October dive trip

Greetings all, I have been horribly remiss in keeping up with our blog in Wendi's absence. It wasn't even until today that I read her last post and realized she had created expectations for my performance. Just so you know - I experienced strong pangs of guilt for the first couple of weeks but they faded and for the last few weeks I have only occasionally even thought about writing. But then last night Wendi mentioned it during our phone conversation and since I have the next couple of days off (the Egyptians are celebrating the end of Hajj feast Eid al-Adha) I decided my excuses are running a little thin. So here it is - I can think of this as a kind of celebration for Wendi's return (she will be back here Dec 3).


We (our team over here) did our second dive trip the week Wendi left so she wasn't able to join us. Aside from her not being there the whole experience was much more enjoyable than the first one (we didn't have to do all the training dives for one thing). Having already experienced it once, the process of driving there, unloading the cars, loading the boat and getting out of port was a lot more relaxing. What really helped was the temperature - in June it was well over 100 and we had to wait for over an hour on the boat while the Tourism office did an inspection. This time it was only in the 80s, we arrived earlier, and less than an hour after driving in we were pulling out of port.




















A couple of views leaving the harbor. As you can see the Sinai peninsula is a pretty desolate place. It was mostly empty except for some nomadic Bedouin tribes until the Israelis captured it during the 1967 war. Over the years they built up resort areas that the Egyptians took over after the Sinai was given back under the Camp David Accords. Even now the area mostly caters to foreigners with areas that are off limits to Egyptians unless they work there. The main resort town of Sharm el-Sheik is a couple of miles to the right of the harbor.





















The guys are getting ready for our first dive. It was several hours out of port and on the wreck of the S.S. Dunraven, a British cargo ship that sank in 1867. It was my first wreck dive and it was very interesting being able to swim through hull and see the old boilers. There wasn't really anything left to see cargo wise but it had some beautiful corals.





This is the second wreck we dove - the famous S.S. Thistlegorm. It was built in 1940 in England and used to haul supplies in support of the African campaign. It was sank in 1941 by a lone German bomber that was returning home after an unsuccessful hunt for the Queen Mary (the plane was caught in the blast when its bombs hit the ammunition magazines and crashed a few miles away). What makes it so special is that it sank quickly with a full load of cargo. Some of the items you can still see: two steam locomotives, tenders and rolling stock, rifles, munitions, aircraft parts, Wellington boots, trucks, motor bikes and tunics for the Eighth Army in North Africa. This picture is of Vinny, me, and Rich (L-R) getting ready to head back up. It can getting pretty crowed there but the first day we dove right before sunset, moved a little ways off to spend the night and then again first thing in the morning before the crowds showed up.


This picture is a little dark but if you enlarge you should be able to see the motorcycles and the cases of rifles off to the right. I was amazed at how well preserved some of the stuff was but you can see the effects of so many people being down there. There are big air pockets in all the rooms from SCUBA breathing and it is causes rapid rusting but as with so many things here when it comes to tourist dollars, regulations are almost nonexistent or ignored for a small price.
















This is pretty much what we did when we weren't diving. The weather was beautiful for the whole trip and the food was excellent (something about being outside always make food taste better). It was three days of eating, diving and sleeping. If it wasn't such a long drive I can see us doing this more often.

This was my bedroom - we all brought our blankets up from the rooms downstairs and slept on the deck.

These trips have been fun but a little surreal. A weekend diving at Sharm is about like someone coming to America and heli-skiing in Alaska - it's a lot of fun but you certainly can't say you have experienced the culture. It's more of an escape which at times is exactly what is needed. I hope you enjoyed my post and thank goodness for all involved Wendi is back in a couple of days :)

And the winner is................

Suzy!! I'll bring the box back with me to Seattle and, if we don't see each other, I'll either mail it to you or send it back with Andrew and Jen. Congratulations!!

Thanks to all the guessers....it was fun to read your comments. And, yes, Wendy, that was Chad the Sultan. :)

I'm turning the keyboard over to David for the next month as I'm heading back to Seattle until December 1st. Stay tuned....he may even post some pics from his dive trip! Until then, here are some more pics from our weekend in Istanbul! We were extremely impressed with Istanbul....same size as Cairo but with no piles of trash (even in the poorer areas, we still saw garbage trucks), the cars stopped at traffic lights, there were beautiful public spaces. Apart from the mosques and the calls to prayer, it felt like we were in Germany. By the way, the obelisk shown below was brought up by the Romans to display in the Hippodrome in Constantinople.

Traffic and the concept of Insha 'allah

You probably knew this post was coming at some point during our year here. :) Egyptian traffic is crazy... not so much due to aggressiveness, though that is a factor, as much as the variety of transport you encounter. On one street, you can simultaneously encounter not only a swarm of cars, microbuses, taxis, and large trucks weaving in and out trying to pass each other, but you'll pass a donkey pulling a cart on your right, and a motorbike on your left running against the traffic, plus there are always people trying to cross the street...and they aren't shy, even when they have their small children with them!

This is normal. The following photos show some of the sights which have made us point and say "Take a look at that!" :)


Sheep:
Water buffalo:


A propane tank...certainly not the largest load we've seen on a motorbike. My favorite was a large pane of glass.


These microbuses serve as taxis, either in a city or between cities. They are virtually always packed full of passengers so all the luggage goes on top.


Camel stop:


I wasn't here for very long before I became aware of the word "Insha 'allah" which means "God willing". Egyptians' everyday speech is peppered with it. I'll tell Samia "Ok, then I'll see you tomorrow"; she always answers "Insha' allah".

To Hamdi, the Gardener: "OK, so you'll come two times a month??"
Hamdi: Insha' allah

To Samia: "I hope your son's school year will be better this year"
Samia: Insha' allah

You get the idea. It's a passive attitude towards life which, as a Christian, I actually agree with to a certain extent....a constant reminder that our lives belong in God's hands, not our own. But it's interesting to me how this concept has created a culture of passivity. David was briefed about this before he came over; it is very difficult to do long-term planning with the Egyptians he works with.....even short-term planning for that matter. He will ask another pilot "So are you going to do a maintenance flight on 179 today?" Answer: "Insha 'allah" It is difficult to work with that bc it's not really an answer. David is left wondering, "Well, is he planning to do it or not?? Because if he's not going to get to it, I need to do it since it's scheduled for tonight's flight." David's also found that, at work, saying "Insha 'allah" is a way around saying no to a question and disappointing the other person.

This mentality of our fate not being in our own hands permeates everything here. How to enforce a mandatory seatbelt law, for example, when the general populous feels that if it's their time to go, then wearing a seatbelt's not going to matter?

Actually in one of our first taxi rides (taxis here deserve their own blog entry! :) we had a driver who wasn't aggressive as much as just clueless. The way he leaned forward, it looked like he couldn't really see and as he drifted aimlessly from lane to lane or simply straddled them, he left a wake of angry honking drivers behind him of whom he seemed completely unaware. I truly thought we were going to have an accident. I leaned over to David, which was easy to do since the seatbelts didn't work, and whispered "Insha 'allah". :)

Where in the World are we???

Can you tell from the photos where we went last weekend??? Here's the deal: For everyone who posts a guess in the comments, correct or incorrect, I'll put their names in a hat. The winner's name I pull out will win this mother-of-pearl inlaid box!!



Interesting story on how we received the box. During the first couple of months we were here one of the Egyptian officers David works with had been talking at with David about Islam. When these conversations started to get more prolonged and David had to be a bit more abrupt with him ("Hey, I'm sorry, but I really need to get to work!"), the officer was very apologetic, which made David feel bad. Then the next day, he brought David this box with more apologies, which made him feel even worse. However, we already have an inlaid box we like, so we're going to send it to one of you!! So guess away, readers!! In a few days I will declare a winner and post an entry on our trip.

Enti Toluk!!

So a few days ago, I was watching an Egyptian movie and, although I understood virtually nothing that the characters said, the plot was pretty apparent. A woman was going to dance lessons behind her husband's back because she didn't think he'd approve. Sure enough, when he found out, he surely didn't approve. There were several scenes of arguing and yelling, until at one point, he pointed at her and yelled "Enti toluk!!", the woman's eyes grew wide as saucers, the music took a dramatic turn, and the next scene showed her sobbing on the subway. I knew Enti meant "You" so I thought maybe toluk was some sort of slur. He must have called her a floozy or worse. I made a mental note to ask someone what in the world he said!!

When I asked my friend Dina she told me that Enti Toluk means "You are divorced". When a man wishes to divorce his wife, he does not need to go through a court of law, but only says "Enti toluk" three times to formally end his marriage according to the guidelines set out in the Quran. And, according to Dina, he can rescind his decision until he says "Enti toluk" for the third time. At that point, it is final. Women were not allowed to divorce their husbands until a new ruling in 2000. Today, they are allowed to file a divorce without their husband's permission but they give up all financial rights.

Last year, a woman was seeking clarification from the court on her husband's declaration of divorce. He had texted her on her cellphone twice declaring "Enti Toluk" and then later that year, after an argument, he had said it again face to face. The court was trying to decide whether text messages count. I wasn't able to find out how the court ruled, but apparently text-message divorces have been upheld in other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The movie ended on a happier note. The husband started taking dancing lessons with his wife and they lived happily ever after....provided he doesn't say "Enti toluk" two more times, of course.

Saqqara!

You're looking at the first pyramid built in Egypt. Before this point, royalty and nobility were buried in mastabas which would look like the bottom level of this step pyramid. About the 27th c. BC, King Djoser's chief architect, a guy named Imhotep, came up with the idea to stack mastabas on top of each other to create a six-step pyramid. Djoser's pyramid sits amongst the ruins of a large funerary complex, surrounded by a wall which featured a frieze of cobras. In the foreground of the photo, can you see a remnant of these cobras?

Saqqara, just south of Cairo, served as a burying ground for Memphis, which was the capital city of Egypt during the Old Kingdom and nobility were still being buried there in the New Kingdom after the capitol had moved to Thebes. It is the largest archaeological site in Egypt and covers about 7 km of desert and is littered with pyramids and mastabas. We were able to enter several of the mastabas and although we weren't allowed to take photos, our guide let me take a few when we were away from the crowds and it was light enough where I wouldn't have to use flash. All of the walls of these tombs were completely covered in reliefs depicting both symbolic scenes as well as scenes from daily life. The details were fascinating. There are people in boats pulling up nets with many different kinds of fish, boys wrestling and playing, butchers slaughtering cattle, marshes with frogs, birds, crocodiles, hippos, and grasshoppers, dwarves depicted as goldsmiths, as well as lots and lots of servants bearing food and drink for the deceased's ka or spirit. Some examples.....unfortunately I wasn't able to capture any pics of hippos. Those were my favorites. :)

















































One of the many aspects of pyramids which we were completely unaware of before we came to Egypt was that virtually every pyramid is associated with a complex of buildings which are so standard that archaeologists know to look for them. There is always the mortuary temple which is built against the east side of the pyramid where priests present prayers and offerings to sustain the king's ka. There is usually a smaller pyramid in the complex and there is virtually always a wall which encloses the two pyramids. There is also a valley temple. The valley temple is always located on the bank of a river which is how the body of the king was transported and the temple was used for the mummification process. A long causeway connects the valley temple with the entrance of the mortuary temple. This is why pyramids are in the desert but often just on the edge of cultivated land. I hope that makes sense. I'm sure I could figure out how to draw a layout of a pyramid complex on Photoshop and link it here but I'm such a horrible artist, I don't think it would clear things up much. :)

Anybahoo, the only surviving somewhat intact causeway in Egypt is in Saqqara, connecting the pyramid of Unas, a king in the 5th dynasty, with the ruins of its valley temple about 1 km away.
The causeway was walled and roofed at one time but there are only remnants left. I think they reconstructed some of the floor. Here you see the causeway with the pyramid in the background behind two pillars which I think was the entrance to the mortuary temple.


The hieroglyphs on one of the pillars indicating that it indeed belonged to King Unas.


There were parts of the wall still intact along the causeway which had reliefs on them. Here's one which depicts ships:


Another feature found in several pyramid complexes are boat-shaped pits. The ones found in Giza near the Great Pyramid actually contained wooden boats, purportedly to transport the king and family to the Land of the West. Here are some boat pits outside the pyramid of Unas but apparently no boats were found so maybe they were just symbolic?


Finally, I took a photo of the stars in the last remaining section of the causeway ceiling. It blows me away that there is still some blue coloring left after 3000 years! You'll have to click on the photo to open it in another window in order to see the stars. We only saw a small portion of what Saqqara has to offer and we're looking forward to going back to see more!

Coptic Fayoum

Our bartender, Tony, invited all of us out to see some of the Coptic monasteries in the Fayoum area. He and his family are Coptic. I wish I would have thought to take a photo, but all Christians in Egypt choose to have a cross tattooed on their wrist.... no casual conversions here!! David and I've spent several nights at the bar talking with Tony about what it's like to be a Coptic Christian in Egypt. Copts make up about 10% of Egypt's population. He maintains that discrimination has gotten worse and that there are kidnappings and murders against Copts which are ignored by the police. Personally, he says his family hasn't been affected other than the occasional situation where someone has thrown something at his wife and chided her for not wearing a headscarf while they've been out walking

He took us first to a very old monastery next to the Lahun pyramid just a few miles from where we live. It's thought to date back to the 3rd century. It's neat to think there was a Christian community in the Fayoum area from such an early date. I may have mentioned this before, but there is a bishop from the Fayoum area mentioned as attending the Council of Nicaeain 325 AD.


Here's Tony.


The second monastery was the one where Tony and family go quite a bit. These monasteries seem to act as community centers for the Copts. Tony says that his family will come and just hang out until 1 or 2 in the morning some nights!!
















And then Tony's wife, Phoebe, brought lunch for all of us. It was delicious!!


The third monastery is dedicated to the angel Gabriel and it was probably founded in the second half of the 5th century. The church inside is dated to the 10th or 11th century. These paintings were covered over with plaster and apparently their very existence had been forgotten until a team was doing restoration work in 1991 and uncovered them.
















When we turned the corner, Tony and his wife gasped and he said "You are lucky! The martyrs are usually not displayed and they are out today". Sure enough, there were two rows of glass coffins each containing a mummified body wrapped in velvet. Also uncovered by that same restoration team in 1991, nobody knows the details of these naturally mummified bodies other than some appear to be monks and they are certain these people were martyred because of the signs of torture, strangulation marks, limbs or heads missing, and blood-stained cloth.

In the back of the monastery are ruins which Tony thought to be the remains of the 5th c. settlement here. The hills in the background purportedly contain caves which were used by various monks....but no time to explore. I took a photo of all the shards of pottery we were walking on.















A photo of the monastery gates looking out over the Fayoum delta: