Saturday, March 28, 2009

Cairohmygodthisplaceisfuckingnuts































































































































The energy that circulates this place comes in pulses: sometimes instantaneous flashes of tranquility in an otherwise sea of chaos, other times small heart attacks in the already intense atmosphere. The city sprawls across the plains on both banks of the Nile, the life force behind this city. Outside the Nile river valley the desert resumes its arid ways, sand rocks sun wind desolation purity.
We have been staying with the amazing Ahmed Zeiden, a photographer that we hooked up with through couchsurfing.com. His apartment is on the 25th floor of a building that looks out over all of Cairo, including the pyramids. It has been incredible staying here and getting to know him.

The city is so massive that it would take weeks to explore it all, if Danny and I actually had the desire to do that. We have been in Cairo for too long now, happily, but overrun and rundown by big city life. Our first day here will stay in my memories forever. From the beginning, walking to the metro from Ahmed's apartment we got the first sense of what it would be like to be out in public during daylight hours. Whistles, honks, stares, glares, and shouts are more than common; watermelon covered hands from small boys reaching out to pull my hair, Danny narrowly dodging the sticky redness, me not so lucky. We wonder that if we were just normal white people without long hair if we would get so much attention. Never, even in west Africa, have I gotten so much attention just by walking the streets or taking public transit. It definitely takes its toll, and it has left somewhat of a sour taste in my mouth about Cairo.
No rules on the roads whatsoever. Real anarchy in action. No traffic signals, stop signs, speed limits, emissions controls, safety regulations, no headlights at night (they are only used to flash people to get the hell out of the way). Ahmed told us that if we could successfully cross the street here ten times without dying then we would make it in this city. It is like playing real life frogger. Im talking crossing four lane highways dodging traffic while blindfolded. It is fucking insane. At least you can rest easy knowing that the chances of drunk driving are pretty slim for the most part. Alcohol is not very common here, but luckily you can have beer delivered to the apartment.
There must have been a national campaign to teach English to the general public in which the entire language was compiled into, "Welcome, welcome to Cairo!" It can come from any direction at any time. But it is all genuine welcoming from the community here... maybe. Sometimes it is hard to decipher tone of voice; people could be saying "go fuck off Yankee", and we wouldn't ever know the difference. Today actually we got into a, "No, you go fuck yourself" discussion with some kids on the street. For years I had been warned that Egypt is the worst place for encountering touts and people who work hard to lure the wallet out of your pants. It is the same old shit that I hear everywhere i go. Oh, dont go here dont go there, danger blah blah. Beyond the oogling at the two furry white guys strolling down the avenue, we are generally welcomed here and there has been almost no intense hassle outside of the pyramids. People are kind here, and looking past the conservative Islamic blanket which I see sometimes as stifling the outflow of emotions in public, there is a warmth and kick in the step of almost everyone on the streets.

The pyramids at Giza are the only remaining ancient wonder of the world, but it is hard to overcome the barrage of "hey mister you want camel ride?" It comes every five seconds, and there is no stopping. Men on camels will follow you for minutes just in case you happen to change your mind. Everyone wants baksheesh (bribes); from the police to the local kids who offer to point you in a certain direction, there is a "charge" for everything. Danny and I are far from suckers and usually try to have fun at the expense of the touts, but the experience of seeing such marvels is almost ruined by the intensity of the harrassment. That and the ass load of other tourists.
Did you know that the Sphynx is really small? Not small, but not as big as we thought. In all the pictures it seemed like it was as big as a pyramid, but it is actually quite little in comparion.
It is funny the hypotheses that exist about how the pyramids were built. New Agers come and say that the aliens brought them there, but Danny and I know the real truth behind the wonderful rock pyramids. Lots of Jews.

A higlight of the entire trip so far was definitely the Sufi dance and music show put on by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. It was a free show in a fantastic old stone building; An open courtyard surrounded by ornate wooden balconies. The show started just with music, a group of drummers, horn players (imagine the stereotpyed snake charming horn), hand symbols, and singing. Holy shit the drumming was amazing and the players were glowing, smiling and working the crowd. After a while of just the music dancers came out and began the whirling. Sufism is the mystical side of Islam, and they are known for their whirling dervish dance, spinning for hours on end in communion with Allah. The drumming picks up, the spinners move faster and slower and faster again, arms and neck twirling almost independently from the never relaxing feet. The colors are psychadelic: blues, reds, yellows, and greens, flying through the air. Multiple skirts are worn and sometimes are lifted above the head and twirled as well. It is unreal to see. I was on the edge of my seat, hooting and shouting after each raucous finale, like Kerouac at a jazz club.


We have been in this city for too long, and we are stressed. Tomorrow we will take the train north to the legendary city of Alexandria along the shores of the Mediterranean. It is Egypt's most cosmopolitan city which is not what we are looking for, but it is at least more of a transition to the less crowded more open spaces tranquil western Egypt that is our next main destination.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Dready Jews Go Home





































































































































We are in Cairo right now after making our way through the Sinai peninsula where, naturally, Danny and I would be hit by a freak wind/sand storm that would, naturally, rip the roof off of the room we were staying in on the beach. Waking up in the morning to brush the thick layer of dust and sand off of everything we noticed that, of course, ours was the only one shredded. But so it goes that to be back on the road life is always full of freak storms. That and sunshine, oceans, and incredibly kind Bedouins. But to go back two weeks now and recap how we arrived in Egypt.


In the words of one Andrew B. "Your trip is going to be heinous."
We assumed he would be right, in fact for the three years that we planned this trip we held assumptions that a Birthright trip would be nothing but Zionist propaganda and a crappy tour around Israel. A trip called Israel Outdoors that we knew spent no time camping, a tour bus with 40 Americans making a huge scene all over the country, and very little say in how the tour goes.
Turns out we actually had a good time. Yes, we were surprised too! Our tour guide Hagai (cha-guy... not cha like do the cha cha, but like clearing your throat) was amazing and he made the trip what it was. We heard from other groups along the way how strict and overbearing their guides were, but we had the complete opposite experience. To our surprise also, the group was not 18 year old new yorkers, but mainly folks over 23 from all over the country. Not surprising was the number of instant connections made with people on the tour. First person i saw at the airport I recognized from my cross-country bike tour in 1998. The last time I saw her was when I took her to a Phish show in Philly in 1999. Many more just like that too. The group bonded well and we had a great time together.
BUS BUS BUS. It was our ball and chain, never parting, always there. From the minute we arrived at the airport to the mintute the trip ended it was an undeniable part of the birthright experience.
The propaganda that we had anticipated was kept to a minimum, to our liking, but there is indeed a very simple message that all Birthright participants are pushed towards:


make Jewish babies


And why not? It's like a big summer camp, so go nuts and keep the tribe alive.
The days were jam packed with activities: walks, lectures, bus rides, visits with artists, meals, etc. In ten days they manage to haul you from end to end; the lush green of the Golan Heights, to the burnt amber and dryness of the Negev in the south, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tzvat, Kibbutzes, wineries, clubs, more more more until ENOUGH ALREADY. By the end we all crash and try to remember everything we learned and all the places we visited, but it was all too much and too fast.
Israel is such an amazing place; so alive with people, culture, struggle, fear, love, that being there can be such a sensory overload if you arent prepared. The natural mysitc blowing through the air in Tzvat...

Interlude: As i write this, the time is 12 noon and the call to prayer has just begun all over Cairo. I have heard this only in two places before this: the north of Ghana and in Israel. To me it is an eerie display of complete devotion to God, the most intense form. Mosques on every corner are calling to Allah over the loud speaker, delays and echoes from the competing megaphones create bizarre time lapse effects on the prayer. Long drawn out wailings, not unlike the howlings of coyotes on a silent desert evening. Beautiful music.

...the cosmopolitan mayhem of a Tel Aviv night, the hustle and rushing to get in all the shopping before Shabbat in Jerusalem, seeing 18 year old soldiers with powerful weapons of war and violence, the horror and pain of the Holocaust Museum, the hard yet beautifully simple life of the Bedouin. Everything is so compact and full, there is little escape.

The question that always comes to mind for me is: can you be an aethiest and still be a Jew? Each time i have visited Israel the answer comes fully and simply. Yes. To be a Jew does not mean one needs to believe in the big guy upstairs or go to pray in a temple, or even honor the sabbath. It is a tribal feeling, the community, the sense of belonging to a group of people that spreads around the globe, holding on to identity.
The beauty of this is that while maintaining my independence I still hold the power of tribal connection everywhere i go, and i can do this without needing to change my beliefs about the spiritual nature of things.

Danny and I will be in Egpyt for two to three weeks before making our way back to Israel via Jordan. We are already having great experiences here and truly enjoying Arabic culture. Just on the trip overland from Sinai we witnessed the intensity and barrenness of the desert here; it is everything. We plan on venturing deeper into the country to discover more about this land.
Pictures and stories to follow of course. Literally, i am looking at the Giza Pyramids right now. Soon you will be able to see them too!


I have somewhat lost the motivation to keep up this blog, so this entry is poorly written and short, but for those that enjoy it I am glad.