"The Others" & Orientation

In my downtime today I finally got around to uploading some pictures. First up is Coptic Cairo, or the block that Egypt cordoned off for people from the other side of the religious tracks. Unfortunately, I didn't spend much time in the area, but I did pass through the museum and had a quick stroll around the block. Many of the churches close pretty early, but the pics should give an overview of the area. For the historically inclined, this is supposedly the area where Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter.

Next up are pictures from the in-country orientation. The commission took all the Fulbrighters to the embassy for a few informational sessions. The Ambassador was also on hand for a brief welcoming address. Of course, cameras weren't allowed in the embassy, so the pictures are from the Citadel. The complex was constructed under Saladin in the 12th century to protect the city from the Crusaders. The large mosque inside was built by Mohammad Ali (considered to be the founder of modern Cairo) in the early 1800s. The Citadel is quite literally a city on a hill, so there were some pretty amazing views from the top.

News about adventures in Zagazig forthcoming. In the meantime, I do want to point everyone's attention to the blog of another ETA here in Egypt. Eric is a great writer who tends to focus on comically dissecting the finer points of the Fulbright experience. Enjoy.

On to Zagazig

Tomorrow is the big day when I finally move to Zagazig. While I've been in Egypt (and in class) for the past month, I feel like my Fulbright really begins tomorrow. It's a bit hard to quantify my experience thus far in terms of accomplishments/productivity, but I think actually teaching will begin to solidify my time here.

After speaking to several Egyptians about their thoughts on Zagazig, I thought I'd share some of the responses. Probably a mixture of conjecture and half-truths, but here's the rundown:

1) Rural (some say underdeveloped)
2) Not much English

3) I hope your Arabic is good

4) Your Arabic will get good

5) Scenic
6) Don't go there (some say emphatically)
7) Historical (supposedly a stopping point during Pharaoh's attempt to expel the Jews)
8) Not much to do
9) No words--simply a shriveled bitter-beer face that screams "I'm terribly sorry"*

*Most oft-repeated response (generally used in combination with another one of the above, usually #5 to try and end the conversation on a positive note)

I'm looking forward to finding out for myself what this mystical town of Zagazig is all about. Fortunately, I am not scheduled to begin work until the middle of next week, so I'll have plenty of time to map out my surroundings. The university has already arranged temporary housing in the university guest house, which will give Carl and I time to find a place. I guess all I need to do now is relax and look forward to that fresh, non-Cairo air. . .

I also have a backlog of pictures of Coptic Cairo and our in-country orientation with the Ambassador to post. Look for those in the next couple days.

Dahab Part 3: The Goods

Aside from the transpo issues (excitement?), Dahab was actually a very chill place. I don't know what it is about beach cities, but it seems like no matter where you go, people always morph into beach bums. The Cairo hustle simply did not exist. There were definitely an overabundance of shops and restaurants, but any attempt at getting passersby to come in were easily combated with a "maybe later." Or the people were refreshingly honest. When walking by a massage parlor, one guy walked up to our group, and with huge smile half-yelled, "Who wants to spend some money!?" Great one-liner.

Competition was also intense due to so many places to eat. One night, we finally settled on one restaurant after an offer of nine free appetizers, 20% off our final bill, free dessert, and two free shishas. Even the standard 15 pound breakfasts could be bargained down to 10-12 if you waited a while. Unlike so many other places in Egypt, the invisible hand was moving.

My favorite spot in Dahab was the Blue Hole dive site. Apparently it's one of the best places in the world for diving and snorkeling. As soon as you get into the water, it's like being inside an issue of National Geographic. The reef lines the entire shore and fish are everywhere. I don't know if the fish are naturally inquisitive or just accustomed to people, but you could have easily grabbed one (or so I think you could). It was so awesome seeing clownfish in their natural habitat weaving in between sea anemones. The water was clear enough to see huge schools of fish below. I can only imagine how cool it was at any sort of depth, but I guess that would be an adventure for another time.

My other favorite aspect of Egypt so far has been ridiculous spelling mistakes. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera for the funniest ones, but they're worth mentioning.  A beachside restaurant was offering "Soft Dinkies" as one of the cold drink options for only 10 pounds. I wanted to ask what sizes the dinkies came in. The other hilarious one came from a Chinese restaurant (naturally). Right next to a picture of dumplings was the caption "Chinese Dumping." If people were in the mood for that option, they might not be after looking over the menu.

Other than that, it was a lot of sun-tanning and swimming. The usual suspects for any vacation.

Dahab Part 2: Pictures

Click here for pictures from Dahab. If I can find some shots from other people's cameras, I'll upload them later as well.

Dahab Part 1: On Transportation

The Bus

Transportation in Egypt is always a mixed bag. On the one hand, getting around is pretty cheap. Our roundtrip bus tickets from Cairo to Dahab and back cost $30. Not bad for about 800 miles of total travel, especially considering the roundabout way of getting to Dahab due to the mountainous interior of the Sinai Peninsula. (See the map for our general route. No compliments necessary--I know my Photoshop skills are top-notch).

But like most things, you get what you pay for. The bus ride to Dahab was a pretty miserable start to the vacation. About halfway through the 10 hour bus trip (2 hours of which were just getting out of Cairo), I felt as if someone was jabbing me in the gut with a screwdriver. Over and over again. To add to that fun, I had my first ever bout with motion sickness. Apparently our bus driver decided to hit every bump in the road. I may have been airborne at points. Combined with the generally zig-zag direction of the roads, I spent more time than I cared to in the bathroom of the bus.


Of course, the bus trip back had its own joys. I had the "good fortune" on the way back to get the seat directly across from the bathroom. I figured that one of two things could happen. Either this was a blessing because I wouldn't need to crawl over people to puke my brains out....OR....some other dude was going to be destroying the toilet and I would be the lucky one who gets to bask in the aftermath. About thirty seconds into the trip, I had my answer when a guy from two rows back hustled to the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later, followed by a bouquet of fresh sickness. A few hours later, about two minutes after a rest break, he literally ran to the bathroom, but didn't quite make it, barfing all over the stairwell and bathroom door. This was all a few feet to my right. But don't worry, he made sure to splash some water over the mess to clean it up.

To make matters worse, the driver had a flawed sense of climate control that went something like this: "It's really hot, let's turn the AC up to full bore. *Minutes pass until it's freezing on the bus* Whoa...super cold now. Better turn it off. *Minutes pass until it feels like a sauna and everything feels sticky* Whoa...super hot now. Better start that process from the beginning." Maybe the only dials were freezing and sweating. It was almost comical how ridiculous the temperature variations were during the trip.

The only plus side to the trip was that the trip took only 7.5 hours to get back instead of the 10 hours it took to get there. Traffic was way better, and there was far less stopping at security checkpoints. I was thankful for the better efficiency the second time.

Mario Andretti of the Dunes


The hostel were stayed at was nice enough to arrange transportation to/from the bus station and to/from the Blue Hole dive site (more on that later). I can honestly say I have never been more scared in my entire life from these rides.

To begin, the Jeeps themselves were old. That wasn't a big deal in and of itself, but the tire tread on these cars was simply non-existant. If you could even find a groove to stick a penny in to measure the remaining tread, you deserved a prize. Even the "spare tire" on the back was bald. Granted there is no precipitation to worry about in Dahab, but the speeds at which these guys were driving didn't help.

The roads all looked like they were designed by Nintendo for a new Mario Kart game, and the workers from the hotel took full advantage. I half expected Yoshi to pop out or for bananas to shoot from our grill. The drivers just gunned the Jeeps everywhere. At one point on our way to the dive site, we were flying into a pretty sharp curve. The Jeep banked hard to one side to the point I was certain we were going to tip. One of the back tires lost traction (or didn't have it to begin with), squealed, then hit the curb. How nothing happened to the car (or us), I'm still not quite sure. After a brief, not so polite exchange with the driver, he chilled a little bit. But only a little.

And that was just the paved part of the trip. The road ended and in front of us stretched a half-rock, half sand expanse. We didn't seem to slow down. There was a trail of sorts, but it was (unnecessarily) curved with high banks. I don't know why they didn't just make it straight along the shoreline. So, we gripped the bars of the Jeep, enjoyed the complete lack of suspension, and prayed we didn't tip/run into another car/hit a camel/pop a tire/fall over a precipice. If anyone wasn't religious before that 20 minute ride, they were believers by the time we reached our destination. I was holding on so tight I could barely move my fingers when I finally let go.

But the whole thing only cost each person $6 round trip. Take that Cedar Point.

Haircut, Mustache, Holiday...O My!

So fresh and so clean--got my first haircut in Egypt today. There was very little communication, with the exception of a poor attempt to communicate desired length (by me of course) and the occasional Godfather-esque nod of approval at different points throughout the process. The barber was a pro though and knew how to handle his clippers. Best sub-$5 haircut I've ever had.

On a similar note, my "blaj-stache" has made it's first appearance in this world after one week of intense growing. For those less linguistically inclined, "blaj" is the word for beach in Egyptian Arabic (naturally deriving from the French word). Combined with the faux-aviators I bought today, I'm either ready to become a state highway patrol officer or shoot my first porno. I'm not sure which yet, but I will have plenty of time to decide while...

....I'm on holiday (as the locals say) in Dahab on the Sinai Peninsula. It's the end of Ramadan, and the next several days are known as the Feast. Everything shuts down in the country, and we're off from school from Wednesday until next Tuesday. By tomorrow morning, I'll be relaxing on the beach and swimming in the Red Sea. It's a tough life I lead, but someone's got to use those tax dollars effectively. Might as well be me. 

And don't worry, there will be plenty of pics of the blaj-stache once I get back. 

On Food

Maybe I was spoiled in Morocco. Maybe I haven't assumed the right mindset. Maybe I just love wings, burgers, and hotdogs too much. Whatever it is, I haven't yet come to truly enjoy Egyptian food. At this point, eating remains a pure necessity more than anything else. Sure, I enjoy the the 1 pound tamiyyahs as much as the next guy, and ful sandwiches with egg are pretty legit (and also a pound). But every time dinner time rolls around, I find myself flipping through my guide book looking for whatever sounds un-Egyptian. I guess I'm all humus'd out. 

With that being said, the nice thing about being in a big city is the plethora of options available. Last night, a few of us ventured into Zamalek to a place called Mezzaluna, largely the result of my hankering for some Italian food. (Pizzelles also sound great right now. Alas, we always crave what we don't have). The whole restaurant looked like an ad for Pier 1, enhanced by the great (and prompt) service. Nice change of pace from other establishments. I threw down a plate of mushroom-chicken pasta like it was my day job and washed it all down with two glasses of fresh-squeezed mango juice. My stomach did hurt after the meal, but it hurt so good. I had almost forgotten what it meant to over-eat.

Dinner time tonight. Where else would we go than a Thai restaurant in the heart of a Cairo suburb? I'm not usually a big fan of Thai food, but this place was excellent. I managed to down a plate of sweet and spicy chicken and noodles. The Thai iced tea wasn't the best, but I can't complain too much. Any meal in which I don't have to do work in the next half hour is a-okay in my book. Plus, this sign was posted behind our table. So health conscious. 

I'm sure one day I'll conquer Egyptian cuisine. One ful sandwich at a time--and maybe with the help of some Ranch dressing. . . 

al-Azhar and Whirling Dirvishes

Monday night, our professors at AUC were gracious enough to take us Fulbrighters out to explore up-all-night Cairo. We took a cab and headed to Old Cairo, the location of the famous Khan al-Khalili market and  al-Azhar Mosque, widely considered to be the center of Sunni Islamic learning as well as host to the second oldest university in the world. It was founded around AD 970, so it was quite a feeling to be in the midst of such a historical institution.

With it being Ramadan, the crowds were out in full force. After fasting from before dawn to sunset, Egyptians take full advantage of the night to fill up on dinner and a host of sweets. People generally stay up to all hours eating and spending time with family and friends. The bustling streets, stores, and restaurants are an amazing sight, and one can feel the joy in the air. Good times all around. I myself tried several dishes, my favorite being similar to rice pudding--only milkier and with crushed nuts. I probably could have eaten a couple pounds of the stuff. We also got some tea and shisha (water pipe) at a local cafe. Our big group of Americans stood out like a sore thumb, but the workers enjoyed having us visit their shop. The line of people trying to sell us goods while we were there became almost comical. The item of the night was wallets. After a while, I started to think the wallet factory was next door. Their tenacity, however, was laudable. If at first you don't succeed, try try again. And try they did.

We were also fortunate enough to attend a cultural show that featured whirling dirvishes, thus named for their ability to spin for extended periods of time. One of the "whirlers" must have spun for a good 20 minutes. I felt myself getting sick and holding my breath after a while just watching him. When he finally stopped, he didn't even flinch or wobble. Amazing. This spinning is also a Sufi (mystical Islam) religious activity, whereby the whirlers are said to enter a trance-like state and achieve a closer one-ness with God. Any way you "spin" it, it was pretty cool to watch. Of course, there were several musicians that accompanied the show, including horn and percussion performances. The music definitely reinforced my desire to take tabla (drum) lessons when I finally get to Zagazig. 

We didn't get back til late, but that's the norm now. When in Rome Cairo. . .