Saqqara and Sequoia...

About a month ago, the Notre Dame kids got an email from Judy Hutchinson, the coordinator for the Egypt study abroad program, informing us that she, as well as the director of the entire Office of International Studies, would be coming to Cairo in mid-March. As such, they would be able to take us the ND contingency down here on an all expenses paid day trip to the destination of our choosing.

Upon hearing this news, I was like a kid in a candy shop, and immediately began thinking of what lucrative adventure we could cram into a day, all on Notre Dame's tab. Originally I'd pushed for a day trip to Alexandria, Egypt's fabled coastal city about two and half hours away from Cairo. But after receiving little support within the group, I gave way to the others, and we eventually decided to see Saqqara, the step-pyramids built a few kilometers south of Giza.

Following some solid planning by Ben and Shannon, the date was set and the itinerary determined. We'd booked a 6 hour excursion for March 12th with a group called Memphis Tours, which would include stops at Saqqara, as well as the pyramids of Dashur and the ruins of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. The day's events would also be capped off with dinner at Sequoia, an uber-upscale restaurant on the north end of Zamalek that I wouldn't dream of dining at unless someone else was footing the bill.

March 12th finally rolled around. I woke up early and was down in the lobby at 8:30, ready to take a cab with the rest of the ND kids (only 5 out of the 8 of us- conflicts prevented the other 3 from joining) over to the Semiramis Hotel, where Judy and Cathy, the OIS director, would be waiting. The 10 LE fare we split between the five us would be the last significant expenditure of the day.

We arrived at the hotel, met up with Judy and Cathy, and then began searching for our Memphis Tour representative. According to an email Ben received, he would be wearing a "pint tie and a pink shirt." We waited outside the hotel for him for awhile, and at about 9:10 we were getting a little worried. Fortunately, someone had to go to the bathroom and discovered that the rep had actually been waiting inside the hotel for us. He led us out a back door, and soon we were in a pretty comfortable and spacious van, on our way out of Cairo.

Our first destination was Saqqara. Saqqara is an expansive network of burial grounds that served as the primary necropolis for nearby Memphis. The main draw are the step-pyramids, specifically the Pyramid of Djoser, which is named for the ancient Egytpian king who once was buried within it. Built nearly 5,000 years ago, the structure is considered one of the oldest large-stone constructs to ever be erected. It stands 62 meters tall and consists of 6 mastabas, or layers, stacked upon each other. The step-pyramid marks an important historical point in the evolution of Egyptian burial sites, halfway between the flat, rectangular mastabas and the gargantuan, sky-piercing pyramids like the ones found in Giza.


The Pyramid of Djoser may not have been nearly as big as its decedents in Giza, which are truly monstrous, but it was still an impressive construct, especially considering it was constructed a few hundreds years prior. The pyramid was under some renovation of sorts during our visit, and the scaffolding was a bit of a nuisance. Nonetheless, it still merited some climbing action. Apparently, a wee little British fellow wearing man Capris wasn't a fan of this, and apparently let those on the ground know about this, ending his criticism with a typical anti-American barb.Yah, like you and your lot have always treated Egyptian burial sites and artifacts with respect and reverence.

Saqqara included some other cool sights, though I'm not exactly sure what they really are, given the fact that I preferred to wander around rather than listen to the explanations of our English speaking tour guide, Ahmed. We did get to go down into the burial chamber of the Pyramid of Teti. From the outside it looked like a miserable little sound hill, but the insides have been extraordinarily preserved, and included a wall covered in expertly chiseled hieroglyphics.

Following Teti, we piled back into the van and headed off for our next destination, Dashur. Along the way, we passed through a long swath of land covered in never ending forests of palm trees and lush grass, a stark contrast to the dry and dull look of the pyramid complex we had just come from.

Dashur is the name of the region just south of Saqqara, and holds two noteworthy structures: the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. For some odd reason, a military base has been constructed on the premises, and therefore tourists can't really get very close to the latter. I snapped a picture, but the conditions were less than conducive for good visibility. The origins of the Bent Pyramid's name are no mystery- just look at it. Apparently, Egyptian engineers made an error when calculating the angle, resulting in the bizarre lopsided look you see to the right.

Even though we couldn't take a closer look at the Bent Pyramid, the Red Pyramid gave us more than we could handle. First off was the ascent half-way up the pyramid to the entrance shaft. The path was steep and tiring, but if we thought that would be the toughest leg, we were way off. We began our descent into the Red Pyramid, down a shaft that had to be at close to a 45 degree angle. The 4 foot height of the tunnel made the going very difficult and I was afraid my back was going to seize up from all the awkward crouching. And the deeper we got, the more a very powerful musk began to seep into our nostrils. After what seemed like days, we finally reached the bottom.

But it didn't get any easier at that point. A pair of travelers, who appeared completely spent, breathlessly told us that there were no lights inside the chambers were about to explore. We would be completely on our own. While the others fretted, I pulled out the trusty phone I'd purchased a few weeks previously that, aside from coming with a great variety of entertaining, light-synchronized ring tones, also has a low-beam flashlight, and led the way. Even with the flashlight, the all encompassing blackness of the rooms we were in swallowed up the light almost instantaneously. We all had to resort to using the flashes of our cameras as emergency torches, and it was quite comical with everyone snapping pictures every few seconds or so. Here are some of those pictures from inside the (pitch-black) Red Pyramid:

Creepy tunnel connecting one chamber to another

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Looking straight up at the vaulted ceilings of one of the chambers

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The Ascent: without flash

And with flash

After we'd had enough exploring the various passages and compartments of the Red Pyramid, we backtracked and made our way back up the imposing ramp we had descended half an hour previously. I don't think I've ever been happier to see the desolate deserts of Egypt as I was when I emerged from that God-forsaken tunnel. The trek back down the pyramid, which had been difficult enough on the way up, was now made more challenging by the fact that we were all exhausted, light-headed, and prone to losing our balance and rolling on down. We somehow all made it down without any casualties, piled in the van and were off.

Our next destination took us to a carpet school, where young boys are taught the fine craft of making carpets from hand. We got a tour of the place before settling for the real reason we had been brought there: to get sales pitches thrown at us. The carpets were undoubtedly beautiful and the craftsmanship was exquisite, but I wasn't about to throw down 1000 LE's plus for one. I mean honestly, what use do I have for a carpet?

After we'd all taken turns turning down the carpet salesmen, we were shuttled off to a little restaurant in the middle of a lovely palm grove clearing. The food was delicious, including bread made on-site, an assortment of Middle Eastern appetizers (eggplant sauce, rice, potato soup, wrapped grape leaves and the like), and some freshly grilled chicken and khofta (which I, of course didn't eat because it was Friday). We also had some incredible strawberry juice (which was thoroughly overpriced at 15 LE- over 5 times as expensive as a juice bar in Zamalek).

Our final stop was Memphis, which had served as the first capital of united Egypt. I guess I was expecting to see ruins from the city, but was a little disappointed. All the site really had to offer were a handful of monuments. Even so, some of the were very neat, such as an enormous statue of Ramses II. The statue was so gigantic, that instead of relocating it, Egyptians opted to build an edifice for it on site. It's definitely had its share of wear and tear, but it's still an impressive display of Ancient Egyptian stonework nonetheless.

The Memphis site also housed an Alabaster Sphinx, some nifty sarcophagi, several more imposing Ramses statues, but not much else. I wasn't all that impressed; I guess I'm not much of an Ancient Egypt guy.

But overall, the day had been a success, especially considering I'd only spent about 2 LE's. Not too shabby. And with a 6:30 reservation at Sequoia, it was only about to get better. After dropping Judy and Cathy off at the hotel, the rest of us caught a cab back to the dorm and rested up for a bit. A couple of hours later, at 6:15, we met in the lobby before setting off for our dinner destination. 

The environment at Sequoia really makes the experience. It's situated at the northern most tip of Zamalek, right on the waters of the Nile. The eating area is under a long, billowy tent like cover, with open sides, providing an exceptional view of the of the river and the downtown Cairo on the opposite shore. A plethora of candle and lanterns, blowing slightly due to an evening breeze, really add to the ambiance. And rather than sitting in wooden chairs at a wooden table, patrons dine in plush white furniture around a low stone table. It's as much a lounge as it is a restaurant.

After settling down, we placed our drink orders. Unfortunately, although Notre Dame was paying for the meal, we couldn't order a classy bottle of wine for this very reason. Oh well. I ended up settling instead for a delicious glass of lemon juice with mint, which I proceeded to down in about a minute. Following drinks, we ordered nearly ten separate mezze dishes, including taboula, bubagounush, humus, tamayya, and of course, some Oriental sausage.

We then placed our main-course orders. Even though a calendar would've told you it was still Friday, I decided to observe my Lenten fast Jewish style, meaning Friday had really ended when the sun had set. Therefore, I was free to order the mixed grill option, which included chicken, khofta, veal chops, as well as a 70 LE price tag (that's basically how much I spend on dinner over the course of 10 days). For some truly bizarre reason, they brought my food almost immediately. I tried waiting for others to get theirs, but when it became apparent that there had been some sort of mix up, I dug in. Good, hearty stuff. After everyone had finished off, we took a peak at the dessert menu. I opted for the orange konafa with clotted cream and syrup, which was scrumptious.

The total bill for all 8 of us (we had gained another Domer who couldn't make the day portion of the trip), after the 12% service and 10% tax, was well over 1000 LE, our roughly $200. Not too bad for one of the classiest restaurants in the country.

The day had been a real treat, and a lovely little escape. It also allowed me to ponder about the nature of the Notre Dame study abroad experience. Though it may be true that ND tends to be very restrictive and limiting in what you can and cannot do while abroad on an ND affiliated program (such as not renting your own apartment or traveling to countries with a State Department issued warning [like Lebanon...oops]), there is no doubt that ND has our best interests at heart. The day's trip and dinner were just one small example. After talking with many of the kids out here from other schools, it's become apparent that ND treats study abroad very differently from other places. I'd liken it to a protective, yet loving parent. 

Anyway, that's that. Oh, and if you're a fan of the "guess the price" contests or if you're interested in seeing what I do with my hair, tune in on Tuesday for a post that will feature both.