Egypt. Cradle of Civilization. Land of the Pharaohs. Home of the Mighty Nile.
Anyone who understands the significance of Egypt and comes home from a trip unimpressed is either lying or blind. No, they would have to be lying because even the blind can feel the almost tangible air of magnificence and grandeur in the countless tombs, temples, and pyramids of Ancient Egypt. From the halls of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the tombs of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, the amount of history one can take in over the course of just a week can be overwhelming. A 5,000 year-old vase here, a 4,000 year-old sarcophagus there, and soon enough, our hometown of Los Angeles seems more and more like an embryo compared to the lifespan of modern-day Egypt.
Cliched hype of Egypt's wonders aside, I came away from our week in Egypt with a couple of different impressions of its modern society.
Clamor. Maybe it was an after-effect of the Arab Spring revolution, but it seemed as if everything in Egypt was clamoring for attention. The painted pillars of Luxor's temples. The bright lights of nighttime Cairo. The ever-honking horns of drivers all around. And not just attention, but money as well. The street vendors selling everything and anything from shoes to tissue paper. The touts promising to lead you to private entrances of museums. The man who owned a horse-drawn carriage and was willing to wait for you to finish lunch to offer you a ride. In a nation whose economy depends so much on tourism, it was heart-wrenching at times to see the desperation of vendors, agents, touts, etc., especially with the huge drop in tourist-revenue after Arab Spring. Answering the clamor for attention (and inherently money), even for just a second, translated into 5-10 minutes of "no thank yous" and "maybe laters", usually ending in disappointment. So often we were reminded by taxi drivers and hostel owners that the country was stable and fine and that we should tell our friends to visit Egypt. No doubt bargaining became harder when you realized that an extra dollar or two would go much farther in Egypt than it would back home.
Clash. I can't list all the mind-boggling juxtapositions and stark contrasts that jumped out at me in our week in Egypt. The fully-veiled Muslim women strolling past racy lingerie stores. Men talking on smartphones outside of thousand year-old mosques. Historical treasures piled on makeshift shelves when any one of them would have garnered its own exhibit in any other country. It's been interesting to catch a glimpse of how Egypt has been getting in sync with modern times. It seems as though Egypt is fighting hard to hold on to some traditions while other parts of its past are being neglected. All throughout, women in hijabs and men in galabiyas fully reminded us of Egypt's Islamic culture and past. On the flip side, I remember thinking how sad it was that so many artifacts in the Egyptian museum were left lying around haphazardly without descriptions, seemingly forgotten. I wondered what the pharaohs would think upon seeing their carefully guarded tombs left open and their mummies crowded together on display.
I'm certain I'll miss seeing something historical around every street corner as well as having decent shawarma just about whenever I want. With this week over in a blink of an eye and only a handful of sights seen, I'm pretty sure I'll be back in Egypt one day. As for the future, Moussa, our hostel driver, noted that Egypt has all the resources needed to be an affluent country- arable land, water, oil, and of course, tourists. With a new president in office, it will be exciting to see where Egypt is headed.
Anyone who understands the significance of Egypt and comes home from a trip unimpressed is either lying or blind. No, they would have to be lying because even the blind can feel the almost tangible air of magnificence and grandeur in the countless tombs, temples, and pyramids of Ancient Egypt. From the halls of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the tombs of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, the amount of history one can take in over the course of just a week can be overwhelming. A 5,000 year-old vase here, a 4,000 year-old sarcophagus there, and soon enough, our hometown of Los Angeles seems more and more like an embryo compared to the lifespan of modern-day Egypt.
Cliched hype of Egypt's wonders aside, I came away from our week in Egypt with a couple of different impressions of its modern society.
Clamor. Maybe it was an after-effect of the Arab Spring revolution, but it seemed as if everything in Egypt was clamoring for attention. The painted pillars of Luxor's temples. The bright lights of nighttime Cairo. The ever-honking horns of drivers all around. And not just attention, but money as well. The street vendors selling everything and anything from shoes to tissue paper. The touts promising to lead you to private entrances of museums. The man who owned a horse-drawn carriage and was willing to wait for you to finish lunch to offer you a ride. In a nation whose economy depends so much on tourism, it was heart-wrenching at times to see the desperation of vendors, agents, touts, etc., especially with the huge drop in tourist-revenue after Arab Spring. Answering the clamor for attention (and inherently money), even for just a second, translated into 5-10 minutes of "no thank yous" and "maybe laters", usually ending in disappointment. So often we were reminded by taxi drivers and hostel owners that the country was stable and fine and that we should tell our friends to visit Egypt. No doubt bargaining became harder when you realized that an extra dollar or two would go much farther in Egypt than it would back home.
Clash. I can't list all the mind-boggling juxtapositions and stark contrasts that jumped out at me in our week in Egypt. The fully-veiled Muslim women strolling past racy lingerie stores. Men talking on smartphones outside of thousand year-old mosques. Historical treasures piled on makeshift shelves when any one of them would have garnered its own exhibit in any other country. It's been interesting to catch a glimpse of how Egypt has been getting in sync with modern times. It seems as though Egypt is fighting hard to hold on to some traditions while other parts of its past are being neglected. All throughout, women in hijabs and men in galabiyas fully reminded us of Egypt's Islamic culture and past. On the flip side, I remember thinking how sad it was that so many artifacts in the Egyptian museum were left lying around haphazardly without descriptions, seemingly forgotten. I wondered what the pharaohs would think upon seeing their carefully guarded tombs left open and their mummies crowded together on display.
I'm certain I'll miss seeing something historical around every street corner as well as having decent shawarma just about whenever I want. With this week over in a blink of an eye and only a handful of sights seen, I'm pretty sure I'll be back in Egypt one day. As for the future, Moussa, our hostel driver, noted that Egypt has all the resources needed to be an affluent country- arable land, water, oil, and of course, tourists. With a new president in office, it will be exciting to see where Egypt is headed.
