Winter break: Cairo, Egypt and SE Turkey

Let’s just say that this past month has been pretty eventful. Due to very complicated circumstances, we found ourselves having to move to a new apartment for the second time. The move happened two days before I was scheduled to leave for Cairo. Overnight, we packed all of our stuff and moved a significant amount of luggage to our amazing friends Çağlar and Ahmet’s apartment. The rest we took with us to another university guesthouse. The day before I left, after our classes, we found a new apartment thanks to the help of our friend Galip, whose father-in-law is a real estate agent. Having that done, we went back to the guesthouse and I packed for my trip. With the rest of my posessions in safe hands and knowing that I’d have to move in when I came back, I took a taxi to the airport the next morning. OFF TO EGYPT!

After the customary delay on the tarmac of Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport due to heavy air traffic, I was off on my adventure. The EgyptAir flight was very comfortable and I enjoyed a very nice conversation with my neighbor who hailed from Portland, Oregon and was visiting family back in Cairo. I was greeted at the airport by my good friend and host for the next week, Talha Ghannam, who I spent a year with while I studied abroad in London during the 2008-2009 academic year. We didn’t waste any time hitting the streets.

We checked out Tahrir Square and the Nile my first night in Cairo. There was definitely a tense feeling in the air as we walking in Tahrir. A guy we talked to mentioned that protesters were gearing up for the one year anniversary of the revolution, which was only a week away. He also mentioned to be careful with pictures so as not to draw attention and be labeled as a spy!

We didn’t slow down. The next morning we took a bus to the White Desert for a night underneath the stars. The significance of this trip was only heightened since I made the decision to not watch my beloved Saints play the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Playoffs that very same night. Listen, my fanhood can never be questioned and my Who Dat Nation membership status is platinum, so you can imagine how hard it actually was to willingly give up the chance to see my Saints attempt to move forward to another Super Bowl…for real. In hindsight, it was a great decision since the Saints lost a close roller coaster game. Could’ve suffered a heart attack watching it, pretty sure some people back home in New Orleans did. Next year though…black and gold Super Bowl in the Superdome, believe it. Hopping off that tangent…we met our Bedouin guide in a town outside of Cairo and got in his jeep. Along the way through the desert, we saw abundant crystal formations at the Crystal Mountain and basalt rocks in the Black Desert. After that, we picked our spot in the White Desert, set up camp, relaxed by the fire and ate dinner Bedouin style. We slept in sleeping bags with four blankets on top and five layers of clothing. It was freezing at night, but totally worth the night light. I’ve never seen so many stars in the sky in my life. If only B.o.B. was there, he could’ve had all the wishes he wanted with the shooting stars we saw. (Corny, I know.) The only other time I saw a sky full of stars was almost two years ago when I was driving with Shaawn B. Ali to Miami to watch our Saints win their first Super Bowl. It was about 3:00am and we had been driving for what seemed like forever, with about an hour left in our journey. We had the sunroof open and suddenly the sky just opened up. It stayed like that for a few minutes and then the stars dissapeared. Surely it was a good omen since we winessed the Saints Super Bowl win. Although it didn’t happen for the Saints this time, hopefully my hoard of witnessed shooting stars in the desert brings continuous good news and positive vibes!!

We spent the rest of the trip in Cairo seeing as many sights as possible. Obviously we saw the Pyramids and Sphinx, but we also made time to visit the Al-Hussein and Al-Azhar Mosques, the Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi’i, founder of one of the four Madhahib (Schools of Thought) of  Islam and the Saladin Citadel of Cairo. We were high rollers at the City Stars Mall and ate two of Egypt’s more traditional meals: koshari and molokheya.

And finally, here’s a video I put together of scenes from my travels in Egypt, enjoy!

I came back to a snow covered Konya and a new apartment. While my roommates were traveling on their own adventures, I spent a week in Konya grading final exams and settling into our new apartment. Lights changed, hot water fixed, internet set up and my room arranged. Things came together pretty well, until one night when I decided to take a late shower and the power went out. There I was covered in soap in the dark. I couldn’t help but laugh. The electric water heater also turned off so rinsing in ice water wasn’t pleasant, but I survived. Lights came back the next day. Then I got sick after eating Çiğ köfte (a raw meat dish) two days in a row. (Yes, raw meat, it’s really good, though I’m sure I won’t have it again.) That night, my water was shut off because the previous tenants happened to cancel their subscription, so now I had no functioning toilet while being sick. I laughed again. But that was another problem resolved as the landlord went and got my water back the next day. Soon the snow started to get to me and I really needed to travel again. I found myself in the presence of good friends as we went on our way to visit cities in Southeastern Turkey: Diyarbakır, Hasankeyf, Mardin, Şanlıurfa and Osmaniye.

Diyarbakır:

Hasankeyf:

Mardin:

 Şanlıurfa:

Osmaniye:

02/11/2012 | Categories: Posts | Tags: Black Desert, Cairo, Diyarbakır, Egypt, Hasankeyf, Mardin, Osmaniye, Travel, Turkey, White Desert | Leave a comment