On the Road to Damascus/Jordan

After a visit to Ataturk’s tomb/ memorial and a visit to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, we left Ankara last Thursday and flew closer to the Syrian border which we crossed by bus. It took awhile to cross as they had to fingerprint us all and go through our passports, but we got in and stayed the night in Hama (which has a very sad history that you should look up). The next day we went to the largest and best-preserved Crusader’s Castle in the world—Krak des Chevaliers. It was amazing. I think I was living out every kid’s fantasy of having free-reign to explore a castle. We then ate a wonderful Syrian meal and visited a monastery in the Aramaic-speaking village of Maalouia. From there we drove to Damascus, the oldest city in the world, where we stayed three nights in a monastery guest house. During our first day in Damascus, we got to tour and then experience the Hamam (bathhouse). That was quite the experience…but surprisingly enjoyable :). I loved walking the quiet streets of Damascus (included Strait Street!) and visiting all the shops. Sunday we got to experience Palm Sunday! The nearby church was too crowded to actually go inside, but I got to observe the parade of adorable children dressed up in fancy white outfits and a marching band going through the street celebrating. Monday we made a visit to a US Console and then headed to Jordan which is where I am now. I swam in the Dead Sea today! Well, in actuality I floated. It was great fun. I also exfoliated myself with Dead-Sea mud :). Between that the bathhouse in Damascus, my skin is becoming very soft! Traveling has been great so far, and as I predicted the time is travelling fast! We leave Jordan tomorrow and head to Jerusalem where we will begin to dive into depth on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The next two weeks will be intense and challenging in ways, but I am too filled with excitement to be anxious. I expect the next two weeks to be some the most life-changing weeks of my life thus far. I will let you know…

Turkey Part 1

This has been a semester of many firsts for me. Several got added to the list this week, including a not so good one—lice. I believe I got infested from the orphanage I volunteered at, as I was constantly holding kids and kids were always playing with my hair. I discovered this the night before we flew to Turkey, which meant a long night/morning of getting my hair treated and combed out. The next night my friend Sarah chopped off my hair and treated it again…which meant another late night. BUT now I am clean and sporting a new hair style :). I was SO blessed bv the girls who helped me out! It’s true friendship when you’re willing to give up your sleep to comb eggs out someone’s hair.

On a brighter note—TURKEY!!! Wow. I don’t know where to start. I love Istanbul. The first day we got a boat tour and had a chance to get settled in our hotel and scope out our location. It’s incredibly “modern”, beautiful and filled with life. I forgot that I was in the Middle East until I heard a call to prayer. Thursday we went to Koch University and received a lecture on the history of politics in Turkey. The lecture was great, but I was enthralled by the University itself which was incredibly impressive and huge. We have sometimes two lectures a day from a variety of speakers with a variety of view points, and then we have an enormous amount of reading to do every night to prepare for the next day. I’m learning a lot about the politics of Turkey! It’s all really quite fascinating. I’m also getting to see some sites. Friday we went to the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque. I remember making a short video about the Hagia Sophia in high school for Art History class, but I never imagined I would actually get to see it! Very cool. I’ve also just done a lot of exploring on the streets that are covered with shops. I walked into a Starbucks the other day; it was very strange. I even met two Americans inside (one from Tennessee!). Like I said before, I keep forgetting that I’m in the Middle East. On Saturday my friend Sharon and I took a ferry ride to ASIA which is right across the Bosphorus. We were pretty excited about it. We also went to a Turkish church service and sang some worship songs we recognized in Turkish. It was nice to be in church; I miss it. I just can’t wait to be in an English service that I can understand :)! Today we went to the US Consulate building and were able to listen to a panel with different expertise, and then we went back to Asia to explore more! We have one more speaker tonight and then we say goodbye to Istanbul tomorrow morning to head to Ankara for a few days. Part 1 of travel has definitely been a success!

Random Fact::

It is illegal in Turkey to criticize Ataturk (the founder of the country). This includes stepping on a coin with his face on it. And because youtube contained "illegal" critiques of him, youtube is banned :).

Adventures in Alex

Something very strange occurred last weekend. We had it free! With nothing scheduled for us to do, a small group of us decided to take a train up to Alexandria. We spent most of the time in the ENORMOUS Alexandria library. It took us about an hour to get in the first time because we had to 1. Buy a ticket. 2. Turn in our bags. 3. Register our laptops. 4. Go through a metal detector and inspector. It was pretty intense, but once we were there I managed to finish my paper on the western influence in the history of the Middle East. We didn’t spend the whole time being studious though! We had some pretty great adventures. Here are just a few:

*Stayed overnight in a hostel that cost us each only $6 (with beds of boards and a fun elevator you could ride without shutting the door)

*Ate at some great restaurants and drank the world’s best fresh fruit juice

*Enjoyed some time at a Brazilian coffee shop and taught “rock, paper, scissors” to observing business men beside us

*Got swarmed by Egyptian men beside the Mediterranean that took some time to get rid of

*Ran into a mid-westerner who was backpacking to Morocco (!) and also met a really neat, older couple from New Zealand that we decided we want to be like when we got older

It was a great weekend! Sunday we went to Al Ahzar – a nearby school which is very much like the Johnson Bible College of the Arab World. We heard from the director (though nothing of substance was said) and then ate lunch with the students. It was interesting. It was especially interesting to compare that experience with the experience of meeting with students from the Dutch-Flemish Institute a few weeks back. Talk about different worldviews.

Well, now that we’ve all made a home in Cairo, it is almost time to leave it. This week we have two more papers due and two finals in Arabic and Islam. Then it’s time to pack our bags and head to Istanbul, Turkey where we’ll be for the first week!

Random Fact:

To me, the nicest thing about living here is that everything you could possibly need can be found right outside your door. If you’re hungry, you can walk down the street and buy from various produce sellers, or you can walk into the bakery or order from Mr. Koko who makes Chicken Schwerma, rice, French fries, etc. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the sweet potato man will be coming down your street with his cart. Walking down the same street, you also pass pharmacies, a clothing store, a stationary store…anything you need!

Floods. Sunburn. Ice. One Weekend.

Last week as usual was good, busy, and full of stories, but I’ll skip to the most interesting part. While I was excitedly packing my bag for a hike up Sinai last Thursday, Egypt decided to change our plans and have its annual storm. Personally, I always love good thunderstorms. Cairo, however, cannot handle one. Due to its lack of a drainage system, the streets were intensely flooded, and while we knew Mt. Sinai would be in no condition to climb, we decided to venture out in our bus and try to make it straight to Dahab. The streets were about imposible for driving and we ended up sleeping overnight in the bus, reaching Dahab TWELVE hours after we left. Once we arrived we realized it was well worth it. If heaven looks anything like earth, I think it might just look like Dahab. I spent Friday snorkeling in the beautiful, blue water of the Gulf of Aqaba (The Red Sea!!). It was my first time to snorkel, and it was amazing (after I got over the initial “I think I’m suffocating” feeling). The coral was beautiful and the fish were fascinating and colorful. I laid in some sun, and ate at delicious restaurants by the water. Doesn’t it sound like paradise? Saturday was the same story. We went to “The Blue Hole” where we snorkeled some more and soaked up some sun. It was so nice to just relax and be and forget about the ominous papers,quizzes, and assignments sneaking up on us all. That night we left our hotel around 11:30 and arrived at St. Catherine’s/Mt. Sinai around 2:00 a.m. to begin our trek up the mountain. It was beautiful. And freezing. We bundled ourselves up and faced the extreme winds up the path, dodging camels on the way up. We reached the peak in time for the sunrise around 5 (?), enjoyed the view (even in the frigid temperature), and made our way back down. On the way back to Cairo, we made a pit stop and saw the supposed place where the Red Sea was parted (!) and where Moses turned the bitter water of Marah sweet. It was truly a great weekend. My camera unfortunately decided to die right before I reached the top of Sinai, but many others have pictures I will eventually steal. I wish you all could fit in my pocket so you could experience it all with me!

Now I'm back in Cairo, and it's back to classes and homework. We only have 2 1/2 weeks left here before our travel component begins! I have no idea how time flew so quickly. Two weeks from today I'll have completed the three papers I have due (Isha'Allah) and will be packing my bags for Turkey! I can't get too ahead of myself, as I could easily feel overwhelmed with how much there is to cram in these next few weeks. I'm still loving my time here and have to stop myself sometimes several times a day just to say, "This is my life!" :).

Random Facts:

The “Big Blue Hole” is really…a big blue hole.

I could see Saudi Arabia from Dahab!

When I go back to Johnson next semester, I plan on keeping my desk at its lowest level and sitting on a floor cushion. I like this.

It’s time for me to make another visit to the chocolate-covered-peanuts man…