The Pyramids are as Sweet as You Have Heard

I have just returned from the oasis of Baharriya where much adventuring has been had. I know I keep saying this, but I promise to post pictures soon. Batteries on the camera are dead, I swear.

Now I am in Cairo, once again, my home away from home in Egypt. Since I have the option of going to Alexandria tomorrow at just about any time I feel like, I figured, 'why not go back to the pyramids again for a day?' As Paula put it: they enslaved and sacrificied thousands of people just so they could have sweet places to die in.
And since it is literally only 5 subway stops away, I think I will go back to these ultimately sweet places to die in. I mean, I don't want to get flippant about it, but maybe I will even ride a camel if I feel like it. Who knows?


UPDATE: Obligatory "Will in front of the Pyramid Shot" We made it!

Aswan

Today, in Aswan, I said this thing on the boat crossing the Nile. I hope you don't mind, but I am going to mis-quote myself now: "I understand why people come here- Aswan lets you keep believing that Egypt is how you imagined it."

What I mean of course is that very pretty, scenic and full of absurdly romantic boats, sand and old things. It also holds the top honor in the newly created Will Sisk Prize for Clean Devloping World Cities. There are people here who really seem to understand that tourists don't want to come to a trash strewn concrete filth den. (Right? It seems like the tourism schools in Egypt are teaching something afterall!)

The Western (Wailing) Wall

We visited this wall that you may have heard of- it's called either the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall. It is the last existing remnant of the famed second temple of Jerusalem, which was demolished in 70 AD by the Romans to end the Jewish revolt.

(Anti Defamation League Disclaimer) I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Jewish people when I say the following:

The civil engineer in me did really enjoy the notion that people pray and revere this fervently what is in fact a retaining wall. Engineers, be proud and do a good job. You never know when you will make something that, 2000 years later, inspires divine feelings galore.

Also, if you are also bemoaning the fate of the wall, don't despair! A group of orthodox Jews and whackjob Christians (many of them American) are hell bent on bringing a third incarnation of the temple back. While this has all kinds of prophetic ramifications which I will not go into here, it would definitely have the redult of detroying the Mosque where Muhammed dreamed of his ascent to heaven. This would, to say the least cause problems.

I love (eating in) Egypt

OK, back in Cairo for a few hours on my way to Aswan, Luxor and the rest of upper (Southern) Egypt. It is the centerpiece of the typical 'Egypt Experience' and I have left it for last. I have liked or loved all of the places I have been in Egypt and I think I am unlikely to let down next.

But back to food. That is the reason for the post. We left Israel, and had it not been for our wonderful friends on the Kibbutz we visited, it would have been an extremely hungry affair. Prices on the falafel index are quite high:
Average Isaeli falafel- 10 NIS or ~$2.76
Average Egyptian Falafel- 1.5 LE or ~$.27

Now, to be fair to the Israeli falafel industry, theirs are about 2 times larger and 1 grade higher in quality. But even so, ruling this out, we still can see a falafel to falafel ratio of 5:1.

Seriously, for $3 you can literally buy enough to make yourself quite ill, and that is not taking into account the effects of untreated water!

Speaking of water, my engineer friends may like to know that I drank (in Israel) my first ever artificially desalinated water. It was at least as exciting as it sounds. ;)
Above: Higher quality, but much more expensive Israeli Hummus. Tasty, but pricey.

Exodus

Today, or in the very near future, I will be leaving Israel for the Sinai, the promised land. Back to the land of pharoahs and the pyramids. What can I say, I don't follow directions very well, you know?

Resource Wars

Just a quick thought- I noticed here in Israel, like basically everywhere else I have ever visited outside the US that everything is smaller. Refrigerators, cars, apartments, hotwater heaters, everything is smaller. Along with this comes less resource intensive use of everything. Smaller cars = less fuel. Small fridges = less electricity and less food spoilage. Etc...

America is the only country with this kind of largese and it is really out of step with everywhere else. Also, as a quick aside, every house here in Israel has solar thermal on it. 2 panels and a tank right there on the roof... I'll get pictures tomorrow.

One Hundred Sunsets

Since I will be gone for such a long time, I decided to exercise my creative side a bit. I am making a project where at sunset (100 of them!) I take a photo of something. This is a limited edition piece- only 100 will be created and displayed so be sure to save the address and check back often!

My ongoing photoproject.

Recipe- Tahina

If you are like me (god forbid), you probably at some point have found yourself with a large jar of tahina paste in the refrdgerator, having been told at some point that it was a needed ingredient for hummus. Then, you tried making the hummus and decided that it was not all that good and so the tahina just sat there! Well, I have news for you. That tahina- it's a gold mine of tastiness as long as you know how to tap that ore.

Tahina is a tasty treat in it's own right. Why not give that sad bottle in the back of your fridge a second look?

Tahina*
Tahina paste (ground sesame)
lemons
garlic
olive oil
water
salt

Anyone who has cooked with me knows that I am a little thin on exact measurements. please bear with me.

Put about a half cup or so of tahina paste into a mixing bowl. It will be pretty thick. Squeeze at least 1 lemon into the paste. Don't skimp on this! It needs to be tangy. When in doubt, use more to taste. dice a clove of garlic and throw it on top as well. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt (kosher or sea salt is tastiest).

You will now have an unmixable pile of goop. That's ok because it's the time to add some warm water. Add it slowly and mix it in until you have created a smooth almost sauce consistency. Add more of the above ingredients to taste- it's really up to you. If you are making an arrangement in the hopes of getting laid or something, try sprinkling a bit of paprika on top to make it look extra good. If you use a sprig of cilantro, you are garanteed to get at least to third base!


*my Cairo recipe

Thou shalt

We climbed Mt. Sinai the other day in Egypt. They charged us $3 to get into the area which is supposed to pay for cleaning the area, keeping up the roads, etc.

Climbing Mt. Sinai was cool. We did it at 2 in the morning as the mountain becomes an infero by about 10 am. I suspect the burning bush was a case of spontaneous combustion. I also question the judgement of the Israelites in hanging out in this area. I mean seriously, it is about as nice to be in as the black rock desert for the other 51 weeks of the year.

On the way back in the light, I noticed that the path was strewn with trash. This is nothing new for Egypt, which has the environmental protection of a 19th century lasissez-faire factory. what was curious is that I have not been to somewhere yet in Egypt where a fee was collected to clean and it was not at all done. The pyramids are kept up well even, in spite of the fantastic number of visitors.

Egypt: Thou shalt not steal (the money to clean with!)

Quick note of proof of aliveness

I know that title is bad grammar, but damn it, I can poorly title if I want.

Quick status update- everything is fine, Pyramids are sweet, camel treks still not that fun and Israel=expensive.

Seriously, we just arrived in Israel and are en route to Tel Aviv. It is not a biblical city, so I hear, but it is where many people we know are based, so it's where we are going to stay. Fortunately, Israel is approximately the size of a large ashtray, so day trips to most places should be possible.

On the way through security, Israeli security correctly identified Paula as brown and as such detained us for an interminable period of time. Now we are at a bus station, hence the "en route" description. I am hoping things pick up soon, but so far, I actually miss Egypt a little.