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| Pretty in Pink |
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| Napping at Al-Azhar Mosque |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Egypt = Awesome
On Wednesday after my final exams, I flew to Cairo for a 5 day stay in Egypt. I had a wonderful time. I am not going to recount everything that I did in Egypt but I will certainly detail the highlights.
The Pyramids
First, I had no idea how close the Pyramids were to Cairo. Suddenly, on our drive to Giza, the Pyramids appeared over the skyline of the edge of Cairo. The contrast was quite spectacular. Needless to say, the Pyramids were breathtaking. I can easily understand how they are considered one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. We spent about 3 hours exploring the three pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx. We were able to climb the Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Khufu). The passageway was narrow and at about a 35-degree angle. Essentially, wood panels had been secured to the slanted stone passageway. Walking up, I had to crouch and bend so as not to hit my head (although I did anyway). Anyone with a touch of claustrophobia would not have enjoyed this experience. At the end of the passageway was the King's Chamber. This is the room with the remnants of the Pharaoh Khufu's sarcophagus.
Aside from climbing inside the Great Pyramid, we spent the remainder of our time walking around the outside of the Pyramids. From what everyone said, there should have been many more tourists but due to the recent turmoil, tourists have been deterred from traveling (not me!). There were a couple of incidents where Egyptians wanted to have their pictures taken with us. I had mine taken with a group of Lebanese school girls. I also posed in front of a tank with an Egyptian soldier. Why? Just because.
My other new experience at the Pyramids was riding a camel! Even though I have been living in Jordan for over 6 months, I had not yet ridden a camel. Well, that has since been changed. There seems to be a wandering herd of camel at the Pyramids and for a small fee you can climb on one and lumber around for a few minutes. Camels are perhaps the most awkward creature I have ever encountered. The way they move (and run, in particular) is just funny.
The Pyramids
First, I had no idea how close the Pyramids were to Cairo. Suddenly, on our drive to Giza, the Pyramids appeared over the skyline of the edge of Cairo. The contrast was quite spectacular. Needless to say, the Pyramids were breathtaking. I can easily understand how they are considered one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. We spent about 3 hours exploring the three pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx. We were able to climb the Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Khufu). The passageway was narrow and at about a 35-degree angle. Essentially, wood panels had been secured to the slanted stone passageway. Walking up, I had to crouch and bend so as not to hit my head (although I did anyway). Anyone with a touch of claustrophobia would not have enjoyed this experience. At the end of the passageway was the King's Chamber. This is the room with the remnants of the Pharaoh Khufu's sarcophagus.
Aside from climbing inside the Great Pyramid, we spent the remainder of our time walking around the outside of the Pyramids. From what everyone said, there should have been many more tourists but due to the recent turmoil, tourists have been deterred from traveling (not me!). There were a couple of incidents where Egyptians wanted to have their pictures taken with us. I had mine taken with a group of Lebanese school girls. I also posed in front of a tank with an Egyptian soldier. Why? Just because.
My other new experience at the Pyramids was riding a camel! Even though I have been living in Jordan for over 6 months, I had not yet ridden a camel. Well, that has since been changed. There seems to be a wandering herd of camel at the Pyramids and for a small fee you can climb on one and lumber around for a few minutes. Camels are perhaps the most awkward creature I have ever encountered. The way they move (and run, in particular) is just funny.
Alexandria
On Sunday, we were scheduled to take a train to Alexandria to visit my friend Ahmed whom I met through the Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) hosted at Miami last summer. Another SUSI-er, Nada, was going to go with us. Unfortunately, I woke up on Sunday morning with strange stomach pains that kept me in bed for a while. At the last second, I decided I should get up and at least try to make it to the train station for our 900am departure. So, we ran. However, while on the metro on the way to the station, I was pretty nauseous so we got off for a few minutes until the next train came. About 5 minutes from the station, Nada called to inform me that the train had just left.
We met Nada at the ticket counter to see about getting tickets for the 10am train. There weren't any tickets left. Nada suggested taking a local mini bus. She said, "my mom would kill me if she knew." So, obviously, we decided to take a mini bus. The trip up was easy. I dosed off on the way but, 2.5 hours later when we made it to Alexandria, I was feeling pretty sick again. We met Ahmed and I told him what was going on with my stomach. He ran to a pharmacy and got me some medicine. Then, we headed to get lunch because I hadn't eaten anything and, of course, couldn't take any pills on an empty stomach. So, Ahmed got us into a cab and directed the driver to a restaurant right on the Mediterranean. First of all, the sea was beautiful! The restaurant sat right on the edge with a beautiful view. We walked in and Ahmed arranged for a display of fresh fish so we could pick our own. We ended up getting a selection of fish, shrimp and squid. It was quite an experience. When the food finally came out, I was very ready to eat, not least because I wanted to pop a pain killer. There was so much food! Ahmed showed me how to eat the fish (because they were served whole). I wasn't very good at it. Nada opted not to eat the fish because it was too messy and she wasn't going to try to tackle it with her head scarf on.
From lunch, we walked to the Bibliotheca Alexandria. This library is built on the remains of the Ancient Library of Alexandria (another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). The Ancient Library of Alexandria was supposedly the largest collection of documents and manuscripts of the ancient world. We were unable to enter the library so we simply explored the modern architecture of the outside.
After the Library, we took a cab to a caste that sits on the water. It was a beautiful view. We bought ice cream at Alexandria's most famous ice cream shop. Ahmed introduced me to rice and milk with ice cream on top. The combination was surprisingly delicious. At about this time, I started to feel pretty ill again. So, we decided to get in a cab and head somewhere where we could sit, check up on the referendum results and have a drink. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out before heading back to the train station to get our train to Cairo.
Tahrir Square and the Egyptian National Museum
On Saturday, we visited Tahrir Square and the Egyptian National Museum. We set Saturday aside for this because we thought there might be a little excitement with the referendum being held. However, we later learned that the voting took place in schools which dispersed the population to various parts of the city. Our day started by taking the metro to the Egyptian National Museum, a strangely pink building located directly next to the burnt building of Mubarak's party headquarters. The museum contained plenty of ancient artifacts. The most popular exhibit was filled with the gold accessories of Tutankhamen.
After spending a few hours wandering around the museum, we walked outside and down the street to Tahrir Square proper. We saw people with Egyptian flags painted on their cheeks, tree trunks painted the colors of the flag, people waving or wearing the flag. We were approached by excited Egyptians wanting their picture taken with us and the Egyptian flags that we bought. I could tell how excited they were!
General Observations
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Cairo. I noticed how happy the people were compared to Jordanians. People had a sense of humor about everything. Shopkeepers would joke with you even if you didn't want to buy their wares. People volunteered to help us with directions or basically anything before we even needed to ask! The population is so much poorer in Egypt but I think not having the 'burdens' of Jordanian wealth has made them a happier people.
Also, Cairo felt like a much more vibrant city with so much more to offer than Amman. For example, one evening we went to a jazz club for a concert by a Brazilian band. That would never happen in Amman. There were restaurants upon restaurants to try out with any kind of food you could imagine.
Khoushri (basically Egyptian fast food) is delicious.
Dental care needs to be stepped up in Egypt.
Everything was so incredibly cheap!
Also, everything was so incredibly dirty!
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| Nada, me and Ahmed |
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| At the Pyramids. |
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| Pink= museum. Charred= Mubarak's party HQs |
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| Painting Flags |
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| Khoushri |
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| Tahrir Square and happy Egyptian girls :) |
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Movie Debut
About a month ago, the Fulbrighters were informed that there would be a film crew coming to Amman to working on making a movie titled "Fulbright Revisited." As far as I know, a wealthy former Fulbrighter left money to make a film documenting how the Fulbright experience changes a person's life. Two commissions were selected to appear in the film. Obviously, the commission here in Jordan was one of the two. I believe the second commission was in Jamaica, but don't hold me to it. So, for about the past week, a crew has been doing interviews and taking footage of Fulbrighters doing various Fulbrighter-ly things in Jordan.
The crew spent a morning at Qasid which is where I made my movie debut. Don't get excited. I was shot having a conversation (that would be talked over) in front of a sign for Qasid. Later, the crew came into our classroom and did some filming there. I don't suspect that much will come of the literary conversation in Arabic that they taped. But, fingers crossed!
While the video might not be out for a while, here are a few snap shots of what the film crew might have picked up:
The crew spent a morning at Qasid which is where I made my movie debut. Don't get excited. I was shot having a conversation (that would be talked over) in front of a sign for Qasid. Later, the crew came into our classroom and did some filming there. I don't suspect that much will come of the literary conversation in Arabic that they taped. But, fingers crossed!
While the video might not be out for a while, here are a few snap shots of what the film crew might have picked up:
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| Rivka, Caryl, Tom (hidden), Ustath Fahdi |
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| Dr. Mohammad is giving us a lesson. |
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| Ilyas's brain hurts. |
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| Craig, Ryan and Leah |
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| Rivka, Carol, Tom (hidden) and Ustath Fahdi |
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| Jamil. Aviators. Arabic. |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Petra by Night
Thursday after class, Ryan (from my Qasid class) rented a car to drive to southern Jordan. The plan was for Ryan, Leah, Shadea and myself to drive to Wadi Musa (Eng: Valley of Moses) to meet Betsy and her visiting friend in time for the Petra by Night tour. After picking up the rental car, we endeavored to make our way out of Amman. However, the task is not as easy as it sounds. The system of circles, underpasses and overpasses are difficult to learn as a daily taxi passenger rather than a regular driver. Instead of 15 minutes, we used all of about 50 minutes to find our way out of the city. Aside from this, however, the drive down was uneventful. Thankfully. The roads outside of Amman are notoriously dangerous.
Wadi Musa, the town associated with Petra, is very different from Amman. First, the city is much smaller. Second, the place is saturated with tourists and the accompanying hostels, restaurants and gift shops catering to the visitors. Unfortunately, the population of Wadi Musa has yet to be accustomed to the presence of foreigners. The taxi drivers have no qualms about cheating visitors. Young men unabashedly call out to passing young women (such as those in my group). Finally, the weather is notably warmer in Wadi Musa- just a few hours drive south of Amman.
We pulled into Wadi Musi in plenty of time to check into our hostel (Petra Gate Hotel). Betsy and her college friend were waiting for us. We quickly put our things in our room and made our way to the entrance of Petra where there were some restaurants. We ate a quick dinner (in my case, lentil soup and hummus) and headed for Petra's main entrance. The Petra by Night tour leads participants down the long, winding, votive-lit siq in silence. The walk takes about 30 minutes and the silence is enforced. Perhaps the most spectacular part of the walk is the impressive view of the stars. I have never been able to see the stars as clearly as that night.
The walk concluded in front of the Treasury. The Treasury is Petra's most ornate and most recognized facade. Most associate it, rightfully, with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For the tour, a couple hundred of luminaries had been placed in front of the Treasury. Rows of rugs had been placed on the ground for us to sit on. As we sat, we listened to a Bedouin flutist and a Bedouin guitarist (although he wasn't playing a guitar and I can't remember what the name of the instrument was). We enjoyed the program, which lasted about 20 or 30 minutes before we walked back up the siq.
By the time we got back to our hostel after the walk, we were all tired. So, we crashed. I slept like a log. I think it is because there weren't any birds to bother me. In the morning, we ate a quick breakfast at the hostel and headed back to Petra. After walking together for a couple of hours, the group split. Betsy took her visitor on a hike up Jebel Haroon (Mt. Aaron). Shadea and I wandered around a little more before heading back in order to make our way to Amman.
At the hostel, we asked about the local buses that run from Wadi Musa to Amman. The woman at the hostel reception desk directed us to the bus station. Unfortunately, however, the bus station was vacant. I had completely forgotten to factor in Friday prayer. Buses certainly wouldn't be running until after noon. We had a couple of hours to wait. So, I called the hostel owner. As it turned out, he knew a cab driver that wanted to drive to Amman to visit his daughter who went to university there. He agreed to drive us for a reduced rate.
I was certainly glad to get out of Amman. Petra was a wonderful reminder of the beauty of Jordan. I need more such reminders. Akrum suggested visiting the north- Um Quaiss, specifically. So, this weekend, we'll be renting a mini-bus to take us up north to enjoy a picnic and the greenery. I am looking forward to taking in the contrast between southern sand and northern foliage.
Jordanian Definition: Picnic: A meal prepared and taken by the side of the road (Airport road is a popular selection) on any patch of grass able to be found.
Wadi Musa, the town associated with Petra, is very different from Amman. First, the city is much smaller. Second, the place is saturated with tourists and the accompanying hostels, restaurants and gift shops catering to the visitors. Unfortunately, the population of Wadi Musa has yet to be accustomed to the presence of foreigners. The taxi drivers have no qualms about cheating visitors. Young men unabashedly call out to passing young women (such as those in my group). Finally, the weather is notably warmer in Wadi Musa- just a few hours drive south of Amman.
We pulled into Wadi Musi in plenty of time to check into our hostel (Petra Gate Hotel). Betsy and her college friend were waiting for us. We quickly put our things in our room and made our way to the entrance of Petra where there were some restaurants. We ate a quick dinner (in my case, lentil soup and hummus) and headed for Petra's main entrance. The Petra by Night tour leads participants down the long, winding, votive-lit siq in silence. The walk takes about 30 minutes and the silence is enforced. Perhaps the most spectacular part of the walk is the impressive view of the stars. I have never been able to see the stars as clearly as that night.
The walk concluded in front of the Treasury. The Treasury is Petra's most ornate and most recognized facade. Most associate it, rightfully, with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For the tour, a couple hundred of luminaries had been placed in front of the Treasury. Rows of rugs had been placed on the ground for us to sit on. As we sat, we listened to a Bedouin flutist and a Bedouin guitarist (although he wasn't playing a guitar and I can't remember what the name of the instrument was). We enjoyed the program, which lasted about 20 or 30 minutes before we walked back up the siq.
By the time we got back to our hostel after the walk, we were all tired. So, we crashed. I slept like a log. I think it is because there weren't any birds to bother me. In the morning, we ate a quick breakfast at the hostel and headed back to Petra. After walking together for a couple of hours, the group split. Betsy took her visitor on a hike up Jebel Haroon (Mt. Aaron). Shadea and I wandered around a little more before heading back in order to make our way to Amman.
At the hostel, we asked about the local buses that run from Wadi Musa to Amman. The woman at the hostel reception desk directed us to the bus station. Unfortunately, however, the bus station was vacant. I had completely forgotten to factor in Friday prayer. Buses certainly wouldn't be running until after noon. We had a couple of hours to wait. So, I called the hostel owner. As it turned out, he knew a cab driver that wanted to drive to Amman to visit his daughter who went to university there. He agreed to drive us for a reduced rate.
I was certainly glad to get out of Amman. Petra was a wonderful reminder of the beauty of Jordan. I need more such reminders. Akrum suggested visiting the north- Um Quaiss, specifically. So, this weekend, we'll be renting a mini-bus to take us up north to enjoy a picnic and the greenery. I am looking forward to taking in the contrast between southern sand and northern foliage.
Jordanian Definition: Picnic: A meal prepared and taken by the side of the road (Airport road is a popular selection) on any patch of grass able to be found.
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