A Winter in Egypt: Week One

Sunday (Jan 5): Tour of Islamic Cairo

Our first day in Egypt was ten hours long, which was brutal considering we had only arrived the night before. In the morning, we had breakfast and orientation on campus before meeting the AUC students for a 2-hour introduction session/lecture. Then we piled into two AUC shuttles and headed to Old Cairo to tour historic buildings and examine Islamic architecture. During the ride, I met three AUC students, Farida, Habiba, and Sarah, who volunteered to get to know the Oberlin students instead of taking the bus with the other AUC-ans (as they call themselves).

Around 4 pm, the AUC students departed and Zeinab and our TAs took us to lunch at a rooftop restaurant. After sunset, a performer came out, and along with the live musician, he started grabbing people to get up and dance, myself included. In any other situation, I would’ve vehemently refused. But before I left for this trip, I decided that I was gonna say yes to every opportunity, because who knows when I’ll be in Egypt again?

Monday (Jan 6): National Museum of Egyptian Civilization

We went to our first proper museum on Monday, where I got to see mummies(!!!!) and then a chronological exhibit of items from ancient Egypt. We had our post-museum discussion outside in the sun, facing the river, and I loved seeing how people riffed off each other’s ideas. I’m especially lucky to be a part of this year’s cohort because among our TAs is an expert in museum curation, Islamic art, and Egyptian history, Mai. She also happens to take fantastic pictures on her phone, some of which are included in the photo gallery attached to this post.

We had a fancy dinner 160m (525 feet) in the air at the Cairo Tower’s revolving restaurant, featuring kofta (Zeinab’s favorite). Of course, we made sure to finish eating in time to catch the sunset with a panoramic view of Cairo at the top of the tower.

Tuesday (Jan 7): Pyramids of Giza

January 7 is Coptic Christmas, so the AUC students had Tuesday off and our Oberlin group was set to visit Giza to see the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Grand Egyptian Museum. It’s been my favorite day so far, marred slightly by the fact that I locked myself out of my room in the morning and had to walk to the residential/security office in pajamas.

Despite my morning mishap, I was delighted to see Farida, Habiba, and Sarah, who decided to spend their day off hanging out with us. I think having this unstructured time helped me loosen up around the remaining Oberlin students I didn’t know (most of them). It usually takes me a while to get comfortable with new people, but riding camels that keep trying to kiss each other really has a way of bringing people together.

For dinner, Farida, Habiba, and Sarah drove us to an Italian place at a nearby mall. I will say: one great thing about the US dollar is that it’s super inflated compared to the Egyptian pound (for not-so-great reasons), so with our meal allowance, we were able to cover their meals and also get appetizers and drinks.

Wednesday (Jan 8): House of Al-Sinnari & Gayer Anderson Museum

We talked about Edward Said and Orientalism on Wednesday, and if you know me, you know I could go on forever about stuff like that. For that reason, I found the Gayer Anderson house especially interesting. Anderson was this British guy who collected “oriental” trinkets to turn his house into a livable museum. He also has a painting of his face on the Sphinx. Anyway, if any of that sounds interesting, I guess you’ll just have to come to Egypt next winter!

Now, onto more important things. After being chastised by Zeinab, I have to amend a previous statement: in my last blog, I called Egyptian food “not bad” because all we’d eaten thus far was kofta, and I don’t really like meat. But when we had kushari for lunch… oh my god. Zeinab calls it “the most unhealthy food ever,” but it’s literally all my favorite things mixed together.

The highlight of the day was actually at night, when a few other Oberlin students, Mai, Habiba, and Farida lingered outside after the bus ride to chat and share our thoughts on everything. It was cool to talk to Mai and hear her thoughts on the students from the perspective of a TA (and an expert), but also just as someone who’s very easy to get along with.

Thursday (Jan 9): Museum of Islamic Art

A recurring theme that seems to arise as we visit more museums is how much I admire our TAs! I’ve always liked museums, but it’s a completely different experience having someone point out things like the political significance of the colors used in art at different time periods or the history and meaning behind the organization of the museum’s entry hall.

After the museum, we ate fitir surrounded by cute street cats, and then our AUC classmate, Karim, and another TA, Heba, guided us through the famous Khan el-Kalili bazaar, where most of us were able to find something of interest. Like many people, I bought one of the nice cashmere scarves that seem to be everywhere, and I’m sure that if I’m not careful, I’ll end up with a collection of them by the end of the trip.

Friday and Saturday (Jan 10-11): Weekend

In Egypt, weekends are on Friday and Saturday. I didn’t do much on Friday, though I did try Talabat (the primary food and grocery delivery service in Egypt) for the first time. In the evening, my roommates and I stayed up until 2 am eating cookies and talking about anything and everything—our life philosophies, our classes next term, and trading meaningless gossip. It was a lovely time, and I wish I had met them all earlier, but I’m so grateful for this trip for bringing us together when it did.

On Saturday, two of our AUC classmates, Karim and Mahmoud, took us to Zamalek to have dinner literally on the Nile, in a modern version of a felucca. At sunset, we congregated at the front of the boat, chatted, and someone connected their phone to the boat’s speakers for people to queue songs. I was even able to sit on the prow for an uninhibited view of Cairo at night. It was the perfect, peaceful end to a hectic week of jet lag, long days, and new people.

Just kidding! It seems like Egyptians have a lot of energy—whether that be enthusiastic good morning hugs from Zeinab, bright and bustling night markets, driving like life-or-death Mario Kart, or rousing a group of tired Americans into dancing on a boat at night—this week, we’ve all been returning to the dorms thoroughly worn-out. But considering all the fun I’ve been having, I can’t complain.