This evening a few of my friends and I went into Islamic Cairo to visit al-Azhar, grab dinner, and explore Khan al-Khalili. The last time we had attempted to visit al-Azhar after our visit to the Egyptian Museum, it had been prayer time and we never made it inside. Today, however, there was no problem. It was actually one of the few trips that I can say everything went smoothly and we didn't get ripped off by taxi drivers.
Al-Azhar was founded in 970 AD by the Fatimid rulers of North Africa. At that time, it was the main mosque and center of learning for the city. Today, the university is the most revered center of learning in the Sunni Islamic world, and it provides free board and education for Muslim students from all over the world. Al-Azhar is certainly gorgeous. There are marble floors and columns and intricate carvings are etched into the stone walls. Inlaid wood decorates the doors and delicately painted and crafted lamps hang from the ceiling. There is an open courtyard in the center and off of it are roofed rooms for prayer. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me, but the mosque was definitely a site to be seen.
After visiting the mosque, we ventured out to find al-Azhar Park, which we'd heard is beautiful and contains some nice restaurants. We had a general idea of directions, but soon felt that we had taken a wrong turn. We made our way back to the main road and tried to ask some Egyptians where the Park was. The people we asked couldn't understand us, but luckily an Egyptian man walking by was willing to help us. He himself had the most beautifl blue eyes and was carrying the cutest little boy on his shoulders dressed in camo overalls. His little toddler daughter walked by his side and his wife, dressed in a full burqa, walked a bit behind carrying groceries. Although they didn't fully speak English, they understood where we wanted to go, and led us in that direction. Finally nice, genuine people!! They didn't even ask for tips! We were so grateful to them!
The park was gorgeous, and from it you could see most of Cairo. There were lush greenery and beautful fountains. It was like a little oasis in the middle of busy Cairo. Families sat on the grass enjoying the day, and couples strolled about. We had a delicious dinner at a restaurant that had a view of the Citadel. It was wonderful.
After dinner, we grabbed a taxi to go to Khan al-Khalili, one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East. We only had a short while to explore, but we all made some great purchases and will definitely be back. We then took another cab a bit of a distance to the area where AUC's bus picks up. Unlike other times when we've ridden in metered taxis, this one actually charged us correctly. Most meters have two speeds - one for foreigners, and one for non-foreigners. The foreigners option increases the price more quickly and is really unfair. This time, however, we were treated like Egyptians! Yessss, success.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sharm el-Sheikh
This past weekend I went to Sharm el-Sheikh with two of my friends, Celeste and Laura. Sharm is located at the very tip of Sinai on the Red Sea, and is very popular with European tourists. Once again, our trip started off interesting (this seems to be a trend in Egypt). Our flight was at 11:30 pm on Thursday and as we were nearing the airport in Sharm our plane seemed to be gaining too much speed as it neared the runway. Apparently the air speed caused us to over-shoot the runway, so just before nearing the ground, the pilot quickly began an ascent. We had to fly around for another twenty minutes, the plane continuously bouncing. One of my friends almost got sick. Luckily, the second landing attempt was successful. Our plane landed about a half hour late, but we still assumed that the airport transit we'd arranged from the hotel would be waiting for us. Silly us for assuming anything would run smoothly in Egypt. Our driver was no where to be found and because Sharm is such a tourist destination, the taxis charge exorbitant prices. To go to our hotel 15 minutes away, we had to pay 80 Egyptian pounds. In Cairo to go some place 15 minutes away, it will normally be about 25 tops.
Finally we got to our hotel, Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village. We found this place in one of my guide books, and it had great ratings and prices. There are three options for rooms and because the plane ride was so expensive, we picked the budget-option called the View-Huts. To get to the view huts, you have to climb 133 stairs (yay beach-butt work-out!), once you get to the top, the view is beautiful. We had a view of the Red Sea and surrounding islands. Our hut was literally a hut, although a nice one. It was maybe at most 10ft x 10ft and we had three beds squished in there. The floor was tiled and the wall and roof were thatch. We didn't have air conditioning, just a fan, which made it a bit difficult to sleep. We did, however, have mosquito nets!! The bathrooms were communal and required us to go outside. We had flushing toilets and running water, but just barely. The showers mearly dribbled water.
The lack of luxury in our sleeping arrangements didn't really matter though, because we didn't have time to sleep. Our first full day there (Friday) we got up early, had breakfast, sat on the beach for a bit, and then arranged for a snokeling trip to Tiran Island. The speed-boat ride was terrifying! Our driver was going super fast over the waves and I felt like we were either going to flip over, or I was going to fly out of the boat! We stopped somewhere in the middle of the Red Sea and snokeled a bit. There were so many exotic fish! We then got to see a wreck on one of the reefs from the 70s caused by some drunk Russians. Once we got to Tiran Island, we were all blown away. It was gorgeous. The Island is completely uninhabited and has beautiful rock formations jutting out to sea. It was amazing seeing the desert and sea, two contrasting images, side by side. We were allowed to explore the island and swim in the crystal clear water. Later that day we had lunch, and my two friends went parasailing. In the evening we went to Naama Bay, which is right near Sharks Bay, but it has more restaurants, shops, clubs, casinos, etc. We had a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then walked around the shops a bit. It's a amzing how many Europeans vacation in Sharm. The shopkeepers were so suprised we were from America, and even more suprised when we said 'thank you' in Arabic.
The cab ride back from Naama was once again eventful. In looking for a taxi, we told the guy the name of our hotel and asked how much it would cost in Arabic. The cab driver wanted 80 pounds, but we refused and told him we'd only paid 50 to get there. We were about to walk away to find a cheaper cab down the road when the man changed his mind and offered 60. We accepted and got into the car. Apparently the driver had no idea where he was going. He only stopped to ask for directions when we told him he should. The people he asked, however, didn't understand that our hotel was named Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village. They kept saying 'this is Sharks Bay.' Finally we were semi-able to direct him and once we got to our hotel, he demanded we pay him 80 pounds because he had driven around for so long. We refused and sternly told him that we had told him the name of our hotel in the beginning and that he shouldn't have taken us if he didn't know how to get there. We shoved the 60 pounds plus a few pounds extra in his hand and scurried away.
The next morning (Saturday) we got up at 5 am to go on a camel excursion through the desert to watch the sun rise. We were led to a bedouin hut where the "bedouins" (men sleeping beside their pick-up) made us fresh pita bread and tea. We watched the beautiful sun rise as we ate and then got back on our camels. Just fyi, camel riding is painful! All of our legs/butts killed, and it felt like we'd been on an intense bike-ride for hours. We even had marks on our backs from where our spines hit the back of the saddle! Luckily, we didn't have much else planned for the day, so when we were back at the hotel (8am) we just plopped down on some beach chairs and napped.
After a day of napping and swimming, we ate dinner at our hotel where we were mistaken for doctors (because of our glasses) and asked to hang out at the beach with some Egyptian boys (whom we politely refused) and then hung out at the cafe/bedouin bar/hut. We watched the sunset and the beginning of the US-Ghana world cup game. We were the only Americans in a sea of Egyptians and they kept looking back at us and laughing when Ghana scored. Soon it was time for us to go to the airport. Our flight was originally supposed to leave at 1am but when we checked in, we managed to get on a flight leaving at 11pm! Since we had school the next day, and we'd hardly gotten any sleep, this was wonderful news!
Finally we got to our hotel, Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village. We found this place in one of my guide books, and it had great ratings and prices. There are three options for rooms and because the plane ride was so expensive, we picked the budget-option called the View-Huts. To get to the view huts, you have to climb 133 stairs (yay beach-butt work-out!), once you get to the top, the view is beautiful. We had a view of the Red Sea and surrounding islands. Our hut was literally a hut, although a nice one. It was maybe at most 10ft x 10ft and we had three beds squished in there. The floor was tiled and the wall and roof were thatch. We didn't have air conditioning, just a fan, which made it a bit difficult to sleep. We did, however, have mosquito nets!! The bathrooms were communal and required us to go outside. We had flushing toilets and running water, but just barely. The showers mearly dribbled water.
The lack of luxury in our sleeping arrangements didn't really matter though, because we didn't have time to sleep. Our first full day there (Friday) we got up early, had breakfast, sat on the beach for a bit, and then arranged for a snokeling trip to Tiran Island. The speed-boat ride was terrifying! Our driver was going super fast over the waves and I felt like we were either going to flip over, or I was going to fly out of the boat! We stopped somewhere in the middle of the Red Sea and snokeled a bit. There were so many exotic fish! We then got to see a wreck on one of the reefs from the 70s caused by some drunk Russians. Once we got to Tiran Island, we were all blown away. It was gorgeous. The Island is completely uninhabited and has beautiful rock formations jutting out to sea. It was amazing seeing the desert and sea, two contrasting images, side by side. We were allowed to explore the island and swim in the crystal clear water. Later that day we had lunch, and my two friends went parasailing. In the evening we went to Naama Bay, which is right near Sharks Bay, but it has more restaurants, shops, clubs, casinos, etc. We had a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then walked around the shops a bit. It's a amzing how many Europeans vacation in Sharm. The shopkeepers were so suprised we were from America, and even more suprised when we said 'thank you' in Arabic.
The cab ride back from Naama was once again eventful. In looking for a taxi, we told the guy the name of our hotel and asked how much it would cost in Arabic. The cab driver wanted 80 pounds, but we refused and told him we'd only paid 50 to get there. We were about to walk away to find a cheaper cab down the road when the man changed his mind and offered 60. We accepted and got into the car. Apparently the driver had no idea where he was going. He only stopped to ask for directions when we told him he should. The people he asked, however, didn't understand that our hotel was named Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village. They kept saying 'this is Sharks Bay.' Finally we were semi-able to direct him and once we got to our hotel, he demanded we pay him 80 pounds because he had driven around for so long. We refused and sternly told him that we had told him the name of our hotel in the beginning and that he shouldn't have taken us if he didn't know how to get there. We shoved the 60 pounds plus a few pounds extra in his hand and scurried away.
The next morning (Saturday) we got up at 5 am to go on a camel excursion through the desert to watch the sun rise. We were led to a bedouin hut where the "bedouins" (men sleeping beside their pick-up) made us fresh pita bread and tea. We watched the beautiful sun rise as we ate and then got back on our camels. Just fyi, camel riding is painful! All of our legs/butts killed, and it felt like we'd been on an intense bike-ride for hours. We even had marks on our backs from where our spines hit the back of the saddle! Luckily, we didn't have much else planned for the day, so when we were back at the hotel (8am) we just plopped down on some beach chairs and napped.
After a day of napping and swimming, we ate dinner at our hotel where we were mistaken for doctors (because of our glasses) and asked to hang out at the beach with some Egyptian boys (whom we politely refused) and then hung out at the cafe/bedouin bar/hut. We watched the sunset and the beginning of the US-Ghana world cup game. We were the only Americans in a sea of Egyptians and they kept looking back at us and laughing when Ghana scored. Soon it was time for us to go to the airport. Our flight was originally supposed to leave at 1am but when we checked in, we managed to get on a flight leaving at 11pm! Since we had school the next day, and we'd hardly gotten any sleep, this was wonderful news!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Land of Luxor
This past weekend, four of my friends and I flew down to Luxor. We left Thursday night around 9pm and arrived in Luxor just after 10. Since we were splurging on the flight, we had decided to rough it a little in a very cheap hotel. The hotel sent a van to pick us up, which began the strangeness of this trip. The driver was very nice, but kept talking on the phone and at some point stopped on the side of the road. He appologized and said something about the hospital and we waited in the van for a little while. Eventually, another man showed up and popped in the passenger seat in front. Apparently this was the person we had been waiting for...Anyway, we continued our drive to the hotel, dropped off the man who had just gotten in and picked up and dropped off another person. The driver then pulls onto a small dirt road with houses on it in surrounded by cornfields. Stray dogs begin chasing our vehicle and we eventually stop in front a beautiful house...Apparently there was some confusing with the hotel booking in that when we booked a room for 5 people we thought we would get a room at the hotel for 5 people. The hotel, however, thought this meant we wanted the "flat," which is where we were, which consisted of this whole house to ourselves. The flat was gorgeous. It had beautiful decorations, nice bedrooms, two kitchens, and a rooftop terrace, however this was not where we were supposed to be. The flat was located on the complete opposite side of the river than the actual hotel and we were in the middle of nowhere. To top that, the houses caretaker, Muhammad (who seemes sweet) would be sleeping downstairs in the hallway (a little creepy), and he didn't even know the street we were on or the phone number of the hotel. Oh yeah, and there were little lizards on the walls and the lights were flickering and eventually went out! So yeah, luckily we had the number for the hotel and called them and told them we had thought we had booked at the hotel and would like to switch. We made them send a car for us. Finally after that strange ordela we got to our "lovely" hotel. You get what you pay for, it turns out. This was a step above a hostel. We had our own bathroom...but the showers didn't work. We had AC, but, when the sheets are stained and you just end up sleeping on top of them, it's a bit chilly. Oh yeah, and there was a dead cockroach in the corner - delightful. Luckily or unluckily, we got up early in the morning to start our sight-seeing on four hours of sleep!
My friend Laura, had a family friend visit Egypt a little while back, and she recommended a driver that she'd used. He was wonderful!! His name was Reda, and he was basically like our father for the trip. He took us anywhere we wanted to go, bought us tea, water, juice, etc, showed us places to eat, and told us he wanted us to live like actual Egyptians. The first day, we went to the Valley of the Kings and saw various tombs. We saw Thutmos III's, Seti I's, Ramseses IX's, and King Tut's tomb! Thutmos III's was really far underground and extremely hot and smelly! The hot Luxor sun almost felt cool oce we'd emerged from that tomb. Seti I's tomb was my favorite. It was very open, very big, and had beautiful carvings on the wall - quite a site to see. King Tut's tomb was a bit smaller than I anticipated, but it was pretty amazing to see his body and burial chamber.
After the tombs, we went to Howard Carter's house - the man who had found King Tut's tomb. After that, we went to Hatshepsut's temple. It was amazing! The straight lines and its location in part of the sand/rock behind it was stunning.
By now we were starving, so we went back into town and had lunch with Reda at a restaurant known for its BBQ. It was pretty good. They had great pita bread and babaganoush. Some of us had chicken and rice, and otehrs had lamb kebab. We were so tired by now (it was only 1230!), that we we went back to our hotel for a bit. Luxor is extrememly different from Cairo. It's so much hotter and really not safe to be out between 1 and 4. It's also a lot greener than Cairo, which I wasn't expecting. There are more fields, trees, and flowers, and the Nile is a lot cleaner. We stayed in our room and napped a bit until about 330, and then we went to see the Luxor Temple. This was probably my favorite thing that we saw. Everything was just so HUGE!! I couldn't believe people had built these structures. There were intricate and giant statues, and massive obelisks that were carved all the way up to the top. It was just gorgeous. What was also striking, is that this temple is located right in the middle of the East bank in Luxor. The Nile is on one side, and the city just moves around this ancient structure.
After the temple, we met up with Reda again who drove us around a bit. He bought us sugarcane juice which they make from squeezing the sugarcane plants through a machine. It was very interesting, but tasty nonetheless. Next, we drove towards the West Bank of the Nile and stopped on the side to dip our feet in. Apparently if you touch the Nile, you're destined to return, and if you drink it, you'll never leave. I just touched it lol. We then went to dinner at a little roof top restuarant overlooking the corn fields, and the Nile. From the roof, you could see Hatshepsut's temple in the distance. Once full, we went back to the eastside and visited the Souq (bazzar). It was quite an experience with everyone trying to get us to look at their selection of items. I wish these people would realize, however, that I'd be more likely to stop and look and they didn't pester me to. Oh well. We all had fun and bought some nice items. (We also bargained in arabic!) I bought a scarf and a pretty geometric star lamp made of copper.
Finally it was time for sleep in our delightful hotel room. We got up early again the next day and went to Karnak Temple. This temple was enormous and spanned a vast distance. I still prefered the carvings of Luxor temple, but this was jaw-dropping regardless. Later, we got lunch at a restaurant on the Nile. Reda then organized and got us a deal for a felucca ride (this time with a sail and not a motor) on the Nile to Banana Island. Since the river is so much cleaner in Luxor, this ride was much more pleasant than in Cairo. People were swimming, playing, etc.
Saturday was also my friend, Celeste's birthday. Reda was so sweet and bought her a cake, that we ate on the boat. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday then eating cake on the Nile. Our boat captain was hilarious. Words don't do him justice. He loved to do different accents and would show us his British and French accents. He would also constantly say something was "absolutely fab" and then quote Macbeth. So funny.
I've never heard of Banana Island, but apparently it is just that. An Island on the Nile, with a bunch of bananas on it. It was so great. Our captain showed us around, linking arms with us and spewing french amd shakespeare. We then filled our stomachs with the local bananas.
After the short, but adventurous and busy trip, Reda took us to the airport where we said "see you when we come back."
My friend Laura, had a family friend visit Egypt a little while back, and she recommended a driver that she'd used. He was wonderful!! His name was Reda, and he was basically like our father for the trip. He took us anywhere we wanted to go, bought us tea, water, juice, etc, showed us places to eat, and told us he wanted us to live like actual Egyptians. The first day, we went to the Valley of the Kings and saw various tombs. We saw Thutmos III's, Seti I's, Ramseses IX's, and King Tut's tomb! Thutmos III's was really far underground and extremely hot and smelly! The hot Luxor sun almost felt cool oce we'd emerged from that tomb. Seti I's tomb was my favorite. It was very open, very big, and had beautiful carvings on the wall - quite a site to see. King Tut's tomb was a bit smaller than I anticipated, but it was pretty amazing to see his body and burial chamber.
After the tombs, we went to Howard Carter's house - the man who had found King Tut's tomb. After that, we went to Hatshepsut's temple. It was amazing! The straight lines and its location in part of the sand/rock behind it was stunning.
By now we were starving, so we went back into town and had lunch with Reda at a restaurant known for its BBQ. It was pretty good. They had great pita bread and babaganoush. Some of us had chicken and rice, and otehrs had lamb kebab. We were so tired by now (it was only 1230!), that we we went back to our hotel for a bit. Luxor is extrememly different from Cairo. It's so much hotter and really not safe to be out between 1 and 4. It's also a lot greener than Cairo, which I wasn't expecting. There are more fields, trees, and flowers, and the Nile is a lot cleaner. We stayed in our room and napped a bit until about 330, and then we went to see the Luxor Temple. This was probably my favorite thing that we saw. Everything was just so HUGE!! I couldn't believe people had built these structures. There were intricate and giant statues, and massive obelisks that were carved all the way up to the top. It was just gorgeous. What was also striking, is that this temple is located right in the middle of the East bank in Luxor. The Nile is on one side, and the city just moves around this ancient structure.
After the temple, we met up with Reda again who drove us around a bit. He bought us sugarcane juice which they make from squeezing the sugarcane plants through a machine. It was very interesting, but tasty nonetheless. Next, we drove towards the West Bank of the Nile and stopped on the side to dip our feet in. Apparently if you touch the Nile, you're destined to return, and if you drink it, you'll never leave. I just touched it lol. We then went to dinner at a little roof top restuarant overlooking the corn fields, and the Nile. From the roof, you could see Hatshepsut's temple in the distance. Once full, we went back to the eastside and visited the Souq (bazzar). It was quite an experience with everyone trying to get us to look at their selection of items. I wish these people would realize, however, that I'd be more likely to stop and look and they didn't pester me to. Oh well. We all had fun and bought some nice items. (We also bargained in arabic!) I bought a scarf and a pretty geometric star lamp made of copper.
Finally it was time for sleep in our delightful hotel room. We got up early again the next day and went to Karnak Temple. This temple was enormous and spanned a vast distance. I still prefered the carvings of Luxor temple, but this was jaw-dropping regardless. Later, we got lunch at a restaurant on the Nile. Reda then organized and got us a deal for a felucca ride (this time with a sail and not a motor) on the Nile to Banana Island. Since the river is so much cleaner in Luxor, this ride was much more pleasant than in Cairo. People were swimming, playing, etc.
Saturday was also my friend, Celeste's birthday. Reda was so sweet and bought her a cake, that we ate on the boat. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday then eating cake on the Nile. Our boat captain was hilarious. Words don't do him justice. He loved to do different accents and would show us his British and French accents. He would also constantly say something was "absolutely fab" and then quote Macbeth. So funny.
I've never heard of Banana Island, but apparently it is just that. An Island on the Nile, with a bunch of bananas on it. It was so great. Our captain showed us around, linking arms with us and spewing french amd shakespeare. We then filled our stomachs with the local bananas.
After the short, but adventurous and busy trip, Reda took us to the airport where we said "see you when we come back."
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
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