Egypt

Hello again!




After the last entry, I was on my way to Egypt.

It all began in Tel Aviv, we had to go there to get our visas at the Egyptian consulate.

We got there with applications in hand that were filled out and pictures printed off the computer, which the guy said was not good enough. He pointed us in the direction of a place to get pictures, and then another person waiting for Visas told us how to get there. Well, that didn't work because we couldn't find the place at first. We asked a guy at the post office who told us one way which was wrong so we then went into a small store and asked a lady where to get the pictures and she pointed us in in another wrong direction. We then went into a place where a guy told us an address of a photo shop. At this point I think it was a little after 10... and the Consulate closed at 11 so we started to run. We got there got the photos and ran back to the consulate.



When we got to the window the guy told us that we needed to fill out another form and copy it, our passports and Student IDs...so John ran to a nearby copy place and came back. We then shoved our application stuff and money into the booth since it was 11 and the guy was closing the window right then and there. As he did that he said "come back tomorrow for the visas." I guess that's Egypt's way of welcoming guests.



After that we ate at a restaurant that we ate at the last time were were in Tel Aviv and then went back to Jerusalem only to come back to Tel Aviv the next day.



We got back to Tel Aviv and easily picked up our visas and then took a taxi to the Bus station. The taxi driver was showing us pictures of himself in the Army and telling us all about the nice calm water of Eilat...only in Israel. We then took the long 5ish hour bus ride to Eilat, crossed the border into Taba, Egypt and then got ripped off on a private trip to our hostel in Dahab. We figured it was the safest way, but a bit pricey. If you go, don't use Max.

As we drove to Dahab...I was struck at how different it was than Israel. It seemed more barren and not as modern. There were multiple checkpoints that were manually operated, and there were a lot of police everywhere.


We eventually got to the hostel and they offered us chilled hibiscus tea at their restaurant which was right beside the Red Sea. It was such a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere...which was really nice after the whole crazy Balagan of getting there.


The next day we relaxed at the restaurant,walked along the shore, went to the nearby market, i got some sandals and then we had dinner. It was a very relaxing time.

The next day we took a long bus ride to Cairo and got in at night at the Juliana Hostel.



Cairo is an absolute mess. The city is extremely smoggy and smelly, and the traffic is a mess. In order for someone to turn or merge into traffic they have to honk their horn so that the other drivers know they exist. so, on the streets you have massive amounts of traffic with massive amounts of honking all surrounded by smog.
Bottom line: Cairo is a nice place to visit and see some history, but I would not want to live there, oy.



We then woke up the next morning and went on a tour of the Egyptian Museum, organized by our hostel, where we saw relics from King Tut's tombs, some mummies, including one of a dog. From there we went to Old Cairo/Coptic Cairo.

We went into the Ben Ezra Synagogue, which was just a museum... no davening (praying) takes place there anymore since there aren't many Jews left in Egypt. It was an interesting site to see. It was a little weird that it was just a museum... a place where tourists can see where Jews used to pray. Most Jews made aliyah from Egypt because of Anti-Semitism. This made me appreciate Israel even more.

After this we visited a church and a mosque. The mosque was the first one that I've been in, so it was an interesting site to see. We all had to take our shoes off, walked around and took some pictures.

From there we went to the market area, where I bought a t-shirt. When I paid for it the guy noticed I had Shekels and he took that instead of pounds he then asked me, "is your nationality Jewish?" and I said "yes" and then he said "you're people are great but your government is crazy." oy, yeah, the Knesset is a balagan (crazy)...he got that one there. So, then he gave me a free pyramid souvenir and wished me a, "how do you say it, shalom?"

After all that we went back to our hostel relaxed and then went out to eat at a Pizza Hut of all places.

The next day we went to see the pyramids! As we got closer we could start to see them more through the smog and they were impressive! It was awesome to see things we've only read about in textbooks. We walked along the steps of the great pyramid (the only surviving wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world). We then went in the "second pyramid". We got into the pyramid saw the empty sarcophagus and then left. It was basically... yeah! we're in a pyramid! now, let's go it's too hot in here!

When we got out there was a guy who was offering to take us around the pyramids on a camel. After going back and forth we figured it was worth it. It was a bumpy ride, much like when I rode a camel with Bedouins when I was in Israel in 2006. We got to a spot where you could see all of the pyramids and then we got our pictures taken. We then saw the sphinx where we posed as if we were kissing and punching the sphinx. After that we went to another museum with statues of Pharaohs and the like and the we went back to the hostel.

The next day we spent most of the day relaxing, talking religion, and then we went to a dinner cruise on the Nile. We had great food, and there was some great entertainment. A belly dancer included. It was also nice to cruise along and see Cairo at night (at least you couldn't see the smog).

The next day we relaxed and at night went for a walk and found a Chili's to eat at. There were free refills so we all decided this was the right place! (most places in Israel and Egypt don't have free refills).

The next day we took a long bus ride to the Israel-Egypt border in Taba where we met and schmoozed with some Canadian tourists. When we got to the border the driver yelled "TABA BORDER YALA TABA BORDER YALA" continuously...even as we were getting our luggage from below. (yala in Arabic/Hebrew means let's go...at least in this case)

From there Eric and I went back to Jerusalem and John and Ryan continued onto Jordan.

So, I got back to Jerusalem and unpacked. I also met our new roommate, Andrea from Germany. She's in the Graduate program here.

So, I've mostly been relaxing after the adventure in Egypt. That's all for now!

Rehearsal for Annie this week, along with a UMass in Israel reunion and then the semester starts next week, look for more later

L'hitraot!