Egypt

I have concluded that I have a love/hate relationship with Egypt. When I was younger I went through an Egypt phase which included lots of books on mummies and secretly wanting to be Cleopatra. So going into my week long trip to Egypt, my expectations were high.
Our group arrives outside our hotel in a big tour bus and I take my first steps into Cairo!! Venturing out of the hotel later that night, a man offers to sell me hash (drugs), asks if he can pay me for sex and a few other vulgar comments. Now my initial reaction is to retaliate, stand up for myself and put this guy in his place. Unfortunately that doesn't fly in Cairo and actually can make the situation worse. The best way to handle things is to not make eye and ignore them. But this leaves me feeling even more powerless and taken advantage of because I can't stand up for myself. Similar situations like this happened throughout most of the trip and I'm still thinking about how to best handle them. The consistent stream of harassment got very wearing and frustrating for me. It's frustrating that women are treated like objects for men's entertainment and that some of the men in Cairo are so blatant about this objectification. Now I don't mean to say all the men were like this. I had some nice conversations with cab drivers and made friends with some shop owners in the market. But with such a bad initial impression of men in Cairo it was difficult for me to stay open minded and not generalize.
Most of the week consisted of seeming tourist sites and having a few free evenings. We visited the pyramids and the Sphinx which did fulfill all my childhood dreams. It was really amazing to touch something that is so old and has survived so much time- I felt like I was touching history. The best part was riding a camel! My camel was named Mickey Mouse and a little boy led me around the desert. You get on the camel while its sitting and when it stands up to walk it can get pretty wobbly. I managed to climb onto the camel and make it into a walking position all while wearing a long skirt! Yes, I am very proud of this accomplishment.
Two days were spent exploring Coptic and Islamic Cairo. These two days were filled with lots of old mosques and Orthodox churches. Again, it was just amazing to see something that is so old and well constructed without the advanced technology we have today. One day we took the train to Alexandria which I like much better than Cairo. It’s right along the Mediterranean and has a lot of activity without being overwhelming. I got to see the catacombs, Bibliotheca Alexandria and the Citadel.
With all the chaos of Cairo there was a redeeming experience- Hana Hulili. This is a really old market which offers touristy thinks but also beautiful scarves, jewelry, clothes…basically everything a shopper could want. What makes it great is that you haggle for everything! There is a certain skill to pushing for the cheapest price, not giving in and being able to walk away if you don’t get what you want. It’s a good sound to hear shop owners yelling for you to come back as you’re walking away.
Now I’m back in Amman and classes start up again tomorrow. Cairo has made Amman look like a calm city and I appreciate this much more now.