Today is my day off but I found myself waking up early to catch a nine o’clock bus. Got out of bed a little after eight and got ready for my trip to Fayoum. Got dressed and packed for the half day trip. Brought my notes, my Bible, my track jacket, and some water.
Walked to Tahriir and arrived at nine. The bus wasn’t there and everyone was standing around waiting. Decided to run into McDonald’s to grab a quick bite for breakfast.
We left for the Fayoum a half hour late. I spent the first part of the trip studying from my notes… the second half was spent taking a nap. Woke up around the time the lake came in view. We arrived shortly thereafter and walked up to what was called the ‘guest house’.
The guest house is really a hotel set up in cottages. The owner was a former editor of a newspaper in Cairo. He now leads tours and shows foreigners around the oasis. We walked up to the cottages and sat around a common area, set up similarly to those in Dahab. He started by giving us a brief history of Fayoum. The oasis started as an artist colony and the village popped up to support the growing community.
After the history lesson we were given free time to walk around and explore the area. We stayed in the area of the guest house checking out the gardens and cottages. Nearby there was a class on pottery going on. Mike, Sarah, Ben, Jeanna, and I decided to join. We all got a chance to spin and form our own pottery. I made a bowl.
Ben and I were the last to go. The tour group was supposed to move down to the lake after the free time. Unfortunately Ben and I were still making our pots. They left without us and we were going to follow shortly after.
After we finished, Ben and I walked down the hill to where the bus was parked. We could see the lake but had no clue how to get there from where we were. We decided we would walk along the edges of the fields to the lake and then follow the shore and find them. Well that worked until we got to the large irrigation ditch. We followed the ditch looking for a good place to cross, but found nothing. Eventually we decided to place a long, thin branch across and use it as a balance beam.
Ben went first using the reeds on either side to keep his balance. Once he was across I tossed him our bags and prepared to follow. However, he had broken many of the reeds on his trip across leaving me with little to hold on to. Halfway across the reeds on my left snapped… about to lose my balance I lunged for the opposite end, landing on the stick and grabbing the other end. I managed to keep my balance and drag myself to safety.
From there we walked down to the lake and found the tour group. We missed the presentation from the fisherman, but apparently it wasn’t too informative.
Walked back and were fed lunch by at the guest house’s restaurant. The meal was a grilled meat platter which included kofta, chicken, and sheep. It was really good and completely free (came with the trip). We sat, ate, and talked for an hour. However we still wanted to do some exploring. Mike, Ben, Mitch, Laura, Emily and I walked up the path from the guest house into the village. We walked through the village occasionally talking to the people, but mostly just soaking in the atmosphere.
The entire village had a much more relaxed feel than Cairo. The air was clean, the streets weren’t overcrowded, there were barely any cars… it was a welcome relief.
We walked through the village for about 45 minutes before we realized that it was almost time to catch the bus. We decided it would be faster to walk back towards the lake and catch the main road back to the guest house. We walked through the village towards the lake until it came to some more farm land. We walked along a trail until we came to another irrigation ditch…. Great. This one, however, was deeper and wider.
We stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes and then tried to find a way to cross. Luckily these two kids stumbled upon us and showed us a natural crossing… whew. From there we made our way back to the bus.
I spend the bus ride back Talking with Jeanna and Mike. We were stuck in traffic so it took a little longer. We didn’t make it back to Tahriir until 6:30. From there I walked back home. Picked up some dinner on the way and went upstairs to crash from the long day in the sun. Ate while watching the television, and from there I sat down to do media homework. I’m a little behind on the assignments from missing class earlier in the week. So I spent most of the night trying to catch up, however, I still have a lot left to do.
I also worked on my project and on my journal.
Went to bed by two so I could be up early and go to the Citadel with Henry.
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