Sukkot In Cairo

I don't have enough time right now to give a day-by-day of what has happened since Jordan, so I'm going to write about this weekend first and then go back and write about all the amazing things that have happened in between.

I woke up around 5 pm from a nap (come back later to find out why I was so tired) and had to hurry to get ready for Shabbat. I wanted to buy lots of food for Sukkot, but there aren't any traditional grocery stores like we know, only small shops and street vendors (at least near me). It was becoming increasingly apparent that I would have to be a little flexible with the rules this weekend. Not the best way to start the new year, but not much of a choice.

I got online and asked Sam (little Schechter friend who is now at AUC) about the shul. He gives me directions and then I look in the Lonely Planet book (thanks Flori and Josh) and see that it happens to be about 3 blocks from the hostel. Awesome.

So we rush over to the shul because it got dark increadibly fast. We recognize it because it is the only building that has an entire army battalion guarding it. We ask to go in but it's closed. I think they said that we missed services but we should come back at 9:30 Shabbat morning. I'm really upset, but again, not much I can do about it.

Next on the agenda was Shabbat dinner. Andrea agreed to be the food buyer for the weekend so we walk to a few restaurants and finally find one that has food without meat. We sit upstairs and it was delicious. For some reason I was expecting it to be terrible, but it was actually really good.

After dinner we decided to just walk around downtown Cairo. We got some ice cream. There were two separate lines: one for men and one for women. Interesting. We then walked to the Nile and hung out on the bridge and then went and sat down in a public park. As always everyone stares at the foreigners and quite a few say "Welcome to Egypt" while they walk by. A five year old Egyptian boy came over and gave Andrea a flower and then ran back to his mother. He then came back and gave one to me. So adorable. When I thanked him and asked him his name in Arabic he turned and ran. All in all, it was a really nice night.

We woke up the next morning determined to get to services on time. We ate breakfast quickly and then walked over to the shul. Locked. The guards say they are late and that we should come back in a half hour. We argue with them for a while because we would rather just stay there until they open the doors. Finally someone comes to open the doors.

We go inside and the man asks for 25 pounds from each of us but when I explained we were there to pray not sight see and that it was Shabbat, he let us in for free. It was a beautiful synagogue. Lots of pews, a huge ark and a beautful bimah in the center with a big portait of Ibn Ezra in front.

While it is beautiful, it is also becoming increasingly clear to me that there are not going to be any services there. So I grabbed a siddur (donated by Bar-Ilan University) and started to pray. I just finished Shacharit when a group of American Jews walked in. There were all studying at yeshivas in Israel. We play Jewish geography for a little while and then I said Hallel with on of the guys.

They wanted to go and grab some tea, so we decided to go with them and then come back later so I could finish. But on the way we ran into Robb, Hannah and Mario on the street. What are the odds? They got in the night before and were on their way to our hostel to check in. So Andrea went with the group and I brought our friends to the hostel since it was so close.

The three of them had planned on getting a room for all three of them by saying that Mario and Hannah were married. Sadly, they are not the best actors. Sorry guys. Eventually they settle for the dorms which are fine and ask if they can put their stuff in our room. I say sure but then the guy behind the counter says that I'm supposed to check out. What?

Apparently our room had been booked for Saturday night and we hadn't paid for that night yet either. So I had to move our stuff to the new room and pay for another night. Not exactly what I had in mind when I told myself I'd be flexible. But, at least I'm not a slave here, thank God.

We then met back up with Andrea and the group and headed over to the Khan al-Khalili bazaar. I figured, just because I can't buy anything, doesn't mean I can't use my Arabic to help my friends get better deals. It was a lot of fun and I'll be sure to come back after the Yom Tov is over so I can grab a few things.

After a full day in the bazaar, we walked over to the front gate where we heard there was going to be some Sufi dancing. We waited in line for about an hour and a half, but it was competely worth it. It was about 90 minutes long and everything was great; the spinning, the music, the costumes, the drums (although my ears were ringing a little afterward). Admittedly, what we say probably wasn't the most authentic thing in the world. I mean, if the entire idea of Sufism is Fana or the anihilation of the ego or the self, I don't really see how putting one's Self on stage can be part of that. But, authentic or not, it was a great show and it was free. A winning combination.

We headed back downtown and decided to end the night with some tea and shisha. We sat at a corner cafe, relaxed, somed some hookah and joked around with the owners for a whlie. Then it was time for bed.

I woke up late the next morning, had some breakfast and then walked to the shul so I could repent a little for all the shabbos "bending" I had done. We get there and it's closed because it's Sunday. Wonderful. I talk with the main guard and convince him to let me pray in the big open courtyard in the back. So I had to go back and get my siddur, but then I finally got to pray at the Shul. Shacharit, Musaf, Minchah, the whole shabang. It was great; I got to pray and Andrea got to read a whole lot about Luxor. I mean a lot, I took my time.

We then walked down towards the Abdeen Palace. It was huge and beautiful. My favorite thing though I think was seeing a scale model of a memorial for the Egyptian Liberation of the Sinai in 1973. Interesting retelling of history, especially since Israel still held the Sinai at the end of the war and actually was in control of more land than at the beginning. But to each his own I suppose. It was also nice seeing that the Israeli foreign ministry donated an ancient spearhead from the time of the Judean Kingdom (6th-8th Century BCE) to the government along with silver olive branches.

We then rushed to find some lunch and found a nice corner cafe that had backgammon. We got some falafel and bean sandwiches and played for a while. Andrea beat me. Then I let one of the men who was there play for a while. The whole cafe was watching. Andrea ended up losing, but she put up a good fight. She tried to buy the board, but they wouldn't budge. Oh well. We were told to come back Tuesday morning to play again. We'll see.

Now we're getting our stuff together to head down to Luxor. I'm very excited.