Oh, Egypt

I thought it would be kind of fun to list things that I've learned/experienced/come to expect with regards to living in Egypt...

1. Your cab drivers whips out a newspaper to read while driving.
2. You have accepted that each breath of air reduces your lifespan by, I'd say, 10 seconds
3. Traffic jams can happen any time of the day
4. Sand storms are no fun and mean that traffic moves very slow
5. Littering is the fast and easy and is, unfortunately, commonplace
   
6. Going to the movies is cool except when the actors do a lot of speaking in foreign languages and the subtitles are written in Arabic
7. You've been asked for backsheesh (tipping money) in church
8. You've been called Santa Claus because you're American
9. A horse and carriage is referred to as an Egyptian Ferrari
   
10. You pretend to be a dumb tourist so you get what you want
11. You get on trains after the man at the ticket counter tells you that the train is full, hoping you will make it somewhere North
12. You feel naked if you wear shorts, even if it's uber-hot outside
13. You get used to the 24 hour clock and metric units
14. Lunch is at 2ish and dinner is around 8 or later
15. Bedouin guide tend to not realize that tourists on Mt. Sinai don't like to run up mountains at 3 in the morning; walking is just fine.
16. The most important phrases in Arabic to know are "I don't want anything" and "No thank you" and "Praise be to God"
    
17. Winter in the desert means cold temperatures
18. Large signs that say "handmade" are a dead give-away that the products are imported from China. The larger the sign, the bigger the selection of imported goods.
19. You realize the miracle of good earplugs
20. Seeing tourists in shorts and tank tops annoys you
21. You realize that you can go through a metal detector wearing sheet metal without anything happening
22. If your cab doesn't look like a disco and have a furry animal skin on the dashboard, then your cab is totally lame
23. You avoid public bathrooms at all cost
24. Bathrooms are called water closest, abbreviated W.C.
25. Americans like toilet paper, not little spray guns
26. Cheesecake and milkshakes just aren't the same
27. Broccoli pizza usually doesn't include broccoli
28. You like how pop cans open better than the American pop cans
29. Plain pizza usually includes peppers and olives
30. You have a list of excuses to get out of going to someone's restaurant or store that you hold near and dear to you

That's my education for the first semester. We'll see what all I learn this upcoming semester, which starts tomorrow!!!!

Happy Saturday!!!

Pamukkale & Cappadocia Pictures

More pictures...

In Cappodocia there are a lot of cave churches and homes where Christians used to live, some up until the 1950s when the government said that they're unsafe. Some of the churches are no longer very nice inside, but some still have really nice paintings, like the frescoes inside this church. Since it is a cave, these churches are very small...I wouldn't think you'd be able to have more than 30 people in one of these at a time.
Here's what the caves look like from the outside. Cappadocia has tons of these. The strange rock formations are the results of volcanic explosions. Over time, and with erosion, these are what remain. Besides churches and homes, many of the caves are used as pigeon homes by the local farmers who then collect the droppings for fertilizer (they grow a lot of apricots and grapes here).

This is another picture from the springs in Pamukkale. The calcium deposits are why the rocks are white. It felt good on a cold, winter afternoon.

In Selcuk there is an annual camel wrestling contest the weekend after we left. Don't worry, the camels don't actually hurt each other...they just have to knock the other camel over. The owners parade the camels through the street beforehand. This is the time of year for camel mating, so the males are especially aggressive, making for some good entertainment, I guess...

Another picture of the strange rock formations in Cappadocia.


Many of the hotels in Cappadocia are made out of caves. This is our cave hotel. It was super-awesome.

That's all for now. I still have more pictures to upload at a later time....

Yesterday I took my Arabic placement exam, which was impossible. Tomorrow I find out my class schedule, and then on Sunday we start school again.

We found a nice apartment that we're going to sign for on Thursday!

That's all for now, have a good Wednesday!

Pergamum Pictures

Here are some pictures, as promised:


This is the Temple of Trajan, located on the very top of the acropolis in Pergamum. "Acropolis" means high city, so this whole city was built on the top of a hill. In its hey-day, there were probably 100,000 people living there.

Here you can see how they built the foundations of the city. You want to have some flat areas in the city, so they had to move a lot of rock and dirt and build these supporting walls.

I thought the best part of the city was the theater. It was huge, seating 10,000 people. But even more than that, it was incredibly steep--vertigo inducing. It was such an awesome view. From the top of the hill you can see the surrounding countryside.

This is near the entrance to the acropolis. In the background you can see the modern-day city of Bergama. It was nice to tour these ruins because they're not nearly as popular as other places in Turkey. I only saw about 5 other people there while I was exploring the city.

The Red Basillica, also known as the Church at Pergamum, one of the 7 Churches of The Revelation of John. Apparently the people worshiped some Egyptian gods (gods of healing)...and it's called "Satan's throne." Fun times...

This is the market area leading into the asclepieion (the hospital). Imagine vendors on either side of this long street. The hill in the background is where the acropolis is located. You can see the theather pretty well.

More of the hospital. There was a sacred spring here and people would come from all over to be healed of their sicknesses.

I'll post more pictures later!

Now it's appropriate to say, "have a good Sunday!"

What IS That White Stuff?

There is white stuff on the ground in Istanbul, and it`s freaking me out. Actually, I`m quite happy to see snow for the first time this winter. Yesterday was cold and rainy all day. Today is cold, windy, and snowy. Hopefully my plane out of Istanbul won`t be delayed...

Since today was terribly cold, I bought a novel by Nobel Prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. I felt so cultured as I was drinking my white hot chocolate (amazing!) and reading this well-known author`s work. I had several Turkish people comment about how much they like the author because he speaks the truth of what life of Turkish people is like.

Another really good book I read this semester is one about cab drivers in Egypt, appropriately called, Taxi. It`s a book that makes you feel guilty about arguing with cab drivers about them wanting to charge you an extra 50 cents. It has some really interesting stories ranging from women changing in the backseat of the cab from a niqab into a short skirt to the daily struggle of many cab drivers of having money to provide for their families.

Once I get back to Cairo Johan and I will be hunting for apartments, and I will be reviewing my Arabic because I have to take a placement exam soon after I get back to Egypt. I don`t think I ever mentioned that this next semester I`m only going to be studying Arabic. I was originally going to take more engineering classes, but my scheduling fell through and, at the moment, I`m primarily interested in learning the language...so Arabic it is...

I`m pretty sure it`s Sunday; HAPPY SUNDAY!

Back in Istanbul

It's hard to believe that the end of my Turkey trip is quickly approaching, but I guess I have to get back to reality sometime. It's strange that I'm STILL on Christmas break...

Now Johan and I are in Istanbul. Today we toured the Blue Mosque and the Ayasophia, two massive buildings. We also wandered through the Grand Bazar, which is quite tame compared to any street in Cairo. We've got a little more exploring to do tomorrow and then we're headed back to Cairo to find an apartment to live in for the semester. Busy, busy, busy...

When I have my own computer and more time I'll be able to get a more substantial update up...as well as a zillion pictures. When you travel 1500 miles in 9 days, you tend to run out of time to get on the computer much...

Don't worry, Mom, I'm doing fine!!!

Have a happy Thursday!

You WILL Drink this Tea

Turkish people are friendly and very hospitable, as far as I have seen. This evening Johan and I took a 10 hour bus ride from Pamukkale to Cappadocia. Usually there is an attendant on the bus that serves tea and, if you're lucky, some sort of desert-in-a-package. In the past, I have had no problem simply shaking my head "no" to indicate that I am not interested in tea. But not tonight. The bus attendant was insistant that I drink something. Time after time he would come up to us and start talking to us in Turkish, like we understood what he was saying to us, trying to convince me to take a tea bag and plastic cup. I kept shaking my head no, and I guess he finally realized that I didn't want tea...so he poured me a cup of Pepsi instead. The next time he came around at 3 am, I decided to pretend to be asleep.

I have a couple of pictures to share too:

This is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. I haven't been inside yet, but Johan and I will be going back to Istanbul at the end of our Turkey tour.

In the sleepy town of Pamukkale, there are pools formed by calcium-rich water that springs from the ground. The water is really warm, hence the steam. It felt good to stick our feet in the water since the air temperature was rather cool. No snow here, though.

Sitting on a Roman toilet in the men's bath house in Ephesus. After sitting there for awhile, Johan and I busted out our delicious Turkish delights and ate a few while admiring the Ephesus library, shown below...

The library in Ephesus, one of the largest in the world in its day...

Standing among the remains of a temple in Pergamum.

I have a ton of other pictures that I want to share, but those will have to wait until later!

For most people I'd say it's Sunday, so have a good Sunday!!!

Pamukkale

Well Johan and I were able to meet up a yesterday in Ephesus and explore the ruıns of the cıty. They were amazıng. I can't waıt untıl I'm able to post pıctures for you to see.

Rıght now we are waıtıng for the evenıng bus to Cappadocıa...we've been waıtıng for 4 hours now and only have about 4 more hours of waıtıng. Then we have a 10 hour bus rıde, but ıt wıll be totally worth ıt. Everyone that we have talked to has saıd that Cappadocıa ıs absolutely beautıful.

Pamukkale ıs a very popular place ın the summer because there are these neat nautural pools formed from calcıum deposıts (agaın, pıctures soon). Rıght now, however, ıt ıs EXTREMELY quıet here. There are about 5 tourısts ın the 2 street town. We walked around town (takes 5 mınutes) and all the owners of the restaurants and hotels are sıttıng around theır fıreplaces watchıng televısıon. I can't ımagıne how long the wınter season can be. But maybe they enjoy a lıttle bıt of a break from the overwhelmıng amount of tourısts they get ın the summer.

After Cappadocıa we're headed back toward Istanbul. Our last day ın Turkey ıs January 23rd. Then we're headed back to Caıro!

It wıll be nıce to get back to the warm Egyptıan weather. I'm not used to havıng to wear a heavy jacket!

Have a good Saturday!!!

İstanbul

Just as an FYI, the keyboards ın İstanbul are messed up, so ıf you see some weırd letters, just go wıth ıt.
I made ıt to Turkey yesterday, after beıng stuck ın Caıro for awhıle due to heavy aır traffıc over Europe. When I got to the aırport, the man at securıty wasn't goıng to let me ın because he saıd that my flıght wasn't untıl the next day. He was correct. I guess I was just too excıted to leave Egypt. Wıthout backsheesh, I was able to convınce hım to let me ınto the aırport to see ıf I could change my flıght...whıch I was able to do.

Today as I was wanderıng around Istanbul, I was approached by a man ın hıs fortıes who just randomly started talkıng to me. No bıggıe. I fıgure he just wants to be nıce at fırst so that he can convınce me to go to hıs carpet shop. I tell hım that I want to get somethıng for lunch. He suggests a place that he knows\owns, but I ınsıst on choosıng the place. I quıckly make my decısıon of where to eat so I can try to lose the guy. I hop ınto the fırst place I see, whıch ıs empty (never a good sıgn). The guy comes ın wıth me. He and I contınue to chat and he mentıons that he was just on hıs way to a gay cafe and he wanted to take me wıth hım. I tell hım that I lıke women and that I don't want to go wıth hım. I don't know ıf he understood or not, but I had to tell hım several tımes that I dıdn't want to go. After askıng me to buy hım tea (I told hım that sınce I'm the guest ın hıs country he should be buyıng me tea), he left.

Generally the people are very frıendly here. On the plane rıde here I was gıven 4 people's phone numbers, I was asked ıf I am sıngle, and I was quızzed on my Turkısh hıstory knowledge. It's been fun. Johan wıll be meetıng me ın 2 or 3 days for the rest of the trıp. Tomorrow I plan to head south a lıttle bıt...not really sure where....

Have a good Monday!!!

Desert Life & More Pictures

Well, Corey just left this morning after what seemed like 2 days. It's hard to believe that he was really here for 2 weeks. I have a lot more pictures from our trip posted here.

Tomorrow I leave for Turkey. Corey and I met a Japanese couple in the desert yesterday who had just gotten back from Turkey, so they were able to give some recommendations of where to go and what to see. Once again, they are more people who say that Turkey is an awesome place to visit, so I'm very much looking forward to it. I'll keep you all updated on how things go...

I hear that there's plenty of snow and cold weather in Ohio right now! That's fun...2 nights ago Corey and I camped outside in the Western desert and it got down to 38 degrees. I was seriously freezing. Good thing our guide had a zillion blankets for us. It was amazing being able to fall asleep under the stars (no tent). I don't think I have ever seen so many stars in my life. It was beautiful. We even got to see a Phoenix desert fox who was interested in the chicken bones from our dinner.

Traveling in the desert went without a hitch, except for when our jeep wouldn't start in the morning. We tried to get it started (our guide even was sucking and blowing on the gas line; I'm not sure what that does), but nothing worked. Eventually we were able to catch another jeep that happened to be driving by, and he helped us get it started by pulling our jeep behind his.

Have a good Saturday!!!

Winter in Egypt

I was able to get some of my pictures uploaded from my trip with Corey, so I'll share a few of them with you here. The rest will have to wait until later. Corey also has taken over 500 pictures, so when he gets a chance he'll upload his and I'll post a link to his pictures...

Philae temple on an island near Aswan

Temple of Hathor & Nefertiti (Small Temple) in Abu Simbel

The Great Temple at Abu Simbel

Feluccas on the Nile in Aswan

Corey and I at the top of a minaret in Cairo


The one and only Dahab...on the Red Sea

Sunrise from Mt. Sinai-freezing but beautiful

Tomorrow morning we're headed to the Western Desert! We've done a lot of moving around over the last week and a half; we'll have to calculate the total distance we've gone so far...

Have a good Wednesday!

Cab Drivers in Sharm

It's been a whirlwind over the last week as Corey and I have been moving to new cities practically every day. Right now we are in Dahab, on the Red Sea. It's always nice to be here because it's a beachy, warm, relaxed atmosphere.

In order to get here, we first made an overnight stop in Sharm el-Sheikh. After arriving at the bus stop in Sharm from Cairo, we needed to find a cab to our hotel. I have never heard drivers inflate the price as much as what these guys were asking for. The driver started at LE200. I started at LE10. In the end, I had to pay LE15 (which is less than $3, but still...). As part of his elaborate scheme to get more money from us, as we were driving, he suddendly decided that he had no idea where our hotel was. So, we pulled off to Sunset Hotel, where his friends who were also involved in the scheme worked. We are greeted by a guy wearing a security jacket who leads us into the hotel. The guys at the front desk appear to be helpful. But they too have never heard of our hotel. The mention that they have rooms available, however. At this point, I have definitely decided that they are trying to scam us, so I tell them that I will call the hotel so they can give them directions. The people at the front desk say that they'll call on their phone, but fortunately I have a cell phone, so I could dial the number. Otherwise I'm sure they would have made a fake phone call. The person at our hotel gives the schemers the directions, but we decide to find another cab to take us there (unfortunately we had already paid the driver).

The second cab is just as bad. He tried to rip us off again. I was really getting frustrated at this point, so I was drilling him about how much it would cost an Egyptian to ride in the same cab to the same place (probably about 15 pounds less). I made him define the Arabic word "haramee," which means "theif." In the end, I think he got the point that I was pretty upset.

It's not that these cab drivers are taking a lot of money from us, it's just the fact that they think that just because we are Americans we have unlimited money. Indeed, many of the people who go to Sharm probably have no idea that they're being ripped off and that's why the prices are so inflated, but it's frustrating to me after being in Egypt for over 4 months now.

Anyway! Things are going really well here. Corey and I are having a blast. Tonight we're climbing Mt. Sinai so we can see the sunrise over the mountains. Can't wait.

Have a happy Monday (I think it's Monday...I get the days confused...)!