Cairo

Away from home, I am remolded in a new form; in the depths of me there come into existence bold, impetuous longings to satisfy desires, to pursue adventures. I relinquish one civilization and give myself over to a new one. I yearn for life far away from observers: observers who, while manifesting themselves outwardly, also throb within oneself.

--Naguib Mahfouz, The Journey of Ibn Fattoum

Sept 11-22nd. Dodging taxi's, visiting hospitals and blacking out.

Rough start. The first ten days were a brick wall, my body was weak, infected and feverish. The first day I arrived I slept all day and when i woke at 6pm I knew i had to get myself to the hospital. Feverishly sweating I hailed a cab and asked the driver to take me to the local hospital that one of the hostel receptionists had recommended. It was a far cry from a hospital. Rather, it was a tight packed waiting room with 40 plus people with what appeared to be only one doctor. No one understood a word i was muttering and although i finally got across the basics they said i had to return the next morning. Needless to say I didn't return. However i must say that the trip there was, in retrospect, comical. Dodging bikes, carts, cars, pedestrians, i felt like i was in a real-life action movie, except that there was no concept of lanes, of lights, of rules , it was practilcally a free for all save the traffic police in their white uniforms. In the end I finally found a good, clean, efficient, english-speaking hospital in Muhandiseen. I got immediate care and treatment which was such a relief. After getting diagnosed I went to buy my meds, but while doing so I passed out and was caught mid fall by two nurses. Hadn't eaten all day but they took my blook sugar level just to make sure.

It was a lonely week and going out in the streets was frightening. I still don't know why I felt like that but Cairo- its intensity, its cars, its pollution, the language, not knowing my way around - each time I stepped out to get some food and water was a feat. But when the antibiotics started to work the big cloud of scariness started to diffuse and pass over, and Cairo slowly became more open, friendly, dynamic and interesting. My sickness did make me slow down, ruminate, read tons of books and practise (when i was feeling a bit stronger) my guitar. Because of it i think i have adopted a new rhythm in this leg of my travel, focussing on stimulating my mind through constant reading, and just slowing down and taking things as they come.

Monday 20th of September, Giza at the Qithara Music School

The warm-up for their rehersal is Alfred Gamil (the leader) teasing everyone, so that laughter is sprinkled around the circle. He presents all his musicians with the most flattering introductions like "this is our drummer, he is like a dessert after a hearty dinner." Cigarette in hand placed nonchalantly on bow Alfred plays his violin while the rest of his group, 4 amazing singers, 2 guys and 2 girls, sit on the couch beside me while a fan gently sweeps past my shoulder. I feel like this is a private concert while I write and sip strong sugared tea.

Alfred's appartment, red glowing, insense smoke make a delicate sheen sheer facade that spreads across the room. Filled with bedouin rugs, dark wood, African carvings and three ceilings of traditional instruments, violins, drums, tamborines and ouds hanging from wooden hooks like an old had and scarf is thrown on a coat hanger in early autumn.

I am given an introductory lesson by Mohhammed Aly (my teacher) which was so wonderful but so hard. Using a different technique - vibrations in the upper chest instead of the throat, minute and exacting control of every note and tonal interval.

A taste of Cairo

Men in long dark green galabayas flowing around their legs with their step, white turbans loosely tied around their head framing and emphasizing their dark skin and powerful features.

Waiting for taxis, the water for ACs dripping on my head if I walk on the sidewalk, suicidal attempts crossing the road, cars lunging at me, the energy when i step outside of my appartment, the sound of children playing everywhere, the heat, the dust, the children laughing and screaming their national anthem at 8am every school day, which includes Sunday. Covering up, bread vendors lining the streets, the smell of pollution, my dirty feet, everyone and their mother honking their horn, smoking sheesha even in mid-afternoon, the smile of the baby who lives at the landing of the appartment where Alfred lives, 75 piastra falafels, the pregnant silence of Ramadan.

October 1st. Finding friends, and starting up my music.

I have finally found, and moved into an appartment, after much bargaining, searching and headaches, but it's all worth it now that i have my own space! I now find myself surrounded by friends, a wanted and wonderful change from the beginning of my stay. I am very lucky to the point of being blessed because so far in my travels I have met amazing interesting young friends - Donna, Blake, Judith, Sam, Utku, Ramoozy, Miro.. My music lessons are going really well and I can start to hear an immediate improvement in my technique in terms of vocal control. Mohhamed Aly gives me a good number of exercises, vocal drills and makams (scales) to practise and learn, although for now the makams remain the hardest for me to open my ear to and internalize. But I also think it's the first time I am treating and training my voice as one would an instrument. Previously I relied on my ear to learn jazz songs and of course learned some breath control and using my diaphragm, finding the right location for resonance in my mouth face and chest, but now I can use that previous knowledge and (at least partially) apply it to what i am doing. Learning how to quicken and control melodies and notes is wonderfully satisfying.

October 5th, second day of Ramadan

My mood swings from irritated or culturally stressed to happy and elated, but now that I've moved in to my appartment I feel things are going smoother. Today was the first day i had nothing 'to do' - classes, practise, picking up a visa, seraching for an appartment or new roommates- it was simple and good: reading, practise and working out. Even in this void of time where i have free reign I treasure and appreciate the fact I can do as I please and what I please.

Ramadan is calm, or at least that's the side I see of it thus far. The streets grow strangely quiet between 4 and 6pm for iftar, everyone convening in their homes eating delicious meals (I know because the smells waft out of windows and doorways i pass by).

Thursday 6th

The city has calmed down, and with it so have I, although now I have reached the point, like I did in Turkey in which I have found my bearings, am using public transport (for some reason i always deem that the ultimate test of being grounded in a place) and have met good people to hang out with. However Cairo to live in, rather than to travel through perhaps, is a dusty mass that has to be scrubbed for one to be able to see its true heart. The dust has also settled on my pen, for the longer I stay here the harder it is to write - or perhaps I still have to digest it all, and only then can i translate it into words.

Ramadan and the bumping Khan el Khalili at night

Trip to Upper Nile with Qithara music group, El Menya.

Thursday October 13th Together with the Qithara group (and Joe who came for a ‘surprise’ visit!)we headed down to the venue they were going to perform their concert in that night, a small Jesuit monastery in El Menya. We all packed into a small bus at 5am (since it was still Ramadan). The group atmosphere throughout the small trip was wonderful – as usual a lot of joking around. All the group went to sleep when we arrived at the monastery but Joe and I decided to see the tombs of Beni Hassan, tombs that are filled with hieroglyphic inscriptions and paintings. El Menya was a breath of fresh air after having been in polluted Cairo for over a month, and it was also refreshing for the eyes to be able to take in the lush green and fertile banks of the Nile. At night we headed back to the monastery and saw Qithara’s concert which was a real success.

October 17th Sinai.

After visiting the pyramids, the sphynx, showing Joe around the bazaars and downtown in the lively Ramadan nights of Cairo and the Cairo Museum with Tutenkamhun’s breathtaking treasures, we headed out to Sinai. There we stayed for a few days in an amazingly quiet and beautiful eco-lodge where the fish was caught by local bedouins and sleept in bamboo bungalows. The real highlight was our trip to Saint Catherine’s and Mount Sinai. The former is a Catholic (but not Coptic) monastery which stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, the mountain upon which Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. Saint Catherine's Monastery has been one of the world’s great centers of religious pilgrimage for over fifteen centuries. Among its treasures is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only to the Vatican's itself, and a 6th century church reputed to lie directly on the site of the Burning Bush. Among its treasures is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only to the Vatican's itself, and a 6th century church reputed to lie directly on the site of the Burning Bush. The collection consists of some 3,500 volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages. Around the year 1850, the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus, which is now in the British Museum in London, was discovered here. It is still a monestary and now occupied by Greek Orthodox monks, while the place was packed with Russian Orthodox pilgrims. In my opinion the most amazing object in their collection was one of the 50 original New Testament bibles written in the 4th century and sent to Emperor Constantine. That afternoon we also hiked up Mount Sinai. It was a great hike (great to get those legs moving!), the landscape was rugged and dry, and since we did it during the day we were the only ones out there.