Sunday, February 13

Sometimes I just stop and marvel at the fact that I am in Egypt. Almost a year ago today, we accepted our jobs at EAIS. We never would have guessed that we would end up here, yet here we are. We spent this past weekend on a desert safari with a group of students from our school. We debated whether or not to go, but we really got a bargain. Everything costs so much more if we do it on our own, so we figured, what the heck, the students can't get into too much trouble out in the desert, can they?

It was a very good trip all in all. We started out on Thursday bright and early in the morning. Joe and I realized right away that we were going to be outsiders, as everyone was speaking in Arabic. We really didn't mind though, because it helped to reinforce all of the Arabic that we've learned. We even learned some new stuff too. There were three teachers, two teaching assistants, and about five tour guides, so we kind of felt like we were just tagging along. Everything was taken care of, from accomodations to transport and food. Mini-vacation for us!

It took several hours but we drove across the desert until we came to the Bahariya Oasis. The strange thing is that the desert became increasingly hilly, craggy, I would say. You will see from the pictures that the western desert in Egypt is not like all the deserts you see in the movies. There are hills, mountains, and rock formations all over the place. Not quite what I expected. I expected a vast stretch of sand - the kind of desert you see people dragging themselves across when they get abandoned in the movies.

The oasis itself wasn't as green and lush as I had expected but it definitely had more vegetation than the surrounding areas. We arrived at the hotel for a little rest and lunch before we set out sightseeing. Our hotel wasn't too bad. It had bungalows surrounding a central grassy area where you might imagine there should be a pool, but there wasn't. (The oasis towns are very conservative, we hear.) Apparently, Joe and I got one of the more comfortable rooms because we had a heater/air coditioner. We slept like babies after Joe cranked the heat that night.

The tour guides took us around to the sites in the town. We saw a governor's tomb with large reliefs on the inner walls. We also saw some of the golden mummies. The story goes that a man was returning home from his work one night, and his donkey fell through a hole in the ground. He fell down and into a tomb filled with thousands of mummies. We have heard that there were ten mummies, 1,000, and one book even says nearly 10,000. The most accurate account is that to date they've uncovered at least 100, which is the largest cache in Egypt. It's hard to know. They are from Graeco-Roman times, "the beginning of the end of mummification" as one book puts it. We got to see about ten of the mummies at a garage/warehouse looking place. They are called golden mummies because their faces are plated in gold. They were interesting, but the story of their discovery is the most interesting thing. The site is still being excavated so we couldn't actually visit it.

After that we visited a temple where Alexander the Great stayed. We saw some artifacts like coins, pottery, and the supposed handprints of Alexander. We aren't quite sure of the authenticity of these items, as they were just sitting around out in the open. You never do know in Egypt. There are ancient things everywhere, so it wouldn't be that surprising. Alexander's kartouche (name) has been removed from the temple and taken to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

We also climbed the English Mountain that night. It's called that because of an WWI English lookout post that lies in ruins at the top. It was fun climbing up with the kids. Joe and I have pretty much accepted the "crazy, unsafe" behavior here in Egypt. We only had a bus and one four-wheel-drive vehicle with us, and the bus couldn't drive up. So, we all climbed onto the top, sides, and inside of the four-wheel-drive. I think we set a record. In all there were 23 people hanging onto that jeep. (I was inside. I won't say where Joe was.) Amazingly, nobody fell off even as we drove over the rocky terrain. At the top, we watched the sun go down over the village below.

The next day was our true safari day. We stopped in the town to wander around for a bit. Joe and I got some postcards and wandered through the streets. A little girl stopped us and said, "Momkin, andak elam?" which means, "Do you have a pen?" We thought that was a little weird, but we said no and kept walking. Two minutes later, a little boy stopped us to ask if we had a pen. Again, no, but we couldn't figure out why they wanted a pen. Finally, when we were getting back on the bus, another boy asked us if we had a pen! We had one in our bag on the bus, so we gave it to him. None of us could figure out their huge attraction to pens, but we figured it was something very difficult to get in their town. If I ever return I will bring lots and lots of pens.

The town itself was very third-world. I hate to say that, but imagine what you picture Egypt to be, and the town would probably fit that picture. Mudbrick homes, kids riding worn-down bikes in the streets, village men in gallabayas (robes) and turbins. You see it here in Cairo, but the big-city, modern aspect of Cairo tames down the rural aspect. Joe and I were sure that we were more fascinated by the town than the Egyptians. We always get a feeling of, "Woah, we really are in a foreign country."

We stopped by two mountains on our way to the desert, Black Mountain and Crystal Mountain. We climbed a semi-steep but short route to the top of Black Mountain. You would think that the desert would be nothing but sand everywhere you look. It should be brown/tan, right? No! There were tons of black rocks. These are dolomite and volanic basalt for anyone who knows about geology. I guess the wind erodes the mountains and ancient volcanoes and scatters the black rock throughout the desert. It was a great view from the top of the mountain. There were minature volcanic looking mountains as far as you could see.

Continuing on, we stopped at the Crystal Mountain. It is basically made of quartz crystal. You can rub it off into your hands. Our students, despite the sign that said to take nothing, piled up their pockets and sweatshirts with crystal souvenirs. Joe and I got a pretty good picture in the "Hole in the Rock."

We drove on through the Black Desert until we reached the White Desert. It was truly amazing. We loaded up everyone into jeeps and started out across the desert. I never knew places like this existed. There were huge boulders of rock, whittled and carved into shapes over time by the wind. White, chalk rocks are everywhere, making it look like an iceberg riddled, artic desert. Very strange and surreal. The drifts of white looked so much like snow that it made Joe and I feel even colder at night. The sunset was beautiful, casting pinks, oranges, and blues against the rocks.

Camping with our students was an experience. Most of them had never been camping before. Only one girl had really been camping for real. They were completely amusing. Of course, Joe and I have been camping many, many times so it was nothing to us. It was fun watching them experience something totally new, especially since they are the rich, well-to-do, most often spoiled city kids. Just take, for example, the fact that I had to teach the girls how to go to the restroom without a toilet. One of the girls insisted she couldn't. I wondered how she was going to hold it for 24 hours. Finally, though, they all gave it a try. The kids complained about the tents. It was advertised that we would have nice, new tents and the best mummy sleeping bags. When we got to the camp, we had canvas tents, with no floor. There were mattresses and basic cheap sleeping bags. So much for the best tents and bags. The kids were very disappointed.

The students also didn't know what to do with themselves. We ended up watching a movie on a teacher's laptop until the battery ran out. Some of the students were very scared to be sleeping so out in the open. They thought a thief could come out and rob them or kill them. Egypt is devoid of murders like this! I joked that they should relax. After all, thieves would go for Joe and I first! The students ended up all sleeping together in a central area, not in their tents. They were too scared.

In all, it was a great escape from the noise of Cairo. It was so quiet in the desert. There were other people camping, but they were far from us. Although it was a little cloudy, the stars would appear now and then. There were more than you can ever imagine. We almost couldn't find the Big Dipper there were so many other stars in the sky.

We ended up being glad we went, since it was a get-away for us. Our students were great, so Joe and I relaxed and took it easy. We've always liked the natural, outdoors trips.