Adventures in Alex

We had our first out-of-Cairo excursion this past weekend, and I saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city  (yet 1/5 of Cairo's population) is located directly on the north coast and was once one of the most prominent cities in the world. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria was a Hellenistic hub and thus boasts a rich history crosscut by the Greeks and Romans. During our visit, we were able to get a glimpse into how these civilizations influenced Alexandria by touring some of the historical sites.

The view from our hotel -- the Corniche waterfront promenade

It took us about 5 hours with traffic to drive from Cairo to Alexandria, but I really liked getting the lay of the land beyond Cairo. It's pretty much desert, although we did pass by some huge irrigated fields. There are little stores and merchant shops set up along the highway, and people were constantly crossing. We slowed down a lot for toll roads and weigh stations as well.

Our first night was dinner on our own, so Kerrie, Mac, and I decided to walk towards downtown to find a good place. We ended up in some of the smaller, cobbled streets in a poorer area, and the harassment was definitely worse here than my experience in Cairo. People typically just shout the only things that they know in English -- "Hey! How are you?!" or they will mutter some Arabic slang that we can barely understand. The worst was when a man came like a foot from my ear and said, "Bonjour, Seniorita."Not correct or appealing, sir. Anyways, we decided to get out of there pretty quickly and stick to the main road along the waterfront called the Corniche. It is important to note that Alexandria has become more conservative than Cairo, and it is the seat for some of the Islamist movements in Egypt. I felt like I had to be more guarded here.


On Friday, we hit the historical sites. The first stop was an ancient monument called Pompey's pillar, which is a red granite column extending 30 m high on Alexandria's ancient acropolis . It was dedicated to the Roman Empire Diocletian from the people of Alexandria. Famine had struck the city so the people were rioting. Diocletian swore that we would kill every person in Alexandria until the blood rose to the knees of his horse if the riots did not cease. Upon this swearing, his horse tripped and fell to the ground. Diocletian took this as a divine sign and sent grain to Alexandria.  The pillar was erected to commemorate his generosity.

 Pompey's Pillar

Inside the temple -- this is what the inside of the catacombs looked like too

The next site was Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa, which are tombs from the Roman period. There are three levels of burials, but the lowest level has been usurped by groundwater. We ventured to the second level, and it felt like being back in Mammoth Cave. We saw the three main tombs, decorated with Egyptian and Greek art, which belonged to the wealthy father, mother, and son. The rest of the hundred or so tombs belonged to the relatives.

In the afternoon, we went to the Roman Odeum, which was a small theatre established for plays. Then we toured the Fortress of Qait Bey, which was originally built in the 15th century. My favorite part of Qait Bey was sitting on the promenade watching the Mediterranean waves splash up against the man-made concrete barriers. One thing that I love about Egypt in general is that people are always outside -- and they were definitely out in Alexandria. Families, couples, gangs of boys were just hanging out along with coast with us, and I just relaxed and people-watched for a while. It was nice to just sit and take it in after touring the whole day.

 Fortress of Qait Bey

Ahmed and Mac chillin seaside

That night, we went to a restaurant in Qait Bey that is famous for its seafood. Alexandria in general is known for its delicious fish and shrimp, so naturally I was tempted to break my vegetarianism for this one night. I haven't eaten fish in two years, so I was pretty nervous but really excited to "experience the taste of Alexandria." Typical me, I wolfed down a plate of snapper and shrimp, and I was definitely satisfied. The next morning, disaster struck. BOOM! My body did not handle the fish well, and I got major food poisoning/body rejecting the fish. I was sick the entire day, and thus had to miss the most of the tour of Alexandria's Library and all the Montazah Palace and Gardens. I have been on the road to recovery for the past three days -- I got some antibiotics and have been resting since the fateful seafood incident.

My downfall

Getting sick was definitely a low point, but it felt good to know that my program and my friends here were quick to take care of me. I feel like I can handle a lot in Egypt if I can manage overcoming food poisoning in a foreign seaport. Also, the train to Alexandria is cheap and only takes 2 hours. I definitely plan on going back -- mainly just to see that Mediterranean coast again.

Port Said

For my Media Arabic class, KC and I interviewed the director of our program about the events in Port Said. He responded, "Soccer is like politics in Egypt." With 74 people dead from the incidents at the soccer match, it is clear that this event reflects so much more than just a game. The Ultras, a group of hardcore fans of Cairo's Al-Ahly team, are notoriously pro-revolution. They formed a group called UWK, which stands for Ultras White Knights, comprised entirely of young men. Many are blaming the military for instigating the riots and claiming that stadium security did absolutely nothing to quell the violence. 

In wake of this tragedy, all of Egypt is mourning for three days. On the anniversary of the revolution, many people were celebrating. Now, people are angry. The Ministry of the Interior protests became violent. On top of this, there are rumors that private American companies are supplying poisonous and expired tear gas to the military. In order to protect their faces from the tear gas, the protestors spray their eyes and cover their faces with a mixture of yeast and water. All of the protestors looked like they have been covered in a beige, liquidy paint.

We are staying the apartments tonight. KC just made chocolate strawberries and Kerrie made cookie dough. I am trying to stay positive :)

This is on a wall a street over from our apartment. I am going to be taking pictures of all the political graffiti in Cairo, so stay tuned for more.

Culture Week

Sabba7 El-Kheir! (Good morning!) This past week has been filled with site visits to some of the most prominent cultural places in Cairo.I have truly enjoyed being exposed to Cairo's rich cultural history and traditions, including its religion and art. I like these field trips because they get us out of our neighborhood bubble and into unexplored parts of the city. It also reminds me how OLD Egyptian civilization is. Egyptians were building mosques and creating art thousands of years before our country was even founded...pretty wild.

First stop was visiting the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, located in the heart of Islamic Cairo. It is the largest mosque in Cairo, and it is also the oldest mosque in terms of preserved, original architecture. My favorite part of this site visit was climbing to the top of the minaret, which is the tower where the Call to Prayer is made. The Call to Prayer occurs five times a day, and modern Cairo has a standardized sounding prayer and schedule. Its an awesome sound because you can hear multiple Calls to Prayer issued from different mosques at the same time. It sounds like an echo all over the city five times a day.

Next visit was to the Islamic Art Museum, which was also a neat place to visit. I spent most of my time learning art terminology in Arabic with my language partner. Her name is pronounced Hend, and she was really eager to teach me new Arabic phrases and words. I am looking forward to practicing my Egyptian Arabic with her. She is pretty tough on  me, but I need some constructive criticism in regards to my speaking skills :)

On Sunday night, we went to the famous Opera House complex (located just 10 minutes away from our apartment) and saw a show! It was a tragedy called Aida (first performed in 1871), and it told the story of a love triangle between Egyptian and Ethiopian royalty. It was kind of a mix between Helen of Troy and Romeo and Juliet. The opera was performed in Italian and the screens had Arabic subtitles, so it was definitely a challenge to understand exactly what was going on. I read the synopsis before though, so I just relied on the story line to understand the action. It was long....almost four hours. My first opera experience was in Egypt...who wuddu thunk it.

On a more social note, I have also been twice to Cairo's oldest bar called Horreya, which is the Arabic word for freedom. They only serve Stella beer and Cheepsy chips, both of which are only manufactured in Egypt. I love being a part of the local scene and spending my time looking for new places to check out in Cairo.

Nika, Hannah, and I at Horreya drinking some Stella