http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Olivetrue/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Olivetrue en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:36:24 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:36:24 +0000 I am currently sitting in the airport because my last flight to Cleveland is delayed. This layover has made me think a lot about my overall experience in Cairo and studying abroad. I must say I feel this experience has been an experience of a life time. I wonrsquot say that experience changed me but I feel it taught me so many different things about myself. This was not an ordinary study abroad http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-403729.html On our last few days in Lebanon we hung out around Beirut. One of the places we visited is a few miles out side Beirut on a mountain overlooking the city where a statue of the virgin Mary stands called Harissa. This is a very big pilgrimage site for Christians in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East. The statue is very large and beautiful and can be seen from many different areas in Beirut. The http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Beirut/blog-402967.html Originally my friends and I had intended to travel to Baalbek during our Lebanese adventure however my family told us it would be better to go to southern Lebanon. This suprised us because in America we think of southern Lebanon as less safe but as I have learned here in the Middle East many of our preconceived notions are wrong We began our day by visiting Sidon which is about a half hour so http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/blog-402742.html One of the goals I had while visiting Lebanon was to visit one of the Cedar reserves. The cedar tree has historic and national significance in Lebanon. The cedars of Lebanon are mentioned constantly throughout the bible as a image of strength and prosperity. The cedar tree is included on Lebanon's flag which further demonstrates its important and significance. We started out our journey early in t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Tripoli/blog-402644.html It has taken me a very long time to update my blog because I have been swamped with finals. Also I find it very difficult to put into words my experience in Lebanon. I have wanted to visit Lebanon for a very very long time. Anyone who knows me understands that my heritage is German and Lebanese. In high school I had the amazing opportunity to backpack through Europe and visit Germany which was a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Beirut/-/blog-401476.html I have loved history ever since I was a little girl and one of the first books I remember reading as a child was the Bible which is filled with the most remarkable history Thus visiting the area around the Dead Sea in Jordan was a profound experience for me.The previous day we had arranged with the hotel to have a driver take us to each of the sites in the Dead Sea area because they are diffi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/West/Dead-Sea/blog-394683.html After an amazing day in Petra we woke up early the next morning to take a mini bus to Amman. I really enjoying traveling this way because it is how Jordanians travel and we were the only foreigners on the bus. Most of the time I look out the window at the scenery. Jordan has a very beautiful countryside. It is very mountainous and tranquil. After a three hour bus ride we arrived in Amman. Amman i http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-393685.html On Friday night April 10th I began on my ten day long spring break which would take me to Jordan and Lebanon. I traveled with Derek and two study abroad friends from D.C. Darren and Jess. To be completely honest I was mostly excited for Lebanon and saw Jordan as simply a stop along the way. However to my surprise I really enjoyed Jordan it has a deep history very nice people and beautiful http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-393283.html Almost a month ago my Architecture class was suppose to go to the area called Bayn alQasrayn which literally means between 2 palaces however we could not go because it had previously been under renovations and the President Mubarak still needed to inaugurate the building. Thus last weekend we were able to visit Bayn alQasrayn with special permission the general public though is still not al http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-388764.html Last weekend my friend Rachel invited Derek and I on one of her Egyptology field trips to several of the pyramids which are further out from Cairo and to the Fayyum Oasis. I was very excited because these pyramids are extremely difficult to get to on your own and we would be going with her professor who is an expert on ancient Egypt. The field trip literally went all day but we covered a lot of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-387090.html I have been delayed in updating my blog because of the amount of work I have had for school and my friend Oliver is visiting Cairo from OSU. However two weekends ago I had a field trip. Originally the field trip was planning to go to an amazing Mamluk complex however we weren't allowed to go because the Egyptian President Mubarak hadn't inaugurated the building yet. So in true Egyptian style http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-384458.html Last weekend I took a class field trip to the southern cemetery in Cairo. In the southern cemetery is a lot of tombs mosques and mausoleums throughout this area that were built during the Abbasid and Mamluk era. Many of these places were onces in which we studied in my class and are great examples of some interesting architectural aspects and changes. One of the most interesting parts to me was http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-381642.html Last weekend I finally made it to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun which I had learned about extensively in my Architecture class. Derek and I made a trip to this mosque by taxi and walked around the neighborhoods surrounding the mosque before we found the enterence. This was interesting to see everyday life in these villages as we pass by. It was also interesting to see how differently people react to De http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-379314.html Last weekend I went on a field trip to an old fortified Fatimid city. At first we went to the northern gates of the Fatimid City which are called Bab alNasr and Bab alFutuh. These gates are very large and architecturally very beautiful. They are extremely ornate. However the most interesting aspect to me was that inside these ancient walls are thriving Cairo neighborhoods. Very modern people li http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-377463.html On Friday I went to Coptic Cairo with several friends from AUC including Derek. Coptic Cairo is a very beautiful area it is considered the beginning of the modern city and is also the Christian section of Cairo. We took the metro to this section of old Cairo and started out at the Coptic Museum which has many textiles columns artwork which includes many pieces which were formally on some of th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-375576.html This Valentines Day was a very unique experience to have in Cairo. The holiday of Valentines Day is definitely as big of a holiday in Egypt as it is in America. For the last three weeks I had begun to see more and more store windows and shops with Valentines decoration stuffed animals cards and very extravagant Valentines Day gifts. The actual day of Valentines Day the city was abuzz with flower http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-374274.html Classes here in Cairo last from Sunday until Thursday. Thus my weekends now begin on Thursday and end Saturday night which is very strange to adjust to. This weekend a few friends and I decided to adventure to Alexandria the second largest city in Egypt which has a long history. Alexandria gets its name from Alexander the great who conquered this area and decided to build a capital city. I too http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-371667.html This weekend I had a good opportunity to further explore Cairo and become immersed in the culture and the people I have become accustom to the sights smells sounds and feel of the city. I have become a master of tackling the insane traffic in downtown Cairo which is indeed an art form all its own the concept of street lights and cross walks don't exist here. I experienced some new restaurant http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-369303.html After almost a week long orientation at campus I plan to spend this weekend here the weekend is ThursdaySaturday further exploring downtown Cairo Zamalek and many surrounding neighborhoods with many of my new friends. However I decided to post some of my random observations about Cairo and Zamalek thus far The sun sets here at 5pm which is still hard to get used to. However the streets http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-368388.html For the last few days I have been mostly going to school orientation at the American University in Cairo. This has involved many interesting bus rides through Cairo and to an area called New Cairo which is a developing area of Cairo which is very wealthy with some of the largest mansions I have ever seen The University campus itself is very new having just opened a semester ago after moving fr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-367803.html