Egyptian Pharaohs, Pyramids, and Parents

So as promised here is the next post that has long been due, EGYPT!  Unlike my very lucky parents though I only got to explore Cairo and then was sent back to Istanbul to face midterms.  But this post will probably not do justice to just how excited, overwhelmed, and amazed I was by Cairo and getting to see my parents.  Last night I talked with my parents for the first time since I left them at the airport over a week ago to come back to Istanbul and I can not express how happy I was to hear that they had an amazing adventure in the South of Egypt and how this trip really changed their lives.  For the past year it seems I've been on a roller coaster trying to understand myself and my relationship with my parents.  As we grow up and since I've been in college I recognize I'm no longer a child but I think we all go through this weird period of who are we especially when it comes to family dynamics.  Anyways, CAIRO the land of the Pharaohs, the Great Pyramids, and so much more. 

So I arrived into Cairo lat on Thursday Nov. 1.  And from my discussions with a diplomat on the plane I knew I was in for a really unique experience.  You see the way he described Egyptians made me feel immediately at ease because the main thing he stressed is they like to have fun and are a very relaxed culture.  He also explained that since the revolution the country has been in disarray but that it is working on rebuilding it's just a slow process.  Leaving the plane I immediately understood what he was talking about not only from my interactions with the people from the tour company and my discussions with them but also from just looking out the car window on my way to the hotel.  It was quit dark so I couldn't see much but when we got to the city I was first shocked at the amount of people and cars on the road. (Not to mention their driving was very scary and intense as they literally use every inch of the road)  But to be honest my thoughts were with my parents and getting to see them.  I have absolutely loved my time abroad but there have definitely been moments where I look up at my pictures of my family and get homesick.  So I was just a little excited to see them; totally being sarcastic, I was SO unbelievably pumped to see them. 
The next morning we woke up bright and early to begin our adventure in Cairo.  Our first stop was Memphis the first great Capital of the Egyptian empire which was founded around 3,000 BC.  There was not too much to see but that does not mean I was not impressed with the artifacts that were there.  The most amazing one was this huge and I mean HUGE statue of Ramses II that had been carved out of one piece of Limestone.  It was impressively preserved and I found myself amazed at the magnitude of it.  To be honest this was a running occurrence in my thoughts- I was constantly amazed at how well preserved and the massive quantity of artifacts still present today.  We next headed towards Giza area stopping at the Step Pyramid which was built by Imhotep during the third dynasty for the Pharaoh Djoser.  It was the earliest pyramid and the beginning of the pyramid phenomenon in Egypt.  It was a beautiful complex with an amazing entrance onto an open courtyard (of sand of course) with the Pyramid as the focal point.  On a good clear day you can see the Great Pyramids off in the distance but on our day it was fairly hazy and so we couldn't see them.  Next we headed to a nobleman's tomb and got to see the hieroglyphics and our tour guide Mamdouh explained how in all the temples the scenes depicted were of the persons wealth and contribution to society.  It was amazing to see the colors and scenes on the limestone walls still in amazing condition and easily readable.  Before we were eaten alive by the mosquitoes we headed to lunch and then on to the Great Pyramids of Giza.  First of all a clarification for everyone who thinks the pyramids are out in the middle of the dessert with nothing around them, this is so unbelievably false its not even funny.  Driving through Giza as I'm looking at the buildings and the people all of a sudden there the pyramids are, right off the main streets in Giza.  It was so surreal that now when I re-picture that moment it's hard for me to even believe it was real. 
But after making a few trips to Giza it became real, very real.  They are amazing, huge, magnificent, and just all around spectacular.  I can't even begin to explain them because there really are no words that would do them justice.  Then getting to walk inside of the Great Pyramid was not only a religious like experience for my mom but for me it was just too incredible to believe it happened.  To top off this amazing event we went out and rode camels around the area of the pyramids to the Sphinx.  Now that I look back at the pictures of our adventure that day I can't help but smile and remember thinking there's no place I'd rather be than right on this camel, in the Sahara Dessert, with my parents.  It was incredible and something I will never forget and I'm just so happy I got to spend it with the two people I know love me unconditionally.  Needless to say after seeing and doing all we did that day we were exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep.
The next morning we woke up and headed out to the Egyptian museum.  While the pyramids had been a religious experience for my mom, I knew going in to this day I was going to have that same experience.  Ever since I can remember I've loved learning about history and at some point became fascinated with the Egyptians.  Then up until about 7th grade I wanted to be an Archeologists and work in Egypt.  Needless to say King Tut was probably my favorite Pharaoh and Sekhmett is my favorite goddess.  So getting to go to the museum, see the amazing things that were in Tut's tomb, seeing his face mask, getting to see some amazing sculptures of Sekhmett, and all the other amazing artifacts left me speechless.  I had no words and all I could do was just think and wish that I could stay in that moment forever.  Something unexplainable happens in your mind when events that you have been thinking and dreaming about forever actually happen in real life.  It's an incredible experience and I hope everyone has those moments.  Needless to say the Museum and walking around, with seeing amazing artifact after artifact, for me that moment kept reoccurring.  To complete the day we went on a dinner cruise on the Nile.  And of course no trip to Egypt would be complete without seeing my father being pulled onto the stage to belly dance with the belly dancer.  It was a great day!

My final day in Cairo was filled with Mosques and Markets, some things I had become quit accustomed to.  First we headed to the Citadel where we saw the Muhammad Ali Mosque named after the very famous general of the Ottoman Empire and ruler over Egypt for the Ottomans.  The mosque was built to rival the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) in Istanbul but after seeing both of them I have to say I prefer the Blue Mosque.  The Muhammad Ali Mosque was dark and was very clearly built during the baroque period with the heavy gold ornamentation and dark colors.  It was not at all what I was use to seeing and it made me really appreciate the mosques I had seen in Turkey.  So I'm sorry Egypt but I prefer the Turkish mosques.  Then we headed to the El-Hussein Mosque where Mamdouh sat down with us and explained Islam and the many facets of living a life as a Muslim.  I had been taught a lot of what he explained so I mainly watched my parents and was really fascinated by their response and questions.  I could tell they really wanted to learn and understand, and that made me really happy.  It is hard having lived and grown up in the same southern town where only Christians really live to truly understand Islam.  I got my first taste of Islam when I became good friends with a number of Muslims at Duke, but even for me I didn't really understand until I lived in Turkey and was taught what the Islamic faith really is all about.  My parents did not have the same experience as I had so it has been really interesting to see them listen to the Imam sign and take in all of what Mamdouh had to say.  I new that this was just the beginning for them and from my conversation with them last night it seems I was right. 

Being in Egypt I knew I was going to be looked at differently and more so because I was a woman.  But what was really fascinating is I did not feel questioning looks from men but from the Egyptian women.  Now that I'm thinking back on this though it makes more sense to me.  You see something that stood out to me in our conversations with Mamdouh was the way women were treated in the Egyptian culture and the whole marriage process.  When a man and a woman want to get married much of the financial burden is on the man: he has to buy an apartment, pay a dowry, and get the apartment ready to be lived in all before they can marry.  When the father or mother dies and there is a son and a daughter, the son gets everything because for them they understand the daughter will be taken care of by her husband.  They take great pride in this fact and do not understand why someone would think it was bad.  But when I see the women questioning my outfit choice (which was never very revealing), I have to wonder if the way the men treat the women is not just to keep themselves in power and to keep the women from ever wondering what life would be like on their own.  But then again this is all they know, they don't understand western cultures and very much like the Ottomans they don't want to move forward.  They like their old customs and traditions, and that is how they want to live their lives.  But slowly a new generation is rising and the women of that generation are becoming more educated and more questionable about the traditions and their role in society.  So who knows what Egypt will be like in 10 years.  They have a lot of work to do but it seems they all are very excited and ready to make an Egypt that is theirs.  Now I have to go catch my plane to Sarajevo but look forward to more on my adventures abroad soon!


Sending you All my Love from Turkey,
 Caroline <3