December 6, 2008
I’m in Africa! Today was quite a day – at the bus at 5:30 am, and we didn’t get to our hotel until 10:30 pm. This is the sunrise we saw on the Ascent of Adumim, on the way out of Jerusalem. Actually, you can see the Dead Sea in this one.
As we were driving we saw an island just off the coast with the remains of a crusader castle on it, I think. Very picturesque. That’s apparently one possibility for the location of Solomon’s fleet in the Red Sea (Biblical Elath).
Our only real “stop” of the day was at the Red Sea, on the Egyptian side of the border. We got to swim for a bit, which was fun. One more ocean to add to my list! Plus we got to see lion fish in the water. (You can't see it too well in the picture, but it's there!)
I need to check tides, though, because I’m guessing there isn’t much of one there. The water was really still. After swimming we went to lunch at Sol y Mer, Sea Star, at the Captain’s Table. It was pretty good food. I even tried a stuffed crab. It was cute. I think I may have had real crab meat before, but never in recognizable form. Pretty exciting.
Then we drove across the Sinai Peninsula. It was pretty barren, and fairly flat much of the way. I admit it – I slept. Still, I saw parts and was glad that I didn’t have to wander there for 40 years.
Finally, probably around 6pm, we made it to the Suez Canal and actually drove under it. We got into Cairo itself around 8. It’s a city of around 20 million. (Egypt has a total population of 80 million). I think that would qualify it as the largest city I’ve been in. Hmm…then again…well, I’d have to check, but at least it’s close. Dr. Wright said that the number of people who work the night shift here is greater than the number of people in Chicago. So, it’s a big place. And busy. It’s nearly midnight as I write and it sounds like rush-hour traffic outside. Egypt is 15% Christian. Fairly large Coptic group, I would guess. We got to our restaurant (a boat on the Nile) around 9:00. Good dinner. And now it’s nearly bedtime.
(This is the boat we ate on, on the right side of the picture. You can see the lights of the city reflected in the Nile to the left.)A few first-impressions of Africa/Egypt.
- Lots of Arabic! I wish I could read it and/or understand it orally, even a little bit.
- Fortunately, the heat hasn’t been bad, though I did notice that the boarder crossing was warmer than Jerusalem. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.
- Traffic is crazy
- I saw a bus/van/something with headlights that change color like fiber-optic decorations. Apparently, they don’t like to use their headlights all the time, so the colors were only noticeable when the headlights were off.
- As we were driving, I could see clearly into a men’s bathroom…fortunately no men in at the time. Curtains are good, yes?
- It’s really a good distance from Jerusalem to Cairo.
- I’m always amazed at the western influence in these Muslim countries. I suppose the ones I’ve been to so far are fairly westernized, but the clothing one sees in stores is really not all the much more modest than clothing in America. I suppose the main difference is that girls wear it but cover it up when in public. Maybe?
- Minarets and mosques are odd. They are often beautiful buildings, but at night they are lit up by neon green lights. It just strikes a discordant note to me.
- I kept seeing small vehicles with huge amounts of luggage stacked on top. Will have to try to get a picture.
- I’m sure I’ll add more tomorrow, but right now I need sleep!
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