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back in Cairoback in Cairo Everyone has been asking me if things feel or look any different here in Cairo after the revolution.  When I left, there were tanks in my neighborhood, a curfew, lots of gunfire, there was no internet, and Mubarak was still president.  Now, Mubarak is gone, the police are back on the streets, the tanks have rolled out,...

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from ancient to medieval in Cairofrom ancient to medieval in Cairo On Tuesday we started our day with a cab ride to Tahrir to see the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. We spent a few hours enjoying the Tutahnkamun exhibit, Akhenaten collection, and other ancient art and artifacts of Egypt. We then took a taxi to the Citadel. The views of the city were stunning. We...

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weddles in luxorweddles in luxor This past week has been a whirlwind!  After seeing some sights around Cairo with Ryan, my parents arrived and we left for Luxor.  We arrived in Luxor around midday and decided to check out Luxor Temple in the afternoon sunlight.  It was incredible.  The city of Luxor creeps right up to the edges of these ancient sites,...

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Mount SinaiMount Sinai Last weekend we went on a faculty trip to Mount Sinai.  After a 9 hour bus ride through barren, empty, desert, along the eastern coast of Egypt and across the Sinai Peninsula, we made it to Dahab where the best thing about our hotel was the coral reef meters from our room.  Another 2 hour bus ride through a forbidding...

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Unfinished ObeliskUnfinished Obelisk Once we got to Aswan and after a crazy taxi experience that entailed some serious driver rivalry, keys stolen from the ignition, a chase involving a tire iron, and a group of tourists, ahem, us, quietly unloading our luggage and finding another cab... (yeah, I know, OH EGYPT!) Anyhow once we got to Aswan, we decided...

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Dahab

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Posted by Emily | Posted on 24-01-2011

Category : Family, Scott & Diane's Visit, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt, Welcome in Egypt

While Brandon’s parents were in town, we decided to visit Dahab on the Red Sea.  The snorkeling there is absolutely amazing and it is apparently deemed a little safer than Sharm El Sheikh (where there have been some recent shark attacks).  If you haven’t been to Dahab, it’s beautiful!  Looking across the Red Sea, you can see Saudi Arabia, and behind you, the stunning landscape of the Sinai Peninsula.  It’s really gorgeous.

I love all the restaurants and cafes lining the coast.  It’s definitely a relaxing place to hang out.

Photo by Scott Canfield

Photo by Scott Canfield

Photo by Scott Canfield

Photo by Scott Canfield

The first day we were there, we did some snorkeling in the bay where we saw all kinds of colorful fish and corals.  The next day, we walked out to an area called the Island.

Photo by Scott Canfield

It was absolutely amazing.  I wish I had an underwater camera because describing all the colorful sea life simply can’t convey how awesome it really was.  We saw all kinds of colorful triggerfish, parrotfish, cornetfish, pufferfish, and dozens of other types of fish I can’t even name.  We even saw a school of barracudas!  It was such a neat experience!

We also had a great time relaxing, reading, and playing cribbage (my new favorite game!).  By late afternoon, however, it was clear that a storm was blowing in.

Photo by Scott Canfield

There was an incredible storm that night, complete with spectacular thunder and lightning, hail, and of course power and water outages.

Photo by Scott Canfield

The next morning the sea was totally calm with virtually no wind, and the tide was very low.

Photo by Scott Canfield

There were hundreds of hermit crabs and creepy crawly starfish along with cats and dogs rummaging around the low tide for something to eat.

Photo by Scott Canfield

That afternoon we had to drive back to the airport in Sharm El Sheikh to catch our return flight home.  We were happy to hear that the roads were clear after the huge storm.  But as we made the trip back, we realized that most of one of the roads was completely covered in mud and rocks, which meant we shared a two-lane road with oncoming traffic at top speed.  It was a little bit scary, especially when we came to areas with mud, rocks, and debris blocking the road.  And with the sun going down, I was honestly a little worried, but we made it!

way out in the water, see it swimming?

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Posted by emily | Posted on 15-05-2010

Category : Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

It is a busy time of the year for us.  Final exams are next week (and I actually have one early final in a few days!), projects are due, Brandon has lots of grading and work to get done preparing for the summer term, we have summer travel to plan, and unfortunately for everyone around me, my patience seems to be in a little shorter supply than usual (sorry everybody!).  I think I must be suffering from some serious “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” syndrome.  I am really ready for summer and can’t wait to see family and friends and enjoy all of the wonderful, wonderful comforts of home.   I am sure by the end of summer I will be getting excited about returning to Cairo, but for now, I can’t stop daydreaming about all the things I want to do and places I want to go and food I want to eat back in the States.

Anyhow… we just got home after a relaxing weekend at the beach in Ain Soukhna.  It was really nice to get out of city, enjoy a little fresher air, and swim in the ocean.  We saw about a million sea urchins, but fortunately avoided getting pricked.  I did hold one in my hand, which after overcoming my initial fear of the spikey little creatures, was pretty neat. They can crawl!  Who knew!?

There were lots of shells and coral washed up on the beaches.  Kids were finding teeny tiny hermit crabs, urchins, fish, and harmless purple jellyfish.  Brandon found several strange shells that looked something like a cross between a sand dollar and a horseshoe crab. We went out with our snorkels and fins and found some live ones which were covered in strange, flexible, moving spines.  They were really bizarre!  After looking online, we think they are Lovenia Elongata which I think is like a significantly more animated and really bizarre type of sea urchin.

All in all, we had a great time.  Now it’s time to wrap up all my studying and finish the semester!

Mount Sinai

Posted by emily | Posted on 28-04-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

Last weekend we went on a faculty trip to Mount Sinai.  After a 9 hour bus ride through barren, empty, desert, along the eastern coast of Egypt and across the Sinai Peninsula, we made it to Dahab where the best thing about our hotel was the coral reef meters from our room.  Another 2 hour bus ride through a forbidding landscape of rocky terrain and craggy mountains and we arrived at St. Catherine’s Monastery which is located at the base of Mt. Sinai.

Climbing Mt. Sinai was an amazing experience.  We began climbing in the afternoon.  Most visitors make the journey in the middle of night, climb in the dark, and reach the peak at dawn.  While that sounds lovely and majestic, I can’t imagine how I would have kept my footing in the dark.  However, with the path ahead visible in the blinding midday sun, I can understand how climbing in the dark might have its benefits.  Regardless, the views were incredible in the afternoon sun.

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Unfinished Obelisk

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Posted by emily | Posted on 19-04-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Family, Robin & Grandma's Visit, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

Once we got to Aswan and after a crazy taxi experience that entailed some serious driver rivalry, keys stolen from the ignition, a chase involving a tire iron, and a group of tourists, ahem, us, quietly unloading our luggage and finding another cab… (yeah, I know, OH EGYPT!)

Anyhow once we got to Aswan, we decided to pay a visit to the unfinished obelisk.  Let’s take a magical visit to antiquity together, shall we?

Now I know everyone experiences frustration and disappointment in life.  But please try to imagine you are working in the scorching hot desert thousands of years ago with no promise of an air conditioned home awaiting you after a hard day’s labor quarrying stone with ancient tools and no SPF.  Think about it.  You’ve just chipped and chiseled away at the granite bedrock for who knows how long.  The giant obelisk is coming along nicely, you at least have the satisfaction of knowing it is going to be the largest obelisk ever, hooray for human endeavor!  And then what’s that?  A crack?  Surely not.  And just like that, all of your hard work has to be completely abandoned.

Ugh, heartbreaking.

But at least it still attracts interest and awe thousands of years later.

Yikes.

Take a look at these chisel marks.  I can’t even  imagine how you’d quarry, hoist, and haul something like that. 

Amazing.

Alexandria

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Posted by emily | Posted on 06-01-2010

Category : Current Favorites, Meredith's Visit, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

Back in the day when Meredith was visiting, the three of us decided to get out of Cairo and visit Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea.  We stayed at the Sofitel right on the Corniche (the street that follows the coastline), and enjoyed the semi-fresh sea air and semi-break from Cairo life.  Here is our hotel.  It was relatively old and had lots of charm.  I take that back.  It had lots of charm, but there is nothing “relatively old” in this whole region that isn’t about 5,000 years old.  Nevermind.

alex_sofitel

Here is the view from our hotel.

alex_night_coastalex_day_coast

Love that landscaping.  Love it.  I love when cities go the extra mile.  Thanks, Alexandria.  Plus, look how tidy everything looks!  I was loving it!!

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Saqqara and the Red Pyramid

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Posted by emily | Posted on 06-01-2010

Category : Meredith's Visit, Travel & Sightseeing, Travel within Egypt

When Meredith was visiting we took a day trip to Saqqara and the Red Pyramid.  Here are some shots from the car.

saqqara car ride_small

egg truck_small

Yep, that’s a truck full of eggs.

After driving through agricultural areas and more small towns lining a canal, and going through vast, dense forests of date palms, the lush greenery abruptly ended and all of a sudden we were in the desert.

step pyramid at saqqara_small

The step pyramid at Saqqara is the oldest stone pyramid in the world.  Meredith and I really enjoyed the tremendously informative museum at the site.  It pointed out interesting details that I might not have even considered, such as the oldest stone frieze known to man and the oldest stone ceiling.  It was incredible and I enjoyed being able to see things like pottery and jewelry on site, rather than seeing everything from everywhere all together at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It was also a great refresher on some of the basic iconography.

Here are some photos from our visit…

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