Half-way around the globe...

Luxor Trip Part II: The East Bank

2008-12-04T22:39:00.012+02:00

The next morning, we got up early to head over to one of the crown jewels of Egypt, the Temples of Karnak. First, I think it appropriate to tell you about the hostel we stayed in. Marja, one of my friends on this trip, thought it might be fun to stay here when she booked our rooms. As you can see, the Bob Marley House seems to cater to a certain kind of traveler. In spite of the decor on the outside, the rooms inside were very nice, and the service was great. Still, it was quite the surprise when we first checked in.

The Bob Marley House, our hostel in Luxor

I think my LonelyPlanet guide put it pretty well when introducing the Temples of Karnak: "More than a temple, Karnak is an extraordinary complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks dedicated to the Theban gods and the greater glory of pharaohs. Everything is on a gigantic scale: the site covers over 2 sq km, large enough to contain about 10 cathedrals, while its main structure, the Temple of Amun, is the largest religious building ever built. This was where the god lived on earth, surrounded by the houses of his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu, two other huge temple complexes on this site. Built, added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged and decorated over nearly 1500 years, Karnak was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom."

So with that in mind, let's go in!

The walkway leading into the entrance

Walking towards the entrance to the temple complex, you pass an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. After passing the first pylon (basically huge walls) marking the entrance of the complex proper, you head into the Great Court. The Great Court is flanked by huge columns on both sides, in addition to more pharonic statues, such as the one pictured below.

Statue of Ramses II

Passing under the watchful eye of Ramses II, you enter the Great Hypostyle Hall, which is a truly amazing hall filled with 134 columns covering over 5500 sq meters. The papyrus shaped pillars are supposed to symbolize a papyrus swamp.

Papyrus shaped pillars in the Great Hypostyle Hall

Leaving the Great Hypostyle Hall, you're eyes become fixed on the obelisks of Hatshepsut. One of the them is the tallest obelisk in Egypt, standing 30m high. After her death, her son, Tuthmosis III sought to destroy all signs of his mother's reign.

Obelisks of Hatshepsut

Passing by the obelisks, you notice tons of reliefs carved into the stones of the obelisks and the surrounding walls. Continuing onwards, you reach the Middle Kingdom Court, where the Wall of Records is located. The Wall of Records depicts reliefs recounting the amount of tribute exacted by the pharaoh in honor of Amun. Beyond the court, you reach the Great Festival Hall of Tuthmosis III, which is a unique structure because of its tent pole like stone columns (these may refer to the pharaoh's life while on campaign because he would have slept in a tent). Further on, you enter the Botanical Gardens (sorry, no more flowers) that has reliefs of the flora and fauna from Syria and Palestine. Finally, at the end of the complex, you reach the largely destroyed Sanctuary of Amun-Ra. On our way back to the front of Karnak, we passed by the Sacred Lake (if you can call waste water sacred?). Still, I thought it'd be nice to get a shot with the Temple in the background.

At Karnak, next to the Sacred Lake

Karnak's sheer size would amaze anyone, and I wasn't an exception to the rule. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like during its hey-day, when thousands of worshipers would visit to bring offerings, pray, or even to just visit. This was one of the many instances that I wish I could have gone back in time to see and experience what Karnak was.

Leaving Karnak, we took a cab over to the Luxor Temple; however, with money running short, we opted to view the Luxor Temple from the sides and walk around.

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple was constructed by the pharaohs Amenhotep III and Ramses II (what hasn't he done?), and it lies in the center of modern day Luxor. At one point the Temple served as a Roman Fort, of which there are still ruins on the outside of the temple. Also, there is a mosque in one of the courts of the temple, and if I'm not mistaken, it was probably erected much later than the rest of the temple. Just going to throw that out there.

Having seen the two main attractions on the East Bank, we grabbed lunch then walked around a touristy suq (like Khan al-Khalili except really small) where we were pressured to buy things. I was able to resist the urge, or rather, the shop owners realized I had no money.

That evening, 2 of the girls in the group and I got on an earlier train so that we could get to class the next day. The train ride back was shorter than the first one. Unfortunately, we didn't get a sleeping car, and even though the seats were comfortable, the lights were on the entire time! Seriously, who needs the lights on at 3 am? Anyways, I got back to Cairo around 3 and within seconds of getting back to my dorm room, passed out on my bed.

Hope you enjoyed Upper Egypt! Next stop: the Sinai Peninsula.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Luxor Trip Part I: Ancient Thebes

2008-11-30T22:52:00.000+02:00

So, the internet has been spotty again, and it's taken me more than a week to load up all these pictures. I hope that they were worth the wait.

Two weekends ago, my travel buddies and I took a 12 hour train ride to the world famous upper Egyptian town Luxor. Luxor is famous for it's east and west banks (relative to the Nile), the east bank is simply Luxor and the west is what used to be ancient Thebes. Thebes came to prominence at the onset of the Middle Kingdom under Montuhotep II (2055-2004 BC) who reunited Upper and Lower Egypt, setting the capital at Thebes. Following Montuhotep's reign, Thebes became the religious capital of Egypt by serving as the center for the cult of Amun, while Memphis (aka Giza and the Cairo area) was the political capital.

With the end of the Second Intermediate Period and subsequent beginning of the New Kingdom, Thebes experienced a resurgence of prominence and became the most glorious city of ancient Egypt.

After getting a good night's rest and eating a hearty breakfast in the morning, we jumped in our van and crossed over the Nile onto the west bank, home of the Valley of the Kings (Queens and Nobles, as well), numerous temples, and the Colossi of Memnon. Our first stop was the Valley of the Kings.

When you go to the Valley of the Kings, you purchase a ticket and are quickly encouraged to buy a bus ticket for the long journey to the actual site of the tombs. Little did we know, but that long journey to the beginning of the valley was actually a 10 minute walk. As my roommate and I say, SNESA- Situation Normal, Egypt Strikes Again! So, the tickets we bought were eligible for viewing three tombs, so we had to be smart about which ones we chose. Our first stop was the tomb of Ramses VII, who ruled from 1136 to 1129 BC.

Picture of Ramses VII

First, I must note that we weren't allowed to take pictures. However, I was able to snap these (with my flash off of course) without damaging the art. Hopefully, I didn't damage your perception of me. Anyways, as you can see, the entirety of the walls and ceiling is covered with hieroglyphics and other carvings. The end of the walkway you see is the burial chamber. According to my guidebook, Coptic hermits once found refuge in this tomb, as evidenced by Coptic graffiti (which seems to find itself on most ancient Egyptian artifacts). From here, we began our walk to the tomb furthest away, the tomb of Tuthmosis III.

Valley of the Kings

Tomb of Tuthmosis III

Tuthmosis III (1479-1425 BC) was once called the Napoleon of ancient Egypt and was one of the first pharaohs to have his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. This tomb was very different from the first in that it was hidden high in the valley and required us to descend deeply into the mountainside. The glyphs in this tomb were noticeably different as well, since most of them looked like stick figures and lacked the detail of Ramses's tomb.

From Tuthmosis's tomb, we walked back towards where we began and decided the tomb of Ramses the IX to be our last stop.

Tomb of Ramses IX

From my LonelyPlanet guidebook: "Opposite Ramses II is the most visited tomb in the valley, the Tomb of Ramses IX (1126-1108 BC), with a wide entrance, a long sloping corridor, a large antechamber decorated with the animals, serpents and demons from the Book of the Dead- then a pillared hall and short hallway before the burial chamber." I was able to stealthily get a shot of this burial chamber, which luckily enough, was well lit. The glyphs in this tomb seemed to mark a return to the style of Ramses VII as opposed to the stick-figures from Tuthmosis's tomb. Having explored our three tombs, we hopped back into our van and made our way over to Deir al-Bahri, where the Temple of Hatshepsut is located.

Temple of Hatshepsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut is partly carved from the cliffs that rise behind it. Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC) is widely regarded as one of the most successful female pharaohs, noting her long comparatively long reign. The Temple has been vandalized, defaced, and restyled over the years; it does, however, retain many of the vestiges that gave it the name "Most Holy of Holies" from ancient Egyptian times.

As I began my ascent up the steps leading to the entrance, I noticed the immensity of this temple. Once atop, you see the carvings lining the colonnade in front, and a few of them are pictured below.

Passing through the colonnaded terraces, I walked straight into the upper terrace, with the Sanctuary of Amun opposite me. In this upper terrace I noticed a lot of damage to the glyphs and reliefs lining the walls. From this terrace, we walked down back towards the middle terrace, which divides the Hathor Chapel and Chapel of Anubis. Not surprisingly, the Hathor Chapel had many depictions of Hathor, an ancient goddess that is usually depicted as a cow, while the Chapel of Anubis had reliefs of its namesake lining it's walls.

Well-preserved relief in the Chapel of Anubis (not Anubis)

After leaving the Temple of Hatshepsut, we stopped at the Ramesseum next. The Ramesseum, as its name implies, is a massive memorial temple built by one of ancient Egypt's most famous rulers, Ramses II, who actually called it "the Temple of Millions of Years of User-Maat-Ra," and it served as part of his funerary complex. Much of the temple, as you can see, has undoubtedly felt the effects of time. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic site to see.

Entering the grounds of the Ramesseum

Standing in the Second Court

The Colossus of Ramses II

This destroyed Colossus of Ramses II is absolutely huge. I can only imagine how great it must have looked like in ancient times when it stood more than 50 feet tall. This crumbled statue actually served as the inspiration for the English poet Shelly's "Ozymandias."

One of the reliefs at the Ramesseum

One of my favorite parts of the Ramesseum was the Great Hypostyle Hall, which consisted of 29 of the original 48 columns, each of which is covered with glyphs from top to bottom. You can sort of see them in the shot of the whole Ramesseum. From the Ramesseum we went to another temple, Ramses III's memorial temple of Medinat Habu. Immediately walking towards the temple, you are confronted with two large reliefs facing you on either side. One of them depicts Ramses III defeating his enemies. If you can remember my post in which I describe the Narmer palette, I mention the importance of the smiting pharaoh. As you can see here, the pharaoh is smiting his enemies albeit this time, with more details and help from the gods.

Pharaoh smiting enemies

Another relief that became popular in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh shooting an arrow from a horse-drawn chariot, which is pictured above.

One of the better preserved reliefs

After walking around the temple and realizing how little we understood, we decided to head over to our last stop of the day- the Colossi Memnom. The Colossi of Memnom are about 18m high and were once a part of Amenhotep III's large memorial temple, which would have been the largest temple in ancient Egypt (even larger than Karnak, which will be the subject of my next post). Each colossi was carved from a single block of stone weighing roughly 1000 tons. Visitors during the Graeco-Roman times attributed these statues to Memnom, the famous African king who died at the hands of Achilles during the Trojan War.

Me with the Colossi

In one day we saw half of Luxor, so as expected, we were pretty tired. That night, we found a local bar and met some other travelers and even played pool. Needless to say, we slept well and were excited for the next day of sight-seeing.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Bahiriya Oasis and the Black and White Deserts

2008-11-19T19:09:00.019+02:00

Last weekend (beginning on Thursday, Nov. 14), my group of travel friends and I journeyed over to the Bahiriya Oasis (about 4 hours west of Cairo) in the Libyan Desert in order to see the famous Black and White Deserts south of Bahiriya and north of the Farafra Oases.

On Wednesday, the day before we left, both Ike and I came down with some sickness. Ike must have had food poisoning, and I think I had a stomach bug. Both of us were bed ridden for the day, and convinced we wouldn't be joining our friends on the trip we had been planned on taking. That night, we both started feeling a little better. I picked up some medicine from a local pharmacy, and went to bed assuming I would try to go on the trip, but if I didn't feel up to it, then I wouldn't go. Luckily, I was able to wake up incredibly early 5 am, pack up, and get ready to head out with the rest of the group. We took a bus from Cairo to Bahiriya. The ride wasn't too bad, especially considering it cost us about 10 bucks each.

After driving in the desert for about 4 hours or so, you begin to notice hills in the distance, and below these hills, in the valley below, you notice a sea of green. As you guessed, we had arrived at the Oasis. To give you an idea of what it looks like amidst the desert and hills around it, I snapped a photo from our "base camp." Or as we called it, Chicken Coup Number Two (remember Aqaba, Jordan?).

The Return of the Chicken Coup

After settling into our huts, the owner of the campsite took us on a tour of Bahiriya. Bahiriya, like most oases, contains a couple of natural springs, and tons of palm trees. We visited a hot spring and cold spring. The hot spring wasn't quite what I had expected. I guess I was thinking of something I had seen in National Geographic: Little pools of hot, steamy water. The hot spring at Bahiriya consisted of a pipe coming out of the ground with water flowing out of it into a cement bath. The cold spring, on the other hand, was more of a small lake. Both, however, absolutely reeked. This took away from the experience a bit, but nonetheless, the appearance of water in the middle of the Libyan Desert was a fantastic sight to behold.

From the springs, we drove over some sand dunes (or as I like to call it, an Egyptian Roller Coaster) and arrived at Pyramid Mountain, which looked beautiful in the setting sun.

Pyramid Mountain

After climbing up part of Pyramid Mountain and getting some pictures of the valley oasis below, we headed over to the English House on top of another hill to watch the sunset.

The English House with moon in the background

The English House seems to have been some sort of fort for the Queen's soldiers in Egypt. After trying to research this little gem, I couldn't really come up with any information other than its great location affording excellent sunset views.

Sunset at Bahiriya

After getting back from a wonderful night in Bahiriya, we all hit the hay for a long day of desert touring ahead of us.

Descending down a sand dune

As you can see, we piled into an old 4x4 for our desert adventure. Our first stop was a large dune in the black desert. We actually got stuck at the top of the dune because one of the girls screamed when she realized that we would be descending the dune, thus forcing our driver to stop. We all had to get out and rock the SUV side to side in order to get sand under the tires, thereby raising it up and allowing it to get more clearance for getting over the summit of the dune. From there, we drove through the desert until we arrived at the Dune of the Horse, a huge mountain (not really a dune) near the road. The climb up the small mountain was not the safest of ascents, but it was a fun challenge, worth the view from the top.

View of the Black Desert

As you can see, the Black Desert is true to its name: the desert is riddled with small black stones. Another long drive brought us south and closer to the highlight of the trip, the White Desert.

First we stopped at the edge of the White Desert to get some naturally growing crystals and a great view of what was in store for later.

It's amazing how different the two deserts are

Despite a satisfying lunch, Ike finally succumbed to the wrath of the White Desert

As sunset neared, we entered the prime attraction of the White Desert: an expansive plain of wind-carved white sand stone forming a beautiful contrast with the colorful setting sun on the horizon. After walking around this sea of white, we set up camp.

White Desert at sunset

As the sun dropped, the temperature fell through the floor. Before we knew it, each one of us was bundled up in multiple layers, fighting for space around a small fire our guide was using for cooking our dinner, which, by the way, was amazing and left us more than satisfied. With our stomachs full, spirits high, and at the edge of sleep, we snuggled into our sleeping bags under the beautiful blanket of stars above. The sky wasn't as quite as beautiful as Wadi Rum, but it seemed a universe away from Cairo.

Sunrise in the White Desert

The Mushroom and Chicken

Waking up the next morning felt like falling into a Salvador Dali painting. The rising sun and spectacular rock formations only reminded me of one of his surreal paintings. After eating a small breakfast, we got back into our ride and made our way back to Bahiriya, and from there, to Cairo.

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed going to these two deserts.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Never thought I'd be doing this in Cairo, Egypt.....

2008-11-12T00:38:00.008+02:00

About one month ago, one of my roommates, Steve, mentioned to me that he was going to start playing rugby for AUC's club team, and asked me if I might want to join. Before leaving for Egypt, I had wanted to get involved with something during my stay this semester, and I had only run into problems due to the transition to the new campus. The amount of time I spend on the bus each day really limits my time, and the physical transition from one location to another has hindered the ability of clubs at AUC from meeting consistently. However, I thought that this could be a great opportunity to meet some Egyptians, while also learn how to play a sport I've never tried before. Some of my closest friends at Georgetown, Joe and Phil, play for Georgetown's rugby team, and having played hockey for about half of my life, I was itching to get back to a contact sport. With these things in mind, I decided to head out to practice, where I was warmly welcomed onto the team.

A little about rugby: Legend has it that the sport was started at the Rugby School in England in 1823 when William Webb Ellis picked up a football (soccer ball) and started running with it. The rules for the sport weren't codified until the middle portion of the 19th century. Towards the end of the same century, a schism developed between two forms of rugby: rugby union (the original), which is played with 15 players, and rugby league (the newer offshoot), which is played with 13 players. At AUC we play rugby league.

The players in rugby are divided between forwards and backs. Traditionally forwards are the larger of the two, and the backs are the quicker. I play back, usually at the position of wing or outside center.

These are some pictures I had a friend take during our match against the Cairo Rugby Club, a much more experienced team, mainly composed of ex pats from countries with a strong rugby tradition.

I'm number 6 in the yellow shorts

Right before the match began, a dust storm had come upon the field, forcing everyone to face the other way to avoid the particles from getting in our eyes. Luckily the winds died down after a couple of minutes, and we would begin the match. At the start of the match, I had a very surreal realization: Never before did I think I would be playing rugby in Cairo, Egypt, during the afternoon call to prayer nonetheless!

The opposing team was heavily favored to win, but we put up a good fight. There were many times when the opposition was on the try line (goal line in football), and we were able to push them back and prevent them from scoring by eventually forcing a turnover. Ultimately, however, we lost by two tries. I played the second and fourth quarters of the match, 40 minutes out of the 80 minute match. I made some tackles and carried the ball for a bit, only to get tackled fairly quickly. On the whole, I had a great time, and at the next match, I started and played the entire first half. That game we won! It was the first time AUC had ever won a match (the club is only 2 years old I think), and my teammates could not have been more excited.

Since then, practices have been more infrequent and I've been trying to go on trips during the weekend, so my participation is on the beginning of dying down (we have finals in less than a month). Still, I've had a great time, and met a great group of guys.

Next up: My trip to the Bahariya Oasis and the Black and White Desert.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Egyptians Weigh-In on the American Election

2008-11-04T19:12:00.003+02:00

With a historic election underway as I write this post, I thought it appropriate to present the views of the Egyptians on this critical juncture.

There have been countless times when I have entered a cab, only to get stuck in gridlock traffic. Sometimes the cab driver will try to strike up conversation with me, and to be honest, one of the most common topics brought up is the Presidential election. Without fail, the cab driver will express his diehard support for Barack Obama and absolute disdain for the current President. But, to be fair, many times these drivers don't even know who John McCain is. They just know Barack Obama, the man with "Hussein" as his middle name, and they know that he promises to very different from George W. Bush.

I mentioned these frequent occurrences to one of my teammates on the rugby team, Amin. Amin, not surprisingly, is also an ardent Obama supporter. However, he has a better grasp of reality: While he hopes Obama is elected, he doesn't think that it will immediately change everything in the Middle East for the better. In fact, he thinks that very little will be done, especially in the case of Palestine, because of Obama's professed support of Israel (remember the speech at AIPAC this year?). Nevertheless, he did reference Obama's middle name as another reason why he appeals to him.

Another one of my teammates, Mo, had tons to say about the American election, but when asked about his politics for his own country Egypt, he had very little to contribute. In Egypt, where there is no democracy (Hosni Mubarak is the lone dictator and it has been that way for decades), there is little need for political opinions. Because of this, I think many are forced to look to the next best thing: American politics. I think Mo is a perfect example of this. I can only imagine, however, what it would be like if Egyptians had the opportunity to voice their political opinions at the polls as we Americans are so fortunate to do.

Today, on my journey back from campus, the conversation on the bus revolved around two topics: issues concerning the new campus and the presidential election, both of which are probably the most common subjects of conversation amongst my friends and me as well. This time, one of the female professors expressed her disgust for Sarah Palin when she said, "I think she is an embarrassment to women everywhere." Even though I don't fully agree with this (I'm not a big fan of Palin either, mind you), most people in the discussion expressed their whole-hearted support for this. In addition, one of the AUC school newspapers, The Caravan, endorsed Obama.

As you can see, the support for Obama here is overwhelming. While many do not necessarily know his policies, they know he has an Arab middle name, is a Democrat, and is not George Bush. For Egyptians, this enough to garner their support (but not their votes). Even though the name campaign against Barack Obama may have hurt him in the states (I watched a video of a lady say she couldn't trust Obama because "he's an Arab"), but it definitely helped him over here. I cannot stress enough, however, the importance of Barack Obama's perceived distance from George Bush. George Bush, regardless of your politics, has undoubtedly hurt our standing in the Middle East among the normal citizenry. Although the US still commits billions in aid to the Middle East (about a quarter of the new AUC campus was supplied by USAID), the policies pursued by George Bush, and even Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, have soured the opinions of many Arabs of the American presidency.

Well, now you know how the Egyptians feel about the American election. I can't wait to find out what the Americans think! I've sent in my absentee ballot. Have you voted?! If not, get out and vote!

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Pyramids of Meidum and Dahshur

2008-10-25T14:16:00.012+02:00

A couple of weeks ago, my Egyptology class took another field trip, but instead of just going to a museum, we went to two different pyramid sites. The first site we visited was Meidum.

The Step Pyramid at Meidum

The drive down to Meidum took about 90 minutes. Located south of Giza on the west side of the Nile, Meidum hosts one major pyramid and an array of mastabas (tombs made of mudbrick). The Meidum Step Pyramid was originally intended for the last Pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, Huni. However, it was uncompleted until King Snofru, Huni's successor, rose to power and completed for himself around 2600 BC. The history of the pyramid reveals the development of the architecture of pyramids in ancient Egypt. Originally, royals were buried in mastabas- tombs with a mound of earth as a superstructure and rooms in the substructure. Eventually, this "tumulus" became more structured and began to be built with mudbrick so as to appear to be a house for the deceased or something more permanent than a mound of Earth. Mastabas became more complex when levels were built upon level, eventually resembling the step pyramid you see above. Snofru actually filled in the gaps of the Meidum pyramid, and at one point, it appeared to look like the famous pyramids at Giza. Now, however, Meidum's outer casing has fallen away (or taken to be used for other pyramids).

My class went inside the pyramid. We had to enter from above the first level and go down a very tiny corridor until we reached a flattening point. From here, we had to climb up some ladders to arrive at the actual tomb within the pyramid. It was very small, but I thought it was pretty neat to be inside one of the oldest pyramids of ancient Egypt. The tomb smelled really bad because of the guana (bat feces). After climbing back out of the pyramid, we went inside a mastaba adjacent to the pyramid called Mastaba 17. I thought the name sounded like some new indie rock band, or a star or planet that was really discovered by scientists.

Inside Mastaba 17

Similar to the Step Pyramid, we had to descend deep into the Earth. However, unlike the pyramid, we did not have to climb up again to reach the mortuary chamber. Getting around in the mastaba was more difficult as we had to crawl on our hands and knees and fit through small openings in the limestone in order to reach the tomb. The sarcophagus inside the tomb was interesting because the mallet used by grave-robbers thousands of years ago still holds the top of the sarcophagus up, revealing the inside of the tomb. It doesn't contain anything anymore, but I thought it would be funny if someone hid inside it and scared the rest of the class when they came in. Professor Ikram promptly vetoed my idea.

From Meidum, we headed north towards Dahshur, where King Snofru had two more pyramids built in his honor. According to Dr. Ikram, my Egyptology professor (you can read about her on wikipedia), Snofru was one of the most egotistical pharaohs, second to Ramses II.

Professor Ikram (right) and this other Egyptologist at Dahshur

Bent Pyramid at Dahshur

The first pyramid we visited at Dahshur was the Bent Pyramid. Apparently, when it was being built, the architect thought that the angles were too steep, and decided to make up for this mistake by making the upper portion at a lower angle. As you can see above, the pyramid still has much of its outer limestone casing. The corner that looks like a wrecking ball hit it is another example of the ancient Egyptians taking materials from one site to use at another. The site of Dahshur is actually right next to a military complex, which actually included the pyramids a decade ago. As such, the pyramids aren't as oft visited as the ones at Giza. However, the public is not yet able to go inside the Bent Pyramid. Leaving the Bent Pyramid behind, we headed over to the Red Pyramid.

The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid is the world's first true pyramid. Reflecting a culmination of developments in pyramid building. The inside is more complex than Meidum with multiple chambers finally leading to a much larger tomb. The picture below was taken inside the tomb. The corballed ceiling resembles what I saw in Meidum.

Inside the Red Pyramid

I had to get up pretty early, so I was pretty happy to get back on the bus and head home after a long day of pyramid exploring. I love my Egyptology class a lot. It's the only class I have with Egyptians, and it covers unique material that I would never be able to learn at Georgetown. I'm lucky to have a great professor like Dr. Ikram, who knows this stuff inside and out, has worked in the field, and written about all of it. It's nice to go to these ancient sites and know you're going to learn a lot and have a fun time doing it. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Petra Part V: Wadi Rum

2008-10-23T11:04:00.007+02:00

The morning after Petra, we hopped on a bus headed towards our next stop- Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is about an hour and a half south of Wadi Musa in southwest Jordan. Wadi means valley and rum is usually considered to mean "high" in this context. Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan covering about 720 sq. kilometers, and as a result, it receives a fair amount of tourists each year. However, because of its huge size, you don't feel like you need to content with other tourists. Towering mountains of sandstone and granite dominate this desert area and have made it a popular rock climbing, hiking, and trekking area. Today, Bedouins live in the surrounding area and offer tours via camel, jeeps, or hiking.

We arrived in the small town right outside of the actual Wadi Rum park about 9 or so in the morning. We were really hungry and most of us ended up eating what was supposed to be our lunch: a cucumber, tomato, plain yogurt, a candy bar, a cookie, and some bread. The owner of the trucks that were going to take us around Wadi Rum, Zidane, gave us a run-down of the day that lay ahead. After taking only the essential things we would need for the coming day and night, we hopped in a 4 x 4 and headed out.

Slush puppy shirt came to Jordan!

You can't quite see them clearly, but the above picture shows some ancient rock drawings. Though crude and rudimentary, they depict stick figure humans and some animals.

The ride was pretty rocky, and at times, it seemed like our truck might flip. Still, the views were stunningly beautiful and some of the historic sites were very interesting. While Wadi Rum has been inhabited by different peoples since prehistoric times, it is most known for one former resident in particular: the famous British officer, author, and orientalist, T.E. Lawrence. During the Arab Revolt in the early 20th century, Lawrence took residence in Wadi Rum.

This is supposed to be the house where T.E. Lawrence lived while staying in Wadi Rum leading the locals in their fight against the Turks and Germans. We saw some other things that were also linked back to Lawrence as well; including, some fountain where he drank and a mountain called the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" referring to Lawrence's book of the same name (people think the rock was named after the book in honor of Lawrence). I think the emphasis on Lawrence is more of a business scheme than anything. Most people in the world have never heard of Wadi Rum, but many know of T.E. Lawrence or at least, the movie Lawrence of Arabia. Anyways, Dad, I know you would have really liked those things.

The Rock Bridge

The above picture of the Rock Bridge is one of the famous sites at Wadi Rum because it forms a natural bridge. To climb up it, we had to scale the face of the rock to the right of it, which was an exercise in conquering your fear. The nearly vertical climb up was not for the faint of heart, and I would be lying if I said it was easy. Once atop, I quickly walked across the bridge and descended (which was even more difficult) to the safety of the ground below. On the way down, as I'm slowly making my way, some Bedouin tour guide is calmly and confidently walking down the rock face as if it's nothing. It was a pretty funny sight: I'm doing a crab walk next to someone walking normally.

Another one of the fun things we did is climb up some sand dunes. These dunes were really high and trying to hike up them was quite the challenge! But going down them was so much fun. You could jump once and drop 10 feet on nice soft sand, and do this 10 times on your way back down. I wish I would have put a picture of the dunes up, but hopefully I'll see some in Egypt. But the red sand contrasted with the bright, clear blue sky for an incredible view. After a long day in the back of a 4x4 and climbing around huge mountains and sand dunes, we finally reached where we would be spending the night- a mock Bedouin tent complex.

Before we had dinner, we all took naps and then went to a mountain in the distance to catch the sunset. While we were there, we would all be silent and for the first time since I can remember, I experienced absolute silence. That was really neat. It definitely gave some backing to the old saying "the silence is deafening."

Sunset

After catching the sunset, we ate a traditional Bedouin dinner in one of the tents. The food was absolutely delicious, and it was fun to talk with Zidane about the Bedouins (He's Bedouin). He played some Bedouin instrument, a sort of archaic cello that was really, really small, but played with a bow. After stuffing ourselves full, we went outside and sat around a fire while one of Zidane's assistants played the Oud, the Arab version of a guitar. Because there was no light pollution in the area, the sky above was filled with stars. We decided to take our mattresses from our tent and sleep outside. That was my favorite part of the entire trip- sleeping under the stars. I will never forget such an amazingly beautiful sight as that. Never before had I seen so many brilliant stars in the sky. I wish I could have snapped a picture, but it made such an impression on me that I will always remember the starry night at Wadi Rum.

The next morning, we woke up early enough to catch the sunrise from another mountain top. After that, we ate some breakfast, then headed back to town, and from there, all the way back to Cairo.

I had a fantastic trip and would recommend anyone to go to Jordan if they can. I wish I could have stayed longer, to be honest, I was excited to get back to Cairo as well. Hope you enjoyed the descriptions of the places I went, and someday, in shah Allah, you will go there and see them for yourself.

Upcoming posts: Pyramids at Maidum and Dahshur, Egyptians on the American Presidential Election, and Rugby at AUC.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Jordan Trip Part IV: PETRA

2008-10-16T11:03:00.006+02:00

The day after our Dead Sea day-trip, my group of friends and I went to Petra, the gem of Jordan. We woke up around 5 am in order to beat the tourist crowds, and made the 20 minute walk to Petra from our hostel. By the time we got there, light had just begun to show over the mountainous horizon. We followed the main path with some carvings on its periphery and eventually entered the famous siq. Siq, meaning shaft, is a narrow enclosure between two gorges. At some points, the siq is only a couple of meters wide. Along the siq, we noticed what looked like a gutter carved into the stone. This was originally intended to supply the entire area with water. The Nabataeans are considered to be excellent engineers for their ability to use flash foods and create an artificial oasis amidst such an unforgiving environment. After passing through the siq, you could just begin to see the one of the most amazing monuments in the world- the Treasury!

In front of the Treasury

The Treasury, or Al Khazneh, is the most spectacular site at Petra. In Indian Jones: The Last Crusade, its facade hid the final resting place of the Holy Grail. Lo, there is no grail here today. Nevertheless, it is absolutely stunning. Petra is oftentimes referred to as the Rosy City, due to the red coloring of the sandstone. Because we were arrived so early in the morning, you cannot see how red the stone actually is. Still, however, it was so peaceful in the morning, and I was so glad to be able to take a picture with the Treasury in the background without any half naked tourists all around me. Originally, the Treasury was a royal tomb finished around 100 BC to 200 AD. Its current name derives from folklore- legend has it that pirates hid their loot in an urn on the second level. After taking our time at the Treasury, we moved on and continued down a siq until it opened up into a large open area with carvings representing tombs all around us.

The Urn Tomb at Petra

The Urn Tomb is another popular attraction at Petra. This was actually converted into a church at one point. It was fun climbing up to it because you had to go scale some ancient stairs and shoddy wooden bridges. The area inside the Urn Tomb was a huge open space. Opposite the Urn Tomb is the ampitheatre, which was constructed by the Romans after they had included Petra in their empire in the 2nd century AD.

The Colonnaded Street

From the ampitheatre and Urn Tomb, the main path leads to the Colonadded Street. This area was constructed by the Romans and its left side is lined with traditional columns, eventually leading to a Roman temple. The next major monument at Petra is the Monastery, or Al-Deir.

I'm actually in the doorway of the Monastery

The trail up to the Monastery is a very strenuous climb taking about half an hour or so of purely up hill (rather up rock face) hiking. Along the way, there are tons of Jordanians trying to sell trinkets and other touristy nick nacks. Although tough, the hike was definitely worth seeing the Monastery and the other views a top Petra. The Monastery was a place of pilgrimage during ancient times. The sheer magnitude is hard to convey in a picture, but hopefully you can see me in the doorway, which alone is 8 meters high. A short walk away from the Monastery are some fantastic views. We climbed atop a cliff and relaxed for a while to take it all in.

I'm on one of the cliffs that overlooks the valley below.

The view was incredible and breath-taking. It was hard to leave, but we wanted to check out some more of what Petra had to offer. Walking back, we went atop another gorge called the "High Place of Sacrifice," which was used for sacrificing animals. From there, you could see Aaron's Tomb (Moses' brother) glimmering in the distance. After our descent, we walked back and took some much-needed naps.

Petra was touted as the must-see attraction in Jordan. Hopefully my pictures do it justice because it truly is one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen or visited in my life. It was definitely the high light of my trip to Jordan.

Next post on Wadi Rum.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Jordan Trip Part III: The Dead Sea

2008-10-14T16:12:00.008+02:00

Before going to big Petra, we decided to take a day trip to the Dead sea. We ordered a private bus the night before to take us early in the morning to the Dead Sea. Even though the it isn't too far away kilometers-wise, the trip required us to go through some mountains, making the trip last about 2.5 hours. Here was a picture I snapped while we took a break at a scenic spot.

Along the way to the Dead Sea, I knew we were getting close as a noticed some salt deposits, and what looked like some factories that may have been used for refining the salts. Our driver dropped us off at a private beach, where we had to pay about $15 USD just to enter the beach. The place we went to was the equivalent of a resort hotel without the hotel part. There were some nice pools, a gift shop or two, and if I remember correctly, even a restaurant. However, we were there for one reason, and we marched through the mass of people straight to the beach area.

Immediately upon entering, the first thing I noticed was the pleasant temperature. It felt as though I was swimming in warm bath water. Once I reached a point where the water was up to my waist, I could just sit down, and float. This sounds so simple and unexciting, but it is honestly one of the most unique things I have ever experienced. This is due to the Dead Sea's high salinity (about 9 times saltier than the ocean, the Dead Sea is second only to Djibouti's Lake Asal). You can try to swim, but you can't put your head under the water, or the salt will get in your eyes, which is extremely painful. At one point, the cuts on my hands I had incurred since the beginning of my trip were burning so bad that I had to get out of the water and chill out in the pool for a while. Nevertheless, I got some much needed relaxation by just laying down and floating effortlessly in the water.

Floating in the Dead Sea

View from one of the pools

Some interesting facts about the Dead Sea:

Its shores are the lowest point on the surface of the Earth
At 330m, it is also the deepest hypersaline lake in the world
It is 42 miles long and 18 miles across at its widest point
It is considered one of the world's first health resorts (King Herod used it for this purpose)
Its mud is considered to have special healing and therapeutic uses

Although an expensive day trip, our visit to the Dead Sea was fun and relaxing. The scenic drive to and from also offered some more great views of such a beautiful country.

Petra up next!

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Part II: The Little Petra that Could

2008-10-09T11:25:00.007+02:00

You'll first have to excuse me, I'd like to save big Petra (the normal one) for a later post. To be sure, the next post will be on the Dead Sea, and following that, the main event- PETRA. In order to be forthright, I must admit, the Holy Grail, as portrayed in Indian Jones and the Last Crusade, is not housed in Petra. So, if you were waiting for that whole part, I'm sorry.

Anyways, back to Aqaba. We left the chicken coup early in the morning (officially my birthday now), and headed to the main bus stop in Aqaba, assuming we would take a large bus to Wadi Musa, the town overlooking Petra. Instead, we met a very nice driver who offered to take just our group for only a couple more dinars. We thought this would be a better idea, and we were definitely rewarded. The drive to Wadi Musa was stunning. So much of Jordan seemed to be untarnished by human hands, and left to its own natural setting. This couldn't have been more different than the huge metropolis I'm living in, and I appreciated such a drastic change of scenery. Within a couple of hours, I was able to see a desert, mountains, and beaches. Jordan truly is a unique country worth visiting. Our driver stopped at a couple of points to let us take in the view (and snap some pictures as well). I got a picture with him at one of our stops with the Jordanian landscape in the background.

Me with our driver

We arrived in Wadi Musa early midday. We considered this day a travel day, but upon reaching our hostel, we were told we should try to see Little Petra. Never having heard of it, but told it's free to visit, we thought we'd give it a shot. Again, we couldn't have made a better decision. The ride over to Little Petra was quite the experience as well. It may have only been about 10 minutes, but it might as well have been an hour long roller coaster ride. All seven of us fit into the back of a truck. Surrounded by a whirlwind of sandstone mountains, we were going up and down and careening around corners with hundred feet drop-offs. Danger aside, the ride was spectacular.

This is the beginning of the path leading to Little Petra.

Not really knowing what to expect, we were happy to have our first taste of Petra. As you can see, the facades are carved in the side of sandstone. Much of the design reflects western influences, which is not too surprisingly, knowing Petra was a center of trade between the east and west. Much of the Petra carvings (both Little and Big) were done by the Nabataeans, between 200 BC to 200 AD. While you might expect to find a room beyond this facade, you will only find a small enclosure the width and height of the doorway. Continuing on our short hike, we encountered a couple more carvings.

In front of the first carving at Little Petra

I thought the columns at this site were pretty interesting. I wanted to climb up to look inside the room, but decided it probably wasn't the best idea to risk my life on my 21st birthday.

We continued walking for a while until we reached a small passageway in between to large sandstone pieces (or mountains, I don't know which is the most appropriate term). We were told by some young Jordanian girls that "many foreigners have fallen." Not surprisingly, we trudged on, and scaled the steps until reaching the top, where we were greeted by a young Jordanian man, trying to get us to rest after our feat and drink some tea with him. Politely declining, we walked a little more and reached a nice flat area from which we could see more of Little Petra.

Five of us on the side of a rock

We ended up walking back and got back into the back of the truck for another crazy ride. What could have been a wasted day turned out being a great introduction to one of the most famed areas in the world.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Jordan Trip Part 1: Aqaba

2008-10-06T08:43:00.006+02:00

My first stop on my trip to Jordan was Aqaba. After a long bus ride through the night, my group arrived at Taba, Egypt around 6 or so in the morning. The sun had just risen, and the air was nice and cool. After crossing the Egyptian border into Israel, we had to pay Israel about about 30 USD to get in there. We took a cab through the town of Eilot, the small, southernmost town in Israel, nestled on the northern tip of the Red Sea. Even though our cab ride was only 10 minutes long, we noticed a remarkable difference between Taba, Egypt and Eilot, Israel. Eilot was a bustling, yet clean beach resort area. It had very modern looking buildings, and seemed to represent an example of Israeli success. It couldn't have been more different than Egypt. Hopefully, on my Israel trip in December, I'll be able to see more of the country. After quickly passing through Israel, we reached the Jordanian border and crossed over into the country where we would spent the next five days. We took a cab to our beach side resort in Aqaba, Jordan's Red Sea city.

This is a picture of where I spent my first night. We dubbed it, appropriately the "Chicken Coup." Obviously, our living arrangements for the first night weren't the most "resort-like" in the world, but it did the job nonetheless. However, the two minute walk to the beach made up for our little hut.

Within 10 minutes of arriving in Aqaba, we set out for the beautiful, secluded beach to get some much needed rest. The water was perfect, the sun was as high as the spirits in the group. We were excited to be in Jordan, and everything had worked out swimmingly thus far. The Red Sea is actually one of the premier scuba diving and snorkeling areas in the world. After swimming a ways out, you could admire the beautiful coral just under you in the water. I have never been in water with coral, so this was pretty special for me. Also, I swam out far enough to see the end of the reef, where the sea floor just seems to drop a hundred feet. At that point, I saw the most blue water I have ever seen. Imagine that artificial blue in the water at putt-putt courses, but put coral around it and make it naturally beautiful- that is what I swam in.

The guys: Hunter, myself, and Ike

Sunset at Aqaba

That night, we celebrated my 21st birthday. My group surprised me in the chicken coup with some drinks. We had a great time, and later that night, we went down to the beach again to watch the sunset. I cut my foot on some coral, and a girl from our group accidentally stepped on a sea urchin. Injuries aside, Aqaba was a great start to a fantastic trip, and I couldn't have been happier to spend my birthday there amongst some good friends.

Stay tuned for part II: Wadi Musa and Petra

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr

2008-09-29T20:10:00.005+02:00

In about one hour I leave for a Cairo bus stop to head over to Jordan during the break for Eid al-Fitr. I thought that before I head out, I might write a little bit about Ramadan and Eid (what most people refer to Eid al-Fitr as).

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and it commemorates the month during which Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to Muhammad. Ramadan is most famous for the practice of fasting. Muslims of able-age (not infants or elderly) fast from dawn until sunset, refraining from drinking water or eating food. While this may seem to be an arbitrarily difficult and inconvenient form of reverence, almost all the Muslims I have spoken with were very excited about the beginning of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims hope to purify themselves of sins by reorienting their lives to God. It is a time when one can truly focus on God, while also learning patience and sacrifice.

Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night in the Muslim calendar, is supposed to have occurred during the last ten days of Ramadan. Muslims believe this is the night when the first verses of the Koran were revealed to Muhammad.

Everyday during Ramadan, the fast is broken at sunset with the Iftar meal. Since Ramadan is a time of charity and giving, many wealthy families host iftar meals for the less fortunate. Also, buildings and homes hang up fanoos, lamps that are unique for the month of Ramadan.

Fanoos

Large Iftar meal

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the holiday Eid al-Fitr, literally the holiday of fast breaking. The common greeting during this time is Eid Mubarak (Blessed Holiday). Muslims will wear new clothes and children usually receive gifts. Because it is a school break as well, many Muslims will go to the beach or visit relatives. For me, I'm going to Jordan. I'll fill you in on that upon my return.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Musings from afar

2008-09-22T23:18:00.002+02:00

Today I noticed on the news that some European tourists were kidnapped in southern Egypt. I was very surprised at hearing this unfortunate news for a variety of reasons. For one, the largest component of the Egyptian police is the Tourism and Antiquities force. Nearly everywhere I go in Cairo, I am sure to find a white-uniformed police officer with a large black patch on his shoulder which prominently reads "Tourism and Antiquities Police." This has contributed to what I consider to be a generally safe atmosphere. With the exception of the persistent cat calls that the girls garner on a daily basis, I feel very comfortable walking around Cairo. In fact, I would claim to feel safer walking around her than I do at Georgetown. Maybe DPS could learn from the police officers here in Egypt, and crime would not be such a huge problem in Georgetown. But, the case of the European tourists is different because they were kidnapped in the western desert, where you would be hard pressed to find a police officer amongst the towering dunes. Still, I want to stress that I feel very safe here.

On another note, a mutiny is brewing amongst the international study abroad student body. Many have signed a petition asking for AUC to partially reimburse their tuition because of the myriad of problems we have experienced due to the new campus transition. Some of their grievances are well-founded; in Heliopolis, where many international students are living, the rooms are small and inadequate, girls have experienced sexual harassment, and a general air of disgust pervades because of its location (it is a taxi ride from any sort of entertainment or social life). I don't really know how I stand just yet because I have been lucky enough to live in an excellcent area of Cairo, and despite the disorganization inherent in a third world country, I've been able to make out okay thus far. I'm sure I will have a more definitive stance come November or December.

We have a break coming up in about a week which lasts for a little more than a week. A couple of my friends and I are planning a trip to the Sinai and Jordan. Hopefully I'll be able to visit the elusive Coptic Cairo this weekend.

Sorry for no pictures. More to come soon.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Egyptian Museum Field Trip

2008-09-19T14:30:00.007+02:00

This morning my Egyptology class met at the famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo to get a closer look at some its treasures. Rather than just look at some of these priceless artifacts via a powerpoint presentation, we actually got to see them in person. This way, we can see the intricacies of each object, and I'll give some examples later on in my post.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities was first established in 1835 by the Egyptian government, but because of its number of artifacts and some flooding, it was eventually moved to its current site in 1902 at Tahrir Square. It holds over 120,000 artifacts, although much of that resides in the storerooms.

The center piece of the front area of the Museum is a pond. Without our professor, most of us would have passed by it without realizing its symbolism. The reed-like plants in the center of the pond are supposed to be papyrus (they are actually a different of plant but they nonetheless strongly resemble papyrus), thereby symbolizing Lower Egypt (northern Egypt, including the Nile Delta). The lilies on the water symbolize Upper Egypt. Our professor had us get down on our stomachs and smell the lily flower because it apparently has hallucigenic qualities. I guess it makes the visit that much more colorful.

Unfortunately, you're not allowed to bring your cameras inside with you, so I remembered one of the things our professor showed us and found its picture on the internet. The above picture is of the Narmer Palette, and it is one of the first things you see upon entering the inside of the Museum. This picture shows both sides of the Palette. To give you an idea of its size, it's about 2 feet tall. Dating back to the 31st century BC, it's one of the oldest artifacts with hieroglyphics. It is thought to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt because King Narmer wears the Lower Egyptian crown, the Deshret on one side, and the Upper Egyptian crown, the Hedjet, on the reverse. This was definitely one of the most interesting pieces I saw at the Museum today. There is no way one person could see everything in one day, and I'll be sure to go back soon. I was surprised though that even after just two weeks of my Egyptology course, I could notice some of the special characteristics that make each piece unique. Also, I was able to determine some of the symbolic meaning as well. Hopefully, by the end of the semester, I'll be able to unearth even more of the underlying meanings of these objects. They are sort of like a mystery puzzle, and it's really fun to solve them. Side note: It helps when you have an expert in the field explaining them to you.

This is one of the many artifacts littering the front outside area of the Museum. It made me think of my buddies at home and abroad.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

First Week of Classes

2008-09-12T15:14:00.006+02:00

So I successfully completed my first week's worth of classes yesterday, but that's not to say there weren't (and still aren't) some bumps on the road. For one, we (the students) weren't entirely sure if classes were starting on Sunday or if they were being pushed back a week in order to allow more time for the completion of the campus. Unfinished buildings, classrooms, and offices aside, my classes started for the first time Sunday morning at 10 am. During the month of Ramadan, classes start earlier and are actually a slight bit shorter as well. I have to get up pretty early because I need to make the 8:30 shuttle so I can get to class on time. The ride in the morning is about 45 minutes, but the ride back can be as long as 2 hours (yesterday, my ride was 2 hours long because Thursday afternoon traffic here is the equivalent of Friday afternoon traffic in the states). My Modern Standard Arabic class meets 4 times a week for 2 or 3 hours depending on the day. I really like my teacher and her style of instruction, we little to no English in class, and she explains grammatical concepts in Arabic. We are starting a couple of chapters before where I ended last spring, but finishing at the point I need to be at. My other Arabic class is called Media Arabic, and we will learn the necessary vocabulary to read a newspaper, watch the news, or listen to the radio and actually understand what is being said. My other classes are a history class called "Gunpowder Empires," which will focus on the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. For the first two classes I couldn't tell whether my professor was a man or woman. It was an awkwardly androgynous situation. It turns out that the professor is in fact a woman. My fourth class is the one I'm most excited about taking. It's entitled Art and Architecture in Ancient Egypt. It's sort of an inter-disciplinary course because it combines ancient Egyptian history, art history, archaeology, and anthropology. The professor is a big name in her field, a specialist in animal mummification, and even designed the animal mummification portion of the famous Egyptian Museum in Cairo. She's also taking us on field trips to the museum, which should be quite the experience. That way, I won't be walking around aimlessly when I go there. I also am looking forward to this class because it's the one class I'm taking that has a lot of Egyptians in it. I came here for a unique academic experience, and right now, I'm thinking this Egyptology course will lead the way in this regard.

AUC's new campus is beautiful, or I should say, the parts of campus that are completed are beautiful. I sort of wish that I was studying abroad here five years from now because I feel as though the campus would have developed a character of some kind by that point. Also, it'd be nice to have some signs to show me where certain classrooms or offices are. I have all my classes in the same building, and honestly, without any signs in it, it's like trying to navigate a maze. Hopefully, I'll get the hang of it before the end of Ramadan.

The students at AUC are clearly the wealthiest bunch in Egypt. I have never seen so many people wearing so many designer clothes. The students here make Georgetown students look like slobs (sorry Hoyas). However, a lot of the shirts the guys wear are ridiculous in that they usually have some overt sexual innuendo depicted on it; for instance, I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said "I make good babies" on it. I definitely wasn't expecting that sort of thing in a predominantly Muslim culture. Also, the girls wear very form fitting clothing. Before leaving, I remember our orientation advisor telling the girls to wear loose fitting clothes, and most of them followed that direction. The Egyptians, on the other hand, didn't quite get the memo. Thus far, the native students seem very clique-y in the sense that they mind their own business. I guess I'll have to take some initiative to really get to know my Egyptian classmates.

Tomorrow I'm planning going on a day trip to Coptic (or Old) Cairo. In shah Allah, I can resume my traveling type of posts. Here are some pictures of the new campus.

This is the library. It's nice and cool on the inside and has an excellent selection of Middle Eastern related books (not surprising). Brett, there's no lower level.

This is the main walkway leading to the academic area of campus. It's also become the spot where all the Egyptian students hang out. I'm sure the nice shade played a part in that decision.

This is what I deal with coming home everyday- absolute chaos. By the end of the week, they started putting signs out to guide us to the right bus.

Well, I had a great week on the whole. I still have to get some things squared away (student visa, bus pass, and gym card), but I'm looking forward to the academic experience that lay ahead.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Trip to Alexandria

2008-09-07T19:04:00.006+02:00

Last weekend I took a three day trip to Alexandria. Alexandria, famed for its ancient Library of Alexandria and Pharos Lighthouse, is located north of Cairo directly on the Mediterranean. Because of it's proximity to Greece and the rest of the western world, Alexandria has a much more European and Mediterranean feel than Cairo. Alexandria was established by its namesake, Alexander the Great, in 332 BC. It was intended to link the Egyptian world (namely Cairo) with the Hellenistic world (Greece).

Our first stop on our trip was the Roman Amphitheatre. This is one of the best preserved amphitheatres in the world, and interestingly enough, this one is still used on occasion. It dates back to the 2nd century AD. In the picture below, you can see a stage set up at the bottom of the amphitheatre where the columns are. One of the things I noticed at this pseudo-Roman Forum was the columns. Most of the columns were composed of noticeably different kinds of marble. Some were of a reddish tint, perhaps because of iron deposits in the rock? Some were black, and others were more of a grayish color. I couldn't find out any information about the columns, but it peaked my interest nonetheless.

After leaving the amphitheatre, we arrived at our hotel. In Alexandria, there is one main street, Al Corniche, that runs along the coast of the Mediterranean. Not surprisingly, this street is packed with hotels, restaurants, cafes and the like. Our hotel was towards the eastern end of Al Corniche, and luckily, my room was on the second highest floor. As you can see, the view was fantastic. Within minutes of getting into my room, I was down on the beach basking in the pleasantly warm water.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to start a day of sight-seeing. Our first stop was the Qaitbey Citadel. Located at the eastern end of Al Corniche, this castle of sorts was built by the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbey in 1480 on the remains of the Pharos lighthouse (one of the seven wonders of the world). Some of the remains of the ruined lighthouse were used in the construction of the fort. This was my favorite stop on the trip. The white stone formed a perfect contrast with the blue sea silhouetted behind it. The area between the outer walls and central area was in great condition, as evidenced by its green grass and healthy palms. Walking inside the fort was quite the experience as well. I could have only imagined what it was like when the British were making their invasion of Egypt. In that case, the fort didn't quite live up to its intended use.

After the visiting the Citadel, we took a short ride over to the Catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa. This vast underground graveyard was only discovered after a donkey mysteriously fell into the ground in 1900. These catacombs were pretty amazing in terms of its engineering. To think that men had to carve through so much rock (35 meters) to form this underground maze is astounding. Then again, the Romans did a lot of that sort of thing. The best part of the Catacombs was the Principal Tomb. Obviously the resting place of one of Alexandria's most elite, this inner chamber is cornered by iconography reflecting a fusion of influences- Roman, Greek, and ancient Egyptian. Because these tombs were pre-Christian, I found the iconography particularly interesting. For instance, the actual art itself, looked like something from a text book on Mycenaean or Greek art, but the figures depicted were undoubtedly inspired by the Egyptians (the Egyptian god Anubis, the jackal-headed one, is in the paintings). Unfortunately, we couldn't bring cameras down to where the tombs were.

The next day, we went to the new Library of Alexandria. Finished in 2002, the Bibliotheca Alexandria is intended to put Alexandria back on the map as a center of converging cultures. The architecture of the building itself is very unique, and unlike most instances of disgusting modern art (cough....Lauinger Library....cough), this actually appealed to me. The main portion of the library resembles a sundial sunken into the sea. On the outside ring of the sundial, is concrete with more than 120 types of written languages shown. As it was so hard to get a picture of the whole complex, I thought a picture of a portion of the outer ring might suffice. The library is fairly bare of the inside, but definitely the type of place where I would want to study. Much of the main reading room is lit naturally. However, while the library has space for about 8 million books, it only contains 500,000. It has a long ways to go.

On the whole, I really enjoyed my Alexandria trip. A lot of the things that frustrated me about Cairo were left behind in Cairo. The traffic wasn't as congested, the air was clean and crisp, and most importantly, the temperature was much cooler. Nevertheless, I was excited to get back to my new home and start class the next day (today). I'll be sure to devote my next post to my classes and the new campus (the maze that it is). Hope you enjoyed this one. Pardon the absence of brevity.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Al Azhar and the Muhammad Ali Pasha Mosques

2008-09-03T18:26:00.002+02:00

Today, I went with a small group of other study abroad students to the Al Azhar Mosque and Citadel. The Al Azhar Mosque is considered a center of Islamic learning and one of the oldest mosques in the world. It is the second oldest degree granting university in the world, and now, it offers degrees in secular disciplines such as medicine and engineering. The courtyard in the main portion of the mosque is composed of beautiful white marble, surrounded by a covered walkway, which leads to the sajadah or musalla, the prayer room which is typically covered with soft carpeting. Within the prayer room, you find a myriad of columns supporting the ceiling above the floor. At Al Azhar, we were able to pay a small fee (the equivalent of $3) to go up a minaret, the tall spires from which the call to prayer is made, and had a fantastic view of the entire mosque. Al Azhar is less than a minute walk away from Khan al-Khalili. After visiting Al Azhar, we decided to venture up to the Citadel, or Al Aqla'a.

The area where the Citadel is located was used in the 9th century as a pavilion appropriately dubbed "the Dome of the Wind" because of its cool breezes. In the 12th century, the famed Muslim warrior Salah ad-Din fortified the area to ward off the Christian crusaders. The walls he constructed around the Citadel are 30 ft high and 10 ft thick. However, much of what we see at the Citadel was built by the Ottomans, who ruled Egypt (with a brief interruption by our friend Mr. Bonaparte) from the 15th until the early 20th century. The mosque I visited at the Citadel is the Muhammad Ali Pasha Mosque. Muhammad Ali Pasha is oftentimes considered chief architect of modern Egypt, having implemented a wide range of reforms aimed at bringing Egypt back to its seat of prominence in the region and the world. His mosque was built in the Ottoman baroque style, which is seen in the use of smaller domes surrounding a large central dome. This mosque is very similar in appearance to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the quintessential Ottoman mosque. Inside, it is absolutely beautiful. Hanging in the center of the complex is a dominating chandelier. Around this center piece are rings of lights. Unlike Al-Azhar, there were only four large columns supporting the ceiling. This made me feel much less constricted and free to move. The designs covering the the domes above were also beautifully and meticulously done as well.

These were the first mosques I have ever visited, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. Not only was I able to see two distinct types, but I was also able to see two of the most famous mosques in the world. Not too bad for a couple of hours on a Wednesday afternoon.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

The Only Wonder of the World Left Standing.....

2008-09-01T17:52:00.003+02:00

In my title, of course, I'm referring to the Pyramids at Giza, the single remaining wonder of the world. When we say wonder, we usually use it as a substitute for the word "think" or an obscure reference to something we don't know. We say, "Oh, I wonder what time it is" with a quizzical look on our face. We may say, "I wonder where all my money has gone on this trip to Egypt," only full well knowing where it did go (Mom and Dad, I bought a house here). Essentially, we use the word "wonder" in a context of ambiguity, not truly grasping the gravity of such a term. When you think of the wonders of the ancient world, you can only imagine them. Take the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for instance. They sound nice....but I can't really smell the flowers. The Colossus of Rhodes acted like an ancient Statue of Liberty, ushering and welcoming travelers to the Isle of Rhodes, but I can only see mere sketches of what once was. The Pyramids at Giza, on the other hand, are not a mere imaginary wonder that once existed. They are not bound by the historic ambiguity of wonder as the other sites, but only by the reality of the present. They are truly a sight to behold. The sheer magnitude of these behemoths beckons you to ask, "How were these built?" In this case you can only gasp, and say to yourself, "I can only wonder."

Here are some of the pictures I took. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest and largest pyramid in Egypt, and after its completion 2600 BC, stood 146.5 meters high. The middle pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, has some of the original limestone on its peak. The Pyramid of Menakure is the smallest of the three pyramids, standing at 62 meters (originally 66.5m). This pyramid has incurred significant damage as a result of a 16th century caliph who wanted to destroy the Pyramids. According to my Lonely Planet guide, "Abu al-Hol (Father of Terror), the Sphinx is carved from one huge piece of limestone left over from the carving of the stone for the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It is not known when it was carved, but one theory is that it was Khafre who thought of shaping the rock into a lion's body with a god's face, wearing the royal headdress of Egypt."

Mom and Dad, I was joking about the house.

It was a mansion.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

New Campus Festivities

2008-08-30T09:38:00.003+02:00

On Thursday we made our first visit to the new campus. The commute is a little over an hour to get to the new campus. I'll have to make this journey twice a day for five days a week. On the positive side, I'll be able to finish all my readings for history and study my Arabic. The area leading up to the campus is entirely under development. You could look for miles and all you would see are high rise apartment buildings and huge mansions under construction. I can only wonder if there are enough people with enough money to fill all these new residences. In shah Allah, I will return one day and see the outcome of this massive expansion project. The new AUC campus is at the end of this development zone, and beyond it, only desert. The new campus still has a lot of construction to be done, but if the front gate is any indication of what lies behind, then I can only imagine being pleasantly surprised by what I will find. After we arrived, the males received gallabiyyas, a traditional Arab garb, that is like a really long shirt (almost a dress) and the girls received something that dancers wear. I didn't catch the name. After getting through an endless line to the food, we took our seats in the outdoor auditorium, where we listened and danced to traditional Arab music while donning our new threads. Later, a group of AUC students performed a dance that was really fun to watch. The guys were swinging around wooden sticks that must have been a substitute for swords. It was a fun event, and I'm excited about getting back there and actually walking around the rest of the campus. I might need to invest in a hard hat.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Horseback Riding in the Desert

2008-08-28T14:22:00.003+03:00

In the last couple of days, I've been able to explore Cairo a little more, find my way around the island of Zamalek (it's the island where I'm living, and it's situated in the middle of the Nile), and do some pretty amazing things. Two of the pictures below are from a late night horseback riding excursion I went on with a group of other study abroad students and SOLs. We rode through the desert in Giza until we got to a little camp where we took a break, drank some tea, and watched the horses do some tricks (or at least the guy leading us tried to make the horse do some stuff). The horses looked emaciated, and that was sad, but it was my first time riding and I had a fantastic time. It really hit me that I was in Egypt when I looked over to my right and there were the pyramids in all their splendor. Even from a distance, their sheer magnitude is breath taking. However, look at them while a horse is galloping under you and the stars are glittering above you, and you'll truly know that you are in fact in Egypt. Since the beginning of grade school, you hear about ancient Egypt and read stories from "A Thousand and One Arabian Nights," but you're never really prepared for something like this. I can only hope to have more experiences like that.

I think the pollution and/or cigarette smoke is starting to get to me. I have a pretty sore throat, and I'm looking forward to my weekend trip to Alexandria, where I hear the air is clean and refreshing.

One of the things I love about Egypt is the people. The people here are so nice and generous. The way they light up when you speak to them in Arabic is truly something special. Of course, they want to end up speaking to you in English to practice. I try to respond in Arabic. It makes for fairly comical discourse.

Tonight I'll make the hour and a half journey over to AUC's new campus.

The first picture is of the Cairo tower on the south end of Zamalek taken at sunset. The second picture is of the first camels I saw in Egypt. The third is of my group preparing to go riding in the desert.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Khan al-Khalili and Al-Hussein Mosque in Islamic Cairo

2008-08-25T09:22:00.005+03:00

Last night our orientation leaders (called Student Orientation Leaders, aka SOLs, haha) took us to the Khan al-Khalili market. This market dates back to the 14th century. It is most well-known for its array of tourist items (such as model pyramids and sarcophagi), perfumes, spices, and fabrics. Luckily, I had learned some bargaining techniques from my Egyptian Arabic teacher, Hana'a, and I was able to haggle a vendor to buy a kiffiyeh (the headdress worn by Arab men, most notably Yassir Arafat) for 20 LE (about $4 USD) when he originally wanted 90 LE. After wandering around for a while (and the girls getting tired of being called Shakira), a group of us sat at one of the maqhas (coffee house). I ordered a cup of coffee, and it was absolutely delicious until I got to the grainy bottom part that felt as though I was drinking mud. Adjacent to the suq (market) is the Al-Hussein Mosque, one of Cairo's holiest sites. The Mosque is said to be above the graves of the Fatimid Caliphs and home of the oldest Koran.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

Nile Boat Pictures

2008-08-23T21:23:00.003+03:00

We took a brief boat trip on the Nile this evening. The boats in the pictures are called Fellucas.

First impressions of Cairo

2008-08-22T18:37:00.003+03:00

Marhaban from Cairo!

I literally just got into my dorm room about an hour ago. It's sort of awkwardly put together in a triangular shape but it should work out just fine. I need to get some dinner, but I wanted to write down some of the first words that came to my mind as I was riding my bus from the Cairo airport to Zamalek, the area where my dorm is located.

HUGE CITY

old

dirty

pollution

alive

traditional

covered women

very, very loud call to prayer

plenty of cell phone shops (and RadioShack)

Falafel stands

beautiful Nile

dusty

TRAFFIC

disorganized

A lot of those things sound bad, but really, this city seems amazing and overwhelming. Hopefully, I'll get used to some of the more negative aspects, but thus far, the positives heavily outweigh them anyways. This city just seems to be alive in some way. Something about Cairo is mysterious and begs to be discovered. As the Egyptians would say, mafesh mushkilla (No Problem/Don't worry about it).

Ma'a salaama,

Blair

P.S. Brett, I saw a woman with a BOREALIS bag. There's a shout out.

Blair - air + og = BLOG

2008-08-05T05:35:00.000+03:00

I created a blog so that I could keep in touch with my friends and family while I spend a couple months studying abroad in Egypt. Hopefully, I can chronicle my travels, happenings, mishaps, and learning experiences that oftentimes are the result of awkward situations and poor decision making. In shah Allah, there won't be too much poor decision making, but nonetheless and joking aside, this time abroad will undoubtedly be a life-shaping learning experience. Also, I plan on writing my thoughts about being both a Christian and American in the Middle East. I'm excited to embark on this journey, and as of right now, I leave in 17 days for the adventure of a lifetime. On another note, my mac is broken right now, and once it is fixed, I'll learn how to skype.

Ma'a salaama,

Blair