Temples, Tombs, Desert, The Nile: Egypt

Hello All! I just got back from Egypt, and it was an incredible vacation and a very full ten days. I went to Egypt to visit my good friend, Christina, who has been in Egypt since August, making the whole trip very smooth and relaxing!

April 30th: 13 hours in Casablanca

In order to get to Egypt I had to fly from Dakar to Casablanca and then on to Cairo. Due to some disputes between Royal Air Maroc and Air Senegal, R.A.M. is not allowed to fly to Dakar. The airline leased a bankrupt Basque airline’s (Hola! Airlines, no joke) airplane and staff to cover that leg of my trip. The airplane was painted completely white, there was no in-flight magazine and the stewards only spoke Spanish (convenient for me, though there was a lot of difficulty communicating with Senegalese passengers). Needless to say, I was a little disconcerted. The flight also left at 6 am, so my exhausted self was a little worried about surviving aboard this no-name airline. It turned out to be a lovely flight (at least the part I was awake for); the sunrise over the sahara and the Atlas mountains was breathtaking.

Upon arrival in Casablanca I decided to explore the city. I went took the train 45 min into the city and went straight to the Hassan II Mosque. The Mosque is Islam’s response to Mega-Churches. The place is absurd. It is the largest mosque after Mecca, and it rests on top of the sea. The mosque has a river running through it and the roof opens up. That way one is connected to all the elements in prayer. The tour was interesting but was not really about Islam, or Islam in Morocco but simply about the marvel of architecture this building represented. Perhaps that says a lot about Islam in Morocco.

Casablanca itself does not have much else to see, except for the beautiful café-lined streets and the Atlantic Ocean in all of its glory. After walking around, enjoying some much-missed coffee, and wearing three layers of clothing, it was time to leave this city and on for the rest of my journey… NOT SO FAST! This also turned out to be the first of two run-ins with Moroccan immigration. The police and passport control seemed highly suspicious of a US Government employee spending a few hours in Casablanca and then leaving. After a few intimidating stares and questions, I was free to go on.

May 1st: Welcome in Egypt

After the 5 hour flight, I arrived at 6 am in Cairo. Tourists have to buy visas upon arriving, so after buying and sticking the visa/amusement park sticker in my passport I was off to explore the city of Cairo. The ride from the airport, in my exhaustion, was cmposed mostly of me making remarks such as: WOW! Or NO WAY! Every time we passed an American food chain restaurant such as Chili’s or McDonald’s. I guess Peace Corps will do that to you. After a nap, it was exploring time! First off, the grocery store, which led to more WOWs and NO WAYs. I am easily impressed.

We then headed to downtown Cairo to eat some great Egyptian food: Kebab, Falafel, and Tamya (sesame seed humus, if you will). We then proceeded to dessert at Café Riche, where the revolution that deposed the King of Egypt was planned. Downtown Cairo is a bustling area filled with stores and buildings straight out of Paris’ Grands Boulevards, except for all the Arabic.

In the afternoon we went to Christina’s cousin, Zara’s basketball game. It was interesting as some girls wore shirts and t-shirts, some wore pants and long sleeve shirts, and others were fully veiled. It was an interesting cross-section of the religious spectrum: From Christian – to devout Muslim. In the evening we took a walk through El Azhar park which was a converted mound of trash. It is part of a large community-restoration and development program that Christina works with.

May 2nd: I-M-H-O-T-E-P

The next morning, we were off to start Pyramid seeing! We went far out of Cairo to see the first pyramids ever built and learn about their architect, the infamous Imhotep. I was unable to stop invoking The Mummy every 5 seconds that day, but who can balme me? Imhotep was all over the place that day!

We went first to the Red and the Bent Pyramid and Dashur. We went inside the Red pyramid which was really interesting, even if it was completely stripped, the climb in and out, was an interesting insight into the architecture that goes into building these massive structures. These pyramids are also slightly more inaccessible so we were able to enjoy them without TONS of tourists all over the place.

After this we went to Memphis, to Graceland! Ha ha, I am so funny. Memphis was an old city in the year 2,000 BC. Although not much is left of the city, there is a huge, mostly preserved, sculpture of Ramses II. The statue is HUGE and it is so preserved I could see muscle definition and a smirk.

After this, we saw the first pyramid of all, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. The pyramid is built in steps, and was designed, by none other, than Imhotep himself. We also had our own guide, Taha, to show us around. His knowledge, as an Egyptologist and Archeologist as the site, were priceless and he showed us into small unknown tombs and even invited us to get into a sarcophagus and look at a REAL scarab beetle. No thank you, I do not want those things crawling inside me. Thanks again, Brendan Fraser. The best moment of the day was as I was admiring a lesser pyramid Taha turned to me and said: “If you wanted to build a pyramid… NO, YOU CANNOT build a pyramid you are NOT a King!” Thanks, Taha.

That evening we enjoyed sushi and shisha by the Nile, perhaps I am a King. Ok, maybe not, but it was a really nice evening and I had more sushi that I should have, but it had been so long!

May 3rd: THE Pyramids

The next day we went to the Pyramids of Giza and to see the sphinx. I was honestly setting myself up to be disappointed since I had built myself up so much, but they were so much more incredible than I imagined then. Absolutely amazing! Interestingly, the city of Cairo comes right up to the Pyramids, and the Sphynx is staring straight ahead at none other than KFC and Pizza Hut. Yay Globalization!

After enjoying a full morning of funny camel photos with the sphinx, we headed downtown to enjoy the average-Egyptian lunch: Koshary. Koshary is a carb-loaded creation of goodness. It is a layer of pasta, topped with rice and lentils, with a tomato sauce and fried onions sprinkled on top. Now before you wince, it also has a garlic oil to be poured on top. It might have been terrible for my heart, but it was very good, and extremely heavy.

We spent the afternoon at the Cairo Museum, where we saw the famous mask and possessions of King Tut. It was an incredible display of riches and decadence. The mask was absolutely beautiful as were all the objects found around him. It turns out King Tut is a rather unimportant Pharaoh, but a much greater King built his tomb directly on top op Tut’s tomb’s entrance hiding it from grave diggers until the 20th century. That explains the opulence that is not visible in other tombs.

That evening we flew out on EgyptAir to Luxor!

May 4th: Luxor, the Valley of the Kings

In Luxor, we started off the day at the Valley of the Kings, which is where many tombs are for all the pharaohs. The Tombs, although empty, are highly decorated with incantations and stories. All of this is in hieroglyphics. Luckily our guide, Mansour, can read and write hieroglyphics. The tombs have an eerie and mystical nature to them, and they are as large as homes, with multiple rooms and it was an amazing experience to wander and explore them. The beauty of the paintings and wall coverings is beyond description.

Enough tombs, on to Temples! I thought the tombs could not be outdone, but in fact they are matched only by the opulence of the temples. They are larger than life structures. The first was carved into a mountain and was built by Queen Hatshepsut. The second was Habu temple and it was completely covered in friezes and paintings, including, stars on the roof! They were both impressive in both size and magnitude, but what impressed me the most this day, and the days before was there age: I cannot comprehend 4,000 years.

We spent the afternoon on a Faluka (sail boat) on the nile and had tea and bananas on Banana Island. Despite the passing sandstorm, it was very cool experience to be out in the water. The sand and haze blocked out the city, and all I could see was the river, and its closest banks, so for a second, I envisioned myself living in the year 2,000 B.C.

May 5th: Luxor and Karnak Temples

If I had to pick my favorite Ancient Egyptian landmark, it would undoubtedly be the Temple of Karnak. The temple is a massive structure with pillars to match. The temple’s pillars are still generally preserved and their magnitude is impressive. The building is filled with friezes and depictions of Egyptian life. There is a huge purification pool, many obelisks (one of them is sitting in La Place de la Concorde in Paris), and smaller temples. The walls show thousands of years of history, from the beginning of Pharaonic times to Alexander the Great and there is even a Christian image. Karnak is also the largest ‘space for worship” in the world. Only a third of it is open to the public and I could have sepnt days exploring the intricacies of it.

We then went to the temple of Luxor which is in the heart of Luxor the city and has a much more “tread-on” air to it. I ndon’t mean tourists but rather the fact that the temple has a mosque built in it and there are traces of a Christian church. There is a very well preserved wall fresco on top of friezes of the pharaohs creating an interesting visual history of Egypt.

That night we had a tradition Egyptian dinner, which consisted of Lamb and Rice, and Rabbit and Spinach. Both were very good and they tasted different than any food I had tasted before. We had dessert at a sweet shop. The main source of “sugar” comes from honey so all of the cookies and treats have a great crisp smooth sweet taste to them! So good!

May 6th: Cairo Markets

Early in the morning we flew back to Cairo and enjoyed more of the city. We explored Islamic Cairo, starting with the citadel, which is an impressive mosque built in the Turkish style on the top of a hill with a view of the pyramids. We then visited Christina’s office, which works with kids that work and do not go to school. We explored this old, slum-y, part of the city providing a much more complex view of modern Egypt than I had been able to see. We went to see the traditional tent makers, that make beautiful quilted tents in the Bedouin tradition. Their creations are beautiful and intricate and they have begun making products for tourists, and are modernizing their trade. We walked through the bazaar with a foul (smashed fava bean AMAZINGNESS!) sandwhich. It was great to explore a more modern side of the city, and it was interesting to see two major and seemingly combative facets of Egyptian society, tourism and Islam, within blocks.

That evening in spirit of Cinco de Mayo, we made Fajitas, Guacamole and Salsa. So Egyptian…

May 7th: Black and White Deserts

Seeing that we are no strangers to early mornings, the next morning we woke up very early for our trip to the desert. It started with a four hour trip into the desert to an oasis that serves as a base for exploring the landscapes of the Black and White Deserts. We rented a land cruiser, with four wheel drive, and off we were. The Black desert felt like exploring the surface of mars. There was no green anywhere and the only signs of life were us. Unfortunately our guide had no idea why it was black, but in my conjectures, it is volcanic since the Sahara used to be an ocean, and we were hiking in around what could have been volcanoes and craters. We hiked up a few mountains and the sheer emptiness of the area is incredible and haunting at the same time. At lunch time we stopped at the driver’s home in another small oasis in the middle of the desert. The oasis comes from nowhere and it s a green spot of life filled with plants, animals, and houses. Stark is not a good enough word to describe the contrast.

After lunch we drove through the white desert, which as the name implies is all white. The wind has created forms out of rocks, so we explored the area loking for animals and figures. The beauty of the desert was something I had never seen before. There was literally nothing but sand and sky. It really frames all of Egyptian geopolitics and the human condition, without water there is literally nothing,

That evening we drove back to the city and enjoyed some good old fashioned McDonald’s. It has been so long and it tasted so good, but I think I had my share of fast food for a while.

May 8th: Coptic Cairo

Coptic Orthodox Christians are a large minority and Egypt that although are not openly prosecuted, do suffer from discrimination in a predominant Islamic society. We visited a small walled in medieval section of the city with Coptic churches and one of the only synagogues in Egypt. It was extremely interesting to see this part of Cairo and learn about a different religion. The spot is also Holy as it is believed that this is where Mary and Joseph hid with Jesus when they fled Herod. It is also supposedly the spot where Moses washed up the banks of the Nile. That night we went to a small French-owned restaurant called Charwood’s for steak and pizza, so good!

May 9th: Alexandria

On my last day in Egypt we went to Alexandria, which is on the Mediterranean. We arrived and headed for an extremely Egyptian spot, so Egyptian the menus were only in Arabic! We picked out our own fish, shrimp and calamari and had the largest spread of fresh sea food I had seen in a long time. It tasted good, and a definite Mediterranean flavor to it, different from anything we had in any other part of Egypt.

We then went to the famous Alexandria Library built in 2003, as a monument to learning. It is SO COOL! The only way for me to explain it is that it is the Library of the Future. It has thousands of books in many languages, digitized all of them, has hundreds of computers with free Internet access and is in the process of creating the world’s largest online book database. Oh yeah, and they also have a machine that can print and bind a whole book in minutes. Absolutely incredible, thank you UNESCO!

We spent the rest of the day walking along the sea shore until arriving to our dinner location: The Greek Club. I had the best calamari of my life and enjoyed a beautiful albeit chilly sunset of the Mediterranean. What a great finale to my trip!!

May 10th: I carry Swine Flu, or so my passport says

As I mentioned earlier, I did not have the best luck with Moroccan immigration. On my way back through Casablanca the immigration officer noticed that on my US passport it said I was born in Mexico. After a lot of Arabic and men in white coats I found out I was in quarantine. Finally after becoming exasperated I mentioned that I had not been to Mexico in 9 months. They realized their mistake and let me leave, but not without taking my temperature on more time. Just to be safe, I’m sure.


Sorry for the length, but it was a packed week! Pictures are soon to come on Facebook, will post the link here in a couple days.