ice cream later (which was excellent).
After juice, we drove along the coast for a while and then went to Fort Qaitbey, built out of stones from ancient Alexandria (including from the lighthouse, one of the original 7 wonders of the world) to defend against Napolean (didn't work out that well). It's a really interesting building, with lots of small passageways and secret rooms. I took tons of pictures.
After the fort, we drove around for a while, and eventually stopped at the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. It was in very good condition, and they're in the process of excavating nearby ruins, so in a few years there will probably be even more to see.
Next was lunch - and this meal was a feast! We first walked into a room full of freshly caught fish - all kinds of fish, shrimp, crabs, squid... amazing. We picked out what we wanted (Nazek ordered enough for 4 people!) and they cooked it as they wanted. We started with appetizers and bread - baba ganoush, eggplant (Tony, you'd be so proud of me), fresh tomatoes, etc. Then the fish came out... grilled fish (don't know what kind) with a pico de gallo-like sauce, sauteed shrimp in garlic and spices, fried calamari, and crab (taken out of the shell) in a butter and garlic sauce. I stuffed myself silly (like you expected anything else).
After lunch, wewent to the souk – the Zan’ah, as the call it, because of the narrow passageways. It was my first time shopping in Egypt, but luckily Nazek was with me to help show me the ropes. We wandered around for a while and looked at lots of things, and I ended up buying 4 beautiful scarves. We looked at a silver store, where there were beautiful silver candlesticks for over $200. Not this trip…
We drove around some more after that, but we were both exhausted, so we went back and slept. On Saturday and Sunday, I was mostly busy with work, but I did manage to get a “backstage” tour (thanks again to Nazek) of the Library of Alexandria. The Library was built in 2002, modeled after the ancient library. The architecture is amazing… I don’t have pictures up yet, but I will soon. It’s a huge complex, designed to store 8 million books as well as an antiquities museum, collection of 30,000 rare and ancient manuscripts, and roving exhibits. They’re scanning all the books in their collection (they’ve already completed all the manuscripts, I believe, including translating everything into Arabic, French, and English), and it’s all available electronically. They also have internet access available – and all of this is open to the public. On top of that, they have 12 research centers spanning from reform in the Arab world to marine biology, and they also have a cultural center that has an orchestra and a theater group (I think). Pretty impressive…
Sunday night was a “workshop” with NGOs, held at a gorgeous restaurant on the sea. We’d held one of these in Cairo during the previous week, in which we brought a group of NGO representatives together, explained what trafficking is, and listened to what they do. It’s pretty amazing what these people are doing – dedicating themselves to thankless tasks that often put themselves in grave danger. I hope that through this assessment and future work we’ll be able to work with and support these fantastic people. If you have any questions about what exactly I’ve been doing, please email me.
I’m currently in Aswan – I transited today over several hours from Alexandria to Cairo to Aswan. I’ll be here for 2 days, sightseeing in the morning and holding meetings with NGOs in the afternoons/evenings. I don’t have internet in my room here, so I’m not going to put up pictures – or update this again – until after I leave. On Thursday morning, I fly to Luxor, where I’ll be until Sunday or Monday. Then back to Cairo for a few days at least…
Saturday, May 5, 2007
More Cairo Observations
1. Methods of Transportation
I talked earlier about traffic, but I was totally neglecting all the forms of transportation. In China they have a saying that they eat anything that flies except airplanes, anything in the ocean except submarines, and anything on four legs except tables. In Egypt, this would apply to methods of transportation. In the streets of Cairo, I've seen all of the following used as modes of transportation:
- the typical: cars, buses, bikes, motorbikes, taxis, etc
- donkeys/horses
- camels
- donkey-pulled carts
- donkey-pulled tuk-tuks
- "trucks" (in quotes because these trucks are smaller than my dad's Prius - basically a car without a roof)
- dogs (no joke - I saw a bunch of kids "riding" dogs on one street)
- vacuum cleaner (just kidding, mother)
2. Food
I know you were all wondering when I was going to get to the food (Lowen, I can see you making fun of me from 10,000 miles away). I've had some issues with food, in the sense that for the first few days I was only eating at the hotel (not such a bad fate, as there are 15 restaurants in the hotel, though they're pricy) because I hadn't been able to find anything outside of the hotel.
But then, on Thursday, I met the one true love of my life: the man in the hole in the wall sandwich shop who gets me delicious shwarma sandwiches for 50 cents. Our affair promises to last forever, or at least until I leave Cairo for Alexandria next weekend and have to find a new place to eat. My new sandwich shop is fantastic - nothing but a guy behind a counter making food (actually, he mostly just stands around, they don't have many customers) and the cash register guy. They're my new friends. The most expensive sandwich is shwarma for 50 cents. The cheapest is ful, which is Tony's dream food (ground up lentil and beans in a paste, mixed with hummus and put in a pita), and the falafel for 10 cents. Have I mentioned how much I love developing countries?
Aside from my sandwich shop, I've been pretty impressed by the food. I have free breakfast at the hotel, which includes everything you could possibly ever eat (cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit, 10 types of bread, made-to-order omelettes/eggs, steak, sushi (apparently the hotel is big with the Japanese), lox and bagels and cream cheese (and the Jews), danishes, etc). And best of all (Rush, don't read the next sentence): a new, fresh smoothie every day that's just fruit in a blender.
In case I get sick of Egyptian food, there's also Otlob.com, the website where I can order free delivery from about 100 restaurants in Cairo, ranging from sushi to Italian to Lebanese. And I can do it all online! Egypt is so far ahead of the US. Who cares about advanced weapons technology when I can order food online and have it delivered to my doorstop?
3. Security
I can't count the number of people who said "be careful" and "stay safe" to me before I left for Cairo (more than China and Indonesia combined). I can understand the fear, but to all of you - don't worry! I've never felt more safe. Every building I've gone into (government buildings, hotels, restaurants, etc) has a metal detector and x-ray machine (and they actually check, unlike in US government buildings, ie when my mother took a heavy-duty pocket knife into the Dept of Labor about 8 times). When cars drive up to a hotel, they're checked twice before they get close - once with a metal detector and once by circling the car with dogs. All cars have to open their trunks.
In addition, buildings are designed for security (removed from the street, etc) and surrounded by tons of security guards. Anything can happen anywhere, but in Cairo they've got security down to a science.
4. Being an American woman traveling alone
To those of you who were more worried about my travelling as an American woman by myself than worried about bombs, there is again nothing to fear. The first day I was here, there was a lot of harassment (hey you, etc) which I wouldn't have gotten were I either male or with another person. Now though, it's not really a problem. There's a lot of staring and occasional comments, but more than harassing me, people are just curious: Why is there a Western woman walking by herself? And why does she wear those funny sunglasses? And why is she going into the random sandwich shop instead of eating in the hotel?
Being an American is also interesting. EVERYONE asks where I'm from, and so far I've always said America, and I haven't had a single negative reaction (my favorite interaction was when I said America, the man - a random security guard at a museum - said "America number 1!" I replied, "No no, Egypt number 1!" and he immediately stood up, looking very distressed, and said "No no no. Egypt number 10."). Several people have asked what I think of Bush, and I'm honest. But no one has said anything negative about America or Bush to me. So, throughout my travels, still the place where I got the most negative reactions about being American was... in Canada (followed, with a close second, by France).
On a side note, I had a long conversation on Thursday with a man we're working with here who studied in DC. He teaches a university class in Egypt on human rights after 9/11. He said that in his mind the most negative aspect of GWoT is that "all" Arabs used to dream of America and the "American dream" (his words), and now that hope has been taken away. Something to think about.
I talked earlier about traffic, but I was totally neglecting all the forms of transportation. In China they have a saying that they eat anything that flies except airplanes, anything in the ocean except submarines, and anything on four legs except tables. In Egypt, this would apply to methods of transportation. In the streets of Cairo, I've seen all of the following used as modes of transportation:
- the typical: cars, buses, bikes, motorbikes, taxis, etc
- donkeys/horses
- camels
- donkey-pulled carts
- donkey-pulled tuk-tuks
- "trucks" (in quotes because these trucks are smaller than my dad's Prius - basically a car without a roof)
- dogs (no joke - I saw a bunch of kids "riding" dogs on one street)
- vacuum cleaner (just kidding, mother)
2. Food
I know you were all wondering when I was going to get to the food (Lowen, I can see you making fun of me from 10,000 miles away). I've had some issues with food, in the sense that for the first few days I was only eating at the hotel (not such a bad fate, as there are 15 restaurants in the hotel, though they're pricy) because I hadn't been able to find anything outside of the hotel.
But then, on Thursday, I met the one true love of my life: the man in the hole in the wall sandwich shop who gets me delicious shwarma sandwiches for 50 cents. Our affair promises to last forever, or at least until I leave Cairo for Alexandria next weekend and have to find a new place to eat. My new sandwich shop is fantastic - nothing but a guy behind a counter making food (actually, he mostly just stands around, they don't have many customers) and the cash register guy. They're my new friends. The most expensive sandwich is shwarma for 50 cents. The cheapest is ful, which is Tony's dream food (ground up lentil and beans in a paste, mixed with hummus and put in a pita), and the falafel for 10 cents. Have I mentioned how much I love developing countries?
Aside from my sandwich shop, I've been pretty impressed by the food. I have free breakfast at the hotel, which includes everything you could possibly ever eat (cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit, 10 types of bread, made-to-order omelettes/eggs, steak, sushi (apparently the hotel is big with the Japanese), lox and bagels and cream cheese (and the Jews), danishes, etc). And best of all (Rush, don't read the next sentence): a new, fresh smoothie every day that's just fruit in a blender.
In case I get sick of Egyptian food, there's also Otlob.com, the website where I can order free delivery from about 100 restaurants in Cairo, ranging from sushi to Italian to Lebanese. And I can do it all online! Egypt is so far ahead of the US. Who cares about advanced weapons technology when I can order food online and have it delivered to my doorstop?
3. Security
I can't count the number of people who said "be careful" and "stay safe" to me before I left for Cairo (more than China and Indonesia combined). I can understand the fear, but to all of you - don't worry! I've never felt more safe. Every building I've gone into (government buildings, hotels, restaurants, etc) has a metal detector and x-ray machine (and they actually check, unlike in US government buildings, ie when my mother took a heavy-duty pocket knife into the Dept of Labor about 8 times). When cars drive up to a hotel, they're checked twice before they get close - once with a metal detector and once by circling the car with dogs. All cars have to open their trunks.
In addition, buildings are designed for security (removed from the street, etc) and surrounded by tons of security guards. Anything can happen anywhere, but in Cairo they've got security down to a science.
4. Being an American woman traveling alone
To those of you who were more worried about my travelling as an American woman by myself than worried about bombs, there is again nothing to fear. The first day I was here, there was a lot of harassment (hey you, etc) which I wouldn't have gotten were I either male or with another person. Now though, it's not really a problem. There's a lot of staring and occasional comments, but more than harassing me, people are just curious: Why is there a Western woman walking by herself? And why does she wear those funny sunglasses? And why is she going into the random sandwich shop instead of eating in the hotel?
Being an American is also interesting. EVERYONE asks where I'm from, and so far I've always said America, and I haven't had a single negative reaction (my favorite interaction was when I said America, the man - a random security guard at a museum - said "America number 1!" I replied, "No no, Egypt number 1!" and he immediately stood up, looking very distressed, and said "No no no. Egypt number 10."). Several people have asked what I think of Bush, and I'm honest. But no one has said anything negative about America or Bush to me. So, throughout my travels, still the place where I got the most negative reactions about being American was... in Canada (followed, with a close second, by France).
On a side note, I had a long conversation on Thursday with a man we're working with here who studied in DC. He teaches a university class in Egypt on human rights after 9/11. He said that in his mind the most negative aspect of GWoT is that "all" Arabs used to dream of America and the "American dream" (his words), and now that hope has been taken away. Something to think about.
Pyramids!
Yesterday I spent the day touring the pyramids with a private guide (more details on this method later). Before I start, I want to clear up some misconceptions:
1. The only pyramids in Egypt are the ones at Giza that everyone has seen pictures of.
Actually, in reality, there are hundreds of pyramids in Egypt, of all different sizes and styles. I saw 8 pyramids yesterday - and those were just the pyramids convenient to Cairo (that are still standing).
2. The pyramids at Giza are really far from Cairo.
The city of Giza is actually a suburb of Cairo (in fact, when I used to work on a project in Egypt, the Cairo office was actually in Giza). The drive from my hotel to the pyramids was under 20 minutes.
3. The pyramids at Giza are in the middle of the desert.
Thinking about that logically - why would an ancient Pharaoh build his tomb in the middle of the desert? Yes, the pyramids are surrounded by sand, but the Giza pyramids are about 100 feet from the city of Giza (and, of course, surrounded by hotels and tourist shops). If this is hard to comprehend, look at my pictures: summerincairo.shutterfly.com.
Now, on to my trip...
I started the day in Sakkara. Sakkara is about an hour from Cairo, and was the burial grounds for the ancient capital of Memphis (more on Memphis later). Sakkara is famous for several pyramids - including the oldest pyramid in the world, that of Zoser, built in 2650BC. The pyramid itself is surrounded by an entire funeral complex - smaller tombs (known as mastaba) for the "common people", a temple, and other smaller buildings. Most of this complex has been destroyed, but the pyramid remains, and the temple has been renovated and slightly rebuilt (not China-style, but actually with care and attention - similar to Borobodur). Much of the valuables and other items have been stolen from the tomb (common theme throughout Egypt), but one statue remains, and is on site (it's kept enclosed, and you can only view it by looking through a small hole).
The area was packed with tourists, all on gigantic groups tours (score one for the private tour). We didn't stay all that long. We went from there to a "carpet school." China people, you've heard this story before. It was a "school for disadvantaged youths" who were being taught skills so they "wouldn't be on the streets." If I bought a carpet there, I would be "giving money to these disadvantaged youths". Commission time for the tour guide! Score negative one for the private tour (though to be honest, this would have happened on any tour).
It actually was really interesting to me. I got to see how carpets are made, got a sense of what prices are for smaller carpets, and best of all got to ask the owner really annoying questions about trafficking (such as: How much are they paid? How many hours do they work? What ages are they? Do they go to school? Where do they come from (ie, how are they recruited)? Can I see a recruiting poster? Is the government aware of this program? Do they live on the facilities?). Though when I didn't buy anything, my tour guide was pouty the rest of the day.
Next we went to Dahshur, which the Lonely Planet touts as the "next Giza." That's a bit of a stretch. There are 2 pyramids left standing at Dahshur - the Bent pyramid, so called because the design was faulty and it's leaning, and the Red pyramid, which I visited. The Red pyramid (misleading name, as it looks exactly the same as all the others) is about as big as the Giza pyramids. The best part (or so I thought at the time) is that you can go into the pyramid. There are steps up to an entrance halfway up the pyramid (about 60m up), leading to a passageway into the pyramid.
The passageway is square - about 1 meter on each side - and is basically a ramp going down with railings on both sides. In order to get down (the passageway goes down to ground level), you have to pretty much lower yourself using the railings while keeping a secure grasp on the floor with your feet, the whole time hunched over (Rush - there's no way you would have made it). There are no lights in the passageway, so about halfway down the oxygen starts failing and there's no light. There were very few people at the pyramid, but I ended up going down with a man from India now living in Dubai who kept telling me that the passageway smelled like dangerous chemicals (he's an oil man, so he would know) and that we were about to die. Excellent.
At the bottom of the passageway were two gigantic halls, where the body and other goods were stored (before they were stolen, like everything else). The rooms were lit and really impressive - about 100 feet tall, and beautiful. It almost made the disastrous climb down and impossible climb up worth it!
After Dahshur we went to ancient Memphis, which has been entirely destroyed. What was left was basically an outdoor museum with several statues and pieces of rocks, including a gigantic statue of Ramses II and a small sphinx.
After Memphis was lunch (total rip off and commission for the tour guide - score negative one for the private tour). After lunch we went to the Giza pyramids and the Sphinx. As I mentioned earlier, the Giza pyramids are about 100 feet from the city of Giza, and they look exactly like every picture you've ever seen. I took a bunch of great pictures, which are posted on summerincairo.shutterfly.com.
After the pyramids, they took me to a "Perfume factory" for another "tour" (read: commission for the tour guide). This was also really cool - they gave me a lot of free water and tea, and I got to see a guy blow glass for perfume bottles (which were gorgeous), and they told me how they made perfume and I got to smell some. I also had a great conversation with the guy showing me around. We spoke in Arabic for a minute (he spoke MSA with me and taught me some Egyptian words), and then we talked about politics in America for a little bit. He asked why Americans study Arabic. He said that Egyptians study English (or French - almost everyone speaks some French) because they need it for tourism jobs, and he didn't understand why Americans study Arabic. I said that there are many Arabs in the US (a bit of an exaggeration), and that many Americans work abroad. I didn't say the obvious reason - the importance of the Middle East to US foreign policy and the need to understand a language in order to develop effective foreign policy. I told him that learning Arabic was very important for my job, and they seemed to accept that.
After that conversation, I again didn't buy anything (more pouty tour guide) though I saw a really beautiful glass hookah for about $100.
I slept in the ride back to the hotel (score 1 for the private tour and the air-conditioned comfortable car - which makes it about even).
All in all, I'm glad I did the private tour. For what I got (an air-conditioned car, a driver, and a tour guide to go at my pace and do what I wanted), it was really cheap. I would have spent a lot of money to hire a taxi or car-and-driver for the day (about $30-40), and it was worth it to have the person with me to explain all the sites. I would have hated going on a group tour - with all the people there the whole time, and no personal attention (and all the same scams).
1. The only pyramids in Egypt are the ones at Giza that everyone has seen pictures of.
Actually, in reality, there are hundreds of pyramids in Egypt, of all different sizes and styles. I saw 8 pyramids yesterday - and those were just the pyramids convenient to Cairo (that are still standing).
2. The pyramids at Giza are really far from Cairo.
The city of Giza is actually a suburb of Cairo (in fact, when I used to work on a project in Egypt, the Cairo office was actually in Giza). The drive from my hotel to the pyramids was under 20 minutes.
3. The pyramids at Giza are in the middle of the desert.
Thinking about that logically - why would an ancient Pharaoh build his tomb in the middle of the desert? Yes, the pyramids are surrounded by sand, but the Giza pyramids are about 100 feet from the city of Giza (and, of course, surrounded by hotels and tourist shops). If this is hard to comprehend, look at my pictures: summerincairo.shutterfly.com.
Now, on to my trip...
I started the day in Sakkara. Sakkara is about an hour from Cairo, and was the burial grounds for the ancient capital of Memphis (more on Memphis later). Sakkara is famous for several pyramids - including the oldest pyramid in the world, that of Zoser, built in 2650BC. The pyramid itself is surrounded by an entire funeral complex - smaller tombs (known as mastaba) for the "common people", a temple, and other smaller buildings. Most of this complex has been destroyed, but the pyramid remains, and the temple has been renovated and slightly rebuilt (not China-style, but actually with care and attention - similar to Borobodur). Much of the valuables and other items have been stolen from the tomb (common theme throughout Egypt), but one statue remains, and is on site (it's kept enclosed, and you can only view it by looking through a small hole).
The area was packed with tourists, all on gigantic groups tours (score one for the private tour). We didn't stay all that long. We went from there to a "carpet school." China people, you've heard this story before. It was a "school for disadvantaged youths" who were being taught skills so they "wouldn't be on the streets." If I bought a carpet there, I would be "giving money to these disadvantaged youths". Commission time for the tour guide! Score negative one for the private tour (though to be honest, this would have happened on any tour).
It actually was really interesting to me. I got to see how carpets are made, got a sense of what prices are for smaller carpets, and best of all got to ask the owner really annoying questions about trafficking (such as: How much are they paid? How many hours do they work? What ages are they? Do they go to school? Where do they come from (ie, how are they recruited)? Can I see a recruiting poster? Is the government aware of this program? Do they live on the facilities?). Though when I didn't buy anything, my tour guide was pouty the rest of the day.
Next we went to Dahshur, which the Lonely Planet touts as the "next Giza." That's a bit of a stretch. There are 2 pyramids left standing at Dahshur - the Bent pyramid, so called because the design was faulty and it's leaning, and the Red pyramid, which I visited. The Red pyramid (misleading name, as it looks exactly the same as all the others) is about as big as the Giza pyramids. The best part (or so I thought at the time) is that you can go into the pyramid. There are steps up to an entrance halfway up the pyramid (about 60m up), leading to a passageway into the pyramid.
The passageway is square - about 1 meter on each side - and is basically a ramp going down with railings on both sides. In order to get down (the passageway goes down to ground level), you have to pretty much lower yourself using the railings while keeping a secure grasp on the floor with your feet, the whole time hunched over (Rush - there's no way you would have made it). There are no lights in the passageway, so about halfway down the oxygen starts failing and there's no light. There were very few people at the pyramid, but I ended up going down with a man from India now living in Dubai who kept telling me that the passageway smelled like dangerous chemicals (he's an oil man, so he would know) and that we were about to die. Excellent.
At the bottom of the passageway were two gigantic halls, where the body and other goods were stored (before they were stolen, like everything else). The rooms were lit and really impressive - about 100 feet tall, and beautiful. It almost made the disastrous climb down and impossible climb up worth it!
After Dahshur we went to ancient Memphis, which has been entirely destroyed. What was left was basically an outdoor museum with several statues and pieces of rocks, including a gigantic statue of Ramses II and a small sphinx.
After Memphis was lunch (total rip off and commission for the tour guide - score negative one for the private tour). After lunch we went to the Giza pyramids and the Sphinx. As I mentioned earlier, the Giza pyramids are about 100 feet from the city of Giza, and they look exactly like every picture you've ever seen. I took a bunch of great pictures, which are posted on summerincairo.shutterfly.com.
After the pyramids, they took me to a "Perfume factory" for another "tour" (read: commission for the tour guide). This was also really cool - they gave me a lot of free water and tea, and I got to see a guy blow glass for perfume bottles (which were gorgeous), and they told me how they made perfume and I got to smell some. I also had a great conversation with the guy showing me around. We spoke in Arabic for a minute (he spoke MSA with me and taught me some Egyptian words), and then we talked about politics in America for a little bit. He asked why Americans study Arabic. He said that Egyptians study English (or French - almost everyone speaks some French) because they need it for tourism jobs, and he didn't understand why Americans study Arabic. I said that there are many Arabs in the US (a bit of an exaggeration), and that many Americans work abroad. I didn't say the obvious reason - the importance of the Middle East to US foreign policy and the need to understand a language in order to develop effective foreign policy. I told him that learning Arabic was very important for my job, and they seemed to accept that.
After that conversation, I again didn't buy anything (more pouty tour guide) though I saw a really beautiful glass hookah for about $100.
I slept in the ride back to the hotel (score 1 for the private tour and the air-conditioned comfortable car - which makes it about even).
All in all, I'm glad I did the private tour. For what I got (an air-conditioned car, a driver, and a tour guide to go at my pace and do what I wanted), it was really cheap. I would have spent a lot of money to hire a taxi or car-and-driver for the day (about $30-40), and it was worth it to have the person with me to explain all the sites. I would have hated going on a group tour - with all the people there the whole time, and no personal attention (and all the same scams).
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Coptic Cairo & First Impressions
I've been in Cairo for a day and a half now, and it's been interesting thus far.
Some initial Cairo observations:
Some initial Cairo observations:
1. Traffic is terrible
It's almost a cliche here, but the traffic really is worse than almost anywhere else I've been. To begin with, there exactly as many lanes as cars fit across (regardless of any lane markers). Yesterday driving back from the airport, there were 6 lanes of traffic on a 4 lane road (and one of those was a left-turn only lane). Pressing the horn is as common as stepping on the accelerator.
2. Women are nearly entirely absent
There are very few women walking around the streets of Cairo - the streets are dominated by mostly young men. However, the women that are around are a mix of conservatively dressed and not. One thing that has been really interesting are the women walking around with the boyfriends (husbands?) walking hand-in-hand. Didn't see as much of that in Indonesia as I've seen here so far!
I also uploaded pictures! Go here: http://summerincairo.shutterfly.com
I'll add more as I notice more....
Coptic Cairo
I spent most of the day today in Coptic Cairo, also known as old Cairo. Coptic Cairo is a closed-off area with churches and tiny alleyways. Today was Labor Day, so it seemed like every Egyptian in the country was there. Most of the people there were Christian Arabs - everyone crossed themselves before entering the churches. The whole area - in addition to being packed with people - was very commercialized, bookstores and shops all over. Despite that, there were hidden alleyways leading to courtyards with kids playing soccer.
The churches themselves were interesting. Very ornate, high wood ceilings. But detracting from that was the giant paintings of Jesus with flashing Christmas lights outlining his body - not so classy.
Probably my favorite part of the area was the Ben Ezra Synagogue. It was a small building (no pictures allowed, unfortunately), with a huge marble altar in the center with the Torah and a replica of the 10 commandments. The building was very ornate, with lots of stained glass and marble inlay. Around back of the synagogue is a mikvah and the alleged site where Miriam and her mother put Moses in a basket and sent it down the Nile (look at my pictures!).
I also spent a good deal of time in the Coptic Museum, which holds very well-preserved pieces of Coptic art, mostly taken from monasteries and churces. The building itself was beautiful.
As I walked around, I met a bunch of kids and played a little soccer, and got some great views of Coptic Cairo from the side streets where no tourists were.
Tomorrow is my first day working - starting with an 8:30 meeting downtown. I'll post more soon.
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