Eid and Alexandria – Tuesday 24 to Thursday 26 Oct 2006
We’ve just had the Ramadan feasts. On Tuesday and Wednesday Egypt celebrated Eid – its kind of like Christmas back home (but without the fat man in the red suit or the presents!).
Chris and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday sitting around the pool trying to get a jump start on our work. We couldn’t go anywhere because everything was closed for Eid. There were lots of people at the hotel – extra locals and extra tourists. There was even a contiki tour (at one point they were being so loud and boisterous that I thought one of the local Egyptian ladies was going to have a go at them – it was very funny).
Eid is basically the feast days after all the fasting they have done for the month of Ramadan. Its where they get to really celebrate.
It is very hard to concentrate on work when you are laying in the sun by the pool, but we got through a fair bit so that’ll help next week.
On Thursday we went to Alexandria. We basically toured around and saw loads of stuff. We went to Port Qaitbey and saw The Fort of Qaitbay. Its a big castle like fortress on the edge of the Mediterranean sea. We wandered around the Alexiandria Museum – that was pretty cool. Most of the stuff they found in Alex was either buried under 6m of sand, or in the ocean. So at this museum they have huge pictures of the monuments etc under the water where they found them. Its weird seeing a 5 m high statues with just its head and shoulders sticking out of the sand.
Then we went to the Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa. We walked down a spiral staircase into the bowels of the earth to look at where they have interned the bodies of the dead. On ground level there was just a little hut and a few monuments, but under the ground there were loads of holes when coffins used to sit. It was huge underneath, very deceptive! Unfortunately we couldn’t take photos inside the catacombs – they didn’t want to damage the paiting that are still there thousands of years later.
We also looked in the door of a few of the other sites – like Pompey’s pillar and The Roman Amphitheatre. Then we had lunch at the Fish Market. Its three stories high and overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Absolutely gorgeous view, plus very nice food. You have to pick the fish you want from the tabled. I had a sea bream, very tastey but I didn’t likeit coming ou to em with the head and tail still on it – eyes and all!
Once we’d had lunch we drive across town to the Montaza Palace and wandered around the palace gardens. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people there celebrating Eid (it’s a pretty huge area). People were having picnics and playing with their children. It was nice to walk around by the sea – getting that sea breeze. I think it was the first time in two weeks that Chris and I weren’t breathing in smoke! Its unbelievable how many people smoke here and where they smoke – everywhere!! And they chain smoke – its disgusting actually. They are even allowed to smoke in the restaurants. So gross and we’re SO over it!
They were even smoking in the toilets!. I had the misfortune of needed to pee before we left Alex so had to go into one of the public toilets – that was an extremely revolting experience! I had to roll my trousers up and my thongs were sticking to the ground… I’m going to have to get some gumboots in future. Because they don’t use toilet paper much here (mostly wash with water instead) there was water all over the floor. SOOOO gross. If it hadn’t been a 2 hour car ride home I’d have crossed my legs and waited it out J
The palace itself was lovely, it’s now mostly used by foreign dignitaries when they are staying in Alex. There is a public bit that people can stay in, but it’s fairly expensive. We even wandered around the waters edge. There were loads of people just sitting watching the waves, but also lots fishing – we saw one kid catch a fish, but I would have only been 5 or 6 cm long, too tiny to eat. We couldn’t decide what they thought they were going to catch – maybe bait for bigger fish later on!
The weather was beautiful; all in all it was a lovely day wandering round Alexandria.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
House Hunting & Adventures in Downtown – Friday 20 Oct 2006
Yasser (our boss at the E-Learning Competency Centre) picked us up today and took us to look at a couple of apartments. There was a really nice one in City View, but that’s miles from everywhere. It’d mean we’d have to get a driver that could take us into town to go out for dinner, to do anything.
Then we went into Zamalek, a really trendy inner city suburb (actually on an island in the Nile) and checked out another apartment. It was nice, but very small and on a very busy intersection. I think we’re going to keep looking at apartments for a bit longer, see if we can find something in Zamalek or Mohandiseen (both really close to Downtown).
Once we’d looked at a couple of places, Yasser dropped us in Downtown and we wandered round looking for a camera shop (Chris needs a lens for his camera). Downtown was a little confronting… there were people sitting on the footpath wanting to shine shoes… one women had 3 kids sitting around her and a baby on her lap. There is quite a bit of poverty and the streets were dirty.
However, crossing the street was the biggest challenge. The cars just keep coming… even when the green walk sign is flashing the cars just keep driving don the road! I’ve been reading the lonely planet (religiously!) and it suggests using a local as a human shield to cross the street. So… that’s what we did, we just crossed when someone else was crossing. After a few times we started to get the hang of it…
I tell you what – never mind the dysentery and muggings (which by the way I’ve had no problem with) it’ll be the traffic that kills me. There are no road rules - so the cars just drive all over the place. Driving down the road, crossing the road… being anywhere near the roads has risk! But the funny thing is that the cars just go around the people, just swerve around the other cars… Even when they pull out in front of each other, everyone just beeps and keeps on driving!
Once we survived wandering round downtown we hailed a cab and went back to the hotel. I think we’ve decided that we like Zamalek and Mohandiseen as areas, but don’t really want the apartment on the busy intersection that they showed. We’ll keep looking, I’m sure we’ll find a place at some point…
Yasser (our boss at the E-Learning Competency Centre) picked us up today and took us to look at a couple of apartments. There was a really nice one in City View, but that’s miles from everywhere. It’d mean we’d have to get a driver that could take us into town to go out for dinner, to do anything.
Then we went into Zamalek, a really trendy inner city suburb (actually on an island in the Nile) and checked out another apartment. It was nice, but very small and on a very busy intersection. I think we’re going to keep looking at apartments for a bit longer, see if we can find something in Zamalek or Mohandiseen (both really close to Downtown).
Once we’d looked at a couple of places, Yasser dropped us in Downtown and we wandered round looking for a camera shop (Chris needs a lens for his camera). Downtown was a little confronting… there were people sitting on the footpath wanting to shine shoes… one women had 3 kids sitting around her and a baby on her lap. There is quite a bit of poverty and the streets were dirty.
However, crossing the street was the biggest challenge. The cars just keep coming… even when the green walk sign is flashing the cars just keep driving don the road! I’ve been reading the lonely planet (religiously!) and it suggests using a local as a human shield to cross the street. So… that’s what we did, we just crossed when someone else was crossing. After a few times we started to get the hang of it…
I tell you what – never mind the dysentery and muggings (which by the way I’ve had no problem with) it’ll be the traffic that kills me. There are no road rules - so the cars just drive all over the place. Driving down the road, crossing the road… being anywhere near the roads has risk! But the funny thing is that the cars just go around the people, just swerve around the other cars… Even when they pull out in front of each other, everyone just beeps and keeps on driving!
Once we survived wandering round downtown we hailed a cab and went back to the hotel. I think we’ve decided that we like Zamalek and Mohandiseen as areas, but don’t really want the apartment on the busy intersection that they showed. We’ll keep looking, I’m sure we’ll find a place at some point…
The Light Show at the Pyramids – Thur 19 Oct 2006
Chris and I went on our first touristy outing in Cairo – we went to the Light Show at the Pyramids of Giza. It was good, the lights emphasis the pyramids size etc, but the story is a bit cheesy!
We hired a taxi from the hotel and went down to watch the English show. While we were lining up to get in, a little kid sold some post cards to an American women in front of us, then this man came over took the money off the kid and gave it back to the lady. So the lady gave the post cards back to the kid. None of us could understand what was going on, the man kept yelling at the kid and pointing. Once the women had taken the money back and given back the post cards the man pushed another kid in front of her and started gesturing for her to buy the post cards off the second kid. She said no, and he kept pushing it and then the women’s husband stepped in said NO! and moved his wife further on. I don’t think anyone in the line up knew quite what happened, but regardless no one way buying post cards off the second kid!
The actual light show was good. I couldn’t get any decent photos because when I used the flash all I got were the people sitting in front of us and when I didn’t I couldn’t keep the camera still enough – needed a tripod.
Chris and I went on our first touristy outing in Cairo – we went to the Light Show at the Pyramids of Giza. It was good, the lights emphasis the pyramids size etc, but the story is a bit cheesy!
We hired a taxi from the hotel and went down to watch the English show. While we were lining up to get in, a little kid sold some post cards to an American women in front of us, then this man came over took the money off the kid and gave it back to the lady. So the lady gave the post cards back to the kid. None of us could understand what was going on, the man kept yelling at the kid and pointing. Once the women had taken the money back and given back the post cards the man pushed another kid in front of her and started gesturing for her to buy the post cards off the second kid. She said no, and he kept pushing it and then the women’s husband stepped in said NO! and moved his wife further on. I don’t think anyone in the line up knew quite what happened, but regardless no one way buying post cards off the second kid!
The actual light show was good. I couldn’t get any decent photos because when I used the flash all I got were the people sitting in front of us and when I didn’t I couldn’t keep the camera still enough – needed a tripod.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The Arrival - 16 Oct 2006
There are distinct disadvantages to living half a world away from everything else...
I left Melbourne at 9:30pm Sunday 15 October, then spent about 14 hours trying to find a comfortable way to sit in an airline seat (including putting both feet on the headrest in front of me!). Watched The Da vinci Code (took me 2 goes because I fell asleep!), The Devil Wears Prada, An Inconvenient Truth and half of Lucky Number Slevin. Eremites is a fabulous airline – individual TVs and there must have been 50 movies to choose from!
Upon arrival in Dubai, I had a lovely 10 and a bit hour stop over which fortunately I got to spend at the Millennium hotel. Then it was back to the airport for another 4 hours flight to Cairo, but I couldn’t finish watching Lucky Number Slevin because the TV in my seat didn’t work L
I landed in Cairo at 6:35pm Monday 16 October (about 2am Tuesday Australian time). I’d arranged for transfers so there was a guy waiting for me with my name on a sign. Thanks to the car man I got my tourist visa easy and made my way through customs.
When I got to the baggage area I met Chris (the Canadian Accenture guy that I’m working with) and we went to the hotel. It took nearly an hour from the airport to the hotel. Egyptian drivers are nuts! It seems as though the lines on the road are more guidelines than rules… people just drive wherever they want and if they want to go in a direction, they just beep the horn and drive that way – never mind the combi full of people, or the ute with 4 kids sitting in the tray that are in the way. We saw at least a dozen accidents including car verses bus. Nothing serious, just where they rubbed sides trying to squeeze through gaps in the traffic that didn’t exist.
The rooms at the hotel are quite nice, the whole hotel is.
Once we’d settled in we went to grab some dinner. We rang Yasser (project manager) and he came to the hotel and gave us a bit of an overview of what the work is about. Plus some info on Ramadan… All Muslins are currently fasting from sunrise to sunset (about 13 or 14 hours a day). They can’t even drink water! Ramadan is a full month (like saying we fast for September etc). There is only a few days left of it now, and then there is 3 days of public holidays next to the weekend so we’ll get 5 days off.
It’s about a 15 minute drive from the office, but there isn’t really any public transport so we had to take a taxi. The hotel and the office are both on the Cairo – Alexander Desert Rd, about 25km apart.
The office is located in the ‘Smart Village’. A massive area of new office buildings – vodaphone, HP, Microsoft etc are all there. It seems fairly new (they are still constructing a bunch of the offices), but a bit sterile and there isn’t much other infrastructure yet like coffee shops etc. (a bit like Docklands in Melbourne)
Anyway, our first day was very interesting… no one seems sure why we’re here and what we’re going to do (including us!). Plus the contract hasn’t been signed so we’re technically not allowed to do anything too specifc! Its crazy!. Add to this, that during Ramadan people arrive late and leave by 2pm, its going to be an interesting next few weeks.
Well, best get into figuring out why we are here…
There are distinct disadvantages to living half a world away from everything else...
I left Melbourne at 9:30pm Sunday 15 October, then spent about 14 hours trying to find a comfortable way to sit in an airline seat (including putting both feet on the headrest in front of me!). Watched The Da vinci Code (took me 2 goes because I fell asleep!), The Devil Wears Prada, An Inconvenient Truth and half of Lucky Number Slevin. Eremites is a fabulous airline – individual TVs and there must have been 50 movies to choose from!
Upon arrival in Dubai, I had a lovely 10 and a bit hour stop over which fortunately I got to spend at the Millennium hotel. Then it was back to the airport for another 4 hours flight to Cairo, but I couldn’t finish watching Lucky Number Slevin because the TV in my seat didn’t work L
I landed in Cairo at 6:35pm Monday 16 October (about 2am Tuesday Australian time). I’d arranged for transfers so there was a guy waiting for me with my name on a sign. Thanks to the car man I got my tourist visa easy and made my way through customs.
When I got to the baggage area I met Chris (the Canadian Accenture guy that I’m working with) and we went to the hotel. It took nearly an hour from the airport to the hotel. Egyptian drivers are nuts! It seems as though the lines on the road are more guidelines than rules… people just drive wherever they want and if they want to go in a direction, they just beep the horn and drive that way – never mind the combi full of people, or the ute with 4 kids sitting in the tray that are in the way. We saw at least a dozen accidents including car verses bus. Nothing serious, just where they rubbed sides trying to squeeze through gaps in the traffic that didn’t exist.
The rooms at the hotel are quite nice, the whole hotel is.
Once we’d settled in we went to grab some dinner. We rang Yasser (project manager) and he came to the hotel and gave us a bit of an overview of what the work is about. Plus some info on Ramadan… All Muslins are currently fasting from sunrise to sunset (about 13 or 14 hours a day). They can’t even drink water! Ramadan is a full month (like saying we fast for September etc). There is only a few days left of it now, and then there is 3 days of public holidays next to the weekend so we’ll get 5 days off.
It’s about a 15 minute drive from the office, but there isn’t really any public transport so we had to take a taxi. The hotel and the office are both on the Cairo – Alexander Desert Rd, about 25km apart.
The office is located in the ‘Smart Village’. A massive area of new office buildings – vodaphone, HP, Microsoft etc are all there. It seems fairly new (they are still constructing a bunch of the offices), but a bit sterile and there isn’t much other infrastructure yet like coffee shops etc. (a bit like Docklands in Melbourne)
Anyway, our first day was very interesting… no one seems sure why we’re here and what we’re going to do (including us!). Plus the contract hasn’t been signed so we’re technically not allowed to do anything too specifc! Its crazy!. Add to this, that during Ramadan people arrive late and leave by 2pm, its going to be an interesting next few weeks.
Well, best get into figuring out why we are here…
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