HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Boston Time: 1:43 PM 10 May
Cairo Time: 8:43 PM 10 May

Dear Mom,

I am so happy I brought my lonely planet guidebook. I used to think the guides were cumbersome and more hassle than they’re worth—most likely because you like to acquire several (note: 12) and read them aloud in the back seat of the car like on our recent trip to San Francisco. But Mom, I love to read my guidebook and sometimes I even read it out loud.

Everywhere we go and each attraction we see, I make sure to find the corresponding blurb within the 572 pages of information that travels with me constantly, always in my bag and by my side. Most of the time I have tried to remember to circle or highlight every blurb. This way, I can check them off my list and you can go through later and see where I have been and what I have explored while you were missing me all this time. ☺

This weekend we went to Luxor in the Nile Valley via sleeper train, but I didn’t sleep (most likely because it was bumpy.) Luxor is a small city and different from Cairo for sure. Our tour guide, Nermeen, told us that the Egyptian government is trying to turn the city into what is essentially an open-air museum. It would be full of ancient temples, monuments and tourist attractions. Tourism is a very large part, if not the largest fraction, of the country’s economic livelihood.

This is evident in the way the locals treat and approach tourists, especially Americans. They cater to us and make sure we are happy so that we will “go home and tell your friends how great Egypt was.” On the other hand, they are also extremely forward and upfront about offering their services and wanting our money. It can be incredibly annoying, scary and very sad.

Yesterday, Christina, John and I gave into the proposal of one of the drivers of the many horse drawn carriages. The drivers are relentless to the point of harassment in getting us and other tourists to pay them for rides. Christina and John wanted to interview the driver for an article they are writing so that is why we decided to actually say “yes.” But our driver told us of how the tourism season has been very bad lately and they are making no money and he needs a second job but there aren’t any available. While we were on the carriage, two very small children, four and six years old at most, held onto it’s sides and ran along side us. They kept grabbing at our feet and putting their hands to their mouths, begging for food and asking for money.

lonely planet warns of the constant approaches of merchants and peddlers, and comments on the slowly collapsing economy and the “abysmally low” living standards, but that in no way prepares one for what goes on when walking the sidewalks in Luxor. The guidebook also warns of the swarms of foreign tourists that flock to Egypt, but they just aren’t here in the usual masses. Blame the US or world economy and terrorist attacks—they just aren’t here, and Carlene says they were definitely not here in January when she was previewing our trip, when it should have been even more busy than it would normally be now. It is definitely the developing 3rd world.

Walking like an Egyptian at the Temple of Hatshepsut.

Moving onto a lighter note, I am also experiencing the remains of the amazingly rich ancient Pharaonic Egypt and “the underworld” and am witnessing the death and rebirth of the sun everyday. The ancient Egyptian peoples’ concept of resurrection was greatly influenced by the sun god, Raa. They worshipped the sun, which was (still is!) born in the East and died in the West every single day. Because of this, they built their temples on the East Bank of the Nile, and dug the final resting places of their Pharaohs, tombs, on the West Bank. While in Luxor, we got to see to both.

There is so much to tell you and I hope I remember all the details to bore you with when I return home on June 19th. There are a few though that I will share with you now because it is Mother’s Day and I thought you would appreciate them. Specifically, we saw the obelisk of Hatshepsut, the queen who ruled as Pharaoh, at Amun Temple on the East Bank. The next day, we went to the dazzling Memorial Temple of Hatshepsut, which sits direcly behind the Valley of the Kings on the other side of the mountain, which holds the Kings’ tombs (and hers.) Hatshepsut wore the classic men’s Pharaonic dress and false beard and ruled for 15 yrs of peace. Her stepson, Tuthmosis III, really didn’t like her though so when she died and he became Pharaoh, he erased her name and face whenever possible.

Sitting in the sand dam of Hatshepsut's Obelisk

The tombs at the Valley of the Kings were very intense. We got lucky with the weather and it wasn’t that hot, but it was still really hot and sweaty and stale after walking up rickety stairs and then 1290235 (not literally) steps down inside the desert mountains. I saw King Tut’s nasty old mummified toes and head—very cool and worth the extra 50 LE.

The Luxor and Karnak temples were also really special. I wasn’t feeling well but when we got there I perked right up. It’s just amazing and hard to describe how big and OLD these stones are and how hard it must have been to build them. I took lots of pictures and everyone is sharing their pictures as well, so don’t worry I will have more to tell and show you later!

I don’t even know what to say and I am also getting a little tired of typing, but I will be online soon and maybe you will be too. I get homesick online but then I make sure to talk with friends after wards to get myself back in happy Egypt-mode. Everyone here is super nice and I’m still glad I came.

Let’s see if the pictures work now…

I love you! Happy Mother’s Day from Cairo!

<3 Nor

Notes of a Would-Be Post

Boston Time: 3:52 PM 8 May
Luxor Time: 10:52 PM 8 May

Arrived in Luxor this morning….

Slept

Went to NASTY Sinbad, prayer time, attacked by buggy drivers, vegetable curry/hot and spicy

Temples, Karnak and Luxor

Metropolitan Restaurant, yellow cushions, pasta arabiata, cat under table, back, talked, laundry, slept

Saturday the Ninth

Up, breakfast, valley of the kings, tombs, 4, bus to hetsepsut, ramses Haru (Sp?) temple, Agamemnon, hotel lunch, market

On the Midnight Train…

Boston Time: 6:17 PM 7 May
Egypt Time: 1:17 AM 8 May

The Cairo-Luxor sleeper train is currently hurtling down the tracks as we make our way up the Nile to the Luxor this Thursday evening. As I lie here awake on the top bunk, thoughts bustle through my mind with every bump of the train.

The bed bugs and spiders of which we have been forewarned that live in the train’s bed sheets. I haven’t seen any yet myself but the bottom of my feet do feel a bit warm, though I believe it to be from the grippers on the metal ladder’s steps.

The cats that inhabit the filthy sidewalks and streets of Cairo which act in some strange way as a replacement for the squirrels of Boston.

All the people to whom I need to send a post card. The cards at the Flamenco gift shop were disappointing and over priced—hopefully I will find a better selection in Luxor this weekend.

What color will I paint Nick’s toes while he examines my computer?

Weighing the pros and cons of spending a free day on another camel excursion or trying to find a place to snorkel. For some reason I find the camel’s mushy feet strangely fascinating. During our ride to the Pyramids of Giza I was constantly having to remind myself to look at the pyramids and not the camels we were riding.

I should send a thank you post card to my middle school keyboarding teacher. Its hard typing in the dark on the train but its working pretty well so far.

Composing in my head what would be an interesting article on attending a women’s lingerie party, with all the women wearing hijabs. It would be a compelling mix of feminine modesty and sensuality. Perhaps even learning how to fashion and wear all the different styles of headscarves.

The bottom of my feet are getting warmer…