Egypt & the Suez Canal

I am writing to you from the narrow passageway of the Suez Canal! There are only about 150 of us who are making the transit on the ship through the canal. The others are off frolicking around Egypt. A tough decision to make… to stay in Egypt and find your way to Alexandria on your own, or experience something that not many people do – transit the Suez canal on a ship! Joe and I chose to do the trip not only because it seemed pretty intriguing, but also because some of our favorite people are here on the ship with us. Making the trip up the Suez definitely marks a pretty significant point in our voyage… venturing into the Mediterranean Sea makes it seem like we’re approaching the beginning of the end of our voyage, but I’m trying not to think about it that way.
Anyway – going through the canal should take anywhere from 12 to 18 hours. We started in the line-up of ships at about 10:00am, so we’ll be watching it unfold all day and into the evening. There are a series of three locks in the canal, but I’m told that one can’t really tell when the ship is in one. As I look out off the back deck of the ship I see a vast desert to the west and the city of Port Suez to the east. It is incredible and surreal to be here.
Speaking of surreal experiences, Egypt has – for me – been one of the most unreal ports we’ve arrived in. The history and culture is so ancient, it is difficult to wrap my brain around how OLD everything is!!! Joe and I went on a two-day Semester at Sea trip into Cairo, which was about an hour & a half away from where our ship was docked. It felt like we were traveling through the southwest – the desert is so vast here, but I’m not used to seeing the desert rolling into a great big sea. The Red Sea provides a lot of blue in contrast to the endless dust, brown and orange earth of Egypt.
The first sight of the pyramids in the distance once we arrived in Cairo was absolutely unbelievable. The pyramids are the only wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence. They are over 4500 – forty five HUNDRED – years old. The first pyramid we visited is called the Step Pyramid because (shockingly, I know) it was built in the shape of large steps. The construction of the pyramids is mind-blowing; particularly considering the wheel had not even been brought to Egypt at the time of the pyramid construction. Most of the granite stone blocks used to construct the pyramids ranged from about two to fifteen TONS. Until the 19th century, the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest building in the world! Anyway – we visited the Step Pyramid, and then went to the Egyptian museum which was almost as fascinating as the Hong Kong museum. I’ll spare you museum details, but – again – absolutely incredible to think about how intricate, beautiful and detailed all of the artifacts, jewelry and tombs were… I was blown away.
In the evening we went to “The Sound & Light Show” at the Great Pyramids. This is something that sounded incredibly hokey and cheesy, so I wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t understand why something so historically amazing needed a sound and light show, BUT… just as expectations always help to change your perspective, we actually truly enjoyed the show! It was definitely Vegas-esque, but it was well done, very informative, and illuminated (literally & figuratively) the intrigue of the pyramids. We were very much looking forward to seeing the pyramids at sunrise the following morning.
Our wake-up call was at 4:15 the next morning, so we were a little groggy. The pyramids were located very close to our hotel, so we didn’t have far to travel for the sunrise. In fact, I was shocked to see how close modern civilization bumps up next to the pyramids. It’s an odd sight to be out in the streets of Giza and feel like you can reach out and touch the pyramids.
The sunrise was incredible. They had arranged a special sunrise experience for us at the pyramids, so our Semester at Sea group was the only group there. I won’t try to describe it… Joe has some sweet pictures of it. We spent the entire morning roaming around the three main pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. We were also lucky enough to be one of 100 people per day to go into the Great Pyramid. It was almost like being in a cave at first, then we had to shimmy through a claustrophobic tunnel up into one of the shafts that leads to the top of the pyramid. We got to stand in the room where the king’s tomb once lay… is that amazing?!? It felt very spiritual to me. The echoes of the past were definitely present.
After leaving the pyramids, we went to one of the local shopping bazaars in Islamic Cairo. The markets are always one of the most culturally interesting places to me… you really get a sense of the day to day life of Egyptians. It’s very powerful to be going about your daily business, and then to hear the “call to prayer” for the Muslim community. It was very interesting for me to be in a Muslim country after studying Islam and the Qu’ran in grad school. The Middle East is not somewhere I ever thought I’d be… but now that I’m here, I realize what I already knew – that the Middle East is not the stereotypes we hear on the news and in the media of the west. They are beautiful, wonderful amazing people whose culture has not been overly tainted by western influences. While I definitely struggled to comprehend the oppression against women (through my western lenses) and the widespread military presence, I also gained a respect for the conservatism of dress and culture and the importance of religion in everyday life.
Joe and I spent one more night and day in Cairo before returning to the ship late last night. What a great city. We could have stayed longer, but we are off to Alexandria! By late tonight, we’ll be in the Mediterranean Sea!!!
LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!
Shout-outs:
JOY & JOE’S PARENTAL UNITS: Thanks for being such avid readers of our blog and for commenting so often… we love it!!
CRISTINA – We finally got your card from China – thank you, thank you!!
SARAH & DANNY – No worries about Croatia – we totally understand. You will be missed, though!! We’ll have to plan a different international adventure together!
TNT FRIENDS – KICK SOME BUTT out there in all of your training & events. You’ll have to help whip Joe & I back into shape when we get home. My longest stint on the elliptical machine is about 20 minutes and I’ve only been on the treadmill twice. DOH!
HEIDI & THE PROGRAMS CREW – I miss you guys!!! Hope all is well at C8!!