Egypt

EGYPT
Cairo. Hazy air, mostly brown buildings, clogged traffic, occasional lovely architecture. Then there’s Maadi, where the fortunate—lots of expats—live: shady, tree-lined streets with a suburban feel. Shops and clubs and American restaurants. Villas with gardens. Very pleasant. Across town lie the ancient wonder of the Pyramids, guarded by the Sphinx, which we discover has a tail curled round back. This is a land of contrasts, a monumental place.

All four Moores are here and joined by K's sister = Aunt Margaret, and Tom's twin Tim and wife Cathy, who live in Cairo.

The overnight train takes us south to Aswan. Tom, Ben, Cam and their Uncle Tim get up at 3 am to travel in a convoy to Abu Simbel.

The ladies stay behind to [sleep and] visit the Nubian Museum, and have lunch overlooking the Nile at the historic Old Cataract Hotel. The roads, plied by horse-drawn carriages seem as if lined with touts, wanting us to ride or buy from them. We take a Felucca (sailboat) ride at sunset on the Nile—so lovely. The boatman points out an ancient monastery carved in the rocks and Aga Khan’s tomb, and he sings a Nubian song to us. Night has fallen and there is a full moon. Tom and I dance with him to his music.

On to Luxor, stopping at three temples on the way, including the Temple of Horus and another to a local crocodile god. One is so well preserved that you are able to see the riotously colorful and lavish decorations—I found myself thinking that if it hadn’t been fading for 5000 years the color scheme would have given me a headache.

In Luxor we see the ancient temples (layers of Greek, Roman and Pharaonic) at Karnak one day and then climb aboard donkeys to visit the Valley of the Kings the next. What a marvelous way to travel—slow enough to see the world, and surprisingly comfortable. Egyptian donkeys are easy to get off and on (well, OK, in theory--we were not graceful about it and did actually fall a couple of times).

We start off down the road, being passed by local cars and tour buses, detouring around minibuses stopped to load and unload passengers. Then it was off on trails up and over a ridge, walking the animals in the steep or narrow parts, and taking in the sweeping view of the Nile. We leave the donkeys with the ~12 year old boy who is our guide, and descend into the valley.

We pay the hefty entrance fee and learn it will gain us access to three tombs. Tutankhamun’s (empty) would be an extra $18 and we decline. We pick three tombs and join tourists from all over the world inside them. All the treasures they contained have long since been removed to museums, but the size and age and the very idea of the pharaohs are all stunning. Amazingly, some of the paint that decorated the tombs yet remains.

We also have Christmas at Luxor, exchange presents we've lugged from various corners of the globe, and partake of a feast at our hotel, with belly dancing and a twirling sufi-esque dancer.

The next day, we leave Luxor, turning away from the Nile and westward into the desert. An 8 hour taxi ride gets us to Dakhla: a medieval Islamic settlement and oasis capital built on Roman foundations. During the ride we pass a police checkpoint every 30 kilometers or so. Each time the driver reports “4 Americans,” chit chats a bit and moves on. Twice we had police escorts for some miles, and once we were instructed not to take pictures (couldn't see why). For miles on end there is nothing—not a tree or visible plant. It is not all flat—there are hills and dramatic outcroppings of stone. As we near the oasis occasional green fields and tiny villages appear. A sign leaving one says in English, “Goodbye and Good Luck”; the desert opens beyond. But good luck does have us reach Dakhla and the four-star Desert Lodge. Wow! Atop a high (1000 feet?) ridge, with a commanding view of the oasis, the Desert Lodge is a classy, ecologically sound place built of local materials and beautifully decorated with stones and plants, weavings, brass lamps. Outdoors there is a 6 X 6’ chess board (the boys play), several terraces to view sunset and S*T*A*R*S, and a rock-lined path to the hot spring pool. Ahhhh. The rooms have date palm beams, tasteful lighting and Arabic calligraphy on the walls—no TVs. The food is Egyptian and actually excellent—unlike other we had. At night the heavens are so there—a star-studded ceiling featuring the Milky Way. Should you crave total quiet and relaxation, this is the place. And there is a weekly flight from Cairo...

But it’s back to Cairo, this time an 11 hour taxi ride north, passing through two other oases with several hundred kilometers in between. The bus would have taken several hours longer… The desert changes—there are mountains of sand, and some dunes. The road is not straight. The signs are surprisingly good, warning of curves, railroad tracks, the distance to the next town. We have time to ponder:

• Egrets in rice fields—even in the oases—how do they get there?


• There are clouds in the desert--ditto

We pass hills and great mesas—sand colored, some areas with black on top, one stretch for several miles all white, and dotted with great white towers--pillars—of white stone. It’s like another planet. In one sand colored area there is a band of white along either side of the road, reminiscent of a snow-plowed roadway—it looks like salt but we learn later it is limestone. A closer look as we stop at one of the checkpoints reveals chips and slabs that look like the marble-like bricks that some houses are built of here. All limestone.

But the desert gives way to Cairo. The last two hours of the ride are just crossing Cairo. We learn later that Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting Giza, and that he is to blame for some of the traffic clog.

We stay in Cairo only briefly, bidding goodbye to Aunt Margaret. How sad it is to leave family you have just gotten used to having around again! Ben will be next, but we have two days in Alexandria yet…

ALEXANDRIA—a city to fall in love with (and in, no doubt).
The view from the train coming in from Cairo two hours away starts out with dense, brick and concrete multi-storey buildings and trash heaps, that give way to increasingly green fields and some water buffalo, dotted with Sideshow Bob palms. Alexandria curves around its long Corniche (seafront) walkway—its signature. It is the site of the Pharos lighthouse, ancient wonder of the world that was repeatedly repaired but finally fell down in the 15th century, and witness to the offshore island where Cleopatra and Mark Anthony committed suicide together.

Ben and Cam got to scuba dive in and just outside Alexandria Harbor. They saw two sphinx statues that were remnants of Cleopatra’s palace, an Italian World War II plane, Roman columns, ancient Roman and Greek pottery, and Pharaonic temple ruins. Wow. We had our best Egyptian mezze meal there (also our cheapest at 30 pounds = $6 for four people!) then spent nearly that much for three ice creams at a fancy patisserie. We basked in the great service at Le Metropole, an elegant 1930s French Hotel just off the Corniche.

The last day of our trip--and our time together--we spend walking around Alexandria and scouting for souvenirs. Where these are impossible to avoid in Cairo, they are actually hard to find in Alexandria.

The train to Cairo brings us to the inevitable departure. The boys—Cam at 18 ½ ,with full beard and a furrowed brow, will be off to Africa next week on a mission to set up a drug rehabilitation program. Ben, neat and strong and focused at 20, goes back to UCLA and a foreign service career path. Tom and I to Beirut, T an artist at helping children blossom and learn, K to a demanding new job she’s not sure she’s equipped to do. Lebanon seems very appealing to us after Egypt, though: no demands for baksheesh, unfailing shopkeeper honesty, and good food!

Syria!

Ben arrived Friday evening (alas, sans suitcase) and Saturday morning we were off to Damascus, visa confirmations in hand. [First photo is Cam and Ben on Beirut's corniche]

Border formalities took time—exiting Lebanon, entering Syria, through numerous checkpoints and under concrete archways festooned with large pictures of Bashir Assad, President of Syria (and son of former President Hafez Assad). We got great stamps in our passports—five actual paper stamps stamped with rubber stamps on top. We have only 24 hours in Syria, out of Ben’s 3 ½ days in the Levant… We leave for Egypt Tuesday!

Immediately the scenery is different from Lebanon: incredibly rocky and almost lunar. Much less green. It seems poorer than Lebanon, less modern and way less cosmopolitan. But, as in Lebanon, people are outstandingly friendly and hospitable, which is truly a wonderful thing.

Ben went into an Internet café and sat down at a computer that said “this computer has been blacklisted.” An hour of internet use was $1. When he tried to get into Facebook he got a message saying the site could not be found. The café worker noticed his difficulty and came over to help. I remembered that Syria had banned Facebook... The worker came to Ben’s machine and tapped into an Asian (Chinese?) program that broke the encryption and allowed it to run. That’s life in Syria.

We spent most of our short visit in the Old City, especially the extensive souk. It is a lovely place, with high vaulted ceilings and chandeliers, several mosques, Roman ruins, a church or two, and lots and lots of things to buy and to eat. One mosque is the marvelous Umayyad Mosque, the third most holy site of Islam after Mecca and Medina. Worship at this location dates back to the 9th century. The existing building was previously a temple to Baal and then Jupiter, and then a Christian church. It is said to hold John the Baptist’s head, as well as that of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. It is popular with Iranian visitors, as it is a Shia mosque. A sweet Iranian lady in black started talking to me and asked why Bush hates Iran? She said she loved American people. I cried. Her mother blessed me and kissed me; she smelled of rose water.

A billboard advertises: Sham Wings Airlines. (I think Sham is another name for Syria).

A fine adventure, but we were happy to get back to Lebanon.

Tom and I will come back to Syria someday, but to the north—Aleppo and Krak de Chevaliers—as we had hoped to over Thanksgiving break.

UN Security

[K] They’ve put me through three different security trainings, and counting. The first day, before visiting the Nahr el Barad Camp, I had a short briefing that I thought was all I needed. It included instruction in identifying UXOs, that’s unexploded ordnance, and what to do if I should find any (tell the Army). I had no idea what a big deal it was that I was allowed to visit the refugee camp that first day without passing the Basic Security Training and Advanced Security Training Courses, and getting supplied with a cell phone and VHF radio. I spent the next two days in the Beirut office getting those things done.

The training courses are computer-based and interactive. They are really well done, and apparently used for UN staff all over the world. They cover safety of all types, and include car and convoy travel, hotels, survival techniques, and assorted tips like don’t use cell phones near a suspected bomb…

In the UNRWA offices (in the Quality Inn in Tripoli about 10 miles away from the camp; the old offices are inaccessible), one has to sign in and out of the office and say you are going, and when in the camp, one has to keep in radio contact every 30 minutes. I was given a list of radio abbreviations for the different locations. I still have yet to take a more detailed radio training. Should you wish to dial me up on your VHF radio, just call me Bravo William 936.

What a gig

[Tom]

Now that I am firmly ensconced in my position as a special education teacher in an international school I have time to write. The school is not a typical international school in that most of the students are Lebanese, and rich Lebanese at that. The school has a mix of Christian, Sunni, and Shia. A lot of foreign embassies that allow families to accompany their employees send their kids to the school. America does not allow embassy employed families to live here.

The job itself is different than any I have had. It is more of a learning support position rather than providing services just for students with learning disabilities. The elementary school, where I work, is an excellent environment in which to work. The principal is strong, honest, and fair. I really enjoy the little ones.

The school is just a block from the Corniche and the Mediterranean. The Corniche is a seaside walkway that is beautiful to walk down. The school has about 950 students K-12. I understand that the environment in the middle school and especially the high school is chaotic and suffers from a lack of positive leadership. I feel lucky. In all I am having fun and learning a lot. I feel what I have to say is heard and acted upon. We are truly enjoying ourselves.

Nahr el Barad

My first day of work at UNWRA, I got to visit Nahr el Barad and Beddawi refugee camps. Nahr el Barad is the one that was completely destroyed by fighting earlier this year between a Palestinian splinter group and the Lebanese Army. It is also where I’ll be working, eventually. For now, there are so few standing buildings that the UNRWA office is in a hotel in Tripoli, about 15 minutes drive away.

Ninety percent of the camp was destroyed, displacing 30,000 people, most of whom fled to the already overcrowded Beddawi camp, about 10 miles away. Others took refuge in schools and mosques.

A recent article in The Guardian describing the camp, says: “Most of the large apartment buildings at the camp have been shredded to their foundations, […buckled] under the weight of giant floor slabs, others collapsed entirely…Bullet holes pepper every face of the ruined landscape… Many walls have been blown away to reveal gutted houses, with charred, splintered furniture dangling over the mess below… The wreckage of luxury cars, now burnt and twisted, recall the prosperity enjoyed by some in Nahr el Barad before the siege…” People who had lived here for many years, were allowed to take only one bag with them when they left.

After the fighting stopped, the looting began. There is nothing left. The Lebanese Army, after checking houses for unexploded ordnance, often blew up the houses.

Before reconstruction can begin, almost 1,000,000 square yards of rubble need to be removed, which will cost $10 million. Fortunately, international donors responded to an emergency appeal and funds are available.

Only 1,000 families have been allowed to return. But they have returned to terribly substandard housing. A contractor hired to build a new six storey apartment block has not gotten windows installed in three of the floors, in December, after months of work. The roof leaks, sending water all the way down to the first floor. I could see cracks between the cinder block walls of the new building. At least, after our visit, heavy plastic, hammers and nails were ordered to be immediately provided for those apartments without windows.

In another area of the camp, residents in some hastily constructed dwellings complained of flooding and no hot water. What they didn’t complain about, or what I didn’t hear, were complaints of schools yet to open for their children, no jobs for the adults, and, of course, no future.

Reconstruction is painfully slow. In order to be accountable to donors, there is a strict procurement process: 1) create budget, 2) get it approved, 3) put items needed up for bid, 4) wait for contractors to bid, 5) get bank guarantees for contractors, 6) evaluate bids at the main office (Beirut), 7) get signatures on contracts, 8) mobilize contractors. And then, as seen in the leaky roofs, monitor every step of the way.

There is money approved to build 1500 temporary houses, but the Lebanese government has not made any land available; the army wants the refugees to stay in a confined area, so land choices are very limited.

The camp borders the Mediterranean, along which I will travel an hour each day to work.

***

In a MUCH lighter vein, here are some signs I have seen along the way and around Beirut:

• Internet Romance Cave (just outside Beddawi Camp)
• Gentle Bag
• Nails and roots (a beauty shop, of course)
• Look and Like
• Rocky Nuts
• I believe in Bata [shoes] Noel

And a fave: the headquarters of Electricite du Liban, with almost half the neon letters dark.


P.S. Still no president!!

Tripoli, and Lebanon update

We were hoping to go to Syria for Thanksgiving weekend but our visas didn't come through in time.

Aleppo it ain’t, but we had a nice overnight excursion to Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city. We took a minibus 1 ½ hours north of Beirut, along the coast. Wider streets, some even tree-lined. Less chaotic and crowded than Beirut. More Arabic and Moslem. Sidewalks wide enough to walk three abreast—impossible in Beirut. The only parking meters we’ve seen in Lebanon. One street reminiscent of San Francisco, with elaborately detailed three- and four-storey row houses. It had lights hung across the street, presumably for Christmas (a holiday celebrated by many non-Christians worldwide). Tripoli's old city dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and has a great souk (covered shopping) area, adjacent to the Grand Mosque, dating from 1294, and distinctive in alternating black and sand colored stones.

The citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles sits atop a hill, towering over downtown and the port. The original castle was built in 1102, but has been burnt down on several occasions, beginning in 1289. We climbed up several winding sets of stairs to reach it. There is no longer any admission charge, and while apparently still open to the public it has become, once again, an army/police outpost. A nice camou-clad soldier offered me his hand to help me up a steep spot, and a police officer showed us a few points of interest, including a 19th century elevator and a dark staircase that went down, down, down, farther than any of us, including him, wished to go.

As we looked out over the city we could see flocks of pigeons circling, being exerciesed by their keepers. We have seen this too, in Beirut, but not from such a marveous vantage pooint. The sun was setting into the sea, and behind us, the full moon was rising...

Later we had a nice mezze meal (sans arak--no alcohol can be served within a considerable distance of a mosque in this town). We stayed in a hotel that was essentailly four bedrooms of a family home on the second floor. The next day, as we left, the very nice lady running the place presented us with spinach pastries hot from the oven...

*******************
Back in Beirut, we found emails from concerned friends in the US, worried about us and curious what will become of us if war breaks out. Things are calm—streets are filled with regular daily comings and goings, all the shops are open and full of people and all the usual things for sale, the ubiquitous construction projects (both new construction and rehabbing old buildings) goes on, seven days a week. There is still much hope that peace will continue to prevail. The president's term has expired and the army is now more or less in control. The army commander is well respected by all and the army itself is not feared. Here is Tom’s summary of the situation: It is at an impasse. There is no president and we are still waiting for an agreement on a candidate everyone can support. The big problem is that egos get in the way.

Should the situation deteriorate and violence break out, we would be evacuated, by sea. We are about 10 blocks from the Mediterranean, and this part of town is very unlikely to be a hot spot. It is nice to know we wouldn't have to go through town to get to the airport. Last year when the Israelis bombed Beirut, Americans boarded some kind of boat and were taken to a U.S. military base in Turkey, and flown to Atlanta a few days later.

Election drama

Here are today’s headlines from a local online news source (www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf):

• March 14 [Anti-Syrian Christian/Sunni faction] No to Aoun's [Maronite Christian] Proposal and for Presidential Elections
• Erdogan Calls Assad over Lebanon [that’s the Prime Minister of Turkey calling the President of Syria]
• Hariri [March 14 faction] fails to convince Aoun of Concensus Candidate Following Phone Call by [French President] Sarkozy
• Verbal Quarrel Between Aoun and Berri [Shiite head of parliament]
• Foreign Envoys in Last-Minute Talks in Hopes of Salvaging Presidential Elections
• Lahoud [lame duck president that nobody likes, pro-Syrian]: Remnant of Syrian Hegemony
• U.N. Chief Fears 'Confrontation' if No Lebanon Agreement Reached
• Russia Hopes Lebanon Will Elect New President
• Rice to Syria: Better Ties with U.S. for Free Lebanon Elections
• MP Franjieh [also March 14 faction]: A New Era in the Region if Presidential Elections Fail

But it's a bright and sunny day in Beirut...