Today i haven't done anything noteworthy, we were just resting a bit for tomorrow, when the Cairosemester and our first lessons start.
We took a stroll around the Zamalek area, and we came across a park, which said 'Aquarium'. It was only one pound to get in, so why not?
The parc was extremely beautiful : it had a big cave-like structure, with an architecture that reminded me of Gaudi. There were small hidden corners in the parc everywhere, so... perfect for couples. Really EVERYWHERE we went, there were couples holding hands, talking softly, etc. We just never saw a couple kissing. Typical for the muslim culture, i suppose. Quentin and i were the only boy and girl together in the parc who weren't holding hands :p!
Inside the cave there was the aquarium. Only, what the egyptians mean by aquarium is slightly different from what we mean by it : there were dead fish and turtles in jars with what we think is some sort of preservation fluid (sterk water, as we say in Dutch). And there were a few bowls with little fish in it, that's it. Inside the caves were also bats, however, and that was very nice to see. They flew above our heads in free air!
I'll just tell quickly something about the Egyptians we've met so far. In general i think they are nice people, at least in Zamalek. Zamalek is a very westernised area, and the egyptians here leave us alone, and find it normal that there are foreigners comeing into their shops and bars. But the boy-girl thing does confuse them. When we entered into a shop, a man asked Quentin, pointing at me : 'Is she your wife or your sister?'. Whenever there is something to be payed, they always turn to Quentin (suits me very well, haha :p!).
The women are very diverse : women completely veiled, only the eyes visible; women partly veiled, only the hair covered; and women not veiled at all. They all live together without making a fuss of it, or so it seems. A lot of women have important jobs, like Sanaa, who does in real estate, or women in Vodafone shops and embassies. But nevertheless there is always a certain 'gêne' : even Sanaa, who is very westernised, refused to shake Quentin's hand.
And the egyptians in general aren't very 'touchy' : they rarely touch your arm, shoulder, back etc when talking to you.
Well, i've finished for today, i'll write again soon!
Ma'as salaam!
zaterdag 24 oktober 2009
22/10 and 23/10 : Exploring the ancient treasures
Hello again! Thursday and Friday Quentin and I went to visit the 2 most famous Cairene attractions : the egyptian museum of antiquities on thursday, and the piramids of Giza on friday. It was wonderful to see it again. In the museum i particularly ejoyed the rooms of the Old Kingdom, which has always been my favourite period, since it has still some prehistorical features. We saw the statues of Rahotep and his wife, of Sennefer, of the dwarf Seneb, and many many coffins. I didn't know where to look first, because there is just sooooo much to see. The Narmer palette, a hughe statue of Amenhotep III, the head of Hatsjepsoet, the jewels of Hetepheres, the gold pf Tanis and of course the famous funerary items of Tutanchamun. What interested me most was the jewels the egyptians wore, not because i'm a golddigger :p, but because it is just thrilling to know that they actually wore it, that they have put it around there necks, arms, wrists, etc. These little objects really all have a story to tell, if only they could talk! Too bad the museum is badly lit. Some objects were hard to see due to the lack of light. But they are currently building a new museum in Giza, which will open in 2015.
Quentin and i were very surprised to see that a lot of people ignored the rooms with tomb models. Those rooms were stuffed to us with amazing artefacts, but maybe that's because we're not normal tourists =). The tomb models were all so crafty, and they show us what the egyptians did in everyday life, and how they did it : brewing beer, stearing a boat, baking bread, cutting the heads of animals,... Very interesting. We even saw one showing three egyptians polishing a stone block.
One little anecdote : we were in an Old Kingdom room, and suddenly a very fat american man (kind of a stereotype, isn't it?) sat down... on a 4000 year old stone offering slab!!! He was joined very cosily by his equally fat friend. Quentin and i were almost bursting with anger.
The piramids of Chufu, Chafre and Menkaure were great as well. Very impressive that they managed to make those colossal monuments at the time. Luckily the weather wasn't too hot. The sattellite piramids were nice to see as well. We could get into a tomb adjacent to the piramid of Chafre (the middle one in height and with an almost intact piramid top). There were reliefs on the walls, depicting people offering animals, and of course hieroglyphs. We could get into the shaft leading to the actual burying room with sarcophagus. It all felt very Indiana Jones-like :p! We also saw the sphinx, who eternally stares into the distance.
Too bad the piramid area is crowded with some very very annoying salesmen, who try to sell you very stupid things, by putting it into your hands and asking the money, as if by taking it you agreed to buy it. So before you know what's going on, they urge you to pay them. After a while we got so angry at them, that one of them ran away cursing at us :D!
I'm very happy to have seen these wonders of Cairo!
Quentin and i were very surprised to see that a lot of people ignored the rooms with tomb models. Those rooms were stuffed to us with amazing artefacts, but maybe that's because we're not normal tourists =). The tomb models were all so crafty, and they show us what the egyptians did in everyday life, and how they did it : brewing beer, stearing a boat, baking bread, cutting the heads of animals,... Very interesting. We even saw one showing three egyptians polishing a stone block.
One little anecdote : we were in an Old Kingdom room, and suddenly a very fat american man (kind of a stereotype, isn't it?) sat down... on a 4000 year old stone offering slab!!! He was joined very cosily by his equally fat friend. Quentin and i were almost bursting with anger.
The piramids of Chufu, Chafre and Menkaure were great as well. Very impressive that they managed to make those colossal monuments at the time. Luckily the weather wasn't too hot. The sattellite piramids were nice to see as well. We could get into a tomb adjacent to the piramid of Chafre (the middle one in height and with an almost intact piramid top). There were reliefs on the walls, depicting people offering animals, and of course hieroglyphs. We could get into the shaft leading to the actual burying room with sarcophagus. It all felt very Indiana Jones-like :p! We also saw the sphinx, who eternally stares into the distance.
Too bad the piramid area is crowded with some very very annoying salesmen, who try to sell you very stupid things, by putting it into your hands and asking the money, as if by taking it you agreed to buy it. So before you know what's going on, they urge you to pay them. After a while we got so angry at them, that one of them ran away cursing at us :D!
I'm very happy to have seen these wonders of Cairo!
woensdag 21 oktober 2009
21/10 : Zamalek cleaning services Inc.
Hi there! I'm very happy with the appartment. The area Zamalek is very quiet. I had a good night's sleep, because there is no noise in the streets. After breakfast we went to say hello to Ilona at the NVIC. Then we went to the Alphamarket, a supermarket where you can find almost anything, except towels (we just really couldn't find any! i forgot to bring one, so i have to use one of Quentin now). We had to buy a lot of things, like knives, insectspray, food, water, sponges, etc. We then took a taxi back home, because we had so much to carry. In the taxi we heard some funny music : arabic disco! A woman with a Donna Summer-like voice was singing arabic tunes, while the instruments were playing disco-feverish beats. I had truly never heard anything like it.
Back in the appartment we tried to take the elevator upstairs, but once we had arrived on the 5th floor, the door wouldn't open. I had seen the bawab's son pull something at the right of the door, so we tried to pull it, but suddenly the elevator went back down. A boy opened downstairs and looked surprised to see us back (he had seen us enter the elevator). We went back up, and were again unsuccesful in opening the door. When we arrived back downstairs for the second time, the boy must have thought we wre retarded =)! The bawab's son helped us open the door, and we swore never to take the elevator again.
The rest of the afternoon we spent cleaning the appartment very thoroughly. Armed with Dettol-spray, a desinfectant sanatizer and the arabic version of Mr Proper, we cleaned the kitchen (again), the living room, the bedrooms and the bathroom. Now, three days ago i was hyperventilating when i saw the first cockroach. I am very proud to say that now i'm getting used to it. I have seen 5 cockroaches today, 2 near the refrigerator and 3 in the bathroom. We killed the motherfuckers (excuse my french) with a very powerful cockroach spray. I'm sorry, Quentin killed them, because i'm still too afraid to come near them.
The carpet in the living room we hung outside the window and we hit it with a cleaning device, and we sneezed a lot.
When we were lying half dead on the sofa after all this cleaning in the heat, the doorbell sang. I poened, and a man said he came to check the electricity metre. This was odd, i thought, since we've only moved in yesterday. I let him check the metre, he noted something, and then he said : cash money, 904 pounds! When hell freezes over, said Quentin, and we showed him our contract. He looked at the date, and he went away. We think he thought that we were the former owners. So i believe that they will get a bill in the letterbox of their new appartment very soon!
Later we suddenly realised that our refrogerator wasn't working properly. The bawab came, and tomorrow they will come to repair it. In the meantime, we cooked everything that was in the freezer, so that we can put it away in the refigerator who is a bit less cold.
This is where i leave you, my time on the internet is running out.
Thanks a lot for your comments, i really appreciate it. Sorry i can't write back personally, but i go on the internet with pre-paid cards, and i have only one hour per time.
Byebye
Back in the appartment we tried to take the elevator upstairs, but once we had arrived on the 5th floor, the door wouldn't open. I had seen the bawab's son pull something at the right of the door, so we tried to pull it, but suddenly the elevator went back down. A boy opened downstairs and looked surprised to see us back (he had seen us enter the elevator). We went back up, and were again unsuccesful in opening the door. When we arrived back downstairs for the second time, the boy must have thought we wre retarded =)! The bawab's son helped us open the door, and we swore never to take the elevator again.
The rest of the afternoon we spent cleaning the appartment very thoroughly. Armed with Dettol-spray, a desinfectant sanatizer and the arabic version of Mr Proper, we cleaned the kitchen (again), the living room, the bedrooms and the bathroom. Now, three days ago i was hyperventilating when i saw the first cockroach. I am very proud to say that now i'm getting used to it. I have seen 5 cockroaches today, 2 near the refrigerator and 3 in the bathroom. We killed the motherfuckers (excuse my french) with a very powerful cockroach spray. I'm sorry, Quentin killed them, because i'm still too afraid to come near them.
The carpet in the living room we hung outside the window and we hit it with a cleaning device, and we sneezed a lot.
When we were lying half dead on the sofa after all this cleaning in the heat, the doorbell sang. I poened, and a man said he came to check the electricity metre. This was odd, i thought, since we've only moved in yesterday. I let him check the metre, he noted something, and then he said : cash money, 904 pounds! When hell freezes over, said Quentin, and we showed him our contract. He looked at the date, and he went away. We think he thought that we were the former owners. So i believe that they will get a bill in the letterbox of their new appartment very soon!
Later we suddenly realised that our refrogerator wasn't working properly. The bawab came, and tomorrow they will come to repair it. In the meantime, we cooked everything that was in the freezer, so that we can put it away in the refigerator who is a bit less cold.
This is where i leave you, my time on the internet is running out.
Thanks a lot for your comments, i really appreciate it. Sorry i can't write back personally, but i go on the internet with pre-paid cards, and i have only one hour per time.
Byebye
20/10 : Settling in
After a terrible night full of nightmares about cockroaches, i awoke and had another poor breakfast. After breakfast, i went back to sleep. I know, a bit silly, but i was so tired. At 11 am we chacked out of the hotel and took a taxi to Mesahha square to meet Sanaa. With yet another taxi (don't worry, taxis are very cheap here, like 1 euro per person for a 20 minute drive) Sanaa, Quentin and i went to our appartment. The taxi was very shabby : Quentin's trunk was on the roof, tied up with only one little string, so we were constantly afraid that the trunk would fall down. Especially becaus
e the driver was rather wild. The cars here in Cairo drive strangely : on a road made for 2 cars, they are driving with 3 or 4 cars next to each other. Anyway, we signed the contract in the appartment, paid the rent, unpacked our trunks. Our appartment is very kitchy : old sofa's, an old television, old curtains, and Quentin's bedroom is some sort of egyptian palace. The bell on our door sounds like two birds singing.
After this we passed at the NVIC to collect our archaeological passes. Ilona Regulski wasn't there, but another woman gave us everything we needed.
Then we went to a supermarket to buy some necessary things, only for 100 pounds, which is less than 6 euros per person.
Back at home, home sweet home, we started scrubbing the kitchen. The former owners clearly weren't the tidiest people in Cairo.
Then we came to an internetcafe, where it took us half an hour to find out how egyptian internet worked. We also bought an egyptian sim card. If you want to call us, please do this on the egyptian number :
0020 (0)19 0904 307
In the evening we cooked and read and talked, until we were too tired to stay awake. End of the day!
e the driver was rather wild. The cars here in Cairo drive strangely : on a road made for 2 cars, they are driving with 3 or 4 cars next to each other. Anyway, we signed the contract in the appartment, paid the rent, unpacked our trunks. Our appartment is very kitchy : old sofa's, an old television, old curtains, and Quentin's bedroom is some sort of egyptian palace. The bell on our door sounds like two birds singing.
After this we passed at the NVIC to collect our archaeological passes. Ilona Regulski wasn't there, but another woman gave us everything we needed.
Then we went to a supermarket to buy some necessary things, only for 100 pounds, which is less than 6 euros per person.
Back at home, home sweet home, we started scrubbing the kitchen. The former owners clearly weren't the tidiest people in Cairo.
Then we came to an internetcafe, where it took us half an hour to find out how egyptian internet worked. We also bought an egyptian sim card. If you want to call us, please do this on the egyptian number :
0020 (0)19 0904 307
In the evening we cooked and read and talked, until we were too tired to stay awake. End of the day!
Finding an appartment 2
Hi again! I will continue the story from yesterday. So when Quentin and I convinced Sanaa we were engaged, she took us to Zamalek, an island in the Nile, where she showed us 3 appartments. We chose an appartment very very close to the NVIC, only 2 minutes walking. Here's the adress :
3 Michel Lotfallah Street, appartment 21
11211 - Zamalek (Cairo)
Sanaa Khalil was very sweet, she translated everything the bawab said ( a bawab is a kind of housekeeper of an appartment block). We agreed that we would sign the contract and make the payment for the first month tomorrow. When we said goodbye to Sanaa, we became a bit more aware of the strange habits they have here. Sanaa shook my hand and gave me 2 kisses on the cheek. But when Quentin wanted to shake her hand, she quickly put her sleeve on her hand, so that her hand wouldn't touch Quentin's hand directly. And she didn't give him any kisses.
We took a taxi back to the hotel, where we rested a bit. The weather here is extremely hot. Sanaa said that this isn't normal for this time of the year. Normally it's about 25°C in octobre, but now it's 37°C!
Then we went to an internetcafe, where we bumped into... yes... Hollanders (dutch people)! You just find them everywhere, don't you? =)
In the evening we had dinner in Tikka, an egyptian restaurant, where i ordered Tawook Tikka, but the chicken was very greasy. Back in the hotel we watched Flight of the Conchords (a series to which we are becoming addicted), and then we went to sleep.
3 Michel Lotfallah Street, appartment 21
11211 - Zamalek (Cairo)
Sanaa Khalil was very sweet, she translated everything the bawab said ( a bawab is a kind of housekeeper of an appartment block). We agreed that we would sign the contract and make the payment for the first month tomorrow. When we said goodbye to Sanaa, we became a bit more aware of the strange habits they have here. Sanaa shook my hand and gave me 2 kisses on the cheek. But when Quentin wanted to shake her hand, she quickly put her sleeve on her hand, so that her hand wouldn't touch Quentin's hand directly. And she didn't give him any kisses.
We took a taxi back to the hotel, where we rested a bit. The weather here is extremely hot. Sanaa said that this isn't normal for this time of the year. Normally it's about 25°C in octobre, but now it's 37°C!
Then we went to an internetcafe, where we bumped into... yes... Hollanders (dutch people)! You just find them everywhere, don't you? =)
In the evening we had dinner in Tikka, an egyptian restaurant, where i ordered Tawook Tikka, but the chicken was very greasy. Back in the hotel we watched Flight of the Conchords (a series to which we are becoming addicted), and then we went to sleep.
dinsdag 20 oktober 2009
19/10 : Finding an appartment
This morning i woke up very happily. I had slept incredibly well, even though the hotel ;atress was incredibly hard. And i was, after all, in egypt. I went to the bathroom, put on the light there, when i suddenly saw something brownish on the floor, just under the toilet. My heart started beating real fast, my voice couldnt utter one single sound, my respiration stopped. It was, yes, a cockroach!!! Those of you who knoz me best, know what this means. I wakled very slowly back to the bedroom, and ordered Quentin to kill it. HE went into the bathroom, and tried to kill it with a tissue. When IHEARD Quentin shout (i wast a safe distance) : wow, they can run fast, and they can run up the walls!, i really had to suppress a scream. He managed to kill it though. For the rest ofthe following 2 days i proceeded like this : i opened the bathroom door slowly, i put on the light, and i looked under the toilet, in the bathtub, in every corner and up the walls, before entering the bathroom. When after the third time Quentin was still laughing when he saw me do this, i asked him : are you going to laugh every time i do this? On which he retorted : are you going to do this every time you enter the bathroom?
After a poor breakfast and a shower, we went to mesahha square, where we had an appointment with Sanaa Khalil, a woman who does in real estate. We had to assure her that we were engaged, because she said that a boy and a girl are not allowed to live together, unless the are engaged or married.
I hqve to go now, we have little time in the internet cafe, but the rest of my story follows tomorrow. byebye
After a poor breakfast and a shower, we went to mesahha square, where we had an appointment with Sanaa Khalil, a woman who does in real estate. We had to assure her that we were engaged, because she said that a boy and a girl are not allowed to live together, unless the are engaged or married.
I hqve to go now, we have little time in the internet cafe, but the rest of my story follows tomorrow. byebye
maandag 19 oktober 2009
arrival
hi everyone
i found a very shabby looking internetcafe zith an arabic keyboard in qwerty, so please be gentle if i type a lot of faults
yesterday mt airplane left an hour too late from brussels, because an arabic family from 5 persons had checked in their luggage under the name of a person zho who was not travelling with them, so the airplane crew thught that a man had left 5 trunks in the plane without showing up hi;self... very suspicious it took an hour to find out about the family then, when we arrived in cairo, the plane had to circle in the air for another 30 minutes, becaues there was something wrong with a landing platform at the airport very comforting all of this
when we got out of the plane, our pasports were cheched, webought a visum, and when we had our luggage, a man came too us to propose a taxi we followed him gratefully, but after a moment he led us to a duty free shop, and he asked quentin to come with him, and i, as the woman, had to stay and guard the luggage they both zent into the duty free shop it turned out that quentin was buying him some liquour, sice the man as an arabic and airport employee was not allowed to do so haha our first encunter of egyptian hypocrisy wonderful
after that we toolk a wild taxi to the hotel, and we checked the surroundings a lots of cats on the street, smog filling your lungs, dirt on the streets and you cant walk on the pedestrian zones, because they are so dirty everyone walks on the road and the cars toot all the time the egyptians came to talk to us immediately, and before we knew, we were drinking pepsi in a silly souvenir shop with a man who tried to sell us some very nasty papyri he said he was an egyptologist i really had to hold my tongue hehe
in the evening we ate at a restaurant where all the waiters speak in the language for the deaf, so with their hands, it was to employ deaf people i thik it was very nice
i have to go now, the internetcafe is much too hot i will write about today very soon
bye bye
i found a very shabby looking internetcafe zith an arabic keyboard in qwerty, so please be gentle if i type a lot of faults
yesterday mt airplane left an hour too late from brussels, because an arabic family from 5 persons had checked in their luggage under the name of a person zho who was not travelling with them, so the airplane crew thught that a man had left 5 trunks in the plane without showing up hi;self... very suspicious it took an hour to find out about the family then, when we arrived in cairo, the plane had to circle in the air for another 30 minutes, becaues there was something wrong with a landing platform at the airport very comforting all of this
when we got out of the plane, our pasports were cheched, webought a visum, and when we had our luggage, a man came too us to propose a taxi we followed him gratefully, but after a moment he led us to a duty free shop, and he asked quentin to come with him, and i, as the woman, had to stay and guard the luggage they both zent into the duty free shop it turned out that quentin was buying him some liquour, sice the man as an arabic and airport employee was not allowed to do so haha our first encunter of egyptian hypocrisy wonderful
after that we toolk a wild taxi to the hotel, and we checked the surroundings a lots of cats on the street, smog filling your lungs, dirt on the streets and you cant walk on the pedestrian zones, because they are so dirty everyone walks on the road and the cars toot all the time the egyptians came to talk to us immediately, and before we knew, we were drinking pepsi in a silly souvenir shop with a man who tried to sell us some very nasty papyri he said he was an egyptologist i really had to hold my tongue hehe
in the evening we ate at a restaurant where all the waiters speak in the language for the deaf, so with their hands, it was to employ deaf people i thik it was very nice
i have to go now, the internetcafe is much too hot i will write about today very soon
bye bye
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