Post written morning of February 1oth:
Cairo is NOT a beautiful city.
It is LOUD.
It is DIRTY.
It is full of honking horns, shouting people and smog.
But the people have lovely hearts. And there is great history here. Culture abounds in every form – much unknown and unnoticed by Egyptians themselves but thirstily enjoyed by us foreigners. We are having a blast.
Memorable moments thus far:
- taxi drivers nearly coming to blows as we excited the airport. Physical pushing and threats made at each other in an effort to earn our business.
- the long-gowned Muslim woman whose son tried to talk her onto an escalator in a modern mall and who simply couldn’t take that step onto the moving stairs. His wide grin and her clinging arms and stubborn feet were irresistably laughable.
- The Pharaonic Village in all it’s glory. Far from “authentic” as billed but great fun for the kids. David and I got some laughs too!
-Head coverings of every kind on the beautiful Egyptian women. I find it fascinating to see young Muslim girls wearing tight jeans and tops together with a thick multilayered head covering. There is the full gamut here from traditional full-face and body veiling to the modern-day women who do not even cover their heads. Most interesting is that head coverings are a fashion statement, perfectly coordinated with their clothing. Naomi and I are jealous!!
- Arabic EVERYWHERE. I have always imagined that Arabic is too hard to read in REAL life. Yet here each shop name is written in Arabic, every license plate, most menus. We recognize a few words from the Juba Arabic we spoke (briefly) in S. Sudan. Both David and I feel a craving to learn Arabic. It is somewhere between singsong and harsh with the mediterranean feel mixing with the Hebrew guttural sounds.
-Papyrus Making We discovered that what we have always called “pom-pom forests” in Uganda is actually Papyrus!! We learned to make papyrus paper and learned the wonderful history of it’s making and use. It was rediscovered only fifty years ago!
-Food! The kids favorite discovery of food in Egypt is . . . . Orange sweet potatoes!! They love Ugandan sweet potatoes but don’t know to be surprised by their cream color and barely sweet flavor. Orange sweet potatoes (like ours in America) taste like candy to them!! In the bazaar here, the sweet potato man walks around with his wooden cart, selling freshly baked (on the cart!) potatoes. We quickly bought a HUGE one (after Naomi tugged my sleeve and said, “Mom, mom! Aren’t those the orange potatoes you told me about from America!!”) The potato was devoured in minutes, as fast as our mouths could take it’s heat. And this morning they are already talking about buying another. We have also tried pigeon, enjoyed shawarma street sandwiches (Acacia, I thought of you!), sampled nuts from street vendors, and looked longingly at all the amazing fresh fruit from car windows. We hope to pick up some this morning! Though we love the traditional Egyptian cooked foods, especially the spiced meats and rices, what is most exciting is simply the variety, freshness and availability of so many foods in-country. Egypt is blessed!
- Explosive speech. I find the tone and volume of many Egyptian men to be quite startling! It is not unusual for the waiter at the table to begin screaming to another waiter at a tone which hurts the ears and makes you jump! In traffic drivers snarl at each other then break into smiles. At street corners one notices men’s faces turned into their phones, speaking Arabic at high speeds and high volumes and acting as if life as they know it has ended. Just another conversation here. We have often turned to each other and said, ” can you imagine living at this stress level all the time!” but I’m not sure it is stressful to them to shout at each other the way it would be to us!
-Smoking; cigarette smoking is rampant here. It seems a compulsion for every driver, tour guide, etc. Quite sad, really. Of course there is also the hookah or shiwah which is used with flavored tobacco. In outside cafes you can see Egyptian men enjoying an evening puff of this relaxing habit. I have yet to see a woman try it. We took a puff too just for fun (and besides, our friends were doing it.)
- the Bazaar; Kahl el Khalili is the Egyptian Bazaar in Cairo. It is huge, touristy and filled with Chinese goods. But when you venture into the long dark alleys it is also beautiful and colorful. We loved taking sweet drinks at El Fishawys smoky brass tables; hibiscus juice, mint lemonade and tamarind juice. Naomi and I got prettified with henna and we spent many hours walking the streets of the bazaar and people watching.
-OF COURSE, THE PYRAMIDS. Quinn’s excitement as we reached the pyramids was incredible. They were incredible. Of course there were hawkers, there were too many picture takers. But they are absolutely unreal in their size, their majesty. We climbed down inside the smallest pyramid, through a steep shaft and landed in a small burial room. We walked between pyramids and marveled at the dust, the barreness, the size of each stone. It was super windy the day we went and sand was EVERYWHERE; in our hair, between our teeth.
-Islam; 85% of Egypt is Muslim while 15% is Coptic Christian. Our hearts are drawn deeply to the death of this culture, spiritually. Egypt needs Jesus.
Heading out to Athens this morning. All for now.