We just got back from Luxor last night and our stay there was
really fun and really hot. The temperature was about 112
degrees both days so we scheduled our tours to start in the
early moringing (around 6:30) and finish by about 11, which
was before it got really hot. Luckily the hotel had a really
nice pool and bar/ice cream shop right next to the pool.
The first day we visited the temple of Ramses II and the
valley of the Kings. The tombs in the valley of the kings
were all so well preserved and colorful, it was unbelievable.
Unfortunately, you couldn't take pictures in any of the
tombs. What it comes down to is that you aren't allowed to
take pictures of the coolest things. There are plenty of guys
selling postcards out buy the busses with pictures inside the
tombs, though. King Tut's tomb was actually the least
spectacular and the smallest that we visited.
We also visited the Luxor Museum which was much nicer and much more orderly than the Cairo museum. The only problem was that whom ever was hired to do the Arabic to english translations for the little cards that describe each object wasn't very good. Often times there would be words missing or the sentences just didn't make sense.
The flight back to Cairo wasn't eventful and we too tired to go anywhere for dinner so we got Hardee's delivered (They deliver everything here- mcdonalds, groceries, etc.)
time for bed.
adios
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Luxor: T-Minus 6 hours and counting...
Hey everyone-
It is about 9pm here and in just 6 short hours (yes, that's 3am) we're boarding our bus to go to the airport to fly down to Luxor.
The Last couple of days we have spent visiting sites around Cairo. We went to Memphis to see the step pyramid which was really cool. That was the first place I've been in Egypt where it really looks like those barren desert vistas that you see in movies. We also went to see the tombs of the nobles in Sakkara. Inside the tombs the relief and painting was so intact that it looked like a movie set. The tour guide explained a lot of the scenes to us and I think I really learned a lot.
We also went to the Coptic section of Cairo the other day. We visited several churches that had icons and paintings just like you see slides of in art history class. We also visited the oldest Jewish temple left in the country. There used to be a large Jewish population in egypt, but now there are said to be less than 100 people left.
Yesterday, we were given a tour of the Islamic section of Cairo by some people from the American Research Center in Egypt. They are the organization that figures out how to spend most of the funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development. They are currently running about 10 restoration and conservation projects all over Egypt.
I'm off to get ready for Luxor; I'll write more when I get back.
-Colin
It is about 9pm here and in just 6 short hours (yes, that's 3am) we're boarding our bus to go to the airport to fly down to Luxor.
The Last couple of days we have spent visiting sites around Cairo. We went to Memphis to see the step pyramid which was really cool. That was the first place I've been in Egypt where it really looks like those barren desert vistas that you see in movies. We also went to see the tombs of the nobles in Sakkara. Inside the tombs the relief and painting was so intact that it looked like a movie set. The tour guide explained a lot of the scenes to us and I think I really learned a lot.
We also went to the Coptic section of Cairo the other day. We visited several churches that had icons and paintings just like you see slides of in art history class. We also visited the oldest Jewish temple left in the country. There used to be a large Jewish population in egypt, but now there are said to be less than 100 people left.
Yesterday, we were given a tour of the Islamic section of Cairo by some people from the American Research Center in Egypt. They are the organization that figures out how to spend most of the funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development. They are currently running about 10 restoration and conservation projects all over Egypt.
I'm off to get ready for Luxor; I'll write more when I get back.
-Colin
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Alex
Friday morning we took the bus (the same bus that picked us up from the airport and has been driving us around Cairo) to Alexandria which is about a three hour drive. We took the Desert Highway which, as you would probably guess, cuts a straight path through the desert from Cairo to Alex. The road just touches the Nile delta for about 20 miles or so, but it was cool to suddenly see huge green fields and marshes after seeing sand for two hours. There really weren't any of the endless desert vistas that you'd imagine due to a strong push by the government over the past several years to develop the areas along the highway.
Alexandria was really beautiful and generally cleaner than Cairo. The city was built on a pennisula by Alexander the Great and coming up the main road with the Mediterranean on one side and the city on the other, it really reminded me of Lake Shore Drive. The hotel was right on the main street overlooking the bay and the Med. The building itself looked like one of the embassies in a James Bond movie or Mission Impossible.
That afternoon we went to the Greco-Roman Museum where our tour guide described the many statues of Roman emperors in pains-taking detail. That night we went to a seafood restaurant where there was no menu, just a display case of fish on ice. You pointed to the fish you wanted, told them whether you wanted it grilled or fried, and that was it. The seafood was all local and very fresh. Later on a group of us went and wondered down the main drag of Alex which was filled with stores, street vendors, and huge crowds of people. It was like Michigan Ave on a saturday afternoon, except that it was 11pm.
Today we saw the catacombs which are an enormous set of underground tombs carved out of solid rock They were first built around 100 BC for the governor of Alex but later expanded to house the bodies of any Alexandrian who could afford the burrial there. The catacombs are enormous and they actually had to stop excavating because they were digging under houses and a large school near by. It was really amazing because most of the relief carving on the walls of the governor's tomb has survived along with some of the original paint. The figure are a interesting mix of the heads of ancient Egyptian gods with Roman clothing and bodies.
We also visited Fort Qatibay which was built on the site of the old Alexandrian Lighthouse which was one of the original seven wonders of the world. The whole place was made almost entirely out of stone with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. This afternoon we returned to the dorm in Zamalek and are probably going to go walk around to find some souvenirs.
adios
-colin
Alexandria was really beautiful and generally cleaner than Cairo. The city was built on a pennisula by Alexander the Great and coming up the main road with the Mediterranean on one side and the city on the other, it really reminded me of Lake Shore Drive. The hotel was right on the main street overlooking the bay and the Med. The building itself looked like one of the embassies in a James Bond movie or Mission Impossible.
That afternoon we went to the Greco-Roman Museum where our tour guide described the many statues of Roman emperors in pains-taking detail. That night we went to a seafood restaurant where there was no menu, just a display case of fish on ice. You pointed to the fish you wanted, told them whether you wanted it grilled or fried, and that was it. The seafood was all local and very fresh. Later on a group of us went and wondered down the main drag of Alex which was filled with stores, street vendors, and huge crowds of people. It was like Michigan Ave on a saturday afternoon, except that it was 11pm.
Today we saw the catacombs which are an enormous set of underground tombs carved out of solid rock They were first built around 100 BC for the governor of Alex but later expanded to house the bodies of any Alexandrian who could afford the burrial there. The catacombs are enormous and they actually had to stop excavating because they were digging under houses and a large school near by. It was really amazing because most of the relief carving on the walls of the governor's tomb has survived along with some of the original paint. The figure are a interesting mix of the heads of ancient Egyptian gods with Roman clothing and bodies.
We also visited Fort Qatibay which was built on the site of the old Alexandrian Lighthouse which was one of the original seven wonders of the world. The whole place was made almost entirely out of stone with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. This afternoon we returned to the dorm in Zamalek and are probably going to go walk around to find some souvenirs.
adios
-colin
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Hello From Egypt
Howdy-
So, day two in Egypt, and things are great, but i'd better
start at the beginning.
On monday, the plane left 2 hours and 20 minutes late because
of bad weather on the east coast. Basically, we boarded the
plane at 5, sat on the ground until 8, and then flew the 7
1/2 hours to Paris. By the time we got to Paris (about
10.45am local), our connecting flight was long gone. Air
France put us up in one of the hotels connected to Charles de
Gaulle airport. We waited about 3 hours for them to look for
our luggage so we could change our clothes. They found about
half of it in that period of time (mine included) and then we
wandered around looking for the airport tram. The airport,
however, is basically in the middle of nowhere so we ate our
free ham and cheese sandwiches and then decided to do the
whirlwind tour of paris.
Paris is expensive, very expensive. And the fact that the
exchange rate for euros awful doesn't help either. The metro
into Paris was 7.70euro (about $9.50) each way. I have to
admit though, Paris is probably the most beautiful city i
have ever seen. We got off the metro at the Notre Dame stop
and got some pictures in front of the church. We then walked
across the Seine and down to the Louvre. The building is
enormous and the courtyard (where the glass pyramids are) is
about the size of kenilworth. We then kept walking through an
enourmous garden at the end of the champs elysee. The whole
street is bounded by rows of trees and cafe after cafe. (by
the way, the marriott paris is right on the street and looked
really nice). We ended at the arc du triumph and then headed
back. We had broken up into groups and three other people and
I got on the metro to go back to the airport where you could
catch the shuttle to the hotel. It took us about an hour and
15 minutes to navitate the metro, but we really didn't do
anyting wrong. We just spent a lot of time looking at the
maps and deciding what train to take and where to change
trains. We managed to make it back with 4 minutes to spare
before they stopped serving dinner at 10.30.
The next morning we were at the airport and checking in by
8.30 for our 10.15 flight to Cairo. At 10.15 they were still
trying to figure out how to adjust the walkway to the plane
and get the door open. they gave up shortly after that and we
were moved to gate 88 from gate 92. Walked down the walkway
from gate 88 and down a flight of stairs to the tarmac and
boarded a bus that drove us 50 meters to gate 92 where we
walked up the stairs to the walkway and on to the plane. We
arrived in Cairo about 1 1/2 hours late. Passport check and
customs was virtually nonexistant. Someone from the
university met us there and walked us through one of the
passport windows as a group where they glanced inside each
persons passport to check that we had bought a visa-not to
see that the picture was of us- and then stamped each
passport. We then collected all of our luggage at the baggage
claim and then the man from the university walked us through
customs where we held up our passports and the waved us
through without even looking at anyone's bags. We then got on
a minibus from the university and drove to the residence hall
in Zamalek.
The dorm (they call it the hostel) is really beautiful. They
said that it was built in 1991 and everything seems pretty
new still. The rooms are enormous, probably three times the
size of the dorms at U of I. The only slightly wierd thing is
that there are guards at the bottom of all the staircases
making sure that no females try to enter the male side of the
building and vice versa. The women also hace a seperate
street enterance that they can use that goes directly up to
their rooms. There are security guards everywhere. There are
about 4 men in white uniforms with large guns that stand in
the street around the building. Just outside the enterance
there are another 3 men who are employed by the school that
make sure only students come in and then there are another 3
guards inside the doors that glance in your bags to make sure
you don't have any alcohol.
Last night the professor took us all out to dinner at a
restaurant that was outdoors and right next to the nile. It
was tasty. This morning we went to the the pyramids at giza.
We climbed up the side of the pyramid about 15 ft until the
one of the guards started waving at us do get down- we got
some good pictures anyway. At the third pyramid (the
smallest) we went inside into the main chamber. Basically, it
was hot and looked like rock and that was about it. The
sphinx was amazingly cool. It is exactly like every picture
you see of it except that it seems a little smaller (though
that might be because we were just looking at the pyramids
which are so huge).
After the pyramids we went to the AUC main campus back in
cairo, got a quick lunch in the cafeteria, and then went to
listen to a lecture from one of the professors about
Alexandria- which is where we are going tomorrow.
Anyway, it is 1 in the morning (which means it is 5pm in
chicago) and the bus to Alex leaves at 7 so i am off to bed.
Tomorrow, I am going to try to post some pictures from today
on a website or livejournal or something.
Hope everyone is doing well.
-Colin
So, day two in Egypt, and things are great, but i'd better
start at the beginning.
On monday, the plane left 2 hours and 20 minutes late because
of bad weather on the east coast. Basically, we boarded the
plane at 5, sat on the ground until 8, and then flew the 7
1/2 hours to Paris. By the time we got to Paris (about
10.45am local), our connecting flight was long gone. Air
France put us up in one of the hotels connected to Charles de
Gaulle airport. We waited about 3 hours for them to look for
our luggage so we could change our clothes. They found about
half of it in that period of time (mine included) and then we
wandered around looking for the airport tram. The airport,
however, is basically in the middle of nowhere so we ate our
free ham and cheese sandwiches and then decided to do the
whirlwind tour of paris.
Paris is expensive, very expensive. And the fact that the
exchange rate for euros awful doesn't help either. The metro
into Paris was 7.70euro (about $9.50) each way. I have to
admit though, Paris is probably the most beautiful city i
have ever seen. We got off the metro at the Notre Dame stop
and got some pictures in front of the church. We then walked
across the Seine and down to the Louvre. The building is
enormous and the courtyard (where the glass pyramids are) is
about the size of kenilworth. We then kept walking through an
enourmous garden at the end of the champs elysee. The whole
street is bounded by rows of trees and cafe after cafe. (by
the way, the marriott paris is right on the street and looked
really nice). We ended at the arc du triumph and then headed
back. We had broken up into groups and three other people and
I got on the metro to go back to the airport where you could
catch the shuttle to the hotel. It took us about an hour and
15 minutes to navitate the metro, but we really didn't do
anyting wrong. We just spent a lot of time looking at the
maps and deciding what train to take and where to change
trains. We managed to make it back with 4 minutes to spare
before they stopped serving dinner at 10.30.
The next morning we were at the airport and checking in by
8.30 for our 10.15 flight to Cairo. At 10.15 they were still
trying to figure out how to adjust the walkway to the plane
and get the door open. they gave up shortly after that and we
were moved to gate 88 from gate 92. Walked down the walkway
from gate 88 and down a flight of stairs to the tarmac and
boarded a bus that drove us 50 meters to gate 92 where we
walked up the stairs to the walkway and on to the plane. We
arrived in Cairo about 1 1/2 hours late. Passport check and
customs was virtually nonexistant. Someone from the
university met us there and walked us through one of the
passport windows as a group where they glanced inside each
persons passport to check that we had bought a visa-not to
see that the picture was of us- and then stamped each
passport. We then collected all of our luggage at the baggage
claim and then the man from the university walked us through
customs where we held up our passports and the waved us
through without even looking at anyone's bags. We then got on
a minibus from the university and drove to the residence hall
in Zamalek.
The dorm (they call it the hostel) is really beautiful. They
said that it was built in 1991 and everything seems pretty
new still. The rooms are enormous, probably three times the
size of the dorms at U of I. The only slightly wierd thing is
that there are guards at the bottom of all the staircases
making sure that no females try to enter the male side of the
building and vice versa. The women also hace a seperate
street enterance that they can use that goes directly up to
their rooms. There are security guards everywhere. There are
about 4 men in white uniforms with large guns that stand in
the street around the building. Just outside the enterance
there are another 3 men who are employed by the school that
make sure only students come in and then there are another 3
guards inside the doors that glance in your bags to make sure
you don't have any alcohol.
Last night the professor took us all out to dinner at a
restaurant that was outdoors and right next to the nile. It
was tasty. This morning we went to the the pyramids at giza.
We climbed up the side of the pyramid about 15 ft until the
one of the guards started waving at us do get down- we got
some good pictures anyway. At the third pyramid (the
smallest) we went inside into the main chamber. Basically, it
was hot and looked like rock and that was about it. The
sphinx was amazingly cool. It is exactly like every picture
you see of it except that it seems a little smaller (though
that might be because we were just looking at the pyramids
which are so huge).
After the pyramids we went to the AUC main campus back in
cairo, got a quick lunch in the cafeteria, and then went to
listen to a lecture from one of the professors about
Alexandria- which is where we are going tomorrow.
Anyway, it is 1 in the morning (which means it is 5pm in
chicago) and the bus to Alex leaves at 7 so i am off to bed.
Tomorrow, I am going to try to post some pictures from today
on a website or livejournal or something.
Hope everyone is doing well.
-Colin
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