in Limbo

So the last day of school was a pool party J.W. Marriot, and it was actually the first day that I missed the bus (probably had something to do with me leaving my phone in the kitchen and hitting my bed so hard at 3 in the morning after seeing some good friends that I forgot to set the alarm) though it worked out fine because I could take a taxi straight to the hotel. This was on June 4th, and Obama was giving a  landmark-image changing speech that really made me proud to be an American. That night I flew off to JFK and then Detroit. 

In Detroit I was one of the first family members to get there for the reunion we were having for Tean (my Godmother and mom's aunt). Even though she passed away in March in Philadelphia, it was a "funeral" service in June in the Cranbrook church, so that her brother Jock, Gramps did not have to travel too far. It was nice seeing family members that I have never met, and some that I have seen on the lesser side of fingers on my hand, but the best part was seeing my immediate family and the cousins, Geoff and Kristen. 

The day before the funeral, we went to the Detroit Zoo, it was a good reentry back into America. The polar bears were by far the coolest thing to see, but we did a pretty comprehensive tour of the whole zoo. The inordinate amount of pork products and true american consumption of steak began...

Late on Sunday I got back to Rochester, literally sleeping in my own bed, home, for four nights. It was strange with Rudi gone, Tira older, an enormous house that needs filling, but it was good to see Kevin (and jam), Ana, Brooke, Hal and Abby, get in a chess and scrabble game, and work out at the Karate school.

And then just like that the next adventure started. I landed in Boston and was found by my sister downtown.  

This is where she works. 

A dinner at Maurice's (my grand uncle's), and then the fung wa bus over to New York. 

New York will never change, but I felt like the kid in Jungle 2 Jungle "Your city is so big baboon" - on Saturday we hung out with Brads, and then a bunch of us rolled deep to all you can eat/drink sushi 40$ for 2 hours. We spent the next day nursing Sake bomb hang overs in a beer garden where there was a Gymnastics event, and Jeremy and Talia came in from Westchester to meet with Tyler, Mason, Chris, and I. Saw Hangover (funniest movie of the year). Max came back. Went on morning runs with him through New York, then back to boston to meet up with Matt and Jeremy, jammed with Eli and Ben, and here I am. Sitting in my boxers on my sister's couch about to get the ball rolling for the bus to downtown boston, meet for lunch, and then take the evening flight to London and wake up there in the morning. 

A ridiculous night

It was just one of those epic nights that showed that a little bit of bullshit and pushiness goes a long way. It was one of the last nights of my friend Samy, so we hatched a ridiculous plot to get into a Dj Geutta Concert on Thursday night at the four seasons hotel in Cairo. There were five of us. 

As I was wearing a tie and fly shoes, I posed as the manager, Cameron David Gallo (I had a business card), Samy was Dj Samy Y - he had just signed on to Virgin Records and was doing most of the talking, Sean was Samy's best friend, Anna was the agent, and Ali was the driver/body guard - he was wearing one of my wrap around ipod headphones... 

We pulled up in Ali's car, he drives an Audi with diplomatic plates, and it's game time. As the manager I am wearing sunglasses, chewing gum viciously, and giving off big-swinging-dick-not-going-to-take-your-shit vibe. A lot of people are outside, but a couple of police officers immediately push them out of the way. Immediately budging up to the front of the line where there were about 4 huge bouncers, I drop a line to them like this. 

"We're on the guest list, our tickets should be here, party of five." Heavily giving the bouncers the impression that I belonged inside and they were failing at their job by not letting me in... 

This brings out one of the concert managers... "Hi, my name is Carmen David Gallo, I'm the manager of Dj Samy Y, we're with the label, we landed from New York tonight, I was told that our tickets would be at the door."

Her response: "I checked the guest list this morning, it's overbooked, I didn't see your name on it... wait who are you with?"

Me: Virgin

Her: Virgin megastores?

Me: No, Virgin records, I'm the manager for Dj. Samy Y (Samy's arms are crossed and he looks cold), he just signed on the label. I was told that if there were any issues I should speak with Mr. Mataran, go check the list again, we will wait here." 

Mr. Mataran was apparently the name to drop - he was the CO of this concert. If she was calling my bluff, she failed. So this got us passed the line of bouncers which were holding back the crowds while she returned inside. 

At this point, Anna is yapping to someone on her blackberry about how the flight was late and there was no one to pick us up at the airport, Ali shows up from having parked the car (he's wearing the earphone so the bouncers let him right in. Then Sean starts flipping out in a loud angry American voice. 

"Look dude, we've been traveling for NINE FUCKING hours, this is BULL SHIT! Dj Samy Y is in the fuckin HOUSE" 

I turn to him to calm him down. Then I turn to another guy who is checking tickets. 

"Look, it's been a long flight, my friend feels very uncomfortable being outside here, our tickets are on the way, can we just wait inside?"

Him: "You still have to go through two checkpoints."

Me: "Not my problem. We're on the list. Our tickets are coming."

At this point he leads us up inside the four seasons. We walk through the metal detector, setting it off, and then I head straight to the VIP table. I nod towards the guy who brought us through. 

"We're with the label, we're on the list."

And as easy as that we have our wristbands and a free pass to an 800 pound section. And it actually was a great show. 

Dj Geutta

From our section

Korba Festival

This weekend there was a festival going on in my neighborhood, so I went to check it out. It was in a part of town that already has a European feel, with wide avenues, arabesque architecture, and upscale shops and restaurants, and with this festival it felt like an escape from Egypt. Just because we could, we stopped at one of the restaurants that had tables set up outside and ordered beers. For Egypt, beers on the street is rare if not unheard of. 

To top it off for feeling like Americans, Josh got a burger. 

The theme of the festival was Peace, and there were a bunch of stands from different countries -with ethnic specialties, like the Belgians selling chocolates, or one from Indonesia where David and I got some cho pao. On both ends of the closed off street there was a stage, with bands from around the world playing all day, and by night, the area was totally packed with an Egyptian band rocking it hard. Music and supporting human rights. I dig it. 

During the day, lots of people were drawing with chalk. This actually happens here every Friday.

It was a great reminder of the many faces of Egypt, and very refreshing to see a successful show put on advocating for the common good.

Zar Music

I saw a great live show the other night. It was traditional Egyptian music known as Zar music. It was in a place called Makan (place), one of those cool venues with excellent acoustics. Upstairs loft looking down over the stage, and pillows wrapped around the stage for sitting, then stools, then chairs and tables. The music was pre-Islamic trance music that was used in healing rituals of drumming and dancing, that some sheikhs have condemned as decidedly un-Islamic, but that any type of music (especially this) is distracting from God couldn't be further from the truth. Some of the songs would start slowly with just female singing, or accompanied by a flute, and build up into the most ridiculous poly-rhythms getting faster and faster. The band we saw was one of the few groups continuing the musical tradition of Zar, as in all of Egypt there are only around 25 people who continue to practice this knowledge and tradition. 

Field Trip to Fatimid Cairo

(A GVS bus in the Fatimid neighborhood)

As a break from school - both for the teachers and the kids - we took a field trip to Fatimid Cairo to see Islamic architecture in mosques and old famous houses turned museums. This is one of the areas that has been part of an enormous clean up projects of historical landmarks in Cairo, as cars and trash find themselves getting appropriately kept outside of the fortress walls. It is one of the best "outdoor museums" that I have seen. The Fatimids, who were descendants from Prophet Mohamed's daughter occupied Cairo from 969 to 1171, and were actually responsible for giving Cairo it's name (the Victorious) from Al-Mansurriya.

 Walking passed a gate built in the 11th century, Bab al-Nasr (Victory Door), and entering Bab Futuh (Conquest D00r), we headed in to the old medieval area of Cairo. I had actually been here a couple times, and knew my way around more than the other two teachers on the trip, but with the children it was totally different. At one point we had some teenagers following us and harassing the children, so I happily told them off in Arabic (gaining popularity points with the kids). What was upsetting though was the general lack of respect that my kids had for the mosques. Instead of standing back and having reverence for what we were looking at, the fun thing to do was to rush into the Mihrab which houses the Qibla  (the part of the mosque that points towards Mecca) and see how many people could fit in it to take a picture. At one point, some of the kids were playing tag around the pillars, or sitting exactly how one of the men was who was relaxing in the mosque... and these children are Egypt's future.  

The old Mihrab in the Mosque of Al-Hakim completed in 1012 ad. 

The courtyard of Al-Hakim 

The entrance to Aqmar mosque (moonlit mosque) 1125. I had actually been in this mosque before and climbed up the minaret in the fall. It was cool to look at it closer and see some of the decorative adornment, like the "Star of David," predating the Jewish adoption of the star as it was a symbol just as much in Islamic architecture as Solomon is also a prophet in Islam. 

This room was inside a cool palace house called Bet el Suhaymi. There were numerous rooms with beautiful architecture, stained glass windows, a calm courtyard, and unique lattice work (mushraba) on the outside. It was a great example of Islamic architecture.  

Parents in town

It still hasn't quite sunk in that my parents came to Cairo.. in a way, it's been one unreal thing after another, but it was amazing to see them, and to show them my life here in Cairo. They actually arrived when I was in Turkey, but then headed down to Luxor to "do" pharonic Egypt. Seeing them touristed out it was my pleasure to give them the more genuine side of Egyptian life. Last Thursday, they both came to school with me. As my class had been studying poetry, this was a great way to talk up my mom as the "published poet/teacher," but her being my mom was enough for the kids, and they were attentively listening from start to finish. One of the children even said to me "Mr. Christophe I have an idea, you can go home, and your mom can stay here!" 

Aside from the school, I tried to show them as much of Cairo as possible, and we did long walks through Islamic Cairo, walking up Bab Zuwayla, one of the cool old medieval gates in the fatimid part of town (circa 11th and 12th century). It afforded views of almost a hundred minarets, and looking out onto the old crooked streets. My parents are excellent travelers, happy to walk through dirty poor parts of town, and comfortable enough in fitting in pretty much anywhere, and it was great to walk through un-touristy parts, with still amazing mosque views and old architecture. We got a fun day at the pyramids in, ending with a sunset ride. Another good day of lazily floating on a felluca. Like my dad, I took a nap. 

Turkey

Taking off for a five day trip to Turkey from the 15th to the 20th on my Easter break was a continuation of enchanting escapes out of Cairo. After a mad-dash through the second round at Mogomma, and a quick passport page addition (I had run out of space) at the embassy, I hopped on a plane and landed in Istanbul in the evening. Michaela was waiting for me at the baggage reclaim, and Ifkan, Omer's driver was waiting for us after customs. It was my second time to stay with Omer, my uncle's best friend, and his hospitality is ever present. Staying at "hotel Omer" meant having a place about 45 minutes from downtown Istanbul in a forest on a golf course, fresh breakfasts (lots of good coffee and freshly squeezed orange juices), being taken out to a fish restaurant, and a 2008 Citroen. Coming from Cairo, where I have most definitely seen the craziest driving in the world, driving around Istanbul and Turkey was pretty tame, and it was a great way to get around this incredible country. 

We were in Istanbul for two full days, took off on the 7 am ferry boat across the sea of Marmara to Bandirma, drove to Assos on the Agean sea, came back on the next day at 930 pm, had another day in Istanbul and then left at night. In all waaayy too short, but definitely planting seeds for coming back to Turkey. Very few Turks spoke English, especially outside of Istanbul, and it was so fun going through the guidebook finding phrases or figuring out how to order in restaurants. Nevertheless, everyone who we met was incredibly friendly and helpful, but Turkish really is an impossible language, though a couple words from arabic are the same. From what we saw, both in Istanbul, and on the 3 and a half hour drive through the Dardanelles to the Aegean sea, Istanbul was strikingly European (for my Egyptified eyes) with the Islamic flair. The Aegean region was essentially Tuscany, winding roads in rolling hills with olive trees and sheep, small orange and red roofed towns situated in the lush green, the only difference really was the mosque in the center of the town. 

Some highlights: 

Istanbul au printemps.. walking through a beautiful tulip garden below the enormous topkapi palace. Somehow the tour busses don't make this stop, and the park is better for it. 

The Blue Mosque, one of the only mosques with six minarets. Great to hear prayer coming from it during the noon prayer. 

The Qibla in Haghia Sophia, pointing towards Mecca. This mosque/church was sweet, built in 500 something, huge arabic letters referring to parts of the Quran, mosaics of jesus under the same roof. 

The whole drive up the coast was absolutely amazing, we drove from a port town looking out at the Sea of Marmara (which is part of the Bosporus sea route) and then headed more South. On the way we passed by Troy, which really just had some ruins and a reconstructed horse, and then made our way through this Tuscan like region to this view. Looking out onto the island of Lesbos from the town of Assos. This is a town where Aristotle lived for a short while. 

Everything about this town was amazing from dipping in the sea, eating the sticky honey things they sell, breathing in the tourist-free/non-resorty breeze, eating great fish/sticky honey like things, relaxing.. I am absolutely coming back. 

Smoking shisha and playing backgammon with Michaela.. Peacefully enjoying cafés, and sometimes hearing different music, sometimes traditionally, sometimes popular. One night we heard a solo guitarist playing turkish popular songs until he did a thrilling version in turkish of "I will survive."

rites of passage

So after a somewhat fruitless attempt at getting all my stuff done at Mogomma, I realized I had just gone through a very important Egyptian rite of passage; wasting time in the depths of Egyptian bureaucracy. No English, photo copy this here, get a passport sized photo of yourself there, pay at window number 1, and then window number 43, sign this, no you may not write in red pen, and oh, now it is 1 pm, and it is too late so come back tomorrow. The imposing, communist looking building sits right on Tahrir Square, looking out at the Egyptian museum right downtown. In a way though, everyone needs to go through this, and I'm not too put off by taking another day off from school before I fly out to Istanbul. 

This weekend for whatever reason I got in club mode. I hadn't really gone "clubbing" in Cairo, and on Friday night, it consisted of waiting outside of one place because some people were wearing sneakers, and not getting in to another one because not everyone had their ID on them. Thank you very much, I wont be back. I much prefer my favorite shabby watering holes, or the coffee shops playing dominos and smoking shisha with the locals. 

Field trip to the Sinai

As much as some days in the class room can be absolutely draining and disheartening, the field trip with my class to the Sinai Peninsula seemed to wash away all worries, and make it completely worth it. Not only were the kids actually actively engaged with the program, but they got to see a relaxed, inspired teacher side of me that is rare in the classroom, and together we were in a beautiful place in the world, rich with educational opportunities. It was unique in many ways; we were staying in an ecolodge, no electricity, little running water, ran by bedouins in the largest (of seven) protectorate in Sinai.  

[view of the Al-Karm Ecolodge in the Gharaba Valley, Sheikh Awad area]

The field trip was ran by WESC (an educational program that organizes environmentally conscious programs), so we had three "leaders" who took us around various activities. I felt like a kid doing some of these activities. Upon arrival we went on a hike through a canyon, looking and observing rocks. The following day, we met with a doctor from the valley, or in Arabic a Hakim, meaning someone wise, who explained to us the uses of the plants of the valley for medicinal purposes. It was a treat to be with him as he told stories about trial and error in understanding the uses and power of the plants, and it spoke to the Bedouin mentality of resourcefulness and surviving on the bare minimum. Each plant had it's own purpose, from treating asthma, to illness, to helping people with diabetes who are injured, to curing lethal snake bites. At one point one of the children stepped on a hose that was leading to the ecolodge from one of the wells, causing a leak, and Doctor Ahmed went off and found a plastic bag, and a something to tie it with, fixing it on the spot. 

[Doctor Ahmed, explaining about "Batharan" or "Sheeh Baladi," a plant good for Diaherra]

We also had activities making soap with a plant called Agram, learning about rocks and minerals and doing tests on them, going on a fauna trail - learning about the living creatures in the desert, a history trail - learning about the Nabatean people, and a long hike. Not to mention camel riding (where I raced on a camel), and a fortuity of a retired british man to be staying at the ecolodge as well with his 8 inch aperture digital telescope (the most high-tech telescope on the market) and the chance to check out the rings of Saturn and the craters of the moon. 

At times, it was a bit bothersome to see trash from our group, and hear the constant response from every student "it's not mine." Or when four children took the wrong turn on the way back, and got lost for about an hour. Most of all, when we were doing some activities, bedouin kids would attentively watch us, and the GVS students would shrug them off, be rude to them, or be too afraid to interact. This is an upsetting reality of rich spoiled kids who are uncomfortable of stepping out of their class. 

Bedouin women selling their wares outside the Ecolodge

I like this kid's taste. He's drinking Fanta. However, here it's saddening. A new trend of goods coming into Bedouin life when it use to be all disposable, sustainable items. 

Ruins from the history trail. This is the Nabatean village, one of the few landmarks left over from their history, one of the more famous ones being Petra. The Nabateans were a powerful people who controlled the trade routes across the Middle East, to China, from 300 - 0 bc, with a secretive ways, and completely disappeared leaving little trace. They were fearful of the Romans, who wanted to kill the Nabateans for what they saw as an unfair trade tax upon them. 

World Cup Qualifier

4$ tickets to go see an Egypt v. Zambia qualifying match for the World Cup? Why not. I realized on my way to the match that I had no idea where exactly in Africa Zambia was, other than it wasn't in the North, probably in the East we concluded.. We got to the stadium about 2 and 1/2 hours before the match started, which gave me ample time to grade quizzes, soak in the scene, get an Egyptian flag painted on my face, and decline the multitude of junk that coming by for sale for "Egyptian brice."  The match was decent, Egypt was by far the better team, and played well in the first half with a solid goal, but then let up a little in the second only to let a lucky header in from Zambia to tie the match. The angst and priceless crowd reactions continued until the end. The stadium was about 100,000 capacity, and was basically filled. It was fun doing the wave as it went around, and the stadium went nuts after the first goal. 

After the first goal.

The cheers were also pretty easy to follow. Clap clap clap clap, musri! (Egypt!)

Opa ee... opa ah... inshallah haneksib (we will win God-Willing)

These dudes were wearing one-piece suits that were in all different colors. This was the military section. We saw them get trucked in. Go figure. 

Taking a pause from grading quizzes to take a picture.. 

friday noon anecdote

I realized it as soon as I stepped foot out of my apartment on the way to pick up some ta'mayya sandwiches. The prayer was going off and it was noon on friday.  Although prayers go off five times a day, the Friday prayer at noon, the Ju'muah is obligatory for all men to perform. It had slipped my mind, that absolutely everything is closed during this time. As an outsider, it is incredible to witness the sense of community that comes about from this; every male leaves his apartment, and prays together in the mosque, or in the street. Blocks upon blocks are filled with lines of people listening to the sermon. As a whole, the aSalaam alaykum's (peace be with you) have a wonderful purpose, and the prayer is an excellent bind to keep oneself on the right track. 

Sports Day

Today was Sports Day at the school and I have a sunburnt face. In all, it was a wonderful break from the classroom. Especially because my students have become completely unmanageable when they do not feel like being taught (most of the time), so this was a good chance to enjoy some good competitions with them. It was a bit like being a counselor back in camp, but then add the "Mr. that's not fair" attitude, which happened in about half of the games, and most definitely stems from a student's/this age group's constant need to push against authority. Nevertheless, the tears (after winning a relay and being told by the judge that we came in 2nd), the injuries (one boy badly sprained his wrist after the long jump), and the enthusiasm for having fun outdoors were all there, with the chance to view teachers as something other than menacing sources of supremacy. For the school, image is particularly important, hence why we missed almost 4 periods of class two days before just to "rehearse" for sports day, the location of the event in a lush club, practice time and stress on the cheers and "sports day song" (a version of "we are the champions") and a slew of emails and emphasis on sports day procedure. I guess it makes sense, this is the school's one big day with all of the grades. 

Each grade, 1 through 6, is divided into four houses, Red Indians, Blue Vikings, Green Pharoahs, and Yellow Aztecs. For primary six, we competed in a relay race, a balance race, an obstacle course, the long jump, soccer, baseball, a zig-zag race, and a sprint. I was the leader for the blue vikings. 

Mohamed, the last photo evidence of him in good condition before he landed on his wrist.. 

A surprise of everyone doing the warm-up exercise/also a sweet dance move (we do this every day for the morning lines, and I am usually the only one doing it for primary six, but in front of the parents the kids feel the need to perform..)

Teacher picture

Outside the club. If it weren't for technology it would be a harsh desert. This is exemplary of a trend of Cairo life, if you can afford to move out, you do. Up rise developments beyond developments, shopping malls, sports clubs (like this one), and the exclusion of Baladi (popular culture) life. 

Soon, more fun out of the classroom things are coming up. I will be going on a 4 night 5 day field trip to an ecolodge in the Sinai Peninsula with my class. I am excited/dreading it. 

My turf

It's always nice to have visitors, obviously for their company, but also because it throws a healthy splash of perspective on a city that one can view as their own. Drew flew in last week on Wednesday morning around quarter to three in the morning, and after picking him up and navigating my way from each of the three terminals. Two more hours of sleep, then off to school for me, and I sent him off with Hany to see the Egyptian museum, and then met up after school. Grabbed a quick beer at Horreya (my favorite cheap british expat bar), then headed off to the Islamic part of Cairo: Al-Azhar Mosque, al Azhar park, and a shisha in Khan Khalili (the place where there was the bombing - there is now a metal detector to go through to enter the area), and then went to this really cool sufi dancing concert. Great lively drumming and whirling dervishes. 

The next day, Drew came to school. It was hilarious. The children were all excited to see another American like myself, and they all called him Mr. Andrew. They were actually behaved for once. It was nice, and maybe they learned something.. 

The next day, we took off to the pyramids, rolling out of bed around 2 from a solid night before. Characteristic of Egyptian rules - or those that are in place to be broken such as "leave your camera at the door when you go inside pyramid," I brought my camera in the pyramid which lead to this epic shot.. 

Inside the coffin of the second pyramid.
The night then went on to see the dirtiest funk band probably to ever grace the Middle East, and definitely the best live music that I have seen yet in Cairo, at the Cairo Jazz club. 

The last day we checked out the 1973 war panorama. An enjoyable visit to a museum that was created by the North Koreans to show Egypt's might over Israel when they stormed across the Suez canal and decimated Israel. I love objective history.

Dahab

It was a pretty last minute decision really. I had enrolled in a six day night course, "the Art of Living" from the first to the sixth of March, which ended on a Friday night. The course itself was an out there hippy course centered around breathing, self-awareness, and meditation, and from it I gained much more relaxation, clarity of mind, and a much better appreciation for the "now" of things. So when Ceci told me she was going to Dahab until Monday, leaving Friday (an hour after the end of my course), I hopped on East Delta bus with her and her cousin and met up with three others. Thank you Prophet Mohamed for having a birthday going by the lunar schedule the surprises us with a four (rather than 3) day weekend. 

In the end, I only slept in Dahab one night, and stayed for two full days, (I left early with some others in our group, saving climbing Mount Sinai for another time) but I can full-heartedly say that Dahab is a place that I will absolutely come back to. The snorkeling yesterday at the blue hole was the coolest thing I have ever seen in the water, and scratching the tip of the iceberg of how much there is to see in these incredible reefs; 20 different types of colorful fish, the nooks and crannies of the reef, with fish darting around the holes, the precipice into the clear clear blue sea... 

I wrote a lot, here are some of my entries

"Dahab. The wind blowing from Saudi Arabia. Fog on the horizon. Yesterday we landed at 8 from a midnight bus ride. An immediate escape, backed by mountains, warm, strikingly clear waters. We biked South to a point, snorkeled at the blue lagoon. The teal blue rock with small bushes for darting striped fish, some sleeping by facing the strong current. A night of drunk promenades, snagged some ice cream on the way back after winning both games in pool (a surprise) before a pizza to end it. It's a place I know I will come back to. The chill vibes, the good people. A life of relaxation. For 30 pounds there is transport up to the blue hole, along with snorkeling gear. But I have to finish my coconut milkshake first." 

(The first thing I wrote)

"Written with a pen from Commerce bank

Kittens on my food, escape the Cairo stank

Saudi Arabia starin back at me

building broken glass from the Dahab Red Sea

Sinai in the future, moses in the past

Desert mountains part the sea, the present that will last

Whatever will? Let it be.

It's the music and the muses that will set us free.

Religion to confuse it,

Extremes to abuse it,

However you choose it,

There's always a way to lose it.

Positively, there's the heavy trodden path.

Good people and the life who are never looking back.

(at this point a dude who booked tours at our hotel came over, which prompted this..)

Ya momo, ente raggal kwayyis

Bil A3ribee, ente sau3bee mish rayyis.

Zahma kiteer fi'l Qahirah

Lakin fee Dahab, mafish mishkila

(hey Mohamed, you are a good man

in Arabic, you're my friend not the waiter

There's a lot of traffic in Cairo,

but in Dahab, there is no problem!)

Saudi Arabia on the Horizon

Taken from hotel Jasmine, the mountains behind us.

The wide spectrum

I was musing over sort of wide spectrum of social classes I have experienced in Cairo at the house of a high up official in the European Commission last night during a goodbye party for one of my friends who is an intern there. In a room in one of the gated villas in Maadi (a lush suburb of Cairo), filled with diplomats, European officials, butlers, interns and students, it was a casual gathering for dinner and drinks. It was speckled with conversations in English, French and Italian; the increasing rage of women in the arab world, what furniture to buy for a plush new apartment with a view over the Gezira club, a book I'm reading, Taxi, a collection of short stories heard in the Cairene taxi, (I've met the author, the host of the party piped in) which provided a once-removed discussion of the unruly Egyptian street. Just as much in my comfort zone is the conversation with the old man on the 5 cent tram ride, crammed with begging children, men selling items from candy to crazy glue, women in niqabs, situated in the squalor of mannerless Egyptians. It would be hypocritical to say that I have experienced true poverty, or even come close to it, though it is soon on my checklist to go through the city of the dead. Nevertheless the acceptance of every day Egyptians for foreigners is overwhelmingly high and welcoming. The 'ahwa (coffee shop) where David and I go frequently to enjoy shisha and a game of backgammon or domino is filled with men interested in talking to us, and in an endearing way we have become "their foreigners." Last time we went, for two shishas and two teas, Abdu wouldn't let us pay more than five pounds (almost a dollar). We'll go to crowded malls to play pool (where some of our Egyptian friends might refuse to join us because of the mall's reputation), eat at the sha3bee (folk) places for the fuul and ta'maya (Egyptian popular dish), and ride public busses to get downtown. Then again, this is the type of lifestyle that we both enjoy, and embrace for being able to get a taste of down to earth life so easily. Of course, there are still the classy malls with 7$ movies, fancy restaurants with 30$ meals (if you splurge), and horseback riding by the pyramids for 6$ an hour. Within all of this, as a foreigner in Egypt, I see a mixture between having no class boundaries and the "third culture kid" syndrome; or in other words, one can transcend classes and build relationships much more easily and truly be able to get away with it because of no core sense of belonging in this culture. 

A blast in Khan Khalili

First of all, my condolences to the family of the French teenager who died from the bombing in Cairo and all those injured. But here I sit, stalling in tomorrow's lesson plan to get something off my chest: May there be a special level in hell for the mindless terrorists. What does this accomplish? Making tourists think twice before they hit "book" on the flight to Cairo? Reducing Cairo itineraries to three days instead of four out of fear from going to one being blown to bits in one of the most fun markets to haggle for cheap goods? Leaking dollars away that are depended on for the biggest source of foreign money in Egypt, which directly keep a class of people from plummeting into poverty? Political analysts will be quick to assert that terrorism in Egypt is not uncommon,  and tourists are the frequent target from those who are upset with the government, yet these bombings are part of small groups who are unorganized in their demands. And for what? The government will crack down harder in this "emergency state," the tourist money will decrease, and the life for many in some form or another will get worse. No one cheers at this unbridled and inexplicable hate wrongfully taken out on the innocent. And worse off, nothing will be done to address the root of the grievances. Higher walls will be built, greater mistrust will ensue; from the outsiders towards Egyptians, from the Egyptians to their government which cannot provide safety, and from the people here, who will pay the price of someone else's Finally to all those who can look at an event like this and say how it fits in with the dogma "not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims," whoever did this, in fact betrayed their religion, and the ignorance and poverty in which they live is a horrible thing.



Inside al-Azhar mosque, the Mosque across the street from the bombing. A true place of peace...

 

Morocco

Ahh Morocco, le Maroc, Maghreb. It's been a week now since I've been back, so once again a blog entry is overdue.

The formula was perfect; meeting up with Michaela in Paris for two nights (enjoying good food, caught up with Mathias and Marius my norwegian friends from Cairo, six o clock mass in Notre Dame, Montmarte, la vie en rose...) before the ten day trip, with a round trip ticket on the same plane to Casablanca, and a car rental for the whole time. The total of driving was almost 2,000 kilometers, which combined with the best company, breathtaking views, fun roads, friendly animals on the side of the road, some solid Moroccan hiphop and groove music, and giving the occasional lift to a Moroccan, was more than tolerable. The travel log looked like this; landed in Casablanca, drove that night to Rabat, drove to Tangiers, drove to Chefchauen, drove to Fes (2 nights), drove to Marrakesch, drove to Essauoira (2 nights), drove back to Casablanca.

It is hard to put into words how incredible of a country it is. We drove past vast expanses of green, through rocky mountains, along the Mediterranean and Atlantic Coast, and even through snow! It's funny how we saw more of Morocco that the majority of Moroccans will see in their lifetime, but still barely scratched the surface of what Morocco is truly like. Maybe we found a taste of it when in a CD store at one point when the inquiry about hiphop music opened up a floodgate of information and pride about the fusion of traditional Berber culture (the tribe living in Morocco before the arrival of Islam), mixed with the hiphop in French, Arabic, and Berber. On the other side of it, we met Moroccans who jokingly would say "you shouldn't trust him, he's a Berber." Many of the men wear Jallibayas, which from American eyes look strikingly similar to KKK robes; long, with a point hood, except these ones come in all sorts of colors, from brown, grey, black, dark green, to the less common striped and crimson colors. Coming from Egypt, the people there are far less obtrusive and pushy to try to get you to buy things, and in every city there still exists the old quarters "Medinas" with windy streets wafting with all sorts of smells, donkeys, cats, and every item (touristy or vital to daily life) is available for a certain price. Although it isn't directly fueled by tourism, and we were surprisingly some of the few tourists in most of the areas we went, it's clear that the trickle down effect keeps things going. My favorite people to support were the little boys who would lead you through the impossibly navigable Medinas to the hotel or a touristic spot, extra tip if they carry along an umbrella or a ball to play soccer with. Of course, it was equally fun just wandering around and getting lost on our own, finding back alleys filled with beautiful jewelry or rugs, and at one point in Tangiers we stumbled upon the tomb of Ibn Batutta a famous Arab traveller of the 14th century and one of the founding fathers of Shisha. 

Although I thought that pretty much everyone spoke French, in the North it was more rare, and you need Spanish to get by, but it was a blast holding conversations in four languages; zigzagging my American footprint as much as possible.. Compared to Egypt where there is a cafe serving it on every street, finding Shisha was much more rare, and in fact it was made illegal, though we did find a sha3bee (folk/non touristy) place in Essauoira. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the waiters pay off the police as they drove by too. Hashish on the other hand is omnipresent, and these are the worst hustlers because if you respond to them they wont be able to comprehend why you actually aren't interested in buying anything from them. All that really worked in the end was saying that I had plenty and that usually kept the dealers at bey. The roads were actually very well kept, the routes were easy to follow, many lined with trees on each side or mileage markers, and the traffic laws were actually obeyed, almost annoyingly so, as most cars on the highway went under the speed limit. On the last day I got a speeding ticket for doing 74 km in a 60. In my defense there was no marking, and I had just come off driving up the Atlantic coast where it was 100 km, and was pulling it tight to return the car on time, but 400 Dhirams (50$) later and there were no worries... oops maybe that explains why everyone was going so slow. 

A couple more highlights:

Driving up from Rabat, we decided to get a peek at the Atlantic. There was a potholey paved road that took us to the Atlantic, but nothing more than a muddy road with lots of holes in it that took us North along the coast. Either way, off-roading was in the cards so we headed up a little bit with the attitude of not driving over the same route twice. There was an old fortress on a bluff over the Atlantic that looked like a mosque, with a gardien sitting out at the front of it and another parked car. We pushed open the door and in the windy drizzle found a circus school! 

Below is a street in Chefchaouen, a beautiful mountain town painted in light blue to keep away the flies.

Below is the courtyard of our Riad in Fes. As it was low season we could actually afford it... and living like kings for two days in this place was perfect to escape the windy rainy weather and bustling streets to relax. It also had one of the highest points in the Medina, and during prayer time I could hear the clear dissonance of prayers unobstructed from the noise below. They actually travelled from East to West in their starting times, and I was able to count about 12 mosques within a 1 km radius.

Fes was also cool because at night in the large square within the gates of the Medina there were several steps that were wide enough to hold a soccer match and basically on each step from the glow of the gates there was one going on. 

The drive from Fes to Marrakesch was also pretty epic. We started with trying to drive over the Middle Atlas mountains, and should have listened to a lady to whom we gave a ride (because we had asked her for directions and the route we wanted was on the way to her home...), but we made it all the way up to Ifrane, which is a mountain town where the King's palace is located, and then had to turn around because the snow had blocked the path. It felt like driving through Canada. So basically it turned the already long drive into a 9 hour day on the road and bombing back through the coast. 

Being in Essaouira was cool too. A sea town fortress with a hippy vibe and some amazing fish. Slow breaking waves a little bit North for some righteous surfing. 

In the end, I know I'm going to come back to Morocco one day inshallah.