Cairo 4/Alexandria

Cairo, in contrast to Alexandria, is probably best described by its sounds. Despite being a city of almost 5 million, relative to Cairo, it seems both small and quiet. Going to school there would not be nearly as exciting. There is far less to do and far less to see despite its clean air, lack of honking and beautiful views.

Before leaving for Alexandria, we made a stop in Islamic Cairo. One thing I notice daily in Cairo is that every area (downtown, Doqqi, Islamic Cairo, Coptic Cairo, etc.) has its own personality. Islamic Cairo seems no less religious than the rest of Cairo. Rather, it is filled block after block with massive mosques built centuries ago. The mosques, for the most part have an open ceiling in the prayer room so you can see the sky. Climbing to the top of a minaret, you can see far, but Cairo is so large and so polluted, it seems like you can hardly see anything. Islamic Cairo seems to be slightly quieter and less bustling.

We left for Alexandria at about 8 in the morning on Tuesday. It is about a three-hour bus ride. There is not too much to see on the ride between Cairo and Alex but some sand and lots of billboards. We stayed at a 5-star hotel with a view from our windows of the Mediterranean. We were able to eat vegetables and fruits without fear of getting sick. It was a bit too cold to swim, but not too cold by any means to sit outside by the water with a book and sunglasses. Walking around Alexandria, we stopped in at a few churches (including the main Coptic church and an Armenian church) as well as outside of the Alexandria synagogue. The guards would not let us in and while standing looking at the building, we started to draw a crowd so we left. It is a huge building with large gates in front of it. Between the gates and the building is a large courtyard. The building seems to be very well maintained for what it is.

The following day, we went with school to the catacombs, an amphitheater, the Alexandria library and a large fort. The catacombs are carved underground and can hold I think something like 300 mummies. It is a huge space and amazing that all of that could have been carved out. From the top of the fort, you get a beautiful view not only of the city but of the Mediterranean as well. The library seems to be more of a tourist attraction than an actual library. It has very few books, though there seemed to be people there doing some studying.

My program has 227 kids on it. Most are American, although we do have a number of Norwegians and I believe some Brits, Australian and probably Canadians. For the most part, kids seem to be nothing but nice. It is a chance to meet people I would never have met before. I am meeting people from completely different backgrounds, different schools and different interests from myself.

Coming back to Cairo, we went out for a standard meal of kohsary. The more koshary is discussed, the more it defines Cairo. A mish mash of every leftover with a few spices. Like the loud noises, the food here seems to describe the city. Not only koshary, but things like the thick juices that can be bought at every street corner. Sugarcane juice is a perfect example of this. Despite its sweetness (which I obviously love), it is too thick to get down a whole glass. A few sips are enough.

Every year, Cairo has a huge book fair. Although most books are in Arabic, we were able to find enough used books in English at prices as low as 2 pounds (it is 5.7 American dollars to the Egyptian pound). There were a good number of anti-Jewish books at the book fair that we saw.

Any other city, living across from the police station would make me feel safe. Here, walking to my apartment at night, I am terrified walking past the station. The guards are no different (if not worse) from any other male on the street. That, on top of knowing that they have huge guns and are much bigger and more powerful than myself is very disheartening. That's not to say that our block doesn't have its perks. It is fairly quiet, we are not too far from school and it is nice to be able to be in a different part of the city, even if it is only for the night.

Cairo may not have a magic to it like other cities, but it has something indefinable making it like no other place. I love that five times daily, the call to prayer is heard and people take five minutes to pray. It is a time to take for yourself. In the States, no one takes those five minutes of self-reflection. One thing I learned about prayer in Islam is that when bowing down, your entire forehead and nose should be on the floor. In that position, any bad thought you are having is coming from you and you only. There is no way to blame it on anyone or anything else. There is magic in the contrast between old and new in this city. My favorite part of the street our building is on is seeing a donkey taking a food break from pulling its cart. We, as Americans, are more out of the ordinary on our street than the donkey. The irony in being able to see Pizza Hut from the sphinx can have no other reaction but laughter, like almost everything in this city. I have learned that rather than take things seriously and be frustrated over not being able to understand why things happen the way they do, it is better to laugh and take it for what it is. After all, as I said, this city is like no other place I have ever been (although I suppose I haven't been too many places).