Exiting one of the greatest temples of history--the Luxor temple, which over the years has served many gods, religions (including a church and currently a mosque which was built in the middle of it) and other purposes--the 19 of us Americans did the most blatantly American thing possible.
It wasn't my choice, but once I saw where we were headed, I set aside my angst/disgust/embarrassment, and was determined to enjoy ourselves. McDonald's was the dinner place picked out by our leaders, but once we got there the entire city block was blacked-out. Not sure of what to do, we crammed into the upstairs seating area and waited in the dark till we were rescued by the light.
Laughing at the irony of being in a McDonalds, in Egypt, in the dark, on SST, we were overjoyed when lights came up and we could order our food. Disclaimer: I've never in my life ordered an entire MEAL at McDonalds. But, perhaps due to the wild influence of Egypt, or the aire of escapism that was surging through all of us as we realized how much we did in fact miss the food in America, I ordered the full McRoyale meal deal along with my table.
Just to really gorge out, the four at my table made a pact to get McFlurries, which I joined in with, fully aware I would regret all of this later.
And yet.
It's only in travelling for more than a month outside of your homeland that you realize what you miss. What luxuries you float in each day of living in the U.S.
The contradiction of where I come from being transported via a burger and fries to a culture so different than the U.S. was sharp in my face. Walking back to the hotel--albeit one with a broken toilet and no soap--I felt a mixture of guilt and guilty-pleasure.
In many ways, I'm more similar to the stone-faced queens and kings I've seen in the temples than the woman selling tissues amidst the refuse of the streets.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Quick Overview: Luxor/Aswan
Recap of where I've been recently:
- a 12 hour sleeper-car train ride south to Aswan and Luxor, near the bottom of Egypt
- the huge Aswan dam, which made the largest man-made lake, stopped the Nile from flooding, kicked
native Nubians off their land, and creates a lot of electricity. pros and cons.
- the valley of the Kings (during the New Kingdom, the capital was moved to the south-Thebes-and they
discovered that the natural geography looked like pyramids. so they stopped building up and began digging
into these hills for their tombs). That was a VERY hot day. no shade. chugged bottle water, and couldn't
see my sweat.
- an unfinished obelisk--those tall pencil-like columns that were inscribed and carved out of one solid piece of granite. This one had a crack in it at one end and now remains forever stuck in rock-purgatory.
- Hatshipsut's temple. The one that is surrounded on three sides by the side of a large cliff. She's impressive mainly because she claimed the pharonic throne and kept it for a while.
- spice shopping in the markets of Aswaun, and a ride on a falooka--the one-sailed boats that carry tourists and have guides that sing for you.
- bus to Luxor, where we saw more temples, most impressively the Luxor Temple at night. The Avenue of the Sphinx was once a long road lined with sphinxes that connected the Karnak temple at one end of the city with the Luxor temple. They are trying to resurrect it.
Currently:
- a few arabic classes squeezed in the middle of our travels. Must admit I'm getting a bit weary of them, if only because I feel like a terrible student. We don't really have that much time or a good place to study with dedication. And, when faced with Arabic, it is just plain overwhelming and intimidating at times. I'll keep trudging through though...
Next stop:
- leave Tues-Thursday for the Sinai penisula. We will hike Mt. Sinai, see St. Catherine's monastery, and get a dip (and perhaps snorkel?) in the Red Sea. woo-hoo!
- a 12 hour sleeper-car train ride south to Aswan and Luxor, near the bottom of Egypt
- the huge Aswan dam, which made the largest man-made lake, stopped the Nile from flooding, kicked
native Nubians off their land, and creates a lot of electricity. pros and cons.
- the valley of the Kings (during the New Kingdom, the capital was moved to the south-Thebes-and they
discovered that the natural geography looked like pyramids. so they stopped building up and began digging
into these hills for their tombs). That was a VERY hot day. no shade. chugged bottle water, and couldn't
see my sweat.
- an unfinished obelisk--those tall pencil-like columns that were inscribed and carved out of one solid piece of granite. This one had a crack in it at one end and now remains forever stuck in rock-purgatory.
- Hatshipsut's temple. The one that is surrounded on three sides by the side of a large cliff. She's impressive mainly because she claimed the pharonic throne and kept it for a while.
- spice shopping in the markets of Aswaun, and a ride on a falooka--the one-sailed boats that carry tourists and have guides that sing for you.
- bus to Luxor, where we saw more temples, most impressively the Luxor Temple at night. The Avenue of the Sphinx was once a long road lined with sphinxes that connected the Karnak temple at one end of the city with the Luxor temple. They are trying to resurrect it.
Currently:
- a few arabic classes squeezed in the middle of our travels. Must admit I'm getting a bit weary of them, if only because I feel like a terrible student. We don't really have that much time or a good place to study with dedication. And, when faced with Arabic, it is just plain overwhelming and intimidating at times. I'll keep trudging through though...
Next stop:
- leave Tues-Thursday for the Sinai penisula. We will hike Mt. Sinai, see St. Catherine's monastery, and get a dip (and perhaps snorkel?) in the Red Sea. woo-hoo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)