Blogs from Giza, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 5

29 May 2010 2329 (GMT +3) Giza, Egypt When I woke up this morning I had absolutely no plans, or any plans to start planning something. Within fifteen minutes I had the idea of getting out, a plan in place, and was ready to start moving. Ever had one of those days? Today’s adventure would take me to a different part of Cairo: Islamic Cairo, specifically, the Citadel. Originally, my plan was to go solo, and try my hand at walking to the Citadel. I try to get out for a long walk at least once a week, usually on the weekends, and after walking to Coptic Cairo, few places really seem all that far right now. I estimated that it would take about two hours. If I was going to do this, I needed to ... read more

21 May 2010 0810 (GMT +3) Giza, Egypt The third week of classes are finished, and next week is the last week of this course. I wish I had something further to report, but it's been a pretty uninteresting week. More later. -MG ... read more

15 May 2010 1948 (GMT +3) Giza, Egypt I got an itch this morning to actually go out and see something - to play tourist for the day. After two weeks of being in country, I’ve finally come to a place where I’m comfortable enough to venture out. Where should I go? Alexandria? Not yet, let’s keep it in town for now. The pyramids? Not on your life. No, today I decided to go visit Coptic Cairo. And I must say it was definitely worth it. I left early, at about 0800, to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun. My forecast called for a high of 102 F (39 C, for the rest of you), and I really didn’t want to be out too long in that. Since I had all day, and I set ... read more

13 May 2010 1805 (GMT +3) Giza, Egypt The second week of classes came to a close today, and I continue to make acceptable progress. It's odd, as it seems as though this week flew right by. I basically spend all day in class, and a significant portion of my evenings engrossed in homework. Both classes - Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic - are equally as interesting, in slightly different ways. ECA is the dialect of Arabic spoken, obviously, in Egypt, although it is understood throughout the Middle East. In part, this is because Egypt was the center of entertainment (the Hollywood, if you will) for the Middle East for decades. One should not assume, though, that Egyptian Arabic is vastly different from any other dialect of Arabic in the world. It is all ... read more

8 May 2010, Saturday 1948 (GMT +3) Giza, Egypt Yesterday, as I ended my first week in Cairo, I had the opportunity to witness the Friday afternoon prayer. Of course, I did not take part myself, rather I enjoyed it from my apartment balcony. First of all, a brief note about Friday prayers. (I make this disclaimer ahead of time that I am not a Muslim, but I do study Middle East and Islamic history. Thus, if I get something wrong, I am open to correction.) One of the five pillars of Islam is salat, the five daily prayers. The time of each prayer varies from day to day, and is set by the time of year. In fact, there are many publications and software programs that calculate the exact time of prayer. At the prescribed ... read more