Arabic nights

Women outside the mosque

You might end up in the most unexpectable places and meet people you´d never meet otherwise if you every now and then let someone else decide. To be honest, I wasn´t so enthusiastic about travelling to Egypt but since my sisters wanted to go there I went along. We ended up having great time in a culture that is very very different and therefore so utterly fascinating. The mix of arabic and western lifestyle is controversial but egyptians don´t seem to mind. I´ve been interested in arabic and eastern cultures for quite a while and this was a perfect field trip as the country is not too shocking for a European.

The arrival alone was pretty breath-taking. Landing to Cairo in the middle of the night and immediately going sailing on the Nile in the moonlight... wow! We can thank our friend in Cairo for a lot of amazing things we experienced, this was only one of them. We continued to the South, Sharm el-Sheikh, where we spent the three first days. Riding a bus through the Sinai peninsula was the first time I ever saw a real desert. Just some checkpoints and gunmen here and there, lot of rubbish and half-finished houses. On the bus there were mostly men, just a few had their wives with them.

The area where we stayed in Sharm el-Sheikh is an artifical tourist village filled with British and Russian tourists. I can´t recommend going to Naama Bay but the presence of Red Sea was enough to keep me happy. We went snorkeling and watching corals which was probably the highlight.

A constant nuisance were countless salesmen and restaurant staff who were after our money. I developed a way to ignore their blabbering even though it was hard. It´s even harder for girls and that´s why I always wore long skirts and scarves as not to awake so much attention.

The polluted Cairo

Back in Cairo we had the sweetest host, an American expat. She was a proof that a western girl can live independently amid a culture ruled by men. We also made other new friends and found that egyptians are very hospitable and friendly towards tourists. I made an effort and tried to speak Arabic which everyone always found hilarious, including me.

Kheops

We did the usual things, you know, saw the pyramids, rode camels, smoked a lot of shisha, drank tea, went to a museum, visited mosques, bargained at the bazaar, belly danced... Pyramids look like just heaps of ancients rocks but when you think about their age and the history it´s pretty impressive. We also went inside the biggest pyramid, Kheops. There was nothing in the chamber, surprisingly or not.

Visiting mosques was more special for me. It´s so fascinating to visit such a holy place, a place where people actually go and pray. The mosque of Mohammad Ali was the most impressive one. Somehow being there was such a beautiful moment. Taking our shoes off, just watching in awe all the lights in the ceiling, speaking sounds echo back from the dome muffled and then suddenly the prayer call comes, loud and clear.

In Egypt it seems that islam is present in peoples everyday life which makes it a "proper" religion in my eyes, compared to the way people practice religion in Finland for example. Also, meeting muslims that are also really great people could be an eye-opener to any westerner who bases his opinion on the mainstream media... 

Inside a mosque

For me it was awesome that people could spend time late in the night without drinking alcohol. We would sit outside in a café smoking shisha and drinking tea and it was completely normal. I would love to do such things in Finland.

After the mosque of Mohammad Ali, my favourite place was the big bazaar Khan el-Khalili. It´s a labyrinth of little shops selling jewelry, shisha, copper, leather, farbric, souvenirs, spices, silver, gold and a lot more. There I practiced my bargaining skills big time with more and less success. It´s another world.  After that I was happy that here in Finland prices are pretty much fixed.

At the bazaar

Egypt is so much more than a beach holiday. Everything´s upside down, the traffic is crazy as if people didn´t know about accidents. It´s ridiculously hot all the time. Cairo is dirty, chaotic, vibrant, noisy, colourful and always open. Men have beautiful brown eyes and long lashes. Go to Egypt and prepare for adventure. 

Endings and leavings

Human is quite an uncomplicated animal. We don´t need much to be happy, not much to feel like home. Roof over your head, food and company of other people. A home, that is. Here in this random Norwegian town in this time of my life I´ve unevitably created another home in the world. I couldn´t help it. A universe emerged. Checking the mail, afternoon coffee, crisp sea breeze, friendly faces of the fish market ladies, sound of roadworks, countless laughters, warm light from the white wooden houses, speaking in doorphones, dry morning throat. Everyday life made me fall in love with it cunningly.

I find myself wondering how easy it is to grow fond of things, places. And people! This little universe was created with people who were here coincidentally and we shared literally everything from dinners to home sickness. Bunch of aliens in a foreign land stick together.

Endings are painful because that universe will never come to being again. You can experience something similar later but every experience is one of a kind. Maybe you´re now supposed to go back to your "old life"? But is is still the same? I find it that whatever happens after an ending is something completely new. The life as I knew it is gone as I have changed.

Afternoon coffee with a Norwegian twist: med en stor kokosbolle!

I´m short of words when I try to explain what kind of feeling of belonging and togetherness I´ve experienced. It seems that when people leave their comfort area they become more sensitive for other people´s needs as if hoping to receive same kind of treatment in return. Abroad it´s easy to become a better person: open, helpful, unselfish and caring.

Endings mean new beginnings with something that can be equally good. I will be doing some changes too, especially with this blog. I will have to reduce my writing because I have to channel my energy into other things. I´m planning to start a new blog with more focus on my comics and stuff. Stay tuned...

To end with (this month and this wonderful exchange study period), I´d like to express my greatest gratitude to everyone who´s been a friend to me and made me feel like home. A Finn doesn´t forget.

xxx