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Greetings from Cairo!
Yes, I am in Cairo at the moment. It has been fantastic in Egypt. Egypt has been the first place where I have felt totally immersed in the culture (at one point). I will tell you about all of that in just a minute... but first I need to vent a bit... I had my MSN account broken into and all of my emails from the past (who knows how long) were all completely deleted. As well, the jerk who did it supposedly also was chatting on my Messenger account with people I know and creeping them out... what's more, I don't even know if it was an isolated incident, or if they still have my password. I am pretty sure that it was due to an account left open at an internet cafe, but it could be a stolen or hacked password as well... these internet cafes in Egypt have been really dodgy at times, with all sorts of strange programs running in the background (perhaps some being keystroke logging programs which have the potential to record passwords as you type them).
Anyway, on a happier note...
I believe that the last update I had was of Madrid. I am currently uploading some videos of Madrid, Barcelona, and Amsterdam, so you can check those out while waiting for a proper picture update of Barcelona and later... click on the link at the right of "Videos" to go there and check them out.
Barcelona was fantastic. The first few nights that I was there, there were virtually no vacancies anywhere, so I was forced to book into a not-so-nice hostel for 3 nights. However, after that, I ended up at a far better one (Kabul hostel) and had a great time there. I ended up partying a little too much in Barcelona, but it was all worth it. I stayed in an area of town called La Rambla, which is the tourist area, but also a very pretty area. It is close to the harbour as well as subway stops that whisk you away to see wonderful things around the city!
I should make mention of Kim Yeun Hee, Jo's friend, who helped me tremendously while I was there. She looked after me while I was sick and generally made me feel really at home in Barcelona. She even took me out to several Korean restaurants to satiate my desire for Korean food! In general, I owe her a great deal for such a great time and for being such a great host! Thanks Yeun Hee!
After Barcelona, I headed to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is an interesting city...
Amsterdam was very cold while I was there. Well, after having gone to Brazil, it seemed like a winter wasteland. It snowed on several days while I was there. I was lucky enough to be joined by my old high school friend, Sarah. Sarah and I hadn't seen each other in years, and it was a great way to see each other again. While in Amsterdam, we took a bike tour to see a windmill, a cheese factory, a clog factory, Vondel Park, and the Dutch landscape in general. Also, we saw the Rijksmuseum (where Rembrandt's Night Watch is housed), as well as the Van Gogh museum. While I was there, there was also a sort of concert that I didn't make it out to... called Jam in the Dam. Apparently, Dark Star Orchestra was playing (a Grateful Dead tribute band). Although not viewing the interior, I also saw the Anne Frank house and the Red Light District. I may or may not have also made it out to a coffeeshop or two... ahem.
After Amsterdam, I flew into Istanbul. By this time, I was getting seriously bummed by the chronic cough that I had developped. I finally decided that it was time to make it out to a hospital and get some medical attention. The cough started in my chest and made its way eventually into my sinuses. When I went to get treated, I was x-rayed and diagnosed with sinusitis and given a massive regime of sudafed, nasal spray, and antibiotics to help out. Over 400 dollars later, I was starting to feel better. Well, not my pocketbook, that is.
Istanbul was a cool place. I had spent many days in bed resting and relaxing, while trying to recover from my cold. I began by spending 10 days in Istanbul (not Constantinople), and seeing the Blue Mosque, the Ayasophia (St. Sophia / Hayaghsophia), the Egyptian Spice market, and the Grand Bazaar. I should have seen more, but I was relaxing! After that, I was starting to feel better, and so I decided to take a tour of the west and central country. I bought a tour from my hostel owner and made it out to Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Cappadocia. Ephesus was a really impressive ruins. I will have pictures in a while... Pamukkale was a natural calcium deposit on the side of a mountain. The calcium pools were created by spring water from the volcanic mountain on which it resides. Over the years, it was visited by many people and resorts were built on top of the formations, essentially ruining it (because the hotels poured their dirty water over the sides of it, turning it an ugly brown). However, it has been restored.
Also on my tour was Cappadocia, an area famous for once being a hiding place for the early Christians. The are is COMPLETELY littered with carved caves in the sides of rock formations, some of which were homes, some of which were chapels and churches. Supposedly, this is where Paul came and also St. Luke died. In addition, on my tour, I went to the Virgin Mary house (supposedly, the area where Mary fled with Peter after Jesus' death and the house where she was reputed to have lived her final days in). Cappadocia was amazing. The rock formations and ruins were totally amazing, and to think that thousands of people once lived in the caves there was mindblowing.
After I got back from the tour of Turkey, I spent one more day in Istanbul and saw the Cistern underneath the Blue mosque area. A definite must-see if you ever get there. I completely walked right by it the first 10 days that I was there!
Anyway, after Turkey, I flew into Cairo. Egypt at first was totally disconcerning, because I had begun to feel very skeptical of anyone wanting to be friendly (from the sly business practices of Turkey). It is pretty similar in Egypt (how everyone will do just about anything to get your business and charge jacked-up prices to the unwise). Anyway, I met someone who I though for sure was trying to scam my, but he ended up being a fantastic person. For anonymity reasons, I will refrain from using his name. He was super nice and took me back to his village of Abu-Sir. There, he introduced me to his family and even insisted that I stay at his place for the night. While there, he and I rode out to the ancient (Abu-Sir) pyramids late at night and were able to go right up close and take a bunch of pictures. We also got to go in and explore the pyramids. The next day, he also took me to the Egyptian museum where I saw mummies and all of the surviving antiquities (that weren't stolen by other countries). After that, we rode out to the Giza pyramids on camel back, after hours and got some fantastic pictures there.
Following my fantastic time in Cairo, I got on a tour to see the south of Egypt. I took a night train down to Aswan, and took a day trip to see Abu-Simbel and Philae Temples. Following this, I hopped on a fellucca (an Egyptian sailboat) and cruised up the Nile for 2 days and 2 nights, sleeping on the boats, anchored at the side of the river. At night, we would start a fire and sit around and sing and dance and listen to the amazing Bedouin songs of our captain and deckhands.
From Luxor, we saw Komombo and Edfu temples, as well as the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut Temple, and various other Egyptian goodies. I then took the train back to Cairo, and here I am!
PHEW!
Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you feel more in the loop. I should have some pictures soon... ah heck, I dunno when the pictures are coming. I shouldn't give any false hope. I will try...
Miss you all, and hope to hear from you by email soon!
Ben
Yes, I am in Cairo at the moment. It has been fantastic in Egypt. Egypt has been the first place where I have felt totally immersed in the culture (at one point). I will tell you about all of that in just a minute... but first I need to vent a bit... I had my MSN account broken into and all of my emails from the past (who knows how long) were all completely deleted. As well, the jerk who did it supposedly also was chatting on my Messenger account with people I know and creeping them out... what's more, I don't even know if it was an isolated incident, or if they still have my password. I am pretty sure that it was due to an account left open at an internet cafe, but it could be a stolen or hacked password as well... these internet cafes in Egypt have been really dodgy at times, with all sorts of strange programs running in the background (perhaps some being keystroke logging programs which have the potential to record passwords as you type them).
Anyway, on a happier note...
I believe that the last update I had was of Madrid. I am currently uploading some videos of Madrid, Barcelona, and Amsterdam, so you can check those out while waiting for a proper picture update of Barcelona and later... click on the link at the right of "Videos" to go there and check them out.
Barcelona was fantastic. The first few nights that I was there, there were virtually no vacancies anywhere, so I was forced to book into a not-so-nice hostel for 3 nights. However, after that, I ended up at a far better one (Kabul hostel) and had a great time there. I ended up partying a little too much in Barcelona, but it was all worth it. I stayed in an area of town called La Rambla, which is the tourist area, but also a very pretty area. It is close to the harbour as well as subway stops that whisk you away to see wonderful things around the city!
I should make mention of Kim Yeun Hee, Jo's friend, who helped me tremendously while I was there. She looked after me while I was sick and generally made me feel really at home in Barcelona. She even took me out to several Korean restaurants to satiate my desire for Korean food! In general, I owe her a great deal for such a great time and for being such a great host! Thanks Yeun Hee!
After Barcelona, I headed to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is an interesting city...
Amsterdam was very cold while I was there. Well, after having gone to Brazil, it seemed like a winter wasteland. It snowed on several days while I was there. I was lucky enough to be joined by my old high school friend, Sarah. Sarah and I hadn't seen each other in years, and it was a great way to see each other again. While in Amsterdam, we took a bike tour to see a windmill, a cheese factory, a clog factory, Vondel Park, and the Dutch landscape in general. Also, we saw the Rijksmuseum (where Rembrandt's Night Watch is housed), as well as the Van Gogh museum. While I was there, there was also a sort of concert that I didn't make it out to... called Jam in the Dam. Apparently, Dark Star Orchestra was playing (a Grateful Dead tribute band). Although not viewing the interior, I also saw the Anne Frank house and the Red Light District. I may or may not have also made it out to a coffeeshop or two... ahem.
After Amsterdam, I flew into Istanbul. By this time, I was getting seriously bummed by the chronic cough that I had developped. I finally decided that it was time to make it out to a hospital and get some medical attention. The cough started in my chest and made its way eventually into my sinuses. When I went to get treated, I was x-rayed and diagnosed with sinusitis and given a massive regime of sudafed, nasal spray, and antibiotics to help out. Over 400 dollars later, I was starting to feel better. Well, not my pocketbook, that is.
Istanbul was a cool place. I had spent many days in bed resting and relaxing, while trying to recover from my cold. I began by spending 10 days in Istanbul (not Constantinople), and seeing the Blue Mosque, the Ayasophia (St. Sophia / Hayaghsophia), the Egyptian Spice market, and the Grand Bazaar. I should have seen more, but I was relaxing! After that, I was starting to feel better, and so I decided to take a tour of the west and central country. I bought a tour from my hostel owner and made it out to Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Cappadocia. Ephesus was a really impressive ruins. I will have pictures in a while... Pamukkale was a natural calcium deposit on the side of a mountain. The calcium pools were created by spring water from the volcanic mountain on which it resides. Over the years, it was visited by many people and resorts were built on top of the formations, essentially ruining it (because the hotels poured their dirty water over the sides of it, turning it an ugly brown). However, it has been restored.
Also on my tour was Cappadocia, an area famous for once being a hiding place for the early Christians. The are is COMPLETELY littered with carved caves in the sides of rock formations, some of which were homes, some of which were chapels and churches. Supposedly, this is where Paul came and also St. Luke died. In addition, on my tour, I went to the Virgin Mary house (supposedly, the area where Mary fled with Peter after Jesus' death and the house where she was reputed to have lived her final days in). Cappadocia was amazing. The rock formations and ruins were totally amazing, and to think that thousands of people once lived in the caves there was mindblowing.
After I got back from the tour of Turkey, I spent one more day in Istanbul and saw the Cistern underneath the Blue mosque area. A definite must-see if you ever get there. I completely walked right by it the first 10 days that I was there!
Anyway, after Turkey, I flew into Cairo. Egypt at first was totally disconcerning, because I had begun to feel very skeptical of anyone wanting to be friendly (from the sly business practices of Turkey). It is pretty similar in Egypt (how everyone will do just about anything to get your business and charge jacked-up prices to the unwise). Anyway, I met someone who I though for sure was trying to scam my, but he ended up being a fantastic person. For anonymity reasons, I will refrain from using his name. He was super nice and took me back to his village of Abu-Sir. There, he introduced me to his family and even insisted that I stay at his place for the night. While there, he and I rode out to the ancient (Abu-Sir) pyramids late at night and were able to go right up close and take a bunch of pictures. We also got to go in and explore the pyramids. The next day, he also took me to the Egyptian museum where I saw mummies and all of the surviving antiquities (that weren't stolen by other countries). After that, we rode out to the Giza pyramids on camel back, after hours and got some fantastic pictures there.
Following my fantastic time in Cairo, I got on a tour to see the south of Egypt. I took a night train down to Aswan, and took a day trip to see Abu-Simbel and Philae Temples. Following this, I hopped on a fellucca (an Egyptian sailboat) and cruised up the Nile for 2 days and 2 nights, sleeping on the boats, anchored at the side of the river. At night, we would start a fire and sit around and sing and dance and listen to the amazing Bedouin songs of our captain and deckhands.
From Luxor, we saw Komombo and Edfu temples, as well as the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut Temple, and various other Egyptian goodies. I then took the train back to Cairo, and here I am!
PHEW!
Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you feel more in the loop. I should have some pictures soon... ah heck, I dunno when the pictures are coming. I shouldn't give any false hope. I will try...
Miss you all, and hope to hear from you by email soon!
Ben
posted by Ben Norris at
10:06 a.m.
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