Egyptian Driver’s License

Still sore from the hour-long camel ride. The Bedouins are friendly…and shrewd. This boy’s father wanted $500 USD for the ride around the pyramids. He said he would sweeten the deal by throwing in a blunt. We refused the hashish, of course and Corbin talked him down to $20.

Ismael

This little guy was fascinated with my iPhone and the video cam. His mother, sitting nearby, kept him from running off with both. His antics and contagious laughter made an evening on the Corniche el Nil very memorable. Thanks, Ismael!

26th of July Bridge

On of my goals on the Cairo portion of the trip was to navigate using the 26th of July bridge. Don’t ask me why. We finally got around to it today. I bought some Kleenex from a kid for three pounds and he also wanted the rest of my Pepsi. It was hot so I gave in and he seemed more than happy with the transaction.
The two most commonly spoken words we hear when we walk are “welcome!” and “Obama!”. Egypt loves Barak. They aren’t sure why. Niether am I.
I harken back to our time in the west bank. Palestinians are growing impatient with the president though they still have high hopes. Many Israelis loathe him but for many different reasons. My observation is that Israel is suspicious of Obama on many different fronts.

Khan el Khalili

We took a cab into the downtown area today. The cabbies are mostly quiet and speak little English. Our first cabbie kept pointing at the black and white cabs saying “they smoke the hashish…very bad drivers.” I think every driver in Cairo is exceptional…pot smokers or otherwise.
Khan el Khalili was very interesting. But also dissapointing. Lots and lots of everything. We followed this shop owner around to all of his shops for two hours. It was a good way to see the under belly of Cairo. A bit unnerving. Filthy dirt alley streets, sewage, starving cats and collapsing buildings not fit for standing next to let alone living in. These were, however, the back alleys not the streets the tourists see. Still the people are friendly if not a bit exasperated from trying to hawk their wares to ignorant sight-seers like us.
The police are very helpful and really like American cigarettes so it’s good to carry an extra pack. My new trick is to put my Yankee smokes in Arabic packaging.
When you greet someone with “Salam” you get a smile and a wave everytime. When you greet them with “Salam Alikkum” you get that and a hug and kiss. So be careful whom you greet in which manner. 😉 Egyptians love to hear their language (as opposed to standard Arabic) spoken with an American accent.

Cairo continued

I’ve switched to beer now so I will continue. Corbin and I wandered the island called Zamelik. The best way to describe Cairo so far is Mexico City on steroids. The housing is stacked to the heavens and there is no word to describe the traffic. We were almost hit by cars 3 times today. But it never happened. It never, ever happens. Collisions are non-existant. I don’t know how they do it. They fly through the streets with no lanes or markings and by pure magic nobody ever runs into anyone. The cab ride to this magnificent little hotel we are in was crazy. We saw a woman in a burkha sitting side-saddle on the back of a motorcycle with no helmet going about 70 miles an hour. Corbin was laughing like a banshee. The cabbie said “what funny?” I pointed at the lady and he said “no motorcycles in America?” Enough said.

Welcome to Cairo

Cairo is amazing. Period. It is dirty and smoggy to an indescribable degree. But the people here are the most welcoming folks I have ever met. Cairo is about people. That’s why I wanted to come here. Israel was for historical and spiritual purposes. And we were not dissapointed. But Israel was heavy and thick with tension in places. I’ll definitely be back.
Cairo is a massive culture shock. Israel felt western in most spots. Cairo absolutely does not. I’m looking out over the city this evening listening to calls to prayer from a thousand different places at once sipping on coffee and smoking something resembling a cigarette. I’ll be back with you soon.

What 17-year-olds do in Jerusalem

IDF Elite (all 4 of us)

Great bunch of guys I ran into tonight. It is a muslim holy day (or night in this case) so the streets of the Muslim Quarter were empty except for these guys. Tomorrow I’ll get a photo of Corbin with another group. Sorry for the blurry shot…the other soldier didn’t quite know about shooting in night mode.

Western Wall

No words exist to describe this place. Last night we went in through metal detectors and a heavy guard presence. Once inside (through the men’s entrance), the wall was lit up and Hasidim were praying fervently all around the wall. I approached a rabbi and asked “Eifo ha kippa?” and pointed at Corbin’s head he led us to the kippa basket and I gave Corbin my hat and put the kippa on my head. Corbin wasn’t down with wearing a cardboard hat I guess.

There is such reverence here that many men walk out backwards to avoid turning their backs to the Wall. There was a spiritual heaviness here. Neither of us could speak. I asked Corbin to articulate what he was feeling but he could not. And I couldn’t help him. We just stood and looked around us in awe. I asked a man for some paper to write a note to place in the cracks of the wall which is customary. He said “Why write down and put in a rock what you can ask God right here directly?” Good point.

Ein Gedi

We stayed in Ein Gedi by the Dead Sea two nights ago. This was perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever been. Look for more photos on Flickr,

Palestinian Kids

Just out having a smoke near Lion’s Gate. I was wearing my AC Milan jersey. It appears that there is no more certain way to draw a crowd of kids. Shouts of AC Milan filled the narrow alley ways as they passed by. “What is your name?” they asked. I said John. Like students reciting poetry in class they began chanting  “John, John AC Milan” as they marched off to school.

Today we go with Sam to see the Mt. of Olives and City of David. It is beautiful here. Not a cloud in the sky.