9.15.2010
9.13.2010
Eye Candy
Below are pictures of our vacation to Dahab, a resort town on the Gulf of Aqaba. Across the water you can see the coast of Saudi Arabia, which is ironic because we're all wearing bikinis.
Tomb Raider
Our tour guide of the catacombs of Kom al-Shuqafa used to be an archeologist specializing in Ancient Egypt. In his past line of work, he befriended many tomb raiders and explained to us that it is quite easy to find an ancient tomb in Egypt. The steps are below...
How to Find An Ancient Tomb in Egypt:
1. Go to the desert
2. Find a grouping of trees (this means there must have been a water source there at one point, which the workers would have needed to survive a building project in the desert)
3. Walk away from the water source (the humidity would have been bad for the mummies)
4. Walk towards the West (Ancient Egyptians believed the West to be the destination of the dead since that is where the Sun dies/sets every evening)
5. Search for a location that is dry, rocky, and elevated (conditions that are best for mummy preservation)
6. Voile! Chances are you've now found an Ancient Egyptian tomb! Just keep your fingers crossed that it hasn't already been raided....
The photo below is of the Catacombs of Kom al-Shuqafa in Alexandria -- considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
In the photo below, notice the combination of Ancient Roman symbols with Ancient Egyptian symbols: the head of Medusa and a snake with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
How to Find An Ancient Tomb in Egypt:
1. Go to the desert
2. Find a grouping of trees (this means there must have been a water source there at one point, which the workers would have needed to survive a building project in the desert)
3. Walk away from the water source (the humidity would have been bad for the mummies)
4. Walk towards the West (Ancient Egyptians believed the West to be the destination of the dead since that is where the Sun dies/sets every evening)
5. Search for a location that is dry, rocky, and elevated (conditions that are best for mummy preservation)
6. Voile! Chances are you've now found an Ancient Egyptian tomb! Just keep your fingers crossed that it hasn't already been raided....
The photo below is of the Catacombs of Kom al-Shuqafa in Alexandria -- considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
In the photo below, notice the combination of Ancient Roman symbols with Ancient Egyptian symbols: the head of Medusa and a snake with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Toilet for Tourists
On our way to the Sinai, we stop at a rest-stop and find a bathroom specifically for tourists. The ladies' room is represented by Charlize Theron's face. Huh??
9.08.2010
Relics in the Sea
Proof that the sea level has steadily been rising through the years... The pictures below are of ancient Egyptian statues found off the coast of Alexandria.
Library of Alexandria
A quote from an exhibit inside the library:
"I never saw finer ruins in any place else."
- Corneille Le Bruyn, Dutch explorer writing in the year 1702 on the port city of Alexandria
(Clearly Alexandria has been cleaned up a lot since then...I never saw a finer library in my life.)
"I never saw finer ruins in any place else."
- Corneille Le Bruyn, Dutch explorer writing in the year 1702 on the port city of Alexandria
(Clearly Alexandria has been cleaned up a lot since then...I never saw a finer library in my life.)
9.06.2010
S'mores and Pyramids
S'mores and 4-wheeling in the desert, in Sherif's backyard, with a view of the Giza Pyramids...
Horse Whisperer
Don’t Do That
by Stephen Dunn
by Stephen Dunn
The New Yorker
June 8, 2009
It was bring-your-own if you wanted anything
hard, so I brought Johnnie Walker Red
along with some resentment I’d held in
for a few weeks, which was not helped
by the sight of little nameless things
pierced with toothpicks on the tables,
or by talk that promised to be nothing
if not small. But I’d consented to come,
and I knew what part of the house
their animals would be sequestered,
whose company I loved. What else can I say,
except that old retainer of slights and wrongs,
that bad boy I hadn’t quite outgrown—
I’d brought him along, too. I was out
to cultivate a mood. My hosts greeted me,
but did not ask about my soul, which was when
I was invited by Johnnie Walker Red
to find the right kind of glass, and pour.
I toasted the air. I said hello to the wall,
then walked past a group of women
dressed to be seen, undressing them
one by one, and went up the stairs to where
the Rottweilers were, Rosie and Tom,
and got down with them on all fours.
They licked the face I offered them,
and I proceeded to slick back my hair
with their saliva, and before long
I felt like a wild thing, ready to mess up
the party, scarf the hors d’oeuvres.
But the dogs said, No, don’t do that,
calm down, after a while they open the door
and let you out, they pet your head, and everything
you might have held against them is gone,
and you’re good friends again. Stay, they said.
It was bring-your-own if you wanted anything
hard, so I brought Johnnie Walker Red
along with some resentment I’d held in
for a few weeks, which was not helped
by the sight of little nameless things
pierced with toothpicks on the tables,
or by talk that promised to be nothing
if not small. But I’d consented to come,
and I knew what part of the house
their animals would be sequestered,
whose company I loved. What else can I say,
except that old retainer of slights and wrongs,
that bad boy I hadn’t quite outgrown—
I’d brought him along, too. I was out
to cultivate a mood. My hosts greeted me,
but did not ask about my soul, which was when
I was invited by Johnnie Walker Red
to find the right kind of glass, and pour.
I toasted the air. I said hello to the wall,
then walked past a group of women
dressed to be seen, undressing them
one by one, and went up the stairs to where
the Rottweilers were, Rosie and Tom,
and got down with them on all fours.
They licked the face I offered them,
and I proceeded to slick back my hair
with their saliva, and before long
I felt like a wild thing, ready to mess up
the party, scarf the hors d’oeuvres.
But the dogs said, No, don’t do that,
calm down, after a while they open the door
and let you out, they pet your head, and everything
you might have held against them is gone,
and you’re good friends again. Stay, they said.
8.28.2010
Facebook Stalking
It seems that outside of America, Facebook is used more as a way to meet potential friends than as a way to reconnect with old ones. Below is a story from my roommate, Laura Garland:
----So I click on a link to see who this random dude is that has friended me. (I think it might be a girl I know named Samer at first). I accidentally click the "accept" button instead of the link to his profile, so then I have to "unfriend him."
Here are the messages that ensued:
Samer Maher August 11 at 4:02pm
thanks for delete
Samer Maher August 11 at 4:24pm
Samer Maher August 11 at 4:24pm
I was seeing ur photos when u delete me u close on my head and I left my nose there ,if u search u will find my nose ,when u find it please bring it to me ,I use now a machine to make me breath :)
Samer Maher August 13 at 6:33pm
Samer Maher August 13 at 6:33pm
u didn't find my nose :)
-----
-----
Egyptian Democracy
Below is a joke about Egyptian democracy and a photo of an iftar at our Professor Shabaka's home.
A reporter is walking on the streets of Cairo interviewing people about the recent policy of the Egyptian government to cut off electricity for a few hours every day to save money.
He walks up to a Somalian man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The Somalian thinks for a moment and then says, "Very good question, but what does 'electricity' mean?"
The reporter later approaches an American man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The American ponders for a second and then says, "Very good question, but what do you mean by 'black outs instituted by the government'?"
Finally the reporter goes up to an Egyptian man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The Egyptian is quiet for a little bit, then says, "Very good question, but what does the word 'opinion' mean?"
- courtesy of Andrew
A reporter is walking on the streets of Cairo interviewing people about the recent policy of the Egyptian government to cut off electricity for a few hours every day to save money.
He walks up to a Somalian man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The Somalian thinks for a moment and then says, "Very good question, but what does 'electricity' mean?"
The reporter later approaches an American man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The American ponders for a second and then says, "Very good question, but what do you mean by 'black outs instituted by the government'?"
Finally the reporter goes up to an Egyptian man and asks, "Sir, what is your opinion on the recent black outs instituted by the government?" The Egyptian is quiet for a little bit, then says, "Very good question, but what does the word 'opinion' mean?"
- courtesy of Andrew
Al-Mutanabbi
أنا الذي نَظَر الأعْمی إلی أدَبي
وأسْمَعَتْ كَلِمَاتي مَنْ بِهِ صَمَمُ
....
فَالخَيْلُ وَاللَّيْلُّ والبَيْدَاءُ تَعْرِفُني
والحَرْبُ وَالضَّرْبُ والقِرطَاس والقَلمُ
أبو الطيْب المتنبي
"I am the one whose literature is seen by the blind.
And whose words are heard by the deaf.
....
The horses, the night, and the wild desert know me.
As well as war, and beating, and papyrus and pen."
And whose words are heard by the deaf.
....
The horses, the night, and the wild desert know me.
As well as war, and beating, and papyrus and pen."
-- Abou-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi, a 1st century poet from Damascus
Ayyubid Wall
Below is a photo of an iftar with our Professor Rasha in Al Azhar Park.
Al Azhar Park was built towards the end of the 90's on an enormous trash heap, the dump for the old city around it. During construction, workers uncovered a 12th century wall built by the Ayyubid Dynasty, the Sunni Muslim Kurdish family that ruled much of the Middle East at the time. The wall was partially restored and can still be seen disappearing under the hills.
Al Azhar Park was built towards the end of the 90's on an enormous trash heap, the dump for the old city around it. During construction, workers uncovered a 12th century wall built by the Ayyubid Dynasty, the Sunni Muslim Kurdish family that ruled much of the Middle East at the time. The wall was partially restored and can still be seen disappearing under the hills.
8.22.2010
Steal a Camel
"If you must steal, steal a camel. If you must love, love the moon."
لو سرقت اِسرق جمل. ولو عشقت اِعشق قمر
-- Arabic Proverb
No Laser Torches
A sign in the Egyptian National Museum...
And an Afghan Dari proverb, courtesy of Theo Beers:
"If it happened, it happened. If it didn't...there's meat in the house."
And an Afghan Dari proverb, courtesy of Theo Beers:
"If it happened, it happened. If it didn't...there's meat in the house."
8.21.2010
The Man Who Met Moses
Today, we got a personal tour of the mummies in The Egyptian National Museum by the curator himself. We got to see the mummy of Ramses II, the Pharaoh who may have been a contemporary of Moses.
Arroz con Pollo
Our Tafseer al-Qur'an (Interpretation of the Qur'an) professor brought in home-cooked food for us so we could break our fast during class. We had grilled chicken, fried rice with liver, spicy salad, tahini, bread, hawashi (like a Jamaican beef patty), and lahem (slow-stewed beef). The dinner conversation with our professor was about how you can find chicken and rice dishes in every culture. I taught him how to say arroz con pollo.
8.17.2010
Libyan Iftar
My classmates and I went to our professor's house for iftar last night (the breaking of the fast), which basically meant talking about politics in Arabic, playing with people's kids, and eating for eight hours, till 3 in the morning. Below are photos of the unbelievably incredible Libyan food.
The Call to Prayer
On a visit to the Sultan Hassan Mosque before Friday afternoon prayer, the Muadhin offered to sing the call to prayer for us. Below is a recording of him and a photo of the Cairo city-scape from Al-Azhar Park. On the night that I took this photo, mosques around the city were blasting recitations of Qur'anic passages from sundown till sunrise.
Below is a photo of Sultan Hassan Mosque and my classmate, former Forbes and ABC News journalist, Stephanie Dahle. You can see her blog here: http://stephaniedahle.com/
8.14.2010
Egypt is Luminous Because of You
"Masr nawwrt." -- "Egypt is luminous because of you."
"Nawwrt min ahli-ha." -- "It is lit because of its people."
"Nawwrt min ahli-ha." -- "It is lit because of its people."
