Pictures

                                                      Can you spot the pyramids?

                                                 Three great pyramids, and a few little ones

                                                          A pyramid!? Its gigantic up close

                                                  Not an accident, typical traffic jam

                                                         

                                                             Small town of Siwa

                                          Outside Library of Alexandria, no cameras inside

                                                                     Sphinx

                                                              An Oasis in the desert

                                                             Me and Janna out in the desert

                                                        Old buildings built into the mountain

Egypt Trip

Once getting back from Jordan it didn’t take me long to start planning another trip overseas.  The planning of this trip was so that way I can continue learning Arabic from native speakers, experience more culture, and visit a friend.  So in mid-March (during my spring break) I was able to spend twelve days in Egypt.  My first time to visit Africa was a good experience and I was able to visit three different cities in Egypt which all had unique different experiences.    

            The first city I did visit is the capital of Egypt.  From what I have experienced the Middle East does have bad traffic but Egypt in general is the worst place I have been.  While in Cairo the second day Janna and I did make it over to Coptic Cairo.  This neighborhood is where there are many different churches and this is because of the population of Coptic Christians in Egypt.  This area was neat because the fact that there are churches that are next to mosques.  We did walk around and get to see quite a few different churches, memorials, and a grave yard.  The second day in the Cairo area we did hire a taxi to take us out to the area known as Giza.  This is where the three big periods that most people visit while in Egypt.  In fact there are twelve pyramids in this region but the three big pyramids were gigantic.  When I was up close to the pyramid looking up it didn’t even seem like that the structure was even a pyramid because of its height.  Around these pyramids we did ride camels which were nice because it did mean we were not haggled by people trying to sell stuff every other minute.  The Sphinx is also right next to the pyramids, but also the city itself is not far from the pyramids either.  Right across from the Sphinx there was a pizza hut and other buildings so it was neat to see the contrast of old and new right next to each other.  The next day in Cairo we did visit the National Museum of Egypt.  In this museum we were able to see a lot of stuff from Ancient Egypt.  Some items found in the museum were on King Tut, many different mummies, and even mummified animals.  The animal part was pretty neat because it did show the various animals that were found in Ancient Egypt.  In Cairo I was also able to see the Nile River which is quite neat.  Plus also to see Tahrir Square was a neat experience.  For those who are not aware this is where the main protests happened a year ago in order to get rid of Hosni Mubarak.  While I was in Egypt there was still a feeling of unrest and in Tahrir Square I did see people camping out and forming protest.  Even these last couple of days there has protests because of the upcoming presidential elections. 

            The next city I did visit was the coastal city of Alexandria.  Up in Alexandria the Mediterranean Sea is the body of water that does create the coastal city.  We were able to Scuba dive the Mediterranean Sea and more specifically we dove the old lighthouse of Alexandria.  The lighthouse used to be a seven wonder of the world until it was destroyed.  While under water with the guide we were able to see and imagine how the lighthouse used to look.  The water was cold but overall neat to see another wonder of the world.  I was able to go to the Library of Alexandria one afternoon.  The library does have various exhibits on art and history of Egypt and more specifically Alexandria.  Of course there were many, many, many books at the library.  It was the most books I have ever seen in one building.  The Library of Alexandria didn’t just have tourist, but there were many people studying and doing research.  Besides these two big tourist type events I did spend a lot of my time in Alexandria walking around watching the locals.  While Janna was in class during the daytime I did spend the time walking around interacting with the locals.  This is where I was able to use my Arabic which at times was interesting.  This is because that the Egyptian dialect is different from the Jordanian dialect.  One of my first days there I had Janna teach me the basic differences between the Jordanian and Egyptian dialect.  So while exploring Alex (this is what the locals call the place) I was able to practice my Arabic. 

            The next city we did visit is a city by the name of Siwa.  This small town in Egypt is located on the Western side of the country and is real close to the Libyan border.  This was our destination because it is an oasis in the desert with water and palm trees all around.  This town is very conservative and does have a small town feel to it.  To get to Siwa we took a night bus that left Alex and after a few stops throughout the night we did make it to Siwa in the morning.  We were able to take a tour out into the desert in a four wheel drive vehicle.  This tour and part of the desert is what people imagine the deserts in Egypt to look like: rolling sand dunes and not much life.  While out in the desert we did come across a few different water springs (both hot and cold).   Also we did come across a lake where flamingoes and other birds do migrate to during the migration season.  The flamingoes weren’t there when we were but it was still neat to see some nature that is hardly touched.  Another day in Siwa we were able to walk around and see the old buildings that we constructed into a mountain out of palm trees and very basic materials.  The best part of Siwa was the quietness because the fact that there wasn’t traffic.  The average citizen in Siwa was able to get to places because of the cart with a donkey driving it.  Even with Siwa being such a small town there are supposed to be buses every night headed to Cairo.  My original plan was to take this the last night in Egypt and catch an afternoon flight out of Cairo the next day.  Well the bus never showed up because either the bus was sick or the driver was sick (it was in Arabic, I heard one thing while Janna heard the other).  Either way there was no bus so we took the night bus back to Alex and was hoping to get a morning train to Cairo so that way I could still make my flight.  In the end it didn’t work out as planned and I spent an extra evening in Cairo. 

            After being in both Jordan and Egypt, both places have been good experiences in the last half a year.  Currently I don’t have any plans to make it back to the Middle East, but instead will be making some trips domestically.  Any chance I do get to make it back I will jump on because the fact that my Arabic still needs work and any chance to learn more culture will be good experiences.