Cairo Tower Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square

So last week i had a Monday off because of Taba liberation day. (Im not really sure where Taba is and my roommate who is Egyptian also had to look it up apparently it is near Isreal which makes sense if Egypt is liberating something its most likely from the Isrealis.) Anyway so on Monday my friend Nate and I wanted to escape campus and go exploring and hopefully get to the Egyptian Museum.

I would just like to preface this story with the fact that the Egyptian Museum website is the worst in the world and if someone wanted to find a job in egypt with some basic html skills they could easily design websites for people in Egypt i mean it was terrible. So for this reason we had no idea when the museum opened of closed but out of fear it would close at two (a lot of government run buildings close around two in Egypt.) we decided we will walk over inquire for next time because the earliest bus leaving campus was at 12. We got on the bus arrived in Zamalek (island in denial (it sounds like the nile get it?)) and had some ful and tumiyya (beans and falafel) from a street vendor which cost us like 2 pounds hitched a cab to Cairo tower or Burg Al-Qahira.

It was a really quick cab ride over and the cab driver was a nice guy asked us how we were enjoying Cairo so far since he instantly realized we were Americans. So Cairo I realized has actually does not really have any sky scrapers its a city full of 18 million people almost and the tallest building around is Cairo tower or maybe the Pyramids. Which compared to building in New York well are not nearly as tall maybe back before the switch to AD they were really tall but not compared to todays buildings. Anyway we went up the tower took some photos and decided to walk across the bridge down to Tahrir square where the old AUC campus was, the Egyptian Museum, and of course where Egypt had its revolution/ is having.

West side of Cairo or Giza

Well we got down started crossing Nate turns to me and says "Julian i look extra white today, so if we get arrested im sorry." It was fine other than of course trying to cross the streets Tahrir was quiet with lots of murals and people selling Egyptian flags. A regular day but it was still really cool to be in a place where a year ago people were revolting and maybe now they will have a government that is run by the people Insha Allah.

Through the smog you can kind of see the Pyramids

East said of Cairo across that bridge is Tahrir

I'm in denial

So we start heading to the museum but we decided to wait for a bit because Nate had invited Nadine a girl from our Art and Architecture course to join us even though shes Egyptian she has not really seen the whole museum which makes sense because it was immense. Before that though we met a guy who of course "worked at the museum" said he was going to a mosque to pray but that nate and I should visit this really cool place across the street. For once we thought this guy was legit he even stopped nagging us and started to leave. Then out of the goodness of his heart he said hey why not i have time ill take you guys over there! 5 seconds later im in this small shop with a guy trying to sell me "real papyrus look government stamped antiquity." Not even sure what that means then he decided instead of buying papyrus we looked like the guys who needed essential oils, perfume and cologne. He let us try the lotus flower scent which i do have to say smelt pretty good. When we had the chance we made a bad excuse and got out of there.

As soon as we step outside , "Hey! Dont worry im not a tour guide. I work at the museum there is this really cool place you should come buy. But dont feel preassure im going to go pray. Actually i have the time let me just take you two there!" after "uncle Hassam like uncle Sam but HAssam" took us to another store awfully simliar to the last one we were of course sprayed with tutunkhamun and ramses the 2nd scents. After Hassam asked if Nate had a girlfriend back at home for every day of the week we left and the again, "HEY! Dont worry im not a tour guide. I work at the museum there is this really cool place you sohuld come buy. Im going to pray so ill just show you its right around the corner!" but this time instead of Uncle Hassam it was to me "I am from upper egypt and you have the face of a Nubian, but not the color!" very clever. We got out of this mans deal and crossed back the street and entered the museum with Nadine.





The Museum was incredible. I realize how someone could spend all day there and still not see everything i mean this is almost 4 thousand years of history and even though i was not allowed to take photos it was incredible. I saw king Tut (right above), mummies, statues, art, real papyrus, greek art, roman, chariots, tombs, golden boats, i mean just everything possible. The only problem as with everything tourists pay the special tourists price i mean all in all i spent 15 dollars but it was sad to go with Nadine because she spent only 1. But still a successful day i would have to say.

Alexandria

So this trip actually happened a week ago but with exams, school work and my late arrival back at campus i never really had time to write about it. ISA (International student association) took a group of people to a small retreat outside of Cairo called Anafora and then to Alexandria for the weekend.

Anafora (which i did not really take any pictures of) was a very small quaint place. It was run by the coptic church but it was open to anyone and it seemed like a place from a movie. Somewhere a traveler would go to rest meet incredibly nice people and just forget about the world. It was nice, reminded me very much of a farm or village in Mexico. After a nice 2 hours we then got back on the bus for Alexandria.

Alexandria is an incredible city. Much simpler than Cairo because the whole City is just on the edge of the Mediterranean sea. One long huge street takes you through the whole city and the other side you have the sea. Maybe because it was Friday or maybe because its a city right on the beach it was so much more relaxed, it seemed friendlier to Cairo (or maybe since i was with an egyptian and apparently i can pass for an egyptian), and well a just generally calmer. The night we arrived we stayed at a nice hotel that of course ISA always manages to book for a great price since we come with a large group. We had a lot of free time in the afternoon which a group of friends and I took advantage of by going to a famous sea food restaraunt. I've heard stories of people from Cairo driving to Alexandria just to go eat then drive back down the same night. Its a 4 hour drive, the food was that good, and that inexpensive.

Balba' which apparently means to pig out was packed with locals, very funny and helpful waiters, and of course different stations for all your food. I must say im not the biggest fan of sea food but even I know this was great food. Thinking about it just makes me want to go back.



The next morning we toured some of the historic sites in Alexandria like some of the Roman catacombs, old egyptian forts, and the New library of Alexandria built on what they think are the remnants of the old one. Saw some books that are over a thousand years old, saw a part of the cloth that they used to cover the Qaba at one point, and it also serves as a museum for some of the more colonial periods. It was a great time.

I have to say Egypt is a great place for tourists i realize why now its economy was based on tourism and also why now its in such dire straits without the regular flow of foreigners. I dont want to sound like an ad but if for some reason you ever want to visit the Middle East so far its been 2 months and there is not one thing i regret. Well not being fluent in arabic is one thing, if i was i could probably get even more discounts at historical sites by faking being Egyptian. Oh well. For next time. 

Culture and my Anthropology course

So since Im' a double major in Civil Engineering and Global Studies (I mean IDEAS is different but double major is just an easier way of explaining it so i just say double major), while here in Cairo i am of course fulfilling mostly my studies in Global Studies. Like my adviser said, "engineering is engineering everywhere, whether you went to Germany or New Zealand or Egypt i would still suggest taking courses that were not engineering based." So im taking anthropology courses, poltical science, language, and globalization courses which all fall under the broad category of Global Studies.

On class i really enjoy is my anthropology course People and Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. It is great to really talk about these issues in a classroom setting with students who really come form all over the world. I mean not only im I the American but we also have people from Europe, Egypt, Asia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, just a general mix of people. The more time i spend in that class the more I'm convinced that everywhere people act the same way. More and more I am beginning to think there is no such thing as culture. There are traditions, like yes we eat these things in this country and eat these other things in the country. We pray like this in one country and like this somewhere else. But in essence we all want those same simple things. What really separates people and their thinking is mostly just economical standing. Study abroad and all the packets i got from AUC kept talking about a culture shock that eventually i would feel. Yes i occasionally get frustrated that i have difficulty speaking with people but culture shock? I dont think yet there has been something that someone has done here that i just find unacceptable and i hope that i have not done something unacceptable to the people here.

I dont know how to explain it but sometimes i forget that im halfway across the world. Sometimes i look around and here what may or may not be Spanish i get confused and say wait no im not in Mexico. This idea that people are just inherently different and this will always cause a break, is just a lame excuse to not try and understand someone's motives. I have been watching the news from the New York times or Wall street journal or cnn and actually it just makes me angry hearing what thew news has to say about things going on here in Egypt or the Middle East. It is as if when i hear about the Middle East from people outside of it its like a whole different world with strange beliefs, ancient statues, and backward thinking people. Even when people talk about the US here (although i feel as if you get a much better discussion about US foreign politics here than even back in the US because people are not afraid to say hey thats wrong but that other thing was right).

Sorry for this sappy reflection but i was talking to some friends who were home sick and maybe its just because i am always away from home when im at school anyway, but i dont wake up thinking this is Egypt everything is different, I get to class and when the janitor says good morning to me by saying Sabah al-Kheer thats when i remember oh ya im in a different country.

The Red Sea

So it has been a while since i last updated and actually this story happened last weekend but I've been busy with school and homework and other things that i have not yet managed to talk about my trip to the Red Sea and St. Anthony's monastery, which is considered the oldest monastery in the world. More on that later.

So I never realized how close the Red Sea was to Cairo it only took us about an hour and a half to get there by bus. The International Students Association (ISA) took us there for free (although i guess the got money from the school which gets money from our tuition so not completely free). It was a great time Ain Sukhna is mostly just a tourist location for Egyptian locals and i dont kow if you really could call it a city. Where we were it was mostly just hotels and beach and houses. Nothing really to do other than to relax by the Red Sea. I was surprised when we made it to the beach. I do not think i have seen clearer waters i mean even further out at sea you could still sea straight down to the bottom. The water was crystal clear. The only problem was that i managed to forget my camera back in my room. So all these photos come from people i know. I have to thank them again.

We also then spent a bit of the day on Saturday touring the monastery of St Anthony which as i said is considered the oldest monastery. apparently St Anthony was the first monk, he decided one day to give up all his possessions and went to live in a cave above where the monastery would eventually be built. It was a very nice and quiet place. With some amazing scenery.

My friends managed to only take photos of me when i was not ready...