Egypt, Take 2 (by Camille)

Our early December vacation corresponded with 2-3 million Muslims flying from all over the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for their once in a lifetime pilgrimage, the hajj. We saw a special hajj waiting area in the Abu Dhabi airport and large groups of old men in two pieces of white cloth or towels (the prescribed clothing for the event) standing, kneeling, and putting their heads to the ground to pray.

Newspaper articles followed the pilgrims’ progress as we moved through Egypt and Jordan. On our way back to UAE, we stumbled upon a group of at least 60 little old women wearing black robes and fluorescent green head scarves printed with “Hajj Express, Kerala India,” a mobile phone number and an email address. I imagine if an old Indian lady was lost, wandering the streets wearing the bright scarf, someone could easily get her back to Kerala. It was inspiring to see so many people making a religious journey in this day and age and to consider that this may be the last chance an old Indian woman has to get to Mecca.

Since I had visited Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan 10 years ago, I wondered if I would notice any changes. In many ways, Egypt is timeless; the pyramids, King Tut treasures, and Valley of the King tombs were as I remembered them. Not surprising since they have been around for 1,500 to 3,000 years. Subsistence farming with primitive tools and animals along the Nile did not appear different. The street food—falafel, foul, eggplant, fresh squeezed juice and koshari (strangely delicious mix of lentils, chick peas, macaroni, rice, crispy onions, and tomato sauce) —was as tasty and dirt cheap as ever. The quest for “baksheesh” from hoards of tourist touts hassling us for money seemed more annoying than ever. We felt blessed to get out of the country with only one man saying “no salam” (no peace—a play on the phrase for goodbye—ma salama) and another uninvited guide cursing me with sickness in the name of Allah (after which I accidentally said “I hate Egyptians and I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave me alone” both of which were lies but that’s what the curse drove me to).

I noticed for the first time the fairly conservative attire of Muslim women: very colorful head scarves, long sleeve shirts, and long pants or skirts. Perhaps I’m more attuned to that now that I live in a Muslim country. I noted the poverty, the sheer positive energy of crowds shopping for new clothes to celebrate Eid al Adha, the mummies that weren’t on display before, the carvings of the God of the Nile, and the fertility carvings. Our trip was full of sand, mud, geology, ancient pyramids, roman ruins, Nabateun tombs, and Christian sites. Stay tuned to hear about the characters we won’t forget: the Nubian captain, the female Pharaoh, two Egyptian guides (one invited and one uninvited), and a Bedouin oud player.