Welcome Home, Mr. Engle

Tuesday: December 21, 2010

Words cannot accurately describe the past three weeks. I’ve written in this blog (almost) daily describing the places I’ve been and the people I’ve met. It has easily been the most productive and most fun winter break I’ve had in college. Sure, some places and hotels were nicer than others, but all in all, it was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will treasure forever.

Between packing and being on the computer, I didn’t get much sleep the night before we left for New York. I woke up at 5:20am, finished packing my bag, took my bags to the lobby, and had breakfast in the hotel at 6am. We left for Cairo Airport on the early side (around 6:45am) to avoid the downtown Cairo traffic and I couldn’t stay awake on the bus. It was sort of melancholy on the bus as Professor Ghaly expressed how great the trip was and as the group expressed their praise for Professor Ghaly. He was crying—something I’ve never seen him do before. We arrived at the airport, took our bags from the bus, and entered the terminal. I hugged Professor Ghaly and Mama Ghaly as I went through the general terminal security. I looked back and saw memories of Egypt as I put my bags on the screener.

I didn’t have much time to say goodbye to Egypt as Melanie and I hurried to the check-in counter. Professor Ghaly and Melanie told me that the plane was going to be packed, but I thought since it was a Tuesday people wouldn’t be traveling—and I was very wrong. We waited inline for a good amount of time and I was happy that my luggage was not over weight.
We then went through Egyptian immigration and officially left the country—we were in no-man’s land—a crazy legal idea that we were in Egypt, but we technically weren’t. The main security area where you go through a metal detector was at the boarding area—different from NYC—so we sat outside the boarding area gate until they opened it. Once through security, we sat in the boarding area until a little after 10 am. After changing my seat a few times (26k to 38J to 39I to finally 39J), Melanie and I wound up sitting together, which was really nice. EgyptAir flight MS 985 took off at 10:55am, Cairo Time. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast at around noon, took 2 Dramamine, and started watching “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Happily and un-expectantly, I fell asleep—for 4 hours! It was glorious! I then woke up, read the free newspaper, and finished the movie. They also served us lunch (I had chicken and rice) on the plane and then I watched the movies “Flipped” (cute movie) and “The Day After Tomorrow” (yay, New York). After 9313 km of traveling, we landed at 3:15pm EST at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. We were finally home!

We waited in line for awhile before we went though immigration—but once the officer stamped my passport, I was finally back in the United States. I then got my bags and went to the customs checkpoint. The guy told Melanie and I that we had to go to the secondary checkpoint where the officer asked us a few more questions and let us go without having to open our luggage.
With passing that last checkpoint, I was home. United States, New York, Home. Going to Egypt was amazing. Simply amazing. I learned about a whole new culture—different money, language, and religions. I learned how to haggle and I learned how to repack my suitcase every three days. The tombs and temples were remarkable in everyway. The ancient Egyptians were so advanced and so smart. They had technology and architecture that we struggle to achieve with computers and formulas. The mini-term concept is a fantastic one, and while expensive, it was worth every penny…or piaster, I wish I could do one every year. Sure, at times I struggled with the food and the security, but that was expected. At least I learned that I could be on a plane for almost 12 hours without losing my mind.

I want to thank everybody that has supported me in my journey across the world, including my parents and grandparents, my family, my friends, and my classmates. I also must thank Professor Ghaly for his hard work in making this trip a reality. He has been working since last February to put together this 3-week trip and it showed.

Egypt is a diverse and interesting place to visit and I suggest everybody try to check it out at some point. It’s been great blogging with you…and thank you to those who have read my rambling—I really appreciate everybody who took a few minutes out of their hectic days to see how my day had gone—yeah the seven hour time difference was rough at times—just ask my Mom! Anymore questions, ask them here or in email, I'll answer them! Until next time!

Don’t fear time, sometimes it feels like 10 seconds.

"Long distance information give me Memphis"...Egypt

Today I went to Memphis and didn’t learn anything about Elvis Presley. Why, you may ask? Instead of being in the American city in Tennessee, I went to Memphis, Egypt, the site of the first capital of Egypt. Memphis (Mn-nfr) literally means “Beautiful monument” and was the capital for 700 years, though it was totally destroyed during the Persian Occupation in 900 BC and under Arab rule when they recycled stones in 642 AD.

Memphis is the ancient capital of Egypt and at one time was considered “the most important city” in the world. While the countryside is beautiful, the irrigation canal is pretty disgusting. Not only is there garbage lining each side of the canal, the floodwalls (I’m not sure that they are designed to be floodwalls or levees, but they somewhat look like them) are falling apart in many sections.

There are two types of canals in Egypt- the high level dam is for irrigation for crops and the low level dam is for runoff (which has a much higher salt content). These dams run solely on gravity (though some farmers have pumps to get extra water from crops). The farmers that have pumps deny farmers downstream of the same water quantity. Since water is a precious commodity in Egypt, the irrigation police monitor water supply to ensure that all farmers have a fair share of the water supply. There are 9 countries that share the water of the Nile River and there are regional agreements—though Egypt does get the majority of the water supply since it is based on historical rainfall. Even though I’m talking about water and rainfall, it was once again very nice here today—the day started off overcast but it eventually burnt off and was a warm and sunny day.

Melanie and King Ramses II sitting
in an open-aired museum...

Our first stop of the day was the Memphis Open Air Museum. The area was filled with various artifacts from the Memphis area since any pieces found are property of the Egyptian government. If artifacts are found on a person’s property, the government has the right to relocate your house. Among the many small pieces that had great details in the stone, there were two statues of King Ramses II. He had ~50 wives, ~200 children, and ruled for 67 years. The indoor statue was huge and was made entirely of limestone. Additionally, I bought a handmade carpet/tapestry from a merchant with Randy Miller. The merchant was originally asking 350 pounds for it, but we got him down to 100 pounds and a free bag.

Step Pyramid Under Renovation

From the Open Air Museum, we traveled to Saqqara, the home of the oldest pyramid. At Saqqara, we watched a movie narrated by Omar Shariff about the area and the pyramid. The Imhotep Museum was very cool since it showed old columns, arches, and artifacts. There were also mummies in the museum in humidity-controlled cases. It is amazing to see artifacts made around ~2500 B.C. when we are in 2010 A.C. We then drove up to the Step Pyramid of Djoser where we first entered a funerary area, which led us to the pyramid complex. It was considered to be a stairway to heaven. It turns out that the Egyptian Government is restoring the pyramid (as you can see in the picture). This restoration is very necessary in order to avoid a collapse of the structure. I’m curious how the final outcome of this restoration looks.

We then went to the Mereruka Tomb where we saw hieroglyphics stenciled into the stones of the walls. Each set of symbols represents a story and is read depending on the story. These symbols were once totally in color, but they have faded badly. The color was done by grinding up stones and mixing it in egg whites to create ink. Next to the tomb was King Titi’s Pyramid. I went down into the pyramid and it was interesting to see so many hieroglyphics and King Titi’s sarcophagus (but no Mummy).

There were various vendors around these sites peddling their goods, but I told them no and didn’t allow anybody to put anything in my hands unwillingly. Woo!

One of many carpet schools on
the road to the Step Pyramid

Before heading to lunch, our group stopped at a carpet school. The one we visited was one of many schools along the road leading to the step pyramid complex. It was a very nice facility where the guide told us that school children are taken off the street (and away from drugs and crime) and are taught how to make silk and wool carpets. The children (elementary and middle school aged) showed us how to make these carpets, and while they move at a nice pace, it takes many months and sometimes years (depending on the detail) to finish a carpet. The school also had a large showroom, but I didn’t purchase any carpets.

Lunch was very unique in that it was an open-air restaurant. The restaurant was buffet-barbeque and the tables were set up under a large pavilion. Guess what I had for lunch, yes, chicken—my stomach has been hurting me all day—and I think my good luck streak in the bathroom department has finally ended. Hurts…literally.

After going back to the hotel after our late lunch, I relaxed and checked emails. We then headed out to the Great Pyramid complex to see the Sounds and Lights Show of the Pyramids. The show was very cool since it lit up each pyramid as it told the story of the Great Pyramids. The music and narration was not as exciting, but the laser show was very impressive.

Tonight is the final night at our hotel in Cairo as we travel via sleeper train to Aswan tomorrow evening. I’m not sure what the Internet is going be like the next few days, but I’ll continue writing—internet or no internet—and I’ll post the entries when I have available WiFi.

FYI: I had pizza in the hotel plaza area...not chicken...:)

Have any questions? I’ll answer anything! Talk to you soon! Thanks for reading!