Woke up at 8AM when Saeed announced breakfast. We rolled out of bed and walked outside to the courtyard where breakfast was being set up. Evan, Saeed, Ashraf and I sat on the ground around a plate of food and ate our breakfast. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bread, jam, and cheese. Simple yet delicious.
After breakfast we took turns using the single shower in the main bathroom. It was more of a faucet hooked up to a hot water heater… you then used a bucket to poor it on yourselves. However, it wasn’t that much different from our apartment in Cairo.
Afterwards we got dressed and ready to leave.
We walked from the house down the main street of the village. Saeed introduced us to friends as we walked. Eventually we came to a split in the road. One way went into the fields the other back into the village. We decided to check out the crops.
We walked on a dirt path through the thick fields of sugar cane (the village is renowned for this). Saeed explained the crop and its value. Along the way he pulled out three stalks and made them into walking sticks. He also peeled the top so we could eat sugar cane as we walked. The a multipurpose walking stick if I have ever seen one.
We continued to walk and eventually came to different crops which Saeed showed us and explained their significance. It was mostly spices and herbs. We came to the end of the fields and up to a fair sized house. Saeed walked in the house like he owned the place…. Ironically enough he did. It was his house that he shared with his other brothers. They were in charge of the family farm. This house was set up in a complex (like the last one) with living quarters, a courtyard, and sitting room.
We were given the grand tour. We met more people than I could possibly remember. Eventually we took a seat out near the fields and were offered a platter of peanuts. We ate, talked, and enjoyed the beautiful morning. Being foreigners tends to draw attention in small villages like this one. Pretty soon we had a crowd of young children staring at the strange looking white people. I ended up playing with them for an hour. Mostly soccer.
We met back in the sitting room for a traditional lunch. Tahina, bread, salad, vegetables, and fish were served. Very delicious… as with every other meal I’ve had here, saying no to seconds/thirds/fourths is not an option. After the meal we sat back and talked. This is when I started having problems…
I’m not sure if it was the food or maybe the water, but I started having the runs (diarrhea is such a gross word, the word in Arabic is so much better. Literally to come with ease). Over the next few hours we were introduced to all of Saeed’s friends and sat and talked. I tried to stay focused, but I made three trips to the bathroom… Which of course was the traditional hole in the ground.
Two of Saeed’s good friends spent the remainder of the day with us. Solomon and Khalid are from the next village over, but work as associates of Saeed’s (who is a lawyer). We were first introduced to them when they were texting and calling their friend trying to convince him they were a girl who wanted to have sex with him… very interesting characters.
Another common thing throughout the day was tea. I would say we were given a new glass of tea at least every thirty minutes. Occasionally it was a similar drink that most resembled green tea. Saeed swore it was better for us.
After awhile Saeed decided to take us to the next village over so we could see Khalid and Solomon’s houses. We got in Solomon’s car and were on our way. Along the way we stopped in an alley to be introduced to some more friends. The friends were so impressed that they insisted on buying us all sodas. These people will go out of their way to be hospitable. They gave some money to a kid who ran to go grab the sodas. 5 minutes later he reappeared with orange soda and cigarettes. Evan and I were each given a soda and our very own box of cigarettes…. I’ve never owned a box of cigarettes before, and it was definitely very weird carrying it around with me all day.
As I have probably mentioned earlier, Egyptians love smoking. Saeed is no exception. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure he could be labeled as a chain smoker. In the States I don’t smoke, but I have taken to having a single cigarette when offered to avoid offending anyone. Well in Saeed’s case it’s like if you give a mouse a cookie except in reverse. If you let Saeed give you a cigarette… he’ll give you another… and another… and another… and a whole box. By the end of the day I had a full box and half a box loose in my pocket.
We got to the village and dropped off Solomon so he could attend to business and drove to Khalid’s.
Khalid has a very traditional home on the outside and a very western home on this inside. It was like walking through the door into an American home. We spent most of the time in the sitting room being served cookies and juice. We were given fresh cantaloupe juice that was simply amazing. We talked about Egypt and how it differs from America. All Egyptians want to know three things. First, is that they are hospitable. Second, is that you love their country, third, is what America/Americans are like.
After an hour and a half we made our way from Khalid’s house to his business office (after using the bathroom of course). Again from the outside the building looked pretty average, but the inside was very western. We spent another hour at the office, drinking tea and talking about many random topics. We also broke the news to Saeed that we would not be able to stay another night (my lungs thanked me for this one). He was a bit disappointed but understood we had to get back to Cairo. (Visited the toilet again)..
From Khalid’s we drove back to Solomon’s to meet his family. By this point Evan and I were a bit anxious to get on the road, but of course we were invited in for tea. *sigh*. The next hour was spent meeting Solomon’s family and friends. We were served multiple courses of tea and cookies. We were also offered dinner, but Evan and I violently refused… good thing too, because I don’t think I could have fit more in my stomach. An hour later we were on our way back to Saeed’s Dad’s house to pick up our bags and head out.
Solomon, Saeed, and Khalid drove us and told us the entire way how sad they were we had to leave. We arrived at the house and grabbed our bags (also took a keflex to solve my problems). We also took some photos of Saeed’s family (I didn’t get many pictures in the village… I had my camera, but it didn’t feel right to take pictures. Almost taboo). Then we were on our way.
They drove us to the bus stop and piled out of the car. They bid us farewell and made sure the bus driver was going to take good care of us. Multiple warnings were given to treat us like sons. Hilarious really.
The bus departed shortly thereafter. It was pretty empty, and a very exhausted Evan and I stretched out and fell asleep. Three hours later we arrived in Luxor. We really had no game plan from there, and talked to the minibus driver about hostel suggestions. He had a friend who ran one and volunteered to drive us there. Ten minutes later we were at the ‘Princess Hotel’. The hotel staff was waiting for our arrival and helped us with our bags. Very cheerful considering it was 1AM. They showed us around and gave us our room. Evan and I got ready for bed and passed out.
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