Chillen

Spring semester is well over and I have taken the last week to relax and work on some design projects. We finally got a cleaner to help control the mess that accumulates so quickly here. Seriously, I dust a countertop and by nightfall there is already a new fine layer of dust. Sha'bam comes twice a week and we pay him the equivalent of $7 each time for four to five hours of work. Definitely worth the money. It's nice. The place seems better, no more pizza boxes left out for a week and no more dusty floors.

Last week I spent five days at a camp between Cairo and Alex. The Christian group on campus was responsible for organizing the time and they did a great job. The place was nice with a huge pool, sports facilities and comfortable living quarters. The entire time was filled with enjoyable activities, singing, sunbathing, etc. I even rode a horse for an afternoon and have the chafe marks to prove it!

Well, Kristi and I are getting married. It still feels weird to say that. I even blanch at calling her my fiancé, but every time I get more used to it. We’re both really happy and excited for the future. The time doesn’t seem to pass fast enough! Of course wedding plan talks have already begun. There really is a lot to decide even this far out. I can see why people hire coordinators for this kind of thing, but I really don’t mind being involved in all the details. I’m stuck here in Egypt for another six months so I can’t really provide anything but moral support, a listening ear, and opinions. The hard work is left up to Kristi! We don’t have a date fixed yet, but we have it narrowed down to next summer. You all will know when I do!

The doctor came over today (our landlord) and I signed the contract for the place over the next six months. He’s installing a new air conditioner in my room, part of the bargain I struck before signing the contract. It’s going to be new and the split kind that cordons the loud portion of the unit outside and the quiet vent inside; supposedly it’s almost perfectly quiet. We’ll see. It should be installed in a few days.

Marius and Nicole are gone now, off gallivanting around Palestine, saving the world with some NGO. It was definitely sad to see them go. The four of us really got along well. At least they will be back in a few weeks for a day right before their flight takes them to New York (Marius is going along to spend the summer at his girlfriend’s place in upstate.) In the meantime their rooms have been filled by Sandra, a graduate student, and Neal a recent arrival from Boston and here for the summer to study Arabic. They are both really cool and I’m happy to have them.

The sun has just set here. This time of day is especially beautiful as the daylight fades and all the lights emerge over the Nile. Night is prime time for feluccas and the river is quickly crawling with neon illuminated boats playing loud music that I can hear clearly from my balcony. On the other side of the flat, Midan Tehrir turns bright with street lights and the shining billboards held aloft above the buildings. My favorite is the Coca Cola sign which alternated between English and Arabic: “Drink Coca Cola” and “Ashrab Koka Kola.” All the workday traffic congestion has emptied by now and the giant traffic circle is filled with cars of people headed out to for shopping in Talat Harb, or one of the many cinema’s. Arabic films are dominated by Egyptian filmmakers and Cairo has its own miniature Hollywood district where all the big film companies reside. And oh! are the movies ever bad! Terrible acting, cheap production, but the locals still love them and turn out in droves across the middle east. It’s actually beneficial to learn the Egyptian dialect over others because people across the middle east generally understand Egyptian colloquial because of the pan-influence of the media industry here.

It’s about time to start dinner. Rob and I went shopping at Alpha Mart yesterday and we picked up some butter curry sauce to go with a bunch of chicken I had in the freezer. I pulled it out earlier today and it should be thawed enough by now to get started on it. Better get going.

Dahab

So I am writing this post sitting in the Funny Mummy in the resort town of Dahab in Sinai. A mini-bus picked us up Thursday at 1am and we got into town at 9am Friday morning. Dahab is wonderful. It's a stretch of frumpy hotels and chill restaurants along the gulf of Aqaba. As one reclines on a Baudoin style couch and sips fresh squeezed juice he looks out over some of the best coral in the world. Of course one would never know without taking advantage of the many diving and snorkeling centers that are a ubiquitous part of life here. We spent the entire day yesterday relaxing, reading, talking, and sunbathing. Truly a nice change from the chaos of Cairo. Of course a bunch of us brought work to do, and we actually made some progress on all those late semester projects that are quickly coming due. And now it's time to leave. I got enough of a taste to determine that a week is needed after the term is out to really soak up the relaxation that Dahab offers. We're taking the 3pm bus which is supposed to deposit us at our homes by nine tonight. Insha Allah. Pictures soon.

Last Day

I last saw Kristi twenty one and a half hours ago. The airport had a glass walled security area surrounding the ticketing area so we were surprised to have to say goodbye so soon, and time didn’t allow us to linger. Just a quick hug and she was through, following her luggage which I had hoisted on to the x-ray conveyor. For twenty minutes I watched her through the glass as she waited in line, checked her luggage, and was handed her boarding pass. One last quick wave and there was nothing for me to do but go outside—back into waiting Egypt, and catch a cab home. My driver was probably disappointed for my haggling was insistent but without all the theatrics that make it satisfying once the deal is struck. By the time I fell into bed, Kristi’s plane was certainly in the air flying away from me at 500 miles per hour.

Somehow the pyramids had been shunted off to the last day. We were going to see them at the front end but ran out of time, and likewise, yesterday morning, we decided to push them off yet again. The things have been there for over 3000 years. Surely they will still be there the next time we find ourselves in Egypt again. We decided not to stress ourselves with a long haul out to Giza and confined our day around downtown. I made a persistent attempt to give Kristi a basic tour of campus but was thwarted by the “no visitor” policy (which was so frustrating let’s not talk about it). We re-visited Fishawy’s coffee shop and Khan Al Khalili to pick up some Egypt supplies for Kristi to bring home: Sahlab powder, saffron, Egyptian whisky (tea), scarves, shoes, scarves, shoes, and a nice Turkish coffee pot. At sunset, while Kristi was packing upstairs I walked over to Taboula, one of my favorite restaurants here—a Lebanese place, tasteful, very classy, very inexpensive—to make reservations. We were there 30 minutes later enjoying an array of middle eastern dishes and the cozy, quiet atmosphere. During dinner we both noticed ourselves struggling under a background heaviness. It’s like the day came with a shadow. Like we both knew something terrible was going to happen, and it was inevitable. OUR trip, the one we had both been looking forward to, preparing for, even dreaming about was now completely behind us. It was what it was and there was very little left to make of it. Not that we wanted to change anything, or make it better than it was. We both embarked with little or no expectations and very simply enjoyed each other and our time together. It was more that the opportunities to create memories together were dwindling and soon would be gone. The-2007-Egypt-Visit would soon be fixed in the past, and we would be apart again with only the task of reflecting and appreciating at a distance the depth that is hard to grasp within the thrill and happening of life.

Kristi finished packing. We took another swing by Café Zahara for conversation. A walk over the Nile. Picture business. Then the bags needed to get in the elevator. Call a cab. “Nathhab Illa Matar, Min Fundhlik” Wrong terminal. Wrong building. Running late. Departure Hall. Then we suddenly found ourselves stumbling into the very last part. Almost by surprise.



PS. we're getting married.

Cairo, Khalas

Kristi and I just got in from Café Zara here in Cairo. Café Zara is lovingly referred to by us at the house as “The Poor Café.” This is because we can all go there for coffee(.50cents), fresh juice(65cents), sahlab(60cents), and shisha(40cents) and walk away not much poorer than we already are. The place is staffed by waiters who genuinely enjoy their work and always have a little bit of conversation or banter as we’re always the only foreigners there. Actually, “place” is not the best term as Café Zara is mostly a collection of tables and chairs snaked through a conjunction of two alleys hidden behind Talat Harb square. This secret little gem was Kristi and my spot to unwind after a long day of travel from Israel.

The border crossing was a piece of cake. Again. We got through with no clear method to get back to Cairo, but it was immediately apparent we didn’t need one. Once we stepped past the last check point and entered Egypt free and clear and mentioned Cairo, we were greeted by a middle aged man who explained he was driving to Cairo and offered to take us along with his family for 300LE. We asked about the bus and tried to bargain him down once we found out it was leaving in about an hour for 150LE. In the end he came down to 200LE ($35) and we agreed.

While we waited for him to make arrangements we walked a bit into Taba and found a camel. It was tied up on the side of the road, apparently there to graze on some of the irrigated grass that was strewn along the road in patches. He seemed to have cleared his patch pretty well and became quite friendly once I approached with a handful of luscious greenery. Kristi snapped some shots of him. It was nice to not have a owner around to ask us for rides and money. Once I was done feeding him and staring at his hairy nose, it was Kristi’s turn. “No! I’m not feeding that camel,” she retorted in a silly voice, but she quickly agreed and I took the camera up to document and prove that, yes, Kristi has indeed fed a camel. Thankfully without camel slobber.

In a little while we were situated in the back of a white mini-bus with the man, his wife and three kids, and a Syrian man who was obviously paying like us to be taken to Cairo. This time crossing Sinai was done during the day, and the presence of our man’s wife and children in the car seemed to have a positive effect on his driving. We felt safe the entire time (but perhaps we’re merely growing more accustomed to the driving methods here). Six hours later we pulled into Cairo, happy to be done traveling and happy to be home. A nap was the first order of business.

So, we just crossed the 24 hour mark. We’re getting some sleep tonight, then trying to cram as many memories as possible into our day tomorrow before I accompany Kristi to the airport and see her onto the plane with a string of hard goodbyes.

New Jerusalem

Kristi and I are sitting in a Café in the new section of downtown Jerusalem. We just got our bags packed and are on the cusp of checking out of the Anglican Guest House in the Old City. The fact that we only have three days left is close in our minds. Today we will hop a bus to Elat and then see about transport to Cairo. The bus times from the border are unpredictable but it’s about a seven hour ride.

It’s beautiful here. The air is crisp and cool, the surroundings green with floral touches everywhere. Last night we did the walk from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. The hill was covered with knarled olive trees and a few landscaped gardens with histories we couldn’t ascertain. On the way down we passed a group of Arab boys playing on an old stone wall. They stopped long enough to give us some fresh picked fuzzy olives. By the time we actually arrived at Gethsemane the sun had set, the city transformed from day to night lights and the garden was closed. With a little disappointment we wandered up a walled road between two church compounds that bled into a huge Jewish cemetery. We stood there on the side of the hill, looking across the small valley to the Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa mosque, the Golden Gate, and the Temple Mount. As I said: beautiful.

More Pics

Riding in a Sevice Taxi in Hurghada


At the Red Sea, Camel Talk


At an Ahwa Shop in Hurgada


Restaurant in the Luxor Countryside


The Main Throughfare of Karnak Temple


Rooftop of the Main Hall, Karnak


Kristi and Colin in the Main Hall of Karnak


Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Mehetpeteph


On a Felucca on the Nile


On a Felucca


Leaving our Hotel in Luxor


Alcove at Our Hotel

Travel Route

(click to enlarge)