Tom in Egypt // توم في مصر

Sat in my lounge I am well wrapped up, fully dressed, in my sleeping bag wearing an "Ice Cap" as they're known over here - a beanie to the rest of the world. I have no idea how it is this cold here. The wind is literally whistling through my flat making my music barely audible. I remember a few weeks ago sitting on a beach in Sharm on the 3rd of January, and now I don't even want to go outside. Last night as I walked Andrea to a taxi the heavens completely opened and by the time I'd found a taxi I was so soaked that there was no point in running back as I couldn't have been any wetter.

Saturday and Sunday, however, were another story. On Saturday morning it was pleasantly sunny and I spent the morning wandering round the Souq in Manchea, mostly buying Frankincense and Sandalwood, which smell delicious when burned on hot coals. I also managed to find some better coals for my beautiful new sheesha which I purchased in Dahab, all very important. After that I went down to Cairo with a few of my fellow Mancs, I was going to pick up my passport from the Pakistani embassy on Sunday and a few of us were going for various reasons so we made a little trip of it. We spent most of the night in a bar in Zamalek that is reminiscent of Cape d'Or in ALex in many ways, not least how the waiters tack on countless extra beers to the bill hoping that you're too drunk to notice - rarely the case. The next morning I shot over to the embassy where I became the proud owner of a Pakistani visa. I was slightly worried/irritated that they gave me a visa for 10 days in spite of the fact I had told them I was staying for 15, but I've been reassured I can get an extension easily enough in Karachi. We then went up to the Citadel, somewhere I'd tried to go with my parents but had been closed. The views of the city from up there are amazing and extend all the way to the pyramids (I'll upload pictures as and when Clarabelle gives me them). The Muhammad Ali mosque looks like it has seen better days but is still very impressive from the inside, even if the constant plague of tourists take something away from the spiritual atmosphere. The same can be said of places such as Coptic Cairo, and I find myself getting irate at tourists who seem to show an ignorance bordering on disrespect in such holy places. I suppose I'm a tourist too and therefore as guilty as anyone else.

Back to TAFL today and this week I hope to confirm a few more dates re: the summer as I try and book flights and find jobs etc. I'm still thinking southern Spain, have half-applied for something which I think will be very cool if it comes off. I'll let you all know in due time! I'm also trying to find time in my hectic schedule to go to all the places here that I've not been able to get to thus far, they are many. I definitely have to make it to Luxor and Aswan, I think Petra is important, the Libyan desert would be wonderful but perhaps impractical due to all the entry restrictions, and I'd still love to get to Syria. So little time and money and so much to see! There are also places here I'd kill to get back to, but given the tight time frame I probably won't make it to, Siwa instantly springs to mind. It was also really sad to leave Dahab knowing that it will be at least a few years before I make it back to a place that holds so many wonderful memories for me. The year feels like it's flying at the moment, and it almost feels like it's winding down as we hit the last 3 months. At the moment I think it would be very hard to resist the urge to come back to the Middle East after I graduate as the opportunities and life here tied to my knowledge that if I want to get really good at Arabic there's really only one way to do it.

Adios for now.

Txx

So, about two weeks later than expected, here's the word from Egypt (Present in red):
As you may remember from my last post, I was about to embark on my first trip to the Suez Canal. Here's what I wrote to update my blog whilst I was there. It might sound crazy - I certainly didn't believe it - but when I got back from Ismailia Egypt was in the midst of an internet blackout after an unwitting captain decided to drop anchor on not one, but both of Egypt's sub-Mediterranean internet cables, causing Egypt and some of the Middle East and North Africa to lose internet for a few days. Excuses, excuses, excuses....

Ismailia (around two weeks ago):
Back from my first trip to deepest darkest Ismailia, I'm writing from a Cairo buzzing after Egypt's progression to the knock-out stages of the African Cup of Nations, even if they could only manage a disappointing draw against lowly Zambia (more to follow on the football). I watched tonight's game in a slightly upmarket but still traditional (and, crucially beer-serving) Ahwa, and the atmosphere was second to none. It's really an amazing thing to be a part of.


Back to the Canal. Not really knowing what we had let ourselves in for, tall Tom, Aala and I jumped on a bus and five hours later landed in the canal town of Ismailia. It already being dark, and with us sticking to our tried and tested policy of not booking anywhere to stay before we arrive, we decided to find lodgings, which we managed after some minor problems, and head out for dinner and surprisingly expensive drinks. The next morning we were told that the hotel had a surprisingly large booking and we had to vacate our rooms, so before exploring the wonders of the town we checked into a grubby, dilapidated youth hostel (a bargainous 15LE per night with breakfast) by which time the weather had turned decidedly chilly with plenty of wind and rain.

We spent the afternoon and evening seeing the "tourist" sites of the town, the highlight of which was an Israeli bunker on the Sinai side of the canal. The canal itself is surprisingly narrow, and when you see one of the enormous tankers passing through it almost looks as if they're sailing on the land. Impressive stuff. That night we went to the Mercure to see if their bar had cheaper drinks then anywhere else in Ismailia (box ticked), and there was the added bonus of a piano for customer use. After a few singalongs and towards the end of the night, the barman praised our efforts: "You two have very nice voices, BUT, can you play Titanic?" For some reason, along with Hero by Enrique Iglesias, Celene Dion's masterpiece is more popular than you can ever imagine here. Lovingly, due to popular demand, we obliged.



The next morning we left for differing destinations: Tom and Aala back to Alex, and me to Cairo to try and sort out my Pakistani visa, which brings you up to date (two weeks ago)

So much to write, this would be so much easier if I just kept regular updates. Egypt are playing tonight in the final of the aforementioned African Cup of Nations, and absolutely unmissable match. I'm now going to take a break from writing to go out with some amigos and watch it. I'll continue my lengthy update later, because now that we have internet in my flat, I can!

The next afternoon. So sorry for leaving you for the football. Where was I?....

After arriving in Cairo I met up with some friends who were off to a house night with some famous DJs and extortionate prices. I opted out and went for a night partying on one of the boats on the Nile, mucho fun. The next day I was struck down by an illness and stayed in my room sans food for about 30 hours, throughout which I couldn't move out of a 3 metre radius of a toilet. Upon recovery I came back to Alex to collect exam results and start back properly.

The exam results were pleasing, if not dazzling, as I got a good mark and placed well in the class. This means I can stay at my current level, which is what I really wanted. I've also opted to drop a couple of hours of Egyptian (I'm speaking more and more outside of class) and pick up an extra 2 hours of media, which entails watching and listening to the news channels which is one of the things I find hardest in Arabic. The first week back went well, and I seem to have discovered a previously untapped work ethic which has seen me write beautiful lists of vocab along with sentences to show each word in usage - there is hope for me yet!

On Thursday night we travelled 10 hours to Dahab to celebrate Lauren's 21st, a very fun couple of days in a wonderful place with some excellent people. A bloody long way for 2 days though :P We got back on Sunday morning at 10am just in time to celebrate Tom's birthday and catch the big match, which is where I left you I believe.

After writing my last passage in red I went to buy Tom's birthday present and then raced over (2 hours before the start of the match) to 24Seven, a trendy cafeteria with a big screen, which was getting busier and busier. Thanks to the patient, selfless and diligent heroics of Ahmed we had excellent seats for what turned out to be a pulsating match. As with all the matches I've seen here, every gesture on the field was greeted with applause, praise or disappointment, but this time there was a definite nervous edge amongst the flag waving, shirt wearing hoards that surrounded us. Egypt had the better of the first half, creating numerous chances but failing to finish any, and the tension continued to build until Egypt hit the post, by which time I thought the cafe was about to explode. Then, from nothing but a careless mistake by Cameroon's captain and most experienced defender Rigobert Song, Mohamad Zidan (the one the Egyptians call Zizou) somehow managed to haul himself from the floor to square to Abu Trika, who finished with a cool ruthlessness that Egypt had lacked all game. It wasn't the prettiest of goals, "soft" some might say, but I've never seen a goal met with such roars of ecstasy. Words cannot describe the crazy celebrations that followed, surpassed only by those after the final whistle when fireworks were flying, tablas beating, and people dancing in the street until very early in the morning. Awesome stuff.



Fans celebrating Egypt's victory in the African Cup of Nations

Well, I now have internet and will endeavour to update more often. I'm also planning not to have as breathless and exciting a second semester so there may be more time for reflection and writing. All for now, just to say that the title is the chant I shouted until I lost my voice after the match "Boos, shoof, Masr amalat eh!" = Look, look, look what Egypt's done
Not sure it works in translation but it was appropriate at the time!
Txxxx