Saturday, 12 September 2009

Day 18: September 11

Today is the 8 year anniversary of the September Eleventh attack. I would like to take a brief moment to thank those who have served and who are serving our country. May God look over you, bless you, and keep you.

Slept in today. Got up around one in the afternoon. Watched some television and then did some homework. We got a call from Mike telling us that they were planning on going to Al-Azhar park later in the afternoon to have a picnic/iftar. We told them we’d meet them there.
We decided to go grab some food to supplement the picnic. We went to the local market and bought some foul, bread, rice pudding, and juice. We took all of our food back to our place and hung out until 5:30. We then took a taxi from our apartment to Al-Azhar Park.

Al-Azhar Park is a large park located in old Cairo, in between the Citadel and Khan El khilili. It is located on a hill that overlooks a large part of the city. Evan and I arrived first and paid our 5 LE entry fee. The park was gorgeous with many fountains, grass slopes and trees. It’s a shame that there is an entrance fee because that means that some people are not able to enjoy the park easily.

We met with Mike, Jesse and a few of their friends. We walked into the park and found a good spot to sit down and eat. We ate our iftar and watched the sunset. It was a good meal. There was tahini, bell peppers, sandwhiches, foul, falafel, flatbread, and juice.

After dinner we walked around the park. We found our way up the hill and found a good vantage point from which to view the city. It was breathtaking to see all of Cairo laid out before you. After a few minutes the final call to prayer started sounding around the city. One by one different mosques picked up the call. It was amazing to hear all the different calls blend together into a cacophony that swept across the city.

At this point Mike and Jesse’s friends had to go back to Zamalek. This left Mike, Evan, Jesse, and one of Jesse’s friends from her school, Syndis. After watching and listening to the city for awhile longer we decided to head out. We caught a taxi and made our way downtown.

Once in downtown we walked towards our old hostel and the area we had first fallen in love with. We stopped by one of the local juice stands and talked with the owner who we had become acquainted with. After that we showed the other three around downtown. We eventually stopped at a cafĂ© and got a few rounds of tea. We talked politics and school for the next hour. I find it interesting to hear other people’s opinions, but seem to always find myself the underdog in many conversations… this time it was on healthcare. Oh, well still a fun discussion.

We decided to walk towards the Nile and try to catch a Falooka. The falookas are boats ranging from small motor boats to medium yachts. Many are decorated with bright flashing lights. They are similar to taxi’s but on the Nile and can be hired to take you on mini-Nile tours.

We paid 50 LE and got a personal falooka for an hour. The drivers took us out on the Nile and drove sailed up and down. They had an IPod dock so we were able to connect an IPod and listen to music. It was to hang out with the breeze blowing through the boat, enjoying the Nile. After our hour Falooka ride we got off and took a taxi to Zamalek.

We hung out at Mike and Jesse’s apartment. Jesse had bought a watermelon and some mango’s which she cut up and served. The five of us ate and talked for another hour and a half. Evan and I decided it was time to head home at 2 am. Exhausted we caught a cab and headed for home.

It was a fun day and I can’t wait for the pyramids tomorrow!

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