Djed

Jan 28th

The ride to the airport was fine and we didn’t see any riots or anything. The airport was crowded, but things moved along with considerable ease. Michael and I said goodbye to Marina and headed to our gate where we had 10 minutes to watch part of Horton Hears A Who before we boarded ourselves. Even though it was only 5 hours long, I had quite the plane ride : a snorlax and crying baby behind me, a smelly, old German couple beside me who threw my bag of peanuts at me when I was sleeping and woke me up, a kid in front of me who got a bloody nose, andddd a cranky old German man who started a fight with Michael and the guy sitting next to Michael for putting their seats back. The entire plane woke up and was staring at the guy who was screaming German curses and pushing people. Eventful flight, but I’d take that kind of eventful over the riots that were breaking out in Cairo simultaneously.

Just as we left, Egypt’s phones and internet were cut off and people started to crowd the streets.  I sat in Munich's airport staring at the TV screen with my jaw to the floor. I really left at the most opportune time possible. To safely witness such an epic revolution unfold is something I will never forget. Had this taken place at any point in the weeks prior, my trip to Egypt would have been royally screwed. Someone must have really been looking out for me up there to let me fully experience Egypt and witness history in the making. I had more than one flight attendant and passenger tell me how lucky I was that day.

 As soon as I got to Italy I hopped right onto the computer to tell my parents I was ok.  I was too exhausted to go out and eat, and I’ve been living in a country where being by yourself especially at night isn’t really the best idea, so I just talked to my parents and Andrew and went to bed.

The Djed Pillar

During my flight to Rome I had time to think and process everything:

Food:

Comments: delightfully surprised. I’m not usually a fan of spices, but there are some really amazing Egyptian dishes. Unfortunately I thought we ate way more Western food than expected and would have liked to try more Egyptian food.

Favorites: lentil soup with lemon and croutons; Nile View’s chicken shawarma; The Roof’s kofta Lebanese style; koshary; shish tawook; Pizza Roma- the only decent non Egyptian food we had.

People:

Comments:  Egyptians: I met far fewer Egyptians than I thought. Those that I got to know like the quftis, the inspector and workers were extremely nice. Sayeed was always making a joke, but still knew the differences in dirt between brick and earth. He taught me lots of archaeological terms in arabic and had a baller moustache. Zahara was extremely sweet and helped me translate to the workers on my Sekhmet Project. She gave me the proper Egyptian goodbye which is 4 kisses alternating between each cheek. The Egyptians in the Souk and on the streets, while sometimes hilarious, were the most frustrating. I can't even begin to understand their plight for money, but it made living there for so long extremely difficult  and unenjoyable at points.

Non-Egyptians: Like I said before, I was extremely lucky to be on a team with such amazing, intelligent people. Whether American, Spanish, Swissky, or Dutch, everyone came to the table with something different and interesting to share. I've gotten to know a few of them quite well and hopefully they think of me as highly as I do them. Thank you to Dr. Bryan and team for an unbelievable time in Egypt. Hopefully I will see you all again soon.

Sites:

Comments: Ancient Egypt must have been the coolest place ever. Like I've said before, half of the buildings we visited would have never been seen by commoners like myself, so I'm lucky to have seen them.

Favorites: (not in order) It's not fair to pick since they were all amazing, but these are def some of my favs. Karnak and Luxor Temple (since we basically lived here), Dendera, Valley of the Kings, Abydos, Deir el-Bahari, the pyramids from that middle distance, and Gebel Silsila.

And I can't forget the silence and simplicity of middle of the desert. I could really have sat there for hours and stared into nothingness. In fact if I ever go back to Egypt, I would really like to do that for a while.

Dolce far Niente Progress:

Comments: I wouldn't say fail, but I wouldn't say success either. I felt really bipolar on this trip. The nights in Luxor really got to me. We were non-stop for a month, which I'm usually all for, but we had literally no down time and no days off. We worked 6 days a week and our day off was usually busier than work days. From before dawn until bedtime whether eating, working, site seeing, shopping, or  just checking your e-mail, we were constantly surrounded by people. Walking down the street pretty much went as follows from the moment you walk out of the door:  "honk honk" tax tax (for taxi) kalesh kalesh (for horse carriage ride) "honk honk" no charge for looking (when you pass a store) "honk honk" australian? buy some of my rubbish! you know how much? 5LE (it didn't matter what it was they always said 5 LE to get you to look) "honk honk" ohh beautiful smile! someone purposely standing right in front of where you're walking with an unfolded scarf,  a truck rolling backwards with nobody in it and smashing another car, a crane almost hitting you when you walk by, felluca felluca (for a boat ride) kids tugging your clothes for food and not leaving you alone, and kalesh drivers whipping the underfed horses (you can see all of their ribs and some of them have bloody knees). The list goes on, and that probably made no sense to any of you, but that's literally what it was like. Add that to a cloud of cigarette smoke, dust, a bronchial infection, missing my family, friends and Andrew, and waking up at 5:30 a.m. to the mosques (which are beauitful but still loud noises early in the morning). It's hard to relax in a place like that.

However!

Experiencing the sites made me feel like I had my muchness back. I regained the passion, motivation and energy I had been missing from the confinement I've come to know as Hopkins. I felt the sun on my face, the breeze through my hair, the sand through my fingers and honestly enjoyed the precious moments I had in Egypt. Everything I have worked so hard for was materializing before my eyes and I felt like I could make the leap forward into adulthood while retaining my inner child, which will hopefully always keep me grounded and passionate. And these feelings trumped the negatives a large percentage of the time, but not all. But hey, I'm not perfect and I still have a lot of work to do.

What I've learned:

Besides the crazy amount of academic knowledge I've gained and practiced I've also learned a lot of other things.

About my future: Egyptology by itself may not be my calling. I don't want people to get confused: I still am in love with ancient Egypt. However, I feel like I need to be more hands on in the archaeological process. Overseeing a trench is indeed a lot of work, but doing my own digging at this point in my life is more attractive to me. I don't like yelling at other people to do my work or getting upset when they do it wrong. This is still possible in Egypt! If I don't find a site that allows me to do so, then perhaps I could specialize in something like Roxy has and dig up bones anywhere I want! There is still a lot to think about here, but I have a little bit of time left to ask around and feel things out.

About myself: Alone time is necessary. After living alone last semester, I thought being surrounded by constant people would be a nice change. Instead I went from one extreme to the other. I was also separated from Andrew and my family once again, which at times made me lonely despite the presence of others. I've really fallen in love with the glyph dd (pronounced djed). Apparently the symbol depicts the backbone of Osiris, but it stands for strength, stability and balance. I've come to think dd is one of the most important keys to a successful life. It's learning to balance academics and fun, craziness and serenity,  time between friends, family and a significant other, or complacency and new experiences, as well as finding the endurance and strength to fight on. Instead of wishing people happiness I think I'll wish people djed. Happiness is taken advantage of without reminder of its compliment, but balance understands the importance of both. Sorry for the ramble, but it really got me thinking.

Overall, an adventure of a lifetime. While I hope the rest of the team is finding safety amongst the riots, I'm off on a new adventure. Forza Roma.

Giza before Pisa

Jan 27th

Protests against Mubarak have been just beginning. Luckily Giza is far enough away from downtown that we haven’t seen any problems. However, our plans to visit the Cairo Museum and our trip to Saqqara have been completely squashed since the museum is right next to the protests and Saqqara closes too early and is too far to really get to explore. When I come back to Egypt, the Djoser's Step Pyramid is high on my list of things to see as is Amarna, Abu Simbel, and Sharm el-Sheikh among many others.  However, with the pyramids in sight, I can't wait to see them up close.

The Great Pyramid from our hotel. no big deal. 

A few semesters of my job at Hopkins have gone to two things: multiple expensive train tickets to see Andrew who I’m more than ready to see in Rome =) and this trip to Egypt. I spent more on my one night in the Mena House Oberoi hotel in Cairo than I did for the entire month at the Emilio, but it really was an amazing hotel. The décor is lavish and my room had the biggest bed I’ve ever seen with the softest sheets ever! It honestly felt like Disneyland because I could see the pyramids from outside (the hotel is the closest thing to the Pyramids) and it felt like some weird, fake backdrop.

At last. (I chose the nerdy one to put up out of my 10 poses)

After quickly letting my parents know I was safe in Cairo, we headed off to the pyramids. As we drove closer and closer I was a blubbering buffoon. It was so unreal I couldn’t handle it. We first took pictures from the lookout where all 3 are visible at the same time and then went down into Menkaure’s pyramid (the smallest of the 3). The shaft was extremely small and I hit my head a few times which really hurt considering it’s stone. The pyramids are undecorated inside which is a huge change from the innumerable amazing images I’ve seen over the past month. It was only really interesting once you reminded yourself that you were standing inside the middle of a freaking PYRAMID.

Climbing up the Great Pyramid

We then bought tickets for the great pyramid (the only thing thus far we had to buy tickets for) and headed on inside. As some of the first people to get inside we got to climb the shaft and see the king’s chamber with few people inside. The room was dark, the walls were black and there was only one empty sarcophagus. It was beautiful in its simplicity.

yeah, the thing is enormous!

A few Egyptian girls were sitting on the freaking sarcophagus so I stared them down until they got off.  The Egyptians are also obsessed with foreigners. They legitimately pet your hair and touch you like you're some kind of interesting creature. I watched them do that to Marina because she was in front of me but I put up my hands before the girls could do it to me. They giggled like it was some kind of joke. You’re in the heart of a famous burial place. Seriously, have some respect. It killed the whole vibe of the pyramids. The Egyptians treat this place like a playground. They run on top of the Queens pyramids, graffiti the walls, throw their garbage everywhere, pick up ancient stones and throw them at each other, and the camels and horses crap everywhere. It’s a zoo, not the majestic site I had imagined and it really took away from the whole experience. We then had to wait until 100 people all tried to squeeze up the shaft and into the room.

The Egyptian playground. I couldn't believe it.

Note to the people of the world: don’t wear high heels when you’re climbing a pyramid and if you need a cane to walk you probably shouldn’t be climbing a pyramid at all. Also note to Egyptians running the site: just because 150 people have tickets to get into the pyramid doesn’t mean you should let them all in at the same time. They all can’t fit in a room the size of a small classroom. I don't know, just an idea. 

The boat in the museum. Look at the people on the left for scale.

Instead we walked around the mastabas and went into the boat museum to see the wooden boats that were buried next to the pyramids. One is HUGE and reminded me of the giant whale in the Museum of Natural History because all you can do is stare at it and say how big it is.

   

Looks like Cusco!

We quickly saw the Sphinx because the crowds are ridiculous and went back to the hotel for a nice long shower.  The pyramids for me were best at a close enough distance that they didn't seem fake, but far enough  away that you couldn't  be disurbed by how people treat them.

We ate dinner at the Indian restaurant at the hotel which was exceptionally delicious. At dinner we discussed the riots happening all over Cairo and though I hate to talk about politics, it’s interesting to be in the country and city during the beginnings of a revolution. I hoped to God we would be okay to fly out in the morning, because things can really get scary pretty quickly over here. Things aren't supposed to get crazy until after the noon prayer, so I should be halfway to Munich by then, Insh'Allah. I was too tired for words and went straight to bed since I had to wake up early yet again.

Me and Sphinxy!

Shukran, Luxor; it's been fun.

Jan 26^th

Me and Zahara, the inspector of the site

Our last day on site was hectic. There were lots of amazing last minute finds, my special project to finish, and pictures to be taken. I can't believe we've been here for a month already. I'm really going to miss this place, the site mostly.  Waking up to the mosques, watching the sunrise through palm trees, and overlooking the temple while sorting through beautiful, ancient pottery is something I'll miss every day. I've been so lucky to have an adventure that so few people get to experience, Alhamdulillah. Hopefully I will return again soon, Insh'allah.

Me, my favorite qufti Sayeed, and Grad student Katie on the last day

My last Sekhmet pose of the trip

After saying good bye to all the workers, I headed back to Karnak to finish the rest of the temple. The place really is amazing. For our last night we dressed up and went to a fancy hotel on the West Bank called Al Mudira. We played dominoes and chess while we waited for dinner. The food was amazing and I was really happy to finally get a delicious salad. When we got back to the Emilio I said goodbye to everyone who was staying in Luxor to help Dr. Bryan finish up. Everyone has been so good to me and I can't thank them enough for making the trip as amazing as it has been; the grad students for taking me under their wing, returning to sites, and constantly sharing their knowledge with me, and of course Dr. Bryan for allowing me to come, paying for far more than she even needed to, and for the passes that gave us unlimited access to the most amazing places on earth. Without them, this trip would have been incredibly different and perhaps less meaningful.

At the entrance of Karnak Temple. We worked here (where I'm pointing)!

I then headed off on my most dreaded shopping trip of all time in the souk. The souk is a hilarious place for people not buying things.  For those who are, it’s pure hell (especially for someone like me and my shopping anxiety). I hate shopping in the U.S. so having people throwing things in your face to buy them, charging you 300LE for something that is worth 5LE, having to argue about absolutely everything and still ending up overpaying, and finding absolutely NOTHING for boys’ presents is the most horrid thing I could ever imagine. I refuse to buy shirts with incorrect hieroglyphs or shitty statues that are either so ugly or so poorly made (though they’ll tell you it’s real granite or stone) I would be embarrassed to give them to someone I love. It’s degrading and I understand most people who buy them are stupid and really can’t tell the difference, but I’m not stupid and I do know the difference. A month of this REALLY drove me insane and I have never been SO upset and SO happy to leave at the same time. I can’t believe how fast and how slow this month has gone by. Packing and waking up early will give me less than 3 hours to sleep… again! Hooray!

Karnak's sacred lake. I'm really going to miss this place.