Currently I am off the coast of Tunisia on the northern coast of Aftrica, watching a documentary on chocolate production in the U.S. We have four more days before we port in our final destination of Casablanca, Morocco, before setting sail on a twelve-day trip across the Atlantic. Before I forget what I did in Egypt, here is my travel blog:
The MV Explorer ported in the coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, named after the famous Macedonian, Alexander the Great. Egypt is considered a part of the Arab world, and although it is in northern Africa, is considered to be a part of the Middle East, for both economic and cultural reasons. That being said, Egypt was unlike any port we visited thus far. As soon as we walked off the ship, Egypt’s Muslim influence and poverty could be observed everywhere we went. We looked for an ATM machine to pull out some Egyptian pounds and were immediately accosted by groups of men wanting to translate for us and hail us cabs. We tried to shake them off in order to find our own cab, and therefore avoid tip solicitation, and finally found a cab on our own. We explained that we wanted to go to the library and even showed him some pictures, but a local Egyptian stuck his head in our cab and translated in Arabic for the cabby and demanded a tip. I refused and asked the driver to go, so he moved on to the back seat where the women in our group were (women are not allowed to sit in the front seat). I expected them to do the same, but turned around and found my friend Becca in tears, she then told him to “just get away” and handed him a fifty pound note- about 9 dollars. I was both amused by her obvious fear of Middle Easterners as well as empathetic towards her- women are definitely second class citizens in this region (so are gays- if they knew I was I would have been jailed). Anywho, the cabbie was very friendly and offered me cigarettes on the way to the library. The cab rides in Egypt were more frightening and exhilarating than rides at amusement parks. There is no regard for lines, very few traffic lights, and horns blare 24/7. Multiple times in the cab I thought we were either going to hit pedestrians or slam into other cars. So, we finally arrived at our destination- but it wasn’t the library- he had taken us to Pompeii’s pillar, a large granite pillar erected around 500 BC. This was one of the stops we had planned on making that day, however, so decided to stay. After the pillar, we walked to the catacombs, ancient underground tombs that looked like something out of Indiana Jones movies. Another crazy cab ride took us to the great library of Alexandria. The modern library was built on top of the ancient library Alexander had constructed during his reign in Egypt. It was beautiful inside, and I was relieved to see many of the library goers were women. When we left the library, two men approached me and asked me for a picture. Being the keen traveler I am, I refused immediately and continued walking, however, I noted that they were presenting their own cameras while asking me. I expected them to take my photo with them with my camera and then ask for money. I’ll mention later why this is noteworthy. Off in our crazy cab we went across town to the Citadel. This was a beautiful fort located on the colorful coast of Alexandria. There, another group of Arab men approached me and asked for a picture- they seemed very friendly and had their cameras out so I said yes. They all started snapping photos of me with them in it and then asked my friend Tanya to join. We introduced ourselves and talked for a while before they thanked us and left- weird. Shortly after, a couple with a baby asked to take a photo with me. I said sure, and they began handing the baby to me- I quickly took back the offer, cause I didn’t want to drop an Egyptian baby, and continued on. I asked another group that wanted my picture why they wanted it, and they pointed to my hair and eyes. I guess Egyptians don’t see a lot of white folk, and with my sun-bleached hair I guess I was really exotic. So funny. In the evening we ventured out to a delicious fish market restaurant where we chose our own fish to cook before ending the night at a hookah bar.
The second day we shipped off on our fist overnight trip with SAS. Up until Egypt, we pretty much traveled independently except for a few day trips like the hike in Turkey. Based on our day trips, we were not looking forward to our 3 day 2 night SAS trip in Cairo- they are very touristy and rushed, very little interaction with locals because you have a guide. My experience could not have been more to the contrary. Our guide, Manal was a very interesting and knowledgeable women who kept us entertained the whole time. After a three hour bus ride to Cairo, we began our trip at the Egyptian National Archeological museum. This museum was cooler than all other museums I have been to combined. Inside we saw: King Tut’s golden sarcophagus, his burial tombs, his many personal possessions made of solid gold, chariots, multiple tombs, coffins, and even an entire room full of 16 mummies. All these were dated to be from around 2600 BC, that’s 5,000 years ago!! One of the mummies we viewed was found to be King Ramses II, believed to be the Pharoah during Moses’ exodus out of Egypt, presumably his half-brother. We could see his hair, fingernails, and eyelashes all intact. Unfortunately, Egypt is very strict about photography inside of museums and national buildings, so no photos from this experience ☹. We then set off for our hotel. Ryan stayed in a very nice hotel right next to the pyramids while he was there, and I was bumbed that we were staying somewhere else- that feeling also left me the minute we drove past his hotel and went even closer to the pyramids to find mine. Our hotel, Mena House Oberoi, sits almost at the base of the great pyramid. Originally built as a palace for Napoleon’s wife, it was turned into a hotel in 1863 and has since been one of the best hotels in the area. This was the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in. It was a 5 star hotel, with plaques from 2001 to 2010 boasting titles of best 500 hotels in the world and two years of the best hotel in Africa and the Middle East. Every inch of the property was ornately decorated and staffed with very classy employees. We ate a buffet lunch before heading to our rooms for a siesta. The rooms were extremely modern, with flatscreen tvs, linen robes, and fresh fruit for the taking. I had a balcony from where you could partially see the pyramids- amazing. I then met up with some friends by the infinity pool and had some drinks before getting ready for our first look at the pyramids. We attended a “sound and light” show at the base of the pyramids, where you watch the sun set behind them and then a Disney-esque light show illuminates the pyramids as a pre-recorded voice narrates the history of ancient Egypt. It was very cheesy, but just the fact that the pyramids, and not Mickey’s Funhouse, were being lit up made it worthwhile. Then back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner, we relaxed in a bar, and the bar had a harp player- ridiculous. Oh, I almost forgot. While I waited for my friends to get ready for the light show I began wondering the hotel, taking pictures. The concierge saw me and asked if I would like to get better pictures- I said of course. He took me to the Churchill suite- the room Churchill stayed in while signing some sort of treaty with Roosevelt and Montgomery I believe. There were pictures of the three of them in this suite and another one he took me to all around. I sat in Churchill’s desk and sat in a bed that Sarkozy (sp) had just slept in a few months ago. He even took me out to the private balcony and took pictures of me in front of the pyramids. I tipped him 50 pounds- not a bad 9 dollar tour.
The second day in Cairo was my favorite day of my whole trip so far. We woke up at 4:15 and were at a plateau overlooking the pyramids by 5:00am. The pyramids usually do not open to the public until around 8, but semester at sea is one of the few programs they make exceptions for- it only happens about 4 times a year. We watched the sunrise over the pyramids, took tons of great pictures, and ate our boxed breakfast as the sun rose higher. By around 7:00, our guides had the local camel drivers bring over our camels and asked who was ready. Chrissy and I paid a little more to have our own camels, so volunteered and suited up. Camels are much bigger than I had thought, and riding them was a test of balance. Our camel driver let me hold the stick and steer the camels- it was surreal. Chrissy and I were the only ones out there, we rode them to the base of the pyramids and posed for photos, taking it all in. We were out there by ourselves for a good twenty minutes before the busload of other SASers swarmed in with their camels. So crazy!! After the camel ride we explored around the pyramids, then on to the sphinx. This was all before 10 am. Then we visited the Alabaster mosque where Muhamed Ali, the founder of secular Egypt, is buried (or tombed rather). We dined on the Nile at a place called Le Pecha before heading to the Cairo Bazaar. This bazaar was much less intrusive than the Turkish bazaar, although you still had to barter, and had much more interesting items. Following the bazaar it was back to the hotel before a Nile boat dinner cruise including a belly dancer and whirling dervish. I really thought the food, entertainment, and boat were all very inauthentic, but it was nice to stand out on the bow of the boat and watch Cairo’s lights reflect on the Nile.
Our third day in Cairo consisted of visiting the oldest pyramid in the world-the step pyramid, a recently opened tomb of an Egyptian princess complete with colored hieroglyphics from around 2500 BC- both in Sakara, a trip to Memphis- the first capital of Egypt- where the colossal statues of Ramses II are, and a drive through rural Giza. Upon returning to Alexandria, we had a family dinner with my close friends- there are six of us- where we gorged ourselves on delicious Buri bread, grape leaves, hummus, baba ganuj, tabuli, and large amounts of kebaps before returning to the hookah bar for a smoke and some drinks.
Unfortunately, we stayed out till three thirty the aforementioned night and therefore wasted our last few hours in Egypt before on-ship time swimming at the pool on the ship. I was very tired from the trip, however, so I really didn’t mind.
Things I took away from Egypt- with all its shortcomings, I am very thankful to be living in the U.S. The level of poverty I saw there made inner city New Orleans look like a paradise. My desire to work in international human rights law has been solidified after I witnessed firsthand the stratification of society in the Muslim world- everywhere we went lines were separated by gender and women seemed to have no voice- not in any position, whether it be a maid or a shopkeeper, did I see women workers- barring my tour guide. The human race is an incredible species- the pyramids were built 3,000 years before Christ, using no mortar, and still amaze people in the modern world. I love traveling- Egypt was the first county I was out of my comfort zone- we had an armed guard with us the whole time because of terrorist dangers, but almost all my interactions with local Egyptians were positive and fun.
