Cairo!

If there is one thing I've learned in Egypt, it's that Egyptians don't sleep. If there are 2 things that I've learned, they are that Egyptians don't sleep and Egyptians are OBSESSED with soccer. I had already learned that Egyptians love soccer from watching the Egypt vs Brazil game (conveniently called a "match" in Arabic) last week and enduring the country's deep depression post a 4-3 last minute Brazilian victory. But, my arrival in Cairo had a very different feel.
But before I get to that, I'll go chronologically.
After a 7 hour bus ride (that was supposed to take 2 hours), and a stop at a pretty funny rest stop that had a zoo with all sorts of desert animals (but really sadly locked up in cages and looking malnourished) we got to Cairo and a boat was waiting for us on the Nile to have one of those cheesy and touristy (yet very fun) Nile-dinner-dancing-whirling Dervishes-cruise combo. Dinner was delicious and the entertainment was also really cool. I had never seen a whirling dervish before and it was pretty neat.

After dinner, we threw our stuff down at the hotel (in Giza by the way and right in plain view of the pyramids which was totally sick), a few friends and I decided to go out and see Cairo. Now, as we were leaving, it was around 11:30 and the Egyptians were just finishing their soccer game against Italy. It was tied 0-0. By the time we got to Muhandesen (an area downtown) the Egyptians had won. The city was a mad house. It was equivalent to the celebrations in Philly post Phillies winning the world series! There were fires in the street, dancing, singing, clapping, everyone was yelling out to us "Masr!!! Masr!! Go Egypt!" And the Egyptians even invented a special honk for when they win a game. 1 honk equals "get the hell out of my way" 2 honks mean "I'm right behind you so be warned" 5 honks- beep beep be be beep- means "Egypt just won!" People were selling and waving flags, the traffic was blocked for miles (it took us half an hour to get a cab at 2 in the morning because of all the traffic), the place was just a mad house. Everyone was freaking out and just super excited. There was even a car full of guys who drove by us literally 4 times saying "pizza, pasta, lasagne- they have all that and we still beat them!" We heard honking well into the night, probably until Fajr- the morning prayer at about 5 am. Now, tonight is the big game for us- Egypt vs. America. Everyone is pumped. We are asked left and right where our loyalties lie. Some Americans caved and said they're rooting for Egypt. I'm standing strong and patriotic. And am going to find a good hiding place if America wins!

Day 2: the moment we had all been waiting for- "Al-Ahram"- the pyramids. We woke up very early and our first stop was Seqqara- the HUGE necropolis that has tons and tons of tombs and also the Step Pyramid- the first pyramid ever build (Imhotep's idea). So first, we went into the tomb of Mere-Raka. He was a minister of King Zocer (buried in the Step pyramid) and it was the biggest tomb built for any non-king. The whole tomb had 27 rooms and was filled with the most amazing carving and art. I couldn't believe how well it was preserved and how detailed the whole thing was. Every room, every wall was COVERED in paintings depicting sacrifices and stories from his life. And we learned all about the different symbols and the development of the different styles of tombs and burying ceremonies and all that jazz. Unfortunately, to preserve the remains, we were not allowed to take pictures inside. But here's Jake outside.
Next, was the step pyramid. It's pretty big and pretty freaking sweet. It has 6 steps (we were told because the Ancient Egyptians believed that the gods had 6 vertebrae in their spines) but then Laura- an archeology major- told me that was false. But, she did tell me that it used to have 4 steps and then they added 2 later to make it more impressive.


Next was the Imhotep museum (we saw mummies and really ancient cheese that was kept in a jar from the time of Imhotep) lunch (we did not eat the ancient cheese), and then Giza! Giza was AWESOME. The pyramids there are extraordinary. I had no idea that they were that big! I mean, they're really big! There are 3 of them in a row, and they get progressively smaller because the sons didn't want to build their tombs bigger than their father's tombs. So we road camels (mine was named Mohammed Ali- I guessed for Mohammed Ali Basha, but apparantly it was for Mohammed Ali like Cassius Clay Mohammed Ali) and it was a blast.




Next, was the Sphinx. Because we were running late, we only got to take pictures, but I have to say, he's an intimidating creature.

The rest of the day was spent shopping at the Papyrus institute, taking a much needed shluff, going to Khan el-Khalili- the big market/ bizarre of Cairo, but we really only had a minute there because we hadn't eaten yet and there are no restaurants around there and I forget exactly why but we'll go back so no biggy.

Saturday:
Egyptian museum- Mathaf Masr. Awesome. Despite the 1000 degree heat and humidity, even inside of the museum, it was one of the most interested museums I've ever been to. The entire place is overflowing with remains for Ancient Egypt. We saw mummies, awesome statues, tombs, chariots, weapons, jewelry, papyrus paintings that looked as if they had been drawn yesterday, pots, silverware, everything. It's all so well preserved, there is the original colors on most everything. The eyes on most of the statues are made with a special stone that makes them look SO realistic, it's really eerie. We had 2 hours there and none of us were ready to leave since there was so much more to explore.
But we had to. So we had lunch on the Nile, and then went to the Salah-al-Din Citadel and Mosque. It was built during Mohammed Ali Basha's time and was modeled after the one in Turkey, but bigger because he obviously wanted it to be the biggest mosque in the Middle East. The mosque was beautiful and there was also and amazing view of Cairo behind it.



After that, we went to the Coptic area and were supposed to go to the synagogue and church, but it was 4 pm on a Saturday so I'm not sure why they thought the shul was going to be open for tourists. So we got in a big fight with the guard about it, gave up, and went to the Coptic Church.
After that, we had a stop at a perfume store and tried on all sorts of delicious smelling perfumes, had lunch, and had another 5 hour bus ride (still only supposed to take 2 hours) back to Alexandria.

I'm definitely going back to Cairo very soon!


٢١/٦/٢٠٠٩
لو اتعلمت حاجة واحدة في مصر، هي ان المصرين مش بيناموا خالص. لو اتعلمت حاجتين في مصر، هي ان المصرين مش بيناموا خالص وهم بيحبوا كرة القدم. اتعلمت من قبل ان المصرين بيحبوا كرة لما اتفرجت على ماتش بين مصر وبرازيل الاسبوع اللى فات ومصر حسرت وانا شوفت كل البلد حاس بالاكتئاب. لكن، المشاعر اختلفت في وصولي في مصر!
بعد رحلة طويلة في الاوتوبيس (٧ ساعات والرحلة كانت مفروض يخد ساعتين بس!)، وصلنا في مصر وكان في مركب بيستني لنا على النيل وخدنا كروز على المركب وكان في عشاء ورقص وكان لذيذ وممتع. اول مرة شوفت الدراويش دوراني. بعد العشاء، خطنا الشنط في الفنطق (في جيزاء على فكرة وقريب جدا من الاهرام)، وانا وبعض اصحابي قررنا نشوف مصر شوية. لما مشينا من الفندق، الساعة كانت ١١:٣٠ والماتش (مصر ضد ايتاليا) كان مرتبط ٠-٠. لما وصلنا في مهندسين، منطقة في دون تون، المصريين كسبوا! المدينة كانت مجنونة! كان زاي فلادلفيا بعد الفيليس كسبوا البطولة! كان في نار في الشواريع، رقص، اغاني، وكل الناس كانوا بيصرخوا "مصر! مصر!" والمصريين بيطلقوا ابواق عربياتهم بشكل خاص. جرس واحد بيقصد "تمشي باه!" وجرسين بيقصدوا "انا وراءك،" وخمس اجراس- بيب بيب بي بي بيب- بيقصدوا "مصر كسبت!" الناس كانوا بيبيعوا الاعلام وكانت في زحمة كثيرة في الشواريع (مر نص ساعة قبل ما شوفنا تكسي ودا كان في الساعة ٢ في الصبح!)، المدينة فعلا كانت مجنونة. كان في عربية امتلا مع رجالة بيقولوا "بيزا، بستا، لازانيا، عندهم كل دا واحنا لسة كسبوا!" سمعنا الاجراس طول الليل لغاية الفجر. النهاردة الماتش الكبير- مصر ضد امريكا. كلنا متحمسين وكل الناس بيسالنا "انتم بتشجعوا من؟" بعض الامريكان قال "مصر." لكن انا وطنية وبشاجع امريكا!
اليوم الثاني في مصر:
الاحظة الكبيرة- الاهرام! صحينا بدري وشوفنا اولا "سقارة،" مدينة الموتي الكبيرة وكان في مقابر كثيرة واول هرم- امحوتب بنا الهرم. اولا، روحنا مقبرة "مري راكا." هو كان وزير الملك زوسر اللى دفن في الهرم وكان اكبر مقبرة بنات للشخص اللى ما كانش الملك. كان في ٢٧ اوضة وفن ولوحات كثير. كل حاجة كانت حفظت بشكل كويس جدا وكان في تفاصيل كثيرة على كل لوحة. اتعلمنا عن كل الرموز وتطوير اسلوب المقابر والجنازات. للاسف، العشان حفظ المقابر، ما قادرناش نصور داخل المقابر. لكن هنا جيك برة! بعدين كان الهرم وهو كبير! في ٦ سلم، وفي الاول كان بس ٤ لكن هم اضيفوا ٢.
بعد كدة، روحنا متخف امحوتب (شوفنا المومياوات وجبنة قديمة)، اتغدنا، واخيرا جيزا! الاهرام مدهشة! هم فعلا كبيرة، ضخمة! هناك ٣ وبيبقوا اضغر العشان البناء ما كانوش عايزين يبنوا هرم اكبر من هرم ابوه. ركبنا جمال (الجمل اللى كان عندي اسمه محمد علي) وانبسطت قوي. بعدين، ابو الهول، ولكن اتاخرنا وبس قادروا نصور شوية. بقية اليون، عملنا شوينج في معهد البردي، نمت شوية، روحنا خان الخليلي ولكن ما كان في وقت كثير.
يوم السبت: متحف المصري. على رغم الجو الحار والرظوبة، كان احد المتاحف الاكثر اثارة للاهتمام. كان في اثار من مصر القديم في كل المتحف. شوفنا المومياوات، التماثيل، مراقب، العربات، الاسلحة، المجوهرات، لوحات، كل حاجة! شكل عيون التماثيل لسة واقعية جدا وكان عندنا بس ساعتين وما كنتش عايزة اروح! كنت عايزة اكتشف اكثر.
اتغدنا على النيل، روحنا قلعة ومسجد صلاح الدين بنا في حكم محمد على باشا وشكله زاي مسجد في توركيا، لكن اكبر. المسجد كان جميلة جدا وكان منظر جميل بردو.
بعد كدة، روحنا المنطقة القبطية وكنا مفروض نروح المبعد اليهودي بس كان مغلق وروحنا الكنيسة القبطية. بعد كدة، روحنا محلة العطور، اتغدنا، وكمان رحلة طويلة للاسكندرية!
انا اكيد هارجع مصر ثاني!