Pyramids and Battle Scars

Well, I've spent another two weeks here in Egypt and it's been exciting! I feel like I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things. I've started walking places and not getting lost. I've even started taking taxis on my own! Alas, if they could only discover seat belts, we'd be set.

Let's see, where to start? Chronologically seems most appropriate. So, during my second weekend in Cairo, I went to the Cairo Museum, I toured three very old and famous mosques, I went to an old ottoman house that's been converted into a museum and I went to the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis. It isn't too hard to understand why I then succumbed to the cold I had been battling the week before. I spent most of Sunday in bed blowing my nose, and most of Monday coughing. It sucked, but I have recovered!

The Cairo Museum was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the museum isn't really well kept or organized. It's not laid out in the way that we in Canada are used to in museums; for instance, there are very few labels or lights, and everything is kinda packed in because they have so much. I mean, it was interesting to see all the stuff and it took me hours, it's just I didn't feel like I learned the "story" behind the pieces, or much of the history. The only stuff that resonated was the stuff that I already knew about and was able to identify and piece together. Apparently, they're in the process of building a new museum that will exhibit the collection much better - of course, it won't be finished until after I'm gone. If I go again, I think I'll give one of the Egyptologists standing outside offering to be guides a shot, maybe I'll learn something. The other unfortunate bit of news is that they no longer allow anyone to take their camera inside, so I don't have any pictures (but I totally saw this guy taking photos with his blackberry and I was pissed
man!).

Cairo Museum

Despite all of these difficulties, the King Tutankhamen exhibit was pretty fantastic (it's what most tourists come to see, they usually don't even go through the rest of the museum). His was the only tomb excavated that wasn't looted, which is why it's so amazing because they found a lot of stuff. I mean, there were huge...boxes, I guess you could call them (but picture them the size of a van) that were plated in gold! Well, everything was plated in gold. Also, there are several sarcophagi (plural?) one inside of the other with each more ornate as you go (apparently, this was to discourage looters). I mean, the wealth was nuts! And apparently, because he's known as the 'boy king' (they estimate he died when he was 19), they figure his tomb wasn't even that extravagant because he didn't have the time to build up his wealth or prepare as much for his 'afterlife'. It boggles the mind and makes me wonder what was in the rest of the tombs that were completely ransacked, and what that might have meant to world history. Finally, I had to pay extra to go into the Mummy Room! It was creepy at first, but then it was interesting to see how well preserved they are for being like 7,000 years old (some still have hair - and it's red!). Plus, it was funny because they had Queen Hatshepsut's mummy and the label explained how they didn't realize it was her at first and how the people that found her labeled her the 'fat lady' cause she was 'obese'. Now, I don't know how they decided this, because, as I confirmed upon my second glance at the body, she was skin and bones (as mummies are wont to be). Confused? Me too.

I also went to three very old mosques - the Ibn Tulin mosque, the Sultan Hassan mosque and the Al Rifa'i mosque - which were fairly amazing, and HUGE! The architecture was beautiful. Next to the one mosque is an old Ottoman house that was preserved really well by a British ex patriot in the early 1900s, and when he moved back to Britain, he donated the house to the Egyptian government as a museum. It was pretty cool and I took a million pictures (the rest to be seen on Facebook). Afterwards, we drove to see the ruins of the ancient city of Memphis. It sounds more impressive than it was, there's not really much left, but there were some cool statues.

Inside the Ibn Tulin mosque

Me and Ramses at Memphis

There was a lot of walking and the whole weekend was pretty exhausting, so as I said, I ended up sick for a few days. Then, on Tuesday I went shopping at the huge mall here called City Stars with my friend Nada (she's Egyptian, and a fellow intern). It sucked a little because they have mostly the same stores that we do, except the clothes are more expensive (because of import duties) even after the exchange rate, so it wasn't worth it to buy anything. However, purses and shoes are cheaper! So I'm concentrating my efforts on those fronts.

This past weekend, I went to the el Fayoum oasis and the Maydoum pyramid. The el Fayoum oasis is the largest in Egypt and it's pretty populated now, so it didn't exactly fit this image of an oasis that I had in my head from movies. There was a huge lake though, which was really strange because it goes from desert straight into lake. There's no demarcation of grass or something. I also saw a desert for the first time ever! So that was cool. Again though, the desert doesn't look like what I've seen in movies. Jill told me that the desert in Egypt is very flat and packed hard (it's not fluffy, and you don't sink in). All the movies that shows the sort of rolling dunes are filmed in Tunisia or something. Nevertheless, still cool to see some desert.

Now, for the piece de resistance, I went into a pyramid! The Maydoum pyramid is one of the older step-style pyramids (they hadn't quite gotten the technique down yet that they used later for the Great Pyramids at Giza). We had to climb down this small opening on a really sketchy wooden platform with pieces of metal ever foot or so that you brace yourself on. I tripped a few times, so that was scary. Then you climb up these ladders into a really small room the just fit the sarcophagus. Because it was the early style, there were no drawings or inscriptions or anything, so it was fairly boring (and really hot and humid once you got inside). But still cool to have gone in! Then I went into this other temple thing beside the pyramid that had other tombs, including the first sarcophagus ever discovered in Egypt. I went into the tomb by myself because Jill and her friend Judy didn't want to crawl in. I don't blame them, it was really hard, but I figured I had to do it since I was there (when would I ever get the chance again?), even though my legs were killing me already from the pyramid. Anyways, at one point I had to literally crawl on my stomach through a square opening that wasn't much wider than my shoulder width. I wasn't sure I would ever make it out again, and I totally scraped up my ankle in the process. Ah well, it was worth it!

Me at the Maydoum pyramid!

So, as for everything else, work is going ok. Still a bit of a struggle what with the lack of Arabic and all. Plus the other interns are finished (their school break is over), so I'm all alone now. I've signed up for Arabic lessons (two hours, twice a week - so it should be pretty intensive), which start tonight so we'll see how they go.

As for other observations about Egypt, I'm beginning to see the development issues that are kinda glossed over when you first get here, especially because I've really only seen the wealthier side of the country. It's an amazing country, but they face a lot of challenges, not the least of which is the huge differences between classes, the gender gap, and religious intolerance, among others. But I've met a lot of friendly people, especially those who work at my office, who are trying to overcome these challenges and hopefully they'll be successful in time.

Signing off, it's a beautiful 22 degrees Celsius and sunny here in Cairo. How's it going in Canada? :P

My First Week in Cairo...

Sabbat el khir!

Greetings from Egypt! For all of you who were worried, and I was definitely among you, I managed to arrive safely in Cairo with no luggage or flight problems. Given my track record with travelling, that's a bloody miracle all on its own. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep at all on my flight from Ottawa to London because some kid was wailing ALL night. I did manage to watch a movie though called Bandslam (no Emily, not Band sa-lam, though I'm sure your version of things would have made for a better movie), which was fairly awful but had a special appearance by JASON STREET! (Only April and Emily will understand this, so never fear if you are lost)

In Heathrow, I headed for the washroom and got changed into some clean clothes, brushed my teeth, which was awful because the taps only had hot water, and put on some makeup. Feeling much better about myself, I headed off to explore Terminal 3. It was huge and everything was expensive. There was even a Harrod's store. After exchanging $40 Canadian for £18 (already a disappointing exchange rate, I then noticed that there was a service fee of £3 and when I walked around the corner there was another money exchange with signs saying "no service fee", blast) I tried to call my parents. The first time, I severely underestimated how much it costs to call overseas (especially from an airport phone that will rip you off), so we only managed to say hello before we were cut off. Once I figured out the problem, I didn't have the right change so I had to wander off and ask people to make change. Finally I was able to call back, but it still cost £5 (so like $11) to make a 3 minute call!! I really don't understand how people live in the U.K. Then I ventured off to find some lunch - a challenge, since I only had £13 left. But I managed to get eggs on toast and a chamomile tea. Mmm it was delicious!

My tea! In England!

There was a slight delay at Heathrow because it was unseasonably cold in London and it had snowed all of three inches. This, of course, screwed them right up, but my flight managed to leave with only an hour delay. My flight to Cairo was fine, except they only had small TVs every few meters along the aisles and they played '500 days of summer', which is a fairly depressing movie so I mostly slept. What was really cool was that they broadcasted the image from a camera that must have been on the front of the plane (outside) on the TVs. So I literally saw the plane take off and land from a pilot's perspective! I couldn't decide whether it was really cool or actually terrifying while it was happening, but now that I've arrived safely, I've decided it was pretty cool.

So I arrived in Cairo and I was fairly nervous about meeting my host family. Mostly I was nervous that for some reason, no one would be there, in which case I probably would have gotten right back on a plane to come home. We didn't disembark into the airport either, we had to walk down some stairs onto the tarmac and then catch a bus to the terminal, so that was interesting. Then I got my visa and my passport stamped, collected my luggage and went through the exit...into a crowd of people! I was disoriented at first but then I saw a sign with my name on it and plowed ahead. My host mom Jill and my host sister Sarah greeted me with a kiss on each cheek, which I was told is a very Egyptian way to greet people. My response - it's very French Canadian too. For some reason, I constantly feel the need to point out Canada all the time. It's probably an insecurity from being so far away. For instance, Sarah likes Nickelback and so I say "Canadian!" It's this weird word vomit that must stop.

My host family lives in an apartment on the first floor of a sort of complex. The address is Villa 2 and I think that speaks a little more to the reality. It's an apartment, but it's huge! And because Jill's sons are off at University in the States, I get a room (including a bathroom) all to myself! It's great. They also have two cats (a kitten - Sunni and a 15 year old - Bradley) and a dog - Gizmo. The animals are really friendly and comforting being away from home. Yes Emily, I actually miss Bowie. Unfortunately, in Egypt there are a lot of stray cats and dogs that live on the street. Egyptians, who are predominantly Muslim, also dislike dogs because the Qur'an says they're dirty. So it's very unusual to have a dog as a pet and Gizmo has to be shut in Jill's room whenever an Egyptian comes over, the plumber for instance, because they not only dislike them, but actually fear them to some degree. As a result though, I can take a walk around the neighbourhood and as long as I have Gizmo with me, no one is likely to bother me.

As I've discovered, no one should come here unless they speak Arabic. For serious. Everyone says that most people can speak English, but no. It's very broken and not at all common. It's also really frustrating to get around because the streets are all twisty, generally don't have a name (maybe a number) and there are no signs (not that that would help me because they'd be in Arabic anyway). Also, maps are all in Arabic and again there are no street names so it wouldn't really help me. Essentially, I have to be literally shown how to get somewhere and then memorize the route. Taxis are hard because the drivers don't necessarily speak English and they'll try to rip you off because they can see you're a foreigner (they'll also hit on you, but that's another issue entirely); I don't know my numbers in Arabic very well yet so I can't bargain with them over the fare. I have learned how to use the subway (they call it the metro)! And I've started to take it to work on my own. It's pretty simple so I'm fairly certain I can use it to get around. But for the first week, I felt really isolated and anxious about going anywhere. You just want to hide in your room all day, but I'm learning, slowly but surely. Jill has also driven me around to try and show me the city, here are some photos:

Khoufu PyramidCity shot from Azher Park, you can really get a sense of the smog

A few other observations related to culture shock: the traffic here is nuts! There are lines painted on the road, but as far as I can tell they're only a formality. People weave in and out and cut other people off. Cars drive around with their mirrors folded in because the cars drive so close together that otherwise you'd lose a mirror (and frequently do, I'm told). There are only a few traffic lights and people park along both sides of the street so it's a tight squeeze sometimes. People often "double-park" too, where there's two rows of cars parked along the same side of the street. How the person on the inside is supposed to get out, I shall never know. To top it all off, there's no such thing as crosswalks here so people dodge cars to cross the street! Also, one of my travel books mentioned that the sidewalks in Cairo are all broken and uneven, so it advised to wear good walking shoes. Well it was right; in fact, sometimes the sidewalk disappears all together. How the locals get around this? They just walk in the street! Alongside the cars, that speed by very close to them. It's unnerving and I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Above all, I've learned you cannot be timid in Cairo and you can't be careless. I'll just have to learn to dodge cars too. Hey, maybe by the time I get back I'll learn how to jump onto the hood of a car all karate kid style!!

Finally, I started my job two days after I got here (the work week here is Sunday to Thursday and the weekend is Friday-Saturday, which is going to take some getting used to) and it's been going well. Unfortunately, my abilities in Arabic are atrocious and I can't pronounce, let alone remember most of my co-workers' names. When I was being introduced, several of them were surprised and asked if I was Egyptian because they said I look Egyptian. When I replied that I wasn't and assured them that there were no Egyptians in my family, one man even said "You don't just look Egyptian, you have an Egyptian spirit too!" I beamed. I found out later that they just tell you you look Egyptian to be polite. Poo.

Wow! That was a long post, but I had to sum up a whole week! I'll try to post more often from now on. Also, I'm posting more photos on Facebook because there's just too many to upload here. Most of you have Facebook or access to it, so check 'em out!

Until next time, ma salaama!