Finished Jordan Program – off to the Holy Land for Christmas!

Today officially marks the completion of my studies in Amman, Jordan. However, unlike most students in my program, I still have a few days left in the Middle East.

The past month has flown by incredibly fast and if you were to ask me what I did in my last month in Jordan, it would take a few moments for me to respond as it all happened so quick. And I think a typical semester abroad student would say the exact same thing – time flies abroad. I was having coffee with a friend of mine today at a café and we were talking how it feels like yesterday when we boarded the Royal Jordanian plane at JFK airport, wondering what this semester in the Middle East had in store for us. And now here we are, in some cases moments away from departure and returning to the States.

I apologize for the brief blog post (or for some of you maybe this is a relief – I hope not!), but I should have been sleeping a couple hours ago as I will be waking up in only 5 hours to head out for one last journey in the Middle East: the Holy Land.

I will be spending the next four days in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, culminating with Christmas Eve in Manger Square in Bethlehem and the midnight Mass at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church. What a privilege and opportunity for this and I hope to share as much as possible with you.

So over the two weeks, I plan to capture my experiences in the Holy Land, conclude my thoughts, impressions, etc. on my semester in Jordan, and (inshallah) transition to my upcoming semester in El Salvador. 

Merry Christmas!

Taxi Saga

After living in Amman, with a Jordanian family, attending a local university, and knowing the lay of the land pretty well, I can say that I am not really a foreigner in an unknown country. Rather, I think I can say that as time has progressed throughout this semester, I have engaged life in Amman – getting to know Jordanians and other nationalities living in Amman – and after nearly 4 months of living in Amman, I can say that I am a local, in the sense that I know the general rules, I can speak Arabic in the local dialect to the extent that it will get from point A to point B and I can hold an average conversation with a Taxi driver or my Arabic peer tutor (with adding some of the formal Arabic as well). So basically, any surprises should have happened months ago. I am used to the crazy driving (although I still clinch my feet, anticipating a major collision), the university professors are not the same as those in the U.S., good food does not cost much, having coffee and/or tea at someone’s house or at meetings with car dealers or friends is a constant in Middle Eastern society (something I will sadly miss), and taxis have a meter that they must use and the cost of using a taxi is unbelievable cheap.

Well, as I said I shouldn’t be surprised by hardly anything anymore. However, the other night a taxi driver threw me a curve ball.

I apologize ahead of time for my rambling about this event. Anytime I talk about it, I get riled up and start getting more and more angry.

After having dinner with a group of seven of us for our friend Caitlin's birthday on a Friday night at a relatively nice restaurant in Jabal Amman, we left the restaurant around 10:45 pm and I decided to return to my house. I walked down the stairs of the restaurant to the street and made a left to the main road, as the restaurant was on a side street. Just as I was walking to the main road, a taxi pulled over ON THE MAIN ROAD (this is important) and I proceeded to tell him where I was going. He said “ok” and I entered the taxi, relaxing myself for a nice 15 minute ride back to my home.

As we are driving around the second circle, in order to return to seventh circle (near my house), he told me that he had no meter and that it would be 5 JD. My first reaction to myself was how did I not look to see if there was a meter. I guess I have become accustomed to taxis with meters, and was becoming more and more tired that I was not paying attention. My second reaction to myself was “5 JD – I can’t remember a time that I paid $5 JD for a taxi in Amman.”

    Side note. There are three types of taxis in Amman – yellow, white, and silver. Yellow is your basic meter taxi, starting at 0.25 JD for most of the day and at 0.30 JD from 10 pm to the early hours of the morning. White is a service taxi, which has a particularly route and will stop for more people on the way to the destination; thus you always pay under 1 JD. The final taxi is called Taxi Mumayez, and this is the more luxurious taxi and costs more – I’ve never ridden one, as it costs much more.

I flagged down a normal, yellow taxi and since it was 10:45 pm, I expected the meter to start at 0.30 JD and move at a faster pace than during the day. If I had to guess, on any normal evening after 10 pm, I would pay 2.50 JD at the MOST from Jabal Amman. So why was this man abusing his job and attempting to take advantage of me, a foreigner?

So back to that night. After hearing that he did not have a meter and that the trip would costs 5 JD, I began to become angry and I told him, “How do you not have a meter? All other taxis in this city and every city in Jordan have a meter, how do you not have one?” He shrugged his shoulder, mumbling some excuse. Then I told him, “I am not paying 5 JDs, you can drop me off right here and I’ll find someone who is not trying to rip me off.” He replied that it is past 10 pm, so the meter normally starts higher (not much though!) and goes at a faster pace (not enough to make the total cost 5 JD!). He also said that he picked me up at the restaurant and they charge more because they wait for the restaurant’s customers to ensure them a taxi as they leave.

Now I was beginning to become more angry. I agree with the whole 10 pm thing, fine, khallas, he is right (however, not to make the price 5 JD). However, saying that he picked me up at the restaurant – now that is ridiculous. I purposely walked to the main street, to avoid the taxis who wait at the restaurant, knowing that they do charge extra at most western establishments throughout the city. I told the driver, “You picked me up off the main street; you were not waiting for customers at the restaurant. I flagged you down and you stopped.” He said, “No. I picked you up at the restaurant.” I replied, “What restaurant do you claim to have picked me up at?” Quick response, “Romeros”. Funny thing bud, I was not at Romeros. I was next door. If you were waiting outside you would have noticed, but another funny thing you were not waiting for me.

I told him for a second time that I would not be paying the outrageous 5 JD price for this unmetered cab. He said fine…4 JD. Umm, I’m sorry sir but were you not paying attention to this whole ridiculous conversation we were having. At this point I was so angry and so flustered, that I told him to just take me to my house and that’s it. He tried talking to me during our ride, I would turn to him, give him a stare and look away. I was not in the mood for him to try to compensate me for the money he was stealing from me by talking to me.

But wait. It gets better. He then asked me if I would like to maybe have some girls tonight. Some Eastern European or Russian women. Now he was getting under my skin and I was infuriated. “How dare you. You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself. This is absolutely disgusting and I am appalled that you would even say such a thing.” My tone and words struck him and silenced him for the rest of our ride. He dropped me off at my house and I exited the taxi and took out my wallet to find 3 ones and .75 worth of coins and a 5 JD bill. I gave him the 5 asking for change. But no, he didn’t have change. “How do you not have change? You have been working all day and now its night. You have no change!?! What have you been doing all day?” I told him I would not be giving him my 5, so he accepted the 3 JDs and the change. I closed the door and walked to my house. 

As I walked up to our flat, I had so much energy inside of me and I was so angry. If this was my first night in Jordan, I think I would have placed all Jordanians in the category of that taxi driver. It’s a real shame. What makes this man think he can take advantage of foreigners? They come to Jordan, hoping to see its beauty, its stability in a region full of conflicts, but they are left leaving with a terrible experience like this. At the end of the day, it is through the people one meets - whether on the street, on tours, at restaurants or tourist sites, and in taxis - where one will take the most back with them to their home country, saying Jordanians are wonderful people like my host family, my peer tutor, the Jordanian who knows me by name and we greet each other each time I walk through the tunnel at the university, the Jordanians I have met through my family, the taxi drivers who I have lengthy conversations with and the many more I have encountered. Or one could leave Jordan, saying that the taxi driver who ripped them off and offered them prostitutes is like all Jordanians and their desire to return to such a beautiful country is nonexistent.

As you can tell, I hope, from my blog posts, I have loved my time in Jordan. In all honesty, I do not feel like a foreigner any longer. I feel at home when I enter a taxi and drive to my home. I feel at home with my family and as an older brother to my two host siblings. This one unfortunate incident will not impact my view of Jordanians. This incident made me wonder about how we, as Americans, treat foreigners who come to the States for a visit. The whole ordeal reinforced in me the importance of welcoming those who are visiting, whether it is from a different state, different country, etc. If you can welcome the “other” – whether he/she be from a different background, ethnicity, religion, etc. – and you can welcome that individual with open arms and an open heart, I believe that the individual will leave with a smile on his/her face, remembering the specific instance when someone he/she had never met, who came from a completely different background, treated him/her in such a respectful and welcoming manner. When I see these types of instances in our world today – the mutual respect and understanding between Muslims and Christians, the love shown towards your neighbor and even your enemy, and in so many other ways – it makes it hard for me to imagine that there is hatred and violence experienced throughout our world and in the societies that we live in. I am given hope and encouragement for our society and our world through these spectacular and beautiful instances when the true nature and essence of mankind manifests itself in such a beautiful and, at times, unimaginable way.  

Cairo, Egypt: From Disappointment to Love (Part 2)

Garbage Collecting Communities

Part of my trip to Cairo over the Eid Al-Adha break included visits to two garbage collecting communities. International Samaritan, the non-profit that works in alleviating poverty in these types of communities throughout the world, has worked in Ezbet El-Nakhl. Therefore, I thought it would be great to visit this community as well as one of the world’s most well-known garbage communities in Mokattam Hills. Not only was I interested because I have visited and served in garbage communities in Haiti and Honduras, but also because I am currently working on a thesis proposal that will focus on these communities.

Ezbet El-Nakhl 

We first visited Ezbet El-Nakhl. We took the metro to the red line and then proceeded to take a van which intended to drive us to the community of Coptic Orthodox Sisters who have developed a center, hospital, and school that serves the Zabbaleen, the garbage collectors. After driving for a little while, we eventually left the bus and began walking to the religious community because the roads are not intended for use by vans and cars. This had to do with the condition of the roads and the many bumps and large rocks making it a nightmare for the tires and bottoms of cars, but also because the number of people walking through the street and the various stores that extended to the street prevented anything short of a motorbike, cart-pulling donkeys, or tuk-tuks.

We arrived to the Daughters of St. Mary Convent where the community of Coptic Orthodox Sisters live and work. Initially, we received a tour of various programs and ministries of Al Salam Center, which began in 1979 to provide medical and social services to those who live and work in the garbage area, including a center for handicapped children, the Mahaba School for kindergarten, primary and middle school, and various programs for women and youth geared towards empowerment.

After receiving a tour of the grounds of Al Salam Center within the religious community (we were not able to visit the garbage area where the Mahaba School is located), we met with Sister Maria who is the director of the Center and of this community. In our conversation with Sister Maria, I learned about the differences of the garbage community in Ezbet El-Nakhl and the one in Mokattam Hills, and we discussed some of the history of this area.

With around 20,000 living in the garbage area and working in garbage collecting, Ezbet El-Nakhl is probably the second largest garbage collecting community in Cairo. It follows behind the well-known ‘garbage city’ of Mokattam Hills, located near the Citadel in the southeast region of Cairo. The needs of the garbage community appear much greater in Ezbet El-Nakhl compared to those of Mokattam Hills. Although I am sure this community in northeast Cairo could focus their efforts and donations on various projects, it seems that the long term goal for this community, according to Sister Maria, is the construction of another school to serve the students who are unable to attend the Mahaba School because of the lack of space.

I found two things from our discussion to be rather fascinating. First, the difference between the garbage collecting communities is rather striking. The ‘garbage city’ of Mokattam Hills is the most well known in Egypt and it has gained popular attention throughout the world in recent years through the documentary “Garbage Dreams” and in other ways. Through the efforts of various religious and non-religious NGOs, this community has been able to enhance its collecting, sorting, and recycling processes – recycling around 80% of what is collected. The community of Mokattam differs that of Ezbet El-Nakhl in three significant ways: greater number of garbage collectors, more organized, and more well known. As a result, most of the attention is given towards the Mokattam garbage community and this is also evident when speaking with Egyptians and local Cairo residents about garbage communities. The first, and in most cases only, community to respond with is Mokattam. Although Ezbet El-Nakhl might be a poorer community and less organized, both communities suffer from lack of government recognition or support and are viewed negatively by Egyptian society as a whole.

Mokattam Hills

Later that same day, we visited the garbage community of Mokattam Hills. While driving through the city, one could easily tell of the increased recycling processes made available through NGOs and other organizations. It was amazing to see tons of pick-up trucks and flatbed trucks, and even cart-pulling donkeys loaded up with trash bags and driving through the city to be sorted, and recycled.

Despite the lack of government assistance and recognition, this community (with other garbage communities) serves the citizens of greater Cairo and other parts of Egypt, through garbage collection – one of the most unimaginable tasks for most Egyptians. However, for the Zabbaleen this is their life – their way of life.

Our time in the actual community area of Mokattam was limited to driving in the van due to our limited time there. We drove to a higher part of Mokattam Hills where the cave churches serve as  important Holy sites for Coptic Christians.

Cave Churches

Church of Saint Simon the Tanner

This church was named after St. Simon the Tanner (or St. Simon the Shoemaker), commemorating the miracle of movie the Mokattam mountain on November 27, 979. This church is currently only used for spiritual meetings and gatherings. Next to this church is a vocational training center and hospital.

Written in Arabic on the wall is a passage from the Bible: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as a small mustard seed, you, can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Church of Virgin Mary and Saint Simon the Tanner

 

This church was named after the Virgin Mary and St. Simon The Tanner, also honoring the miracle of moving Jabal Mokkattam. This church seats over 20,000 people. In addition to Holy Masses, the Church of Virgin Mary and St. Simon the Tanner hosts spiritual meetings that are held every Thursday. We visited Mokattam on a Wednesday and visited the cave churches where they were preparing for a special gathering of Egyptians to pray for their country and its future on Friday, November 11^th that welcomed around 50,000 from all over Cairo and Egypt that lasted from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Saturday. 

 

The Miracle

The miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain is lengthy and this link provides great background and description of the miracle.

In a nutshell, the Caliph Al-Mu’iz threatened Patriarch Abraam to kill the Copts if he could not perform the miracle of the moving of the mountain. After praying in the Hanging Church, Abraam received a visit from the Holy Virgin who told him to go to the market where she would find a one-eyed man carrying a sack of water. He found Simon the Tanner, who told the Patriarch to go to the top of the mountain with all priests and other religious men, providing him with what to say to Al-Mu’iz, who was accompanied by his soldiers. The words said by Patriarch Abraam caused an earthquake over the mountain, leading the Caliph Mu’iz to say to Arbaam, “You have proven that you faith is a true one.”

More history on St. Simon the Tanner and the cave churches in Mokattam can be found here.

Cairo, Egypt: From Disappointment to Love (Part 1)

After spending four days in Beirut, my travel companion and friend Matt Botta and I were on our way from Beirut to Cairo. We arrived in the Cairo International Airport slightly before noon on Tuesday, November 8^th commencing our four days in another Middle Eastern country.

Special thanks to Maged, a new friend of mine, who has served as a translator for the organization I have worked for, International Samaritan, on the service trip that came to Egypt two summers ago. Thanks to my friend and coworker Andrew, I was able to get into connect with Maged, which made my time in Cairo much more enjoyable and exciting. Without Maged’s time and effort, I do not think I would have been able to do several of things that I was able to do with his assistance and presence, and I definitely would not have learned as much as I did about Egypt, the city of Cairo, and the Egyptian people.

Housing Arrangements

Matt and I stayed in Pension Roma, a hostel resting on the third and fourth floors of a building in Downtown Cairo. This Europeanesque hostel has an old elevator in order to get from the ground level to the hostel, and one has to close both the gate and the door to operate it. An older European woman guards the front desk during the day, and she spoke at least four languages fluently (Arabic, English, Italian, and French). And who knows, she very well may have spoken more. Our arrangements were very simple and worth the great price. Although for future reference, make sure you plug in the mosquito repellent plug – otherwise you’ll wake up with a ton of mosquito bites! Obviously I am speaking from firsthand experience – it also reminded me of my first evening in Haiti. We were using mosquito nets over our mattresses because the building we stayed in was lacking doors and bug netting because it was not finished yet. Well, the first night, my leg rolled out underneath the mosquito net and I woke up in the morning with so many bites on my leg that it looked infected or distorted.

Transportation in Cairo

Although we were only in Cairo for four days, we actually were able to use various methods of public transportation, among them being microbuses, buses, taxis, the metro train, and even tuk-tuks.

The metro system was very efficient and quite easy to use, and not to mention cheap (only 1 Egyptian pound, which is approx. $0.20 USD). The metro trains were pretty filthy and smelled pretty badly, but using this mode of transportation made me realize how much easier it is to get from place to place, in comparison with Amman, and when streets are heavy with traffic, the metro provides a nice option.

On the last evening, my friend Matt and I decided to use some public transportation to get from Al-Azhar Park to a café near Tahrir Square. We hopped in a microbus that was partly full. However, like buses in Amman, they wait till they are completely full – and these microbuses use every possible seat, placing children on top of their parents and forcing us to sit directly facing a couple with my legs in a rather awkward position. The microbus, like the metro, costs only 1 Egyptian pound. After leaving the microbus, we realized we were not anywhere close to Tahrir Square. We asked various people, including a traffic police officer, who all directed us in different ways to board another bus to Tahrir Square. Eventually we decided to hope on bus and trust that the man would go where he said we were going. We eventually made it to the café, feeling satisfied that we were able to use public transportation successfully.

My least favorite form of transportation was the taxi. Sure there are plenty of them, that one should never have a problem in finding a taxi. So my dislike in using taxis in Cairo does not lie the ability to find them, rather it disappoints me, and furthermore angers me, when taxi drivers attempt to charge more for the fare and do not use their meter. My anger stems from several negative experiences that I had with taxi drivers who charged more than what is would charge to an Egyptian. Due to being a foreigner, I am treated with disrespect, as drivers assume they can take advantage of me. Why? When people talk about all humans, regardless of race, nationality, religion, etc., being equal, why are their hypocrites who abuse an opportunity with someone they never met, who might engage with them in a great conversation that could lead to mutual understanding and learning new things, and instead attempt to take advantage of a foreigner, who in most cases comes to a country hoping to have a positive experience that it will encourage him to return back in the future. Well, I will be honest. After my first two days in Cairo, I was ready to leave and not come back. I am, however, happy that my opinion has changed. However, this still leaves the question open as to why there is this constant abuse of power by taxi drivers. Although this has happened to some in Amman, including myself, it has not occurred to the extent that it did in Cairo.

I researched a little into this topic online, and found some sources who stated that taxi drivers would say their meter was broken and give a single price prior to the trip (which would be higher than if using the meter) because, in fact, the increase in oil prices has made driving more expensive, however the rise in oil prices did not lead to increasing the cost of the meter – therefore, the meter is outdated and has not taken into account the change in prices of oil. Well, this makes sense why drivers would try to charge more. I understand why drivers want more money, because there is a strong chance that they are losing money or, more likely, they are making less than they did previously. However, this does not excuse their treatment of people, particularly foreigners.

My favorite public transportation that we used was the tuk-tuk, or auto rickshaw, which is utilized in smaller communities, where the roads are not paved and are not as wide and people walk throughout the streets and sell various goods and foods on the streets, making it rather impractical to use cars, taxis, or buses. Thus, the tuk-tuk is an essential mode of transportation for these communities.

Visit to the Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx

My friend, Maged, drove my friends and I to the Pyramids of Giza. Only about 15 km from Downtown Cairo, however with traffic it took roughly a half hour to get there. My initial thought about the Pyramids, being one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was that it was located far out in the desert, away from anything modern; and although of course it would be full of tourists from all over the world, I thought it would be rather civilized and organized. Well, I was wrong on both assumptions.  It was somewhat of a shock to arrive at the main gate of the Pyramids which sits right in the middle of a congested suburb of Cairo, and seeing lines of visitors, both locals and foreigners, attempting to pay the entrance fee and set out on an adventure to see some of the world’s most magnificent structures. As we walked around the Pyramids, admiring their grand beauty, it was also weird to see Cairo in the near distance – I actually do love how past and present can sit next to one another, especially in such a large city, and both can be visited by locals and foreigners. The second assumption about civility and organization of such an important historical site and tourist attraction – well, it actually did not surprise me after being to other historical sites in the Middle East in Petra and in northern Jordan.

All was well when Maged was with us, as he purchased the student rate tickets for us and made sure they did not try to take advantage of us at the main entrance. Well, all good things come to an end at some point. Maged had to live for some meetings – he had already done so much for us, so I told him “no worries, we can handle it from here.” Of course those words would come back to haunt us. Immediately after he left, some locals wanted us to use their camel and horse service to ride around the Pyramids, because he told us that walking around the site is not enjoyable and it is far. Other tourists were doing it, and after getting him to lower the price per person to use this “whole view experience”, we mounted the horses and camels and off we went to explore the Pyramids! Well, if you haven’t noticed my sarcasm, I will spit it out – this was mish qwayis “not good”! Our “guides” were two young Egyptian boys, who spoke no English and I struggled to use my limited Jordanian dialect and somewhat decent formal Arabic skills, because they spoke and only knew Egyptian dialect, which is different from the Jordanian dialect.

We slowly made it around the Pyramids, and passed the Pyramid we were supposed to stop at to take an inside look. We continued to the “panoramic view” spot, which was not the best place to take a picture of all three Pyramids. Then I switched from riding a horse, to riding the camel with the 10 year old Egyptian “guide” – the camel is not made for two people and riding down a hill with this boy in front of me made for the most uncomfortable experience that I have had in the Middle East. We made it to the Sphinx where they then asked for our money (oh, and they wanted us to pay them before we even went on the “ride”!). We asked them to take us to the smaller pyramid for the inside look, but they did not understand what we wanted, so we paid them and ended up walking the whole grounds again – walking to each of the three pyramids, going inside the smallest pyramid, and returning to the main entrance. So I guess I had both worlds - I rode a camel and horse looking at the beautiful work of the pyramids, and I walked around the pyramids on the same path viewing the same masterpieces. I think I would have sufficed for just walking.

But it is all a part of the experience, right? Yes, it is. I found the Pyramids of Giza to be quite breathtaking and astonishing – it’s just amazing to imagine the time, effort, and labor required to build them. And despite the crowds of tourists and the constant pestering and hassling of the horse and camel owners for the “best price” ride and experience, I enjoyed seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and very rich and beautiful historical site.

Coptic Cairo

We visited Coptic Cairo, the nucleus of Egypt’s native Christian community.

Lying next to the Mar Girgis metro stop, the Hanging Church, Al-Kineesa al-Mu’allaqa, is the most famous Coptic church in Cairo and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Built in the 7^th century, it serves as one of the main churches for the Coptic community, and houses the Coptic patriarchs of Alexandria.

Also in Coptic Cairo lies the Church of St. George, the principal Greek Orthodox church of Egypt. Next to the church is the Monastery of St. George, which serves as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.

The Church of St. Sergius, sitting inside the Greek Orthodox cemetery, is said to have been built over a cave where Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus took shelter after fleeing to Egypt in order to escape persecution from King Herod of Judea.

Egyptian Museum

On our first day in Cairo, we toured the Egyptian Museum, which lies next to Tahrir Square. I enjoy museums to a certain extent, and although I am probably not the most interested person in ancient history, I do find the artifacts to be interesting and worth a visit. The best way to describe the Egyptian Museum, in my eyes, is that it is worth it to see the mummies, because it is just really cool! The Museum itself was a little boring – to be honest.

Falucca Ride on the Nile River

One evening we took a Falucca ride down the Nile River. Absolutely gorgeous at night to driving through the calm waters of the Nile and seeing both the Cairo and Giza sides lit up.

Al-Azhar Park

Located on the eastern edge of Islamic Cairo, a recent addition to Cairo, Al-Azhar Park serves Cairo’s citizens and differs from any other public space in Cairo in terms of size, beauty, gardens, and atmosphere. My friend Matt and I spent our last evening in Cairo walking around Al-Azhar Park, enjoying the sight of families at the park – which brought me back to my childhood when my family would occasionally spend an afternoon in the park or several families would spend the day at the park. It was a space available for locals to go, and not have to worry about the commotion and crowds of Cairo. Not to mention the upkeep and maintenance on the grounds of the park – it was the complete opposite of the disgusting streets of Cairo.

Kushari at Abu Tarek Restaurant

The best spot, by far, to have kushari (a traditional Egyptian dish) is at Abu Tarek. It consists of rice, lentils, chickpeas, and macaroni, with toppings of tomato and garlic sauces and fried onions. I had kushari a couple times while I was in Cairo – and no place compares to Abu Tarek. Plus, if you have only one item on the menu, it better be phenomenal.

Cairo’s souq, Khan al-Khalili

 

We ventured to Khan al-Khalili, a large souq (market) in Islamic Cairo, twice. The first time we walked around the souq, checking out the different shops and enjoying the hysterical lines from the shop owners. In one instance after declining an offer, the owner says to me, “you are breaking my heart.”  Also, while walking down one of the pathways at the souq, it seemed like each of the owners said a greeting or an offer for one of their products in a different language. I heard Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and some other languages. Inside the souq, we went to Fishawy’s, a local tea and argelieh spot filled with Egyptians having tea with each other. It had a very local feel to it and it was fun to people watch.

The Citadel

The Citadel is located on the eastern edge of Cairo, and it is a massive complex, that has some beautiful views of Cairo, and even the Pyramids of Giza in the far distance. Home to Egypt’s rulers for 700 years, the Citadel houses several mosques, several museums located in former palaces. The Mosque of Mohammed Ali, built over 150 years ago, dominates the land of the Citadel.

Garbage Collecting Communities (I will post about these in another post)

1.     Ezbet El Nakhal

2.     Mokattam Hills and the Cave Church

A Journey to Lebanon: Paris of the Middle East, Reliving the Pain of the Past

I struggled titling this post, as it is hard to summarize my experience and opinion of my short time in Lebanon. In four days, I traveled to various sites in Lebanon, staying each night in Beirut. Over the course of those four days, I witnessed the beautiful sites and locations within Beirut and in several relatively nearby areas – places that Lebanon prides itself on. In addition to these more traditional “tourist” places, I also witnessed a country and a people striving to be more like the West, yet holding on to their Arab identity. I experienced the beauty of various religions living in harmony and worshiping next to one another. And I also observed the strong feelings still felt throughout the Lebanese people in regards to recent memories that caused bloodshed and chaos with the Civil War in addition to the resilience among the Lebanese people in the aftermath of their former prime minister’s assassination.

As you can see, I cannot give a few words to explain Lebanon. I can however say that my time in Lebanon was wonderful – a place I would return to in a heartbeat. Despite it being in the Middle East, it was very different from Jordan and from Egypt. Sure there are many similarities, but I think grouping them together does not do justice to any of the three countries. 

Lebanon: still reliving the horrible memories of the Lebanon civil war (1975 to 1991) and the assassination of former prime minster Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

I stood on the roof the main Jesuit residence in Beirut at St. Joseph’s University with Dan Corrou, SJ, a Jesuit scholastic from the New England Province. St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit university, resides in Achrafiye (southeast of the Downtown area). Looking out at the various areas of Beirut at night, I was provided with an amazing view of the city. From a distance, Dan pointed out to me the Holiday Inn, which serves as the most visible and painful monument of the civil war. Snipers used the high position of the Holiday Inn, as it allowed them to see anything and everything that entered the port. As a result, it attracted all sorts of firepower. It’s massive presence, next to the beautiful swish InterContinental Phoenicia hotel, also contrasts the past and present. The Jesuit residence, a rather ugly and out of place building compared to St. Joseph’s and definitely no Wolfington Hall at Georgetown, was built prior to the civil war and Dan showed me the general areas where Shias, Sunnis, and Christians lived. Interestingly, the Jesuit residence was in the middle of the Sunni-Christian fighting that involved mortar attacks – however no major damage affected the Jesuit residence, although a few lounge chairs still have shrapnel in them.

Another event felt throughout the city of Beirut as well as Lebanon as a whole was the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005. The month anniversary of his murder, the 14^th of March, brought the largest demonstration in Lebanon to the Place des Martyrs of 1 million Lebanese (a quarter of the country’s population) to the streets and resulted in the final withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Across from the Place des Martyrs is the Mohammed al-Amin mosque in which Hariri is buried.

These horrific events still affect the lives of many Lebanese citizens, and for most they experienced these events firsthand and thus must have some terrible memories and losses. Next to the Mohammed al-Amin mosque resides St. George’s Maronite Cathedral. A beautiful view of two different religions can stand beside one another, can worship beside one another, and live together in peace. On Sunday morning, I went to Mass at St. George’s Cathedral. Listening to the Arabic Mass, I sat in silence reflecting on my time thus far in the Middle East and the sound of the Call to Prayer at the mosque literally next to the Cathedral I was reassured of the ability of two religions to work and live together in harmony, and I was also convinced of the continued need for Muslim-Christian understanding throughout the Middle East and the world at large.

West Beirut highlights: Pigeon Rocks, AUB, and the Corniche

The Pigeon Rocks, located on just off the coast in West Beirut, are one of the most famous and, I believe, the only natural features of Beirut.

The American University of Beirut is situated in the Hamra area of Beirut. A beautiful campus, situated on 28 hectares of greenery and beautiful buildings, drastically differs from the campus of the University of Jordan. The campus is located right along the Mediterranean Sea, which allowed AUB students to enjoy an occasional swim.   

The Corniche runs along part of the Mediterranean, near the AUB campus. As I walked along the Corniche, it was not like anything I have ever felt while in Jordan. To be honest, I felt as if I was in the States or Europe. It was fun to see families out along the Corniche, older men sitting in folding chairs with their coffees, and young and old men alike pole fishing. The natural orange juice from the “juice man” was also very refreshing.

Natural sites of Jeita Grotto and Roman ruins of Baalbek

One of Lebanon’s largest tourist attractions is the caverns of Jeita Grotto, which contain some of the world’s most impressive collections of stalactites and stalagmites. The upper cavern is explored on foot while the lower cavern involves a short boat ride. Both include incredible views.

Our visit to Baalbek involved an interesting ride through the Bekaa Valley. It was an enjoyable ride, driving between two mountain ranges. However the Bekaa Valley is known to be part of Hezbollah’s region. In fact, Baalbek is considered to be Hezbollah’s strategic headquarters – which made sense as we were offered Hezbollah t-shirts at the Roman ruins (no thanks). According to my guidebook of Lebanon and locals, this region, specifically Baalbek, houses the political wing of Hezbollah, whereas its armed wing is situated elsewhere. Despite what one might think of Baalbek and Hezbollah’s supremacy in this area, it is interesting to note that the town’s population is mixed Muslim and Christian, although the yellow and green flags can be seen throughout the city.

Our first stop in Baalbek was the Hajar al-Hubla (Stone of the Pregnant Woman), which is the largest stone in the world, measuring 21.5m by 4m by 4.5m. Mr. Abdul Nabi Al-Afi receives no support from the government or any other organization – he is the sole man keeping this ancient Roman treasure from the garbage dump it once was. We arrived with Mohammed, our driver, and were greeted with open arms and Mr. Afi’s “welcome coffee.”

The ‘Sun City’ of the ancient world, Baalbek houses the most impressive ruins in Lebanon. Originally a Phoenician settlement, it was later conquered by Alexander the Great who named it Heliopolis (City of the Sun) and was subsequently conquered by the Romans in 64 BC by Pompey the Great. The city was invaded by Muslim Arabs in 748 and later the Mongols in 1400.

Our trip back to Beirut through the Mt. Lebanon range when it was very dark outside was a toe-clinching experience. Combining Middle East driving (aka craziness and disorder), quick turns through a mountain range, pitch black dark, fog, and bright car lights approaching at unusually fast speeds = nervousness + praying + faith. I am thankful we made it through Mt. Lebanon, and after my heart felt like it skipped a couple beats I am happy to be alive!

Harissa: Our Lady of Lebanon and Téléférique

After an amazing Lebanese lunch/dinner in Mayrouba, we drove to Harissa overlooking Jounieh, a city north of Beirut, and the Mediterranean Sea. A top of Harissa is the enormous white-painted bronze statue of the Virgin of Lebanon. Beneath the statue is a chapel dedicated solely to prayer. Next to the Virgin of Lebanon is the modern Notre Dame du Liban cathedral.

One of the other highlights of Harissa is the Téléférique that can be used round-trip from Jounieh to Harissa. We decided to take it down from Harissa to Jounieh to meet our driver Mohammad. It was a nice, easy ride down the mountain, passing through apartment complexes getting the occasional view of families having dinner or watching TV.

Ksara Winery

Our first full day in Lebanon began with a trip to the Ksara Winery near Zahlé in the Bekaa Valley, which is a beautiful area located between the Mt. Lebanon Range and Jabal Libnan ash-Sharqiyya (Anti-Lebanon Range), which borders Syria. Over 2000 meters higher than Beirut, the weather was much colder and it rained several times throughout the day – reminded me of late fall in Michigan or Washington, D.C. We reached Lebanon’s oldest and most famous winery and immediately began the tour of the winery, watching a video on its history, learning about the processes of wine production, wine-tasting, and touring the caves where the wine matures. The entire tour was very enjoyable and I felt much older while partaking in the wine-tasting! An interesting fact about this winery is that in 1857, Jesuit priests purchased the land and expanded the vineyard. The Jesuits came across the land around Ksara’s present location and noticed the abundance of water and the beauty of the terrain, eventually leading to the planting of vines and the creation of a vineyard. Several years later workers at the vineyard discovered caves underneath the land, which have been used to store wine and allow it to age. The vineyard was sold in 1973 to its current owners because the Vatican requested that its missions and monasteries around the world sell any commercial assets.

 

My overall time in Beirut has greatly contrasted that of life in Amman. The presence of bars and clubs throughout Beirut and the amount of foreigners and locals at both types of establishments is unheard of in Amman, although there are some nightlife spots. It very much reminded me of Paris or a similar European city. The Downtown area was very pedestrian friendly, and various stores and cafes covered the streets, and families, couples, and youth enjoyed the overall atmosphere of Downtown.

My short time in Beirut has made me wonder about what it would have been like to study for a semester here. It definitely would have impacted by checkbook a lot more than Amman, and the Amman reliance on taxis has become irritating because I enjoy walking to places – Beirut is very pedestrian friendly, as we walked from East Beirut to West Beirut without any trouble or near-death experiences. So, yes, I think I would really have loved to study and live for a longer period of time in Beirut (maybe that will happen some day!), but my time in Amman has been very enjoyable – just in a different way. Being away from Amman has made me realize the difference in lifestyles in the Middle East, but has also made me grow in appreciation for the places and people that I have come to know and love over the past two months.

 Check out other photos from Lebanon