Day of Insanity 2

What, you thought I was done? HA! After our wild trip through Coptic Cairo, I got to accompany Chrysi, a Greek scholar who is short of stature but blessed with an enormous personality, to Islamic Cairo to go shopping. Watching her at work is phenomenal, and she began by getting us a cab. Because a lot of tourists congregate in Coptic Cairo, the cab drivers are particularly out for your money. She walked straight past the men standing in the street saying, "Taxi? Taxi?" and walked us partway down the road. She then refused to take pushy cab drivers and looked until she found someone to her liking.

Although guidebooks will tell you to negotiate your fare before ever getting into an Egyptian taxi, know now that this is a HORRIBLE idea. (FYI there are no meters.) Not only will you be forced into a higher fare because of the haggling, but you still might find that your payment is... prone to adjustments. What you need to do is decide what to pay in advance, and have exact change. In Chrysi's words, "It is instinct for them to say they have no change." Then you get into the back of the taxi and refuse to discuss fare until you arrive at your destination. A lot of drivers WILL press you to declare an amount -- it happened to us this morning on our way to Coptic Cairo. He kept saying, "Price? Price?" I kept saying, "I'll tell you when we get there" until the guy gave up bugging us.

When you arrive at your destination, you step out of the car and hand the amount of money you decided on through the passenger window. Don't throw it, because that is rude. But hand it to the driver and WALK. AWAY. If you ask whether the fare is ok, I can assure you the answer will be no. The driver who took us from Zamalek to Coptic Cairo this morning was NOT happy with the fifteen pounds we gave him, and instead wanted the three of us in the car to pay twenty pounds apiece. This is when you walk away and turn against traffic, so it is harder for the guy to trail you (although fortunately this guy picked up more business right away and was too distracted to pursue the matter further). If you worry you are not paying enough, trust me, real Egyptians pay a lot less. I thought we were doing fine until one of the Egypt vets here said that she wouldn't have paid more than TWO pounds for the same trip.

Anyway, Chrysi masterfully found us a cab and we were on our way. We soon arrived at Bab Zuweila gate, which is absolutely gorgeous.


She then led us to her favorite dealer of hand-sewn wall hangings, pillowcases, and bedspreads. Believe me, the work is beautiful, and I couldn't help haggling for a wall hanging of my own. Here are Agnes and Chrysi admiring the shop:


At first we sat around drinking tea, but soon we got down to business. Chrysi totally owned that room, and moved into her bargaining position -- behind the merchant's own desk.


About two hours of heated argument later, we had agreed on our purchases. Watching Chrysi negotiate, on her own behalf and on ours, was phenomenal. "You are my friend," the merchant would say. "Yes, and look how many customers I have brought you!" "Don't do this to me, Chrysi... fifty pounds is a lot of money..." "Yes and this girl is a student! Don't charge her so much!" And so on and so on. Believe me, this stuff is way better than TV. The price was right on my own wall hanging and we sealed the deal very quickly. I am a very satisfied customer, and I have to say, I kind of enjoy the haggling part. It's like a game of poker, where you can't let the other guy know how badly you want something. Other shops near this merchant's sell a lot of similar wares, but his prices were good and so was his work. Apparently people generally pick a craftsman they like and stay loyal. We wandered around a bit more through an alleyway crammed with little shops. Horse carts rolled by and people zoomed through the narrow streets on mopeds.


After a little bit of wandering, Chrysi left us at a coffee place called Fishawy's, which is in every guidebook ever, for a refreshing drink. I tried out some lemon juice, which is like unbelievably sweet lemonade. Young women at a table near us sat chatting and smoking a hookah pipe. It's clearly a place where people hang out for a while.


After our quick break, Agnes and I split off from the group to try to go back to our hotel. Catching a cab was a huge challenge. It's not finding a cab that's the problem -- unoccupied drivers looking for business will sidle up next to you in the street and honk to see if you want a ride. But finding the right cab is another deal altogether. Some jerk REALLY wanted our business and trailed us for a few blocks as we walked away from the main tourist pickup hub. After we lost him, we got into one cab but the driver refused to move until we negotiated a price. I turned to Agnes and said, "Get out of the car." And we did. One of the guys watching the show tried to be helpful and reminded us, "Pay after!" A second driver said something in Arabic that we didn't understand but did not seem affirmative. And then our third driver... was amazing. Not only did he not push us, he asked us for our address and then asked the tourist police for specific directions. Then he dropped us off at our door -- something that NEVER happens here. Addresses and street names take second place to landmarks when you are telling someone where you want to go. But we made it.

And when we got to the lobby, some of our other friends were getting ready to ride a boat on the Nile! So of course we decided to go back out with them. The Nile really is awesome.


Egyptians clearly think so, too. As we crossed the river, we saw lots of people on the bridge fishing and flying kites. We were initially planning to look for a felucca (a traditional sailboat), but instead we ended up on this crazy motor boat where we were the only tourists. We paid five pounds (less than a dollar) for a ride, took our seats, and had the best time I have had on this trip so far.

First of all, Egyptian party music is wild. The whole time, traditional instruments mixed with intense dance beats blasted out of the speakers around us. The boats themselves are covered with blinking lights, like giant floating slot machines.


During the whole ride, the Egyptians on board were dancing. At least, the young ones were. Other passengers included very conservatively dressed muslim women who, while not dancing, were obviously enjoying the music and general merriment. One girl and a couple of young women showed off their belly dancing skills:


And trust me, the men were no less skilled at vibrating and booty shaking. They danced with both the women and each other, and I have to say I was pretty impressed.


All of the good vibes and celebration were infectious, and even though we were the only non-Egyptians there, it felt like everybody was just happy to welcome us onto the boat. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

And after that, we went out to dinner at a fabulous restaurant on Zamalek, where I had seafood soup and reveled in eating food that wasn't rice, green beans in tomato sauce, or cucumbers. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a blast at the Coptic museum. And right now? I am getting some sleep!

Day of Insanity

I did so much stuff today that I can't quite process it. We started off with Coptic Cairo in the morning, as promised, and it was amazing. Mohammad, who is on our dig but has done tons of archaeological work on various Christian sites, acted as our personal tour guide. We started with the Roman fortress of Babylon, which was eventually converted into holy space by Coptic Christians. We began our tour with an adventure through the inside of one of the fortress's towers -- something that normal tourists don't get to do, but all Mohammad had to do was whisper a sentence or two to one of his friends and we were in. We ended up picking our way down dark staircases and trying not to slip on bat guano.


See that? BATS. I'm not sure if he was serious or not, but at one point Mohammed told us we had better run if we wanted to avoid getting pooped on. We got to peek down all kinds of ancient cisterns and even saw where the Greek patriarchs are traditionally buried! And all the while, we got personal commentary from Mohammed, who has worked on this site for ten years. Here I am in an underground room with an ancient painting of my pal Jesus:


Afterward we went to the Church of Saint George proper, which is absolutely gorgeous (and decorated with Saint George).


There is both a main church and a shrine underneath that contains various holy relics. A cross and crown of thorns sat in one of the corners of the shrine, and I noticed a man carrying his child frantically stroking the crown and then rubbing the baby's head. Most of the visitors were there for serious pilgrimage purposes, which was fascinating. Before we ever made it inside the church, we bumped into a Greek Orthodox priest who happens to be good friends with Mohammad. After they chatted for a moment or two, we found ourselves being led into the Greek patriarch's Cairene reception room, where we were served 7up and chocolate. Mohammad is pretty charming. Watch him at work (he's on the right):


Soon the father appeared again holding a bunch of rosaries in his hand. He gave one to each of us, saying that we should hang it up at home for protection. His advice to all of us was to remember that people in Egypt have harder lives than we do, but they are happy, so we should be too. Seemed like sound advice to me!

After the Church of Saint George, we went to the Convent of Saint George, which houses another ancient site that Mohammad has worked on. In this small underground shrine, there is a bunch of ancient brick that he and a team of workers uncovered. Unfortunately, some Coptic leaders think that new plaster surfacing would be more aesthetically pleasing, so he is fighting to keep them from undoing his hard work.

In that same place there is a chain that was allegedly used to bind martyrs. We took off our shoes (as you do in Coptic sacred spaces) and padded through the room where the candles and icons were. We heard soft clinking sounds from the midst of a swarm of faithful Copts wrapping the chain around their necks. When we came out, we met one of the convent's nuns, who took us to yet another reception where I got to try hibiscus juice, which is a very popular drink in Egypt. It's tasty, but intensely sweet and not-quite-fruity tasting. While we drank, she told us about the nuns' farm and amazing craftwork, such as construction of stained glass windows. After taking refreshments, the nun led us to see the convent's GORGEOUS icon collection. The walls of the room were decorated with intricately detailed wood carvings done by the nuns themselves. Even the air conditioning vent was covered with beautiful carvings. Most impressive was the lectern and doors behind it.


And after THAT, we saw the Churches of St. Sergius and St. Barbara, which are similarly constructed and filled with incredible woodwork (that we were not allowed to photograph). The church of St. Sergius is on the route allegedly taken by the holy family when they fled to Egypt, and its crypt is said to have been blessed by them. At first we thought we'd only get a peek past the gate that blocked the stairs, but before we knew it Mohammad had someone unlock it for us and we got to go down, past the folded up prayer requests scribbled on notebook paper and tossed inside, down to the crypt itself.


The Church of St. Barbara was fascinating for its juxtaposition of awesome icons and woodwork and... Jesus kitsch! Check it:


Nothing says "sacred" to me like neon green lights. I love it.

We also got to see Ben Ezra synagogue, which is absolutely gorgeous. It also happens to be where the Cairo Genizah, an ENORMOUS collection of documents dating from the ninth to nineteenth century, was found. According to Jewish law, it was forbidden to destroy texts containing God's name and it was especially forbidden to destroy scripture, even if it was no longer usable. So people would dispose of their documents by storing them together in a genizah, this time in Ben Ezra synagogue. We also got to sneak behind the synagogue to see the well where, according to legend, the baby Moses was found:


And then we had lunch at the cafe at Saint George.

Monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun

A lot has happened since last Friday! Things are progressing fine in my unit – the tops of the walls are at my waist when I stand in the room I am excavating, and I have to be careful when I get out so I don’t bump into them and cause damage. A lot of the rooms are made of mud brick and then coated with white plaster, which residents could then paint. Alas, I have only plain white plaster so far, but I like it anyway. I’ve spent most of the week creating detailed drawings of my walls on graph paper, which is time-consuming but oddly satisfying.

Physically, working in the field is tiring but we are all holding up so far, no pharaoh’s revenge just yet. Every day I come home and dump about two tablespoons of sand from each shoe into the trash can. I just scratched behind one of my ears and found… sand. My calculator almost died because it got sand in the keys, and all of my mechanical pencils make an audible crunching noise when I press for more lead. The backs of my hands are starting to tan, unlike the rest of me because I am usually covered up to protect me from the sun.

On Monday night we drove into Cairo to see our ceramicist and plaster expert, Gillian, give a lecture. Not only was the lecture awesome, but we got to wander around for a couple of hours beforehand. Some Cairo veterans led us to an absolutely amazing leather shop that sellls handmade goods, and then we went to this incredible ice cream and pastry shop called Mandarine. I nearly died when I tried the nutella ice cream. WOW. Before we left the shop we stocked up on some delicious sweets, basically diverse configurations of dough, glaze, nuts, and cream.

On Tuesday we got a “day of rest,” meaning I didn’t have to wake up at 4 AM! I didn’t end up sleeping in all that much because my body is conditioned to wake up early, but getting up with the sun instead of before it was pretty fantastic. We almost didn’t get to rest at all, because we had to move our workspace to a different building. There is a huge pilgrimage event going on this weekend, something to do with a saint who climbed a nearby mountain, and hundreds of the faithful have descended upon Anafora. Everyone here is in a huge panic trying to deal with the crunch, and we found out suddenly that our space had been overbooked. We spent the morning hauling our supplies to a new room in a nearby building. Fortunately, we finished in time to visit two of the nearby monasteries here in Wadi al-Natrun, the Monastery of the Syrians and the Monastery of St. Bishoi.


The Monastery of the Syrians is absolutely gorgeous. It's not particularly ancient, but some of the paintings in the church probably date back to the tenth century or so. One of the abounas (fathers) gave us a quick tour and showed us around the courtyard and into a sample monastic cell. Modern monks' desire to show continuity with the monks of old is clear -- their sample cell is stocked with creepy papier mache monks dressed in the modern abouna uniform. Here is one weaving:


And here are some whispering to each other at dinner:


Interestingly, the Monastery of the Syrians purports to house the ancient cell of Saint Bishoi, even though there is a monastery of Bishoi a ten minute walk away. You can look up through a hole in the ceiling to see some light streaming in, illuminating a scraggly rope from which Bishoi allegedly hung by his beard to keep from lying down for a nap!


People take this stuff very seriously. As we were looking around the church, very devout Copts were coming in to pray and to touch holy relics. I even saw a woman crying. Saints' relics are wrapped in embroidered quilted material and smell like perfume, because that is how saints are supposed to smell. The standard procedure for venerating the relics is to quietly approach them, gently press your hand against the quilt's plastic covering, and cross yourself while whispering a prayer. Here is a photo of the "uncorrupted body of St. Bishoi" from the monastery named for him:


There were also Arabic graffiti all over the place, which, like the Coptic graffiti from a previous period in Egyptian history, are probably prayer requests.


After the Monastery of the Syrians, we walked over to the Monastery of St. Bishoi, which had much more modern stuff. We were kind of rushed, and we were given a quick tour by a very... energetic abouna who probably could have had a second career as a used car salesman. He told us with extreme conviction that the Greek myths were borrowed directly from myths about the Egyptian gods. I followed a friend's advice for dealing with such situations: "Smile and nod, and then say thank you a lot."

I'm really glad we went on the trip -- it was utterly fascinating to see modern monks in action, and to be able to see how seriously they take their past. And tomorrow? COPTIC CAIRO. Be still, my heart.

Pyramids

The pyramids have been a tourist trap for centuries, and today they were no different. One of the guys on our dig is an Egyptian who had his friends drive us out to the pyramids, which was a huge relief -- it saved us at least some haggling, and the drivers waited until we were done so they could drive us back. We went to buy tickets and I managed to pay the student rate even though I don't have an international student card -- they let me through with my Yale ID. The other students with me initially got to pay the student rate but were hassled at the actual entrance to the Giza plateau. My security guard was nicer and let me by, no problem.

Before you go look at something like the pyramids, you realize they are big, but it was shocking to experience, in person, how huge they are. They are basically just big piles of rock for you to look at, but man are they cool. I got my obligatory "pyramid photo" that is required of every tourist:


And of course, we couldn't resist trying the other main touristy activity out there -- the camel ride. From the moment you arrive at the pyramids, you are swamped by very friendly Egyptians asking where you are from and offering you souvenirs. It's an unbelievable experience -- on one side of you some guy might be shoving his wares in your face and saying, "Postcard? Postcard?" while another grabs your sleeve, asking, "Camel ride? I promise I will give you Egyptian price, not tourist price." This is, of course, complete crap. Competition among various camel ride operators is obviously intense. We ended up being trailed by this particularly talented smooth talker named Sammy, who initially tried to charge a comparatively huge amount of money but let me haggle him down. It was hilarious to watch him shout like crazy at other salesmen who tried to approach us. I have to say I admire him.


Of course, after any ride when it's time to pay your stated price, you are also asked for tips by EVERYONE involved, from the little boy who holds your camel to the tout himself. Sammy wanted to take us to a "papyrus factory," where we would undoubtedly have been encouraged to make purchases so that he could earn commission, but we refused. It's like a crazy game where you have to be firm and they have to try to sweet talk you (or guilt you). But we got a pretty long ride all around the pyramids, had a look at the Sphinx, and all the good stuff you would expect. I'm glad I did it!


Right now I'm sitting in one of Cairo's many nice coffee shops, which are clearly where people hang out. There are a few with in walking distance of our hotel, so now I know where to spend down time. Hopefully I'll be posting again next week! (We are planning to go to Coptic Cairo, and I am EXCITED.)

But tonight? More paperwork. And tomorrow at 4 a.m. I'll be up and getting ready to dig some more!

Field Day

I am doing the best I can to get all my paperwork under control, but archaeology is tough! In the mornings, we all wake up around 4:00 and make it to the bus by 4:45. I usually head down early so I can swipe a boiled egg or two, because breakfast is at 9:00 and I just can't make it that long. It takes us about an hour to drive from Anafora out to our site. You know you are there when you see this sign:


Don't go breaking the low now, guys. Anyway, the bus drops us off near one of these very threatening signs, we unload our coolers and some equipment, and we cross a short stretch of desert to reach our site. There are white tents set up for equipment, registration of objects, etc., along with one where we drop off our stuff and eat breakfast every day. By 6:20 or so, I am usually standing at my unit, and enjoying a view like this one:


Each of us has our own unit, so I am excavating my very own room within a larger complex. It's not far from the kitchen but that's all I really know about it so far. Our archaeobotanist is hoping we find a latrine so she can analyze what the complex's residents were eating, and perhaps even what season the... deposits... were made in. I think it's awesome that her fondest wish is to discover a crapper. Speaking of bathrooms, trust me, you do not want to have to go on our site. We have a makeshift outhouse that is basically a hole in the ground with four walls. On the first day, I really thought I had to use it... but I changed my mind and waited another three hours until we were back at the retreat. The other option is to climb over a hill and use a designated spot that is hidden from view. Let us hope it never comes to that.

Every day we take elevations, measure new stuff we uncover, adjust our floor plans, etc. I have a team of three workers who help me sift through the sand that comprises the top layer of my unit. We can't really talk to each other, but they are absolutely great. One of them is named Shenoute! So far we've picked out plenty of pottery, plaster, bone, glass, carbon, and shells. But I spent most of today uncovering a thicker layer of compact sand and mud brick tumble where a ceiling might have caved in. After we fully uncover and measure that feature of my unit, we get to destroy it and see what's underneath! I am excited to reach the older layers at the bottom of my unit, but of course I have to be patient.

We work out in the field until about 1:00, then we go back to Anafora for lunch, shower, nap, and by 5:00 we are back to work. There are endless forms to fill out and then duplicate electronically so that supervisors can keep track of our progress. A lot of information is logged in multiple places to ensure thoroughness. I think the hardest part for me is the mapping -- it's so tough to take a really rough, irregular surface and try to express it on graph paper. But I'll learn. Fortunately when we have down time, the team watches Robin Hood together. It's an awesomely bad BBC series that I highly recommend to all of you if you need a little brain candy.

It's ridiculously hard to stay hydrated in this environment, and despite the fact that I am drinking about three liters of water every day it still isn't enough. We have to drink rehydration packets every day. They do basically the same thing that Gatorade does, but they consist of a salty powder that you mix into your water. They taste funky but they help.

Tonight's dinner in Cairo was fun. Getting there was a bit harrowing -- we were looking for somewhere specific (I think... I was with a group). But we ended up at "Cafe Vivant," where the menu was in English and Arabic but most of the patrons were obviously natives. I had some decent pasta and some delicious, DELICIOUS Coca Cola. (I know, I quit, but if they won't sell you bottled water...) It's honestly really tough to get around on your own without Arabic, but we are managing so far. Tomorrow we plan to go to the pyramids! (And maybe do something else if we aren't exhausted.)

In Egypt!

Hey everybody! I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long, but there is no internet for me out in Wadi al-Natrun. Just lots of sand and mosquitoes! I arrived in Cairo roughly on time, then spent about half an hour figuring out how to buy a visa and get through the passport line. From the moment I claimed my bag to the time I reached my advisor Steve, who was waiting for me across the room, I was accosted by three or four touts trying to ask me if I needed a cab, or if I needed hotel reservations, or if I had booked a tour and could they perhaps suggest something more appealing? It was pretty intense.

I spent my first night in the seminary where Steve used to teach, and I roomed with Eden, another of the novice archaeologists on my dig. Steve and Dar, the professors who picked us up at the airport, took us out for kushari, which is possibly the most delicious and cheap street food of all time. I got maybe two ramen cups worth of this stuff for less than a dollar:


Mmm... macaroni, spaghetti, lentils, dried onions, and tomato sauce.

The seminary is on the same block as the police academy, so you can hear their dogs barking at each other all night. The room was very simple, but it had amazing air conditioning, and once I managed to fall asleep I slept very well. The next day, Eden and I went on an enormous adventure -- we walked up and down the block until we found a convenience store, managed to cross the street, and purchased bottles of water from a guy who spoke no English at all. Believe me when I tell you this was a challenge -- the traffic in Cairo is absolute insanity. Nobody signals, there are barely any streetlights, and everyone essentially has to become a professional jaywalker. And yet it all seems to work! Around one a van showed up, along with the rest of the newbie archaeologists, to take us to Anafora, the Christian retreat where we are staying during the excavation. The monks and the women who work there are so, so nice, even though I cannot talk to them. And my room is gorgeous:


The mosquito netting, by the way, is an absolute must. The bugs around here are plentiful, to say the very least. When I turned the lights on our first morning, there was a roach on the wall that you could put a leash on. Bug spray, while bad for the environment, is an absolute must -- between getting out of the shower and reapplying tons of deet, multiple mosquitoes buzz around me looking for a tasty landing place. But the food is amazing, with tons of delicious rice, home-cooked vegetables, bread, and fresh white cheese. And the yogurt in Egypt tastes a lot better than yogurt at home. One of the less pleasant aspects of staying at Anafora, however, is that the plumbing cannot handle toilet paper, so instead of flushing we have to throw it away. But the general awesomeness of the place makes up for minor discomfort. Check out the view from my window (through the screen, of course, because NO WAY was I letting more flies and mosquitoes in):


Better post, have to run to dinner. Will say more soon.

Long Layover

I'm sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport with about four hours to kill before my flight to Cairo. While I am feeling pretty tired and filthy, the trip is going smoothly so far. We had about an hour's delay getting off the ground last night, but I power napped through the whole thing and didn't even notice until we were about to take off. I have never been on one of those enormous air buses before, and when it was gearing up to go airborne I wondered if we'd have to try it twice because we were so bulky. There was a ton of turbulence during the flight and I tried to distract myself with movies rather than think about us suspended precariously over dark Atlantic water. The landing was so rough that I felt like my heart was coming loose from the rest of my chest. But obviously I am fine,

In-flight entertainment has become so much more impressive since I flew to Berlin two years ago. This time had my very own little TV that let me select music, movies, etc. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Batman Begins kept me entertained whenever I wasn't sleeping. Last time I had an overseas flight, I had to watch an Amanda Bynes remake of Twelfth Night where all the characters were on a high school soccer team. Merci, Air France!

Ready to Roll

I'm leaving the country tomorrow, and I'm feeling both excited and terrified. This moment marks about the twentieth time I have checked my flight dates and times to be sure I haven't made some terrible mistake. And I keep obsessively sifting through my backpack to check for necessary items. Do I have my sunglasses? Bug spray? Hat? Egyptian Arabic phrasebook? (Check, check, check, and check!) I have set up automatic bill pay, arranged to put a hold on my mail, and cleaned my apartment...mostly.

Last night I went out to dinner with some of my closest friends in New Haven. No matter how this trip goes, at least I get to look forward to coming back! Tonight is the last meeting of my Coptic reading group in its current incarnation. One of us is going back to Denmark, another to Germany for the year. I'm the only one left, for now. The absolute best part of this semester has been going to Tilde's place on Friday night, where we sip cold beer, eat homemade guacamole, play board games with her adorable kids, and listen to Depeche Mode. I never even liked that band until now. I guess all the best music reminds you of something good.