Sorry, no more pictures, just words. Here are some additional random thoughts and observations about Egypt:
1. Traffic. You just can't imagine what it's like to drive around Cairo. There are no traffic lights in a city of 23 million people (more than three times the population of Switzerland). Cars just wedge themselves in wherever they can. The honking is constant. There's always a traffic jam. You never know how long it will take you to get from one place to another. Lane markers mean nothing. In addition, pedestrians are always dashing across the road. Occasionally, the lines of cars are interrupted by a cart being pulled by a donkey. I didn't take any pictures because pictures wouldn't do it justice. You have to experience it.
2. Politics. I talked with our tour guide for hours about the revolution, the future of Egypt, and the Egyptian view of the United States. It took some doing, but I finally got him to open up a bit. Egyptians feel like Mubarak stole their future. As I mentioned in a earlier posting, they feel like they've been passed by by other countries like Turkey and Malaysia. And there's a good amount of resentment against the United States for supporting Mubarak. That's international diplomacy, I guess. Sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil. The U.S. supported Mubarak because he made life much easier for us in the Middle East, but there's a good argument to be made that we compromised some of our principles in doing so. It's not the first time we've done that, and it won't be the last. International diplomacy is messy and often unpleasant. Our guide was somewhat proud that the U.S. now has to go to all the trouble of dealing with a legitimately-elected parliament rather than just a single dictator.
There's also resentment against the U.S. for supporting Israel's actions against the Palestinians. (I'm not taking sides here, just reporting the Egyptian position.) Israel wouldn't be able to do what it does without the backing of the U.S., and that makes Egyptians angry when they see the conditions in which the Palestinians are living. (We didn't get into the issue of suicide bombers, missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza, and such. I just listened.)
3. The tourism industry, which is a major part of Egypt's economy, is really hurting. I asked one of our tour representatives if it was really worth it to them to run a group tour with just seven people. He told me that these days, he'd run a group tour with two people if that's all he could get. They're really desperate.
4. One thing that's kind of cool about being in a Muslim country like Turkey or Egypt is hearing the call to prayer five times a day. I guess it's like church bells in Switzerland. You get used to them after a while, but you really notice it if you're not used to it.
5. The vendors are incredibly aggressive at the tourist areas and the markets. You learn how to handle them after a while, but it's quite different from other places I've been.
6. You tip for everything in Egypt. The U.S. is in the middle of the extremes. You hardly ever tip in Europe; you occasionally tip in the U.S.; and you always tip in Egypt. We put our tip money into a "tip kitty" at the beginning of our time there, and our tour guide took care of handing out the tips as we went along. That was nice, because it's a never-ending part of life there.
7. Egyptian men often greet each other with a kiss on each cheek.
8. It was a little jarring seeing the dam in Aswan being guarded by a tank and soldiers. They're worried about someone trying to blow it up. You just don't see that kind of thing in Lakeville. But we felt completely safe the whole time we were there, even while we were right in the heart of Cairo. I never felt like we were in any danger.
And so, that about does it for Egypt. My two favorite trips since I've been in Switzerland have been Norway and Egypt. Extreme opposites, yes, but both were great places to spend some time.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Egypt, days 8 through 10
Day 8, we were still in Luxor. Our last big event was a visit to the Temple of Karnak. Unfortunately for me, I needed to spend the morning being no farther than about ten seconds away from a toilet. (Yup. Egypt had finally gotten to me. Tanner, though, had no ill effects, even though he went everywhere I did and ate everything I did, so I guess some things are just tough to predict.) I stayed at the hotel while Tanner took the camera and went out on his own. I can't tell you much about the temple, but I can show you some of the pictures that Tanner took.
Remember the curly pull tabs that came off of the can? They still look like that in Egypt. I guess the Green movement hasn't progressed quite as far in Egypt as it has in the States.
That night, we took another sleeper train all the way back down (north) to Cairo. The plan was to spend day 9 by the pool before flying home the next day; sadly, though, an unusual cold front swept through the area, and the temperature that day was only in the 50s, not exactly ideal pool weather. We wandered around Cairo and watched lots of cheesy TV shows at the hotel.
Day 10, we headed to the airport. One funny story: As we were standing in the line for immigration, I heard a voice yell out, "Ethan!" Seeing as how I don't know anyone in Egypt, or on the entire continent of Africa for that matter, I ignored the voice, thinking that I had heard something wrong. I heard my name again. I looked around. In the line next to me was a co-worker who had also gone to Egypt with his family. They were on our flight back to Zurich. What are the odds?
And one last image from the airport. Those of you who are at least a couple of years older than Gretchen will recognize what soda cans used to look like in the U.S.:
Remember the curly pull tabs that came off of the can? They still look like that in Egypt. I guess the Green movement hasn't progressed quite as far in Egypt as it has in the States.
So, there you have it. That's all the pictures. Tomorrow, I'll write about some other interesting experiences and things we learned about Egypt that aren't reflected in the pictures.
I was talking to a co-worker today who's also a bit of an adventurous traveler, and we both agreed that as nice as it is to visit Europe's great cities, they're starting to feel a bit stale. Egypt was so different that it's made me want to visit other places like South Africa or India or China where life is very different from we know. Let's see what happens next . . . .
Monday, February 27, 2012
Egypt, day 7
Day 7 was quite a busy day. Along with the pyramids, the highlight of any trip to Egypt is a visit to the Valley of the Kings, where there are dozens of tombs, including the tomb of King Tut. (There wasn't anything historically noteworthy about King Tut. He just happened to have the fortunate of no one discovering his tomb until 1922, which meant that the grave robbers hadn't gotten to it.)
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can show you from the Valley of the Kings. Predictably, you can't take pictures inside the tombs. I'll tell you that it's worth the trip, though. The colors on the walls are amazingly vibrant, even after thousands of years. The pictures and hieroglyphics stretch on forever. We went inside the tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV, and Ramses VI, but that was just a small sampling of what was available.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
This is Halel, our tour guide. He was with us the whole week. I spent hours talking with him about Middle East politics, the attitude of Egypt toward the United States, the future of Egypt, and other topics. I'll say more about that sometime.
That night, we rode in horse-drawn carriages to the Temple of Luxor. This was the only ancient Egyptian site that we visited in the dark, and it was a different kind of experience. It all looked a bit more mysterious and mystical at night than it would have during the day.
Unfortunately, there's nothing I can show you from the Valley of the Kings. Predictably, you can't take pictures inside the tombs. I'll tell you that it's worth the trip, though. The colors on the walls are amazingly vibrant, even after thousands of years. The pictures and hieroglyphics stretch on forever. We went inside the tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV, and Ramses VI, but that was just a small sampling of what was available.
After the Valley of the Kings, we visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
This is Halel, our tour guide. He was with us the whole week. I spent hours talking with him about Middle East politics, the attitude of Egypt toward the United States, the future of Egypt, and other topics. I'll say more about that sometime.
Next, we visited the Colossi of Memnon.
That night, we rode in horse-drawn carriages to the Temple of Luxor. This was the only ancient Egyptian site that we visited in the dark, and it was a different kind of experience. It all looked a bit more mysterious and mystical at night than it would have during the day.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Egypt, day 6
Today featured a side trip to the two temples at Abu Simbel. We took a quick flight from Aswan south to the town of Abu Simbel, just a few miles north of the southern border of Egypt. (Sudan is to the south.) Ramses built two temples here for himself and for his wife. As usual, we couldn't tak pictures inside, but I can tell you that the sites were pretty impressive. There were statues, carvings, and all kinds of hieroglyphics.
These four statutes depicted Ramses as he aged. The youngest Ramses is to the left, and the oldest Ramses is to the right. (I guess we all tend to put on weight as we age.) In the middle of the statues is a small access point. Twice per year, the sun shines through the hole and strikes the statues of Ramses and two other Egyptian gods inside the temple's inner sanctuary. Pretty impressive.
Sorry that there's not more I can show you. You'll just have to trust that it was quite awesome.
After we got back and spent some more quality time at the hotel pool, we packed up that evening for a three-hour train ride to Luxor, the last stop on our tour.
These four statutes depicted Ramses as he aged. The youngest Ramses is to the left, and the oldest Ramses is to the right. (I guess we all tend to put on weight as we age.) In the middle of the statues is a small access point. Twice per year, the sun shines through the hole and strikes the statues of Ramses and two other Egyptian gods inside the temple's inner sanctuary. Pretty impressive.
Sorry that there's not more I can show you. You'll just have to trust that it was quite awesome.
After we got back and spent some more quality time at the hotel pool, we packed up that evening for a three-hour train ride to Luxor, the last stop on our tour.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Egypt, days 4 and 5
I've combined the next two days because day 4 was pretty much devoted to sitting by the pool and enjoying the warm weather in Aswan, which is in the southern part of Egypt. We arrived in Aswan after a thirteen-hour train ride.
That night, we went out on the town and hit one of the local places for dinner. This dinner cost about $5 for Tanner and me.
The next day, we boated up the Nile to a Nubian village. The Nubians are an ethnic group within Egypt. They live apart from the rest of the Egyptians, but they're fairly well-integrated into Egyptian society. (I should explain that when you go "up" in Egypt, you're going south. It all has to do with the direction in which the Nile flows. Because it flows from south to north, southern Egypt is called "upper Egypt," and northern Egypt is called "lower Egypt.")
We visited a Nubian school, where we learned Arabic letters and numbers. (Tanner and I can now read Arabic numbers.) We then found some locals who were interested in a game of soccer. Not surprisingly, they're really good.
After that, we went to one of the homes in the village to have lunch. They had some interesting pets. I think this would be much better than having cats.
That night, we went out on the town and hit one of the local places for dinner. This dinner cost about $5 for Tanner and me.
The next day, we boated up the Nile to a Nubian village. The Nubians are an ethnic group within Egypt. They live apart from the rest of the Egyptians, but they're fairly well-integrated into Egyptian society. (I should explain that when you go "up" in Egypt, you're going south. It all has to do with the direction in which the Nile flows. Because it flows from south to north, southern Egypt is called "upper Egypt," and northern Egypt is called "lower Egypt.")
We visited a Nubian school, where we learned Arabic letters and numbers. (Tanner and I can now read Arabic numbers.) We then found some locals who were interested in a game of soccer. Not surprisingly, they're really good.
After that, we went to one of the homes in the village to have lunch. They had some interesting pets. I think this would be much better than having cats.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Egypt, day 3
The next day, we were right in Cairo. Our first stop was the Egyptian Museum. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures, so I can't show you anything, but I can tell you that the mummies, statues, and other exhibits in the museum are really cool.
The museum is right by Tahrir Square, where all the fun was going on at about this time last year. In this picture, you can see the burned-out headquarters of the National Democratic Party. The museum is the building in the right of the picture.
Our next stop was the Citadel Mosque.
Here's a view of Cairo from outside the mosque. As you can see, the air isn't exactly crystal clear in Cairo in the winter.
Our last stop before we left Cairo was the market of Khan el-Khalili. It's your typical Middle Eastern market with pushy vendors and mobs of people. You have to learn how to deal with Egyptian vendors, because they're relentless. And of course, haggling is part of any transaction.
Our day ended with a thirteen-hour ride on the sleeper train to Aswan in the southern part of Egypt. The seats form the lower bunk, and the upper bunk folds out of the wall. I can't say that it was the best night's sleep I've ever had, but it still beats trying to sleep on a plane.
The museum is right by Tahrir Square, where all the fun was going on at about this time last year. In this picture, you can see the burned-out headquarters of the National Democratic Party. The museum is the building in the right of the picture.
Our next stop was the Citadel Mosque.
Here's a view of Cairo from outside the mosque. As you can see, the air isn't exactly crystal clear in Cairo in the winter.
Our last stop before we left Cairo was the market of Khan el-Khalili. It's your typical Middle Eastern market with pushy vendors and mobs of people. You have to learn how to deal with Egyptian vendors, because they're relentless. And of course, haggling is part of any transaction.
Our day ended with a thirteen-hour ride on the sleeper train to Aswan in the southern part of Egypt. The seats form the lower bunk, and the upper bunk folds out of the wall. I can't say that it was the best night's sleep I've ever had, but it still beats trying to sleep on a plane.
Camel rides
Oops. In yesterday's post, I had meant to describe what it's like to ride a camel. I had ridden horses a bit as a kid, but this is quite a different experience.
First off, a camel is much higher. You don't get on by stepping in the stirrup and swinging your legs over. The camel actually kneels down for you. Once you're on, it raises the front and the back at different times, so you feel a bit unsteady as it stands up. Plus, there are no stirrups, so there's no place for you to anchor your feet.
I spent the first couple of minutes holding on for dear life because I was certain that the camel was going to throw me off. After that, though, I realized that I needed to quit thinking of the camel as a horse. It doesn't move the same. Once I stopped trying to ride it like a horse and allowed myself to relax and get used to the camel's movement, it was fine. In fact, by the end, we were trotting across the sand. (I don't know if you're supposed to use the word "trotting" to describe a camel, but that's the closest word I have.) It turned out to be a lot of fun despite my intial certainty that I was going to die.
First off, a camel is much higher. You don't get on by stepping in the stirrup and swinging your legs over. The camel actually kneels down for you. Once you're on, it raises the front and the back at different times, so you feel a bit unsteady as it stands up. Plus, there are no stirrups, so there's no place for you to anchor your feet.
I spent the first couple of minutes holding on for dear life because I was certain that the camel was going to throw me off. After that, though, I realized that I needed to quit thinking of the camel as a horse. It doesn't move the same. Once I stopped trying to ride it like a horse and allowed myself to relax and get used to the camel's movement, it was fine. In fact, by the end, we were trotting across the sand. (I don't know if you're supposed to use the word "trotting" to describe a camel, but that's the closest word I have.) It turned out to be a lot of fun despite my intial certainty that I was going to die.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Egypt, days 1 and 2
After a four-hour flight from Zurich, we found ourselves in another world once we walked out of the Cairo airport. For one thing, it was warm. For another thing, driving in Cairo is about as different from driving in Switzerland as you can get. Cairo is a city of 23 million people and zero traffic lights, at least not that I saw. It's complete chaos. You're always in a traffic jam. Cars just try to wedge themselves in wherever they can. Lane markers are irrelevant. In fact, even if you happen to find yourself in an open stretch of road for a few hundred feet, you are apparently expected to completely ignore the lane markers. Horns are constantly honking. Pedestrians dart across the roads whenever they can find a gap. There's the occasional donkey-pulled cart scattered among the cars. It's like nothing I've ever experienced.
Our hotel was a short distance from the pyramids, so we caught a glimpse of them on the first day, but we got up close to them the second day. You don't need me to post a ton of pictures of the pyramids and the Sphinx; you can look them up if you're really interested. But here are a couple.
Of course, the pictures can't really do justice to the experience. You kind of have to be there. We got to climb down inside one of them, but we couldn't take pictures. (That turned out to be the case with a lot of the sites we visited, unfortunately, so you'll just have to take my word for things sometimes.)
We were on a group tour, but our group consisted of just us and one other family from England.
One more camel shot:
I love this picture, not just because it's a nice picture of the Sphinx framed against one of the pyramids, but also because you can see how tired Tanner was of having me take his picture by the end of the afternoon.
That night, we had a dinner cruise on the Nile. There was belly dancing and other traditional dancing. As you might expect, it was a lot of fun.
Our hotel was a short distance from the pyramids, so we caught a glimpse of them on the first day, but we got up close to them the second day. You don't need me to post a ton of pictures of the pyramids and the Sphinx; you can look them up if you're really interested. But here are a couple.
Of course, the pictures can't really do justice to the experience. You kind of have to be there. We got to climb down inside one of them, but we couldn't take pictures. (That turned out to be the case with a lot of the sites we visited, unfortunately, so you'll just have to take my word for things sometimes.)
We were on a group tour, but our group consisted of just us and one other family from England.
One more camel shot:
I love this picture, not just because it's a nice picture of the Sphinx framed against one of the pyramids, but also because you can see how tired Tanner was of having me take his picture by the end of the afternoon.
That night, we had a dinner cruise on the Nile. There was belly dancing and other traditional dancing. As you might expect, it was a lot of fun.
Egypt in transition
Here's yet another article from Friedman about Egypt. The article mirrors some of the feelings our tour guide expressed: he said that Egypt used to be a great country, but under Mubarak, it fell behind countries like Turkey and Malaysia.
I'm still a bit awestruck by the fact that we got to spend a few days right in the middle of all of this. As we were hanging out in Cairo on Monday getting ready to go to the airport, Mubarak's trial was taking place a few blocks from where we were staying.
I was too tired last night to start the report of our trip. I should be up for it tonight.
I'm still a bit awestruck by the fact that we got to spend a few days right in the middle of all of this. As we were hanging out in Cairo on Monday getting ready to go to the airport, Mubarak's trial was taking place a few blocks from where we were staying.
I was too tired last night to start the report of our trip. I should be up for it tonight.
Monday, February 20, 2012
We survived!
And so, we're back in Switzerland. Egypt was great. It's crazy, chaotic, safe, and in turmoil, all at the same time. I'll have much more to say. In the meantime, here's one picture to get things started.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Life is an adventure
Those of you who follow international affairs are aware that Egypt continues to be an interesting place. Some of the political parties opposed to the military government are calling for a general strike on Saturday, which is the day that Tanner and I are supposed to fly in. The U.S. emabassy in Cairo expects the airport to be functioning normally, but they're advising Americans to stay out of downtown Cairo on Saturday. We didn't have anything planned for Saturday anyway, and our hotel isn't anywhere near downtown. It looks like there's a good ring road that can get us from the airport to our hotel on Saturday without going through the center of Cairo, which is good, because the traffic could get ugly if there's a strike.
We're not scheduled to go into Cairo until Monday. (Sunday is for pyramids, sphinxes, and camel rides.) Monday is the day we're supposed to see the museum and other things right there by Tahrir Square. I'm hoping that things will have calmed down by Monday. We won't do anything stupid, but I really want to see the museum and the square. We'll be keeping in touch with travel alerts from the embassy and the State Department.
I had a Mitt Romney moment yesterday, meaning that I managed to say exactly the wrong thing. I mentioned to Stace that maybe we should try to fit in a trip to South Africa while we're over here. She perceives South Africa as being dangerous, but I think it's okay as long as you're not in the wrong place. She asked me if I was trying to visit every dangerous place I could find. In an attempt to reassure her, I said, "Oh, I think that South Africa's actually a lot less dangerous than Egypt right now." As I heard myself say those words, I realized that I probably could have phrased that a bit better in trying to reassure her. Oh, well. It'll all be good.
We're not scheduled to go into Cairo until Monday. (Sunday is for pyramids, sphinxes, and camel rides.) Monday is the day we're supposed to see the museum and other things right there by Tahrir Square. I'm hoping that things will have calmed down by Monday. We won't do anything stupid, but I really want to see the museum and the square. We'll be keeping in touch with travel alerts from the embassy and the State Department.
I had a Mitt Romney moment yesterday, meaning that I managed to say exactly the wrong thing. I mentioned to Stace that maybe we should try to fit in a trip to South Africa while we're over here. She perceives South Africa as being dangerous, but I think it's okay as long as you're not in the wrong place. She asked me if I was trying to visit every dangerous place I could find. In an attempt to reassure her, I said, "Oh, I think that South Africa's actually a lot less dangerous than Egypt right now." As I heard myself say those words, I realized that I probably could have phrased that a bit better in trying to reassure her. Oh, well. It'll all be good.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Swiss humor
Who says the Swiss don't have a sense of humor? (Well, lots of people actually say that, but I'll set that aside for now.) There's a website that takes a couple of articles from the local Zug paper and translates them into English every day. Here's part of an article from today:
In a separate incident in Unterägeri on Monday morning, a driver was stopped for being in charge of a vehicle of which the windows were totally iced over. Police noticed the vehicle as it was being driven by a 26-year-old shortly before 7.30 am on Weststrasse in the municipality. His vision was restricted to such an extent that he had to lean out of the window to be able to see where he was going, despite the temperature of minus 14°C. The driver was subsequently charged for attempting to drive what the police described as a "mobile igloo."
In a separate incident in Unterägeri on Monday morning, a driver was stopped for being in charge of a vehicle of which the windows were totally iced over. Police noticed the vehicle as it was being driven by a 26-year-old shortly before 7.30 am on Weststrasse in the municipality. His vision was restricted to such an extent that he had to lean out of the window to be able to see where he was going, despite the temperature of minus 14°C. The driver was subsequently charged for attempting to drive what the police described as a "mobile igloo."
Monday, February 6, 2012
The cast is off!
At long last (well, it actually wasn't that long), Lindsey's cast is off. We can finally quit saying things like, "Lindsey, go wash your hand," and "Lindsey, be sure to put on your glove." It's going to take a while before she has full motion again. She can't bend her wrist back because it was bent forward in the cast. I'm sure she'll be back to normal before long. She still can't do things like skiing or climbing for another month, but she'll survive.
In other news, the temperature here today is 17 degrees. The temperature in Cairo is 73. The temperature in Luxor is 82. It's going to be weird packing shorts and sunscreen for our trip to Egypt this weekend.
And yes, I know that things are a little interesting in Egypt these days, particularly Cairo, but we're going to be careful. I'm excited to be going to a place where so much interesting history is happening.
In other news, the temperature here today is 17 degrees. The temperature in Cairo is 73. The temperature in Luxor is 82. It's going to be weird packing shorts and sunscreen for our trip to Egypt this weekend.
And yes, I know that things are a little interesting in Egypt these days, particularly Cairo, but we're going to be careful. I'm excited to be going to a place where so much interesting history is happening.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Quick foreign trips
Stace and a friend are taking a quick trip into Germany today to buy meat and some other items that are much cheaper in Germany than they are in Switzerland. As the kids were heading off to school this morning, Stace told them that she'd be heading to Germany later that morning but that she should be back before they got home. Tanner's getting old enough to appreciate the weirdness of being able to make a comment like that. He got a pretty good laugh out of it.
I guess once we're back in Minnesota, we'll have to settle for saying, "I'm heading to Canada for a few hours, but I'll be back later today." No offense to Canada, but it's not quite the same.
In other news, we're heading into the coldest stretch of weather that we've experienced since moving to Switzerland. The high on Friday should be 20 degrees. Now, that's an average day in Minnesota in January, but it's pretty rare here. I guess that's Mother Nature's way of gradually easing us back into Minnesota winters.
I guess once we're back in Minnesota, we'll have to settle for saying, "I'm heading to Canada for a few hours, but I'll be back later today." No offense to Canada, but it's not quite the same.
In other news, we're heading into the coldest stretch of weather that we've experienced since moving to Switzerland. The high on Friday should be 20 degrees. Now, that's an average day in Minnesota in January, but it's pretty rare here. I guess that's Mother Nature's way of gradually easing us back into Minnesota winters.
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