"Walk Like an Egyptian"

Pyramids of Giza

 This post is dedicated to my travels in Cairo, Egypt! If you’ve viewed my pictures on Facebook, you’re probably expecting to read about Camels and Pyramids, and although there will be quite a lot about those adventures, there is more to Egypt than Camels and Pyramids. The fact of the matter is there are some experiences that you cannot capture in a photograph, and I suppose that is precisely what this blog is for! It’s a little long because I have a lot to say, but I hope you enjoy reading about my trip to Egypt! And obviously my post title is from "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the Bangles. (Watch the music video if you're bored because Michael Jackson is in it. haha)

Egypt

Cairo

Egypt's Flag

Allow me to start by telling you about my decision process to go to Egypt because that’s all part of the experience after all. When I came to Cyprus, I knew that I was close enough to Egypt to travel there feasibly, but with all the news of the revolution occurring in Egypt, I decided it was out of the question.

Some of my GLS friends planned a trip though, and once they were there and I heard about their experiences and saw their pictures, I couldn’t resist the temptation.  When I heard they were safe, I decided to jump in on another group’s plans. With the luck of finding a 5 person private room in a hostel, I was able to join Kyle, Katie, Jessica, and Kristi on their adventure to Egypt. All I had to do was buy my plane ticket! So I did. My round trip flight to Egypt cost me less than $200!

On Friday, November 9^th, after checking in and going through security, I was excited and nervous to board the plane to Egypt. To make the anticipation even longer, our flight was delayed an hour. We finally left at 7:30pm, arriving in Cairo around 8:40pm. It only took an hour and 10 minutes to get to Egypt from Cyprus!

Welcome to Egypt!

To get into the country, I had to pay $15 for a visa, and when I got money out of the ATM in Egyptian Pounds (LE), I felt rich due to the exchange rate! $1 = 6.10 LE. Our bus driver welcomed us and he was amusing as he mimed in order to communicate since he didn’t speak much English, and he drove us to our Hostel.

Driving in Cairo is nuts! We drove between lanes to pass other cars, sometimes there were no lanes at all, and there are no stoplights!

The Elevator

Finally we arrived at Meramees Hostel, and the building had an elevator that I never expected to find in Egypt. It was a 40’s style elevator with manual-doors and open windows with an iron gate on each floor to block the shaft. As we were going up to the 5^th floor, I watched a bunch of deserted looking floors pass by. I wondered what the heck kind of place we were staying in.

5 Person Private Suite

We checked in and met Ahmed, who works there. He was nice and spoke English very well. After asking what we wanted to do in Egypt, he began drawing a visual map of the trip the hostel would plan for us the next day. He threw some prices our way, and it all seemed easy! (Remember this later….) Our 5 person private room, which only cost $22 per person for 3 nights, was a decent size and charming with bright red comforters and hard wood floors. The only thing I didn’t like about the place was the initial smell when you walked through the door. Once we turned on the fan and opened the windows, it didn’t smell that bad, so I got over it.

Best seat in the car?

By this time it was 10pm, and I was going to rest up for the big adventure the next day; especially since we were advised not to go out at night. Our host Ahmed, however, offered to take us out for shisha (hookah) and some of my friends wanted to go, so we all went together, myself a little reluctant. I informed Ahmed that I wasn’t going to smoke, and he learned that I’m a stubborn girl and I never gave in to his insistent efforts to convince me to try it.

We walked through a crowded square full of men smoking hookah in order to get to Ahmed’s place, and as we passed people called out: “Welcome to Egypt,” “Have a seat,” and “Care to smoke?” Clearly we were attracting a lot of attention. It was certainly strange to get so much attention, but I never felt threatened by their calls.

Sitting on the floor for Breakfast

The next day, Saturday, November 10^th, was my favorite day! Showering at the hostel wasn’t bad, contrary to what I’ve heard about some hostels. And breakfast was 3 rolls, a hard-boiled egg, butter, jam, and cheese. Apparently this is a typical Egyptian hostel breakfast; nothing impressive, but we paid less than $8 a night after all.

As part of the tour our hostel arranged, we got into our car for the day, which cost 50 LE each (about $8.50). Our driver was kind and offered us a cigarette out of Egyptian hospitality; of course we all said no.

Our first stop of the day?- a camel ride around the Pyramids of Giza! At first the owner said 480 LE per person for the extended ride, but our driver talked him down to 380 LE, which is about $63. A little pricey compared to what I’ve heard, and the ‘negotiation’ felt like an act to me, so I’m sure we still over paid. I suspect there was some commission involved for our driver, but what can you do?

Charlie and Me!

Our camels were all lined up and ready to go, and mine was the one at the back of the line. I named him Charlie! Haha. Riding Charlie was so rickety and we weren’t strapped on at all! Eventually I got the hang of it though as we rode through the dessert with a young boy guiding our camels.  The older guide on horseback was the leader, and he knew exactly what pictures to take, so I got some great ones! The whole journey was a great experience and I loved riding through the desert! Dismounting a camel is ridiculous! Whenever we stopped for pictures or exploring I had to prepare myself for Charlie’s sharp lurk forward and hold on tight!

Climbing the Pyramids!

We were able to climb one of the pyramids, and they are massive! I have no idea how the ancient Egyptians built them. My rock hiking skills came in handy though! Haha. I saw the Sphinx and even kissed it. (sort of). It was smaller then I imagined. The Egyptians around the Pyramids gawked at us, took pictures, and kept asking, “What’s your name?” We were such a sight to them, and my blonde hair attracted a lot of attention. People tried to sell us stuff or ask for money, and Katie was called Mona Lisa and I was called Shakira by some of them. I couldn’t stop smiling while riding around the Pyramids on a freakin’ Camel!

Kissin' the Sphinx

Next we visited Golden Crystal Perfume shop where we learned about Egyptian oils. He was very hospitable and gave us hibiscus juice, mango ice cream, and Egyptian oil massages for free. These were all gestures to get you in the mood to buy stuff of course, and it’s a good business strategy really because I bought something. (I did a little Business negotiating of my own though too!)

Our next stop was a Papyrus place where we learned how Papyrus is made. Just like the Perfume guy, he also gave us a free Egyptian hospitality drink. I rolled my eyes, but I must confess I bought something there too: my name written in hieroglyphics on Papyrus paper! I thought it was a cool souvenir.

Nile at Night

 That night we went on a dinner Nile cruise, which wasn’t that great, but the boat was pretty docked along the Nile at least. Kristi and I decided we could dance better than the awkward Belly Dancer, but the two male Turkish dancers with skirts were pretty good. Honestly though, the singer accompanying them in Arabic song was the best part. We learned later that the Hostel overcharged us for the cruise, so we vowed not to book anything through them again.

Zao and Me

Before going to bed I sat on the steps to pick up the Internet and I ended up having a great conversation with my new friend Zao from DC! He was traveling to Cairo and other places alone, so we exchanged travel stories.

Egyptian Museum

On Sunday, November 11^th we went to the Egyptian Museum. To get there we had to cross one of the busiest streets in Cairo with cars zooming past in all directions. Obviously we made it, but it took a lot of effort. We couldn’t take pictures inside the museum, and they enforced this strictly by making us leave our cameras outside in a checked area. The museum was poorly arranged and hardly labeled; it appeared to be one giant Egyptian warehouse rather than a museum, but still I enjoyed looking at hieroglyphics, statues, and sarcophagi that still contained their mummies! My favorite part was King Tut’s room where I saw some of the artifacts buried in his tomb and even his golden facemask!

Old Cairo

We took the metro to Old Cairo, and an interesting thing about the metro is that the last two cars are women only. We got in a mixed car though since we were traveling with 4 girls and one guy. The metro was so crowded, and the old city was dirty, run down, and smelly with lots of flies and garbage everywhere. We were harassed more frequently as we walked through the streets but it was never threatening, just annoying. We were also followed by a young teen, but we made sure to loose him quickly. Eventually we ended up at Khan el-Khalili, which is one of the largest markets in Cairo. My strategy to tackle this market: cut their offer price down by 80%, refuse to pay anything higher, and if they don’t accept your offer, walk away and say you’ll get it somewhere else- of course they scream for you to come back and they take your offer; worked like a charm and I got some great stuff!

McDonalds

For dinner we went to McDonalds because we didn’t want to seek out a place in the dark, and besides we knew it was safe and inexpensive.

Felucca ride on the Nile!

During my last day in Egypt, we walked along the Nile hoping to take a Felucca ride. We bargained with one guy for 50 LE for the hour, and it was a really fun experience cruising down the Nile with Arabic music in the background! We had a good half hour of cruising, then 15 minutes of awkward floating in a circle, and then he docked. If you add those up, that only comes to 45 minutes so we refused to pay the full 50 LE we agreed upon and gave him 40 LE instead. This means we got 45 minutes on the Nile for 8 LE a person ($1.33 each!). We felt bad paying so little, but we agreed upon a price and time that he didn’t stick to, so we taught him an important Business lesson by cheating him as he cheated us.

Tahrir Square

Next we walked through Tahrir Square and viewed Egyptian revolution artwork. There was no sign of any demonstrations while I was in Cairo except a small gathering of people that looked peaceful as we passed them in the car. Overall I enjoyed my trip to Egypt, but it would’ve been nice if they didn’t harass tourists so much. I never felt unsafe or threatened in Cairo, but all the attention got overwhelming at times. We departed from the hostel at 1pm in order to catch our flight back to Cyprus, but first they had to change the flat tire on our car….they did so while we were still sitting in the car. It was so bizarre.

I’m glad I decided to change my mind and travel to Egypt with Katie, Jessica, Kristi, and Kyle because otherwise I would’ve missed out on an experience of a life time!

Good times in Egypt!

Thanks for reading my blog! I have reached over 1,000 page views since I began this blog in September, which I never expected, so thanks for following my travels and check back for more posts!

Till next time!

-Courtney <3

"Staring Down the Stars, Jealous of the Moon"

Hello there! I’ve been back in Cyprus for over a week now, and so much has happened that I’m excited to write about and share my experiences with you! This one is a little long, but I’m writing about a wonderful theatre experience and more, so that is to be expected from a Theatre major. ;) 

Upon returning from Greece and Italy, I had some house keeping to do: I went grocery shopping, cleaned the apartment with my roommates, and did my first load of laundry in Cyprus. It cost me $5.25 for the one load and I opted not to pay the same for the dryer by air-drying my clothes instead. It took almost 48 hours for me to decide they were dry, and my clothes felt a little stiff afterwards. I am already looking forward to having soft clothes right out of the dryer when I return to America!

Katie and I found time for a run through the city, but we got some stares because Cypriots don’t run along the streets like we do; they only run in the gym or at the Park. 

Larnaca Beach!

As a way to relax after so much traveling, we took a trip to Larnaca Beach, which is about an hour from my apartment by bus! I had a nice, relaxing day swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. I even got invited to play a type of Racket ball game with a Greek soldier from Crete named George. I learned that he is serving his mandatory 9 months of military service by living and working in the buffer zone between the North and South divisions of Cyprus. I tried to learn more about his situation, but his English wasn’t very good, so we just played Racket ball. (The rackets were very sturdy and made of wood, so I actually decided to purchase my own to bring home before departing the beach!)

Playing Racket ball game

McDonalds with one of my roomies, Lauren

For dinner we needed to grab something quick because we had to catch the bus back to Nicosia. Conveniently there was a McDonalds right across the street, and I have no shame in admitting we went there. Quite frankly after so many Gyros in Greece, and pasta and pizza in Italy, we all just wanted French Fries!! Besides, everyone needs to visit at least one McDonalds while traveling abroad just to say they did! Haha  : )

Monday, October 1^st was Cyprus Independence Day! Sadly there was nothing extraordinary for the holiday except for the fact that mostly everything was closed. I had a very special day, however, because I got to I spend it volunteering at the Skali Theatre! When I found out about the opportunity earlier that day, I spent an hour consulting 2 maps, google, and the bus schedule in order to figure out how to get there. I am happy to report that I successfully figured out the schedule and map on my own! (Success- woot!)

The bus stop left me in a weird part of town, and I am not afraid to admit I was the tourist girl carrying my map while walking.

Skali Theatre

When I arrived at the Skali Theatre I was rewarded with a beautiful, open air, rounded amphitheatre. I worked there, under the stars and moon, over the next four days, which is what inspired the title of today’s post to be from “Jealous of the Moon” by Nickel Creek. I put in over 24 volunteer hours, and my jobs were placing the props, handing out programs, stopping the entrance music, and cleaning the dishes after the show so we could place them for the next show. Since there was a dinner scene and a lot of drinking in the show, I had to wash 16 various drinking glasses, 4 dishes, 1 bowl, 4 sets of utensils, 2 knives, a serving dish, and two serving utensils. Basically I did a months’ worth of dishes in 4 days, but somebody had to do it, and I was happy to be helping out. 

The play was a premier called “A Slight Risk” written and directed by Paris Erotokritou, which was about a British couple living in the Northern part of Cyprus in 2004. It echoed the issues of the politics dividing Cyprus and of British people living on land that Greek Cypriots were forced to abandon in 1974 when the division occurred. Seeing this play was a great way to learn more about what Cyprus was like at the time I was studying it in 7^th grade in 2004! 

The set for "A Slight Risk"

My partner in crime was Nikos the stage manager, and he congratulated me on my first show in Cyprus. The cast of 6 actors (four from the UK, one from Greece, and one from Cyprus) were very welcoming and pleasant to interact with. Paris, the writer and director, was very thankful for my help and he considered me part of the cast. He even invited me to go to the opening night gathering after the show, and I had a great time. At the end of the run he gave me a copy of the play, in which he and the cast wrote me little notes.  

Here is a video circling the amphitheater so you can see the whole theatre!

Now for a few interesting stories about working at the theatre:

On my first day in Cyprus, we were told that when Greeks talk to each other it is sometimes hard to tell if they are arguing or just talking. During the dress rehearsal, a woman was pacing around the theatre yelling in Greek, and of course I had no idea what she was saying. Was she talking or arguing? I asked around and learned she was the lighting designer and there was a problem with the lights. I guess that’s why they worked on lights from 7-10:45pm instead of doing the dress rehearsal. After that they did two cue-cue runs starting at 11pm, and then the dress rehearsal started at 12:45am! Yup, you heard me right. They STARTED the dress rehearsal at 12:45am, and it ended at 2:15am. That’s a new record for me! (And it was a school night with a 9am….whoops. haha. But I had fun so I didn’t mind losing sleep.)

I set up the refreshment table for the actors and crew, featuring a Frappe station, a traditional cold coffee drink of Cyprus. I learned how to make a Frappe because the director requested coffee and I volunteered to make him one. I made one for myself too, and they are pretty good. (Of course I added so much milk and sugar that you could hardly taste the coffee, but that’s the way I like it!)

Me, Katie, Jessica, Kristi, and Maggie at the Theatre :)

4 of my GLS friends came to see the show and I got to sit with them. And apparently it’s common to pay for your program around here because everyone asked me in Greek how much they were when I was handing them out. When I said free, they seemed so surprised!

Last note about my theatre experience: As I mentioned previously in my post on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, the Turkish Cypriots display a Turkish flag on Kyrenia Mountain. Aside from being painted on, it also lights up at night! I had a great view of the World Record’s largest flag from Skali Theatre, and here’s a video so you can see how it lights up!

Classes started on October 2^nd, but I since I’ve only been to 3 out of 5 classes so far, I have nothing much to report except that all of my professors are really young and wear jeans to class. I am taking International Business, International Marketing, Intro to the European Union, European Cultures, and Photography.

Me and Katie in the garden

One day a group of us decided to walk to the city center, and we discovered a beautiful garden with colorful birds, pomegranate trees, a gazebo, and pretty flowers! It was nice to see such green grass for a change. You discover the greatest things while walking and exploring. And guess what? It actually RAINED in Cyprus! I haven’t seen rain for almost a month, so feeling the cold drops felt refreshing and I didn’t mind getting wet.  It rained for about 5 minutes and then again for 15 minutes.

The group: Ellie, Jessica, Maya, Me, Katie, and Kristi

Yesterday it actually thunderstormed for a majority of the morning through early evening; the lighting against the mountains was beautiful. It was a lazy day of hanging out and relaxing, which was really nice for a change. And I actually decided to submit an application for a summer internship already. Woot! 

I took a video of the lightning cause I liked it so much:

Then Maggie and I went to the 7^th Cyprus International Film Festival, which is held right at our University, 5 minutes from our apartments. I decided to buy the festival pass because it was the same price as seeing 5 films and I want to see a lot!

Maggie and Me at the film festival

The first film was from Greece entitled “Jerks”. It was in Greek with English subtitles about three friends who are planning to “leave Athens and move to Berlin to start a new life there. During the very last night, unpredictable facts reveal aspects of their characters which they kept hidden from each other all these years.” It was an excellent film and was great to see since it was filmed in Athens and I have just returned from there. 

The second film was from Indonesia entitled “Delisa”, which was a very touching story about the deadly earthquake and tsunami that occurred Sunday, 26 December 2004. It made me cry and was a beautiful film about hardship, innocence, religious values, and family relationships. 

I am looking forward to seeing more films at the festival because thorough foreign films and traveling with GLS I am learning so much about the world around me and soaking it all in!  I hope you enjoyed my post today as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wish everyone had an opportunity like this to experience so much culture and art in one week, and I am happy to be able to share it with you through this blog.

Till next time!

-Courtney <3

ps. On a side note, the blog that I am writing for GLS is more professional and shorter, so here’s a link to that if you want to see the writing I’m doing for them.