An imam, a rabbi and a priest walk into Old Cairo…

So yesterday after the pyramids I saw what was probably my favorite thing in Egypt so far: the 2005 horror film Boo (rated R), which was just released here April 30th of this year. Brilliant can't even begin to describe it. An example of the masterpiece is the following quote, powerfully delivered by the thespian Dig Wayne:

You shoot me in the face, I'll kick your ass!

Okay, so it wasn't actually any good. In fact, it was near par with such spectacles as Fear Dot Com and The Carrot Monster from Mars (alright, so I don't actually remember the name of that last one, but it was on the Sci Fi Channel at around midnight, so you get the gist).

But it was quite the experience to go to a movie in Egypt. Someone brought her baby to the movie, and it cried and screamed a lot of the time; several people answered their cell phones and held conversations during the movie; and there was even a 5-minute intermission (right in the middle of a high-tension scene)! Tickets were $3, so it was still worth it. In fact, parts of it were so funny/awful that I was crying.

Alright, so onward to the photos and the more serious stuff:


We had dinner last night at Gad, a restaurant just a few blocks away from our hostel. This was our dessert (Egyptian pancakes with honey, nuts and whipped cream). My entire meal cost under $3.


Then today we went first to the Saladin Citadel, where there is the above building: the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.


Vera and Alex had to wear green robes in the mosque because their arms weren't covered.


inside the Mosque


Two men get a panoramic view from the citadel looking out over Cairo.


the citadel walls

Then we went to Coptic Cairo, part of the Old City. Here we visited a Coptic Christian church and a synagogue. This area was really cool and extremely old!


The streets in Coptic Cairo were loaded with shops containing (presumably) antiques.

Alex and Vera then went to the Egyptian Museum, but Sara and I just mulled around the streets. I bought 1001 Nights and Sindbad at a book shop. We went to Felfela, an Egyptian fast-food place recommended to me by Chris Hanley (who studied here first semester), and grabbed lunch - a shawarma sandwich (like a gyro sub) and a taamiya (like a pita-pocket with a falafel inside). It was extremely good and also very cheap - around $2.


And again following Chris's recommendations, we went next door to a juice shop. I had a mixed fruit and ice cream drink, which was very nice after a day in the sun!

Then tomorrow we're off to Luxor!

Alex w/o Alex - ألكس بدون ألكس

So today we went to Alexandria, about a three-hour drive from Cairo, and right on the Mediterranean!


Alexandria


the Mediterranean


some fishers
It was here that we got applauded by a group of young boys, apparently for being from the same country as Batista, for whom they loudly proclaimed their love.


Sara and I waded into the Mediterranean - for a photo-op, not in order to escape the heat: Alexandria (or Alex, as it is called by the locals, I think) was only high 70s for the whole day. Right after this photo was taken, a little boy came up and shook my hand… and then asked for a dollar.


This is the Mosque of El-Mursi Abul Abbas. Sara had to go in a different building, because she's a girl, and they're not allowed in here (boys' club!). I also had to tip the guy I gave my shoes to. I'm pretty sure this is actually the first mosque I've ever been in.


And my favorite part was the LIBRARY (Bibliotheca Alexandrina)!!
It's amazing. The original was destroyed by the Romans in the last century BCE (we took a tour). The library we went into was built in 2003, was designed by the Norwegian architect Snøhette, and is amazing. Above is a statue of Ptolemy II (who built the original), and the facade of the modern building, which is engraved with words in over one hundred languages.


interesting sculpture inside the Bibliotheca


And this is the inside of the library proper.

And before I close: Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers!