Pyramids to piles of rubble

This post is dedicated to the sad sight of a rock heap that once was one of the first Ancient Egyptian pyramids. Rest in peace.
Yesterday I ventured to Saqqara, which is an Ancient Egyptian necropolis from the Old Kingdom (about 2500 B.C.E). The step pyramid at Saqqara was, in a way, a rough draft for the pyramids at Giza. Yet it is spectacular in its own right, and the overall experience of being there was more enjoyable than Giza, because it was less crowded, and the vendors were not as annoying. There will be pictures soon, but my internet is being temperamental. Check facebook for my album in the meantime.

Surrounding the pyramid are nobles' tombs, which stole the show. These tombs are hidden gems filled with intact carvings of daily life scenes including fishing, court dancing, and farming. Some carvings still had their color, but unfortunately the guards forbade me from taking pictures of them.
The best part of my tour (and also the scariest) was the tomb of King Titi (laugh now to get it out of your system . . . there you go). This tomb was not for the faint of heart, and about three people in my group couldn't go in because of their claustrophobia. Imagine trying to climb down a steep ramp into a four foot by four foot shaft going about thirty feet into the ground. Now imagine doing it in in a skirt. :D Then when you get to the very bottom of the shaft, the walkway is like a crawlspace that you have to bend over for about one hundred feet to get to a tomb. The whole experience creeped me out, and I kept thinking of those trapped Chilean miners, and how I didn't want to die in the tomb of a ridiculous king named Titi. In the end, the experience was worth the anxiety, because inside there were magnificent hieroglyphs carved all over the walls. Standing forebodingly in the midst of these carvings was the black granite sarcophogus of the king. Amazing.
I can laugh about it now, but on the way out of the tomb, I hit my head quite hard on the low ceiling of the walkway. I was fine, but as I said on facebook, it would have been the coolest concussion ever, and it would have made a great story. It already has.

Later in the day, I went to dinner at the home of a lovely Egyptian woman named Mrs. Keshk with whom I was put in contact by a cousin of mine (thanks Naomi!)
I arrived in style in the car that she ordered to pick me up (she, like many upper class Egyptians has a driver). Her two-story apartment was beautifully decorated with French antique furniture in the living room, and a Chinese table inlaid with irradescent mosaic pieces in the shape of fish in the dining room. Did I mention the apartment has a view of the Nile? The place was exquisite, which reflected the character of the woman herself. She was so sweet to me, and like a grandmother, urged me to eat more food than I could possibly eat in two or three days. After dinner, I was treated to chocolates from Saudi Arabic, tea, and cookies. Then she, her maid, and I watched Turkish soap operas dubbed in Arabic for the rest of the evening. We were all shocked when an unfortunate bride-to-be found her fiancee in bed with another woman on their wedding day. It was among the most fun visits I've had in Egypt, and I will definitely be going back.

Stay Tuned

Tomorrow there will be an in-depth blogpost. Now I need to go to bed after an epic day!

The Weirdest Thing I've Ever Eaten

Well, the title is not entirely true, but I had to get your attention somehow. Today I ventured into the realm of Egyptian cuisine at the AUC foodcourt. The dish that I tried, khoushary, has been on my radar since I heard it was a staple in the Egyptian kitchen. What is it, you ask? Well, its a hodgepodge of starches including rice, macaroni, spaghetti, lentils, crispy onions, and chickpeas in a tomato/olive oil sauce. To be honest, it looked really weird, and I thought, "here we go . . . " since I heard Egypt is the Middle Eastern culinary equivalent of England.
After trying khoushary, I actually enjoyed it. I'm not saying it's as good as Italian, Indian, Lebanese, Japanese, French, Moroccan, American, Mexican, Greek, or Chinese food, but it wasn't bad.
The best part is that it's completely vegetarian.
Other items on the menu at the Egyptian restaurant, el Omda, were similar to other ethnic foods that I have eaten. Fried eggplant, a recipe from my grandmother's Italian family, was available, as well as falafel, and rice pudding.
The weirdest thing I have ever eaten (and this was unknowingly) was when I was eleven and I ate foie gras in France. But this is a close second.
I guess I'm lucky that foie gras is the weirdest thing I've ever eaten, because Anthony Bourdain, my favorite culinary travel show host, ate a boar's anus cooked in dirt in the African bush. I will count my blessings that there are no boars in Egypt.

The anti-Barbie

Just a warning: this post is random.
Since last week I have been on the hunt for the Muslim Barbie doll named Fulla. *I really want to buy her!* She's going to be my personal souvenir from my trip to Egypt as soon as I can locate a toy shop in my neighborhood.
Let me tell you a little about Fulla, because I find her fascinating on many levels. Fulla was marketed to Muslim countries starting in the 90's as a backlash against Western values, and as a way to promote modest dress and behavior. Some say it was part of a larger movement to get more young women to wear headscarves. Among her warddrobe items is a full length hijab, and shorter veils. Her life also revolves more around the home and family, and she loves to pray.
Besides these obvious differences from Barbie, she is represented in many careers (doctor Fulla, teacher Fulla), and likes shopping, cars, and being with friends. There is no Ken equivalent, because dating is forbidden, but I think she is better off without him anyway.
If I can't find Fulla, I will buy Jamila, another doll that embodies the same values and is Fulla's rival.

When I locate her, I will let all of you know.

The Citadel

For the most part, I will let the pictures speak for themselves, because they are numerous and self-explanatory. A brief background: yesterday I went to the citadel, a 12th century fortress built on a bluff overlooking Cairo. Centuries of rulers used the citadel as living quarters, building multiple palaces, as well as a religious center with about five mosques, and a military base.
Now for the pictures.



Above is the mosque of Mohammed Ali, a 19th century ruler of Egypt. The mosque was his way of sticking it to his former bosses, the Ottomans. By defying them in building more than three minarets, and (in his mind) replicating the splendor of the Blue Mosque, he showed them that he was not going to be their docile follower. Needless to say, the Ottomans were not happy with this turn of events.
The next few pictures are of a secondary mosque.



The Egyptian military museum at the citadel was interesting to me because of its propagandist agenda. The prime examples being the glorification of Nasser, and the Egyptian government's spin on battles with Israel that didn't end in their victory. Don't misunderstand me, I'm sure there is an equally propagandist museum in Israel (or the United States), which I would be just as amused to see. That's the kind of cynic that I am. On the propaganda scale, the Egyptian military museum rates far below North Korean state television but slightly above a fourth of July parade.

A Cairo Adventure

Sorry for the delay in posting. My internet was temporarily suspended, because my landlord didn't pay his bill. He resolved the issue, and now I'm back!
Yesterday, four of the real housewives of Cairo and I went on an excursion sponsored by the ex-pat community center in my neighborhood. The trip was ambiguously named "Royal Palaces", so I really had no idea where we were going. I soon found out that the focus of the trip was on the Mamluks, a group of Turkish slaves who ruled Egypt from the 13th until the late 18th century. The first stop on the trip was the 14th century palace of the Mamluk sultan's food taster, which had been modified over the centuries to serve (in the 19th c.) as a girl's school, and more recently, a compost heap. (I'm not joking. The locals used the palace courtyard and grounds as a garbage dump . . . there were pictures as proof). In 2000, the government decided to restore it to its previous splendor, and voila, it is beautiful once again.
Our charming tour guide, who had a pension for mixing up prepositions, focused on the Arabesque architectural details, and the advanced plumbing technology the palace maintained. She "overdetailed" us a bit, which is something that I as a campus tour guide have a fear of doing, but she really did know her material.
Our second stop was an island in the Nile called "Rhoda Island" (I'm sure someone somewhere could come up with a joke about that one), which houses the Nilometer, a 9th century structure used to assess the height of the Nile, and the Om Khalthoum museum, dedicated to the illustrious diva of Egyptian music. The Nilometer is hard to describe, so I will post a picture for you below.


Basically, it's a pit that designed to allow Nile water to flood inward, in order to measure its height. It is considered a marvel of medieval engineering.

The Om Khalthoum museum just a few steps away from the Nilometer was probably the highlight of my trip. As a classical Arabic singer and national icon, she is considered to be one of the most important (if not THE most important)Egyptian cultural figure of the last century. She sang for King Farouk and Nasser, and was popular with the whole country. Her funeral procession in 1975 was (after Nasser's) the largest in modern Egyptian history.
She was also remembered for her concert dresses, which were elaborate, and brightly colored. These, along with many of her personal belongings and photos were on display at the museum. For those of you who are interested in seeing a performance, here is a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go-3AN-m2gI&feature=related


Afterward, we boarded our van, and went to the City of the Dead. This city is not related to any Ancient Egyptian place, though, so don't get too excited. Starting in the 12th century, wealthy Egyptians built large mausoleums for their families in this region of the city. Guarding these tombs became a full-time job, and for this reason, many poor men moved with their families to the city to become full-time guards. Over the centuries their descendants' population has exploded to over one million. Many of them live in squalid conditions among the extravagant mausoleums of their masters, and (as I could see) the streets are heaped with more garbage and rubble than I have ever seen in a public place.
Our main purpose was to visit the tombs of Egyptian royalty, mainly the family of Mohammed Ali (turns out he's not just a boxer), who was a 19th century Egyptian reformer and the first in a line of modern Egyptian kings. The most interesting part of the complex was a room that housed the remains of Mamluks (the old ruling elite) who Mohammed Ali slaughtered at a dinner party. Some sources say that the dead numbered between forty and four hundred.
These are the unfortunate Mamluks.


If you want to see the album, check out my facebook page. I will attempt to post pictures soon. :D Have a nice day!

Happy Eid!

Today ended on a high note, because I have a four day weekend thanks to Eid! So, I thought I would engage in some random musings . . .
I want to be more optimistic in this post, so I will tell everyone what I really like about Egypt, because I spend many of my waking hours complaining to family and friends about how crazy and strange it is.

Likes:
1) The people. Despite a few bad representations of the Egyptian populace (taxi drivers, perverts, taxi drivers who are perverts), I find that upon getting to know Egyptians, they are a very warm, engaging, and hospitable people. Example 1: I went to the AUC bookstore to purchase school supplies, but I realized that I didn't have the right change. The bookstore owner kindly told me to take the items that I had not purchased and bring the correct change later.

2) The pace. Egyptian time is different from American time. Appointments are suggestions, and everyone is more relaxed about deadlines. As a result,I feel less stressed.

3) The cats. I pass at least ten cats every morning on my way to the bus.

4) The trees and flowers. My whole street is lined with twisty, brambly trees that are abloom with pink blossoms.

5) The weather. Although the temperature is hovering around 92-95 degrees during the day, there is very low humidity, and the weather will be perfect from October through December.

6) Affordability. I can afford luxuries like home delivery of groceries, taxi cab rides, and restaurant dining on a regular basis. I can also have a nice two bedroom apartment in a swanky area of Cairo on my meager student savings.

7) The adventure. Every weekend for the next month I get to go on an excursion to an amazing place: The Citadel, Islamic Cairo, the Egyptian royal palaces, Saqqara, and Mt. Sinai.

8) Books. My class schedule allows me time to enjoy reading, something I don't regularly do at Lawrence (besides class texts).

My life is so much more interesting here than in Appleton. I hang my laundry out to dry, hear the eery call to prayer five times a day, get into ridiculous situations with taxi drivers, getting lost, snobby students, rabid dogs, pushy vendors, and street harassment. I'm not saying I love every minute of it, but I know that this is a formative experience, even if a lot of it is negative.
My kitchen sink makes a loud pitched noise every time I turn it on, and I am terrified of my stove which I have to light manually before using. There are piles of garbage on the sidewalk(not exaggerating on this one folks) that I have to either step over or avoid (whilst almost getting hit by cars) on my way to the bus, and there are beggars everywhere. Plus, there is a never ending supply of flies. I certainly chose an exciting and amazing place to study abroad. :D


Here's me. I'm a bit tanner, thinner, and maybe more Arabic looking? I've gotten some men on street corners asking me "Arabiya? Arabiya?". Calm down, boys . . . lol.