In The Footsteps of Alexander...

So about a month ago (yes, I know it's been that long and I need to write more often) I went with the gang to Siwa Oasis which is near the Libyan border. Alexander the Great had visited the oasis in 332 B.C. after conquering Anatolia, heading down through the Levant and conquering Egypt in the fall. He ended up staying in Egypt for a year since fighting in the winter is suicide and went to Siwa to consult the great oracle of Amun who resided there. We set out in his footsteps. It took us about 12 exhausting hours of travel to get there by bus, stopping in the coastal town of Marsa Matrouh for a couple of hours for dinner before continuing to Siwa.

The Map :: Credit ::



After a restful night we set out the following day to explore the town. There were few cars- most people went around in donkey carts (including the taxis) and the town itself was quite small and surrounded by lush palm date and olive groves. In the middle of the town stood a hillock with ruins of old mud brick houses covering it. This was the old town of Shali dating from the 13th century whom the Siwans consider to be their ancestors.

After exploring the ruins and walking around a bit, we decided to go on a two day desert safari. We found an operator, got a decent price and set off a few hours later. In a big Toyota 4x4, accompanied by a guard (which seemed completely unnecessary) we drove around the desert for a few hours. We sped up and down steep and beautiful dunes (this at times was really exhilirating- especially when the dune drops off at a 45 degree angle... or more) and stopped at some cold springs, one of which I was very excited for and thus turned out to be particularly disappointing after reading the guide book's description: "One of the best excursions Siwa can offer is a trip... to Bir Wahed... a hot pool the size of a large Jacuzzi... to soak up to your chest, puffing a sheesha, while the sun sets over the dunes and mesas all around". Yeah... not so much. It was a lukewarm dirty pool with no one in it and definitely no damn sheeshas. Basically, I don't trust my guide book anymore. In turn, I don't think my friends trust me anymore either.



After watching the sun set over the dunes, as well as Zeke tackling me down a dune (I was chewing sand for the next few days) and getting the 4x4 stuck for 20 minutes, we headed back to town. That night we stayed in a little camp outside of town which would have been nice if it weren't for my fever at night and the constant buzzing of flies and biting of mosquitoes.

Our driver picked us up in the morning and took us back out into the desert. This time we drove around the desert for a few hours and then headed for a large and shallow salt lake. It was so incredibly salty that floating was no problem. Lifting your arms, legs and head out of the water and not sinking is an odd feeling- I would liken it to soft Jello... but not so sticky... and sweet. mmm... Jello.



After swimming around little bit and getting nicely cut up by the salt crystals which coated the bottom of the lake, we sat out on the bank and had lunch. After that we drove about 20 minutes to what I would describe as a fresh water cistern. The top of the water was covered in a layer of muck- needless to say we were really apprehensive about swimming in it even though we were absolutely covered in salt from the lake. Thankfully, Demetri proved to be more adventurous than all of us and with a candid "well, if no one else is gonna do it..." he jumped in. Miraculously the muck parted before him and it all moved to the other side of the cistern, making a nice clearing for all us to follow him in.



After swimming around for a while we got back into the 4x4 and as the sun set we drove past a small village (where our driver lived) and headed into the desert mesas that formed a rim around the oasis. We stopped inside a little sand valley between two ridges and set up camp. We set out a mat, some candles and were given some water after which the driver left for a few hours and then came back with a fantastic dinner... and his 5 little sons. They served us dinner and even when we tried to lure them with American candy they kept shyly to themselves. After dinner our driver asked us if we needed anything else for the night and then left us there with some blankets for the night.

The desert night sky was beatiful- it rivalled the sky from atop Mount Sinai, but the most amazing aspect was the silence. It was incredible. Aside from th crackling of the fire and our voices there was nothing else. It was incredibly serene and relaxing.



I slept well that night although the sand was a little harder than I would have liked. I woke up twice. The first time was when something was crawling up my leg, which scared the crap out of me (I definitely thought it was a spider). After flailing my legs, seeing something white go sailing through the air and then shouting for a flashlight I found it out it was just a cute little bamby-eyed mouse. He was definitely more scared than I was. The second time I woke up was exactly at sunrise, which turned out to be the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen- the horizon melted from an orange to a pink which faded into a deep blue, liteing the valley with a crisp light with the star filled sky still hanging overhead. It was magnificent.

After waking up, having breakfast and returning to the town by 4x4. We explored the ancient site of the Oracle of Amun nearby Siwa. This is where Alexander travelled during his stay in Egypt to consult the oracle and hear a prophecy. Who knows what he must have heard but he went on to conquer much of the known Eastern world- up to the edges of India. Standing up there looking over Siwa was quite an experience.

Later that day we caught a bus back to Marsa Matrouh and from there chartered a micro bus back to Cairo, which took significantly less time than our trip to Siwa took.

We seem to have a problem...

Last Wednesday:


Now I don't have to worry about the fire alarms not working since the ceiling will put out any fires anyway.

Adventuring with Moses...

Last weekend was undoubtedly one of the more eventful weekends so far. It was a three day weekend and everyone was going somewhere. However, I had a fieldtrip to the Fayyum scheduled on Friday and so I wouldn't be able to do anything until Saturday. Zeke, Demetri and Anita decided to leave on Thursday to climb Mt. Sinai (where Moses received the 10 commandments) and then go to an eco-lodge on the Red Sea coast for 2 days. I was bummed that I wouldn't be joining them on their trip and that I would be sitting at the dorm while everyone was out of town. After some thought I decided that this was not an acceptable situation. The hell with it, I wanted to go to Sinai too! I decided to leave Saturday morning, spend the night at the summit and come back Sunday. It couldn't be that hard, right? Right?

So, Friday came and went and since time flies when you're kinda nervous it was soon Saturday morning. I haven't done much traveling on my own so this would be interesting. I went to the bus station, hopped onto the 11 a.m. bus and enjoyed the 7 hour bus ride to St. Katherine's Monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai.

Suddenly, there I was, standing at a round-about, in the dark with massive mountains towering around me with no one else in sight. One sign pointed to a street-lamp lit road leading to the "St. Katherine's Tourist Village" and another sign pointed to the more ominous and dark path leading to "St. Katherine's Monastery". I was hungry and tired but I didn't feel like walking to the Tourist Village so I decided to start the hike right then.

With the help of my flashlight and a police officer I made my way to the little tourist information office (complete with cafe and kitsch iconography store) on the way to the monastery. I decided to check in with the tourist police first. Zeke had told me that they would probably insist on me taking a guide since it was at night, which was a hassle and expensive but I wasn't entirely sure how to find the path.

- "Where are you from?"
- "America, but I'm a student at Cairo."
- "What are you doing tomorrow?"
- "Going back to Cairo."
- "Are you alone?"
- "Yep."
- "You have a flashlight?"
- "Yep."
- "Okay! Have Fun!"

I was expecting a little more concern for my safety. But, whatever, before I knew it I was already out of the door and on my way. Up the road, past the Monastery and onto the not-so-obvious-in-the-dark trailhead up onto the mountain. Due to the dark I was unsure of which mountain Sinai was. I planned to just follow the path and was confident that I would get there eventually.

My confidence lasted until I got to the first fork in the path. Left? Right? I wasn't so sure anymore. This was a coin flip. They probably all go up the mountain, so I decided on going right. Right always feels better. That is, until the path got really rocky fifteen minutes in and I saw lights descending on the other path. I turn around, got back to the fork and took the other path. I meant to say that left always feels better.

I met the people coming down and they happened to have a bedouin guide with them. I asked him for directions.

- "Hello"
- "Are you going up the mountain? You know where you are going?"
- "No. Not really."
- "Do you need a guide?"
- "I don't think so."
- "Okay. Just stick to the right on every fork after this until you hit the stairs. Go to Cafe #2 when you get to the top, my son is there!"
- "Uhh... okay."
- "Remember: Cafe #2."

Well... at least he wasn't pushy.

So I made my way up, staring at the flashlight-lit path all the way up. I had a little trouble finding the stairs but after 5 minutes of panicking in the dark I was able to make them out. It didn't help that my flashlight had a 5 foot range.

I was surprised because from what I had heard the mountain is usually packed with people going to sleep at night. It was about 9 pm by this time and I had not seen a single person since the bottom. Strange to say the least. After another hour I made it up to the top... finally! It was a good feeling. I looked around, saw a Bedouin kid who tried to sell me a blanket and mattress. I told him I wanted to go to the summit (there were about 100 more stairs to the real summit) to see where all the people were sleeping. I climbed to the top only to see that there was no one there. Not a single person. This was strangely eerie. No worries, I was sure more would be coming later. I went back down and ended up being invited to sleep in a hut with the 4 Bedouin kids who were running the cafes near the summit. We talked quite a bit, using the best of our Arabic/English skilled to communicate. I learned that apparently most of the people come a couple hours before sunrise and I was just extra early. They were incredibly nice (we had an arm wrestling tournament) and I ended up going to bed around 11 pm.

I woke up at 3 15 a.m. to the sound of them getting up and preparing some tea. They were working feverishly getting everything ready and sure enough, 5 minutes later, the first groups began appearing. One of the Bedouin kids took me up to the summit and showed me the best place to sit for the sunrise. It was a rock outcropping on the far side of the summit with a perfect view. By 5 a.m., the first signs of sunrise began and the summit had well over 200 people watching, chatting and singing. I heard Americans, Brits, French, Spanish, Italians, Russians, Japanese, Israelis and more obscure nationalities I couldn't quite put my finger on. The sunrise was beautiful and I finally got to see what I had climbed and the surrounding mountains. It was astonishing.


The stars at the summit were unbelievable and I somehow managed to catch a shooting start in this one...


The cafes from the summit...


Anita had told me that the bus back to Cairo leaves early so as soon as the sun had risen above the horizon I started to make my way down to mountain. I was one of the first back at the monastery at around 7 15 a.m. and I headed straight for the tourist information. I asked when the next bus back to Cairo was and to my surprise, he informed me that it had left an hour earlier at 6 a.m.! Not only that, but this was the only bus back to Cairo all day. I couldn't believe it.

Dazed, I made my way the kilometer and a half to the Tourist Village only to find that the bus station was closed and that the tourist information had not lied to me. I had some breakfast and then dejectedly walked back to the monastery where I knew I could use the bathrooms.

On my way out of the bathroom I met a guy who worked at the iconography store. His name was Beha' and he invited me to sit with him. We ended up talking for two hours, teaching each other English and Arabic. He insisted on giving me free food and drinks from the cafe and after learning about by precarious situation made it his personal mission to find me a way back to Cairo. If we were unsuccessful he made it clear that I was welcome to stay with him at his place while waiting for the next bus the day after. He was really amazingly hospitable. So he and his manager drove me back to the tourist village, on the way showing me an amazing cow shaped natural indentation on a cliff-side (supposedly from when Moses threw the golden cow idol against the mountain wall) which is something that almost no one sees. They then took me and after 10 minutes found me a minibus with one seat left that would take from 10 to 14 hours to get back to Cairo. It would be making many stops but, and they were very proud of this fact, it would be free. Of course, since they were very happy with their efforts, I could not refuse so I bid them farewell, thanked them profusely and climbed on board.

As soon as I got onto the bus I knew something was odd. It was filled with mostly elderly folks and children- all Arab and all staring at me in silence. I made my way to the back of the bus and sat down in the one empty seat. I was instantly surrounded by kids and teenagers who blasted me with questions. Yelling, "What's your name?", "Do you speak Arabic?", "Where are you from?", "Do you want to play a game?" and so on for the next 3 hours. I got to know everyone on the bus quite well, they were all amazingly nice and there were a few kids around my age although none of them spoke more than a few words of English. I think I said "mesh aref" (I don't know) and "mesh fahem" (I dont understand) at least three hundred times, but it was fantastic for my Arabic.

Deer in headlights:


The one guy who was 21, Saeed, (to my right) was there with his wife- they had married only two months ago. There were three families on the bus and all of them were Christians (which was great because I could eat on the bus since they don't observe Ramadan) on a church tour of the Sinai Peninsula. I tried to sleep but every time I put my head down to relax they would either scream more questions at me or they would all start reciting hymns along with a woman singing into the partially working microphone at the front of the bus (it skipped when we hit a bump which was every .01 seconds). It was really all very tiring, especially since I has only gotten a few hours of sleep that night.

And so they kept me busy in this way for 3 to 4 hours, bombarding me with incoherently fast Arabic until, unexpectedly, we finally found the bus driving along a beach. When we stopped and got out I noticed that there was hot water coming out of the sand and streaming into the seawater. As best as I could understand, this was the site of a natural spring and we were going to go into a cave on the nearby cliff side for some reason which I couldn't completely catch. Ten minutes later all twenty of us entered into this cave.

The first chamber was large enough to stand in and had pebbles lining the flood- really nothing special. Once in it for a few minutes the others signaled to me to lie down and shuffle through a foot-and-a-half tall tunnel into a second chamber. This chamber was significantly hotter than the other and I began to sweat quite a bit. Ah! The lightbulb in my head flickered on: this was a natural sauna. A really hot natural sauna. We continued into a third chamber, again this one was significantly hotter. It was probably around 120 F. Then there came the fourth chamber. Not only was it unbearably hot but there were all twenty of us crammed into something that could not have been more than 20 square feet. There was a serious lack of oxygen. By this point I was feeling numbness crawling up my legs and into my arms. Not a good sign. I was sweating profusely and needed some water. "Are we finished", I asked. "Yes, almost", they responded. Finally, after what seemed an eternity they started moving. But in the wrong direction. Yep, another cavern. Cavern #5 was ridiculous. It was so hot I could barely sit on the rocks. I now looked not as if I had just gotten out of a shower but as if I was under one. I couldn't believe how much I was sweating. It got the point where my entire body was numb and I could barely close my hands. Finally they began to move back out of the cave. I almost passed out a few times as we made our way back to the first chamber, but they wouldn't let me out faster. I was so relieved to make it back out to fresh air. It was quite an experience although admittedly not completely pleasant. I was sweaty and covered in dirt. Mmmm. Dirt.

We left the cave sauna and drove another two hours before we reached the Suez Canal. It was already 6 pm by this point and I was getting a little nervous about how much longer it would take us to get to Cairo. I tried to ask the driver (who incidentally REALLY did not like Iranians) if it might be faster for me to get off at the canal and take a bus from there. All I got from his response was something about a microbus, 20 kilometers from Cairo and 1 o'clock. He was a large man with a shaved head and Raiders t-shirt so I decided not to ask again and just go with the flow.

An hour later we stopped at a church. As the others all piled out of the bus I stayed behind to put on my pants (I was only in my swimsuit because of the sauna- which they found hilarious). As I struggled to put my pants on the driver came up to me and told me that I was going to catch a microbus to Cairo. I asked him if this would be at 1 o'clock. "No", he said. "Now". Uhhh, okay. I was pretty sure I was at least 200 kilometers from Cairo at this point, really in the middle of nowhere. He took me out to the highway we had just gotten off of and starts to flag down any car he sees. After five minutes a microbus stops, he tells them something about Cairo, me not speaking Arabic and then pushes me onto the bus. This all happened very quickly.

On the bus now, I had no clue where I was or where I was going. I paid the money collector guy a pound. I got a little confident after 5 minutes and asked him how far outside Cairo we were. He asked the driver who, to my unabashed relief, said 15 kilometers. 15 kilometers! I was so happy. The bus dropped me off at the airport and it was a 20 pound cab ride back to Zamalek. What a fantastic feeling getting into the dorms at 7 30 pm having completed such an adventure. Sinai to Cairo on a pound. That's an accomplishment.

It felt like victory.

Today We Learn About The Fayyum...

First, an introduction:

The Fayyum is a natural basin and oasis in Egypt's Western Desert with a salty and shallow dead sea at its center. It's about two hours southwest of Cairo. The Fayyum was the site of some of Egypt's earliest experiments in food production although the region was only sparsely populated during the Pharaonic Era (3000-300 B.C.E.). During this time temple complexes, pyramids, palaces and hunting lodges were built. However, the lack of fresh water meant that the Fayyum could never support a large population. That is, until the campaigns of Alexander the Great and the beginning of Ptolemaic rule over Egypt. The Ptolemies drained the marshes in the area and linked the region to the Nile valley through canal systems which provided the region with year-round access to fresh water. By 200 B.C.E., according the Roman geographer Strabo, between 10 to 20 percent of the country's population was found here and it was now one of the richest agricultural lands in the world. Thousands of Greeks migrated to Egypt under the service of the Ptolemies and settled in the Fayyum and hundreds of towns were built.

Last Friday my Graeco-Roman history class took a field trip to the Fayyum to see some of the archaeological sites.

The first site was the town of Karanis which was established in the 3rd century B.C.E. and flourished until the 4th and 5th centuries C.E. At its height the town had a population of 2 to 3 thousand people. The town consists of multi-story mud brick and palm log houses. All that can really be seen now are the remains of the brick houses and as well as the towns two major temples which are both dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. Thousands upon thousands of pottery shards litter the floor. This is the best preserved and most fully excavated town from this era.

Some ruins...


Temple of Pnepheros and Petesuchos (local versions of Sobek)...


A bath in the Painted House with fragments of fresco still surviving...


The second site we visited was another temple dedicated to the god Sobek called Qasr Qaroun. This is also from the 3rd century B.C.E.

Sobek...


The third site was a pyramid built in the 19th century B.C.E. called Hawara. Its pretty large and what makes it especially cool is that, well, it looks like a big pile of dirt. That is until you get closer and see that it's actually made from thousands of very small bricks. It's still a good 80 or 90 feet tall, maybe more. What survives is actually the eroded core of the pyramid. Hawara was also the site for the regions necropolis- where lots of papyrus was found (a huge portion of what we know about ancient Egypt comes from these papyri). Extraordinary Egyptian art was also found here- the famed "Fayyum Portraits" which were wooden portraits that were placed over the heads of mummies. This was a common practice in the Roman Empire but because of the dry climate they have only survive here. Also here was the legendary "Labyrinth". Although archaeologists are unsure of what the building was it certainly had hundreds of rooms and porticoes (which is why the visiting Greeks named it the Labyrinth) and was probably a palace or administrative center. Unfortunately nothing remains of this amazing structure.

Hawara...


Fayyum Portrait ...

Another Fayyum Portrait...


Finally, the last and most impressive structure we saw was the Pyramid of Meidum. This is a pyramid that was never completed because it suffered a collapse while it was being built. It has no inscriptions so Egyptologists can only estimate its age. They date it to around 2600 B.C.E.

The way they figured this out was that the pyramid seems to have been built originally as a step pyramid by the last pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty- like the Step Pyramid of Saqqara- and a later pharaoh, Snefru (the first pharaoh of the 4th dynasty), added the outside limestone coat, giving it its true pyramid form. The first pyramid to be built after the Pyramid of Saqqara was the Bent Pyramid and was also built by Snefru. It's called the Bent Pyramid because the bottom half is at an angle of 60 degrees while the top half is scaled down to an angle of 43 degrees. The Meidum Pyramid has an angle of 60 degrees throughout. They think that the Meidum Pyramid was being built at the same time and that its collapse was what prompted the Pharaoh Snefru to change the degree of the Bent Pyramid in mid-construction, in order to prevent another collapse. This also explains why the burial chamber was never finished and why it has no inscriptions.

If it had been completed with its limestone encasing it would have been nearly as tall as the Pyramid of Giza- reaching almost 400 feet. As it is , what remains is over 300 feet tall. What looks like a hill under the pyramid is actually what remains of the collapsed limestone.

Meidum...


The Bent Pyramid...


And of course, this post would not be complete without a picture of camels riding in a truck bed:

They always want your picture when you're famous...

You can never have enough passport photos in Cairo because every form or application you fill out here inexplicably must accompanied by one or two of them. So, having run out in my first week here, I walked down the street and got a dozen photos at the store. Not only did I get them for super cheap (much cheaper than they would be in the US) but they threw in this nifty frame to boot, and I didn't even ask!

Suave.

Don't Worry, It's Safe...

So we woke up this morning to see this (note the ceiling) in the bathroom, except with much more charred ceiling, fire retardant and shattered lighting:

It was kind of cool until we realized that the fire alarm definitely did not go off last night. Makes me feel all cozy inside. So do the guards that seem to do anything rather than, you know, guard the place. Activities include trying to kick each other while on the stairs, talking in groups, playing computer games (receptionists), reciting/singing the Quran, watching TV, and admiring the girls. It sounds like a pretty sweet job.

48 hours in Alexandria

A few weeks ago, four of us...


... took the train up to Alexandria for the weekend. The train is cheap (25 Egyptian pounds) and to my surprise, very comfortable. In fact, it is one of the most comfortable and clean trains I have ever been on. It must have been European (it isn't actually that unlikely; the metro here was designed by the French). It took just over 3 hours to make the trip from Cairo to Alexandria.

Map of the region for those who are unfamiliar :: Credit :: ...


We checked into our hotel which was just along the coast around 11 p.m. on Thursday and immediately went out to meet Mustafa, a friend from AUC that was home for the weekend. Alexandria is quite different from Cairo. The weather was better, it was quieter and the ocean brought in a cool salty breeze that was very refreshing. The hotel sat just a block away from the Corniche, a road that bordered the sea all along Alexandria. We met up with Mustafa and went out to a cafe where we had shisha and tried some tea called Chai Zarda. Apparently it is boiled rather than steeped, making it very strong. It is also very sweetened- there must have been 5 or 6 spoonfuls of sugar judging by how sweet it was. I liked it very much although I couldn't drink too much at a time.


The famed "Fancy Grapes" tobacco smoked by Mustafa...


It was getting late and Mustafa had to go home for the Suhur (pre-dawn meal, since this was during Ramadan) so we headed back to the Corniche which we walked along for a bit until Mustafa had to turn in for the night.




We ended up staying awake for the sunrise. Here's what came of it...


The next morning we woke up late enough to go straight to dinner. During dinner we got a call from Mustafa, "Hey Kayvan, Ahmed's family [another friend from AUC] is going to kill a cow for Ramadan... do you want to come watch?". I told him to hold on, "Hey guys you wanna see a cow get slaughtered?". We all looked at each other and started smiling, "Yah, Mustafa, where should we meet you?".

20 minutes later we were speeding down the Corniche in a taxi going to Ahmed's house. We got out and Mustafa led us down into the parking garage of a big high rise building. There was Ahmed and his brother with, you guessed it, a cow.


And yeah, they slaughtered it right there. Interestingly, she definitely knew exactly what was going to happen. She was shivering when we got there and this was before any of the "tools" were brought out. It was quite an eerie scene... you never imagine to see something like this in a parking garage with cars parked all around. The deed was also very gruesome, but definitely something worth seeing at least once in a lifetime (although I think once is enough). The neatly packaged beef in Styrofoam and plastic from Safeway just doesn't look the same afterwards.

They killed the cow in the Halal way, by slitting it's throat and letting the blood drain out to not contaminate the meat. The blood must be drained while the cow is alive. This took a heart-wrenching 10 minutes. The practice is quite a bit like Kosher except Allahu-Akbar is said upon the cut and it is supposed to be done facing Mecca (I'm unsure if this was the case here). I can't say it didn't make me a little queasy to watch. I'm definitely not a hunter. It did make me feel a little better however, that the meat would be distributed to the poor community in the area . Apparently this is a common practice during the month of Ramadan. If your family can afford it you either butcher a lamb or cow and give away the meat as a way of helping the poor.

After this we, meaning Mustafa, some of his friends and us went to the western end of the Corniche to Fort Qaitbay. This is a fort built in the 15th century and renovated later. Much of it's stone is said to come from the ancient Pharos (Lighthouse of Alexandria), one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. Apparently one can still see red stone blocks from the Phalos sticking out of the water near Qaitbay but since it was nighttime I wasn't able to check if that was accurate.

Fort Qaitbay at night...


Drawing of the Pharos of Alexandria :: Credit :: ...


After this, we sat down at a cafe where we drank some tea and I finally beat Zeke at backgammon (he always wins).

Look as he tries to pretend it wasn't a devastating loss...


This was a great way to end the night, and effectively the trip since we left Alexandria the next morning for Cairo.

Beware the "Bedouins" That Hang Around The Pyramids...

Or else this ends up happening:


... and even if he said it was free before taking the picture, afterwards he still berates you with "just a little money for the poor donkey". And you end up running away with your tail between your legs. At least I stayed strong. And I got a cool picture out of it. For free too. The donkey did look sad though. He was cute. I would've given him money. But not the Bedouin. He lied.

Breathe Slowly Or Else You Will Die...

The Pyramids of Giza and Sakkara

In late August AUC took 300(!) or so of us on a tour of the Pyramids. Because of the size of the group we weren't able to stay at any of the sites for too long but it was still great to finally see the Pyramids up close. They are enormous and really jaw dropping. I'll hopefully be seeing them in a little more detail later this year to give you a better idea and provide some better pictures (they are hard to take from a moving bus).

We left school at seven in the morning, a good and way-too-early start on the day. Our first stop, literally just outside the city, were the Pyramids of Giza. The three main pyramids were all built during the 4th Dynasty by various rulers. The first was built by the Pharaoh Khufu and is the oldest -finished in 2560 B.C., and the largest at 146 meters. The second was built by his brother Khephren, stands at a height of 143 meters and is the only pyramid with some of the limestone shell still intact near the top. The smallest of the three was built by Menkaure, the son of Khufu, sometime in the 26th century B.C., and is significantly smaller at 62 meters. All of these acted as tombs, making the entire complex a necropolis.

From left to right: Pyramid of Khufu, Khephren, Menkaure...


From up close...

There are also 6 smaller pyramids in the complex- designated for the queens of each Pharaoh.

We then went to valley on the other side of the Pyramids (which are on a plateau) to see the Sphinx. The Great Sphinx most likely represents a guardian deity with the facial features of Khephren and a lion's body- made to protect his tomb. The sand originally encasing the Sphinx has been cleared several times since 1875 and much of the huge stature has been restored.

Before being restored (obviously not taken by me- let's hope I don't get sued for using this. To be safe :: Credit :: )...


From the front...


The side...


Next up we went to Saqqara, another cemetery complex that belongs to the ancient Pharaonic capital city of Memphis. The chain of tombs stretches 6 kilometers. The area is dotted with smaller pyramids as well as the famous Step Pyramid of Saqqara which is the first pyramid built in Egypt- around 2650 B.C. It acts as the tomb of Djoser who was a Pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty. It is the oldest stone structure of it's size in the world. It's design is attributed to Imhotep. Next to the Pyramid is a complex of buildings meant for the celebration of festivals commemorating a Pharaoh's reign.

Inside the complex...


The Step Pyramid (60 meters tall)...


Afterwards we were allowed to visit some other tombs in the area with unbelievable carvings, reliefs and hieroglyphics covering the walls. It was like in the movies. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed.

Khan Al-Khalili, Al Fashawi's, and Al Azhar Park

Yesterday around the time for Iftar (breaking of fast at sundown for Ramadan), Zeke and I headed to Khan Al Khalili, the largest and most well known bazaar in Cairo. We got off the metro and began making our way through the tiny streets towards Al-Azhar just as everyone was starting to eat. These streets that are usually packed and are very difficult to maneuver through were mostly empty with all the shopkeepers huddled in circles on carpets set on the ground, eating from bowls.

After twenty minutes or so we made our way to the Al Azhar mosque which was built in the 900s by the Fatimids- originally a Shia mosque then converted to be Sunni and one of the oldest and largest universities in the world with over 90 000 students.

View from the outside...


... and the inside...


We met up with Anita and after exploring the souq (bazaar) for a while, looking for rings and backgammon boards, we made our way into a packed alleyway and sat down at Al Fishawi's. Al Fishawi's is the oldest and the most well-known cafe in Cairo. It has now been serving for over 600 years! The atmosphere is unbelievable with Egyptians and tourists alike packed into this tiny place. Dust covered chandeliers hang from the ceilings and the walls are lined in old mirrors and random antiques and it's hot from the smoky shishas and all the people. The alleyway outside is constantly packed.

The Alleyway...

A shot of the inside...

The tea...

The pomegranate juice with banana on top and seeds on the bottom (unbelievably good)...


The shisha...


We stayed for a few hours and then got up to head to Al Azhar Park (which sits on a hill behind the mosque and university) to watch a concert. There were now four of us and it took about 30 minutes to find the park entrance and get inside. The park itself is beautiful and amazingly well kept. We got to the area where the concert was held and stayed for a bit, although the music was really pretty awful. They were a Muslim-American rap group called Native Din. Their rap was pretty embarrassing. At least the view was good...

We left 45 minutes later to head to the peak of the park to enjoy the spectacular view. We were joined there by Demetri.


We headed back down to Khan Al Khalili then and again to Al Fishawi's until 3 in the morning, finally getting back to the dorm at 4 in the morning.