Fish and Flesh

(Less) Fun Fact # 6:

Over 4 million tons of rice straw are burned every fall in Egypt and burning straw is the primary cause of the black cloud which spreads across Cairo during the month of October. In Cairo, the presence of the black cloud corresponds to the highest rates of reported hospital visits and respiratory illnesses each year. 

Well the protests are over! And it's a good thing too, because if we had missed two more days of class AUC would've had to cancel the semester. I'm a little disappointed because I had just started to make plans to gallivant around the globe with my partial tuition refund, but I guess there's some value in a formal education as well. Tomorrow will be my first day of school in two weeks. Basically everything relating to the university is a complete mess right now, so we'll see how it goes.

Alexandria

Last week I took advantage of my time off and spent a few days in Alexandria. It's about a three hour train ride from Cairo, and I spent most of the ride taking a nap and watching people burn their fields. Alexandria is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean, and I can't believe it took me five weeks to get there. I spent a lot of time walking along the shore looking at the views. To me, Alexandria looks much more European than Cairo. It's still old and falling apart, but the buildings look different and the air is actually air. It was definitely nice to get away from the pollution in Cairo. 

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

While in Alex I visited all the main sights, starting with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It's a beautiful new library on the sight of the ancient Alexandria Library. It's huge and modern and contains three museums, as well as books in French, English, and Arabic. I was very excited to see an exhibition on printing in Alexandria, which contained a few different printing presses, a litho stone, as well as metal and wood Arabic type. Woo letterpress! 

Stealth photography skills right here.

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

I also went to the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, where they searched our bags and made me check my camera. But after they found one camera they stopped looking, so I got to practice my stealth photography skills with my point and shoot. This is why people buy iPhones. The catacombs are basically a labyrinth of tunnels where a family was buried. It was built in the 2nd century CE, and I thought it was very cool. I do believe that the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. 

Citadel of Qaitbay

After the catacombs, I went to the Citadel of Qaitbay. It's basically a giant castle built at the mouth of the harbor. It used to be for defense, but now it's just an old building with a history and beautiful views. 

Just chilling in the middle of the city.

One of the more unfortunate parts of my visit to Alex was driving by a dead woman on the road. I was in a Taxi with my window down and we drove within two feet of her. Egypt has the third highest traffic-related death rate in the world, so I've certainly seen similar scenes in Cairo. But in Cairo it's usually bloodier, and there are usually two vehicles involved. I've also never been so close. In Alex the woman was a pedestrian and had clearly been mowed down by a car. It's unfortunately one of the realities of crossing streets here, both in Cairo and in Alex. Cross at your own risk. Still, it was very sad to see, and it was even more sad to me when I realized that I wasn't surprised by it.

Even so, I really loved Alexandria. I ate fish, I saw King Farouk's Palace (also called Montaza Palace, it was actually built by King Farouk's father, but whatever), I saw tons of livestock just hanging out in the roads, and I got to see much of the city by driving around in a taxi or walking. It was nice to see water that wasn't the Nile, and to smell the saltwater in the air. The whole trip cost me about $60, including getting there and back and staying overnight and eating. It was wonderful, and it was great to get out of Cairo. I fully endorse Alexandria and think that everyone should spend a few days there. As much as I love Cairo, I think that Alex is a much more livable, and less overwhelming. I'm so glad I'm studying in Cairo, but I can't imagine living there for years and years. But I could imagine moving to Alex.

A horse and the Citadel.

I guess that's all for now. I've been in Egypt for nearly six weeks already! It's crazy. I'm starting to feel like I belong here. When I was wandering around Cairo today, I had multiple people ask me for directions! And one of them was even Egyptian! That's a sign of belonging if there ever was one. Obviously there are still many challenges every day, but I'm generally feeling good about being here and doing my own thing and all that. It also rained for all of three minutes yesterday and I got to watch the Egyptians freak out and celebrate and be so excited about a drizzle. It made me so happy. Yay Egypt!