Marhaba,
Two notes to future Egyptian adventurers:
1. The people who are making kissing noises at you on the street. They want your attention, not your saliva. That almost ended badly.
2. Always call yourself 'Nicholas' and never 'Nick'. It would be like calling yourself 'Fuq' but not really knowing how to pronounce it properly. That also may have ended badly.
But in other news, much more adventuring has been had. The day after my last post, I went to some of the classic Egyptian sites in Cairo: the Giza pyramids, Saqqara, Memphis (Egypt, not US) and the Dashur pyramids.
Giza pyramids: "If another person offers me a f*({1#@ camel or a guide around the pyramids, I'm going to insert one into the other, and I havn't yet decided which" - Nick (Giza pyramids) The pyramids were huge. Whoever said they weren't was lying. They were almost as big as the scams people were trying to pull around them. I didn't go into any, as I had t get on with the day and regain some sanity. More on Giza pyramids on request.
Saqqara: Possibly my favourite pyramid. It is the stepped one you see in pictures. It's surrounded by a big funerary complex. Somehow it's more impressive than the ones at Giz. Maybe because there aren't any touts. Except the cops, but you come to expect them.
Memphis: A sad reflection of its former self. I wouldn't bother if you were traveling through. However it did have the biggest Ramses II statue I've ever seen.
Dashur pyramids: The bent one and the red one. They were both built by Snofru (sounds like the name of a horse, don't you think?). When they were most of the way up the bent one, it's thought the engineers got the feeling it might fall over, its walls being on a 54 degree angle and all. So they built the red one as well. Just for insurance. Crazy.
That brings me to Alexandria. It was the best of days, it was the worst of days. But I'll only mention the good parts, as it is still to early t recall the bad with clarity. I went for a long, long walk through Alexandria and stumbled upon a market that wet for ages. Everything about this market was infatuating, except the guy cutting up a cow with an axe. But I just brushed over that bit. I then sat down for a cup of tea (shai. Not chai.). After an hour and a half of taking to people who didn't want anything from me, half in Arabic, half in English and actually getting somewhere, I continued on my merry way. I sat and watched old guys playing dominoes in the streets for about half an hour. Then I went back to the hotel. Now, before I'd left, Em had made the suggestion of befriending kids, as they don't grow sick of you and love teaching you new words. Low and behold, the reception of the backpackers was full of kids. I've played cards with them every afternoon since. And I swear I won all their money fair and square.
Yesterday I got sick, which kind of overshadowed everything. It must have only been food poisoming though, because I'm fine today. Either way, I saw the old Roman theatre, which is a little overrated; the Alexandria National Museum, which is set in an old Italian mansion; tried to see the Royal Jewelery Museum, but it was closed; and then came the library.
It's not the biggest library in the world, but it is definately one of the most awe-inspiring. From the inside at least. I'll try and upload some photos. I doubt it's the centre of the world's knowledge (as the old one was), but it definately has fantastic architecture.
Today I saw Fort Qaitby (the place where the ancient lighthouse used to stand), the catacombs of Kom Esh-shoqafa and Pompey's Pillar. Of these, the catacombs were most exciting, but unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos, so it can't be shared. Try and think of a well dug into the rock three storeys down, and then digging catacombs for about 150 graves and a chapel in many, many different rooms. Hewn into rock. I'm running out of synonyms for amazing.
This post is ridiculously long, so I'll leave it here. Hope Brisbane still exists.
Nick
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
How to make a Cairo
First, take one Calcutta.
Next, remove the Indians and the Hindi.
Replace with Arabs and Arabic.
Serve hot.
Well it's just another sunny day in Cairo. Needless to say I arrived. I even took a video of the landing, but I don't think this internet cafe's hardware is up to the challenge of uploading it. I'll try another time.
Cairo is big. Really, really big. Somewhere around 25 million in one city. The result is quite incredible and leads you to fluctuate between loving it intensely and wishing it were just that little bit quieter. Walking around the streets is a fascinating experience. Perching for a rest on a seat that has been around since 1305 is a strange feeling, and something that I don't think can really be matched in Australia.
So far I have been to:
The Citadel - the focal point of the entire city. It was built by Salah Al-Din when he rose to power in the early second millennium. It was fortified shortly after it was built as part of the (successful) attempts to keep out Crusading Brits. It consists of a number of mosques, the police museum, a palace and a couple of other ridiculously old buildings. The most memorable part is the Mosque of Mohammad Ali (the King, not the boxer) in about 1850 (I think). I've attached a photo, which does little to capture the enormity and grandeur of the building. Its interior is breathtaking. Christians have nothing on this.
Islamic Cairo - an older quarter of the city, where streets are about 2 meters wide and packed, PACKED with markets. There are different sections for different things, but this is the place to come for everything that isn't food or electric.
Old Cairo - a bit of a disappointment, possibly because I'd just left a shop where I still don't know if I was ripped off or not. I may have been a little bit bitter, just to make sure. This is a really old part of the city where Coptic Christianity has many of its roots. A plethora of mini churches and other worshipping places, replete with beggars and street merchants.
The Egyptian Museum - Usually when you go to a museum and into the 'old stuff' area, you walk a bit between artifacts. Not so in Cairo. Imagine you are an eager bull in a stockyard of antiques from throughout the past 4 000 years. You now have some idea of me this morning in the museum. This place is packed to the brim and a little overflowing with Egyptian artifacts. I never want to see another stone with writing on it again, which is a shame considering I plan to go to the pyramids tomorrow.
So far, so good. For two day's avid traveling, I'm quite happy with my efforts. I'm not sick, the people are nice to foreigners, and my limited Arabic has helped even a little. We'll see if it holds.
Ma-Salamah,
Nick
Next, remove the Indians and the Hindi.
Replace with Arabs and Arabic.
Serve hot.
Well it's just another sunny day in Cairo. Needless to say I arrived. I even took a video of the landing, but I don't think this internet cafe's hardware is up to the challenge of uploading it. I'll try another time.
Cairo is big. Really, really big. Somewhere around 25 million in one city. The result is quite incredible and leads you to fluctuate between loving it intensely and wishing it were just that little bit quieter. Walking around the streets is a fascinating experience. Perching for a rest on a seat that has been around since 1305 is a strange feeling, and something that I don't think can really be matched in Australia.
So far I have been to:
The Citadel - the focal point of the entire city. It was built by Salah Al-Din when he rose to power in the early second millennium. It was fortified shortly after it was built as part of the (successful) attempts to keep out Crusading Brits. It consists of a number of mosques, the police museum, a palace and a couple of other ridiculously old buildings. The most memorable part is the Mosque of Mohammad Ali (the King, not the boxer) in about 1850 (I think). I've attached a photo, which does little to capture the enormity and grandeur of the building. Its interior is breathtaking. Christians have nothing on this.
Islamic Cairo - an older quarter of the city, where streets are about 2 meters wide and packed, PACKED with markets. There are different sections for different things, but this is the place to come for everything that isn't food or electric.
Old Cairo - a bit of a disappointment, possibly because I'd just left a shop where I still don't know if I was ripped off or not. I may have been a little bit bitter, just to make sure. This is a really old part of the city where Coptic Christianity has many of its roots. A plethora of mini churches and other worshipping places, replete with beggars and street merchants.
The Egyptian Museum - Usually when you go to a museum and into the 'old stuff' area, you walk a bit between artifacts. Not so in Cairo. Imagine you are an eager bull in a stockyard of antiques from throughout the past 4 000 years. You now have some idea of me this morning in the museum. This place is packed to the brim and a little overflowing with Egyptian artifacts. I never want to see another stone with writing on it again, which is a shame considering I plan to go to the pyramids tomorrow.
So far, so good. For two day's avid traveling, I'm quite happy with my efforts. I'm not sick, the people are nice to foreigners, and my limited Arabic has helped even a little. We'll see if it holds.
Ma-Salamah,
Nick
Monday, July 23, 2007
The god-father of Seoul
Hello hello,
I've arrived in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, for a six hour stop-over on the way to Cairo. Having already exhausted the duty free stores, I have turned my fate to the internet to keep me occupied before my flight. There are another few hours yet. I plan on taking off again at around 12:30am Brisbane time.
The temperature here is around 26 degrees, which is a nice change from Brisbane. However it is still a far cry from what I'll be dealing with in around twelve hours. Thus, I'm keeping my jacket on for the time being.
Unfortunately I packed my camera USB plug in my checked luggage, so no photos as of yet. But look out in the near future.
In sum, I have made it as far as South Korea. Here's to another safe flight.
Nick
I've arrived in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, for a six hour stop-over on the way to Cairo. Having already exhausted the duty free stores, I have turned my fate to the internet to keep me occupied before my flight. There are another few hours yet. I plan on taking off again at around 12:30am Brisbane time.
The temperature here is around 26 degrees, which is a nice change from Brisbane. However it is still a far cry from what I'll be dealing with in around twelve hours. Thus, I'm keeping my jacket on for the time being.
Unfortunately I packed my camera USB plug in my checked luggage, so no photos as of yet. But look out in the near future.
In sum, I have made it as far as South Korea. Here's to another safe flight.
Nick
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Odyssey
Welcome avid readers!
I've created this blog (short for 'web-log' for first-timers) to keep you all updated about my upcoming travels. This way I don't have to continually apologise for missing people out on an email list, save's me clogging up your email account and means that you can peruse it at your leisure if and when you want. I thought it was quite a nifty idea. Glad I didn't think of it.
As it stands, my (broad) itinerary is as follows:
23 July: Leave Brisbane int. airport and stop over in Seoul for a couple of hours. On to Cairo.
24 July: Arrive Cairo early morning, drop of my bags and start exploring.
3 weeks of exploring Egypt, going to Alexandria, an oasis or 2, a trip up the Nile to Aswan, across the Suez Canal to the Sinai.
14 August: leave Egypt and arrive at Aqaba in Jordan.
Roughly a week of traveling up the King's Highway through Jordan to the northern border
22 August: Cross into Syria and take a train to Damascus
2 weeks of travelling through Syria, ending up at the border to Turkey
3 September: Enter Turkey.
3 weeks in Turkey, travelling slowly towards Istanbul. Slowly.
24 September: Leave Istanbul on a train going west. Spend the next week winding my way to Prague (Praha) in the Czech Republic.
1 October: Start at Charles University.
That's a brief sketch of my plans. If you have any suggestions for things I absolutely must see/people I should meet up with/random other bits of information, feel free to post the as comments under this entry.
(Hopefully) speak to you all soon.
I've created this blog (short for 'web-log' for first-timers) to keep you all updated about my upcoming travels. This way I don't have to continually apologise for missing people out on an email list, save's me clogging up your email account and means that you can peruse it at your leisure if and when you want. I thought it was quite a nifty idea. Glad I didn't think of it.
As it stands, my (broad) itinerary is as follows:
23 July: Leave Brisbane int. airport and stop over in Seoul for a couple of hours. On to Cairo.
24 July: Arrive Cairo early morning, drop of my bags and start exploring.
3 weeks of exploring Egypt, going to Alexandria, an oasis or 2, a trip up the Nile to Aswan, across the Suez Canal to the Sinai.
14 August: leave Egypt and arrive at Aqaba in Jordan.
Roughly a week of traveling up the King's Highway through Jordan to the northern border
22 August: Cross into Syria and take a train to Damascus
2 weeks of travelling through Syria, ending up at the border to Turkey
3 September: Enter Turkey.
3 weeks in Turkey, travelling slowly towards Istanbul. Slowly.
24 September: Leave Istanbul on a train going west. Spend the next week winding my way to Prague (Praha) in the Czech Republic.
1 October: Start at Charles University.
That's a brief sketch of my plans. If you have any suggestions for things I absolutely must see/people I should meet up with/random other bits of information, feel free to post the as comments under this entry.
(Hopefully) speak to you all soon.
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