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. 

 

 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!

Nada, me and Ahmed

At the Pyramids.

Pink= museum. Charred= Mubarak's party HQs

Painting Flags

Khoushri

 

Tahrir Square and happy Egyptian girls :)