Middle East Odyssey - Part 5 (January, 2006)

Jan 27, 2006 / The rest of the Cairo trip...

...went OK :) Lectures were interesting, saw the pyramids (AGAIN!) and went to a few cool bars. One of the bars was Segoya, a tent on the Nile but pretty cool at that. I can imagine the place swinging over the summer when it's warmer, although apparently then it's crowded with Gulf Arabs (and we all know how much I like them..) ;) The other bar was Bliss, which is at the Imperial boat docked on the Nile. It's a swanky playground for wealthy, young and gorgeous Cairenes. When I was there, I realised that Amman, Beirut and Cairo all have very cool and swanky places for the rich elites' kids to play at, but Damascus doesn't. It has those five skanky bars and that's about it. (I'm sure there are some newer places in Hamra and other rich areas, but Damascus is still very traditional.)

And so I am back in Helsinki with no trip in sight! A very weird feeling. I think I may need to plan something for mid-August when I finish my internship (which I'll start when (if) I clear the security check). All is well in winterlandia, some good parties coming up so in light of me not going anywhere, I may just have to write about those :)

Jan 14, 2006 / A parking lot and frickin' freezing

It looks like a parking lot with a few laid down pillars and headless sphinxes scattered around randomly in the middle of Alexandria but first looks can be deceiving. It's actually a parking lot with a tomb and a catacomb! For the seasoned Egypt traveller like myself (read: you've seen a temple before) there is nothing new here but the first timers in our group seem very excited, which, I guess, is understandable, after all it is a catacomb, but the place lacks all awe of things ancient as it, really, is a parking lot next to a school in the Middle of Alex.

Yet even from these scraps of ancient history it's easy to imagine the grandeur of Alexandria, and of Egypt, in times past. Not only during the pharaonic times, but also during the age of Islam when the huge mosques of ibn Tulun and others were built and Cairo was a centre of the Mamluk empire. Hardly any other country in the world boats as grand a history as Egypt, yet standing here at the Kom al-Shuqafa monuments (the parking lot!) it's easy to forget all that. Oh, and the Qaitbey Fortress would be a really cool place for a huge party, but otherwise unimpressive save the sea view.

Yes, but what can I say, it's great to be back in Egypt, even though it is around 10C (so really too cold!). All try to be wittier and insult someone when I've got more time and am not freezing my ass off.