And the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings...

Well I had another full weekend in Cairo, albeit a very hot and sweaty one. I know, I know, you're probably chocking back your words right now thinking that I shouldn't be complaining - I could always be back in Canada, with the snow. Trust me though, it does suck a little. I'm not able to wear the appropriate clothes for 30+ degree celsius weather because they're very conservative here and pants and long sleeve shirts are the norm, even during the summer which is considerably more hot than it is right now. I don't know how Egyptians do it. Their blood must run at a lower temperature or something. Won't it be pathetic if I come home from Egypt without a tan?!

So, on Friday I went to see Coptic Cairo with Jill. A little history lesson is required for you to understand the significance of this place. So, as most of you probably know, Christianity was founded in and around the area that is now Egypt (and several other countries). Moses left Egypt for the promised land, and the holy family is thought to have fled to Egypt when King Herod wanted to kill all the babies in Jerusalem in order to kill the "King of the Jews". Well, they claim that this was where the holy family ended up - in Coptic Cairo. So, it's important for its "holy" value (if you're a believer, I guess), but it's also important because though Egypt was overwhelmingly Christian back in the day, Islam invaded the area and most Egyptians converted. Unfortunately, Coptic Christians are now heavily persecuted, and many of the historic churches that once existed have been destroyed. The area of Old Cairo known as Coptic Cairo is sort of a remaining stronghold for Copts and Christianity in Egypt.

A fresco depicting Mary (I think) in Coptic Cairo

There are 4 churches (and a convent and a monastery) in the small area, including the Hanging Church, the Church of St. George, the Church of St. Sergius and the Church of St. Barbara. There is also the Ben Ezra Synagogue! Jews are even more heavily persecuted than Christians in Egypt (fueled by the Israeli conflict) and there's probably only a handful of Jews left in all of Cairo. In fact, turns out it was a good thing Jill and I went to see the synagogue when we did because two days later, someone threw a suitcase full of gasoline from a passing car into the synagogue and lit it on fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt and they were able to extinguish the suitcase quickly so no permanent damage was done. But you can bet that security is going to be amped up and I doubt that anyone will be able to get in to see the synagogue for a while. Besides that disturbing news, I really enjoyed the Coptic sites. It's interesting because some of the churches are so disguised (to avoid attracting negative attention) that from the outside they just look like a house or any other building but then you go in and CHURCH! If you've been to any old Catholic churches, you know what I mean when I say this. It's an atmosphere thing. The churches were beautiful, if in slight disrepair, and it was interesting to observe Coptic traditions. Coptic Christian traditions are fairly close to Catholic (they broke off from Rome and established their own Pope a while back), but different - you can see the influence of Arabic/Islamic customs. For instance, they remove their shoes and wash before praying. They also make a sort of circuit of the church and kiss everything associated with a Saint, which isn't necessarily an Arabic/Islamic custom, but it was different. I got to observe these customs because we went on a Friday, which is when Copts have their services, so it was fairly busy.

Hanging Church

Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures in a lot of the buildings, like the Coptic museum, which sucked cause it was pretty amazing. The ceiling was redone a few years ago in the style of the old churches, which had intricately carved wooden ceiling, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Jill and I couldn't stop staring at it. The coolest part though was going into the Church of St. Sergius, which was built over the cave where the holy family was thought to have hid. There was a stairway leading down to the cave, but visitors aren't allowed down anymore. It was pretty cool - I even snuck some pictures. Shhh!!

After my religious experience on Friday, I did something equally momentous on Saturday. I went shopping! Ok, well it was pretty cool, cause I went shopping at Khan el Khalili market. This is a very old souq (market) that has been around since the 14th century. I'm sure you could find anything you could ever want in this market. It was fun, but the bargaining is more a hassle than fun (especially cause it's in Arabic) and some of the shop keepers can be pretty in your face, wanting you to come in their store and by this or that. But I got a lot of souvenirs so I'm happy!

One alleyway in Khan el Khalili market

Other than the tourist-type stuff, work has been going well, but it was a little boring. So, smart girl that I am, I asked to work on other projects and more challenging tasks. And you know what my bosses did? They actually gave me more work! Who knew that would be the result? Now I'm sort of drowning in work and I have no motivation to do any of it. Crap.

In other news, I've been finding it very hard lately. When I did the training for my internship (in Ottawa, before I left), they explained that there's a model of culture shock that basically looks like a 'U' - basically, you start out really enchanted by all the cultural differences and ways of life, then you start to slip down as the things you liked at first start to annoy you and you get frustrated, and eventually you climb back up as you adjust. Sometimes there's a reverse culture shock when you get back to Canada, where you end up being frustrated with Canada because you've become so adjusted to the pace of life where ever you were. Well, I think I'm at the bottom of that 'U', and I'm really hoping I'm going to start climbing back up pretty soon, because things are really grating on me right now. I long for GREEN trees, fresh air, a lack of language barrier and all the other conveniences that come with just knowing your way around and how society works. I can't wait until I have the right of way as a pedestrian again! Mostly, I can't wait until I can be a strong and independent woman again, without people constantly brushing me off because of my gender, and I don't want to have to hold my tongue anymore. I can see now how difficult it is for immigrants to move their entire lives to another country where you simply never feel like you totally "fit in". It's incredibly frustrating and exhausting.

I think I just need to get through the next week or so, get some big projects done at work and power through. Maybe I need to just accept that how I live my life is different, and stop questioning it in comparison to theirs. Maybe I need to stop feeling like I have to answer to them for why my society/culture believes differently, but it's not easy when you constantly feel like you have to defend yourself.

Well, wish me upward momentum! I have a steep climb ahead of me...