Mt. Sinai

Just got back from climbing Mount Sinai, definitely one of the most intense and amazing experiences in my entire life. Before I went I was sort of hesitant and tired to do such a long hike so late at night, thinking that climbing this mountain would be like climbing any other mountain. For some reason, not easily explainable, it was completely unlike any hike I've ever done and a hundred times worth it. This post is going to be pretty long, but it's gonna be awesome so keep reading!

After celebrating Olivia's birthday at dinner in this cafe in Dahab (like all cafes in Dahab you just sit on the floor its awesome!), we left for Mt. Sinai from our hotel at midnight. We got there at 1:30 AM, and I had a funny experience on the way at the checkpoints. Since the Luxor and Dahab terrorist bombings in 2005-2006, there is an intense police presence in the Sinai, so on the way to Mt. Sinai we were stopped like 4 times (in the middle of the night!) at checkpoints where police and troops checked peoples' passports. The really interesting and weird thing is that no one cares about foreigners--they are just waved in--the cops are on the lookout for locals, and basically views any Egyptians coming to these "touristy" places with suspicion (reverse of the American experience, where the foreigner is viewed as a threat). Anyways, whenever we got to these checkpoints the driver was like "I have 3 Americans, a British and a Canadian" and the cops wouldn't check our passports. But at 2 of the checkpoints, the police guy outside the van started pointing at me and talking to the driver, calling me "Masri" or Egyptian, and they had a long discussion. It was really funny, and the driver kept laughing, because at every checkpoint they thought I was Egyptian and at first hassled us. At the final checkpoint, the driver actually made joked with the cop (in Arabic), saying something like "this is our American friend who pretends to be Egyptian".

We reached the foot of Mt. Sinai, where there is located the oldest Christian monastery in the world, St. Catherine's, from like 331 AD. Everyone is required to have a Bedouin guide, so this super chill dude named Jamal came with us five and we began the climb of Mt. Sinai at 2 AM!!! There are two ways to get up the mountain: we, like everyone else who does the night climb, took the longer but less steep route, i.e. the camel trail. This area of the world is desolately beautiful and awe-inspiring--there is no vegetation, just forbidding rock and granite on all sides of you, and the sky is completely clear, as you can see thousands of stars and even the arm of the milky way. Climbing the trail at night, looking up the mountain and seeing the snaking trail of twinkling lights that were people's flashlights, was an extremely surreal experience.

Probably the most surreal, and almost creepy, part of the climb was near the beginning, where we were walking the trail through the valley which is dotted heavily with large rocks and boulders. We were walking on this trail when it got narrowed, and there seemed to be more rocks around. However, when you started to focus, you realized that many of the rocks weren't rocks at all, but camels sitting down! It was really weird, we were walking through this desolate area surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of camels sitting in the darkness, illuminated only by starlight, who were staring at us while we walked. Adding to the weirdness were that there were all these Bedouin guys sitting on the edge of the trails who you could only see by the light of their cigarettes, who quietly said "you want camel, nice camel ride" when you walked by. It was out of this world...the camel situation also became a hassle as we were climbing higher up the trail, where it became quite steep (and where my oh so fit body began to feel hella tired). Since a lot of people try taking camels to near the top, which makes you just as sore if not more than walking, they would continuously be passing us. However, when the trail was really narrow, these camels didn't care if they were knocking into you, and it sometimes felt as though the camel would push us off the path and the mountain.

Another really cool thing about the ascent were these tiny "teahouses" run by Bedouins that were located about every half-hour or 45 minutes on the trail, although near the top there were a lot more. These tiny huts, made of rock and straw roofs, had one room full of wool blankets where people could rest, and they also sold water and snacks at ridiculously expensive prices. The coolest thing about these teahouses was that while most of the climb (except for the top) you weren't really near the other groups going up, at these teahouses were large crowds of people just mingling and talking at like 3 or 4 in the morning! It felt like those stories of Kathmandu in the 60's, where hippies, backpackers and travelers would meet in these traveler lodges randomly scattered throughout the mountains. Right near the summit of Mt. Sinai, these teahouses also rented mattresses and blankets so you could rest before the sunrise.

The camel trail ended before the summit; we had to climb 700 steps etched into the highest parts of the mountain to reach the top. These steps were really difficult, especially as it was nearing 5 AM! We finally reached the top while it was still dark, and where an ancient church had been erected. Lots of people were up there, and me and 2 of my friends (Alex and Anna) climbed up on this rock that basically hung over the cliffside of Mt. Sinai (about a 2000 foot drop) because it was the highest point and would have the best view of the sunrise. The summit was really awesome, because there were hundreds of people lying down on these rocks waiting for sunrise, and there were a couple very adventurous people who were walking around and climbing up some crazy rocks that were precipitously dangling over the edge.

Our main goal for the trip was to see the sunrise at the summit of Mt. Sinai, and it truly exceeded my expectations. It was seriously one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. Everyone was so excited when the disc of the sun became visible, and it illuminated the entire mountain and valley in an amazing way. It is easy to see how Moses, or anyone following him for pilgrimage or just visiting, could be moved to holy wonder in this place. I felt like the whole experience was a mix of contradictions: we were extremely tired, but energized for the sunrise; the mountain was devoid of life, but yet so beautiful; there were crowds of people at the top, but pure silence. Basically an experiences that is completely impossible to put into words.

On our way down we took the alternate route, called the Steps of Repentance! This path, comprising of 3,700 steps, was created by one monk as a lifetime penance centuries ago. It was a really beautiful and dramatic descent from the summit, and also quite a bit faster than the camel trail. Apparently some people climb the mountain using this route, which seems to me as ridiculously difficult and terrible for your knees. We finally got down the mountain around 8 AM, which was so disorienting because I had been awake at this point since 10 AM the day before (except for a two hour nap yesterday afternoon). Finally got back to the hotel around 11 AM, and I slept till about 4:30 and now feel great.

Sorry for the incredible length of the post, but I wanted to share with my family and friends this amazing and never-forgettable experience. I really urge anyone who is going to be in this area of the world (and doesn't have knee problems!) to climb Mt. Sinai...it is, in the words of a famous man, "a narniatingly awesome death start domination" experience.

Plumbing Problems

I just had a fun and interesting experience with the bowwab that also lets me talk a bit about the housing setup here. The bowwab, or guard/doorman, is a dude (well in our apartment there are 2) who is provided free housing by the landlord of a building or house in exchange for spending most of his time at the entrance of the building. I guess an official part of the job is to guard the building, but our bowwabs are like 70 year old men so I dunno about that. Their main role is basically to be the person who you go to when you need someone to fix something in your apartment, or you need to buy something hard to find --- you ask them, and they'll do it for you or find someone else who can. Basically a chokidar in India. They are also the "eyes" of the landlord. We are lucky to live in a building with a very liberal landlord who leaves us to live independently, but I have heard of some people who have landlords that get the bowwabs to check in on the tenants and make sure they don't violate any of the landlord's rules, which in some cases can be very strict (no noise, no visitors/guests of the opposite sex, no alcohol, etc.).

Anyways, we've been having a leak in the downstairs bathroom that has been spilling through the wall onto the floor of my flatmate Sandra's bedroom. A plumber was supposed to come today, but he never showed up. Apparently, the water started to leak down through the ceiling of the apartment below us, and when I was at class today the tenant downstairs came and complained. Just half an hour ago, the bowwab came up to our room (I was taking a nap) and started scolding Sandra in Arabic. She doesn't really understand Arabic well, and Rob (our resident Arabic specialist) was out, so she called me to come down and talk to him. My spoken Arabic is not very good but after him getting angry at me for a bit and also completely forgetting the word "fix", I think I was able to tell him that we called a plumber and to come back later and talk to Rob...I also definitely won't ever forget "fix" again, sallah. (Spoken Arabic is very different from country to country and also is really different from the written Arabic we learn at school. So the stuff I've been studying at Harvard has helped me read newspapers, but barely helps me at all when I need to talk to regular people).

Ok, have been planning to post some thoughts on my trip to Alexandria over the last weekend, but haven't been able to load the pictures right. Hopefully I'll get to put it up soon.

Peace from the Middle East...

Food update

So here's a quick Egyptian food update: Just tried last night this Egyptian street food called kushary. It's a dish people eat in a hurry, a bowl of macaroni, lentils, rice, fried onions and tomato sauce. It sounds really random, and it basically is...the best thing though is that it is topped with this spicy chili oil which is amazing (and causes mad heartburn). It was pretty good, though I don't really see how some people are obsessed with it.

Today for lunch I had an AMAZING dish at this small hole-in-the-wall restaurant by AUC. It's called fatir (picture below) and it's essentially a flaky, pastry pancake stuffed with different things. I had one stuffed with veggies and gebna baidh (a cheese similar to feta) while my friend Alex had one with egg and fried onions. SOO good, and there are others like stuffed with mincemeat and also dessert fatir. By the way, the vegetables are hella better here (like in India)---they are a lot smaller and less perfect looking, but have ridiculously better taste. Also, the variety of fruit is crazy: every street corner has a fresh juice stand making juice from fresh apricots, peaches, mangoes, oranges, pomegranates, strawberries, lemons, etc. So refreshing and narniatingly good...

.

el Maadi

yo homeslices, how it be?

yesterday I went to this woman's house named Ginny (who is a teacher at the American high school here). My connection to her is soo random...basically she is an extremely close friend of my second grade teacher, Ms. Anthony, and one day last week my mom was talking to Ms. A and she told me to get in touch with Ginny. Anyways, I went on the metro to her house, which is in the Cairo suburb of El-Maadi. It's such an interesting place, as its basically a suburb where all the expatriates (especially American, British and Australian) live who work in Cairo. The place is so different from Cairo proper - quiet, clean, everything in English and ridiculous amounts of American chains, i.e. Baskin Robbins, TGI Friday's, Chili's, RadioShack. Not really a place where I'd want to go this summer much haha....

Dinner was pretty nice at her house though, and her daughter (who just graduated from the American high school) and a lot of her friends were there. I went with these guys to this cafe/sheesha place called Bander after dinner and hung out a bit. It was soo funny hanging out with all these kids who had just graduated, I felt like I was at a high school back home, could barely tell you were in Cairo. They were all making fun of me since they knew all the new music on the radio even though they were in Egypt (I obviously had no idea what they were talking about!). Also, it was really crazy to me that most of them barely knew any Arabic, like a lot less than me, even though most of them had been here for like 4 years at least. Anyways, it was a fun experience overall, though I don't think I'll be frequenting that area often, as not only is it very American in experience, but also in prices!

Visting the you know whats

Just got back from a tour done by our program to the Pyramids of Giza. Probably one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. And shocking. And confusingly paradoxical. You know how when you think of the pyramids, you envision in your head these three ancient monuments, rising out of the sand dunes of the isolated Sahara desert? Well, in actuality, the city of Giza (satellite town of Cairo) ends around 1 km from the edge of the Pyramids complex. As you're driving in this thick urban area with falling apart concrete buildings and roads covered in garbage, suddenly over the rooftops emerges the Pyramids. It's actually ridiculous, and definitely unexpected. Also, right before you get to the Pyramids, and even when you're walking around the plateau, you get hassled by perhaps the most intense souvenir/postcard peddlers in the history of man. What these guys would do is they'd say hi to you, then say "you're my friend, take this gift" and try to shove something in your hands. If they were successful, they'd demand payment! I saw this one dude actually throw a t-shirt at this girl in our program and then ask for her to pay, it was hilarious and frightening at the same time.

Anyways, there's not much I can say about the Pyramids...they really need to be seen to be understood and appreciated (like always, you can check out my picture site here . We got to see all three pyramids as well as the Sphinx without paying any cash, which made it doubly awesome. I went with a couple of my friends into the underground passage in the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren), a memorable but thoroughly bad idea! It was ridiculously hot and humid, and had a nauseous smell that we called "pharaoh's musk". You also could only get through the passage (which took like 10 minutes) bending over because we were in a claustrophobic tunnel that was about three-four feet high. The Sphinx was really awesome, but was sorta like an NFL game--it's a lot smaller when you're there in person. Our tour guide said that because of pollution and rising groundwater, the Sphinx will completely erode within 300 years if something is not done.

Definitely want to go back to the Pyramids (during sunset!) and also try my hand at horse riding in the desert. My pictures from today are mega sick, so look at them.

Rock on,
Neil

Coptic Cairo

Today I went and checked out Coptic Cairo (part of Old Cairo or "al-Fustat") on a tour done by the AUC dorms. I was sort of turned off by the huuuge tour group (like 100 students!) cause you couldn't hear the tour guide and it was hard to move around in some of the buildings. Also, the tour was done at like 2 PM, perhaps the hottest time possible to do it. Even still, the area was awesome and there were some ridonkulously cool and old buildings. I've put my photos on my Picasa Web albums which are a lot easier to look at than posting pictures on this blog, check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/neilksawhney/


Basically, this area of Cairo is the part that existed before the Arab/Islamic conquest of Egypt in 641 AD. The Coptic Church is the native church of England that was started by St. Mark way back when, and still about 12% of the Egyptian population is Coptic. Most the buildings we checked out were Coptic churches, the best being St. George's Church and the Hanging (Suspended) Church. There was a cool Greek Cemetery, which had mad old family graves...apparently in the earthquake a couple years ago there was a major problem with rising groundwater in the Coptic area, so most of the buildings were restored and you could tell haha (as in the hella white walls of the Hanging Church). We also saw the oldest synagogue in Egypt, about 900 years old called Ben Ezra, although this place was renovated very recently as well. While the churches were still in service, this synagogue has been closed for a while. Actually, and sorta sad, was what the tour guide was talking about: out of the 25 synagogues in Egypt, only two (one in Cairo and one in Alexandria) are still used, because the 80,000 population of Jews in Egypt has now dwindled to like only about 200.

What was most amazing though, was we saw the first mosque established in Cairo, the Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As (the conqueror of Egypt). Most of the girls who didn't bring a scarf to cover their head had to wear really goofy green cloaks with pointy hoods that made them look like they were elves from Rivendell (Lord of the Rings geekitude). While the mosque has been redone and probably some of the Coptic churches were overally cooler in architecture, I had the most evocative experience so far in Egypt in this mosque. We came in the mosque around 4:15 PM, right before the afternoon prayer. We were all seated listening to the tour guide give a talk about Islam (not a great one but whatevs) and then the call to prayer began. This call to prayer is sang by the muezzin of a mosque to call the people in the nearby area to come pray. The minarets you see in most mosques were used to amplify the muezzin's voice, though of course they now use loudspeakers and microphones. The call to prayer was amazing and emotional---even if you have no idea what he's saying, you can't help to be moved. I just put up a video of a short part of the call to prayer online at my Picasa album (http://picasaweb.google.com/neilksawhney/).

Anyways, besides that have just been chillin. Weekends here are friday and saturday, so thursday truly is the new friday (narnia! I know i'm a really funny guy). Also, it is ridiculous how much sheesha gets smoked here, I see men from all backgrounds, rich and poor, old and young, in their neighborhood corner coffeeshop at 8:30 AM when I walk to class smoking hookah, playing chess, reading newspapers and talking with their friends and colleagues. While smoking sheesha has been traditionally a male activity, there are now a decent amount of ahwa's (coffeshops) where women are welcome, as well as the more trendy sheesha bars and cafes in the richer parts of town. The price is also ridiculous: in Boston, a hookah when you're going out costs like $20. Here, at one of the ahwas a hookah is 3 Egyptian Pounds (50 cents) and at even the nicest place it will cost 8 Pounds max. Pretty tight!

Sleeping like a quanus, and general update

Yoyoyoyo,

So today was finally the first morning I got up at a normal time (9 AM). Ever since I got here on Sunday, I've been falling asleep at like 3 AM and getting up at around 6:30. Then, every afternoon I've been taking 3-4 hour naps in the afternoon. It seem as though lots of people do this though, since the afternoon is SOOOO hot and the evenings/night are ridiculously nice weather (like back home in the bay). Also, everyone eats dinner at like 9 or 10, so getting some rest during the day lets you stay up in the night for dinner, chillin and sheesha (for only 3 pounds, i.e. 50 cents, narnia!!).

Anyways, my first day of classes were really good, and there are randomly a whole lot of Harvard students (mostly phD students) in my two Arabic classes. Also, I got placed in a class with an awesome Arabic teacher, Sayyid 'Abdullah 'Ali, who has also been hired by Harvard to teach Arabic next year! Pretty random coincidences. I'm planning to go check out Coptic Cairo later today with a couple of friends---its the pre-Islamic part of Cairo also knows as Old Cairo (not to be confused with the larger and more famous Islamic or Medieval Cairo). It's supposed to be pretty cool....

A couple of things I've been doing in the last 5 days I've been here. To see basically all of my pictures, check out my picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/neilksawhney

Chillin in the statue garden in front of the Egyptian Museum

Obelisk at Museum

Felucca (Nile sailboats) ride at 1 AM

Nile and Cairo is beautiful (and quiet!) at night.

Hanging out with Sam Ray before he leaves Cairo (and I just got here!)

My New Blog (narnia!)

Hey dudes and dudettes! Yes I have made a blog...never would have thought so, but I thought it was a good way to keep all my thoughts about Egypt in one place, and my friends and family can also see what's up. Anyways, will be posting thoughts, observations, pictures and rants soon.

P.S. The title (al-Rihla fi Misr) means "Journey in Egypt". It's very unoriginal in English, but sounds cool in Arabic muhahaha.