First of all, this family is awesome. Sarah and her parents are some of the most hospitable people--taking all 20 of us into their apartment for dinner, letting us use the phone to call home and say hi to our moms, and entertaining us the whole evening. It extends even further.
After a trip to a shopping mall in Cairo for gifts (the biggest mall I think I've ever seen), we drove out to the Iskander's beach house on the Red Sea. They put us all up for the night, fed us in the morning, and let us use all their beach toys for our beach day the next day. Super great family. We enjoyed more swimming and beach volleyball (it never gets old) and an amazing seafood lunch. We heard from two of Sarah's uncles, both of whom are pastors, about Islam and Christianity in the Middle East, and about Christian Zionism and the obstacles it presents in the Middle East. Fascinating talks. Josie and Sarah's family made us all dinner again, as we tried to catch her little dog Mocha (who was terrified of all of us).
The end of the evening was a somewhat sober note: I viewed the documentary "Arna's Children"--which was directed by Juliano, the director of Jenin Freedom Theatre recently shot and killed. First of all, it was sad to see because of recent events. And second of all, it followed the theatre kids through the Second Intifada, where most of them died trying to fight the occupation. It was glimpse into the lives of children growing up in occupied refugee camps, and a reminder that there is still much work to be done in Israel.
A five AM wake-up jolted us out of bed the next morning, as we headed onto the bus. Destination: border crossing and ferry to Jordan. Goodbye Egypt, I hope to return someday soon!
Showing posts with label EGYPT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EGYPT. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Giza Pyramids
Giza is to Cairo as Goleta is to Santa Barbara. According to Westmont's policies, we weren't allowed to enter downtown Cairo because of safety concerns. But Westmont didn't know we could basically see the buildings of downtown Cairo from our location in Giza. Oh well. Giza felt about as safe as LA--which means that you always run the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there was nothing perpetuating a more violent society here than at big cities at home.
Our morning climb was rewarded with a delicious steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetable dinner and then a treat for our ears: hearing from one of the leaders of the Revolution! We listened to him speak about the planning and motivations for the Egyptian Revolution, which was led by a youth movement. Originally, they had just planned a protest in the streets. But as police violence increased, the revolutionaries realized they should ask for more rights and eventually, the removal of Mubarak as President. The Egyptian Revolution is noteworthy because it took place so fast--Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, and other places are still having street protests but no real results yet. Egypt's massive protests were successful in turing the tide for the Egyptian people. We also heard about how this is a decisive point for Egypt's future--if the wrong people come into power in the upcoming elections, it could be bad. That's why people are hopeful in the youth movement, because the youth tend to be less religiously-motivated and more socially and economically motivated. All in all, it was a fascinating talk.
After a night in the 5-star Grand Pyramids Hotel (I could see the pyramids from my room), and the best breakfast we had had in a long time the next morning, it was off to the Giza Pyramids! A dream come true for most of us, we took a billion photos and marveled at the HUGE size of the pyramids. We got to go inside one of the smaller ones, which was neat (and really stuffy). And we had a great group photo shoot with the three larger Giza pyramids and the city of Cairo in the backdrop. We also visited the Sphynx, which was super interesting. That's where we took our Freebirds photo. Look for us on the wall this summer!
Wrapping up our awesome day in Giza, we headed to the Iskander's apartment for dinner.
Our morning climb was rewarded with a delicious steak, mashed potatoes, and vegetable dinner and then a treat for our ears: hearing from one of the leaders of the Revolution! We listened to him speak about the planning and motivations for the Egyptian Revolution, which was led by a youth movement. Originally, they had just planned a protest in the streets. But as police violence increased, the revolutionaries realized they should ask for more rights and eventually, the removal of Mubarak as President. The Egyptian Revolution is noteworthy because it took place so fast--Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, and other places are still having street protests but no real results yet. Egypt's massive protests were successful in turing the tide for the Egyptian people. We also heard about how this is a decisive point for Egypt's future--if the wrong people come into power in the upcoming elections, it could be bad. That's why people are hopeful in the youth movement, because the youth tend to be less religiously-motivated and more socially and economically motivated. All in all, it was a fascinating talk.
After a night in the 5-star Grand Pyramids Hotel (I could see the pyramids from my room), and the best breakfast we had had in a long time the next morning, it was off to the Giza Pyramids! A dream come true for most of us, we took a billion photos and marveled at the HUGE size of the pyramids. We got to go inside one of the smaller ones, which was neat (and really stuffy). And we had a great group photo shoot with the three larger Giza pyramids and the city of Cairo in the backdrop. We also visited the Sphynx, which was super interesting. That's where we took our Freebirds photo. Look for us on the wall this summer!
Wrapping up our awesome day in Giza, we headed to the Iskander's apartment for dinner.
Egypt: We made it!
After months of debating whether or not Westmont would let us go to Egpyt because of the Revolution and perceived violence, we were ecstatic when we went through that border crosser. We finally made it! Driving through the Saini to Dahab, we got our first glimpses of Sarah's country--bright blue Red Sea on one side, huge rocky reddish brown mountains jutting up on the other. Once we arrived in Dahab, a small beachy resort town, we had an awesome Middle Eastern style dinner, on rugs on the floor perched on the edge of the sea. Our Octopus Hotel in Dahab left some things to be desired...like maybe no cockroaches next time, or air conditioning that doesn't sound like a Storm Trooper invading our room, or fresh water instead of salt water for the sink and showers. But nothing could bring us down, we were in Egypt!
Our first day was another amazing beach day at a nearby resort. Swimming, beach volleyball, I even tried wake-boarding...the weather was hot and the water was perfect and clear. It was like a vacation in Hawaii, except everything was cheaper and you said "shokran" instead of "mahalo" to thank people. We stayed all day on the beach and then headed back to our rooms for about three hours of sleep.
12:30 GET UP! It's time to hike Mount Saini! Onto the bus, trying to fall back asleep, then off the bus again and into the cold. It's 3:00 AM, time to start the hike. We follow our Bedouin guide, stumbling in the dark up, up, up. Scrambling over loose rocks and sliding on sand, trudging past huge black rocks--oh wait, those are sleeping camels. Higher and higher we go, and finally at about 4:15 we reach the last section of the climb: the dreaded stairs. Flashbacks of the difficult Masada climb whip through my brain as me and Reyn push ourselves up 700-something stairs, not letting each other fall behind. Around 5:00, totally out of breath and swearing to tell Coach Larralde about this when he claims I didn't work out on my semester abroad, we are rewarded with a gorgeous view of the sunrise and surrounding mountaintops and valleys. Group photo time. We read about Moses and the Ten Commandments, given atop this holy mountain thousands of years ago, drinking Bedouin tea and trying not to freeze in the cool morning sun. Another hour or so of stairs down the mountain, and we reach St. Catherine's monestary, a historic old place where we eat breakfast. Then it's a six-hour bus ride to Cairo--I mean Giza.
Our first day was another amazing beach day at a nearby resort. Swimming, beach volleyball, I even tried wake-boarding...the weather was hot and the water was perfect and clear. It was like a vacation in Hawaii, except everything was cheaper and you said "shokran" instead of "mahalo" to thank people. We stayed all day on the beach and then headed back to our rooms for about three hours of sleep.
12:30 GET UP! It's time to hike Mount Saini! Onto the bus, trying to fall back asleep, then off the bus again and into the cold. It's 3:00 AM, time to start the hike. We follow our Bedouin guide, stumbling in the dark up, up, up. Scrambling over loose rocks and sliding on sand, trudging past huge black rocks--oh wait, those are sleeping camels. Higher and higher we go, and finally at about 4:15 we reach the last section of the climb: the dreaded stairs. Flashbacks of the difficult Masada climb whip through my brain as me and Reyn push ourselves up 700-something stairs, not letting each other fall behind. Around 5:00, totally out of breath and swearing to tell Coach Larralde about this when he claims I didn't work out on my semester abroad, we are rewarded with a gorgeous view of the sunrise and surrounding mountaintops and valleys. Group photo time. We read about Moses and the Ten Commandments, given atop this holy mountain thousands of years ago, drinking Bedouin tea and trying not to freeze in the cool morning sun. Another hour or so of stairs down the mountain, and we reach St. Catherine's monestary, a historic old place where we eat breakfast. Then it's a six-hour bus ride to Cairo--I mean Giza.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Egypt
Pyramids! So excited! I'll have to take a picture with a FREEB!RDS sign and try to get my photo put up in the restaurant.
April 20-22: Dehab
April 22-23: Cairo. And the pyramids!
Then back to Jordan.
April 20-22: Dehab
April 22-23: Cairo. And the pyramids!
Then back to Jordan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)