Hi all,
So, we're in Cairo, having weathered Alexandria very well. Above is the view from our rooftop breakfast area. The Mediterranean, with the ancient entrance to the harbour (the white line at the horizon). Gorgeous. It was a good trip there. Unlike previous ventures, it was orderly and fun.
You may have heard that there are parliamentary elections here. These were today. Elections in Egypt can be very contentious affairs, with riots in the streets and general violence. There were 41 arrests while we were in Alex, and today you may have heard that one of the candidates was stabbed, another killed in Aswan... We haven't seen any violence, but we have seen some gathering of police in anticipation of it. The stabbing was apparently personal, not political. We haven't yet been able to find out about Aswan and what happened down there. Thus, things are relatively quiet. We're monitoring the situation, and won't let the students wander far, should things look worse tomorrow morning.
We had a very long day today - we visited the Fayuum and Meidum. Both are close together, but are about 1.5 hours south of Cairo. The Fayuum visit was to see an ongoing excavation by both diggers from the University of Auckland and from UCLA and Rijksuniversitiet Groningen in Holland. It's run by Willeke Wendrich, who I first met at Abu Sha'ar the first time I dug in Egypt, so we've known each other for a long time. She's now at UCLA. We were given a tour of her Roman site, Karanis. The wind was fierce but there was cloud all day, which made it a little muggy. Not what you expect in the desert. The site itself is a very large town site, and it was excellent to have a guide, Angela, from the dig. She showed us all around, and it was fascinating. I've perhaps stupidly agreed to teach a week of Roman Egypt for a Roman history course at university in the second semester of next year, so I was paying particular attention. I know nothing about Roman Egypt, so it should be interesting, I reckon.
I'm going to hit the hay now. Fighting the wind is tiring. All is well. I'll let you know if anything changes, and I'll post again when I can.
Love, Jen.
1 comments:
Jen,
I love your photographic eye.
And such dreadful ignorance here to have no idea about there being elections there right now. Apologies to all bazillion Egyptians...
I'm playing in an ad hoc orchestra, our friend Liz Ainslie roped me into: A Celtic Christmas. However, my favourite piece is not Celtic but actually a Persian version (heh!) of God Rest You Merry... Sounds really cool all minor key-ey with violins, a cello, mandolin, lute, percussion and vocals. I'll see if I can get a recording of us concert night (December 12th).
Also, I am sending your present(s) with Mum, so they won't be waiting for you in Auckland as I stated before you left. Sorry, but that seems waaaay cheaper and a better idea to boot.
off to bed, so night night.
love,
/timothy
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