Dahab, Egypt

A brief post to bring you up to date with my travels:

On February 16th I took an overnight train from Cairo to Luxor, where I spent two days and two nights visiting the Temple of Karnak, the Temple of Luxor, the Temple of Hatshepsut, Valley of the Kings, and the Valley of the Queens.

I then spent three days and two nights on a Nile River boat cruise, visiting the Temple of Horus in Edfu and the Temple of Sobek and Haroeris in Kom Ombo along the way. The passengers on the cruise were divided into three tour groups: Polish, French, and Palestinian. Oddly, I fit into none of these groups. Fortunately, there were two other English-speaking misfits aboard: an Australian woman and her ten year old son.

After the cruise I spent two nights in Aswan, making the bizarre tourist pilgrimage out to Abu Simbel to see the sun rise on the temple altar (it only happens twice a year, and I happened to be there on one of the two days -- February 22nd).

On Februrary 23rd I took a public bus from Aswan to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. I spent two nights in Hurghada before taking a ferry across the Red Sea to Sharm El-Sheikh on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula (I would have parted the Red Sea and walked, but I didn't want to rain on the religious parade). I spent two nights in Sharm El-Sheikh, taking a boat out to the Straits of Tiran where I experienced the best snorkeling I've ever done in my life! The coral reefs were enormous, pristine, bright, colorful, and teeming with life. Our boat was accompanied by large grey dolphins on the way out and smaller bottlenose dolphins on the way back. On the reefs I swam with a hawksbill turtle and several barracuda. There were bright blue clams, scorpion fish, and spectacular live coral like I've never seen before (far better than Koh Tao, Thailand, and infinitely better than anything I've seen in Hawaiian waters).

Yesterday I left Sharm El-Sheikh and came up the East coast of Sinai to the small town of Dahab, where I am hoping to do more snorkeling today (although it is cold and windy right now). Dahab is a strange little community of Western travelers and divers surrounded by traditional bedouin camps, where black-shrouded women with tattoed faces stroll past bikini-clad hoochie-mamas. The fish is fresh, delicious, cheap, and cooked to perfection in all of the restaurants -- I've had red snapper, white snapper, and sea bass, and I'm looking forward to working my way down the menus.

Today marks two months of travel. I did a bed-count this morning and found that I have slept in 21 different beds since I left Honolulu in December. I'm still feeling fresh and excited, but I am also planning to knock a month off the end of my trip (Italy and France had been awkward additions to my Islamic itinerary).

Happy bowels and happy armpits, I am a very a happy boy.

(Photo of Eric: Rockin' Kom Ombo, Egypt)

Cairo, Egypt

I spent Monday in "Islamic Cairo" visiting Al Azhar University (the most prominent Sunni Muslim seminary in the world) and hanging out in the Al Azhar mosque with some Indonesian seminarians from rural Java. After joining them in the mid-day prayers, I visited the mosques of Al-Ashraf Barsbay and Al-Hakim and the madrassa of Barquq in Khan al-Khalili. I spent the late afternoon at a coffeehouse drinking Arabic coffee with ground cardamom and smoking an apple sheesha (the ubiquitous water-pipes from which men smoke apple and honey flavored tobacco). That evening I met with Brad Clough from the American University for dinner and beers at the Windsor Hotel Bar.

On Tuesday I met with Frank Abu Sayf's sister, Nagwa, and we went to "Coptic Cairo." We visited the Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa), the Church of St. George (where St. George the Dragonslayer was imprisoned and tortured), and the Church of St. Sergius (one of the resting places of the Holy Family as they fled from King Herod). Afterwards she took me to the Aga Khan's Al-Azhar Gardens for an amazing lunch. We had half a dozen appetizers of fresh pita bread, baba ganoush, hummus, yoghurt, feta cheese, eggplant, and other things that I can't remember right now. The baba ganoush in Egypt is out of this world! The best I've ever had. The hummus, on the other hand, is always way too salty for my taste. For my main course I had moloukhia (a soup made with a green leafy vegetable) and rabbit! The fur got caught in my teeth, but otherwise it was pretty good. And for dessert I had a delicious rice-pudding type of creation with Arabic coffee and ground cardamom. After lunch we went to the Abu Sayf apartment, where Frank and Nagwa grew up, and later we went out to dinner with some of Nagwa's friends. I finally got home around 2:00 in the morning.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Nagwa and I went to Cairo's citadel and visited the mosques of Muhammad 'Ali and Al-Rifai and the madrassa of Sultan Hassan. Later we went to lunch on a Nile riverboat and then said our farewells.

I am heading back to the American University today, and then tonight I am leaving on a seven-day tour of Upper Egypt, visiting Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel before heading across the Eastern (Arabian) Desert to Hurghada. From there I will take a ferry across the Red Sea to Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula.

Regarding my armpit funk:

All's well.

Regarding my bowels:

All's well.

Regarding the veil and lingerie:

Veiling, to various degrees and in various manners, is quite the fashion here in Cairo. Headscarves are the norm, in lots of different colors and patterns. There are also many women covered from head to toe in black, usually with a small slit for their eyes, but sometimes with a black mesh fabric covering their eyes as well. At the same time, there are more lingerie shops in Cairo than I've seen anywhere else in the world, and they are crowded with veiled women purchasing naughty negligees. So naughty, in fact, that the Puritans living in Paradise would be quite embarassed by the open display of sexual playfulness (if only the Catholics... or the Muslims!... had arrived in Hawaii before the Congregationalists...)

(Photo by Eric: Madrassa of Barquq, Khan al-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt)

Cairo, Egypt

You are a tough crowd to please!

I spent all day yesterday (Saturday) at the pyramids of Saqqara, Dahshur, and Giza. I spent this morning at the Egyptian Museum and this afternoon at the American University in Cairo (in their bookstore and library, and with Brad Clough, their one and only Professor of Comparative Religion). But let me not squander my internet time on such trivialities.

Regarding my itchy armpit:

At some point in Spain I developed an itchy left armpit. The itch grew and grew until I finally went to a pharmacist in Fez who prescribed a white cream. The cream made things worse, but the pharmacist refused to change the prescription until I finished the tube. By the time I arrived in Casablanca, the situation had not improved (nor had it worsened, and I must admit that I had not finished the tube of cream). In Casablanca I visited another pharmacy, where a small army of extremely concerned pharmacists debated at length about the proper course of action to take for my (unseen) itchy-armpit-disease. They prescribed antibiotics and a black paste. I have been taking the antibiotics for 3 or 4 days now and applying the paste twice daily. Although I really don't think the antibiotics are working, the paste does seem to be clearing things up. I will finish my course of antibiotics and keep you posted on the condition of my pit.

Regarding food:

Let's take yesterday as an example of an average day of food:

For breakfast I had the standard breakfast-included hotel breakfast of coffee, toast, and jam. The jam came in a little plastic package, the toast was pre-sliced white bread, and the coffee was lukewarm. The milk, however, was fresh and warm and it made the coffee taste delicious.

For lunch I had fresh, hot pita bread baked in a brick oven over a wood fire with excellent baba ganoush and slightly salty hummus. My main course was the very typical french-fries and chicken kebab. (I was a little surprised by the omnipresence of french fries in Moroccan cuisine, and they have reared their greasy heads again in Egypt.) Dessert consisted of a fresh orange.

For dinner I went to my favorite Cairo restaurant, Akher Sa'a, where I had a delicious falafel sandwich. So delicious was the sandwich, in fact, that I ordered a second one. And the total bill came to a whopping 20 cents US. (Which is a big part of why it's my favorite restaurant in Cairo.)

Regarding photographs:

I have a digital camera with two one-gigabyte memory cards. In theory, when I fill one memory card with images, I will have those images downloaded onto a CD, and then I will upload those images onto a photosharing website (like www.kodakgallery.com) and post some of the better ones on my blog. In reality, several of the images downloaded onto my CD were damaged in the process and are now unreadable, uploading the images from my CD onto the photosharing website will take over 10 hours, and most computers I've seen in Morocco and Egypt (like the one I'm on right now) don't even have functioning CD drives.

I do have a CD full of images beginning with Madrid and ending in Marrakesh (where I switched memory cards). Many of the images on the first CD are unreadable, so I will try to download them onto another CD here in Cairo and hope for better results. If I can find a computer with a functioning CD drive, I can continue my uploading process onto www.kodakgallery.com (I've already uploaded about 100 photos) and I can go back and add some photos to the Spain section of this blog. Looking around this internet place (supposedly the best inernet place in Cairo) I see two computers with CD drives -- whether or not they actually work is another question. Perhaps when I get to Jordan or Israel the internet connections and computer technology will improve.

Regarding my bowels:

Why hasn't anyone asked about my bowels? They're so sensitive....

They've been doing surprisingly well! I had one night of diarreah in Meknes, but that was easily cured with just one Imodium. Then I had another burst of diarreah here in Cairo, but that seemed to be a one-shot deal, and it was over.

Say a little prayer for my bowels.

Regarding Sunni Islam:

I have been asked to briefly explain the historical split between Sunni and Shia Islam. At the time of the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD, he was not only the messenger of God, but also the emperor of a fledgling Islamic Empire. Upon his death there were serious questions surrounding the issue of succession -- who should succeed Muhammad and in exactly what capacity?

Two main groups emerged from this debate over succession. The majority group (85%) will come to be known as Sunni Muslims, and they will follow the political leadership of men called Caliphs who will effectively function as the emperors of the Islamic Empire right up until 1924 when the Caliph of the Ottoman Empire was dethroned (a major event in Muslim history, cf. the speeches of Osama bin Laden and many others). The minority group (15%) will come to be known as Shia Muslims, and they will follow the spiritual guidance of men called Imams who are direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and his son-in-law Ali. Of course, Shia Muslims would have liked to have seen their Imams politically in charge of the Islamic Empire, but such was not the case.

Every Muslim country I am visiting on this trip has an overwhelming Sunni majority. The only countries with Shia majorities are Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan -- now there's a country I would love to visit! What in the world do they eat for breakfast in Azerbaijan and how would it affect my bowels?

(Photo by Eric: King Zoser, Step Pyramid of Saqqara, Egypt)

Cairo, Egypt

I have arrived safely in Cairo, Egypt, where I am staying at the Windsor Hotel (the former British Officers' Club, with all its original furnishings, owned by friends of Frank Abu-Sayf). I called Frank's sister this morning, and we are planning to meet sometime this week. (Frank, I didn't realize Nagwa lives in Honolulu! One of us has to stop being drunk everytime you and I talk!)

I went to the American University to meet with Brad Clough, Professor of Comparative Religion (and friend of Erica Falkenstein), but the University is closed on Fridays. This is the first Muslim country in which I've been that clearly closes shop on Fridays. According to my driver, Sayed, they also close on Saturdays out of respect for the Jewish sabbath, and they close on Sundays out of respect for the Christian sabbath (25% of Cairo is Coptic Christian and 75% Sunni Muslims, compared to a nation-wide Christian population of 10% and Muslim population of 90%). In spite of Sayed's claim of universal reverence for monotheistic days of rest, most shops and services are open Sunday through Thursday. (In Morocco the only day off I witnessed was a Sunday in Rabat -- they seem to delight in their French colonial past in Rabat.)

Having spent only one day in Cairo, I must say that, so far, I like it better than any Moroccan city I visited. It is an enormous city of approximately 20 million inhabitants. But like New York City, it caries its enormity with a graceful pride. It is also a city under seige, with AK-47 toting policemen on every corner. The large western hotels look like combat zones, as do most of the national monuments. Terrorist attacks are obviously a very real threat in this country (Luxor in 1997, Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005) and Mubarak is doing his best to preserve the vital tourist industry by a dramatic show of force if nothing else.

The global cartoon crisis (haven't you heard? there is a terrible shortage of cartoons these days!) is on the front page of every newspaper, and while I have no idea what they are saying, people are obviously talking about it. In Cairo they have the custom of broadcasting not only the call to prayer from every mosque (something done in every Muslim country) but also the Friday sermon (something I have not encountered before). As I passed one large mosque in central Cairo today, an overflow crowd had gathered in a large courtyard to listen attentively to the fiery sermon of an imam who enjoyed a very large following. Again, I have no idea what he was saying, but this man was clearly in a rage. Passing another mosque three or four blocks away, the imam had a lovely, soft voice, but no overflow crowd.

But the real energy and excitement that is overwhelming everything else in this town is the fact that Egypt is playing against Ivory Coast for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in about 2 1/2 hours. Really, nothing else in the world matters.

Tomorrow, the Great Pyramids!

(Photo by Eric: Fruit market, Cairo, Egypt)

Casablanca, Morocco

It is a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Casablanca -- the first day I've been able to go outside in just a shirt, with no sweater or jacket, since my trip began. I went to the post office this morning to get rid of some of the books I've been hauling around, and then I paid a visit to the enormous Hassan II Mosque -- the third largest mosque in the world, after the Grand Mosques of Mecca and Medina, with the tallest minaret in the world. It was, if nothing else, HUGE (they say Notre Dame Cathedral could easily fit inside the prayer hall). I found it very interesting that the imam of this mosque, appointed by the King himself, is a Wahabbi trained in Saudi Arabia (or so said our guide). This is quite contrary to the claims of Dr. Harrak that Moroccans universally dislike Wahabbis and that the King has gone out of his way to crack down on Wahabbi influence after the May 16, 2003 Casablanca bombings.

Afterwards, I made the obligatory pilgrimage to Rick's Café for a drink. I was checked very carefully at the door for explosives, in light of the bombings mentioned above. I was clean.

Barakabaka has asked about the "global crisis" concerning the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and the local reactions here in Morocco. I have seen nothing in person or on the news to suggest that there are any protests occuring here in Morocco. I have sat on several occasions in cafés full of Moroccan men and watched the images of the protests and riots on Al Jazeera. The Moroccans have watched for my reaction with great curiosity, just as I have watched for theirs, but we all seem more interested in each other than the actual news story.

Most of the cafés either show Al Jazeera on their televisions or they broadcast the games from the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Cairo. In the hotel rooms I sometimes get Al Arabia, which is an interesting news channel to watch because of the commercials -- commercials encouraging young Iraqis to enlist in the military and police, commercials encouraging Palestinians to vote (these were aired prior to the elections, of course, and I bet somebody wishes they hadn't been so effective), and commercials explaining to Iraqis what to do in case of kidnappings or terror attacks.

The Hamas leadership is all in Cairo right now, discussing the formation of their new government. I will be sure to say hello to them for all of you.

I have seen no images of the Prophet Muhammad here, Barakabaka, or any other religious figures. It has even been pointed out to me that Moroccan mosques don't have overt floral patterns in their design because plants and animals, as well as humans and jinn, are God's creation and not to be replicated. (Obviously, cloning would be a big no-no by that logic.)

Before I go, I want to apologize to all of you who have posted comments and sent e-mails to which I have not replied. Internet services are readily available here, but the connections are painfully slow, the keyboards are unfamiliar (and often barely functioning), and I am typically sitting in a cold, unheated room with several people looking over my shoulder as I struggle with the computer. Needless to say, just getting the basic facts up on this blog is a monumental feat.

If you sent me an e-mail weeks ago and I still haven't replied, feel free to send me another and remind me of what it was you were wanting to know. I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this blog.

Tomorrow: Cairo!

(Photo by Eric: Minaret of the Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco)

Marrakesh, Morocco

Thank you, everyone, for your loving birthday messages! They really mean a lot to me!

I had a fantastic birthday!!! I traveled with a delightful group of eleven (myself and ten others, including two British couples, an Australian couple, a Brazilian couple traveling during the man's sabbatical leave from a university where he teaches Sociology, and two students from a university in Scotland, one English, studying Religion, and one American, studying International Relations). We left in a minivan early on Friday morning (my birthday) and headed south into the High Atlas Mountains. If it hadn't been for the date palms and donkey carts, we could have easily been heading west into the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains out of Denver. We stopped at the beautiful kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, where we crossed a small river on donkeys to visit the picturesque fortress (seen in such movies as Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator), and then on to the town of Ouarzazate for lunch. Again, as we descended from the snow-covered passes of the High Atlas, the landscape looked very similar to the Western Slope of Colorado giving way to the winding sandstone mazes of the Canyonlands of Utah. That night we stayed in a freezing little guesthouse in the Dadès Gorge, where the Berber hosts cooked a delicious saffron chicken tagine (as a wanna-be vegetarian, I haven't been too terribly excited about Morocco's meaty cuisine, but some of the tagines, like this one, are pretty tasty) and played drums into the night.

The next morning (Saturday) we drove to the Todra Gorge for lunch, stopping along the way in the old Jewish kasbah of Tinerhir. Our Berber driver, Hassan, who spoke no European languages and apparently only broken Arabic, dropped us off on the side of the road without explanation (of course, with Hassan, there was no possibility of explanation). We were then met by our local guide, Hassan, who walked with us through beautiful green patties, taking us up into the kasbah from the river below. Hassan brought us into a Berber "nomad dwelling" (a "nomad dwelling" complete with electricity, running water, and a credit card machine) where we were placed in the very awkward situation of ooohing and aaahing at Berber rugs, and then not buying any of them. Finally, under some pressure, the Brazilian Sociology professor brought out some toothpaste, soap and deodorant, and bartered for a small piece. We were all very happy to escape back into the van and head to the majestic Todra Gorge for lunch.

Late Saturday afternoon we entered the Sahara Desert -- flat, rocky, hot and dry. When the road stopped, we kept going, pushing deeper into the dusty emptiness. Finally, the Erg Chebbi sand dunes rose up on the horizon like some fantastic mirage. As we approached, the individual dunes came into focus, and the vast expanse of the Erg Chebbi became increasingly apparent. Arriving at the base of the dunes we were met by our Berber guide Hassan (not to be confused with our other Berber guide Hassan, or our Berber driver Hassan, this Hassan spoke reasonably good English, had a great sense of humor, played the drums better than anyone I've ever heard [except, of course, the Director], and was the first Moroccan I've heard express criticism of the government). Hassan loaded us onto our camels (the cutest animals on earth, I'm going to buy one for my appartment when I get home!) and off into the desert we went. The sun was low on the horizon, casting dramatic shadows on the golden and pink dunes. We saw desert sparrows (seen nowhere else in the world, or so claimed Hassan), the tracks of dersert gerbils (or so claimed Hassan), and two nomad encampments during our 1 1/2 hour ride. Camels, while cute, are not the most comfortable animals to ride, so we were all perfectly happy to dismount after what seemed like a long journey.

Throwing our packs into our tents, we all scurried up to the top of the nearest dune to watch the spectacular sunset over the desert. Returning to camp, we were served a delicious meal of round bread and a beef tagine, eaten in the traditional Moroccan style with our fingers out of one big bowl. We had tangerines and tea for desert, and then Hassan began his drumming. He has traveled to Spain, Algeria, and Dubai to play in international music festivals, and what an extremely imressive musician. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Hassan had recently sprained his wrist, and he stopped playing after about 45 minutes. While the music had been most extraordinary, we were then treated to Hassan's delightful banter. He talked at length about all the "crazy" tourists he had met, tilting his head back and letting out deep laughter at the end of every story, the laughter always trailing off into the most charming "Oh my God!" exclamation I've ever heard. He talked about the frightening French girls who dance seductively, and who still give him nightmares to this day. And he talked (quite surprisingly) about the international plight of the Touareg, with whom he sympathized emphatically.

The next morning we rose before sunrise and climbed back up onto the dune to watch the magnificent show (see photo). We then rode back to the place where we had begun our camel trek, ate breakfast, and began the long (11 hour) drive home. We all went out for beers upon returning to Marrakesh (filthy dirty and stinking of camel sweat, a beer nonetheless sounded good), and I am meeting two of the couples again tonight for dinner.

Tomorrow I am off to Casablanca!

All of the pictures of Morocco on this blog are now taken by me. You can scroll down this page to see more, with a brief description of the photo at the end of each posting, and you can click on the image to enlarge it. I burned my memory card onto a CD, and as soon as that CD has been uploaded onto the kodakgallery.com website, I will give you access to all my pictures.

Thanks again for all the birthday love!!! I have the best friends and family in the world!!!

(Photo by Eric: Sahara sunrise, Erg Chebbi, Morocco, 5 February 2006)

Marrakesh, Morocco

I left rainy Rabat on Tuesday morning and arrived in sunny, mild Marrakesh that afternoon. Yesterday (Wednesday) I followed a funeral procession down the main avenue (Avenue Muhammad V, the name of the main avenue in every Moroccan town) to the Koutoubia Mosque with its minaret reaching over 200 feet into the sky. I spent much of the day wandering around the Djemaa el-Fna, the carnivalesque square that makes Marrakesh "Marrakesh." In addition to the snake-charmers, monkey-spankers, palm-readers, fortune-tellers, jugglers, musicians, and acrobats that normally fill the square, I also got to see a faqir (an "ascetic"-magician-holy-man) and his troupe. He was jim-dandy! He boiled a kettle of water, picked the kettle up from underneath, stuck his foot in the fire, drank the boiling water, and then poured the rest of it over his body. I wanted to party with him, but he was obviously busy doing important things.

Today (Thursday) I visited the tombs of two saints: Sidi Bel Abbes and Sidi ben Slimane. I was able to get into the courtyard of the Sidi Bel Abbes Zawiya, which was full of beggars in various states of disrepair, including a few lepers. I also visited the very beautiful Ali ben Youssef Medersa and the Musée de Marrakesh.

I would write more, but I am leaving early tomorrow morning on a three day (two night) trip to the Sahara, and I must get ready (you know, making sure my hair is just so, and stuff like that).

(Photo by Eric: Faqir, Djemaa el-Fna, Marakesh, Morocco)