| The Journey: Egypt |
|
||||
|
A glimpse at jewel of North Africa from the eyes of an American visitor.
Now, it’s quite possible that after a few months away from home, those of you studying here are beginning to feel a little homesick. Fortunately, the blustery, rainy, miserable weather of the Florentine winter is slowing giving way to spring. Ah yes, spring. The days are getting longer, the skirts are getting shorter, and SPRING BREAK is on the horizon. But what to do for spring break here in Florence? Although I still find myself pining for the inevitable frat boy yell of “SPRING BREAK! WOOO!!!” followed by the pounding of a Keystone and crushing the aluminum remains on their forehead, I have some alternative trip suggestions that unfortunately do not promise the afore mentioned frat boy tomfoolery. These are my experiences.
Egypt
Egypt is one of the most spectacular and yet, at the same time, one of the most unsettling of places I have visited throughout my travels…but lets start from the beginning.
Having taken the advice of a few Italian friends and with the use of www.lastminute.it , Sharm became the last stop in my first study abroad experience. I booked a two week, all inclusive resort deal at the end of May / beginning of June, 2005 for approximately 1,100 euros. Not too shabby for including accommodation, airfare, meals, etc. For the two weeks spent there, I made my home base in the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, located at the very tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Red Sea. Upon arrival after the short 2 hour plane ride between Pisa and Sharm, the customs process was incredibly easy. We received a “visa stamp,” that closely resembles a postage stamp, which was then lovingly placed directly into our passports by a man with a sub-machine gun. After the group had gotten the proper documents, we were then ushered into Range Rovers and taken to our respective resorts.
Sharm is essentially an oasis in the middle of the sandy, rocky, sprawling desert that is the Sinai Peninsula. My resort featured a great lobby with a lavish dining area through large double doors to the left. Continuing through the initial building, you exit into a courtyard where you are greeted by a large outdoor bar, two pools, one with waterfalls, both lined with palm trees and straw umbrellas shading the many lounge chairs and occupied by some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen. Past the pools you reach the rooms of the resort. Trails weaving through lush grass, palm trees, and flowers, lead you to “home.” Paradise.
After getting settled in and spending my first relaxing night in Egypt, I found out that the resort offered various “excursions” to their guest. The list was quite extensive and due to my incessant need to relax (and the fact the each excursion was an additional 100 euro,) I only chose two to partake in. A fun fact that I wasn’t aware of prior to my visit was that although most people believe Egypt to be solely located in the continent of Africa, east of the Suez Canal is Asian Egypt. How about that for some Trivial Pursuit knowledge? The first was a trip from Sharm El Sheikh, up the Sinai Peninsula, over the Suez Canal, and into Cairo and Giza to bear witness to one of the wonders of the world…the pyramids. Pictures and stories can never do the pyramids justice. Millions of solid stone blocks…some 6 feet or taller in height… stretching unbelievably high into the sky. I was in absolute awe. For a small fee, about 5 Egyptian Pounds, I had the opportunity to go into Giza and experience first hand the tunnels and art of a pyramid. It was truly like stepping back in time and I highly recommend anyone who has the chance to make this trip and take advantage of the same opportunities. Other highlights of this portion of my adventure included The Sphinx, Temple of Muhammad, the Nile River, and the Museum at Alexandria, where King Tuts infamous burial mask lay for public view.
The greatest thing I took away from this excursion was not how magnificent the pyramids are, not the musty smell of the 2,000-year-old corridors, not the Nile or even the mummies… but it was how quickly the city would change as we drove through. I’m not sure what preconceived notions I had of Cairo before I went, but the reality hit me harder than anything has hit me before. There are gated sections of the city in which there is obvious wealth. Fountains, palm trees, and luxury cars garnish palaces more lavish than you could imagine. On the contrary, just outside these gates are shantytowns, built from and upon the discarded items of the wealthy. “Houses” made of old tires, cardboard, cans, plastic bags…the inhabitants bathing themselves in the Nile where just up river you can see someone urinating and defecating in the very same water. It was, well, IS a very different world for those people, and for the first time it became clear to me how really privileged I am. How truly privileged those of you reading this are as well. To travel at will, to have clean water, food, a proper roof…it was heart breaking to witness the utter poverty these people lived in while having to look at “the good life” though those gates next door, every day. To think that most of us complain if we are without Internet or air conditioning…what a skewed notion of being deprived.
As the sun set over Cairo, we were taken back across the Suez Canal, away from African Egypt and back to our cozy resort, at which, after seeing the things that day, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty when I stepped into the air conditioned room.
The following day was another early one. 6am marked the start of excursion number two: a day riding across the desert in off-road SUVs, snorkeling in the Gulf of Acuaba, followed by camel riding down the coast, a fresh caught fish feast, and culminating in relaxing tea time with a Bedouin tribe. This trip in general was a lot of firsts for me: seeing the pyramids, seeing a mummy, seeing poverty in such abundance, men with Uzis in every corner, and my personal favourite, the Egyptian tour guide named Mustafa who had perfectly manicured nails except for the pinky nail on his left hand. This thing was long… I mean long. Being the ignorant person I apparently was, I was oblivious as to the reason for this. Egyptian fashion? No. Scratching itches in those hard to reach places? No. Picking his nose? That’s warmer, Nate. Ohhh! The light bulb finally went up, and all it took was a menacing “don’t ask, its taboo” look from a fellow traveler and an animated ::sniff:: to make me realize the true reason for this apparent abnormal grooming habit. Of course it was for sniffing coke. Why it wasn’t the first thing that came to mind is beyond me. Well, now I know better and can groom myself accordingly if I ever feel the need for a new hobby…but I digress…
Our first stop was at a local diving gear rental shop at which we gathered our equipment for the day to come. Against the recommendation of our tour guide, I decided not to rent a wetsuit to help me in coping with the “cold” waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. I mean, come on. I’m from upstate New York where we don’t bat an eye to the -20 degree wind chills and feet of snow. Surely snorkeling in water no colder than 60-65 degrees wouldn’t be a problem. As it was so early, the sun and the heat of the day was not present at our first snorkeling stop in the Red Sea…so I will admit it, I was a bit cold. After about an hour of floundering about in the crystal clear turquoise water, we packed up, mounted camels, and began the venture to the next destination.
The camel ride was a great experience: along the coast, east and then north towards the Gulf of Aqaba, traversing narrow paths that dropped off into the sea. Very few things compare to the untouched beauty of that area. Now, those of you who have never directed a camel may think that it’s fairly easy and quite resembles riding and directing a horse… you’re wrong. First, there are no saddles. Only very rough woven blankets thrown over the back. An hour and a half of bouncing on a camel back is enough to think twice the next time you want to sit down. Second, the noises we were taught to control our beasts resembled a cross of hissing and coughing up a hairball…quite an awkward thing to take part in by anyone’s standards. Lastly, the actual owners of the camels who accompanied us found this the opportune time to saddle up behind some of the ladies in the group and grope at things they would otherwise never have a chance to grope at. You know what I’m talking about.
We headed east along the coast and eventually transitioned from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba where we dismounted our noble steeds and left our lovely perverted and sexually deprived friends behind. The snorkeling we partook in this time around was better than the first by leaps and bounds. Unbelievable clear blue water, the sun had come out so it was the perfect temperature, exotic colorful fish swimming through the group, bright coral, and over the drop off we even were lucky enough to see a hammerhead shark swimming below. Unreal. We were then greeted by the sweet smell of freshly caught fish and authentic Bedouin cuisine… part of a lavish feast prepared in our honour right there on the beach. After about an hour or so of eating wonderfully prepared fish, vegetables, and fruit, while drinking warm soda, we packed up and headed into the desert for our final stop.
Now, I’ve been known to drive fast and occasionally reckless in my day, but never with other people in my car and especially never off-road. About 5 minutes into our SUV ride through the desert, I realized that our driver had no intention of going slow or safe. I could tell by the crazed gleam in his eyes that it had apparently become his new found goal to beat the other two vehicles to our next destination, and if that meant running over small trees, taking our truck airborne, launching over camels, nearly turning it on its side while taking a “short cut” … well, so be it. For a good half an hour our lives flashed before our eyes. The driver up front, both hands on the wheel, pretending he was Mario Andretti, playing stereotypical Arabic / middle-eastern type music… the 6 of us in the back, holding on for dear life and wondering if this could indeed be the end. Much to his dismay, we arrived second, but to our joy, in one piece.
We settled down on brightly colored pillows under a thatch canopy amongst a compound of similarly constructed huts. It was teatime with the Bedouins. A group of elders came out of one of the far huts carrying various containers of leaves. Due to the fact I failed to gain a full command of the Arabic language over the course if the first few days, distinguishing what each of the samples were became impossible… even with the assistance of hand gestures. I chose the canister that looked “safest” and went with it. Mint. Glorious. A great refreshing finish to a day in the Egyptian outback.
So I had about a week left at my resort, and I made the decision not to go on any more excursions and just take it easy. Relaxing in the 90+ degree dry heat seemed like a more than adequate way to spend a few days. I must say that I developed quite a great tan during my stay there. Days spent by the pool or in the Red Sea, nights relaxing with a hookah, strolling down the main promenade passing a man with a submachine gun every block… paradise.
And thus marks the end of my Egyptian venture. Two weeks of great eye opening experiences behind me, amazing people, great food, it, and it’s easy to say that was sad to leave. I was a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and had even developed a bit of an illness (yes, I accidentally drank the water,) but my mind couldn’t help but stray to where my travels would take me next. I would soon find my answer while drinking a Heineken in the form of some tulips and wooden clogs.
Next up: Amsterdam.
|
||||
