Alexandria, Part I
Like the use of Roman numerals there? Alexandria is described in my Lonely Planet as the most historical city in Egypt with the least to see. More or less everything from Alexandria's time as part of the Roman Empire has been destroyed, so it isn't really a city to go for sight-seeing. Because of this, Alex is considered a great vacation destination for Egyptians, but is rarely frequented by foreigners. However, Mona has an apartment in Alex, and often spends her weekends there - and since this past weekend was long (Sunday was a public holiday, so we both took Saturday off from work), we decided to get out of Cairo for a few days.
We drove to Alex Thursday after work, about 200 km, and arrived around 7 PM. After a brief rest/refreshment session, we went to Montasa to meet her cousin and his family (all of Mona's cousins but one are much older than her - I think this man is in his late 40's, and has a 15-year old son and a 10-year old daughter). Mona had mentioned that we were coming, and that I hadn't tried mashi yet, so there was something of a feast waiting for us. Mashi is any number of different vegetables stuffed with a rice and meat mixture, most commonly seen in the US as rolled grape vine leaves at Greek restaurants. In addition to those (which were, of course, delicious), we also had stuffed zucchini, eggplants, and peppers, and grilled meat as well. And the family had already eaten, so we had this entire pot of mashi to ourselves - delicious!
After eating, we had some grilled corn bought from a vendor (also good, but the mashi was better), and then explored the area a bit. Montasa itself is a compound (we had to pay 12 LE to get in), with a beach, hotels, and an old palace. Additionally, Montasa has a "country club," with a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, and picnic areas. We were in this club, where Mona's cousin's family has a membership. Mohammed, the son, has basketball training every Thursday night, so it's a weekly family outing.
I have to say, the club was great. First of all, it was a legitimate park, with grass and trees and stuff (actually, a lot of Montasa is like that) - a nice change from Cairo, where I've been told there's exactly enough "green stuff" for each citizen to place exactly one foot on it. And Alex, while still a large city (Mona said 3 million in the winter, 5 million in the summer), is also on the sea, and much less polluted than Cairo - I could actually see the stars! Definitely a relaxing place to spend the evening.
After we all finished eating, Mona, Judy (the daughter) and I went to play basketball with Mohammed and some of his friends. As I was standing on the side of the court, waiting to figure out what was happening, a pack of girls (early teens, I think) approached me.
"Do you speak Arabic?" one asked. When I said no, she asked where I was from. "Boston," I said. "It's close to New York." (I've found that's the easiest explanation ... and so much more accurate than, "Idaho - it's close to California," which I've also used.) She says, "Yeah, I know - it's close to Newark, too."
Huh. That was unexpected. It turns out she lived in Newark for a year on exchange, and speaks amazing English. (I was, of course, mingling with the upper class elite here - most of the children attend American or British schools.) Anyhow, she was also in on this basketball plan, and designated me one of the captains. After about 15 minutes of chaos, things settled down and we started to play.
Now, I haven't played basketball since junior high, and I sucked then. These kids, on the other hand, practice all summer long. Additionally, I'm short enough that I didn't even have a height advantage. Long story short, we lost.
Before the game even started, another of the pack had latched on to me (sorry, I don't remember any names ... if it helps, though, she was wearing a hat!), and after we finished playing, she followed us back to Mohammed's parents for a drink of water. And then insisted we go for a walk. And then asked for a picture with me. And THEN asked for my phone number. When I said, "I don't have a mobile - I'm only here for three months," she asked, "You don't have a mobile in America?" When I admitted I do, she insisted on taking my phone number ... I don't know if she actually plans on calling it, although if she does it in the next month, she'll be told the service has been disconnected. Anyway, she finally left, at which point Mohammed told me that no one at the club really likes her, because she's very clingy. Helpful ...
We sat around talking for a bit longer, and at about 1 AM the lights started flickering (in a last-call sort of way), so we packed up our stuff and headed out. On the way, Mona's cousin invited us to lunch on Sunday, promising to cook fish (the fish is very delicious and fresh in Alex), an invitation we eagerly accepted.
We returned to Mona's apartment a bit before two, and sat up talking a bit before retiring for the night. When we'd first arrived, she'd warned me about a new nearby mosque, but I didn't think it was a problem - I've learned to handle the calls to prayer, and generally sleep through them. Boy, was I wrong ... this mosque is a bit too close, with a loudspeaker installed on the corner of Mona's building. When "Allah!" came ringing through the air at 4:30 AM, I was immediatelly awake. Stupid me.
We drove to Alex Thursday after work, about 200 km, and arrived around 7 PM. After a brief rest/refreshment session, we went to Montasa to meet her cousin and his family (all of Mona's cousins but one are much older than her - I think this man is in his late 40's, and has a 15-year old son and a 10-year old daughter). Mona had mentioned that we were coming, and that I hadn't tried mashi yet, so there was something of a feast waiting for us. Mashi is any number of different vegetables stuffed with a rice and meat mixture, most commonly seen in the US as rolled grape vine leaves at Greek restaurants. In addition to those (which were, of course, delicious), we also had stuffed zucchini, eggplants, and peppers, and grilled meat as well. And the family had already eaten, so we had this entire pot of mashi to ourselves - delicious!
After eating, we had some grilled corn bought from a vendor (also good, but the mashi was better), and then explored the area a bit. Montasa itself is a compound (we had to pay 12 LE to get in), with a beach, hotels, and an old palace. Additionally, Montasa has a "country club," with a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, and picnic areas. We were in this club, where Mona's cousin's family has a membership. Mohammed, the son, has basketball training every Thursday night, so it's a weekly family outing.
I have to say, the club was great. First of all, it was a legitimate park, with grass and trees and stuff (actually, a lot of Montasa is like that) - a nice change from Cairo, where I've been told there's exactly enough "green stuff" for each citizen to place exactly one foot on it. And Alex, while still a large city (Mona said 3 million in the winter, 5 million in the summer), is also on the sea, and much less polluted than Cairo - I could actually see the stars! Definitely a relaxing place to spend the evening.
After we all finished eating, Mona, Judy (the daughter) and I went to play basketball with Mohammed and some of his friends. As I was standing on the side of the court, waiting to figure out what was happening, a pack of girls (early teens, I think) approached me.
"Do you speak Arabic?" one asked. When I said no, she asked where I was from. "Boston," I said. "It's close to New York." (I've found that's the easiest explanation ... and so much more accurate than, "Idaho - it's close to California," which I've also used.) She says, "Yeah, I know - it's close to Newark, too."
Huh. That was unexpected. It turns out she lived in Newark for a year on exchange, and speaks amazing English. (I was, of course, mingling with the upper class elite here - most of the children attend American or British schools.) Anyhow, she was also in on this basketball plan, and designated me one of the captains. After about 15 minutes of chaos, things settled down and we started to play.
Now, I haven't played basketball since junior high, and I sucked then. These kids, on the other hand, practice all summer long. Additionally, I'm short enough that I didn't even have a height advantage. Long story short, we lost.
Before the game even started, another of the pack had latched on to me (sorry, I don't remember any names ... if it helps, though, she was wearing a hat!), and after we finished playing, she followed us back to Mohammed's parents for a drink of water. And then insisted we go for a walk. And then asked for a picture with me. And THEN asked for my phone number. When I said, "I don't have a mobile - I'm only here for three months," she asked, "You don't have a mobile in America?" When I admitted I do, she insisted on taking my phone number ... I don't know if she actually plans on calling it, although if she does it in the next month, she'll be told the service has been disconnected. Anyway, she finally left, at which point Mohammed told me that no one at the club really likes her, because she's very clingy. Helpful ...
We sat around talking for a bit longer, and at about 1 AM the lights started flickering (in a last-call sort of way), so we packed up our stuff and headed out. On the way, Mona's cousin invited us to lunch on Sunday, promising to cook fish (the fish is very delicious and fresh in Alex), an invitation we eagerly accepted.
We returned to Mona's apartment a bit before two, and sat up talking a bit before retiring for the night. When we'd first arrived, she'd warned me about a new nearby mosque, but I didn't think it was a problem - I've learned to handle the calls to prayer, and generally sleep through them. Boy, was I wrong ... this mosque is a bit too close, with a loudspeaker installed on the corner of Mona's building. When "Allah!" came ringing through the air at 4:30 AM, I was immediatelly awake. Stupid me.
posted by Teale at 9:50 AM
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