Azhar Park

This is a beautiful park on a hill above Cairo. It is actually the biggest park in Cairo, but smaller than most of the parks that I am used to in Rochester we walked our dogs. It affords views of a number of mosques, the skyline of Cairo, the cliffs of Moqatam (where they carved a lot of the stone for the pyramids) and on a clear day, like yesterday, we could actually see the Pyramids.

On our way out, I had a hilarious thing happen to me. There was some folklore show going on right in front of the gate, and a bunch of Egyptians were crowded around it, so naturally we went and took a look. It was mix of dancing and comedy sketches about the time of the sultans in Egypt. All of a sudden, the MC came over to me when he noticed that there were foreigners in the crowd (we were the only ones) and gave me a hearty kiss on the cheek. Then two minutes later, he dragged me out of my spot in the crowd into the show, and I found myself in the middle of a competition for his "daughter" adorned with a rifle, a robe, and a tall hat. This went on for a good ten minutes, and in the end, I made it out a live to a large applause and new fame, with a free papyrus from the group, with the name of the group (which was lead by Hassaan - the guy who kissed me), and a slogan that says "We want peace for Egypt and all of the world." Sweet.

The Muqatam Cliffs

Can you spot the pyramids? (to the right of the minaret)

Standing with the suitable bachelors..

This is the last two minutes of it...

sha3bee

Egyptians have a problem with pronouncing "p's" because it doesn't exist in the alphabet. So it's called "Bing-bong." Aywa, uhib bing bong. So far I have met a bunch of Egyptian dudes in different groups, either through David, or through people at school, who from there invite you to hang out with their group of friends. For the most part, they are incredibly generous, like not letting me pay for a thing, giving me a bed to crash, or driving me home so I don't have to take a cab. It is part of their culture to be hospitable, and they are enthralled to have a western friend, or one from America. These days they all want to know about Obama, and are happy that he has Muslim blood in him and are optimistic about the renewal of America's image. Probably the biggest difference in how we hang out is the complete lack of females and alcohol in where we are. To be fair, these guys are not part of the crust of the rich baller Egyptians who are going to nightclubs or parties on Nile boats, but part of the "shah'bee" culture - which means folk,  or popular - where the norm is to play ping-pong, and go to cafe's to smoke shisha and play backgammon and dominoes day in day out. 

Keeping the funk

Part of me has to keep the music going in some way or another. Once a term, each class has to put on a presentation during the assembly that is once every other week. Since I am currently directing and practicing Oliver Twist with my class, I decided to have them, do a couple of Oliver Twist songs. "Oliver Twist, with a Twist." Enjoy the rap, and the dirty beat I drop to "Consider yourself."

I've also found ways to get to see some live music. I went to see a Mohamed Mounir concert a couple weekends back. He is one of the most famous Egyptian singers, very genuine Egyptian, and loved and known by all. One of the teachers at school had extra tickets, so I took one. Although the teachers who originally were going to take me couldn't go, I went anyway, by myself. It was in the middle of the desert on the GUC (German University in Cairo) campus, and I had no way to get back. I found myself swept up thick into the middle of the crowd with a bunch of Libyans who had driven 14 hours to get there, enunciating the song lyrics in my ear, and exhaulted by the fact that I was rocking out with them. I ended up getting connected with a brother of one of the teacher's who was there, and drove around with him and his friends until 3 in the morning, playing ping pong, eating dank food, and learning effective and useful curse words.

This week it is Cairo jazz festival. The opening night was in Manial Palace, and I went with David and an Egyptian friend because there was some Norwegian group playing. It was a really cool outdoor concert behind a grove of palm trees. It was put on by a number of European embassies as an effort to bridge cultures by performing in a language that everyone can understand. This one cuban band brought on a bunch of Nubian drummers at one point, and amongst the high-rolling diplomats, palm-trees, and afro-cuban fused with Nubian rhythms, the point seemed to be made.

It turns out that today, the school is having a field trip to another show that is part of the Jazz festival, at another palace on an island in the Nile. Who knows if the kids will appreciate it, but I will.

walks

Every Saturday, I try to find a new place to explore in Cairo. Now that I have a camera, I can take a lot more pictures.

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In the Coptic section of Cairo. St. George slaying a dragon. 

From the Catholic cemetary

My Subway stop. Helmiyat el Zeitun

A Roman tower built in 200AD ish. The Nile used to sweep up against this tower.

This bike is leaning against a Mosque that was built in the 14th century. 

This is taken from a park in Cairo (one of the few). I really enjoyed watching these pigeons take off and fly circles around a mosque, among the dissonance of prayers, traffic sounds, and arabic music coming from the nearby cafe.

Me.