MARRAKECH - April 30

Jillian's fallen in love. Totally head over heels in love. The kind of love you could only feel for Joey in New Kids on the Block when you were 10. But then again for Jason Priestly when you were 13, and maybe Barak Obama when you were a little bit older than that... She's totally in love with Marrakech.

We've spent the last two days wandering in and out of alleys, past spice shops, carts with freshly squeezed orange juice, through markets with brightly colored textiles, brass lanterns, furniture, and carpets. We've watched street performers entertain crowds in the same square that they have been singing and dancing and snake charming and fortune telling and remedy making for one thousand years.

We set out for a walking tour of the city and only actually got to the Bahia Palace, before being reeled in once again by the magic of the alleyways and the lures of the shops. The palace was truly spectacular, though, and unfortunately the oodles of photos that we took there can't do it justice. The tilework was gorgeous, and the painted ceilings in every room, utterly breathtaking.

All of the photos are at the end for you today, so you can wander through the old city of Marrakech as we are.

Lots of love,
Jillian + Ari

CAIRO - April 28

 

We had one last day in Cairo, and have been in Marrakech for two days since we last posted. This city is utterly magical and we have completely lost all track of time and place. Though just a few hours by plane across North Africa, we are worlds away from Cairo and Egypt (and everywhere else in the world, really).

We have a bit more to share about Egypt before we can delve into the wonders of Morocco. Back from the temples of Luxor, a felucca ride on the Nile, and an overnight train, we hit the streets of Cairo one last time. Having left the city for two days and then returning, we realized just how dirty the city actually was. The air was actually totally gross, and perhaps we enjoyed our sheesha dates so much because it felt even less harsh than the soot-filled air on the streets and in the markets.

Perhaps we should backtrack a little bit, explain the layout of the city more clearly. The hotels that we stayed at were all in the downtown area, a modern neighborhood filled with western style boutiques that all looked like spinoffs of H&M, fast food restaurants, and young couples strolling around on dates. We even noticed that the hijabs worn by the women in this neighborhood had the feel of a big fashionable European scarf and not what we would think of when we imagine the tightly fitted (traditional?) hijabs.

Just blocks away in one direction were impoverished slums, and in another direction was a medieval Islamic quarter filled with thousand year old mosques. We had sought out Islamic Cairo on two separate occasions, and both times sort of fell flat. Our first day in the city, we were so overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle that we didn't even make it to the foot of Khan al Khalili, the big market in town (that of course we thought we were smack in the middle of because it was so busy where had been). On our second venture, we actually made it to the market, but only with the help of MANY guides, and once there quickly retired into a coffee shop to escape the craziness.

Determined to not be entirely defeated, we tried on our last day to again find and visit Old Islamic Cairo. Apparently, we toughened up quite a bit during our week in Egypt, and we were able to press on and actually make it on our final attempt. Our efforts paid off, and the mosques we were able to visit were extraordinary. All dating back 800-1200 years, they littered the alleys and towered above the din, each more interesting than the last. One with austere white walls and huge courtyard had been used as a madhouse, and another boasted ceramic tile ornamentation unparalleled in anything we had ever seen. Old mauseleums and medersas (upper level madrassas?) were associated with some, while intricately carved minarets and woodword adorned others. It was quite an afternoon, and the walk and perseverence well worth it.

The gentlemen at our usual sheesha spot welcomed us back warmly as we bid farewell to an awesome week in Egypt.

Lots of love,
Jillian + Ari

LUXOR - April 27

It's hard to know what to say about our visit to the temples and tombs in Luxor. First of all, 9 hours south of Cairo, it was really hot. We hired a tour guide who brought us to all of the sites on the East Bank of the Nile on our first day in Luxor, and we visited the West Bank with him on our second day. 

The East Bank of Luxor is the living city-- it contained the temples of Karnak and Luxor with an Avenue of Sphinxes, a few km long, connecting them. The Egyptian government is currently undertaking a project to clear the homes and stores where the avenue once ran and restore it for tourists and make the entire city of Luxor "an open air museum." The city itself was quite poor and relied on tourism for 85% of its economy (with the balance for sugarcane farming and processing). It was really striking to walk a block from our "four star" hotel right into the slums.

Poverty aside, Luxor is a remarkable city. The temples were enormous, and extremely well preserved considering that they were 4000 years old. Many of the reliefs and hieroglyphics (no one seems to use that word here, though) still boasted their original vibrant colors and told the stories of the pharaohs and gods to whom they were dedicated. Our guide brought the stories to life for us, and gave us the condensed version of 3000 years of pharaonic Egyptian history.

The West Bank of the Nile contained the tombs of the pharaohs and nobles. Much as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the pharaohs lived on the East Bank of the Nile and waited for their afterlife on the West Bank. In the Valley of the Kings, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period built their tombs not in pyramids but into the very rock of the mountains, so as to discourage robbers (the pyramids had already been robbed 1000 years before). Photographs were not allowed in these tombs, but the paintings on the insides were spectacular and the colors rich and vibrant.  

We also visited the Valley of the Nobles and Valley of the Workmen, each containing tombs of Egyptians of lesser stature, but of no less striking beauty to us. The tomb that we saw at the Valley of the Nobles was particularly interesting because it depicted the activities of daily living, and contained many unfinished paintings, so we were able to see the process of the artisans.

The last site we visited on the West Bank was Queen Hatshepsut- a three story temple she built (see the first photo above). She ruled as a king, wore a false beard, and insisted that male pronouns be used when addressing her and speaking of her. In this way, she was able to circumvent the law that only men could rule as pharaohs. Obviously, Jillian liked this site.

With no time to spare, we were back on an overnight train bound for Cairo. With the conductor waking us at 3:30am for breakfast, we were pooped when we got back to the city, and flopped right down on the couches of our hostel for a nap as soon as we arrived.

Lots of love,

Jillian + Ari

LUXOR - April 26

It's been a crazy few days in Egypt, and we have a lot to catch up on. After a day of relaxing, we were ready to take on more sights. The Citadel had gotten a bad rap in our guide book, but thankfully we decided to go anyways. The gentleman who ran the Pension Roma, our first hotel, had recommended it.

After some arduous bargaining for a short cab ride (Ari's getting much better at this!) we arrived at the site of the original citadel in Cairo, housing a few 800 year old mosques, the Police Museum, the National Military Museum, and  some other sites. Since we arrived, the words "old" and "ancient" have taken on whole new meanings. Not just Boston's Revolutionary War old, or Chicago's Art Deco era old, but things here are OLD.

The Mosque of Muhammed Ali was simply spectacular. (No, not the boxer, but the Egyptian vizier). Built from 1830-1840, it serves as an excellent example of Ottoman architecture and got us really excited for our visit to Turkey. We just sat on the ground for a while and gazed upwards, taking in the splendidly painted vaulted ceilings adorned with lanterns and chandeliers. 

 

 

The National Military Museum was a total trip. Housed in Muhammed Ali's former harem, the swankiest building on the lot boasted photos and replicas of all things marshal. The building itself was immaculately restored and aimed to echo the Palace of Versaille, but the exhibits were quite kitschy, depicting ancient through modern battles and Egyptian victories.  Noticeably closed off from public view were the rooms displaying the wars with Israel.

 

After a long day, we we returned to our usual spot for dinner and tea before boarding an overnight train to Luxor. 

Lots of love,

Jillian + Ari

CAIRO April 23

Sitting on the back of a camel at the foot of the Great Pyramids, it's hard to believe that one week ago, we were in Cambridge. Thursday morning, we hired a taxi for the day to take us the Pyramids. An hour's drive through the traffic and smog and we were in Giza, the pyramids appearing out of nowhere behind the suburban skyline.

Our taxi drove through the neighborhood in the small town adjacent to the monuments, where we were invited into a private home behind which sat a stable. Our guide emerged from around the block with our camels. We were a bit nervous about the situation, but in the end everything worked out comfortably. It felt pretty badass watching the throngs of tourists crowd into small viewing areas while we strode up the sand dunes, surrounded by nothing but desert, around the other of the compound. At this site, we saw the Sphynx, the 3 Great Pyramids, accompanying tombs, and ruins of temples.

Next on our whirlwind tour was Saqqara, the site of the Step Pyramid, the very first stone monument, It got its name because unlike the other Pyramids which are triangles, this one is a series of concentric steps. It was super impressive to see just how well the Egyptians had calculated how to build a pyramid (to the nearest millimeter) over 4000 years ago. Apparently Pharoah was pretty impressed too, because he deified the architect upon completion of the stepped pyramid.

Next we visited the site of the Red Pyramid, where you can also see the Bent Pyramid and the Black Pyramid, both aptly named with visual cues. The Bent Pyramid was the first pyramid to be built with completely smooth sides, much as the pyramids that most are familiar with look. Unfortunately, the Egyptians' calculations were off, and about halfway through construction and they realized that the Bent Pyramid would be unable to sustain the weight of the upper half of stones. So, they adjusted their math, and the top half of the pyramid was constructed at a different pitch than the bottom half. The Red Pyramid was pretty spectacular, because we were some of the only tourists there and we actually got to climb down a shaft that opened about one third of the way up, and led you to the bottom. Needless to say, Jillian freaked out a little about this, and we didn't make it to the bottom, but you better believe we got pretty far down.

The last site we hit before heading back to Cairo was the site of the Ancient City of Memphis. Not much remains today, other than several impressive statues and a lot of legacy. It was here, though, that our cab driver didn't think we quite spent enough time at the site, and when we got back, we caught him mid-tea break. We joined him, and the delightful shopkeeper with whom he had been chatting for a short glass of Lipton (and the requisite tour of his shop, followed by the requisite polite decline to buy his junk).

Back in Cairo, it was falafel, fuul, and shawarma for dinner. (Are you getting sick of reading that?) A stroll through downtown Cairo, tea, and sheesha closed out the night. We should clarify, that a stroll through downtown Cairo is not really that at all. The sidewalks are packed with people, and neon flashes more brightly than in Times Square.

Today we took a much less formal approach to seeing the city, and tried to enjoy it as young Cairenes do. Being Friday, most shops were closed this morning, which gave us the opportunity to relax a bit and listen to the PA systems throughout the neighborhood broadcast the prayers and sermons (and who knows what because we have no idea what anyone is saying here most of the time, even when they speak English).

We lounged in the gardens with lots of other couples stealing a bit of time together beneath the banyan trees or beside the topiaries. A gentleman served us tea, and we enjoyed taking a slow day.

Later, we visited the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art. The space was cluttered with pieces, some impressive, others less so, but the building itself was worth the 50 cent admission. The guards, having no other visitors to watch, personally escorted us around the museum.

We then strolled along the banks of Nile, in a riverside park full of more young couples and families, before heading back downtown for our usual late evening sheesha.

CAIRO - April 21


After a good night's sleep in a single bed (and lots of jokes about college dorms) we felt ready to take on Cairo. Reflecting now, we covered a lot of ground today.

We quickly acquainted ourselves with the Metro, and for about 20 cents headed to Coptic Cairo to start our day. The open windows provided little relief from the eau-de-gentlemen that filled the subway car and Jillian was almost tempted to ride in one of the 'women only' cars.

Once in Coptic Cairo, we navigated a maze of ancient alleyways weaving between churches and nunneries and even an old synagogue. Ahmed Ibrahim, a shopkeeper in the alley for forty years, was delighted to provide us with information about the Ben Ezra Synagogue. He showed us the article about him in the NY Times, kvelled about his son studying at Columbia, and sold us a kippah (are we really halfway around the world?) The synagogue was built in the 9th century, and the Geniza, where holy documents are buried, was discovered by Solomon Schechter just 100 years ago. Over 100,000 pages were well preserved and provided invaluable information on Jewish life in Africa during the 11th-13th centuries. Rambam (Moses Maimonedes) attended and led the congregation while he served as personal physician to the sultan of Egypt. Ari isn't the first good Jewish doctor to make his way through Cairo!

St. George's basilica and nunnery were really spectacular as well. A coptic saint, he slayed a dragon and was put to death by the Romans for being Christian. The church contains the chains by which he was tortured, and we watched as devotees placed the same shackles that he bore over their necks in rapt worship. We wandered in and out of several other churches all bearing relics of coptic saints and boasting original wood carvings and artwork dating back as early as the 9th century.

From here, we headed to the Egyptian Museum, an immense collection of Pharaonic monuments, artwork, and sculpture. There is no possible way to begin to describe the enormity of this museum, nor is it possible to soak it all up in one, or one thousand, visits. The old display cases were chalk full of Egyptian tools, mummies, jewelry, statues, funerary objects, and even board games. Rumor has it that the basement is so full of items that are not on display that archaeologists will have to excavate the museum itself when it moves to a more modern building in a few years. The sheer weight of the objects has caused them to sink into the soft sand below the museum. If you are in Boston, the MFA has a fantastic taste of this for you right now.

From the museum, we headed back to Islamic Cairo and the Khan al Khalili to get our daily dose of shawarma and falafel. We walked further into the market than yesterday, and found the schlocky tourist shops, replete with stuffed camels, sheesha pipes, brass lanterns, and small rugs. Having gone a whole half day without any tea, we found a nook in the marketplace serving up Cairo's finest mint tea.

Wholly refreshed, we caught a cab to Zamalek, an upscale neighborhood bursting with embassies, art and music academies, galleries and boutiques. We shmied down the tree lined blocks as night fell. The small but burgeoning contemporary art scene really had its own Cairene flavor and some of the work was extremely impressive.

Back in the downtown area, we dined on koshary, a local dish made with macaroni, lentils, chickpeas, fried garlic, and a spicy tomato sauce. It's sort of a fast food meal, which we definitely plan to adopt when we get back to the States.

Stuffed to the gills (again!) we were lured into the night fruit market. The plumpest dates you have ever seen were certainly not going to be passed over. And then there were the pastries... all of them.

We rounded out the night with some sweet apple sheesha, a tall glass of Lipton, and the pure enjoyment of just being together.

Lots of love,
Jillian + Ari



We will try to get up more pictures next time-- finicky internet connection today.

CAIRO - April 20

Touchdown in Egypt. As the plane hit the ground - not tarmac, mind you, but packed desert sand - we knew we were in for a real treat with this trip.

After dropping our bags at the Pension Roma hotel, we headed right out for a taste of the city. Our intentions were clear, and plans laid out for the afternoon. We were to head to Khan al-Khalili, and we knew all of the turns to take to get there, only the street signs were all in Arabic, not the nice transliterations our guidebook gave us. Our walk turned into a wander, but we had the help of some extremely friendly Cairenes at the end of every block who pointed us in the right direction.

Khan al-Khalili was a subtle reminder that we are not in Cambridge anymore. It is a HUGE market that has been in continuous use since the 1300's. Actually, huge doesn't begin to describe just how big it is. Blocks and blocks of Old Cairo are filled with cramped stalls and men hawking their goods to anyone within earshot. We barely scratched the surface after 2 hours of exploring, and hardly made it through the birthday party decoration district, the blocks of chandelier shops, alleys and alleys of old electronics, and streets filled with clothing, linens, housewares, and food. It was all a bit overwhelming, and we didn't speak much to one another all afternoon as we soaked in the smog and mayhem. 

The silence of awe quickly turned into the harumphs of hangriness* and snacktime it was. We wolfed down the most delicious shawarma sandwich, and plates of fuul and baba ganoug we have ever tasted. Needless to say, these were consumed so quickly that by the time Jillian pulled out the camera, only dirty napkins and a few crumbs remained.

As the sun set we walked a bit more through downtown Cairo, and took in the neon lit stores on Talaat Harb Sharia and ducked down a pedestrianized street littered with tea houses, small restaurants, and sheesha bars. When we couldn't walk anymore, we rested over some apple sheesha and two cups of sweetened mint tea. All over the city today, we saw men drinking tea from what Americans would consider juice glasses. They would be sitting in a shop, standing on a street corner, or wheeling and dealing in the market, all the while sipping away. 

The sweet smell of the sheesha (no, it's not what you're thinking. It's just tobacco sweetened with molasses and apple juice) fills the streets here, and it was exactly what we needed after a long day of traveling. We puffed slowly, made plans for the week, and watched the passersby sell gilted urns, cheap watches, and tissues.

Half rejuvenated, it was time for our second dinner. It just didn't seem right to only have had shawarma and not falafel. So, we feasted on fried chickpeas, a tasty tomato stew, and the most delicious hummus we have ever had.

One of the things that struck us right away, apart from Jillian's backpack arriving on the baggage carousel covered in sand, was how certain public spaces seemed to be dominated by one gender or the other. In the arrival hall of the airport, there were absolutely no women to be seen, aside from the passengers. We covered long stretches of the market with very few women and most of the cars on the road seem to be driven by men. That is not to say that there were no women on the streets. On the contrary, we found other stretches of the market dominated by women and as the sun set set and city cooled off, the streets were filled with throngs of young couples and families and mixed groups of friends out to enjoy the evening.

The people here seem spectacularly nice, aside from a few catcalls and the ogling because we are obviously so tourists. As we learn more we realize just how much we are going to have to pack into the next few days. And we can't wait.

Lots of love,
Jillian + Ari

*hangry (n.) the particular state of crankiness that results from being hungry
example: Jillian Bergman before a late dinner

CAMBRIDGE - April 18

Well, a lot has happened in the last four years. We both have a lot less hair- one of us intentionally, the other not- Ari did a little bit of studying and spent a couple of hours at the hospital while Jillian tried out a few different careers and discovered the only one at which she can work harder than Ari. We've eaten some really good food, met some awesome people, learned a lot, and may have accidentally become grownups somewhere along the way. It's been a good few years in Cambridge.

Before we have to live and study in different cities we're taking another serious trip together. Glad you'll be able join us. Along the way we will have internet access, and you know where to find us.

We land in Cairo on Tuesday- see you then.

Lots of love,

Jillian + Ari