Seen This Week in Cairo...

1) A guy riding a bicycle (this alone should win him an award--biking in Cairo is a death wish), balancing about a 15 ft. long tray, laden with pita bread, on his head.

2) Goats. Yes, goats. In this city of approximately 20 million people are fairly substantial numbers of farm animals. Horses and donkeys are most common, as they are used to haul fruit, people, and a myriad of other things. This week, however, walking home along a relatively busy side street, I came across a dozen goats. They were very cute, but fearing that goat-flu might be the next pandemic, I steered clear.

3) The Protocols of the Elders of Zion... Perhaps you thought this was finally out of print? Sadly, it's not and can be found in many bookstalls, along with various other texts depicting Hitler, bloody Israeli flags and the like. My German flatmate recounts numerous conversations with taxi drivers and vendors who, upon learning his nationality, praise Hitler and offer him some kind of "special price" on whatever they're selling. Never before have I seen this kind of blatant anti-Semitism and I find it rather shocking. I recognize though that it is ill-informed and based on a simplistic hatred of Zionism/Israel (which, in far too many people's minds, is equated with Judaism). I'll leave the editorializing at that...

In other news, I have a week-long break from classes beginning tomorrow. My dad arrives in the afternoon and we will be spending a few days in Cairo and then heading to Luxor for a five day Nile cruise. Not bad.

(More) Acceptance

I learned this weekend that I've also been accepted to Harvard Div School. This is, of course, great news, but now I'm the one who has to do the choosing...

Advice?

Purim in Cairo

Aside from making Hamentashen (they're cookies, dear non-Jewish readers), I don't usually do much to celebrate Purim. But finding myself in Egypt this year, I was curious to see what had become of the once-sizeable Jewish community.

Birthplace of Moses and hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Jewish community today numbers only around 200. Their exodus from Egypt (the second one, that is) followed the creation of the modern state of Israel and the 1967 war. The community that remains is small, but clearly dedicated to preserving its history.

The Purim service was held Monday night at a beautiful synagogue in the center of town. Security took the form of about 10 Egyptian police and large barriers blocking the entrance. Our "credentials" were checked at the gate--an Israeli greeted my friend and me with "Ma neshma?" After a momentary brain-freeze, in which all my Hebrew and Arabic blurred together, I was able to eek out a "b'seder." We were welcomed into the synagogue, and joined about 30 others--a mix of Israelis, Americans, Egyptians, and a few Europeans--for a reading of the Megillah.

I was struck by the feeling that I could have been anywhere in the world--kids running around in costume, families excitedly greeting one another, and, just to give me that warm, fuzzy feeling, a loud argument broke out between the guy leading the service and a group of Israelis who decided to perform a competing reading. Ah, so typical.

Acceptance

Just a quick note to announce that I've been accepted to the University of Chicago Divinity School to do my Masters. I'm excited, proud, relieved, and all the rest...

Weekend Review

(Ugh, I'm having computer problems, so it's taking me a while to get things posted.)

I spent the weekend pursuing rather "American" activities... went to the mall and spent a day by the pool! In actuality, each had its own special Egyptian-ness...

FRIDAY: I went to the CityStars, the mall out in Heliopolis (a suburb of Cairo). It's a huge place and, like any mall, filled with teenage girls--but it's a strange mix of Western fashion (i.e. tank tops and short skirts from European stores) and the more conservative dress preferred by the average Cairine. I went looking for a swim suit, having forgotten mine at home. Either because it's still relatively cool here (temperatures in the 70s) or because Egyptians don't like to show so much skin, I had hard time of it. In the end, I found one store with a pretty meager selection, but beggars can't be choosers.

SATURDAY: Lest it appear I'm totally self-indulgent, I should report that I did some sight-seeing on Saturday. The school runs a number of day trips, and I went on one to the Citadel and Coptic Cairo. The Citadel sits atop a hill in the middle of Cairo. It was built as a fortress and residence around the 12th century, but is best known for housing the Muhammad Ali Mosque, which dates to the start of the 1800s. The picture that follows is looking out into the courtyard from inside the mosque.

We also visited the Mosque of Sultan Hassan (c. 1356) and the newer Rifai Mosque (late 1800s). King Farouk, the last king of Egypt (exiled in 1952) is buried inside the mosque, as is the last Shah of Iran.

We went next to Coptic Cairo, named for the Coptic Christians who have lived and prayed in the area since several hundred years after the death of Christ. Today, Coptic Christians number only about 10% of Egypt's population. While distinct from other branches of Christianity, the Coptic churches reminded me a lot of of Eastern Orthdox churches, due to the prevalence of icons.

Also in Coptic Cairo is the Ben Ezra Synagogue. The current synagogue dates to the 12th century, but the site has alternately served as a both a Christian and Muslim place of worship.

Saturday night I went out to a cafe in Mohandiseen with some friends from school. Turns out the cafe culture is alive and well in Cairo, one just has to know where to look--plenty of cigarette smoke, live music, and slow service... just like Tryst.

SUNDAY: The Marriott is like a little bit of paradise in the chaos that is Cairo... green, quiet, and (relatively) efficient. Spent the day by the pool with two of my flatmates (the girls to my left in the photo). I may even have a tan by the time I get home!

Saqqara Pyramids

On Saturday I went to see the pyramids at Saqqara with my flatmates. They're only about 40 km outside of the city, past the Giza pyramids. However, getting there turned out to be half of the adventure. We opted for a taxi, which is a pretty common way to see the sights but, as is also common, the driver had no idea where he was going. Rather than admit this, he set off in the vague direction of Giza and drove around for a while before asking directions. When we finally arrived, he was clearly unhappy with how far away from Cairo we were and asked an unreasonable sum of money for the trip. Bargaining ensued... other taxi drivers were called in to participate and, to our surprise, they sided with us. (The fare ended up being about $17 to go out and back. Not bad, although probably still too much.)

So on to the pyramids... the Pyramid Age began around 2700 BCE and marked a change from the traditional underground burial practice. The first pyramid was built at Saqqara (seen in the background of the above photo) but it contained "steps"--the first true pyramids were built 100 years later at Dashur and Giza.

Saqqara was the burial site for Egypt's nobility during the 3rd and 4th Dynasties; the pyramid itself was for King Zoser. The photo below is of the priests' area surrounding the pyramid. We also went into some of the traditional tombs, which are more interesting to look at as the walls are covered with drawings and hieroglyphics. Unfortunately, they don't photograph well too well (bottom pic).

Gold's Gym: An Oasis in Cairo

I know it's a bit odd that the first picture I've posted of my life in Cairo is of the gym but, to be honest, I'm quite excited about it. It was clear as soon as I arrived that it would be impossible to run outside. The pollution makes the air unbreathable and the traffic makes it difficult to get around, but that's really all secondary to the fact that the Cairines would probably have heart attacks to see a woman running down the street (let alone a woman wearing shorts!). So after a week of feeling cloistered and sedentary, today I made my way to the Gold's Gym in Giza. As you can see from the picture, it is actually floating in the Nile.

While in the States, Gold's is sort of the bottom of the barrel as far as gyms go--with all of us who use it really wishing we could belong to WSC or Results--in Cairo it is, well, beautiful. Everything is brand new; there's a restaurant and a spa; and, best of all, I ran on a treadmill overlooking the Nile. (Alas, even here I was the only woman wearing shorts.)

And now that I've started saying happy birthdays, I can't well stop... so Happy Birthday, Lindsey!