Morocco part 1

Last week was the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, which meant that we had a long weekend.  I decided to use this time to go to Morocco with Julia and  friend.  We landed in Casablanca late at night, but the next day we hit the ground running.  First we went to the Mosque of Hassan II, built in the 1990s, it was huge and new, but the best part was the location- right on the edge of the rolling Atlantic waves.  Next we went to the Jewish museum, the only museum in the Islamic world dedicated to its Jewish population.  At mid-day we walked to a little restaurant, where I had a demi baguette avec les saucissons de foie (liver sausages)- it was a nice change from Egyptian fuul and tamiya!  

We took a train to Fes, and I could not stop looking out the window.  I was absolutely blown away by the scenery.  The woman sitting with us said that there had been more rain than in the past 50 years.  There was long green grass and rolling hills dotted with herds of sheep, and across the fields was the ocean.  As we approached Fes we could see the Atlas mountains.  

In Fes we hired a guide to show us around, since we only had a day there.  We saw the old medina which was built in the 11th century, the nouvelle ville, le quartier juif, the Karaouine mosque and the souqs.  My favorite was the old medina- it was crammed with people, shops, tanneries and winding alleys.  The only way to get goods into it is by mule carts, so muleteers put rubber shoes on their mules so they wouldn't slip on the steep hills, and shouted "beleq, beleq!" which means "watch out or you will be crushed by my cart".  After this, we ran to the station to take the train to Marrakesh.  

Our traveling companions were a hoot- it was a bit like being in a compartment with a French comedy act.  The first woman shocked us by showing us her piercings, and a another young women dramatically entered our cabin and told us the story of her  life in a dead-pan voice.  "In love at 16, married at 17, pregnant and living in Saudi Arabia, divorced at 20, anesthegiologist at 23."  I don't think we spoke English the whole trip- Arabic and French only!   

I was most struck by the differences between Egypt and Morocco- both the people and the land.  Moroccans are much more educated and Westernized, and though some are very poor (Western Sahara please stand up) the crushing poverty is not as pervasive.  

Updates

The last couple of weeks have been really busy. I am really enjoying most of my classes, especially my Islamic art and architecture course. We started with Ummayad Dynasty: the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Great Mosque of Damascus, and recently the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq. We look at the evolution of Islamic architecture, from the beginning with the Prophet Mohammad's house in Medina, to the point where elements were borrowed from the Byzantine and Sassanian empires, and finally the formation of a distinct type of architecture. I find it interesting because understanding Islam is so central to comprehending the culture of the Middle East.

Last weekend I went out to dinner with a big group of AUC students, but this was no typical meal. We went downtown, and made our way through an alleyway to find the most famous pigeon resterant in Cairo. The name of place is Gomhorriya, which means "republic" and serves only pigeon. We were the only Westerners in sight, as plates stacked high with whole, stuffed pigeon arrived at our table. I was initially a little put off by the fact that my meal was looking at me with beady eyes, but when a friend popped the head in her mouth, I realized that I had to eat it- I did not eat the head though! I didn't really enjoy the fowl, but the cultural aspect was great.

This weekend I will be going to Morocco. We have vacation for the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. We will be landing in Casablanca and visiting Fes and Marrakesh. I am really excited to see another part of North Africa and also the opportunity to speak French. We leave tomorrow after classes- I will upload photos when I return!

BIG NEWS

Today Ayman Nour was released by the Egyptian government. In 2005 he was the runner-up in the Egyptian presidential election (to the esteemed Hosni Mubarak) and the government fabricated charges to put him in prison. He lives in Zamalek, two blocks away from my apartment, and I hope to run into him soon.

Read this article. This is so exciting!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/world/middleeast/19egypt.html?hp

ps: Katie's computer is being blocked for being too radical.
Here's the link to her blog: http://katieonthenile.blogspot.com/

Interesting article

Below is the link to an article from The Atlantic about Egypt. It was written in 2002 but much of it is still relevant and presents a picture of Egypt and some of the political issues .

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200209/orourke

I'm sorry for not posting for such a long time. I'll try to update more often!

Classes have started- I'm taking Islamic Art and Architecture, politics of the Middle East, Egyptian colloquial Arabic (aameya) and a class about Islam. I'm really enjoying all of my classes, especially my Islamic Art and Architecture- the class examines the origins and evolution of Islamic architecture. It will be nice to be able to visit mosques and actually know what I'm looking at.

Housing: I'm living in an apartment in Zamalek, with 4 other girls who go to Mount Holyoke. We live on the 11th floor with a view of the Nile. On clear days we can see the Pyramids at Giza. Our neighbors are an Egyptian family, a young French man, and a houseful of Germans.

Miscellaneous: My flatmates and I do the majority of our grocery shopping at a souq (market) on Sharia Sheikh Rahan, in the Saida Zeineb area of Cairo. Most of the vendors know us- the chicken man will smile and wave, the vegetable women will shout salutations to us, and the egg man keeps old coins for me. After living in Cairo for almost 6 months, I've become a pretty creative cook. Tonight we made eggplant stuffed with rice, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Last week I made a sweet potato pie- the sweet potato man thought I was crazy to want so many sweet potatoes. Below is the conversation we had in Arabic.

Me: I would like five sweet potatoes, ya hagg. (Hagg is a term of respect for a man who has completed a pilgrimage to Mecca, or for an older man).
Him: Five potatoes?
Me: Yes.
Him: Five sweet potatoes, really?
Me: Yes, exactly.
Him: But you are so small and the potatoes are so big.
Me: The potatoes look delicious.
Him: You see that man? (points to a large turbaned worker) He eats two potatoes.
Me: Yes, but I'm going to make a pie.
Him: How many children do you have- five?
Me: Yes.

Politics: There have been tensions in Egypt since the start of Israel's war in Gaza. Many Egyptians feel that their government is abandoning Palestinians and not doing enough to advance the peace process. The military has been out in full force, especially on Fridays. Some Cairo mosques call for revolt against the Mubarak administration, so the military quashes all agitation.

There was recently a case in the news, of a graduate student at the American University in Cairo, who was arrested by the security forces and detained for several days, for organizing a protest about Gaza. Despite this, ordinary Egyptians are much more outspoken about criticizing the president and his government. This is a really interesting time to be living in Egypt.

More later!

Egypt is a pretty crazy place, in a way that photos cannot capture.

Some things that I've seen on Cairo streets:

- A man on a motorbike holding 2 goats.
- A herd of camels that were being loaded into the smallest pickup truck that I've ever seen.
- A military convoy with a tank.
- A girl wearing a peacoat in 80 degree weather.
- An entire family (grandma included) on a motorbike

Crème de la crème of Egyptian pick-up lines:

- Carla Bruni is here!
- So beautiful, so blond.
- How much?
- Wow. Very fantastic!

Some pictures

1. Before the soccer game
2. Gamal the stray dog
3 & 4. Muhammad Ali's mosque, at the Citadel