mattbell

I learned the Arabic numbering system on my first day in Jordan by looking at the hotel room numbers on my floor. It's come in handy many times. For example. in a supermarket in Luxor, Egypt:

Me: How much does this cost? (70 in Arabic is written on the basket of nuts, but it's unclear 70 per what)
Salesguy: 400 Egyptian pounds per kilo.
Me: No way.
Salesguy: It says right there. 400 pounds per kilo.
Me. No, it says 70. Can't you read Arabic?

After mostly abandoning headscarves in the 1970s as part of Women's Liberation, the Egyptians have re-embraced (or perhaps re-imposed) them as part of the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism.  However, teen girls are teen girls, and they (on average) want to look pretty and distinctive.  Thus, the headscarf becomes a fashion accessory that has to be matched with other parts of the outfit, and there are lots of ways to do it. 

A friend and I wandered through a very interesting park on the eastern side of Cairo a couple of days ago (more on this park later), and during our visit were accosted by a swarm of what were presumably middle-school girls showing off various headscarf fashions.  We were presented with a socially acceptable opportunity to take their picture, so we did:



One fashion not in this photo involves putting the hair up in a topknot or ponytail and then putting a headscarf over that, giving the head an elongated shape.

Taken in Cairo airport, Egypt.

The Egyptian government, which runs all the monuments, is very stringent about their "no photography" rule.  I can understand not wanting flash photography, but no photography at all seems a bit excessive.  However, sometimes the guards aren't looking:

These are from the tomb of Thutmosis III and illustrate the very methodical and scientific approach the ancient Egyptians took toward religion and the afterlife.  One larde section of the tomb had the appearance of an instruction manual detailing the information necessary for the Pharaoh to reach the Underworld.  The photo on the right apparently enumerates particular forms of a god:



On the left is a depiction  of the sky, as encircled by Nut, the sky goddess. (tomb of Ramses 6)



Inside Abu Simbel:


I love the quality of the chisel work here (tomb of  Userhet):

Anyway, I must be going... the guards are always on my tail.  See you next crime.*


*What's that?  Carmen Sandiego has stolen the Great Pyramid of Giza?  Don't worry... a nearby merchant said he heard something about Carmen needing to buy a pair of castanets.  Get on it gumshoe, that's your next clue! 

I had no idea just how much art deco borrowed from ancie4nt Egypt until I saw the Temple of Philate:
    

  Separately, this column was very interesting in that it turned out to be a few iterations of a fractal.

Today in Cairo I passed a large bookstore that had numerous Arabic titles on display in the window, along with an English-language modern printing of Mein Kampf prominently placed in the middle. From what I can tell, this is still the most pro-Israeli country in the Arab world, which I suppose isn't saying much.

My second day snorkeling in Dahab was fairly mediocre – the sea was too rough to see eel garden, or to do much of anything for that matter. However, on the way back in, right near the diver entrance, I met a glorious large octopus. It had the ability to change both its color and texture, and interacting with it was fascinating. It would often attempt to hide by finding a rock, encircling it completely by flattening its tentacles, and then texturing and coloring its body to take on the appearance of the rock.

If you don't believe me, have a look at this well-known but still stunning video:



Its movements (via squirting propulsion) were also completely alien. Not to anthropomorphise too much, but its behavior and mystery lent it an air of great intelligence. Apparently large octopi are actually quite smart, and there are numerous tales of their feats of intelligence.

Tangentially, their tentacles are so complicated that they have their own minibrains, and the central brain issues them high-level commands like “grab the rock”.

The most impressive tomb I've seen so far is the Tomb Of Sennefer. Sennefer was the keeper of the Pharaoh's gardens. His tomb walls are filled with lush scenes of Egyptian gardens and feasts.  (Unfortunately the pictures in the link don't quite do it justice)  The tomb is up on a hillside; it's more or less unmarked, and there are no roads or even clear trails to it.* It's surrounded by a ramshackle village - the inhabitants are the keepers of the tombs. Because it's not easily accessible, it's not a good spot for tour groups., and tour groups make up literally 98% of the visitors. Besides, they all want to see Tut's tomb, which is small, not that interesting, and staggeringly expensive at over $30.

I was in Sennefer for over 20 minutes, and I was the only one there.

If you must go for a big royal tomb, go for Ramses VI or Tuthmosis III. Both of them have an interesting “control room” feel – the walls are meticulously laid out with diagrams and writing related to the afterlife and their system of gods and goddesses. It's very interesting seeing their precise approach to religion, a relic of a time when math, physics, meteorology, and other scientific disciplines were deeply intertwined with religion. This mix persisted up until fairly recent times – Newton, co-inventor of calculus, also wrote extensively and methodically on how the Holy Trinity was actually just one God as well as other topics. This was deeply heretical material, and he ended up keeping it unpublished. (You can learn more here: http://www.isaac-newton.org/ )

*(well, there were signs but someone painted over them. Coincidentally, someone offered to guide me there for a significant fee)