Spring Break and Spectacular Pants

Although there aren't any great adventures to speak of, there are a few things that I thought worth writing about.

- First, the outline for my spring break travels are now set. On March 26th Matt (ND), John, and I will be heading to Athens for a few days, perhaps with a fellow Notre Dame student as a guide. Then we're going to make our way across Greece, in a mostly northeastern direction. Finally, after a possible excursion into Bulgaria, we are going to be spending 3-4 days in Istanbul, before flying back to Cairo on April 6th. Of course Athens and Istanbul are both fascinating cities, with plenty of history to occupy an enthusiast. The fact that there are some nice mountains between the two sweetens the deal.

-On the subject of trips, my family is now booked to visit me in Egypt this summer! The vacation should have all the hallmarks of Calton travel, most importantly a certain emphasis on food. Since they will be here for over two weeks we should be able to travel to most of Egypt, including some places I wouldn't be able to see otherwise, like Abu Simbel.

-Today I went through a hour and a half of training, and am now apparently qualified to teach English. One of the activities that past Cairo study abroad students strongly encouraged me to do is STAR, a program that allows students to teach English to refugees living in Egypt. I heard all sorts of good stories about the program, so its one of the things I'm most looking forward to over the semester. Anyway, today we received our textbooks and a few hints, and by this Thursday I'll be instructing about 15 refugees from a variety of nationalities third year English. After looking into the textbook I realized that I might have some homework to do myself; the first lesson was on appositives, which is a grammar term that I probably forgot about two days after I learned it. Turns out its pretty easy, but it served as a reminder that most of us only really learn grammar when we learn a second language, or attempt to teach one to another person.

- 'Ahwas, or coffeehouses, are one of the things I might miss most in Egypt. Nothing makes you feel like you're in a Naguib Mahfouz novel like spending a couple hours drinking tea, smoking sheesha, and having some casual conversation, sometimes even with locals. Last week I met a man from Eritrea at a local 'ahwa, and our conversation ranged from Seattle's miserable weather (his sister lives there) to education in Cairo. All of this for under a dollar.

-Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see much of the Winter Olympics. For some reason, the Egyptians just don't seem interested in sports involving snow and ice. However, my attention has been brought to Norway's mens curling team, and perhaps more importantly to their pants. One picture of those things is enough color for this whole post. Usually I'm all about the host country, but it will be hard to root against these guys tonight in the gold-medal round against Canada.

- In honor of the Olympics, I am going to be adding a new feature to this post, in which I propose a new, hopefully bizarre, question to Life, the Universe, and Everything. To those poor souls who are confused, it has been established that the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42. See The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide for more information. Unfortunately, we're not quite sure what the question is. I'm not claiming to know the question, but hopefully some of my suggestions provide food for thought. And now, without further ado:

How many pounds does a Olympic regulation curling stone weigh? (In case my explanation above was confusing, the answer is 42)

And as a special treat, we're going to make it a double feature, since it's the inaugural run.

How many lines of text are found on a page of one of the famous Gutenberg Bibles? (One of my all time favorites)

That's all for tonight, thanks for reading and have a great week!

"There's nothing over there you want to see"

This weekend I was able to visit a site that I've wanted to see since I arrived in Cairo, the Mosque of Qaitbey, a 14th century Mamluk ruler and prolific builder. The Lonely Planet guidebook said that "its intricacy and delicacy were never surpassed in Cairo or anywhere else in the Islamic world," and it is featured on the Egyptian 1 pound bill. So while I knew that it wasn't a major tourist destination, I thought that most of the locals would be familiar with its location, or at least its existence. My bad. After we finally managed to escape a taxi who informed us (at the end of a 40 minute ride) that Qaitbey Mosque was in fact in Alexandria, we set out to find someone slightly more knowledgable about the area. We soon met a fairly friendly woman, whose statement is echoed in this post's title. We insisted that we did in fact want to go to the City of the Dead, where the mosque is located, despite its somewhat bleak appearance. It's known as the City of the Dead because it used to be, and still is, a large cemetery. However, for years the deceased interred there have shared space with their living counterparts, which gives the area an entirely unique look and feel. Anyway, a policeman finally pointed us in the direction of the mosque, but warned us that it was far away. Egyptians must have a low estimation of tourist's walking abilities, because it actually took about 4 minutes to reach our destination.

The mosque, which is primarily a tomb for Qaitbey, was much smaller than most which I have visited. Yet its decoration, both inside and outside, matched or exceeded anything I've

seen so far in Islamic Cairo. The dome, which is the most famous part of the complex, does a nice job of combining two distinct geometric patterns, one composed of stars and the other floral. The minaret was also ornately carved, and featured everything from columns that seemed Greek to distinctly Islamic muqarnas (a sort of honeycomb carving). The inside was nicely decorated, with some lovely stained glass windows and a very pretty roof. Although it didn't take long to see the whole building, it was definitely worth the trip out.

Afterwards we decided to wander around the neighborhood for a while, and before long we found an opportunity for some mild mischievousness. In the middle of a quiet alley we came across another old mosque, but this time it was one which had been completely neglected. There was a lot of graffiti and trash lying around, but we still could see some of its former grandeur. The real highlight came when we went in the chamber below the main dome, where we found a mysterious hole in the floor about 8-9 feel deep, with a further dropoff of unknown depth on one side. Images of tomb raiders came to mind, but we resisted the tempation to explore further, since going underneath an abandoned mosque in the City of the Dead just sounds like trouble. Maybe we'll bring some rope on the next visit. After that little adventure we walked around for a little longer, and soon after returned to the dorms for a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

On an unrelated note, I recently finished The Count of Monte Cristo, which I had picked up in Denver as a traveling book. Despite its considerable length it's an easy read, and the last couple hundred pages are quite suspenseful. While reading I thought about how you might put protagonists in two categories: those who impress with their perfection and control, and those whose imperfections further the story and its message. John Galt from Atlas Shrugged would be an extreme example of the first, and James Bond might also fit there. The second type seems to be more common in modern media; to choose a random example the cast of Juno are entertaining because they so often can't control the situation, but they nevertheless survive and even thrive. Edmond Dantes, on the other hand, usually fits squarely in the first category, as the reader only rarely catches glimpses of surprise or uncertainty in his action. I suppose this might just be a distinction between heros and anti-heroes, but I did enjoy thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of each type. If I had to summarize these strengths in one word, I would say that the first are sublime while the second are accesible.

Baab Zuweilla

Despite my initial skepticism I quickly learned to appreciate the beauty of having every Tuesday off. While its not very conducive to travel, it does mean that I am never more than a day removed from a break. It also provides a great opportunity to sleep in, avoid doing homework, and maybe explore some of the lesser-known attractions of Cairo.

This past Tuesday a small group decided to take a taxi to Islamic Cairo and walk around without much of a set itinerary. We were rewarded when we came across Baab Zuweila (baab means door, or in this case gate), which is the last remaining southern gate from an 11th century wall surrounding Cairo. The gate was much bigger than I had expected, and made me reconsider my image of Fatimid Cairo, which at the time was mostly a dwelling for the ruling dynasty slightly removed from the main metropolis of Fustat further to the south. It was certainly well-defended. In the 15th century the two minarets in this picture were added, and today they give visitors an excellent view of medieval Cairo. Not without a cost, though! The minarets are accessed by small, tight stairways with only occasional lighting. And that's just to reach the first level. Right before the second podium the stairway, for unknown reasons, suddenly becomes a series of iron bars arranged in a spiral around a central pole.

This might be hard to imagine, so hopefully this picture will help. If you look behind friend/former roommate Matt Boutilier, you can see what I'm talking about. It also gives a good idea of how good the view of Cairo is from up there. Once again I learned that Cairo's size defies the imagination, and that it is aptly named the City of a Thousand Minarets. A few of my friends were brave/crazy enough to make the ascent to the highest podium via that staircase, but I chickened out. Maybe next time.

After descending from the dizzying heights of Baab Zuweila we headed north into the heart of Islamic Cairo. On the way we enjoyed tea at a surprisingly non-pushy tapestry making shop. The work there was amazing, but also a little too expensive to buy off-handedly.

We finished the trip by visiting Al-Azhar mosque, one of Cairo's most famous sights and another Fatimid era building. Al-Azhar, which is both a mosque and a university, was built in the early 970's, and is considered as one of the oldest centers for higher education in the world. For most of its history it has also been considered the center of Sunni Islamic law and theology. Although the main courtyard is actually quite small, it was also very peaceful, which is always a relief after traveling through the small, crowded streets of Cairo.

P.S. I did get a haircut this week, but due to a slight miscommunication, it was cut a bit

shorter than I expected. So, because I haven't included any pictures of myself in Egypt yet, and because this is a look I don't intend to replicate for some time, I've included a picture of the resulting almost-biker look.

A Small Thought

You know it's time to get a haircut when barbers are telling you "good price" when you walk by. On the other hand, something similar happened the other day when I walked by a muffler shop, even though I thought it was fairly clear I had no pressing need for a muffler.

Amr Diab Concert

Last weekend included a couple of memorable events, most prominently one last glance at Egyptian enthusiasm for their African Cup triumph. But first, a little background. One night about a week ago my roommate (Matt) and I, along with a few other friends, were looking for a certain bar in Cairo. Of course, finding any bar in Cairo is a challenge, but this one was particularly tough as it was located on the 10th floor of an unassuming hotel. During this quest we decided to enlist the help of a few local guys, which isn't as good of an idea as it sounds. While Egyptian women tend to be unapproachable, many men are more than eager to help out tourists, even if they don't really know where a place is. This is especially true of younger men, who love to make American friends, perhaps as a sort of status symbol. Anyway, Matt had soon found four young men who assured as that they could lead us where we wanted to go. This initiated about an hour of wandering around downtown Cairo, before we finally stumbled across the right place, more by luck than anything else. However, the time had not been entirely wasted as Matt had become fast friends with one of the Egyptians, a relationship which would later bear good fruit.

As an aside, Egyptian young men are much more European, or at least what I think of as European, than American in their friendships with each other. This becomes apparent whenever you have talked to an Egyptian man for about a minute before he promptly grabs your arm and tucks in inside his, so that suddenly you are walking down the street arm in arm. They are also much more willing to use dramatic language towards male friends; phrases that many guys in the U.S. would be hesitant to tell a new girlfriend for fear of being seen as too needy.

Well, last weekend Ahmed (the Egyptian friend) has expressed a desire to see Matt, and suggested that they go to an official celebration of Egypt's victory in Cairo International Stadium, complete with a concert by the Arab superstar Amr Diab. Tickets were only 10 pounds (about $1.80), and the proceeds went to help flooding victims in Egypt. Matt and Ahmed were kind enough to invite others, and that's how six Americans found themselves in Cairo Stadium with about 50,000 Egyptians. They went absolutely bonkers when the stars of the football team made an appearance, and again when Amr Diab came out. I can't say I enjoyed the performance too much, since I don't particularly like Amr Diab in the best of circumstances, but being immersed in such a completely Egyptian environment was really cool, and couldn't have happened unless Ahmed told us what was going on. Many of the Egyptians who attended came from the suburbs of Cairo, and don't see Americans very often, so we were sort of celebrities. Unfortunately the two girls in our group received a little too much attention, and once again Ahmed provided great assistance in warding off crowds of camera waving boys. The moral of the story: its worth getting to know some local fellows, even if their degree of friendliness is a little strange at first.

Classes Begin and Pyramids

Hello everyone! Quite a bit has happened since my last post, but I'll just try to go over some of the highlights. First, last Sunday Egypt beat Ghana 1-0 to win their third straight African Cup of Nations. Unfortunately I missed most of the match because of crowded traffic on the commute from school, but I was able to catch the last ten minutes and the only goal of the game. Of course the streets were crazy afterwards, especially if you left the island of Zamalek and went into Downtown or Mohandissen on the west side of the Nile. The Egyptians would have preferred to carry this momentum into the World Cup this summer, but it does make a nice consolation prize for missing out on world's biggest sporting event.

Sunday was also the first day of classes, which I'm mostly happy about. I think my Arabic will improve a lot, since I have a very good (and patient) teacher, class four days a week, and plenty of opportunities to practice. My Islamic Art and Architecture professor is great, he's an Irishman who backpacked around the Middle East in his twenties and fell in love with its art, and never looked back. I also have interesting courses on Sufism, Islamic Law, and Middle Eastern history between 1500 and 1800 or so. My history teacher actually went to school in Lebanon with one of my Notre Dame professors, so I guess it's a small world, at least for American academic expats. My only real complaint is that I have to get up at around 6:00 AM every school day, in order to catch the 7:00 AM bus to campus. It gets there around 7:40, which is still 50 minutes before my first class, but the next bus doesn't leave until 8:30.

We don't have any classes on Tuesday, so that is the designated day for exploring Cairo and its immediate surroundings. This week I finally visited what is probably the biggest must-see in Egypt, the Pyramids. Like the Mayan ruins, seeing them in person had an impact that no picture could convey. The two biggest ones, of Khufu and Khafre, are mind-bogglingly huge, especially when you consider that they were completed around 2500 B.C. We were able to go inside the Great Pyramid (Khufu) and the interior chamber still had completely smooth walls. After seeing those two we wandered around the area for a bit, and scrambled up one of the smaller pyramids nearby before the police caught us. It was unfortunate, but there were no real repercussions. Finally we took a loop through the desert and ended at the Sphinx. Unlike the Pyramids, which are bigger than I imagined, the Sphinx is smaller. It was, nonetheless, impressive, but by then we were ready to find some food and rest our feet for a bit.