october

October 2009, Cairo, Egypt

Went to a "Race for the Cure" breast cancer run around the pyramids. It consisted of a mile stroll and some faked fatigue pictures.

Spent a night at a beach city called Agamy near Alexandria on the Mediterranean. The waves were so big and it wasn't crowded. Apparently perfect Cape Cod weather is cold Egyptian weather.


I read the Egyptian paper quite often here to better understand the culture here and of course the view on Israel. Please compare the article I read on BBC news and then read the article I read Al-Ahram, Egypt's most widely circulated newspaper.

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8324539.stm

Al Ahram: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/970/re2.htm

Some interesting quotes to snag your attention:

"so-called Temple of Solomon"
The reason the al-aqsa mosque was built on the Temple Mount is because it is said Mohammed went to "the farthest mosque" (the translation of al-aqsa") during his night journey. Obviously a the time of this prophecy there were no mosques, this has traditionally refered to the place of Solomon's Temple. A place whose historical existence is being questioned in this article and throughout the Muslim world.

"the religious Zionist camp in Israel, which spearheads anti-Islam provocations at Al-Aqsa esplanade, held a meeting in West Jerusalem during which Jews were urged to descend to the Islamic holy place and wrest it from the hands of the "goyem" (a derogatory epithet for non-Jews)."

"Israeli media reported that Israel was planning a "major archaeological excavation under Al-Buraq Court", renamed "the Western Wall plaza". "
Renaming the Western Wall (the western retaining wall of the Temple of Solomon and holy place for Jews) Al-Buraq Court is a common tactic in denouncing a Jewish claim to any part of Israel. Al-buraq refers to the horse-like creature Mohammad rode on his night journey. The claim is that Mohammed tethered the animal to the Western Wall, thereby making this an Islamic holy site. This claim began in the 20th century. Until the 1920's, Muslims called the wall "al-Mabka" or place of Wailing.

Back to Cairo, Back to School

Back in Cairo, Back to School, Back to Blogging


Sugar Cane Juice- about as fresh as it gets!

As I was taking a picture of a mosque in the city of Tanta (1 hour north of Cairo), locals asked me to take their picture. And if you take one, you end up being swarmed by a whole group of people who for some reason want me to take home photos of them. This is a very common thing to happen here among poorer communities, they also take pictures of or with us if they have cameras. Once a man told me to wait a moment in Arabic and I wasn't quite sure why except that he had something about his child, and all of a sudden he brought his son and asked for a picture.


Some more blatant anti-semitism (varying from usual swastika I see) in my neighborhood's graffiti, however this time I was shocked to see "עם ישראל חי " on the following wall, a very popular slogan found in Israeli graffiti meaning "the people/nation of Israel live"

Went to Tanta for a night...

The Train (third class has no airconditioning.... and tourists aren't even allowed to take it).

Loving the Desert

I was invited to a BBQ with Israelis at a very beautiful desert park right on the edge of Cairo (and we all thought I wouldn't get kosher meat in Egypt :) :) !!)

Yalla Masr!! (go egypt!!)

October 6th is an Egyptian national holiday celebrating the supposed Egyptian victory during the Yom Kippur war. When I asked my roommate, "isn't it weird that Egypt celebrates a war it didn't win?" She was very confused and said, "no, Egypt won." Just another reminder that history can be told many ways.
(hardcore fan)
So anyways... I went to the Fifa U-20 soccer match on October 6th, a day of extreme Egyptian nationalism displayed best at a soccer match Egypt vs Costa Rica. There were so many flags, so much cheering and a red, black and white dress code strictly enforced. Driving towards the stadium, every car honked in harmony with each other. Unfortunately this match ended on a somber note when Egypt lost 2-0 to Costa Rica, and I learned the word "a-ha".. "shit"


חגים בקהיר Holidays in Cairo الأعياد بالقاهرة Les fêtes au Caire
My head was swimming with languages as I switched between Hebrew, English, Arabic and French each time I went to shul here.

- Yom Kippur- I went to a synagogue in the neighborhood where the Israeli embassy workers live. It was a veryy hot day for fasting! I met many Israelis, working Americans and other students, it was very nice to unearth the secret community here. The security was very tight, there were Israeli security guards who spoke to us in Hebrew as a quick way to see that we were Jewish, the police blocked off all of the surrounding streets, and as we walked away they followed us until we were in a restaurant breaking the fast to make sure we were safe and no one else was following us. It was a little strange to be followed, but I was very grateful for the protection.

-Sukkot- A few friends and I went to a sukkot party where we met older Egyptian Jews who mostly speak French (which was fun for me). One woman told us her whole life story about how Nasser's regime took all of her families assets to use in the wars against Israel. Her family fled to Switzerland, but she remained in Egypt with her husband because they felt it was their home, and for health reasons she needed to live in warm temperatures. When we asked if she had ever been to Israel she said she had no interest and that Israel was to blame for all of the hardships she bore throughout her life. Besides from the interesting individuals, the party itself was quite a sukkot shock for me. There was no lulav, no etrog, unkosher meat, an albino guy with a guitar singing folksy American songs and no one ate in the sukkah.

- Simchat Torah- This time the service took place in the only remaining synagogue in the heart of downtown Cairo. The security this time was a swat team with helmets and huge guns. The synagogue had very impressive stained glass windows covered with metal bars. Sitting in the shul, I imagined what the services used to be like, as this synagogue was the largest and most ornate I had ever been to and was shocked with the contrast of what was; about 25 people total, many on cell phones, some taking pictures. However everthing changed when the Torahs were taken out. Although the Egyptian Jews had been indifferent about services at the sukkot party, asking why there was a want for a service, the mood on simchat torah was very different. As the Torahs were paraded throughout the synagogue, the congregants kissed the Torahs with love, respect and honor. The Torah, the book that connects Jews from all over the world, was the one piece of connection that the Cairian congregants held onto.


and because videos are fun...


A firebreather preforming at my favorite outdoor tea and shisha place.

Istanbul and Capadocia, Türkiye

Thanks to the fear and spread of Swine Flu in Egypt, the government closed down all schools and universities. I already had a break for the Eid al-fitr (the end of Ramadan), so my vacation was extended for another week and a half, and therefore my trip to Turkey was also extended for the best swine flu break ever!

Arrival 9/17/09 The first night in Istanbul was spent doing some basic exploring as we stumbled upon a very Turkish free concert seen below:

ate some 1 Lira street corn:

watched the magic of Turkish lollipops which are really a hybrid between lolly and taffy.

and got a sneak preview of monuments we would later visit.

The Hagia Sophia (a church turned mosque, truly beautiful building)
The mihrab (place in a mosque which indicates the direction to Mecca which Muslims pray towards) is off center in the Hagia Sophia because it was originally built as a Church. Many of the icons of saints and Jesus have also been painted over and crosses removed with the outlines still seen.

If you move your hand in a full circle, your wish will come true. My arm is glowing, so my wishes will surely be fufilled!

ראש השנה בטורקיה
For Rosh Hashanah I enjoyed a festive meal at Chabad of Istanbul complete with apples, honey and meat (which I have been doing without as I have not yet found a kosher butcher in Cairo.) Funny enough at the Chabad dinner two other AUC students who were travelling Turkey sat across from me, I guess all the maranos come out during the high holidays. I went to services at a very high security shul in downtown Istanbul where I was given the "are you really Jewish test?" The women's section was barren, but it was nice to not feel as much like a foreigner if only for a few hours. My travel companions and I preformed tashlich on a boat, and threw our sins out into the Bosphorus river.


After a boat cruise on the Bosphorus, we arrived at a small island in *Asia* and on the top we explored a forgotten castle.



The view from the top of the island.

This is me and Moses' staff. That's right, the Moses, Moshe Rabbeinu. We went to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul which is full of Biblical and Quranic relics as well as treasures from the good ol' days of the Ottman empire. To add to Moses' staff (obviously my favorite), I saw Joseph's hat (pure white and in mint condition), John the Baptist's arm, Mohammad's sword, parts of his beard and as seen below, his footprint.
















The Blue Mosque, also beautiful and has a very comfortable carpet that was nice to sit on. Although the mosque was fully functioning, tourists are allowed inside in between prayer times, which gets tricky to time what with prayer 5 times a day. Being Cairo girls, we knew to cover hair, no shoes, no taking pictures of people in the middle of prayer etiquette which was ignored by some of our fannypacking peers.

This is me and a chicken nearby the Blue Mosque.














Restaurants all have basic-English speaking men inviting you to their restaurant and to just look at their menu, this is Natalie saying "sorry we already ate" for the 20th time.

The view from the top of one of our hostels at sunset.














Princes' Islands. One day we took a ferry to an island near Istanbul which used to be a summer get-away for the sons of the Sultan and now is just a get-away for common peasantry such as myself. No cars are allowed so we rented bikes and toured the island as we attempted not to get run over by horse drawn carriages that provide transportation to the less adventurous. Here are my friends/travel companions as we took a rest from biking and watched the sea (from the left: Natalie, Ellen and Brianna)














Capadocia! (location: 10 hour overnight bus ride from Istanbul to central Turkey) What's there? awesome rock formations and caves that people live/d in and an underground city that early Christians hid in during times of persecution.


My fully tourist and fully stylish outfit: Real leather fanny pack (the Grand Bazaar), very cozy and brightly knit socks going great with my leather sandles (souvenir shop), Pashmina scarf/impromptu blanket (Chinatown, NY t-minus 4 years).

A truly breathtaking view.


I am smiling with my eyes, just like Tyra told me.


Another chance for wish making in Turkey! How to: Wrap a napkin or piece of plastic bag to this tree and make a wish. Hope it works :)

Hamam (Turkish Bath)
After 2 consecutive nights sleeping on a bus to and from Capadocia, we experienced the much needed Turkish bath. Although I did not take any pictures, this google image pretty much details the experience. We were washed, scrubbed, massaged and then given tea. I probably hadn't felt more dirty previous to the Hamam experience, but afterwards I had never felt so clean, almost a week later, I'm still feeling sparkling clean. Highly reccomended, especially for the grungy traveller.



The following are some miscellanious fun Turkey pictures from my incredible vacation.

Many times use of these toilets cost money, and toilet paper is not necessarily included.

A butcher with a sense of humor.

Finally, a Jewish doll! (just kidding, I don't know why she has horns).

I'm willing to bet that Obama did not buy a scarf at this stall...

We learned some turkish phrases, such as "how much is this?" (nakeda) without learning the numbers to understand the response, we had our fortune told by bunnies, we went between Europe and Asia on the same day, we drank Raki (the famous Turkish alochol), we made friends at hostels and bumped into friends from Cairo and we ate a lot of bread because it was free at restaurants. One thing I really liked about Turkey was the amount of color seen everywhere on houses, boats, clothes and scarves. It really reflected the livliness of Istanbul.

Cairo and Port Said, Egypt: Week 2 بداية الصفوف

This weekend I took a day trip to Port Said, a nice city on the Mediterranean and Suez Canal. The day was filled with boat watching, a horse carriage tour around the city, markets, cheap delicious food and some tea and sweets with a nice man with four wives. Some Egyptian twenty-something men came up to my friends and I and began to follow us, saying "we want only friendship." At first we just said nothing and kept walking, but they were persistent, so I spoke in French pretending not to understand their Arabic or English "Quoi? No english, desolée!" A proven effective strategy, highly recommended!

Saw boats of all shapes, sizes and colors hanging out around the Suez Canal.

Israeli tank from 56 Suez Crisis Hey Nasser!

My Neighborhood in Zamalek في الزمالك

I live on an island in the middle of the Nile. It is filled with beautiful big trees, embassies and American restaurants (but you can find Egyptian ones too). My sense of direction is horrible, to say the least, and the fact that everything goes in circles and street signs are hard to come by has led to my complete disorientation, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. The neighborhood is very safe and pretty close to downtown and best of all, a very short walk to the Nile from my dormitory.

 

The trees are enormous, generally taking up the sidewalk, and grow at 45 degree angles.

The garden in the middle of the dorm.

American University in Cairo Campus الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة

    The library: 

Campus is in the desert. 


And in downtown....
(Um Kalthoum at the cafe dedicated to her image and music)

Cairo, Egypt: Week 1 ! أهلاً وسهلاً للقاهرة

I arrived here around 2:30 am Egyptian time from Tel Aviv, responding to all questions in Hebrew instead of Arabic (oy vey). The first week was orientation week for Study Abroad students. We toured Old Cairo (where I saw the synagogue built on the exact place Moses was scooped up from the Nile), we went on a falluqa (Egyptian sail boat) ride on the Nile, I saw the pyramids, I went on my own adventures with other students and I filled out a lot of paperwork.

I am touching the Great Pyramid in Giza. You can see the Pyramids in the distance from the city which is very cool. I haven't discovered any secret tombs yet, but I still have the whole year so I didn't want to rush it on my first week.

A reinactment of the hard labor my ancestors performed in the land of Egypt.

My schoolbus.

First Mosque in Egypt.

Souq Khan el Khalili: This is a market where men ask me how many camels I am worth and tell me how beautiful I am. (This is a very good place to go to build your self esteem). I now know I am worth 1 million camels and look like a spice girl.

And apparently my gentlemen friends are very lucky to have 3 beautiful wives.
Hungy anyone?

Me and Ali.
One thing really amazing about being in Egypt during at this time is experiencing a bit of Ramadan. Each day Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown, by the last few hours of the fast a lot of the city shuts down and things for Cairo standards are pretty quiet. All of a sudden the call to prayer is heard from wherever you are (Allahu Akbar!) and everyone breaks their fast at the same time at the iftar meal. While walking through the markets with some AUC friends, strangers invited us to join their meal. It is traditional as part of the spirit of Ramadan to welcome anyone to the iftar meal. We ate with a shopkeeper and his family communicating through broken english, arabic and hand gestures and smiles. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life, to be so welcomed by a complete stranger. I soon saw that hospitality was a very strong trait in Egyptian culture. Later that night we bought spices from a man who invited us to his iftar another night, the photo above is of me and the spice man's (Salah) son's friend, Ali who continued to follow us after the meal.
Brianna, myself, Ellen touring a 700 year old mosque in downtown Cairo.
(Mosque etiquette: shoes off, headscarf on)

Lying in Cairo: When I got to the dorm I was asked about my flight: how long was it? where did you fly from? And so the lying began to save me from explaining my trip to Israel. My next lies followed with saying I am a vegetarian (you are currently reading the blog of a kosher steak enthusiast). Many people asked me why I was vegetarian and at first it was hard to stick with one story, but luckily the inquiries have mostly stopped. The biggest lie of course has been the question of religion. When asked by American students I say I find beauty in all religion and I really enjoy studying religions. Only today in fact I was directly asked by two friends on separate occasions who perhaps suspected. I was also asked by an Egyptian man who I briefly met if I was Christian and I said yes. Lying about my Jewish identity is mentally very straining and upsetting and it can be very hard to be myself sometimes. Even in my sociology class I am required to write an essay titled "Who Am I?" and I still have not decided if I will write about who I actually am or simply continue with my alter-ego.

Antisemitism in Cairo: It is interesting to experience anti-semetism when no one knows you're Jewish. My orientation Arabic teacher was talking about the meaning of hijab (headscarf Muslim women wear) and then said Jewish women don't understand modesty because they only cover their hair after marriage, and something about how they believe their hair is sinful. I used a Jewish website on my ipod to explain to this women the Jewish traditions and confronted her without outing myself. I've also seen t-shirts that say "free palestine" with a palestinian flag over the entire map of Israel, students who joke about how Israel probably controls Egypt's internet and can just stop it whenever they want, and of course swastikas all over the city. Most of the antisemetic propaganda is directly from the Holocaust and I can easily pick up an Arabic copy of Mein Kempf from the little stand in front of my grocery store that only sells Hitler's book, the Qur'an and maybe 10 other options.