I've got sand in my shoes

They're really impressive and I'm glad I went.

This is The Great Pyramid as you walk in the gates


The main entrance - bit of a climb. You can't go in very far and poke around since there's nothing to poke at (too bad!)






An entrance from the back. Or, if you're into conspiracies - it's a ventilation shaft for the cold fusion power generator (in the place of the king's tomb - a water tight room) created by a civilization far more advanced than ours


Temple outside the pyramid - would make a nice cafe (or maybe was a break room for the power plant operators?)

Sunset, pyramids, light show, KFC.

Roam around to the back of the great pyramid and you'll see the two smaller great pyramids. There are six smaller ones - one of which is in the back ground (none of these were belived in, some select groups, to be cold fusion power plants - just some Egyptian kings trying to building one.)





This is the top of the second largest - for now


This is the smallest of the great pyramids.
The smaller one is one of the 6 not-great pyramids


In order to see all nine pyramids it's suggested to ride camels or horses out a ways. The best time is sunset or sunrise. One really interesting fellow is Samir Minagh who works around the pyramids (with his camel Charlie Brown in tow) will meet you at KFC just across the street from the entrance facing the sphinx and take you out via camel or horse for the sunset and then stay for the light show. 01.2728.0327

Bucket of chicken not included.

I just might have to try and round up some suspects at school and see if I can make this happen.

Misc.

Everyone I asked said there is nothing under the sphinx paws. I think I need to speak to someone higher up.




There were mostly locals at the site - easily 12 to 1 ratio. Apparently tourism is down 75%.

oh yeah - that elevator

I did ride in it - once. It's really eerie at night when it's quiet and all of a sudden the florescent light inside starts to flicker on/off. It's only supposed to light up when in use. Very Kafka-esk. Which reminds me - I have to take a picture of the phone.



On my way out I'll load up my luggage in it and race down to one to unload. I'm cool with that.

OXYGEN:::::STAT!!!

These were taken today before I left for school. Notice the haze in the background? Yesterday's forcast was set at "hazy" yet it was a perfectly clear day and in the low 70's. Today it was supposed to be clear. 50/50 chance - right?


And in the other direction:


These blocks are very short - about the same as a downtown Austin block. And this wasn't bad. Either Saturday or Sunday was THE WORST as it was maybe, at most, 2 blocks visibility. You could smell it, taste it...all I wanted was an oxygen chamber. After class I went straight back to the pension, kept the window doors shut and could still taste it. And this is the cooler season. Imagine summer.

This might compare, on the lighter side, to what people are living in and creating in India and China. Thanks to Global Capitolism - two of the largest countries are following our lead. I've only heard about it second hand - but My God! No one speaks of Cairo - so it has to be worse in these "developing" countries. Developing? Wrong word. Destroying is closer to the mark.

48 new words a day

Well, they did say it was a winter intensive. Basically an entire semester packed into twenty days. What I didn't know is that there is no recognized standardize Arabic instruction - but - this center is well know with the UN and other governing bodies and is well respected. As usual - I am the only American (though the pension has been at least 1/2 full with them the entire time).

It's been intense at the more mellow times, so I haven't had the energy to blog after 5 hrs of class, 2 hrs of to/from class, 3 hours to find a shop that sells paper or pencils and 4-5 hrs of study. Still, for a relaxed people who offer up "Inshalla" for every intention/action, they sure can pile on the vocab and expect it to be memorized the next day, use it in a sentance (conjugated properly) then ask random (albet basic) questions and expect you to switch modes immediatly. My age, you ask? Whatever number I happen to think of first. Who cares as long as the sentance is correct.

Ah - back to class. It's very traditional. Men in one building, women in another. The initial test is done in the admin office which are all men - so it's in the men's building. I'll have to go and take a few pictures of that. Night and day compared to the women's side. They get the hand-me-downs. Maybe next time I could argue a discount based on that fact alone?

Anyway - Madeha is an excellent instructor. She does wear the full abaya but uncovers for the class. There was an afternoon where one of the guys from Admin wanted to check in on us. No problem, but it took a few "my god's" plus 5 minutes for Madeha to put everything into place so only her eyes showed. It was an interesting process to watch. She treated it as an inconvenience, we thought we might have screwed up at something - though we had done well on our in-class tests.

Only one out of twelve vocab were part of the past semester, so much of this is completely (if not randomly) new. If someone hadn't made a joke about wanting to be the first person to go to Cairo for a month and never see the pyramids - I would seriously not make the time to go. Now - I'd be an absolute looser (thanks for calling me out in advance!) so I'll go out first thing tomorrow, take a few pics and leave. And add that entry under "speed walked the Champs Elysée in under 10 minutes after quaffing 2 espresso's with my sister in the Jardines de Tulliries."



There are many pictures I'd love to take but out of respect for the people (I am here for a month) especially the women, I've refrained from photographing some things - for now. Most do wear a hijab - which deserves it's own entry. Do I stand out? Yes. Does anybody care? No. So it's a non-issue.

There is one person here from Sydney to study while working on her masters thesis and a Jewish girl from London both staying in an interesting flat. I'll have to blog separatly about it(they're staying down the street from the school while I'm in the city center)- and I'll have to get some video uploaded. You're not going to believe their place!

This is outside the school. Sadly, this is an all to typical site around Cairo.

Bathroom Blessings

If no one notices I just might buy a curtain to replace this one.

First thoughts

It actually runs smoother than I expected. At least it sounds like it runs smoothly. I really don't mind taking 18 flights of stairs. Really.



A common scene. I don't think permits are an issue here.



Boys club?

12.25

I haven't spotted any pyramids yet - but I've been assured they're still there.

OK - so we all make fun of L.A. traffic, myself included. I worked with people who had a 2 hour commute both directions. I really could not understand why one would choose such a commute. Well - some places you have no choice. Tomorrow - I have a maybe 7 mile commute to the school, not far, but I was told to leave at 7am to make the 8am class. I hope they're being overly cautious. They're locals so I doubt. it. I might be spending my entire time just figuring out a quicker way to/from Nasr City.



Mom - I actually found a nativity scene to add to your collection!

AND FOR THE LAST TIME: I've honestly never been safer than when I travel in a Muslim country. They are all very thoughtful, kind, considerate, patient and forgiving. There are random but heart felt Christmas decorations and a few actual faux Christmas trees decorated complete with snow, plus, quite a few businesses are rotating Christmas music. And I've been given many Christmas blessings (which include a mention of this being the celebration of the birth of Christ), very unexpected and far more sincere than what you hear in the states. Muslims are very conscious of what this holiday represents in the Christian faith. What can you say about theirs?

12.24

Frankfurt airport - no christmas decorations. But you can buy special holiday grapa gift sets in the duty free shops. Last year when passing through to/from Oman I flew through Schipol and they were quite festive. Chanda, Craig and Evie got a taste of that.

Met a couple of guys from Orange County on their way to Tanzania. Can't remember their names (seriously - I'd been awake for nearly 29 hours - no luck sleeping on the plane) Ayway - he had spent a month studying in Cairo a few years ago and gave me a few tips. Good thing I wrote those down. Oh - and he picked Tanzania just because it's there, and he's got a good chance of seeing a free-roaming lion. Not sure how he's going to do it but will figure it out when he gets there. My kind of people. My was less than daring: Essaouria because they had a ficus tree older than the U.S. Ah well....there's always next time.