Travel blog
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose
You're on your own and you know what you know
You will decide where to go!
- from "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss
Tatil Shibbak
Written by Maïssane Monday, 25 January 2010 03:28
ÉGYPTE ET ISTANBUL
First, I need to explain the title of my blog since it is in Arabic. It is the title of a famous Arabic song and means 'through the window'. I chose this title for my blog because I believe that it is the perfect metaphora to describe the experience of traveling since as a tourist, we see the places that we visit through a window, from the outside. We sometimes can't see clearly what is inside and can't see all that there is... Inspired by buddhist teachings, I try to be a better observer and not a judge of different ways of life. Because I believe that we never know enough to judge. And because judging is evaluating others according to our own criteria with the assumption that we know better. But we don't. Clearly we dont! :-)
December 16, 2009 – From Vancouver, Canada to Cairo, Egypt
I left for Cairo, Egypt, a few hours after finishing a very intensive 4 months of trying to juggle work, university, dancing, and buiding a website. So to be honest, I did not have time to dream about my trip to Cairo because there I was, suddenly.
Some kind of a plan
As usual, I had some kind of a plan. I had a place to stay and a teacher... both at the same address! A few months before I had decided that a trip to Egypt was essential to understand the culture where bellydancing had originated and train with some of the best teachers in the world. I contacted Diana Tarkan, a renowned bellydancing teacher - who also happened to be French - and asked her if I could train with her. She also offered me a room to stay.
So I arrived in Cairo around 3 in the morning... But my first taste of Egypt was many hours before at the Amsterdam airport. When the boarding call was announced, an unruly crowd rushed to the gate and the agent told the passengers to follow directions. Egypt... We entered the airport. Chaos. The passport officer who helped me was smoking. I directed myself to the 'regulated' taxi counter. I was suggested a hotel close to my teacher's residence. The taxi could not find it and had to ask for directions countless number of times. I finally got to rest in a completely horizontal position, although in a very uncomfortable single bed. I woke up in the morning and a taxi took me to what would be my home for the next 3 weeks. Of course, I was overcharged.
A few hours later I was settled; I had unpacked, had gotten myself a cell phone, and had plans for the evening – I was invited to a party where I got to mingle with the Cairo elite -mostly Westerners- in a luxurious and spacious villa; pool, marble floor, delicious catered Thai food, unlimited drinks... the other Cairo.
