Back to Cairo

On Wednesday, morning came far too soon. We woke up with the sun. As soon as the sun came out, Professor Hamad woke us all up and we began the process of packing up our campsite and getting breakfast ready. After a quick breakfast of hard boiled eggs, pita, chocolate croissants, and fruit, we got back in our jeeps for the ride home. The drive back to town in the jeeps was two hours long and consisted of sleeping and enjoying Egyptian dubstep. When we got back to town, we switched back to the bus for the drive back to Cairo. Smelly, sweaty, and covered in sand, we got in the bus for the five hour drive back to Cairo. That drive was ridiculous. Thankfully, most of us slept.

The Beautiful Cairo Marriott

In our smelly and dirty state, we arrived at our next hotel, the Cairo Marriott. Ironically, this hotel is the nicest in Cairo. When we arrived, we all just wanted to shower the dirt and sand away. This hotel, however, required an introduction so our showers had to wait. A hotel employee took us on a tour of the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen. I felt so out of place walking around this amazing hotel. We all looked like tired, dirt covered Americans. Not a pretty site. The hotel is an old palace that was converted to a Marriott. I cannot put into words the quality of this hotel. We stay at this hotel for three days before heading to Alexandria. It is definitely not a coincidence that we just happened to switch to such a nice hotel during the two days of presidential elections. The security at this place is insane.

My room is gorgeous. We have a balcony with an amazing view of the Nile and downtown Cairo- phenomenal. When I was finally able to shower, it felt AMAZING. I just stood under the water in this fancy hotel, thinking about what an incredible experience I am having. Unfortunately, I was covered in more sand than I thought. What I thought was a tan was just a layer of sand and dirt. Oh well- albinos don’t tan easily.

The beautiful hotel!

Internet

I just need to write a quick note about the internet. The reason this blog has not updated regularly is because there is no internet in the desert and there is no (free) internet at the Marriott. Professor Hamad also does not think there will be internet at our next hotels. I purchased an internet usb drive but I haven’t been able to get it to work on my computer yet. Therefore, in order to blog I have to borrow a friends computer. I will try to blog as much as I can but just realize that I am still writing up a blog on my computer daily and I will post them when I can.

Egyptian Pizza

After we were all cleaned up, we went to downtown Cairo for some Egyptian pizza. It was delicious and very different than American pizza. It has bread on the bottom and the top. Also, they do not use sauce. Instead, they use tomatoes. It was very good.

My Professor is Famous

While we ate, we watched our professor, Professor Hamad, being interviewed on television. He discussed the upcoming election and what it means for Egypt. He even gave a shout out to Drake University and our group! When he arrived at the restaurant after the interview, he brought along a friend who was also interviewed on the show. This man is highly involved with the revolution. He was a high ranking individual in the organization of the protest at Tahrir Square for 18 days. His story was powerful and inspirational. I closely listened to every word this man said- truly incredible.

The speaker told us about what happened in Tahrir Square during that time. He gave a firsthand account of the protest, discussing the inspiration he felt from the young people. He watched men and women covered in blood leave the frontlines simply to wash their faces and then head back to their places. They were shot at with rubber bullets, real bullets, tear gas and more. One thing he said struck me, this is not a youth revolution. Instead, it is the people of Egypt’s revolution. It is simply a youth led revolution. Young people, he explained are extraordinary. This is also what we thinks is the most important outcome of the revolution, the political awareness of young people. They will not be able to be lied to or manipulated anymore. He spoke of his kids. One night after reading a bedtime story, his son started chanting “The people demand another story.” Just to make sure his father got the joke, he whispered “this is a protest by the way.” If you look on YouTube, you can find videos of schoolchildren playing “protest”. Young people now question everything. 

Tahrir Square

Since it was the first day of the election, we all wanted to see Tahrir Square. When we drove through it, however, it seemed very dead. There were very few people and there weren’t many demonstrations going on. One man, however, was burning the poster of presidential candidate Shafiq. Shafiq is Mubarak’s old prime minister.

A couch in Tahrir Square