That Lawn Mower is Plugged In.. (Sunday – Monday)

Sunday we packed up to leave Alexandria and stopped at the Royal Gardens (Montzah Gardens) and the Library of Alexandria before leaving for Cairo. We visited two beautiful palaces and got to take pictures of the Mediterranean Sea.

Palace for the Queens

 

Royal Palace - Even the last president, Mubarak, was still staying here when he was in power

The Library of Alexandria was total nerd love for me. We got a tour of how the library was built for natural light and sound, and learned about all the cool things inside the library like a printer that prints a full book including the pages and cover in as little as five minutes. They also have the only supercomputer in a public library and accessible by the public. We got to see some of their museums including the ancient manuscripts and artifacts museum. 

Such a happy nerd!

While at the library, one of the girls noticed a pain and bruise on her ankle. It started to swell pretty rapidly and she was taken to get a cast because she had hurt her ankle while sleep walking! We’ve had some interesting stories about sleep walking and sleep talking on the trip. It has been quite entertaining! Before officially leaving town we stopped at the same restaurant as the night before and had a large seafood lunch/dinner. 

Of course, I had to get another Turkish Coffee

We took a bus to Cairo, boarded a plane, and flew to Aswan very late in the evening.

Monday has been quite the struggle with only four hours of sleep (we didn’t get in until 2 a.m. from our travels). We visited the High Dam built by President Naser and finished by President Sadat. It is the biggest dam in Egypt and used to control the flooding of the Nile as well as the main power source for Egypt. It contains enough blocks to build 17 Great Pyramids (2,300,000 blocks) and preserves Egyptian history by being shaped like a pyramid. We also visited the memorial between Egypt and the Soviet Union.

The other visit of the day was to the Philae Temple. The temple was located on Philae Island but after being flooded from the building of the High Dam, the temple was cut into pieces and relocated to Agilika Island. We had a short boat trip to the island.

 The beautiful designs and pictures inside the temple

More bus snacks!

 

After our visits we boarded our CRUISE!!! The ship is magnificent! We had lunch which was absolutely delicious and then took a much needed nap! At 5 p.m. we went out on a sail boat on the Nile to watch the sun set. We sang a Nubian folk song and enjoyed the nice weather. Nubians are the local people of this area. They had villages up and down the Nile around Aswan, but their villages were destroyed from the creation of the High Dam. 

With Phil, Jamison, and Alex on the sail boat. Check out those life vests!

As for my title, we actually saw a lawn mower at the high damn memorial that had to be plugged in. It looked like the man was vacuuming his grass.

I’m currently writing this in my room as I wait for dinner to be served. Tonight we plan to go shopping in Aswan at the local markets. Our cruise will take off at dawn tomorrow and we will make one stop and then head to Luxor!

Hope all is well back home!

Tess

One Night in Alexandria

On Saturday we left for Alexandria early in the morning. Our first stop were the Catecombs dating back to 200 B.C. which is the largest Greek tomb to be found in Alexandria. It has three floors underground and are the only Catecombs to be built in Egypt. It is very unique because it has a mix of ancient Egyptian and Greek art and is the last time that Egyptian and Greek gods were found together in the same tomb. The tomb was very intriguing inside. It was like a cave-house with many rooms and reminded me of a place that I would have loved to play in as a child.

Bus Snacks! I know my dad would be pleased to see that I'm still consuming fig bars on road trips.

We weren't aloud to bring our cameras in the Catecombs, so I didn't get any pictures, but you can see some here!

Our next stop was Pompey's Pillar which is surrounded by the remains of a temple. The temple is said to have housed the Daughter Library to the Royal Library of Alexandria.  In the temple area, the second largest Scarab was found. This is the statue of a beetle that is supposed to bring good luck. The legend is that you can make a wish and walk around the Scarab three times and the wish will come true in 3 seconds, 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years, 3 decades or 3 centuries. If you wish to get married soon, you can walk around the Scarab 7 times.

Students rounding the scarab before I joined in.

 

The last sight of the day was an old fort, Fort Qaitbay, which was built in the place of where the old Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the old world wonders) was located but ruined in an earthquake in the 1300s.

After our visits we had a grand seafood dinner at a local restaurant and then relaxed outdoors. I enjoyed my first Turkish coffee and may have found a new obsession… yikes. 

We settled in to our hotel rooms then went out to another restaurant and got fresh squeezed juices. I got the pomegranate and guava juice. Soooo yummy! We also got some more deep fried dessert balls covered in chocolates and such. This is the third time I have had these and they taste just like funnel cake. Uff da.

     
      (Left) Pretty boats in the Mediterranean Sea           (Right) View of the Med from our hotel room!

 Sending love from Egypt!

Aloha, One Yankee Doodle Dollar

We had many stops in Old Cairo today to visit some mosques, churches, and a synagogue.

The first stop was to Sultan Hassan Mosque and School. It is the oldest mosque in Cairo. We had to dress very conservatively, put on head scarves, and remove our shoes before even stepping inside the court yard. The mosque was very different from Mohammad Ali’s mosque yesterday. Professor Hamad took us through the washing process, which they must do before each prayer. Then Medo demonstrated how they do their prayers. We entered a beautiful room and had a sung performance of prayers sung to us. It was amazing how loud and resonant the singer’s voice was.

(Left) The fountain for cleansing. (Right) Professor Hamad showing us the ablution process.

(Left) Some of the girls in our head scarves (Right) One of the four areas for prayer

After the mosque, we went to the Hanging Church. This is the third oldest church in Egypt dating back to the 3^rd century A.D. and was built on top of two shafts from an old fortress. We learned about the traditional construction and layout of the churches and how the old mosques, churches, and synagogues were built by the same people, so at some place in each, they had the same pattern on a wall or other object.

On the right is the pattern seen throughout the mosque, church (this one), and synagogue we saw this day

Next we went to the second oldest church in Egypt, Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, which was built above a crypt that the holy family stayed in for six months while making their journey to Egypt. The crypt is underground and only higher priests are allowed to go inside.

Following the churches we went to a synagogue that was once a church but transformed into a synagogue. Medo pointed out that there are only 9 synagogues in Egypt and none of them are used for prayers/services because there are only 300 Jewish people living in Egypt today.

Lunch was at our Professor’s in-laws house. Haytham is Professor Hamad’s brother-in-law and is with us on the trip, so it was a lot of fun to see where he grew up and talk with his parents. We had stuffed pigeon, which is a delicacy in Egypt. It was super tasty! I noted that the rice inside tasted somewhat like bagel bits, but maybe I’m just super weird. All of the food was absolutely phenomenal, and we were so grateful for them to have us over for an amazing meal.

Our lecture took place at our lunch location. Haytham brought one of his female activist friends to come speak with us about her role in the revolution and post revolution leading up to the election. She talked about how she was not suffering from the old regime and had not real reason to want to get involved in the revolution initially, but after seeing how people were dying for absolutely nothing, she couldn’t stand to sit and do nothing. She felt obligated to make the future of Egypt better for her son. She went to Tahrir Square three days after the revolution began back in January 2011 and has not left. The lecture was emotional and passionate, and we were very inspired after listening to her story.

In the evening we suited up and headed to the Cairo Opera House for a concert by one of Egypt’s top composers, Omar Khairat. Before the concert, a number of us got to go back stage and shake hands with Omar! He played the piano in front of a full symphony orchestra, equipped with bongos and other African drums. I knew this was going to be very different from the traditional classical symphonies I had seen back home when the audience started enthusiastically clapping along with the music. It was so fun and energetic! We all had a blast, and again, another amazing day came to an end with a bang! 

Title: The sellers on the streets like to say things that they think will relate to us as Americans. When they see all 40 of us filing by they like to say things like "Aloha, one yankee doodle dollar" or "ohhh Shakira!" when they think a girl is cute. It can be quite entertaining the things they come up with at times.

What I Ate in the Desert

Here is a collection of pictures of all the things I enjoyed in the Desert!

Okay, I'm aware Cody's eyes aren't food, but they are two different colors!!!

Pineapple Soda.. who thought this would be so delicious?!?

I realize the plate looks gross, but everything on it was great, and the fruit is sooo fresh!

The Goat Cooking Process

The dinner our drivers made! Clearly, I really enjoyed the chicken..

I don't think I've ever eaten so much hazelnut spread.. It was a great replacement for my lack of peanut butter; which, if you know me is my one true obsession.

5 a.m. breakfast

And yes, I made a nutella, jelly, hardboiled egg, and pita bread sandwich. 

Don't knock it till you try it!

Well that concludes the desert food. I just can't get over how fresh all of the food is at all times. Nothing seems like it comes out of a box. It is definitely different food than what I'm used to in the states, but it is quite wonderful.

Ever Been Proposed to in a Jewelry Store? - Election Day 2

My format got messed up. Sorry it looks so wonky!

Day 2 of the Egyptian Presidential Elections and day 2 of our time in downtown Cairo.

With a free morning, I woke up early to workout, lay by the pool, read, and eat a magnificent breakfast provided by the hotel. The staff here is so helpful and friendly. We are truly blessed and so fortunate to be able to stay in such a nice place.

  

I'm really diggin the couscous with fruit and jam for breakfast!

By late morning we headed to the top media center in the Arab Nation. We got the chance to speak with a political sociologist, working for the government media about, about what is expected from the election and post and pre revolution issues. He discussed his dislike for religious parties and the issues of the possibility of Islamic rule and the enforcing of Sharia (Islamic) law. I was personally interested in the youth’s involvement in the post revolution time and the election. How had my generation had an effect on what has happened after the revolution? The speaker gave many examples of how the young adults are getting involved in many organizations, activist groups, and other activities to help educate, enlighten, share ideas, and encourage others to join the democratic movement.

Following our lecture, we ventured to the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. The mosque is beautiful, to say the least, with extravagant decorations inside. Previous mosques had not been decorated on the inside; the decorations in this mosque, built in the first half of the 19th century, were extravagant compared to those of that time.

Outside of the Mosque and me in front of the fountain where the cleansing process occurs

On the inside. I want these hanging lamps in my house someday...

We spent some time in the National Military Museum, then we visited the Fallen Soldier Monument which is also the Mausoleum of President Sadat after his assassination.

Dinner was at Chicken Tikka, which is a place we have eaten from before but we enjoyed enough to have it again!

Sarah and I are in love with the dipping sauce. I'll shamelessly admit that we found out its practically mayo mixed with garlic. Regardless, it is delicious with anything dipped in it.

The day was pretty brief which was fine with me. We got pretty silly on the bus ride home after dinner. Check out some of the goofy pictures below… A meeting, some shopping, and free time at the hotel in the evening wrapped up the day.

So many Egyptian snacks!

These hats are too funny!

 

Title: Yes, the man working at the jewelry store told me he’d like to marry a girl like me. Luckily, Sarah was there to relieve the awkwardness. After some hibiscus tea and chit chat, we got a nice discount and a lucky beetle with our purchases. The great majority of people are so friendly here! .. Have I mentioned that yet? I think I have.