took a little trip...

So, it's taken me about 6 or 7 days to recover, although my stomach wouldn't say that it's back to normal (i think a little bit of pharaoh's revenge). But on the whole, I'd have to say that my trip to Egypt last week was amazing. 9 days in a country that has really scene the birth of our civilization and culture. It was surreal: the pyramids, the temples, the Nile, the Souqs. Granted, I may be ruin-ed out for a little bit, but it was worth it.

I won't bore you with all the details, but I'll give you an overview of the highlights:

Cairo - the largest and most populated city in Africa, this city is bustling with life at all hours of the day. With a population of 16 million people, it's huge! We stayed right by the downtown area (Talat Harb), which is a street lined on both sides by clothing stores. Egyptians think that the best marketing strategy is to stick as many mannequins as possible in the windows. These weren't just normal mannequins, but were out of control and had the oddest expressions. It was ridiculous, but really entertaining at the same time. Traffic sucks, the city is dirty, and there are people everywhere. But it was awesome, especially in contrast to Amman.

Giza: Yep, took a stroll around the Pyramids of Giza. 2 Wonders of the World down. Giza is really incredible, really touristy though. The sphinx is spectacular as well. It's so fascinating to see these structures which were built over 4000 years ago still standing. Yes, it's a complete tourist trap, as well. Fortunately, we didn't fall into any...many...of the traps set for tourists because of our fluent arabic. Hahaha...i make myself laugh. But, we had gotten a driver through our hostel to take us to the pyramids, who then proceeded to take us to a bunch of tourist-trap places to buy rugs, or perfumes, or papyrus scrolls. It seemed like a big scheme, so we were fairly successful at not giving in.

Western Desert: Probably my favorite part of the trip. We took at 2 day/1 night camping trip out to the Western Desert and saw the Black Desert and White Desert. The views were stunning, surreal, (insert adjective here). We slept out underneath the stars. Gorgeous. Probably the best part was the Italian couple that was on our tour with us. They spoke little English, but provided for some ridiculously awkward moments.

Luxor: Located in the south of Egypt (or Upper Egypt), a lot of the ruins are located here. That’s after the 12-hour train ride to get there of course. Luxor is the Ancient city of Thebes and used to be the capital of Egypt. Hence why there are so many ruins there: The Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshetput's Temple, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple. The Valley of the Kings is incredible because the tombs still have the original paint in them (unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures).

Aswan: A really relaxing town further south ofLuxor. Saw the Aswan Dam (a huge bone of contention during the Cold War), the Phillae Temple (a temple that had been flooded by the dam and then relocated to another site). Sunset on the Nile.

Alexandria: A Mediterranean coast town. We wanted to go swimming but the weather was too cold. Still, a relaxing day towards the end of our trip hanging out by the water.

Culture: You'd think all of the Middle East would be the same. But I've found out that this stereotype is in no way true. Egyptian culture, at least towards tourists, is completely different than Jordan. Not to say that we didn't have a great time, but it was different. Whereas in Jordan you'll get a "Welcome to Jordan" or "Let me help you", in Egypt you're more likely to get hasseled than anything. Despite the fact that then language is DIFFERENT in Egypt (which completely discourages me from ever thinking I'll learn the language), we were able to pick up a little of the colloquial and get by. But even so, shopowners will yell at you from across the street to come into their stores, only to get mad at you for not buying anything when you never intended to in the first place. And baksheesh, or tips, is a huge part of the way people operate. They'll ask for it after any "service" they provide, even for something as small as giving directions. Egyptians also have a fascination with foreign women. The 4 girls that I was with got at least a couple undying love confessions and marriage proposals while we were there. And walking down the street, I got a couple "Cassanova" or "4 wives...lucky man" or my favorite "Spicy". It takes a little getting used to.

So at the end of the day, I am so glad to be back in Jordan. I've realized what a great place it is to study here. But..only a month left. It's scary to think how quickly this time has gone by. I think it might be time to actually...study? Although, who said studying was part of a study abroad experience....

You know, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx...

The White Desert. Can you guess why this one is called The Chick?

Sunrise over the White Desert. Stunning.



The Black Desert.

Luxor Temple.

Luxor's "motto". Made me laugh.


The carvings at the Phillae Temple. Still in great condition.

Sunset over the Nile in Aswan.

We went to this Sufi Dance Festival. Sufiism is a mystical sect of Islam that has its own traditions and customs. The music and dancing was really interesting. The guy in the middle here had been twirling for about 25 minutes when I took this picture...gotta give him props!

1 down, 6 to go

Seeing one of the wonders of the world is....pretty awesome. Yeah, so I hit one of those up this past weekend. Recently chosen as one of the newest wonders of the world, Petra is an gorgeous display of ancient craftmanship and artistry dating thousands of years old. It is a spectacular site that shows both the history and the culture of the ancient Nabataeans. So it was pretty cool. And the 7 hour hike to get there didn't hurt much either.

Well, backing up a bit, I went on a trip with my program down to the south of Jordan to visit Petra this past weekend. We made a stop at Karak Castle, a 2000 year old castle that is one of the largest and best Crusader castles in the region. So, basically, lots of history, lots of information. Some pretty cool photos.

Then we headed on down to Petra. We made camp at the only Bedouin camp inside Petra. Sat by the camp fire, drank some tea, climbed some rocks, slept in some tents...all the usual. The next morning is when all the fun stuff began. Waking up at 6 am, we began our hike an hour later. The sun began beating down our backs at about 7:30am. We took a back route through Petra, so not the normal route through the Siq and to the Treasury (the Treasury is the most famous part of Petra). We saw the Monestary, so called because a cross was found carved into the facade. It's actually a tomb for some important person. Most of the monuments in Petra are carved into the sandstone and mainly tombs, funerary halls, temples, etc. A little morbid, but on the whole some pretty stunning sights.

We ended up at the Treasury (see picture below). It's out of this world. The architecture and artistry is stunning. This building isn't actually a treasury, but is believed to be either a tomb or a temple. It was a great end to a really fantastic hike.

Well, the walk ended around 4 (with an hour break in the middle), but a nice little jaunt through the sandstone. But Petra is gorgeous and deserves a second visit....in shah allah I'll be able to go back. Actually headed out to Egypt in less than 24 hours for Spring Break! 9 days visiting some of the most amazing sites on Earth...gotta love it. Oh, and I'll be able to knock off another Wonder of the World too while I'm at it.

Karak Temple, one of the best preserved Crusador forts in the world...i think.

The blazing sun. Gotta love it.

The walk to the sites. Some stunning views.

A picture of the Monestary. Almost as cool as the Treasury,

and finally...the Treasury! Probably the most famous part of Petra. It's stunning...you really do have to see it.

effin cool!

And off we go. So, I never really thought it would happen. That’s until my friend began the conversation: world’s tallest building, rotating floors, indoor ski resort. How could I resist? Well, if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, then shame on you. That would be the one and only: DUBAI! And Yes, I went there this past weekend! Talk about one of the most ridiculous experiences I have ever had. Dubai is a city seeking to become the “-est” of the world: biggest, tallest, richest…anything you’d like. And frankly, I think they’re doing a damn good job of it too.

So we arrived late Wednesday night in Dubai after a 3 hour flight on Qatar Airways, probably the nicest airlines I’ve been on. Fun fact, the only pets allowed on board are seeing eye dogs and Falcons. Yes, Falcons! Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Falcons on board why we were flying. But, arrival in Dubai, get to our 4 Star Hotel (the cheapest place we were able to find), and tried to get out to see the town. Well, unbeknownst to us, Dubai night life closes around 2/3 am. It was about 2:30am, and in our attempts to find something to do we landed right in the middle of the Dubai red light district. I have absolutely no doubt that this was the red light district….believe you me, absolutely none.

Well, the next day, we decided to take a trek of “old Dubai,” or the parts of the city that actually date back to before the newest wave of “-est” (which really only goes back to about 20 years ago). We took a look at the Dubai Museum, walked along the Old Souq, Gold Souq, Spice Souq, and Textile Souq. Took an abra across the Dubai Creek. All very touristy stuff. The greatest part was that our attempts to speak Arabic were hindered by the fact that NO one in Dubai actually speaks Arabic. There are so few native “Emiratians,” with most people hailing from India, Pakistan, the Phillipines, or Africa. And European tourists as well. In fact, we actually got strange looks when we tried to speak to people in Arabic. At night, went to this great Pakistani restaurant, ate some Mater Paneer (no worries Rahul, you can tell Harsha that her’s is the best)!

The next day was time for New Dubai. After joining forces with our Australian friend (a guy we met at the hotel), we headed over to the public beach on the Persian Gulf right next to the Burj Al-Arab, the world’s only 7 star hotel (why 7 stars? Because the owner felt like it deserved 7 stars and so he gave it 7 stars). Seeing as it costs $100 to even visit the hotel, we decided that views from the beach were good enough. After that, we grabbed a taxi and headed out to the Camel Race Track (awesome, I know!!). Unfortunately, these plans were thwarted by the fact that there were no races that day… So instead, we went on over to the Atlantis Palm Hotel, located on a man-made island in the shape of a Palm Tree. Well…a pretty nice hotel I’d say. Legend has it that the hotel has underwater rooms…but I’m not sure. We then proceeded over to the Mall of the Emirates, the largest mall outside of North American. This mall is complete with 3 Starbucks, a 500-seat community theater, and yes, an indoor Ski Resort…in the middle of the DESERT!. We didn’t plan our time well or else we would have gone skiing,but it was pretty ridiculous. The on over to the Burj Dubai, the world’s largest building. It currently stands 100m taller than the previous tallest building in the world and still has 200m to go. The downtown area is still under construction and at night you can see the lights of all the cranes popping off the buildings. Another fun fact, Dubai has 25% of the world’s tall cranes.

Well, instead of spending more money on a hotel that night, we decided that it’d be a great decision to head to the airport after our night out and get an early morning flight. So, 4am we show up at the airport for our 6am flight. However, instead of going straight back to Amman, we planned a 6 hour layover in Doha, Qatar.

Doha is a really interesting city. Still under construction, the city center seems more like a ghost town than a commercial complex. I think that Doha is going for a “Dubai’s little sister” reputation. We saw the Museum of Islamic Arts, walked around one of the old Souqs, ate some more Pakistani food for breakfast, hitch-hiked with an Irish guy down to the City Center (downtown area). You know, all in a day’s work.

Then back to the airport and back to Amman. Overall, an incredible experience. Yes, Dubai is extremely opulent and offers some of the most outrageous things you could ever ask for. But then again, it’s Dubai! Could you ask for anything less?

One of the shops at the Gold Souq. Imagine blocks and blocks filled with 22kt gold like this.

My group with the Dubai skyline in the background. The tall building all the way to the right is the Burj Dubai (world's tallest building). A stunning skyline if I do say so myself.

Burj Al-Arab, world's only 7 star hotel. Complete with helicopter landing pad (all the way on the top left).

Atlantis Palm Hotel out on the Palm Islands. Looks pretty cool at night. Us and Australian friend posing down at the bottom if you can see.

Can someone say Indoor Ski Resort?

Doha City Center. (A Canadian friend we picked up along the way on the left)