3W2D Adios Dahab, Herrroo Luxor!

Full Moon Shining Over the Red Sea

Goodbye Dahab, hello Luxor. I really will miss Dahab. I chose a 1 hour plane ride over a 20 hour bus ride from Dahab to Luxor. In the taxi from the airport to my hostel, I find that Luxor is full of green and much more relaxed than Cairo (but not Dahab.) Tourism accounts for 85 percent of the economy in this town, which is not surprising since at every step I take I am hounded by taxi and caliche drivers offering rides, shop owners harassing me to step into their shop, and hotel touts convincing me that their hotel is the best.. Notice a trend here?

But really it is not all that bad. It really depends on your level of tolerance and the way you dress. To ward off unwanted attention, especially for females, wearing long sleeves and pants/skirts that cover all skin including necklines really helps. You will still get attention and harassment, but it is a lot less. Wearing sunglasses and avoiding eye contact is another mechanism I use to be able to walk through the streets.

Not everyone is trying to get something from you though. And rudeness, as I’ve seen a lot of tourists show, never gets you anywhere. I find that I have learned to read people better here and that Egyptians are quite welcoming – sometimes you just need a sense of humor. If only I could show that humor in my limited Arabic…

I’ve included a few pictures of my time in Dahab. I haven’t left yet, but I have a feeling I will miss Egypt.

3W1D Warning: Petra is Nothing Like the Movies

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Petra (in Jordan) is now in the top three of my favorite sites that I’ve experienced. Petra is an enormous archeological site that simply cannot be appreciated in one day. Even my two days there was way too short. Words and pictures (and movies!) do not do justice to this magnificent piece of architecture, but I will do my best.

Most people know Petra by the striking image of the Treasury peeking through the Siq, the ancient main entrance to Petra with its natural, narrow, deep canyon that curves to the Treasury. But there is much more to the site than this.

Around noon I follow a sign which points in the direction of the Siq. Following the hoards of camera toting and shorts and flip flop wearing tourists, I make the trek towards the Siq with the sun brutally shining down on me. As I enter the narrow and tall gorge, the images that I have seen before of the Siq does not give a fair image to the spectacular sight that is set before me. Our witty and entertaining Jordanian tour guide explains to us in perfect English (I later come to find that our eccentric guide also speaks Tagalog and Chinese) the history of this city carved into stone.

The Nabateans were an ancient Arab tribe that settled in southern Jordan who fought for their independence until the kingdom was eventually seized by the powerful Roman Empire. What made this culture so different and unique is that they were open to outside cultural influences and added these influences to their own society, creating a true cultural melting pot. This is reflective in the architecture of the city – for example, the carved Treasury has classical (Greek/Roman), Egyptian, Mesopotamian and local styles, all blended to create a rich piece of architecture.

I normally try not to go on tours because I prefer the flexibility of exploring a place on my own without crowds, but it was easier to reach Petra via a tour. As a result the first day was a whirlwind of the main sights without really scraping past the surface or going deeper into the site past theatre or Treasury.

The second day, I set out alone at 6am with a goal of beating the tourists and the heat to the Ad-Deir, or the Monastery. Once again, the trek through the Siq did not cease to amaze me. The quiet and stillness at 7am was quite a contrast to the day before where the sounds of tourists would bounce off and echo throughout the tall walls of the gorge. The reddish brown colors start to become more vibrant as the sun’s rays climb higher in the sky and cast itself onto the rock. Images of the Grand Canyon start to appear in my head – rightfully so because the rock formations reminded me of the Grand Canyon – but on a much smaller scale. I make my way towards the Treasury where a few tourists and camels were standing about. I take the obligatory tourist photo before continuing towards the Monastery.

The path to the steps to the Monastery was relatively easy, passing donkeys and camels lingering about, locals trying to sell me jewelry and other odd items, and various remnants of the fantastic city carved into rocks. I then hit the 800 steps to the top of the Monastery. The steps are not continuous, nor are they linear. They are unevenly carved into the rock, almost purposefully as if the designer wanted you to pause to take in the views of the mountain scenes on the way up. Unfortunately for me, these views were interrupted by smells of donkey doo left by donkeys climbing up the stairs. My adrenaline helped me to make it to the top of the 800 steps, where I was rewarded with the sight of the Monastery, a larger and more simplified embellished version of the Treasury. The large open space in front of the Monastery was probably a gathering space. I stood alone in this space and felt so tiny. A sign on a cliff catches my eye – “The Best View in Petra” so naturally, I headed towards this.

I sit on the cliff with a view to the Monastery and take a deep breath, close my eyes and breathe the fresh air while listening to the sound of silence. The heat is tolerable and after a few minutes I do not notice the sun shining on me anyway. My mind goes blank as I sit completely still, cross legged in the dirt. I do not know how long I sat there or how long my eyes were shut for but when I do open up my senses back to the world, the heat has gotten intolerable, the sun so bright that it hurts my eyes, and the tourists greater in number.

By the time I make it back to the meeting point, I had spent 9 hours exploring and still had not experienced everything. I wish I had more time here but I must move on. For now, I will have to be satisfied with re-watching Indiana Jones, The Mummy Returns and Transformers to remind me of my time here spent in Petra… :P

3W0D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #6

“Falafel’s new friend, Felucca gives him a lift to the Treasury in Petra” (*this one is for you Mike)

2W6D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #5

“A peaceful trek to view the Monastery in Petra, Jordan at 7am”

2W5D Dahab - Diving the Red Sea, Drawing Plans of Mosques, Discussing Architecture, De-stressing the Mind, Dreaming About the Future...

Today has been quite relaxing diving, catching up on readings, sketching, and even meeting and having a lengthy discussion about architecture with another architect that works in Poland.

In addition to readings about Islamic architecture in Cairo, I have really gotten into “Architecture for the Poor” by Hassan Fathy. It is a very easy to read book describing Fathy’s plan for building the new village of Gourna. Luxor, Egypt without using modern methods and materials such as the steel and concrete we so often see. It’s quite funny how us architects bond instantly upon meeting and start to talk about the built environment we are currently in at that moment.

Within the first 3 minutes, we instantly bonded with a discussion of a large and very tall man made palm tree and how it seems so out of place. The bonding continued to complaining about the long hours we put in and then to a more interesting topic, a comparison of architectural sites we have visited and explored, talking about our favorites and not so favorites.

I really miss working in architecture and cannot wait to start stimulating my creative side more when I return. All the empty unfinished concrete buildings here are giving me a headache.

It seems that here it is easier and less expensive to just abandon the buildings if there is no money to finish it. I can’t help but point out the code violations to my new ever so patient non architect friends I’ve met here.

2W4D Following the Pilgrims to the top of Mt. Sinai

A failed attempt to control my flailing head and prevent it from hitting the window as we were speeding on the bumpy and dusty road on the way to Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night left me with a scrambled and confused brain as I exited the car and prepared to climb to the peak where God handed Moses the Law. I was joined by massive amounts of other “pilgrims” (and camels) preparing to climb this peak which interestingly enough has no archeological evidence that it is actually the Mt Sinai of the Old Testament. The lack of sleep was also of no help but as soon as I set foot on the first elevation change on the path to the top, all those feelings were erased.

Because a local Bedouin guide is required by law in order to climb up Mt. Sinai, I could not wander off, as I always seem to do.

The moderately easy two hour hike began with a slow ascent in the dirt with camels carrying weary eyed tourists which seemed to outnumber the rocks and camouflaged camel droppings. These camel and rock obstacles along with the darkness made it quite difficult to navigate the switchbacks up the mountain. The trek up was illuminated by moonlight and the occasional flashlight waving about. Each breath of fresh air and each step forward reminded me of how much I have missed hiking and being in the outdoors. Our guide took a break every 15-20 min to let others catch up and to stop at every Bedouin café shop selling teas, coffees, juices, etc along the way, but it allowed me to take in the scenery and move up the mountain in a leisurely pace. Once we got near to the top, we had to climb another 700 grueling steps to actually reach the top of Mt Sinai. At the top, the wind started to make the hike less enjoyable, but after pulling out a blanket I had brought along and scouting out a semi hidden spot partially sheltered from the wind away from the noisy tourists, I took a short nap while waiting for the sun to peer through the clouds.

With the first glimpse of the sunrise, the mountain top was filled with sounds of awe and prayers in different languages. Not surprisingly, the Korean tourists were the most noticeable to me with the gortex, walking sticks, and decked out hiking gear. It reminded me of the times I went hiking in Korea minus the soju and macali (rice wine).

I also visited Saint Catherine’s Monastery (A UNESCO world heritage site) and mosque at the base of Mt Sinai. The monastery has been called the oldest working Christian monastery in the world (year 527). Most probably know Mt Sinai, which has importance in three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) as the mountain where God spoke to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments.

It seems very strange to me that there is a mosque right next to the church so I found out why this was. Because of a document signed by the Prophet Muhammad which exempted the Christian monks of St. Catherine’s from the usual taxes and military service and commanded that Muslims provide the community with every help, the monks permitted the conversion of a small chapel within the monastery around 1105, but is not in use because of its incorrect orientation towards Mecca.

Freedom.

2W3D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #4

I am Falafel, HEAR ME ROAR!"

2W2D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #3

“I think these fins and mask a just a little too big for me – do you have anything my size?”

2W1D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #2

Walk Play/Smoke like an Egyptian: Falafel's introduction to backgammon and sheesha

2W0D (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel #1

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...Open Sesame!

1W6D The (mis)Adventures of Falafel the Camel

Meet my friend, Falafel the Camel. I picked him up in one of the Bazaars in Dahab looking very lost and frightened. He will be joining me on my trip. :-) Welcome to the adventures of Falafel the Camel.

1W5D “Alexandria, princess and whore. The royal city and the anus mundi.” –Lawrence Durrell

Four days, three middle of the night passport checkpoints , two relaxing days in Alexandria, and one 12 grueling hour bus ride later I am finally in Dahab. More on this later.

Departing from Cairo in the morning on Wednesday, I arrived into Alexandria at around noon and made my way to the Shultz American School successfully bargaining a taxi down from 40 LE to 20 LE. I was greeted by my host who lived in a very plush apartment with high ceilings, large spacious rooms, clean bathrooms, and air conditioning. Even though I had only been in Cairo for a week and a half it was nice to come to a more quiet and relaxed area where everything was just a tiny bit cleaner, a tiny bit less crowded, and a tiny bit less humid.

Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt and the difference from Cairo is quite evident as soon as I started walking around the city. As my guide book describes it, “it turns its back on the rest of Egypt and faces the Mediterranean, as if contemplating its glorious past.” And this is true. The drivers are still crazy here but upon arriving I felt a complete change in atmosphere and surroundings. It is like going from the city of New York to the shores of Santa Cruz. I was hassled less here and the people here were slightly dressed in a more Western way with a little more skin showing (elbows and hands), sometimes shorts, not as many headscarves or traditional wear, and a more relaxing attitude in general.

The city, founded by Alexander the Great, was an important city in the past. His chief architect for the project was Dinocrates. But a few months after it was found, Alexander left the city and never returned. Very little of the ancient city has survived with the submerged Royal Quarters beneath the harbor. As a diver I was really interested to see the ruins of the royal quarters of Cleopatra, but didn’t get a chance to explore the lost underwater city.

My main reason for coming to this city was to see the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This building was built to remember the Library of Alexandria. What an interesting resurrection of an ancient wonder. Upon approaching from the sea side, there is a huge planetarium that looks like it is embedded into the concrete. Coming up the steps there is a giant discus embedded in the ground at an angle – representing a man made glass, steel and stone rising sun beside the Mediterranean. On the exterior the stone is carved with pictograms, hieroglyphs and letters from every alphabet.

The disk seems to sit in a pool of water which at eye level seems to continue and connect with the ocean. The metal panels on the roof are composed of 9x14 meter modules- with most of them split into two – half being a skylight to allow light into the reading area.

Unfortunately I did not have time to go see the interior but from what I read the library has four levels below and seven above ground. There is a large main reading area with eight terraces, along with other programs that are required for running a library.

Having a circular form creates a strong iconic presence and it seems to symbolically represent a continuous quest or absorption of knowledge. The circular wall is considered the largest in the world with a diameter of 160 meters and a height of 35 meters. I’d be interested to see how they solved the problems of submersing half the building below the ground on a site that is very close to the sea.

The rest of the time spent in Alexandria was relaxing – from meeting some British engineers and eating delicious homemade chili and discussing construction methods in North Africa to playing Frisbee on the American School campus grounds in the middle of the night and discussing life.

Now here I am in Dahab, looking at the ocean, but also an array of unfinished buildings and the occasional mosque set between the calm blue waters and the dry brown layered mountain backdrop. From what I’ve seen in Egypt thus far, the norm of the built environment in developed areas seems to be an endless amount of grayish concrete skeletons with pieces of rebar protruding from them and dusty abandoned buildings covered with broken windows and trash scattered about the site.

1W1D To the Citadel

One week in N. Africa complete, 19 more weeks left. I am sure the time spent here will pass by quickly. Today I am sitting outside at the campus of the AUC doing some more reading. It is surprising chilly right now, enough that I’ve had to put on a warmer long sleeve shirt and a thin hoodie.

Yesterday was quite an interesting and long day as I started with an errand in the north part of Cairo and ending with dinner on the southern outskirts of Cairo. The bookstore at the AUC did not have a book I wanted so I had to go to the AUC downtown branch which is located in Zamalek. This is a manmade island in Cairo located on the Nile River…think Manhattan, NY for Egyptians. Maad’di, where I went to dinner at a French couple’s house is also very expensive. When I say expensive, I mean expensive for Egyptians to live there as it is for Americans to live in NYC.

I wanted to find out the average salary of a Cairene (a Cairo inhabitant) but found that this is quite difficult. The gap between the rich and the poor is huge. The rich are extravagantly rich – spending more than the average American, flaunting their Mercedes and BMWs through the narrow and congested streets of Cairo (why drive a nice car through Cairo, I have no idea – it’s like a Mercedes competing in bumper cars with 18 wheeler Monster trucks).

There is not much to Zamalek but some foreign companies and embassies amongst private residential quarters. And TREES. It was so great to see trees and cleaner streets and just a little less car horn and congestion than downtown Cairo.

Our first stop after this detour to Zamalek was returning to another area of Islamic Cairo, to Bab Zwayla – which was the city’s main southern gate during Fatimid times. We climbed the minaret, which was quite scary because it was completely dark going up the steep narrow steps, and upon reaching the the 3^rd level you are climbing up some very flimsy and wobbly metal “stairs.” For some reason I felt safer and less scared when I went bungee jumping in Korea which was much higher up than I did climbing up these metal “stairs.”

But the climb was worth it when we were greeted with view of Islamic Cairo, along with the Citadel in the distance, the al-Muyyad Mosque and Salih Tala’I mosque in the foreground, with minarets lining the smoggy skies, layers of dust, trash and cracked concrete lining the disheveled rooftops, and pedestrian, animal and vehicular traffic lining the unkempt narrow streets.

We planned our route to the Citadel in the distance and walked an hour in the hot sun. By this time I’ve gotten used to the breathing in the hot thick air and scorching heat (I can only imagine what it would be like in the dead of summer.) The complex was begun by Salah al-Din, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and his nephew, Al-Kamil, developed the Citadal as a royal residence. The Mohammed Ali Mosque within the grounds is interesting with a variety of styles – with an ornate clock given by French king Louis Phillppe, an interior that is of Ottoman style, array of domes decorated in an elaborate enamel and jewel ornamentation, and a spiral of light globes and chandeliers illuminating the space.

After a relaxing stroll throughout the citadel grounds, we went to go find the Southern cemetery also known as one of the Cities of the Dead, where over half a million Cairenes live amid mausoleums and family plots. It was quite eerie to be walking through these mausoleums with squatters living around these tombs and after awhile I felt uncomfortable if only because it was quite a poor area with conditions I was not used to seeing and it did not help that it was getting darker. So Phil and I left to head to Maad’di for a small dinner party.

Of course, we wanted an adventure and so we decided to attempt to take a bus from where we were to Maad’di. We had no idea where to catch the bus or what bus number to take. And to add to that, neither of us reads Arabic fast enough to be able to see what cities the buses were going to so after asking about 10 people in a time period of 15 minutes, we figure out it was the number 54 bus. But the Arabic numerals are written and read quite differently than what we were used to. We eventually figured it out about an hour later but I cannot even begin to describe the process we used…luckily we got on the right bus heading towards Maad’di but had no idea which stop to get off at. So naturally we missed the stop but were able to hop off and find a subway station to where we needed to go.

Maad’di is a residential area popular with expats. With its quiet residential streets, the sound of silence filling the air instead of loud honking car horns and fresh clean air and boulevards lined with trees, I can see why it is a popular place to live; of course it is very expensive for a place like Egypt. The apartment cost 4500 Egyptian pounds a month which works out to be about $800USD. I was the only non-French speaker at dinner but they kindly spoke English for me. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on my research, especially since one of them was studying architectural history and the other was working in renewable energies at a company in downtown Cairo. But best of all, after not eating all day and wandering somewhat aimlessly throughout the streets of Cairo, I appreciated a good meal amongst good company.