Blogging the Nile | Bored, "Ethiopian Airline SUCKS," and "Webb-buh-buh"

NAIROBI, KENYA – Finally! Home!

Three Observations:

1. Nothing to do… Due to some unforeseen circumstances, my trip, which was to end on the 31^st, was bumped up to me leaving on the 26^th. However, Ethiopian Airlines sucks (more on this later), and once I’d made plans to leave the 26^th, my flight got changed again to me leaving on the 29^th. The point is that when I was taking the Luxor train up to Cairo, I had no idea that my flight had been FUBAR’d to a later date. I skipped the chance to go to Aswan to see the great Abu Simbel so I’d be back to Cairo in enough time to make it to the airport. But, alas, BUZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

So when I returned back to Cairo, I had a few days to kill, to say the least. Pretty much the only cool thing I did was go back to the Egyptian Museum. My first time there, Lauran had kind of rushed me around, and our trip to the museum that Lonely Planet: Egypt said would last between 3 and 5 hours ended up being more like 2. So going back a second time was totally worth it. All the stuff I hadn’t really had a chance to see was now front and center with me. Not only that, but some artifacts in the museum hailed from Karnak, Thebes, or Luxor. Now, all of a sudden, I knew where those places were. Wicked…

Otherwise, there really wasn’t a lot for me to do around Cairo. I considered taking a day-trip to Saqqara, the oldest pyramids in ancient Egypt, but backed out because of the money. I screwed around in Khan el-Khalili, getting some extra shopping done, spent more time at internet cafes, and had tons more koshari.

But for the most part, I was pretty bored in Cairo those last couple of days. That’s why Fishawy’s Coffeehouse did me some good towards the end there. I sat at a small table in the busy open restaurant, reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and listening to iGor, all while enjoying my tea and the smell of sheesha around me. So cool.

2. Ethiopian Airlines SUCKS. As I said, because of a situation, I had to shorten my trip by a few days. While it sucked, I figured I’d gotten the big things I needed to done, so I could safely go back without much delay. But late one afternoon, when I was just returning to the apartment, I was greeted with a phone call – my flight had been snipped. For some reason, it wouldn’t be coming in the day I needed it to after all, and my flight was kicked back a couple more days. Again, this sucked because I’d already made plans to come back. Had I known I had some extra time to spare, I would have taken a quick trip to Aswan to explore the sights down there. Now? Not so much.

It got much better when I reached the airport just to find my flight was delayed another 2 hours. Whoop-de-doo, can you guys by chance to anything when you tell people you’re gonna? STUPID. It didn’t end up being a big deal, since I was about to be harassed by two Egyptian immigration officials (more to come) and once I got to Addis Ababa, I’d be going straight to a hotel without TV, internet, or air conditioning, but it’s the principle.

The final straw came the next day, on my way from Ethiopia to Kenya. I walked into the airport, ran through security, and was pleasantly pleased demonly disturbed that my flight was again delayed, this time for an hour and a half. This was a little more serious today, because Elvin and Honey were to be in Nairobi at a certain time to pick me up, and I didn’t want them to have to wait for 2 hours for me to walk out. I wanted to text message Honey like I’d been over break, but my Egypt SIM card wouldn’t work in Ethiopia, as wouldn’t my Kenya card.

I’d had enough. I checked in my baggage, yelled at the desk man, and chased the hierarchy or supervisors high enogh for them to let me use a phone to call internationally to Kenya. While they insisted it wasn’t their problem, they could do nothing about it, I made it clear; it’s not my problem, and so if it’s not mine and I’m paying them to fly me somewhere, it actually was their problem. I got my phone call, but to alas, no one answered. I tried a few more times (to raise their charges) and then left, eventually giving into a $10-per-hour internet café. Blast.

I ended up making my flight on time, and we took off and landed without too many problems. (I was seated in between two strangers, I spilled my crappy lunch all over my shirt, and we had major “Lost”-like turbulence coming down.) Thankfully, I made it home safely, and not soon enough. If you ever have the choice between Ethiopian Airlines, and, oh let’s say chewing off your right arm, I trust you’ll make the right decision.

3. The birth of Webb-buh-buh. Then I had a classic moment in the immigration line leaving Egypt. Granted, this isn’t Ethiopian’s fault, but I’m going to pin it on them anyways.. This is a direct, word-for-word account of what the immigration official and I said.

Official #1: Passport please.
Webb: (Gives him the passport)
Official #1: (Glances at passport, looks up at my face to verify it matches. Looks at picture again, then looks back at me. Down one more time on the passport, then suspiciously peers at me) Webb-buh-buh… (Looks at picture again, then looks back at me. Back down, back up) Are you Egyptian?
Webb: (A little nervous) Um, no I am American.
Official #1: (Inquisitively) Are you sure you’re not Egyptian?
Webb: (A little irritated) I have an American passport.
Official #1: (Looks at picture again, then looks back at me.) Is your father Egyptian?
Webb: (frustrated, but cool) No, I am American. I have a United States passport.
Official #1: (Stares at me longer, looks at picture again, then looks back at me.) Are you sure you’re not Egyptian?
Webb: (ready to asplode) NO. I am American!
Official #1: (Looks at picture again, then looks back at me. Looks over to left to another official, waves him over, and says like 2 words to him in Arabic. Now quite sure he was saying “play along.”)
Official #2: (Glances at passport, looks up at my face to verify it matches. Looks at picture again, then looks back at me. Mutters something to Official #1.) Webb-buh-buh… (Looks at picture again, then looks back at me. Back down, back up) Are you Egyptian?
Webb: (Ready to punch a baby.) NO.
Official #2: (Looks at picture again, then looks back at me.) Was your father Egyptian?
Webb: (Steam leaking out of ears, face red) No. I am an American, with an American passport. Please, I need to catch my flight [that won’t leave for another 2 hours].
Official #1: (Looks at Official #2, says something in Arabc, then nods me off.) Ok, go.
Webb: (Still standing there for a few seconds) Um, can I have my passport before I leave?
Official #1: (Shocked that I remembered the single-most-important document I need in the world.) Oh yes, here it is. (Hands it to me.) Ok, go now.
Webb: (Practically running to the gate…)

Just an FYI, students and staff alike are already calling me “Webb-buh-buh”. This is how nicknames are developed. :)

Well, thank the Lord that I’m home, anyways. This trip to Egypt was fantastic, and I've got some incredible memories: riding my camel around the pyramid, eating koshari, exploring the temple of Karnak. But now, it's time for some vacation to this break!

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Shooting the Nile | Taking some time to chill

CAIRO, EGYPT - Fishawy's Coffeehouse has been my #1 favorite chill-out spot in the entire country, and being here is something I'll never ever forget. Here's a couple highlights from a typical trip in.

===

Fishawy's: "One of the finest ahwas, and certainly the most famous, Fishawi's is still a great place to watch an exotic world go by. Despite frequently being swamped by foreign tourists and equally wide-eyed out-of-town Egyptians, it is a regular ahwa, serving up shai, coffee, and sheesha to all-comers." - Lonely Planet: Egypt

Sheesha: In a nutshell, the Arabic sheesha is a water pipe connected to tube where tobacco is passed through water before going into the person... or in plain English, a tobacco-bong. Although smoking a sheesha is equivalent to smoking 18 cigarrettes, it's still the quintessential thing for elderly/middle-aged Egyptian men to do in Cairo ahwas; burgers and Coca-Cola to the West is Turkish coffee and sheesha is the Middle Eastern.

Going into the nostrils, it's not as stuffy and smoky as the smell of normal nicotine. The maassel used in a sheesha is mostly flavoring -- "mixed with dried fruit, natural extracts and artificial flavorings to produce a varying assortment of tobacco flavors, such as apple, strawberry, mango, cappuccino, vanilla, coconut" (Wikipedia: Hookah). The aroma is simply amazing.

Ahwas: "The coffeehouse or ahwa (the Arabic word means both the coffee and the place in which it's drunk) is one of the great Egypt social institutions. Typically just a collection of cheap tin-plate-topped tables and wooden chairs in a sawdust-strewnmroom open to the street, the ahwa is a relaxed and unfussy place where the average Joe, or Ahmed, will hang out for part of the day reading the papers, meeting friends, sipping tea and whiling away the hours. The hubbub of conversation is usually accompanied by the incessant clacking of slammed domina (dominoes) and towla (backgammon) pieces, and the burbling of smokers drawing heavily on their sheeshas, the cumbersome water pipes. Traditionally ahwa-going has been something of an all-male preserve, and older men at that, but in recent years sheesha smoking has become almost fashionable. It's now common to see young, mixed-sex groups of Egyptians in ahwas, especially in Cairo and Alexandria." (Lonely Planet: Egypt)

===

Ok, so that's about it. Ahwas like Fishawy's are definately the place to be here, and especially being located in Khan el-Khalili, it makes the entire experience that much more amazing.

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Blogging the Nile | Adventures in Luxor

LUXOR, EGYPT – To you, the thought of eating a Big Mac for Christmas dinner is horrifying. For me, it’s the most home-like thing I’ve done in almost 6 months

Apparently, there are three McDonalds in Egypt: Cairo, Hurghada, and Luxor, where just moments ago, I indulged in two chicken Big Macs, French fries, and a Coke. While it doesn’t hold a candle to turkey, mashed potatoes, rice and beans, and some pie, it’s a meal that puts me right back at the table with my family in Kansas. *sigh* Happy.

Three Observations

1. Traveling light. As I mentioned in my last post, I was planning on spending the next few days in Luxor, on the (southern) Upper Nile, so late Friday night, I took the subway to Orabi, and walked to the Turgoman bus station. I was carrying my entire suitcase/backpack, but had left most of my stuff at the Cairo guesthouse so I could travel a little lighter. This was going to be a quick jaunt down up the Nile, and I didn’t need any extra distractions.

My tour bus left Turgoman relatively on time, and I was off. I stared out the window, admiring the lights of the city for the first half hour, until we were officially out of Cairo. At this point, I was feeling some time with iGor and perhaps some good sleep. However, the Upper Nile Bus Company had another idea. As I was preparing myself for some rest, the driver popped in some Arabic movie (at full volume), thwarting my plan. Don’t worry, I eventually got some sleep (18 minutes) over the 8-hour trip. But the good news is that as soon as I pulled into Luxor, it was already time to start exploring!

2. Day 1: Museums, Temples, and Bikes. Once I was moved into the Sherif Hostel, I inquired the front desk about a good place nearby to rent bikes (a common way to get around this relatively small town) and was happy to learn that the hostel itself could rent me a bike. I grabbed my old, blue, almost rusty ride (with a kickin’ basket on the front) and took off to explore 3 sights for the day: the Museum of Luxor, Karnak Temple, and Luxor Temple.

I rode down Corniche el-Nill to the museum, which was a big highlight of my excursion to Luxor. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, while big and containing everything, is busy, confusing, and truly, just ugly. Its polar opposite is the Luxor Musem: clean, quiet, dark (but dynamically lit), smaller, and just stunning. Some of the gorgeous artifacts included an alabaster Amenhotep III, statues from the Karnak and Luxor temples, and two mummified people (presumed to be pharaohs, but super-frightening).

Next came yet another highlight of the trip –Karnak. How does one describe a place like this? Lonely Planet says it is “a spectacular complex of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons, and obelisks… the site measures about 1.5km by 800m [almost 300 acres], large enough to contain about 10 cathedrals… was called Ipet-Isut, meaning ‘The Most Perfect of Places.’” However, I’m a bigger fan of what writer Amelia Edwards said about it:

It is a place that as been much written about and often painted; but of which no writing and no art can convey more than dwarfed and pallid impression… The scale is too vast; the effect too tremendous; the sense of one’s own dumbness and littleness and incapacity, too complete and crushing.

Inside is the huge temple complex, Amun Temple, whose centerpiece is the Great Hypostyle Hall. How do you describe an area like this? It’s a 300-foot long forest of 134 75-foot tall columns. You’re completely dwarfed, as you are next to Hatshepsut’s equally as dominant obelisks. Passing though the eight pylons (or layers of the temple) gives you a glimpse of sacred parts of ancient Egyptian life.

After spending a few hours wandering around that area, I hopped on the bike to go grab some lunch and hopefully hit the temple of Luxor. However, my bike had different plans. Short version: the chain that connects the pedal to wheel was actually stretched (or had the bike shrunk) so much that I couldn’t pedal once without the whole thing falling apart. A few friendly Egyptians came over to help me fix it, and after some prying with the metal on their part (and baksheesh on mine), I made it safely back to my hostel… almost. Again, the chain came off a few miles down the road. This time, I’d had enough. I pulled over to another bike place to exchange my piece’o’crap, hopped on the new one, and buzzed back towards Luxor temple.

While it’s not as grand as the Karnak, the temple of Luxor was cool because it’s located right next to the Nile. My Lonely Planet: Egypt book suggested to visit in the day, but to return when the sun was setting, since the temple is lit up and the walls are subjected to shadow games from the reliefs.

Since I had my bike-issues, I missed out on the day portion, but I did get there just as the sun was setting. I investigated the line of sphinxes leading to the temple, shot pictures of Ramses II’s head, and admired the one remaining obelisk in front of the temple. (Little did I know at the time, but I’d just seen this obelisk’s brother in June when I visited the Place de la Concorde in Paris!) After some more exploring, I grabbed the bike, rode back to the hostel, and got a relatively early night of sleep.

3. Day 2: Christmas in Luxor. I like Christmas. It’s a beautiful time of the year, when family and friends are extra-important, and had I been at MAA, the day might have been a bit rough. However, being that I was where I was, I took it as an opportunity to explore the Nile’s East Bank with iGor set to Christmas music only. Take that, Scrooge Hasan al-Grinch.

The first site I got to explore was definitely the coolest: the Valley of the Kings. Carved out of steep cliffs, the 62 tombs were located here by the royals because of their isolation, easiness to guard, and direction from Thebes/Luxor (to the west, the direction of the setting sun, which symbolized afterlife). A 40LE ticket gets you into any 3 tombs… except Tutankhamun, whose final resting place costs an additional 100 LE to visit. My three picks were Ramses I (beautiful blue-painted inside, with a gigantic pink-granite sarcophagus), Ramses IV (known about since 278 BC, but just recently opened to the public), and Tuthmosis IV (built in the hills – can only enter by climbing a staircase, going over a ravine, and delving deep inside the rock).

Next was Deir al-Bahri, the temple of Hatshepsut. Lonely Planet: Egypt’s description of it is dead-on: “Rising out of the desert, in a series of terraces, the Temple of Hatshepsut merges with the sheer limestone cliffs of the eastern face of the Theban mountain as is Nature herself had built this extraordinary monument. The partly rock-cut, partly freestanding structure is one of the finest monuments in ancient Egypt…” This was one of the top 3 monuments I wanted to see before I left Kenya (Pyramids of Giza and Abu Simbel were also on the list), and standing in front of it was just mind-boggling.

The last place of exploration for the day should have been the first. The Colossi of Memnon are two 18-meter tall giants who unceasingly guard the Valley of the Kings. For years, as Ra would rise into the sky, he would heat the dew that had attached itself to the statue in the night, breaking off sand inside the effigy. The sound of the sand would actually be an audible, low, haunting noise, so it was said that the Colossi were “singing” in the morning. Because of a unnecessary “repair” made to the statues, they don’t hum anymore, but they’re still an amazing and beautiful sight.

Arriving back in Luxor, I got some lunch, walked around the town (looking for nothing in particular), talked to my family at an internet café, came back to the hostel, packed, and eventually ate supper, as stated, in McD’s. Now I’m just awaiting my train leaving in a few hours here and I’m off, back to Cairo!

Ok, I think that’s about it. Miss you, miss home, miss Maxwell! Later!

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Shooting the Nile | Satellite-view of yesterday

CAIRO, EGYPT - Ok, in a nutshell, this is what yesterday's trip to the Pyramids of Giza looked like. Hopefully this will give a more graphical look at what the entire place looks like. Later!

Click on the image for a more zoomed-in version

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Blogging the Nile | Coptic Cairo, Walking, and Luxor

CAIRO, EGYPT – Relatively “weak” day…

Three Observations:

1. Coptic Cairo. So today I headed down to the Coptic area of the city. Coptic Christianity is the oldest “branch” or “sect” of the Christian church, and much of it developed right here in Egypt. The Old Cairo area is just to the south of Heliopolis, where I’m staying right now, so I had to take the subway (like always) from Saray el Kobba to Mar Girgis so I could explore this interesting little area of town.

As soon as I stepped into the area that has more than 20 churches in less than a square kilometer, I noticed how white the area looked – like, its tourists. Since August, I’ve been surrounded by every race except Caucasians, and now, seeing this area (so reminiscent of home) was almost embarrassing. Do I look like that? No way…

Otherwise, the area was beautiful. Narrow cobblestone alley-like streets, bunches of cute little churches, mosques, convents, monasteries, and synagogues, friendly and simpler Egyptians: this was a beautiful area. There’s lots of history, too, including the oldest synagogue in Egypt, a Greek Orthodox church where visitors wrap themselves in a chain for good luck, and even the Church of St. Sergius, where Jesus’s family apparently stayed when fleeing from King Herod in Judah. All in all, it was a cute little place to visit.

2. Exploring by foot. After inhaling a quick lunch of koshari in a neighborhood restaurant and taking the metro back up to Midian Tahrir (metro stop for the Egyptian museum and, in all honesty, the center of Cairo), I walked about a mile down to the area that Midian Ataba was before deciding that I wanted to try walking down to the Citadel, the famous old fort of Cairo. I had good shoes on, and nothing else to do, so why not give it a shot?

After walking another mile and a half down awkward little streets, I’d changed my mind. Walking that far wasn’t a problem, but right when I was starting to feel like I should be at the Citadel, I noticed that I was approaching the back end of it. I wasn’t going to be getting there anytime soon, and apparently, the building was to close early for the day anyways, so I grabbed some orange juice from a nearby juice stand and hailed a taxi (for very cheap) back up to Heliopolis, where I could relax and get some rest. Like I said, it wasn’t a super-interesting day, but I wanted to get some rest before leaving to Luxor tonight… oh, I didn’t tell you?

3. I’m going to Luxor tonight! Here in a little while, I’m taking a 10pm bus down to the Nile-side city of Luxor, where I plan on seeing some temples, some museums, and hopefully, some Valley of the Kings tombs!

When I get down there, I’ll have a hostel to leave my stuff in, but since it’ll be 8am, it’ll be high-time to do some touring. Wish me luck!

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Blogging the Nile | Pyramids and Camels, Sphinxes and Pizza Huts, and kushari

CAIRO, EGYPT – So the pyramids are kickin’. That’s the best way to put it: kickin’.

Three Observations

1. Seeing the Big 3. Today was the big day, the entire reason (almost) for visiting Egypt, the single most recognizable image associated with this country, and the only remaining member of the 7 Wonders of the (ancient) World: the Pyramids of Giza. From the moment I woke up, I bustled around, hurrying so we could get to our goal of the day as quick as possible.
   
   After a walk to Saray el Kobba, a crowded 8:30am “rush hour” subway trip to Giza, and a 15 LE taxi trip to Pyramid Road, there we were, in front of the giants. You know, when I was in Europe this summer, there were so many incredible things I saw, but the greatest were the “freaking spots”: places that were so magnificent, I prefixed them with the word “freaking.” I saw the “freaking Eiffel Tower”, the “freaking Coliseum,” the “freaking Leaning Tower of Pisa”, and one of my favorites, “freaking Venice.” However, the “freaking Pyramids” are an image that’s forever burned in my mind, a step above “freaking.” In pictures, they’re simply large three-dimensional triangles in the middle of the desert, but in person, they take your breath away.
   
   I stepped out of the taxi and just marveled in solitude at the big guys for a few seconds. Now I’m in Egypt. Wow. That solitude was short, though, as immediately, Lauran and I were harassed by a man in a shop to take a 160 LE camel-ride around the site. I wasn’t too certain at first, but the thought worked inside my head. Wait, ride a camel around the Great Pyramids? What could be more quintessential Egyptian? Within 10 minutes, I had the price worked down to 80 LE, including the 40 LE site entrance fee.
   
   I hopped on my dromedary (incredibly uncomfortable – waaaaay wider than a horse. Little do I know that in a few hours, I’ll be begging for an icepack to soothe my aching groin) and began the trip. We rode around the side of the Pyramids, eventually climbing a steep sand dune (The camel had no problem – I almost fell off, face planted, and ate sand.)
   
   Then, we were there; I was standing face to face with them. The tallest man-made object in the world for a few thousand years (until that Eiffel Tower came around – damn French, screwin’ up everything…), they simply tower above you in a way the mind can’t even comprehend. You can drop all the numbers you want – 480 feet tall, almost 500 feet per side, over two million blocks with an average weight of 2.5 tons (although some are 15 tons), 6 million ton total weight – but it won’t make a difference. They’re just big.
   
   We got off the camel to explore the inside of Khafre (more on this later), hopped back on to look at Menkaure (the smallest of the big 3) and ride past the miniature Queen’s Pyramids, and went into camel 1st-gear up the incline of a hill a few hundred yards away. There we got off and took the priceless pictures we’ll show off first when we get home. *sigh* Amazing. You look one way, and you see the pyramids, just staring right back at you. Turn slightly to the right, and you’ll clearly see the smog, brick, and steel that is Cairo. Turn around, and there’s nothing but miles and miles of Lawrence of Arabia sand. The scene was simply stunning, and one day, I hope to be a good enough writer to adequately describe the panorama to you.
   
   After the quick stop, we came back towards the entrance, stopping to grab some sand for the “fans” back at Maxwell. We got haggled by the man giving us the tour for another 20 or 30 LE, and while I was irritated he was pulling this little stunt, My satisfaction of what I’d just seen won, and I gave in. We got back to the camel place, thanked our guides, and breathed a sigh of relief. Riding around the Great Pyramids of Giza on a camel… check.


2. Exploring. One of the coolest things I wanted to try out was actually going inside one of the mammoths, and while Khufu, the largest, seemed like the logical choice, I was conviced by our camel-leaders that it was a waste of money. “For 1/4th the price, you can go to Khafre and see the exact same thing.” Hey, don’t have to tell me twice!
   
   We paid, got into a stuffy, slow moving line, waited in the Egyptian sun Ra for far too long, and finally stepped up to the entrance of the pyramid. It was an incredibly long ramp, maybe 100 yards, and down, at a 30 degree angle. The height of the tunnel couldn’t have been more than 5 feet, and it was just wide enough for one person to pass (even though it was a two-way street). After squat-walking for a while, I made it to the halfway point – a small, flat chamber with an up-ramp on the other end. I wiped my brow, squatted down, and went another 100 yards up this time, finally ending up in the tomb chamber. All that’s left is a polished black marble sarcophogous that used to hold Mr. Khafre himself, but now lies empty. The room was dimly lit, realatively cool (compared to the paths I’d just walked), and spacious. While there wasn’t a lot to look at, I took the breather and considered I’m in a pyramid! Looking at tombs!
   
   Squat-walking the entire way down and up again, I felt my stomach starting to grumble. I wanted to grab a little something to much on, but there was more to do. We found our guide and camel again, finished our tour, and headed next for the Great Sphinx, a pretty big disappointment. Yes, it’s probably the 2nd more recognizable icon in Egypt, but you couldn’t get closer than 500 feet to it, couldn’t tour or touch it, and really could only stand and get your picture with it. Weeeeeeeeak.
   
   For that reason, lunch was my #2 coolest moment of the day; finally, after months of not touching American food or an American brand, I got to eat Pizza Hut (some little BBQ Chicken Rolls – do we have those at home? Yummy…) and KFC brand fries at the restaurant across from complex. Just right outside my window, the way you’d look at the highway or an office building, I was looking at a Wonder of the World. Awesome.


3. Maxwell’s music program is wonderful. After we returned to Cairo, we took some time to walk around the Ataba market before returning home (with a quick detour for some much-needed internet). On the way back, we stopped at a little side-store that sold kushari, my new favorite food in the world. Basically, it’s just noodles, rice, lentils, tomato sauce, and some fried onions on top. Then they toss it into a baggie or plastic container, and away you go! It’s pretty much the most incredible food ever. Plus for 2 or 3 LE (like 50 cents) for a bowl that I can barely finish in one sitting, it’s the perfect combination ever: cheap and delicious!
   
   From there, we swung by the guesthouse to chow on the kushari, and then came back outside, next door, to the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Cairo to watch Nile Union Academy’s Christmas program. In a nutshell, it sucked pretty bad, and I was appreciative that Enterprise and Maxwell were both schools with relatively strong music programs, unlike NVA. Whew, can someone, anyone, hit a C? No little girl, that was a B flat. No little boy, that was a… what was that? Like an R?

Ok, so that’s all for now. Pretty tired and stuffed from my amazing supper. Talk to you guys later, miss you all!

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Shooting the Nile | The Big 3

Pyramids
Originally uploaded by webby37.

CAIRO, EGYPT - What an incredible day... Yea, this shot was Photoshopped a bit (B/W, widescreen bars, texture-clouds in the back, and some wind on the sand), it was a genuine CW shot. Beautiful, if I may say so myself. :)

From left to right: Menkaure (the smallest, with its 3 "baby pyramids," the Mastaba Tombs, in front of it), Khafre (looks bigger, but it's 2nd - it's closer at my angle and on a hill), and Khufu.

-cw, (or in Arabic, )

Blogging the Nile | Tombs, Alexandria, and Sick?

CAIRO, EGYPT – Alexandria’s cool, but totally overrated.

Three Observations

1. A warm dungeon makes me think of fresh bodies. Lauran and I decided yesterday that today would be the day to really travel again (since we were getting too comfy in Cairo), so the plan for today was to try out the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. After waking up at 5am and being in Ramses Station by 6:30, we waited an hour-and-a-half for a cheap Turbini train to take us up north. About 2 hours passed, and I was already smelling sea-scented air. Ah, Alexandria…

Now there really isn’t a lot to do up in this town, but the one thing I was really looking forward to was visiting the Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa, with its “creepy tombs straight out of a horror-film set” (Lonely Planet). So once we got out of the train, we started walking south towards the catacombs, passing some Coptic neighborhoods and cute little side-streets. We finally hit the gate of the tomb, and after paying, I delved into the dark abyss.

It all started out with a spiral staircase that began at ground level but ended more than 100 feet in the ground. With every step, it got darker and cooler, until finally I was standing in a dimly lit stone room, shadows creeping all around me and warning of mummies and monsters awaiting behind walls. To my left was the triclinium, or the “cafeteria” where mourners would pay their last respects to their deceased with a banquet. To my right, a horrifying little tomb with locules (pigeonhole-like shelves for the bodies to lay… *gulp*). Straight ahead, a descending staircase leading into the torch-lit antechamber tomb, guarded by two monstrous stone statues.

Did I mention that I’m completely alone down here?

I hesitantly crept down the stairs, eyes darting side to side in expectance for the mummy that was undoubtedly about to jump out from a corner and… well, do whatever mummies do to humans. (Come to think of it, why are mummies scary? They’re not like a vampire, with fangs and that blood-thing they have, and they’re not like a werewolf or something that can like eat you. So why am I scared? Hmmmm, I’ll consider that… later. Right now, I’m so anxious, if I was to hear a mosquito buzz by, I’d probably urinate my pants.) To my sides were small, uncomfortably warm rooms with 20 open locules (no bodies, thank the Lord). In front of me, the statues (combination Egyptian, Greek, and Roman iconography) guarding the final locule room were illuminated by two fire torches. Indiana Jones wasn’t there, but it looked like he should have been.

When I’d had enough of exploring that area (so, like, after .00000000457 seconds), I came back into the main room to check out that side room that had frightened me before. Again, warm like a fresh body, with open locules peering at me through the darkness, but this time there was no light to guide my way. At all. I passed through the room and entered the Hall of Caracalla (how the heck did they make the ceilings so high?). It was apparently an entirely different funerary complex with its own tombs, bodies, and locules. Ok, I’d seen enough.

I scurried back through the previous room, up the spiral staircase, and breathed a sigh of relief to see sunlight again. Of all the places I’ve ever been, that was the most horrifying… and it was so much fun. I considered going back in for another quick peek, but decided against it at the last minute. There was still more to do around town.

2. More exploring. After escaping that horror-movie set, Lauran and I hopped in a cab and headed up towards the Mosque of Abu Abbas al-Mursi, and with a little coaxing, I managed to get Lauran to go inside. He’s done the whole mosque thing before, but I’d never been inside, so I was excited that my first time was in this gorgeous building. To be let in, I had to take off my shoes and leave them with a man at the door, but inside it was worth it. It was simply a large spacious carpeted room with columns to supports its gigantic ceiling. Everywhere you looked there were Muslim men, carrying their prayer carpets and reverently praying towards Mecca. It was a beautiful and calming sight for something that, really, our culture condemns as an evil sect.

From there we walked up along the coast to Fort Quaitbey, the huge stone building built on the remains of the Pharaohs Lighthouse, one of the original 7 Wonders of the World. Inside I walked around, was taken on a tour by a non-english-speaking-at-all guard. Did I understand anything? No way. But it was still nice to be walked around and talked to by someone.

By this time, it was getting to be late, and our stomachs were grumbling. No lunch yet! We walked back towards the city to find a phantom fish market, but no such luck, so we settled on some pizza in a little restaurant on the coast. Pretty cool, and a good way to close out our time in Alexandria. From here, we just walked back towards the train station, boarded the 6pm to Cairo, and took the subway home, back to Saray el Kobba.

3. Feeling gross. Lauran was feeling really hungry again, since we’d only eaten once, and he was also craving an internet café fix. His plan was to hop off the metro, grab some grub, and go look for a connection somewhere.

I, however, wasn’t feeling so enthusiastic. I was feeling a little tired and starting to have some soreness in the throat. Am I getting sick? NO NO NO! Please no! In an effort to nip it in the bud, I decided to skip out on the day’s final two activities and just come back to the apartment for some extra sleep. I headed on direction, he headed the other, and I arrived at our place for some extra rest. After a super-long and relaxing shower (and another wrestling bout with the washing machine), I laid down and wrote for a while. Now, as the clock is ticking closer to 11:00p, I’m feeling my eyes closing more and more…

-cw, (or in Arabic, )