0W6D An Oasis in the Desert

It still amazes me that it is only day 6 here. The couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.org) friends I’ve made have made me feel so welcome and made the transition into N. Africa better than I could have ever imagined. Not only that but it allows me to explore the city in the eyes of a local and try to understand the culture rather than hopping around from site to site.

I find I am eating less here because it is so hot. Thank goodness…

Yesterday’s agenda was exploring Islamic Cairo during the day. Islamic Cairo is a labyrinth of mosques and souks. The city was initially developed as a series of extensions and new walled mini cities radiating in a NE direction. The outside may not be so clean but the inside of the Mosques with the white marble floors and columns and wood structures really surprised me. It was exceptionally quiet because it was the day of the feast, so people had been out all night celebrating. More on this later…

Today I am at American Univ in Cairo to buy some books and spend some time at the library doing research. The architecture book collection here is massive – actually the library here itself is not a bad place for research. The campus is best described as an oasis in the desert…because it literally is in the middle of the desert. It is located in New Cairo, about 40 min from downtown old Cairo and is a campus done by a collaboration between architects of 3 countries. It incorporates materials and patterns of Islamic nature but done in a modern way – there is a main avenue that connects all the 6 schools here with plazas, courtyards, bridges, corridors and stairways connecting all the in between spaces and allowing for social interaction, in the same way that Islamic Cairo allows social interaction. It is similar to the mini labyrinth of Islamic Cairo.

It essentially feels like a mini western community – girls without head scarves, people speaking English, overpriced food, and clean toilets and public spaces (as compared to what I have experienced in Cairo thus far.)

This oasis cost 290 million USD (no wonder the tuition is over 20,000 USD) to build – now I wonder how much it costs to run with the AC running non stop as I sit in this frigid cold library and the fountains and green patches of grass that sprinkle the campus.

But this oasis for me is much needed and is a nice place to do some research and meet students and professors in the architecture department. I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time on this campus.

Now back to work…

0W4D Connecting the Mortal and Divine Worlds

Body is running on very little sleep.

Being here in Cairo reminds me of when I was living in Seoul, but in a different way. Yes, in both cities I did not get a lot of sleep. And yes both cities are 24 hour cities. But Seoul was a 24 hour city in that people liked to eat good Korean food, drink ridiculous amounts of soju and mekju (beer) and hike with no switchbacks. Here it seems people like to smoke strong sheesha on the street , drink chai or thick tar like coffee (which may I add tastes absolutely amazing- I’m sure my teeth will turn black before the end of this trip), and drive as if the demon had possessed them with their hand permanently glued onto the car horn. I fear for my life every time I cross the street.

Today I went to the site everyone thinks of when they think of Cairo-the Pyramids of Giza. It was quite hot (but not too humid like the suffocating heat of the east coast) so I am glad I am not here in the middle of summer. As Adel graciously offered to drive Beata and I to the pyramids, I couldn’t help but notice the different architectural styles (or lack thereof) of all the buildings as we drove post them. Of course all these buildings are covered in a layer of dirty brown soot, which also permeates the air (this could explain my coughing up unmentionable things and difficulty breathing). You have your beautiful traditional mosque surrounded by poorly made high rise crumbling concrete apartment buildings next to unfinished parking structures which have been worked on since the 90s. Then you have the occasional communist looking block building and this is all in filled with little souks filled with the hustle and bustle of people buying, selling and rushing to their next destination. Add speeding cars with no care for traffic rules. Welcome to Cairo.

But I digress.

Driving through Giza, a blurry pointed object in the distance gets closer at which point I realize that it is the Pyramid of Cheops that I am looking at. Well, hello pyramids. You are closer to the urban city than I imagined. On the other side lies the vast expanse of the Sahara desert. I’m sure that Giza would have continued had it not been for the Pyramids getting in the way.

Approaching the ticket booth I see queues of a mixture of head scarf covered Egyptians standing alongside tourists with a lot less clothes ranging from short shorts, cleavage bearing tank tops to tight jeans and even tummy bearing attire! Clothes and proper attire is a whole other topic I could go into, but will save this for another post. It is also very interesting to see the juxaposition of these tourists (me being one of them) and large noisy pollution making buses against the Great Pyramids.

We find that they are not selling any more tickets to enter the Great Pyramid and only tickets for the grounds of the pyramids. But as I have found in Egypt so far nothing is ever really %100 a no…so Beata in her Arabic sassiness was able to convince the ticket seller to sell her a sold out ticket. The seller proceeds to tell me there are no more. Of course I do not leave without a fight, and me in my not so sassy Arabic managed to sweetly say “this is my friend, please, just one more ticket , I want to see the pyramid, please”… and after a few minutes of persistent conversation I scored a ticket to enter the Great Pyramid and was as happy as if I had just won a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

Beata went to meditate inside the Great Pyramid while I walked the grounds touring the other pyramids and went on a scavenger hunt for the Sphinx. After a nice camel ride to get some pictures from afar (and the obligatory jumping picture) I went back to the Pyramid of Cheops where I was first in line for the 1 oclock entrance to the pyramid.

As I entered through a modern manmade hole in the limestone rock with a height taller than me, I walk through a damp lowly lit passage about 1.0 wide and 1.3 m high. Immediately I am hit with this feeling of energy and an aura that is indescribable, but I will do my best. An ascending passage where I am literally climbing up on my heads and knees (which I would not recommend to claustrophobics) takes me up to another passage so steep it seems as if it goes all the way to the heavens. In fact it is only 40 meters long. The passage has wood strips which allow you to grip onto something while walking up. Once I entered the great gallery, I was able to stand up straight and catch my breath… and low and behold a space of void.

I sat in silence with my eyes closed, focusing on my breathing, ignoring the drops turned buckets of sweat, thinking about nothing, and even zoning out the sounds of the loud tourists within this tomb which connected the mortal world with the divine.

I lost track of time and when I did come out to face the scorching desert heat in my face, sounds of loud car horns and vendors yelling cola, water, juice in 6 different languages, and smells of rotted cheese and decaying trash piles, I still felt as if I was in another world. This feeling is similar to when I hear the call of prayer here in Cairo, no matter what is happening or what I am doing, there is this feeling of calmness, serenity and peace that overcomes me.

0WD3 Stimulating the Taste Buds

Part of the territory that comes from exploring a culture are the culinary delights (or sometimes quite the opposite) that come with it. I was going to create a whole other blog for food - but I figure it would be much more easier and efficient to just deal with one blog. So here it is, my first taste of Egyptian food:

Foshari

Every culture seems to partake in this global phenomenon that we call “the noodle.” It comes in various forms all over the world. Think Egyptian chili. But completely vegan. It contains a mixture of fried onions, chopped noodles, chopped spaghetti, rice, lentils chunks, and tomatoes. Then you pour on top a mixture of tomato, chili and garlic sauces. Very tasty. Even Anthony Bourdain loves it (for those of you that have seen that episode of when he was in Cairo)! Though I haven't tasted the stuffed Pigeon...yet. But I will. I’ve already tried dog so what’s another animal to add to the list... :)

During the night, I went to explore the city with some friends, which is especially challenging during Eid (end of Ramadan celebration) because of the massive amounts of cars and people. We walked by the Nile river with many people trying to sell us Felucca rides all the way to El Tahrir square and to another square whose name surpasses my memory right now but contained European style architecture.

I came home to finish up some sketches and before I could finish the sketches, I promptly passed out from over stimulation of all senses. And also to get up early to go see the only existing original Seven Wonders of the World - The Pyramids of Giza. :)

0W2D Coptic Cairo

Only day two…. Today was a relaxing day, sketching with the artist (whose place I am staying at) and architect (a Polish girl who has a knack for picking up languages). Then I realized how litte about languages American as a whole knows…

Before I go further I must say how amazed I am with this girl for her language skills. Beata spent 3 months in Egypt a few years ago and came back this time for a longer stay. She has been here for 3 days and she is already fluent enough to have a conversation with people to a point where she is able to make jokes and where the locals understand here. We were sketching in Coptic Cairo (Christian part) today and there was a synagogue we wanted to see that was closing in 1 minute. She managed to sweetly talk to the guard to let us run in to see it quickly…

So much for my language classes – seeing that was motivation enough for me to start practicing with the people I’ve met here.

Christianity was the predominant religion before the arrival of Islam. Now only 10 percent are Christian. They are called Copts (native Egyptian Christians). How ironic is it that right in Egypt, in Cairo holds some manuscripts that the Vatican wants to get a hold of – but the Vatican cannot set foot here. It is quite interesting to hear the sound of the call to prayer while I am walking through these Orthodox churches. Apparently there are only about 100 Orthodox Jews left in Egypt.

Today is Eid which marks the end of fasting for Muslims. Everyone stays up all night until the Eid prayer in the morning, when people are encouraged to perform the prayers in open. After the prayers, the Muslims visit family and friends or hold big celebrations. Tomorrow I will go to my host’s mother’s house in New Cairo for the day.

My friend Ehab, who happens to be an architect, took me and a new friend Florence (who goes to American University in Cairo) to eat Foshary (see food blog) and to walk around the Nile River and to Tahrir Square, a main focal point for Cairo. The Egyptian Museum along with American University is around this area. I got to see the hustle and bustle and numerous amounts of people roaming the streets. I also got to really experience crossing the street.

It was like dancing...but you cannot read your partner so well…stop, go, slow, fast, run..oh wait, okay, now RUN. Also, I find it amusing that the pedestrian light has an animated green man running for the go signal...

PS Internet is quite slow here so I will load pictures when I can...:)

0W1D Cairo on Speed

Back to passports – sometimes I take for granted how lucky I am to have an American passport which allows me to easily get into most countries. To get a visa, all I had to do as soon as I got off the plane was hand a custom official 15USD to get a sticker on my passport. This allows me to be in Egypt for a month. And apparently getting an extension is even easier, which is what I plan to do.

My first day in Cairo was experienced in such a way that it was like trying to watch a 6 hour movie in 20 minutes. I also absorbed and learned more about this culture and the Arab world in the past 24 hours than I have in my whole life.

I arrived into Cairo at 3am (2 hours late – it seems as if time is of no issue here). As I mentioned in my email, I arrived to an Egyptian friend waiting patiently for me to arrive. I was dropped off at the place I am staying and quickly went to bed. I woke up to the call to prayer at 5am…and was immediately reminded that I was in Cairo. What a beautiful soothing sound… which also put me back to sleep because it was so soothing.

When I woke up the next day, II told myself that I would stay in and rest… but if you know me well enough that is not possible : )….So I ended up at Khan Al Khalili (market) with Julihana, a Brazilian girl who has been traveling throughout the Middle East for 9 months – who seemed to be the queen of bargaining.

Take below conversation for example (all numbers are Egyptian pounds):

Juliahana (trying to bargain for a sheesha set): How much?

Seller: I give you good price, tell me how much.

J: You tell me a good price and maybe I will buy it – it is a nice sheesha, very pretty.

S: How much do you want it for?

J: Do you have a metal box for it so when I take it home it will not break?

S: Yes, metal box is 280

J: 280, no way, 80

*S: No, no do you want to make me lose money? I cannot do that, I will lose money. No no I will

give it to you for 270

*J: No, 80, I only want it for 80 it’s nice but you have to give me a good price too

*S: (with a frustrated face) I cannot do that, I will lose money. No no I will give it to you for 270

*repeat about 12 more times each time seller deducts 10 while Julihana raises to 125

J: But I’m from Brazil, I have no money, this is all I have, you give me a good price

*S: (still with a frustrated face) No, no, give me a good price

*repeat 10 more times

S: (big sigh) Okay, but only for you because I like you.

J: Thank you! (big smile)

S: (speaks in Arabic to other seller while wrapping up sheesha in metal box)

As we walk out the other seller turns to us and says:

Other seller: Very clever girl.

Moral of the story? You can bargain everything. It is all a game and you each start at the other end and meet somewhere in the middle. We later found that what she brought is usually sold to Egyptians for around 40 Egyptian pounds, and to a foreigner the lowest that our host has seen it sold is 100 Egyptian pounds.

We proceeded to go home, but of course not before getting lost, being verbally hassled by Egyptian men, me trying to speak Arabic to find our way home...Julihana and I finally made it home to Dokki to have dinner and then went to meet some of her friends on the Nile river for some tea around 10pm. This is where I learned that Cairo is a 24 hour city. By the time I made it home, it was 4am.

The character of the city is also a little different because of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from 4am until sunset. When the sun sets, they can eat their if tar aka breakfast. During if tar the streets are quite quiet. But as 8 or 9 comes around, shops are open once again, people and cars crowd the streets without regard for traffic lights, speeding cars, jay walking pedestrians… actually there is disregard all the time…no driving rules, red lights means go, green light means go faster.

Fast forward a few hours – we are still walking through Islamic Cairo, where Julihana’s friend Ahmed gives me a history of Islamic religion, the Koran, Mecca and the Medina (second holiest city in Saudi Arabia). We sit in a square in front of a mosque in Islamic Cairo and have some tea. There are so many people out, including children (it is 4am by now) just sitting, chatting, having tea. I am lucky to have someone to show me this side of the culture – if I was by myself I would not have been walking out this late. In a somewhat ironic way, it is quite refreshing to see this gritty crowded in your face interaction.

I was constantly comparing this huge gathering of people and 24 hour culture to my time in Korea – where 24 hour culture meant drinking, eating, partying, and being out with your friends. Here that culture does not involve alcohol (never have a seen such a large gathering of people out at night without alcohol or dancing), and does not involve overindulgence. There were a lot of families out with children and babies! The Egyptians are very welcoming and really listen to every word you say - I could almost say I feel close to “home”.

It seems as if there are two extremes – on the one hand you hear stories of women getting verbally hassled and tourists being hounded by shop keepers, but on the other hand Egpytians are VERY welcoming and open to showing you around as if you had been their friend forever.

I think I might start reading the English version of the Koran to get a better understanding of how the culture thinks here and how that might be reflected in the architecture. I have seen so many different styles here already that it has been quite difficult to keep track of…Italian, French, English, Islamic, Orthodox, Egyptian…etc and I’m sure I will be seeing Heliopolis style when I go to celebrate Eid with a family this weekend.

Fun fact: According to Lonely Planet, a published survey says that the highest rate of depression in 2000 in Egypt was among architects.