Playing catch up

Ok, so lots to talk about, let's not waste any time.

Today (Monday): Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the late morning, followed by lunch at an overcrowded mall food court, a drive through the grounds and gardens of the former royal summer palaces and the Royal Jewelry Museum in the afternoon, finished with a delicious dinner and birthday cake back at the hotel in the evening.

The Bibliotheca, as I've mentioned before, is just full to bursting with cool stuff. You can tell they've made a conscious effort to be ultra modern and cutting edge while also reminding you of what the facility is meant to replace. I got to take quite a few pictures of the reading floors, as they call them, which is where much of the collection of books is housed and available to the public. For instance, the walls of the reading floors are covered in small black squares that resemble the pigeon holes where scrolls were housed in the original library. In this library, those squares are actually a sound dampening material. The support pillars throughout the reading floors resemble the lotus flower, a major symbol of ancient Egypt. The pillars serve a second purpose in that they house flame retardant partitions that will expand to protect the collection in case of fire. Even the windows in the ceiling are designed in such a way to keep water from pooling on the roof and finding its way into the building, as well as letting sunlight in to limit the use of lightbulbs while preventing the natural light from damaging the artifacts. Seriously techy place they've got going there. There were a few other nifty gizmos and gadgets there, like the Internet Archive and Egypt's first printing press, and some swanky art exhibitions, like the sketches and belongings of filmmaker Shadi Abdel Salam which I loved. I couldn't get pictures of those things, but trust me, they were pretty damn nifty.

I don't have time tonight to get into the craziness that was the mall we stopped at for lunch today. I will mention the ice cream though. Holy crap is Egyptian ice cream delicious. This is now the second time I've had it and I hope I can sneak one more in before we leave. It's this cross between sorbet and Italian ice and gelato and it's just so so good. I'd give it a close second in awesomeness only to old school Italian gelato like you can get at Mulberry Street Creamery or Michelle's Cafe. It's that good.

After making our way out, and seeing the second Starbucks in all of Egypt, we took a short drive through what was formerly property of the royal family. The family kept a summer resort with two palaces (yes, two!), their own private harbor on the Mediterranean, and acres and acres of gardens. One palace was meant for the females of the royal family, while the smaller was for the males. The males' palace has been converted into a hotel, while the females' has been closed since the revolution in 1952. The gardens now exist as a huge public park with tons of shaded areas for families and couples to congregate and a beautiful little piece of private beach. I snapped a few photos, but we weren't paying 17 pounds to stick our feet in the water. Adel promises he'll take us to a public beach tomorrow so we can say we've done that.

The Royal Jewelry Museum was the last official stop of the day. This was also a former palace of the royal family, the residence of a princess if I remember right. It seemed like everything this family owned was made of gold or platinum and positively dripping with diamonds or rubies or emeralds or some combination of precious stones. The palace itself is very well preserved - the wooden floors, hand carved ceilings, stained glass, murals, even the banisters obviously took skill to create. We even had to wear little cloth booties like we were in a mosque to preserve the floor. The guards there were a little pushy, but that's the first time we've encountered anyone who wasn't super helpful, so I'd say that's not too bad for a two week stay.

Dinner in the hotel was superb - no surprise there, considering the rest of the place. Adel proved once again how awesome he is by sneakily purchasing some cakes from a local bakery so we could celebrate the birthday of one of the girls on the trip after dinner. We sang to her and then the hotel staff, Adel, and Yasser sang to her in Arabic. She had no idea we were planning anything, so it made for a fun end to the night. I've been pretty lazy since then. Just a little bit of packing to do, since we catch a train back to Cairo tomorrow afternoon.

Yesterday (Sunday): Six hour boat trip on the Red Sea for snorkeling (and sunburn), more packing, followed by lots and lots of quality travel time back to Cairo for dinner by plane and continuing on to Alexandria late (late!) in the evening by bus - really it was more like early (early!) morning.

I know I've mentioned this here and there before, but snorkeling in the coral reefs of Ras Mohamed Park has been something I've really been looking forward to on this trip. We got to the harbor fairly early in the day, around 8 or 9 in the morning, to pick up our flippers and masks and snorkels before boarding the boat. We all had to laugh when we were told not to forget our boat name - how could we when it was named "Barrag"? (With the Arabic accent, it was impossible for our guides to say it any way other than "Barrack". It was probably funnier at the time. You'll just have to trust me on that one.) Romeo, our captain, drove us out about an hour to see the magic lake (I still don't know what was so magical about it), a large stand of mangrove trees (I'm not taking the courses, so I don't quite understand the importance, but I'll go with it), and then backtracked a little to get to our first dive spot. We had two master divers with us, one to lead and one to watch the back of the group for any stragglers, which ended up being quite helpful. A good number of our kids and adults got sea sick or had ear pressure problems or any number of water/diving related ailments, so our guides became their best friends.

The first dive took us along a wall of coral reef that almost just touched the surface of the water, so we could only swim alongside, rather than above it. Probably needless to say, but it was beautiful. The coral was just as colorful and full of life as you'd imagine - very Finding Nemo. Apparently something was lost in translation though, because when our guides would point out a clown fish, they called it a "Captain Nemo" fish, rather than a "Finding Nemo" fish. Wrong pop culture reference, divers, sorry. We swam for a good half hour or so before getting back on the boat. Once I was in the water, life was good, if a little salty. Getting on and off the boat could be a challenge. This had to be done quickly because the boat was moving and we didn't want the group to get too spread out in the water. Getting in was just a simple jump, but you had to hold onto your mask and have your snorkel already in place. (For girls, you also had to hold onto your top. In a strange twist, it was actually quite lucky that everyone was so disoriented when they first jumped in. I don't think the boys would have known what to do with themselves if they realized how many bikini tops were.. misplaced.)

The second stop was optional, since quite a few people were still sick and some were just plain tired out from the first round, and they really missed out. The guides promised that the second stop would be better. They never really said how, just "better". They didn't disappoint. This time the coral was farther from the surface, so we were able to swim above much of what we saw. The guide would even dive down to point out specific interesting fish or bring empty shells back to the surface. We had to put everything back, of course, but I got to hold a piece of an enormous clam shell, which was awesome. He even encouraged us to try to touch a small school of "Captain Nemo" fish as they're apparently very friendly. I'm not entirely sure how a fish can be friendly, but I wasn't going to question the man. I didn't have one, but two or three of the girls had underwater cameras, so I'm looking forward to seeing those pictures in a few weeks once they get developed and added to Facebook. I'll add a link here when they're up.

The crew served us an awesome lunch after the second dive and we were allowed to go in or out of the water at our leisure, since we would be anchored for about an hour. About a dozen of us spent that time lying out on the sun deck. About a dozen of us are also still a nice rosy shade, a day and a half later. And me, the girl who got burnt to a bubbly crisp two summers ago, is in the same shape! I'm furious with myself. I brought aloe though, so I'm doctoring myself up and doling out aloe like a mom to a few of the other victims. With any luck, it won't be quite so painful by Thursday morning. Sleeping in a big comfy bed is bad enough with sunburn. A seat in economy class for 7 hours is going to be no picnic. Fun story: we almost left one of our kids in the Red Sea. Yep. One of our girls is a triathlete, so instead of coming on board for lunch, she went back out into the water. For, like, an hour! We do this cute thing where all the kids are assigned a number and before we leave any place they all count off so we know no one is missing. Well, Captain Romeo was turning on the engine and number 20 was missing! We all freaked out and searched the boat with no results. We actually had to get the boat moving a little ways before we saw her come up for air and were able to flag her down and get her to swim back. We joked that she knew we were leaving but decided she'd just swim to meet us in Alexandria. Minor disaster averted.

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. We packed up to head back to Cairo by plane and met up with our old bus driver again to head to dinner. Our restaurant had a view of the pyramids all lit up for a light show they put on every evening, so we kind of said our goodbyes to them then. We didn't make it out of there til late to take the bus to Alexandria. When we started our day, Adel estimated we'd be in Alexandria by about 11:30pm. Yeah. We all know how well that went. Our bus pulled in around 2am instead and I think I was in bed by 3:30 or 4 after a shower and some quality time my email and Facebook. (I'm such an addict. It's a problem.) I think I've already mentioned how absolutely stunning this hotel is though, so I didn't mind the late night too much. I was too busy being in awe of just about everything. Did I mention our room even has a doorbell? How cute is that?

A while ago (Saturday): Quick tour of St. Katherine's monastery in the morning, travel by bus to Sharm el Sheikh in the afternoon, relaxing by the pool (relaxing? what is that?), and a super nifty Bedouin dinner experience at night.

This whole trip I've been pretty excited to visit the monastery. It's one the oldest active monasteries in the world. The first church was built there in 330AD or something ridiculous like that and thhe Burning Bush is there, for Pete's sake! It should be awesome. In reality, it's a whole lot of tourists, a lot of Russians actually, pushing around trying to see the few parts of the monastery visitors are deemed worthy to be within eye shot of. The chapel we got to see was stunning, if a little over crowded with artifacts - paintings, chandeliers, incense thingies, relics, etc. The thing that really got to me though was that it was staffed by Bedouins gesturing in broken English for you to not get too close or to keep moving or to not even think about getting out your camera. I mean, if it were a cute little old lady saying her rosary and giving my camera a death glare, I'd be cool with it. But don't have someone completely outside the faith tell me what to do in a Catholic church. Not cool. Again, I'm not the best Catholic in the world, but that rankled. I'm still kind of pissed about the whole thing. I got about a zillion photos of the Burning Bush just to make up for the lack of pictures inside the church. Again, however, something annoying had to happen. Some guy, I don't know who or where he was from, decides it's a good idea to meander to the front of the crowd behind the ropes, duck underneath, walk up to the Burning Bush (the Burning freaking Bush!), snap off a piece like it's no big deal, and walk right back out. I was flabbergasted. I mean, really. What the hell do you think you're doing? And of course there's no Bedouin employee nearby peddling alabaster vases or post cards to do anything about it. I mean, I know the folks there have to trim the damn thing every sometime, but that's not for some obnoxious tourist to do just because he can. I'm still annoyed about that too. What the heck! Anyway, moving on.

After we got out of the monastery, we hopped back on the bus to head to Sharm el Sheikh. Man is this a tourist town if I've ever seen one. It looked just like Myrtle or Ocean City or any other beach haven - tons of chain restaurants (including the first Starbucks I've seen while in Egypt), advertisements for condos, boat rentals, casinos, and hotel after hotel after hotel. We thought our hotel was pretty fly because our rooms were on the ground floor, each with a little patio onto the central courtyard and pool. Of course, we had no idea where we were staying in Alexandria, so the place looks heinous now, but it was great at the time. A group of the kids grabbed the hotel shuttle to get to the beach, but a good number of us stayed behind to avoid that sand in your bathing suit feeling and relax by the pool instead. There was already a couple of Russian guys and a hotel staff member in the pool trying to get a game of water polo going, so they roped in a few of our guys to play with them. It was a blast to watch but way too intense for me to get in on the action. I grabbed my camera and fiddled with the sport setting so I could get some action shots. I haven't put them on the computer yet, but I'm sure I got some good ones.

For dinner that night we took a little trek into the desert. And by "little trek" I mean we drove for a half an hour and then pulled off the road and followed a mysterious Jeep for another 20 minutes into the desert. We arrived at a legitimate Bedouin tribe's camp, passing pens of sheep and goats and squat stucco houses on the way in. We sat on rugs and pillows around low tables all around a small cooking fire in the center. There was a stage set up and there were a few performances, but these were clearly tourist-oriented presentations that the tribe essentially contracted out. The authenticity came later. One of the men brought out what looked like a giant wok, a board and rolling pin, and a bowl of dough and coarse flour. The wok-type thing was set directly into the fire, like setting a bowl upside down over a candle, and he began rolling out the dough and tossing the dough. When he was through with one, a little boy would take it and stretch it over the surface in the fire and flip it by hand until it was browned on both sides. Yasser told us we could move closer and pretty soon I found myself rolling and tossing an enormous fresh pita to go on the fire. So. Freaking. Cool! And it was delicious, if I do say so myself. There was a whole spread of food already prepped for us to eat while we watched a few more touristy performances. Yasser, being awesome once again, let some of them know that we were more interested in their own experiences and asked them to perform for us themselves. So, when dinner was through and they took another pot of tea off the fire to pass around, about half a dozen Bedouin men sat down by the fire with drums and a lap harp to sing us some of their songs. Three young boys, ranging in age from about 6 to 11 or 12, also came out and started to dance around the men, eventually grabbing a few of us girls closest to them to dance to. Again, before I knew it, I was standing by the fire, holding hands with an adorable child who was leading us all in a circle around the fire, hopping and spinning and dancing around. There was no other light but the fire and the candles at our tables, and a few flashbulbs from the kids still seated. It was a beautiful, joyful, wonderful, once in a lifetime experience. We finished dancing and returned to our seats and they asked for quiet. They simply ended the night that way. We sat with only the fire still lit, listening to the desert and looking up at one of the clearest night sky's I have ever experienced. Yasser told us later that if he hadn't told us to leave, the Bedouin men never would have. Their traditions are too hospitable to ever ask a guest to leave. We could have stayed all night and they would have fed us in the morning. I know it was meant to be a kind of staged performance night - I mean, this is what this tribe does to earn a living - but we could not have had a better experience.

Forever ago (Friday): Travel by bus from Cairo to St. Katherine's Protectorate super early in the morning (5:30am wakeup call, anyone?), minor (?) catastrophe that I still can't talk about yet, late arrival (shocking), and a little hike up this kind of important mound of dirt in the middle of the desert.

That really does feel like a long time ago, and it's only been four days - sheesh! It's insane how quickly I can fall behind without the internet for a day or two. Wow. Anyway. Ages and ages ago when we left Cairo at the crack of dawn, we ran into a little mishap - it's not really a catastrophe just yet. Hopefully this mishap will be resolved sometime Wednesday when we're back in Cairo, but I don't want to jinx anything too badly, so I'll just leave you guys hanging with that one. Remind me to tell you about it, yeah? Ok, good. Well, because of the mishap, we got a bit delayed in getting to St. Katherine's, so that's why the tour of the monastery was pushed to the following morning, rather than in the afternoon before we went on our little hike.

You know, no big deal. I just hiked Mt. Sinai this week. Totally run of the mill trip I'm on right now, don't you think? Ha! Hardly! Ohmygoodness. I was whiny and sore and exhausted and caked in dust and weighed down by bits and pieces of the summit that may or may not have found their way into my bag before I started the hike down, but I did it! I hiked Mt. Sinai. I could go on and on about the religious significance and the grandeur of the views and beauty of seeing a chapel and a mosque sitting side by side at the summit, but nothing I could type, nothing I could say would probably do it justice. I took photos almost every step of the way on the way up to try to capture even a little bit of that experience to bring home to you guys. We stayed at the summit til sunset, so much of the journey down was done in the dark. I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I darted around the guides leading people down the mountain slowly and with flashlights. I ended up doing most of the descent on the switch backs completely alone with no light but the moon and the stars. Yeah, it was amazing. I would just stop and look around much of the time. I felt like I was strolling at an easy pace, but somehow the few of us that got around the guides met up and made it to the bottom a good half an hour before the first guide. We just sat and recuperated and tried to process what we'd done and where we were. It's still kind of a lot to fathom. It probably will be that way for some time and I'm perfectly alright with that.


I think that gets me up to date and all of you up to speed with what's been going on here on the other side of the world. Sorry that meant you had to read a novel this time around. We have a few more sites to visit in Alexandria tomorrow, but I won't even pretend to remember what they are. We'll catch a train in the afternoon back to Cairo and will probably arrive late and be told to head straight to bed. We all know that won't happen. I'll try to get one more post up, since I know we're going back to the same hotel we started in. The following day is that free day I mentioned a few days ago. I think we might be going to the zoo in the morning and then to see some artist demonstrations and shopping at Khan in the afternoon. Until then, I love you and miss you all. I have loved this trip but I can't wait to be home!