Day 57: Ibn Rushd Univ. Psychiatric Center

As I write we are pulling out of our final port on the way home.  I have to say, today was a pretty typical SAS day and a good way to spend the final hours in port.  The "typical SAS" part comes in as we departed for the Psych Hospital an hour early so the whole "flexibility is key" motto came into play as we made a quick detour to the Hassan II Mosque for a visit.  There was no reason other than to kill time.  It was actually kind of nice because I got a chance to see a bit more of the interior since a different door was open. 

After arriving at the Hospital we were led through some rather daunting looking gates onto the campus and eventually to a conference room with mint tea waiting (a sign of Moroccan hospitality).  The professor/psychiatrist, Driss Moussaoui, gave a short talk on the history of mental healthcare in Morocco and there was active discussion for a good two hours.  It was an incredibly interesting visit.  Upon his arrival in 1979, there were only 2 psychiatrists in Morocco and he essentially built the "public" mental healthcare system from nothing.  The reason "public" is in quotes is because there has been such little financial support from the Moroccan government and the facilities are almost all built with private donations.  His story is very intriguing and one that is still continuing.  Under his lead the system has come a long way but is still far from sufficient (there are only 1000 psych beds for a population of 32 million).  Despite a bit of arrogance (which is probably deserved considering what he's accomplished), Moussaoui is definitely one that has devoted his life to "fighting the good fight." 

The institutionalized patients themselves are usually very severe and since there is really no support staff (the nurse to patient ration is 1:40) there's a heavy dependance on family.  Many times the family cooks meals and buys medication to bring into the hospital.  I could go on and on about the discussion; it was a great experience.  Afterwards we had a chance to do a quick walk around the facilities which were in surprisingly good condition.  There was so much information presented it's hard to soak it all in (even with my 8 pages of notes).  We left the hospital in the early afternoon and my extended family mother, who was also on the trip, offered to treat me and a few others to lunch.  We walked to a cafe close by and had a fun little lunch with some pretty heavy discussion about healthcare policy and the role religion should play.  Yes, this day has been very philosophical.

After lunch I realized I had over 40 Dirham in coins left (coins are unexchangeable) so I swung by a shop on the way to the ship.  The past few days I had been comparing prices for a Guenbri; an Arabic string instrument.  I handed the storekeeper all my coins trying to indicate that this was my last day and I needed to get rid of them and he smiled and let have the Guenbri, so that was pretty cool.  It's probably not the most authentic but still has rather decent tonality.  I got back to the ship in time to beat the final port rush.

It's hard to believe we're departing our last port.  Morocco was a lot of fun and an interesting place; I don't think I would describe it as that tourist friendly and it definitely presented the most difficult language situation of any port we visited (my pathetic French has improved a bit).  As I look around the ship I think most people feel the same: we're tired and ready for home.  It might just be the insane heat here or the "last port" mentality but the ubiquitous exhaustion is pretty evident.  Thankfully tomorrow is a "study day" which will offer some opportunity for rest.  That's all for now, I'm off to the the post-port reflection.

Day 56: Casablanca Souks & Rick's

The original plan for today was to do Rabat on our own.  While working on the game plan last night Daniel, Lacey, Heather, and I talked with a few other SASers who made the journey that day.  The general consensus was that the trip was not really worth it due to the similarity of Rabat to Casablanca and Marrakech.  Had I known other people willing to go I probably still would have gone just to get out a little more but we had a good day here also.  After two really long days we were in need of some rest so we took it pretty easy in the morning.  I was still up early but hit the gym and did a bit of tweaking to some papers before we met up to go out.

Most of the late morning/early afternoon was another Casablanca walking adventure.  We got a chance to spend some more time in the Medina and Souks (basically a bazaar) where I perfected my people watching and bargaining skills.  I don't know if I'd actually call it bargaining "skills" but I have devised a pretty effective method the past few countries.  They give me a price, I laugh and say exactly what a want to pay, they retort with a higher price, I laugh again and walk away.  I'd guess about 75% of the time they call me back and take the original price.  It works especially well since I don't buy anything big and what I do get I could usually do without and have no regrets walking away from.  I'm sure there are much more effective methods out there but it works for me.  Other than the souks and some of the commercial area outside the port there's really nothing else to do in Casablanca (at least within walking distance for us) that we didn't already hit on the city orientation.  An interesting random observation: there seems to be more Mcdonald's here than in any other country we've been to.  The locals pronounce it "Macdonald's" with a heavy French accent, it's rather entertaining.

We went back to the ship for a little while and then ventured out again for dinner.  We decided to splurge a little bit and do a nicer dinner since it was our last evening in port.  Of all the recommended places the only practical/walkable/safe one was Rick's Cafe again.  SAS people have taken over the place every night here so I'm sure they appreciate the business.  The food was good, not overly impressive, but the atmosphere was a lot of fun.  We ended up sitting near a Canadian professor on vacation and had a good time talking American politics for about 45 minutes before moving on to more appropriate travel swapping stories.  The evening concluded with the necessary Moroccan mint tea (way too sweet me for) and our journey back to the ship.  Tomorrow I have my FDP to the local psychiatric hospital so I've been trying to read up on the state of mental healthcare here.  It should be a really interesting experience.  That's all for now, I'm about ready to call it a night.

Day 55: Marrakech

"Didja know we're riding on the Marrakech Express..."

Well, we didn't get to take the Marrakech Express (probably a good thing, I've already heard about some interesting times on the Moroccan railway system), but did get to enjoy a 3.5 hour bus ride from Casablanca to Morocco.  I think it's safe to say that we hit the climax of insane traffic in Egypt, but it's still pretty wild here.  During the trip we got some standard Morocco info from the guide and made the obligatory gas station pit stop.  I often wonder how the owners of these little shops in the middle of nowhere feel about being bombarded with rabid tourists every few hours.  Despite how annoying we can be, I'm sure we provide some good income.

Upon arrival in Marrakech (among the impoverished desert villages and groves of palm trees) we stopped at the Majorelle Gardens for a little while.  I don't think it was originally part of the trip but I'm glad we made the stop.  Marrakech as a whole can be described as kind of hot, dirty and crowded but the gardens were the exact opposite.  There was quite a bit of really beautiful desert landscaping in a very tranquil atmosphere.  It was another view or Morocco and very nice to visit.  After departing we drove by the original adobe city walls (with their famous 7 gates) we stopped for a visit at the Bahia Palace.  The palace used to be home to top ranking appointed leader for Morocco when Marrakech was the capitol (the historical name escapes me at the moment and I can't decipher my notes...it'll be nice to get real internet back in a little over a week).  The building is a great example of Moorish architecture with some gorgeous plaster work and fine mosaics.  Each room has a unique ceiling design and mosaic floor.  We walked through the gardens and each of the four wings before continuing to the Dar Si Said Palace.  The palace is not in great condition and was converted into a museum.  A quick walk though revealed quite a few Berber and Arab antiquities. 

Following the museum, we walked to a restaurant close by for lunch.  As usual for these trips, it was a set menu so I was really excited to try some authentic cous-cous.   It came on a giant platter for our table (thankfully we had silverware and didn't have to "authentically" eat by hand) and was unlike any other cous-cous I've had before with lots of whole veggies, tender beef, and an interesting sweet sauce.  It was excellent, quite delicious.  After lunch we had a few hours of free time in the Medina.  The hundreds of shops give it a very Turkey/Egypt bazaar feel but the salespeople weren't nearly as aggressive.  It's been hard to find decent pens in the last few countries but I think I came up with a few.  Other than that, the shopping wasn't too useful for me since I have no need for fake leather or a tarjine.  We ended the day by winding up at the Jemaa el Fna Square.  When you think Morocco, this is the image that probably come to mind.  There were all kinds of people with monkeys, snake charmers, acrobats, storytellers, and so on.  It was pretty crazy.  It was fun, but I have to admit that the experience would have been a lot better had it not been so "stressful."  We didn't stay in the square too long because every time you turn around somebody is handing you an anesthetized snake or a monkey is jumping onto your shoulders.  These would both be fine with me if there weren't 4 Moroccan men surrounding you asking for photos and money at the same time.  We got out relatively unscathed; Daniel had to pay a little over a dollar for a decent monkey picture.  The game plan then turned to taking covert pictures of the activity from a distance (thank you 10x zoom), some of which turned out surprisingly well. 

After our excitement in the square we boarded the bus for the trip back to the ship.  As always, the three hours seems to go much longer when it's dark and you're tired/hungry.  We got some dinner back on the ship, did a little planning for the next day and called it a night.

Day 54: Casablanca

I'm not sure whether I'm disappointed or relieved to say that our journey though the storm last night wasn't nearly as rough as expected.  We hit some strong waves but nothing like we were told to brace for.  We arrived to an overcast industrial port in Casablanca this morning.  There's not too much cruise traffic here so the port authorities seem a tad confused about how to handle 750 college kids.  We had a really interesting Diplomatic Briefing this morning before the ship cleared.  It was probably the most straight forward and politically informative one we've had so far; it was actually quite enjoyable.  After clearance, Daniel and I decided to go explore Casablanca on foot for a few hours before our city orientation departed in the early afternoon.  We actually ended up being the first two SASers off the ship and into port so that proved to be a little adventure.  After the 20 minute walk out of the Casablanca's enormous commercial port we found ourselves in town.

I think the best way to describe the streets of Morocco would be very dirty but interesting.  Daniel and I walked around the Mechouar Bazaar, through a local "market," and eventually ended up at the Hassan II Mosque.  We then followed the coastline back to the port.  Jumping right into the streets of Casablanca was a great cultural experience.  We saw a lot of local interaction, live chickens for sale on the street, huge slabs of meat hanging from stores (most covered in flies), feces in the middle of the road (unknown whether human or animal), eel and fish layed out for sale on the sidewalk, and multiple folks urinating on the sidewalk on which we were walking.  The most memorable part was the intense and strong odors.  It wasn't just one small of "nasty" but alternated between rotting fish, diesel, urine, cooking spices and incense among many others.  The way I'm describing this it probably comes off as a really gross experience but I didn't really think of it that way.  Yes, it was rather filthy but seeing the people made it really fascinating.  Their dress, mannerisms, interaction, and reaction to us was really great to see.  I guess that's one way to get a good feel for the culture.

After grabbing a quick lunch on the ship, the city orientation departed for the Hassan II Mosque.  While we didn't get a chance to view the world's third largest mosque from the inside, just seeing the exterior was amazing.  It's considered a "modern" mosque having been completed in the 90's and the Moorish architecture is quite intriguing.  The mosaic fountains are beautiful and the square is enormous; it can hold over 100,000 people (and will be filled to capacity in a few days as Ramadan begins).  After admiring the "Great Mosque" we departed for a drive around some of Casablanca's neighborhoods.  Later we stopped at the Lady of the Lord Cathedral, the largest of 7 Christian churches in the 99% Muslim city.  It was a unique design that had a ton of really intricate stained glass.  Next, we took a walk around the many shops and Central Market of the "New Medina" area before spending some time at the Palace Mechouar.  The palace is very pretty and still in active use by the king but serves a more symbolic role used primarily for diplomatic summits.  We had another stop in the Mohammed V square for a quick photo-op before our final walking tour though the UN Square and some of the bazaars closer to the port.  There wasn't a ton of time for shopping but this is probably a good thing as the merchants are pretty aggressive (we've learned that large groups and pretending to be mute usually fends off the many "guides" offering assistance).  We eventually arrived back at the ship.

I found an observation that Mindy made to be really interesting.  We didn't see anything on our city tour that was constructed before the 20th Century.  There are  definitely older sites out there, but after inquiring a bit we learned that the Moroccan Government doesn't really promote tourism to these sites because they are trying to cast a more modern view of the country by encouraging tourism to more contemporary areas.  It's an interesting tactic.  After dinner on the ship a few of us went out for a little walk to Rick's Cafe (Casablanca the movie, anyone?) for desert.  The cafe was opened by a retired US diplomat to replicate the one in the movie.  It was actually a really fun experience, especially since I recognized many of the subtle nuances having seen the movie a few days ago.  After the walk back to the ship and a quick ping-pong match it's time to get some rest.  That's all for now, I have to prepare for tomorrow's journey to Marrakech.

Day 53: Morocco Pre-Port

As I write we're currently passing back through the Strait of Gibraltar making our way around the northwestern tip of Africa.  Today we anchored near the port of Gibraltar and "bunkered" (aka refueled).  It's good to know that, 7000 tons of fuel later, we're ready to make the trek back across the Atlantic.

My test in Infectious Disease today went well.  It's weird to think we only have four class days left.  Its hard cramming a semester into 23 days, but it's been a fun ride so far.  I went to the inter-port student presentation this evening and got some good info (mostly food recommendations).  After that was our final logistical pre-port.  I might actually miss sipping a chamomile tea and listening to those hour long sessions filled with sarcasm that pound the dangers and specifics of each country into our heads.  After the ship clears tomorrow I have a city orientation of Casablanca.  Sunday I'll be on a day trip to Marrakesh that was originally supposed to be on Monday.  Due to the last minute change, I had to give up my trip to Rabat (Morocco's capitol) and now have a free day Monday.  There's been some talk of doing an independent trip to Rabat for part of the day on Monday but we'll see where that goes.  Tuesday, our final day in port, I have an FDP (faculty directed practicum) to a psychiatric hospital in Casablanca.  That should be a really unique visit and is probably one of the things I'm most looking forward to (besides the food of course).

We were given a warning earlier in the evening that we'll soon be entering a heavy storm off the coast of Morocco.  There's really no way to avoid it and get to port tomorrow morning so we're in for a rough night.  The recommendations included securing any lose items in the cabin or they'll start flying.  I'll be sure to let you know how all that goes.  That's all for now, I have to go figure our the dollar to dirham exchange rate.

Day 52: Crew Appreciation Day

Since the day was devoted to appreciating all the work the crew does for us, one of the suggestions was making our bed this morning (usually the stewards do it when the clean the room).  I know it doesn't sound like it should be that complex, but it's a rather complicated bed and took me about 20 minutes to actually get it looking relatively decent.  The other suggestion was that we bus our own tables.  This was a good idea but with everybody putting stuff in the wrong places it probably ended up making more work for the crew.  Otherwise it was a normal day of classes.  We have one more class day tomorrow before arriving in Morocco on Saturday.

 

The afternoon was comprised of finalizing the Global Studies paper due tomorrow and a trip to the gym.  The treadmill is getting a bit tedious (I did five miles today, you can only stare at the annoying red-dot display for so long) and it doesn't help that you're in a tiny room filled with mirrors.  To occupy some time the other day I tired having a staring contest with myself but it didn't work out too well.  This evening we had to signup and request seating for the upcoming Ambassador's Ball (supposed to be a rather big deal, don't tell anybody but I'm already dreading it) so it was pretty chaotic as I joined about 400 other students descending upon a few table setup in one of the more inconvenient locations on the ship.  At least I have a table with people I know.

 

I just got back from the special event tonight, the crew talent show.  The crew is from over 30 different countries and there was some really clever and interesting acts, mostly music and dance.  Of course we had to close by singing "We are the World."  Tomorrow we arrive in Gibraltar and bunker (refuel) for most of the day.  I'll keep an eye out for some Gibraltar monkeys.  That's all for now, I should probably think about that Infectious Disease exam I have tomorrow morning.

Day 51: Midterm

We had our second Global Studies Midterm this evening.  The first one was a rather interesting experience and it resulted in a bunch of committees eventually deciding heavily scale the scores.  Today's test was much better written and organized so I felt pretty good after finishing it.  Otherwise it was another day of classes.  The saga of TB and eating disorders continue.

The seas were a big rougher today.  For folk like me who don't really have motion-sickness issues it's kind of nice because there's no line at meals.  This evening there was a screening of the film Casablanca in the Union.  I've always been told it was a classic and must-see.  It wasn't really what I expected but interesting and probably good to finally see.  It was also a nice little break after the midterm.  Sorry there's not much else exciting happening here on the MV Explorer.  That's all for now, tomorrow is crew appreciation day so I should probably go buy a gift for our cabin steward. 

Day 50: Talent Show

Since we're at sea for multiple days, there's really nothing exciting occurring so I'm going to bore you with the mundane details of my life.  So, consider this an advance apology.  We're working though TB in Infectious Disease right now and learning how a third of the world's population is infected made me remember the statistic that nine out of ten medical students at USC-LAC Hospital will test positive for TB by the time they finish their third year.  The joys of what I have to look forward to.  It's also very comforting to know that our professor spotted a "likely case of progressive TB" on our TurkishAir flight from Izmir (yes, the same one that blew a tire, seems to be one doozy of a flight).  I think I'll get another skin test when I get home.  In Global Studies we listened to a lecture about honor killings.  I was hoping it would be a bit more optimistic than yesterday's lecture on the contemporary slave trade in the Mediterranean, but this wasn't the case.  We have a midterm tomorrow night so just about everybody has gone into study mode.  In Abnormal today we watched an episode of Oprah from the 70's (an interesting experience itself) on eating disorders.  Interesting but again slightly depressing.

The afternoon was filled with paper writing and a trip to the gym.  This evening we had the voyage student/staff/faculty talent show.  It was actually really entertaining.  I think the highlights included the two deans acting out "We're on a Boat" (youtube it if you need to, it's worth it) and some of the faculty dancing to MJ's Thriller. The harmonica playing and "rapping magician" acts were pretty good also.  I got an email from my parents a few hours ago and they successfully scaled Mt. Sinai this morning.  It's good to hear they're doing well and after a few more days in Cairo they should be back in the US.  Since we're now sailing westbound, today is our first official 25 hour day.  After losing a bunch of hours earlier in the voyage, it'll be nice to get a little extra sleep now.  That's all for now, I should probably join my peers in that whole midterm "study mode" thing.

Day 49: Laundry & Ice Cream

Well, after a day of Olympic excitement it's back to classes.  We're at sea for another four days and all of them will be busy trying to fit in papers and study for exams.  Since teachers have to turn in grades before departing the ship, many assignments are due soon to leave time for grading.  I have three pretty significant papers that it would be nice to churn out before Morocco so a decent amount of the afternoon went into those.  We also have an upcoming Global Studies midterm in two days so I just spent the majority of my evening among the tales of Mehmed "the conqueror" and Suleiman "the magnificent."

In celebration of our pathetic 8th place finish yesterday, my Baltic Sea had an ice cream social this evening.  It's nice to get some decent ice cream since we really haven't had gelato since Croatia.  Today was also a much needed laundry day so hopefully a bag of nice clean cloths will appear soon so I actually have something to wear tomorrow.  Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful.  I hear the fires are pretty bad back in CA so I hope all gets better there.  That's all for now, I should probably get some rest.

Day 48: Sea Olympics

The Sea Olympics is an event that has occurred on every single SAS voyage and today marked 102nd SAS Olympiad.  Each floor of cabins on the ship is divided into a "sea" community, sort of like a residence hall.  For example, I'm a member of the Baltic Sea and down the hall is the Caribbean Sea.  Each voyage there is one day at sea without classes where members of each sea unite and compete in a number of strange events.  It's actually a rather big day with the entire shipboard community participating (including the faculty and staff as members of the "Diploma Sea").  The opening ceremonies were pretty wild.  Each sea has it's own chants and practically everybody stuffed into the Union screaming, dancing, etc.  I was told I actually looked enthusiastic and I don't think they were sarcastic so apparently I'm getting better at this acting thing.

I was a sub for the Global Studies Jeopardy but wasn't needed too much.  Later in the day I competed in the relay race and had to spin around, do hopscotch, run up some stairs to my teammates.  Other big events I went to go watch included dodgeball, "extreme" musical chairs, synchronized swimming, and the infamous lip sync.  People got really enthusiastic and creative about the whole thing.  It's amazing what a bunch of college students cooped on a ship can come up with.  There was a lot of very spirited people and noise throughout the day and it was a fun way to take a break from the normal routine.

The final overall ranking of seas determines who will get to leave the ship first in Norfolk.  I just came back from watching the closing ceremonies and my dear Baltic Sea placed 8 out of 10 (hey, we put in a decent effort) so we won't be off too early but it's not a huge deal since there's nothing overly exciting to see in Norfolk anyway.  As I mentioned, today was solely devoted to the Sea Olympics so that's where everybody's attention has been.  Tomorrow we're back to classes and reality for a few days until Morocco.  That's all for now, I have some papers that should probably be written.

Day 47: Cairo Museum & Farewell to Egypt

Our trip to the Aswan airport was once again preceded by an early morning wake-up call.  This time, EgyptAir took us to Cairo.  For the most part, the morning and flight were uneventful (probably a good thing).  Upon arrival in Cairo we went straight to Egypt's most well known museum, the National Archeological Museum.  The facility houses the majority of Egypt's famous finds, some as old as 50 centuries.  We only had a few hours so the guided portion of the tour hit the major highlight, the King Tutankhamun exhibit.  We visited the tomb in Luxor so it was cool to actually see the stuff that belonged there (yes, we paid to see a mostly empty tomb).  Tutankhamun is the only tomb discovered in recent history (1922) so it is really the only example of actual contents of a Pharaonic tomb.  The actual body was contained in a beautiful pure gold coffin surrounded by 2 others, a sarcophagus, and 4 other outer "shells" (all plated in gold).  The layers intended to protect the body along with giant statues of Tutankhamun in the actual burial room.  Also found were countless gold treasures (including mini-coffins for his organs and, yep you guessed it, a lock of his grandmother's hair), lots of food and wine, chariots, weapons, and some really beautiful and intricately decorated gold and silver thrones.  Other than the Tut exhibit, the museum has a number of sarcophaguses, examples of Ancient Egyptian art, and actual mummies. 

The visit was short but well worth it.  It's amazing how well all of this is preserved after over 3000 years.  Apparently there are even more items in the basement of the museum that have yet to be catalogued and displayed.  The museum itself isn't in the greatest condition.  Like many public facilities (although not airports for some reason), the general condition of the building is poor and, without air conditioning, I can't imagine the lack of climate and humidity control is good for the exhibits.  This is probably the reason why a lot of the other amazing Egypt finds are displayed at other museums around the world.  After departing the museum we drove over the to the Giza region to grab some lunch before the journey back to Alexandria.  The 2.5 hour bus ride was a bit tedious but necessary and upon arrival at the ship my parents had the opportunity to come onboard and see the ship in a little more detail.  I think they got a great feel for the "shipboard community" after dinner with my friends and meeting with a few of the faculty I've gotten to know well.  We had a good tour and eventually the time came to say goodbyes as we go on to continue separate adventures.

This port went incredibly fast.  We traveled at lightening speed to see Egypt and I'm happy to report it was an amazing experience.  This place has so much rich history; it's really interesting and profound to see that aspect against the backdrop of a nation with so many political and social problems.  It's very dirty and there's a lot of poverty here.  Everywhere you look there's an armed guard or member of the "Tourist Police" with a semi-automatic weapon.  The significant division in the distribution of wealth is very apparent as you drive or walk through any part of the country.  Our visit to Egypt was an incredible experience, both captivating and powerful.  I'm so glad my parents were here to enjoy it with me.  To be perfectly honest the true highlight of this port was having the opportunity to share this time with them.  As the ship departs tonight, my mom and dad will continue their adventure to the Sinai region.  I'm sure they'll have a great time and I can't wait to swap adventure stories in now less than 20 days.  That's all for now, I must bid farewell to the land of the most ancient ancient civilization.

Day 46: Abu Simbel

Another 5:00am wake-up call started off the day.  After a quick breakfast we boarded the bus for a ride over to the Aswan airport.  Our total group is about 100 people (3 buses) but due to the limits on plane tickets we had to split in half for today (an early and and a late group).  We were lucky to be in the early group as I can't imagine walking around in the afternoon heat.  The flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel was only 40 minutes and is a very routine route.  If you don't fly the only other way to get to Abu Simbel is a 4 hour bus ride through a pretty harsh desert with convoy of 30 other buses (not fun).  The flight itself offered some really interesting views of Egypt.  We were at a fairly low altitude so you could clearly see the expansive desert and enormity of Lake Nasser.  It's really quite a sight to see the hundreds of miles of miles of uninhabited desert.  The small airport in Abu Simbel is geared completely toward tourists and upon arrival we hopped on a shuttle to the actual temple.

The temples dedicated to Ramses II and his (favorite) wife Nefertari are considered to be one of the most famed sights in Egypt.  I now understand why.  The enormous exterior sculptures and intricately beautiful interior carvings are simply awesome.  The condition of everything is surprising very good.  It's a lot of fun to hear about many of the stories behind the images inside the temples from our guide and then actually see and understand them.  One of the coolest things about the tempe is its construction to allow sunlight into specific faces in back chamber only on two certain days a year.  This was determined by the ancient Egyptians through the application of astronomy to the construction.  Like the Temple of Philae yesterday, the temples at Abu Simbel were actually moved and reconstructed to avoid damage of the rising Lake Nasser.  The reconstruction was completed in only four years and you cannot tell at all (we spent a good amount of time looking for where the "blocks" meet and didn't come up with much).  We only had a couple of hours to explore the temples and enjoy the surrounding views before our return flight to Aswan.  On paper, dealing with flights and whatnot just for a short visit to a temple doesn't seem that logical, but it was absolutely worth it and probably one of my Egypt highlights.  The return flight saw a bit of turbulence and on arrival to Aswan we returned to our island hotel for lunch and a bit of afternoon rest.

In the evening we met up again for an optional excursion to spend the evening in an actual Nubian home.  We departed by motor boat from the hotel and the half hour ride was worth making the trip itself.  We passed through some really beautiful areas of the Nile and saw a good deal of local wildlife and culture.  It's so cool to glance up at a sandy mountain and see a lone camel resting near a tree.  The further we got, we saw more Nubian people and many kids paddled in their makeshift boats right up to ours.  Many Nubians will open their home to tourists during the day to make some extra money.  Although it's a bit touristy, there was still a very authentic feel to the experience.  In the words of Global Studies' Dr. Bowler, we were essentially "injected" into their culture for a bit.  We explored the very interesting house (hard to describe, you'll need to see pics), got the opportunity to hold crocodiles (my mom was all for it but my dad had a few reservations), and interact with the locals a bit (mostly avoidance from overpriced souvenirs).  Overall it was a really great experience.  After taking a boat back to the hotel we got some dinner before officially calling an end to a busy day.  This trip has just flown by; I can't believe that after our flight and visit to Cairo tomorrow I'll already have to be back on the ship.

Day 45: Aswan

We got a chance to sleep in a bit (yes, I now consider 6:15am sleeping in) before grabbing some breakfast at the hotel and embarking on our bus journey to Aswan.  Due to the rather harsh conditions of the desert, longer bus rides always go nonstop and with an empty bus following as a backup if there's any trouble.  Apparently we're traveling Egypt in style (including our personal armed guard...).  The ride from Luxor to Aswan is a straight shot South following the Nile.  It's a bit eye-opening to pass through some of the many rural farming communities that are very primitive and somewhat impoverished.  We passed many crops of sugarcane, corn, and cotton.  It was really interesting to see the contrast of semi-green farmland and desert within a few feet of each other.

Upon arrival in Aswan we visited the Temple of Philae.  The Greco-Roman temple has a lot of features that make it look very Pharaonic.  The temple does not stand in its original location; it was moved from it's original "island" to the current island of Agilika.  Since the construction of the famed Aswan High Dam, water levels in Lake Nasser rose continuously and eventually covered the majority of the temple.  To preserve the incredible shrine to the goddess Isis, it was transported and painstakingly reconstructed piece by piece over a period of ten years.  As with the temples we saw yesterday, it's breathtaking just to be around a building with such rich history and art.  The carvings (including a good deal of Greek graffiti) and hieroglyphics are well preserved and it's fascinating to hear some of the stories behind them.  After ferrying back to the mainland we drove over the small, original Aswan Dam on our way to visit the Aswan High Dam.  Since the engineering and debt producing masterpiece is a military site, you have to be careful with any dam pictures you take (you knew I'd have to fit it in somehow).  The view of the Nile was very nice and I didn't realize how expansive Lake Nasser is.  After departing we made a quick stop by the original ancient granite quarry to see the "unfinished" obelisk before arriving at the hotel to check in and get a late buffet lunch (with some awesome apple cake).

We'll be at the hotel for two days, and I'm glad because it's situated on an island in the middle of the Nile with a gorgeous 360 view.  We left the hotel in the early evening for our Nile cruise on a felucca (canvas sail boat).  The feluccas and other river transit are run by the Nubians (a displaced group of people from central Africa) and we got the chance to sail around a bit down the Nile.  With practically no wind, the ride was rather slow (backwards on a few occasions) but it was still a pretty fun experience.  We even got to clap and sing along to some Nubian songs (my inner musicologist sensed a strong African influence; pretty logical since we actually are in Africa).  Upon the conclusion of our little cruise we bussed over to a local papyrus shop.  There was a short demo on how papyrus is actually made and we got a while to browse the selection.  The prices were really good; I actually ended up with a nice 8x10 papyrus painted with ancient Egyptian musicians for about $5.  After getting back to the hotel we braved the buffet dinner again, attended a short little lecture on tomorrow's adventure to Abu Simbel, and called it a night (after catching up with the blog of course).  I'm again happy to report that any left over GI issues have subsided and we're getting good rest (i.e. everybody's in a good mood).  Tomorrow is another early start to catch our flight to Abu Simbel and see some of the most famed temples of Egypt.

Day 44: Luxor

Although there was a rough start in the morning, it ended up being an amazing day.  I previously mentioned our absurdly early morning so let me be more specific: a 3:15am wake-up call.  My internal clock is pretty screwed up from the past 40 days of time weirdness but 3 hours of sleep is always kinda tough.  I was a lucky one; my parents unfortunately got no sleep.  In India it's known as Montezuma's Revenge and in Egypt as the "mummy's tummy."  As careful as they both were, my mom and dad had a bout with extreme nausea and some GI issues all night and into the morning (they weren't alone; a few other parents had a similar problem).  I felt horrible for them; it's not only hard to see loved ones not feeling well but trying to encourage them to keep moving for our 6:00am flight was difficult.  We immediately started the Bismuth (Peto-Bismul, a miracle preventative/treatment drug for SASers) and luckily one of the staff nurses was also on our trip.  She happened to have a med kit on her and was graciously able to spare some Zofran and offer advice.  Both were miserable though the flight (probably a lot due to anxiety and lack of sleep also) but by the time we landed and got moving there was much improvement.  They got through most the day progressively feeling better but neither felt 100%.  I'm very happy to report here on the morning of day 3 that after a good night's rest, plenty of Bismuth and lots of hydration, both are feeling great and ready to conquer the rest of the trip.  

Following an uneventful flight on EgyptAir and arrival at the Luxor Airport we made our way to the famed Valley of the Kings.  This desert valley contains over 60 amazing tombs from the Pharaonic period.  We visited four: Tutankhamun, Ramses I, Ramses III, and Ramses IX.  Tutankhamun's tomb was small but cool because of the famous story of Howard Carter's discovery and it still contains the actual mummy.  The other three tombs had a great deal of original hieroglyphics, carvings and paintings on the walls (it's worth repeating: 3000 years old!).  The colors are clear but faded and you can easily image how vibrant and amazing the tombs were originally.  It's also quite interesting to follow the common themes (images) present in all the tombs.  The hot and stuffy treks under the valley floor were well worth it.  We then traveled a short distance to the temple of Queen Hatshepsut (hat-cheap-suit, or "chicken soup" as our guide claims the locals say), Ancient Egypt's only female pharaoh.  There are a number of cool paintings on the inner temple walls.  The top level some interesting statues of "her."  It kind of seemed a little counterproductive to represent her as male, but whatever works.  From the top there was a great view of the West Bank.  After a quick stop to see the Colossi of Memnon (two giant "singing statues") built during Alexander's occupation, we made our way to the hotel for lunch and much needed rest.

After a nice afternoon nap at the hotel we set out again for the Temples.  The Karnak Temple is simply breathtaking and worth the flight to Luxor itself.  The largest temple in the world, it was built over a period of 1600 years.  Obviously the building process was under the direction of hundreds of kings and therefore you can see an electric mix of statues all dedicated to the god of Thebes, Amun-Ra.  The majority are from Ramses Ii who plastered his name over most of the temple.  Two of the more famous obelisks are found inside and the Hypostyle Hall contains a bunch of enormous columns that once supported an immense roof.  The entire place was colored at one time (there is still faded color present on some areas) and would have been a magnificent sight in it's day.  The Karnak was actually connected to our next stop, the Luxor Temple, by a sting of over 1000 small Sphinx statues in ancient times.  The Luxor Temple was also an amazing place to walk around.  After moving past the exterior obelisk we saw some of the really intense and beautiful statues in the temple.  Many are damaged from years of being built on top of and it's an interesting site to still find a mosque layered on top of a portion of the temple.  After seeing some of the vivid carvings inside we bussed back to the hotel for dinner.

Everybody retired early in the evening for much needed rest.  I attempted to start showing some pictures of the early part of the voyage to my parents but all of us were too tired to get very far.  We got a great night's sleep for the next day's journey to Aswan.

Day 43: Cairo

Egypt!  We pulled into our first North African port early in the morning.  There was a buzz of anticipation throughout the ship as this was probably the port people were most looking forward to.  Usually overnight trips do not depart until the morning of the second day at port but this wasn't the case in Egypt.  This fact in conjunction with the large number of people on some trips (up to 300 in one overnight) led to quite a bit of chaos on the ship.  The parents arrived in the midst of all this and I met my parents in the Union before our trip's departure.  It was really great getting to see them, I was so excited it was tough getting decent sleep the night before.  It's so hard to catch up effectively because there's so much to share on both sides but we're doing pretty well.

After the ship was cleared we departed by bus for a quick drive around Alexandria then through the Sahara Desert to Cairo.  We have a really good guide that will be with us through the whole Egypt trip.  As promised the traffic situation in Egypt is absolutely insane.  There are no rules.  Although I've had a lot of crazy traffic expose in previous ports, it's only been two days here as I write (on a bus in the middle of the Sahara again, this time from Luxor to Aswan) and nobody even flinches anymore as we pass on a two lane road with opposing traffic head on a few hundred feet away with no hint of breaking.  The desert drive was very interesting.  The most obvious feature is all the unfinished buildings.  Practically everything is "under constriction" because as long as the building is unfinished there's no property tax.  For this reason, most people live in apartments that have unpainted exteriors or half completed top floors with rebar still poking out.  It's also cool to note all the unique "pidgin" houses on the side of the desert roads.  A commodity here, pidgins are eaten by a lot of men as a demo of superiority.

On arrival in Cairo we had a buffet lunch at the Meridien Pyramids hotel.  Offering typical Egyptian food, there was a lot of meat and bread.  Outside the hotel there was a beautiful view of the Giza Pyramids, our next stop.  Upon arrival we got a little of the basic history and info on how to avoid the hounding locals trying to sell things.  The souvenir sales people here are notoriously some of the worst in the world, it's legitimately very difficult to walk by without being ambushed (we're getting good with "no" and "go away" in Arabic).  The pyramids were stunning.  After the initial shock at such magnificent structures (3000 years old!) it's a little anticlimactic because there's really not much to do except walk around in the 100 degree heat and take pictures.  I'm told you can always bribe the guards and try climbing them but we saved that for another day.  The mighty Sphinx was also incredible to see (albeit a bit smaller than imagined).  You see images of the Great Pyramids of Giza so often it's weird and awesome to actually be there.  We then drove to a spot with a nice panoramic view of the pyramids and did the obligatory camel ride.  It's a bit wild trying to hang on as they stand and knell at the beginning and end but once you "feel the motion of the camel" the ride itself wasn't too rough.  My parents and I each had our own camel and the three were tethered together.  Don't worry, we have plenty of pictures.

Following the camel adventure we checked in at the hotel and had an hour or so to rest up.  In the evening we attended an interesting little Son et Lumiere (sound and light) show at the pyramids.  As one member of our group observed, its kind of like Disney meets Egypt.  They basically go through a historical narrative while shining different lights and lasers on the pyramids.  It was a little corny but also kind of cool.  I felt kind of bad for my mom and dad because they were still adjusting to the time changes and slept through most of the show.  After arriving back at the hotel we grabbed some dinner and hit the sack for an absurdly early start the next day.

Day 42: Egypt Pre-Port

The wonderful cycle of two class days followed by a port continues.  Overall today was a pretty typical pre-port day.  We had a great lecture in Global Studies about the current state of economic and political affairs in Egypt.  I know that probably sounds incredibly exciting but it really is interesting when presented from the perspective of "you're actually gonna be there tomorrow!"  My test in Abnormal Psych went well.  I don't want to get too confident but I feel like studying for psychology isn't that bad compared to the mass amounts of memorization required for something like biology that I'm used to.

This is pretty random but I forgot to include it the other day and it's definitely blog worthy.  I mentioned a few posts ago about how our Turkish Air flight from Izmir to Istanbul had one of the rougher/just plain disturbingly scary landings I've been through.  Talking with my Infectious Disease professor the other day I leaned that we actually blew a tire upon landing.  That would probably explain the strange skid and swerve thing.  Overall only one tire in a group of four isn't that big of a deal but it was exciting nonetheless.

We've been a little spoiled the last few weeks in the Mediterranean with really calm seas but the wind and swells picked up today and we started rocking a bit more.  It's always fun to be taking a test (on a meal tray, mind you; we don't have desks) with the scantron or test form sliding sliding away every few questions.  I went to the seminar by our inter-port Egypt lecturers this evening followed by the logistical pre-port session.  Egypt, along with Morocco, will be one of the shadier ports so there's a lot to think about (and I'm glad I'm on an organized SAS trip) but I'm still really looking forward it.  My parents should be in Cairo for the evening tonight and will arrive on board the ship tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow at this time we should be together in Cairo.  That's all for now, I have to figure out how to pack five days worth of stuff in my backpack.

Day 41: Back Through the Dardanelles

I think I say this every time we return to classes after a stretch at port, but it's such a weird sensation to go from galavanting around Istanbul one day to sitting in Global Studies the next.  I was talking with a few people last night and we came the conclusion that the ship has definitely taken on a "home" sort of feel.  We're all getting used to the food, accommodations, and people around.  I don't know whether that's good or bad.

Classes today went well.  Everybody (both profs and students) are pretty scattered but that's to be expected.  We spent 45 minutes talking about vomit in Infections Disease.  I think it's part of his master plan to keep us eating appropriately in Egypt.  Global Studies today started with an interesting pirate impression and I don't know if I've ever attended a lecture titled "Knights and Pirates" (complete with acting) before.  We have a test in Abnormal Psych tomorrow so I've been devoting a bit of study time there.  I also have three pretty big papers due right before Morocco so I began some brainstorming there as well.  After hitting the gym this afternoon I went to a session on travel photography by our staff photographer which was actually really interesting.  Apparently I need to work on keeping better cohesion among the photos I take.

Other than classes and significant anticipation for arrival in Egypt, today was fairly unexciting.  My parents should be arriving in Cairo tomorrow (or today/tonight however it works with the time changes) and I can't wait to see them the day after tomorrow.  I've probably read over the Egypt itinerary 4 or 5 times now; it's going to be an awesome trip.  That's all for now, I have some Somatoform disorders to memorize.

Day 40: Mosquing, Walking, and Climbing

I followed up last night's Sufi experience today with a trip focusing on Islamic art and practices in Turkey.  The trip left mid-morning and after a drive around the Golden Horn we stopped at the Eyup Mosque and Cemetery located in the northern area of the city.  The first thing that makes this mosque unique is the attached cemetery.  According to our guide, conservative Muslims don't burry their dead in an elaborate fashion with a tombstone and whatnot but "Turks are different."  The mosque itself was fairly small but had some really interesting and elaborate tile work that, in my humble opinion, rivals that of the Blue Mosque because you can actually get up close and see it inside the Eyup.  There was also a nicely decorated attached tomb.  I think the highlight of the day was the "scene" our guide created in the mosque.  He told the girls that hair coverage was optional so a few didn't use a scarf.  A security guard quickly approached him and a rather heated exchange (in Turkish) ensued.  The next 10 minutes were spent listening to our guide rant about how the Quran says nothing about women covering their hair and how all religious rituals should "be up to the individual."  It made things a bit awkward but was interesting to see perspectives and watch it play out.

Following our excitement at the Eyup Mosque we drive back down the old city and got a more thorough tour of the Blue Mosque.  It was a little less busy today than when I was there on Wednesday so that was nice.  We then made our way to the Ibrahim Pasha Palace, which now hoses the Turkish Islamic Arts Museum.  There wasn't tons of time to look around but we did see some cool gold pieces, ceramics and an absurd amount of rugs from the sixteenth and seventeenth century (a few of which were rather enormous).  The tour was scheduled to return to the ship early afternoon but I signed out with a few others to do lunch at a place close by.  I needed one more decent Turkish meal and got a good one of meatballs and spices with an interesting couscous/rice side.  We walked around some shops a little more before embarking on an epic journey to climb the Galata Tower.  The tower was on the other side of the Golden Horn so the walk was rather intense (why take public transit when you walk?).  It took a couple hours moving at a brisk pace but we meandered through the large public park and some other new sites on the way.  I think the climb to the base of the tower was more intense than the actual tower climb itself but once at the observation deck it was well worth it.  Istanbul is a beautiful city and the panorama from the top was a great experience.  After making the journey back the the ship my time in Istanbul was officially complete (for the time being...).

Istanbul is definitely the most unique port we've visited so far.  I really enjoyed the time here but it's amazing how fast it flies by.  We pulled out of port a few hours ago and are on our way to Egypt.  As I type my parents are in New York awaiting their flight to Cairo tonight/tomorrow (gotta love time changes).  We have a longer and really neat trip planned for Egypt so I'm looking forward to seeing them and starting that journey.  On the ship we have two days of classes before arriving so it's time to get back into study mode.  That's all for now, I should probably attempt to start that whole homework thing.

Day 39: The Bazaars & Sufi Dervish

Today was a dedicated Bazaar day.  The first order of business was getting to the Grand Bazaar.  I walked with Daniel and a few others to the Metro station close by and we took the tram to the entrance of the world's largest covered shopping center.  I don't like to brag but we're getting pretty good at figuring out these large foreign city metro systems.  After arrival Daniel and I split off from the others since we have similar shopping interests (or lack of is probably a better way to put it) and we walked around for a while.  The place is exactly as described: enormous and overwhelming.  Most of what I've heard always stresses the variety of over 4000 different shops.  After walking around for a few hours and picking up a couple things for people I've come to the conclusion that there are really only four types of shops: leather, rugs, jewelry, and trinkets.  It was a must to see but I don't know how people could spend days there (even though many did...and spent quite a bit in the process).

After the Grand Bazaar we grabbed a quick lunch at a place close by.  I got a beef "doner" which is apparently a pretty typical (and cheap) lunch option.  I also finally got a cup of real Turkish Coffee (you'd be amazed how difficult it was to find) and definitely approve.  Following lunch we re-entered the Bazaar for the sake of walking directly through it since walking around the outside would take us way out of the way.  The next hour or so was spent roaming around the streets of the old city in the general direction of the Spice Bazaar.  We eventually reached the Spice Bazaar and browsed for a little while.  I wanted to pick up some tea but was a little disappointed that it was all labeled in only English (surely not for the tourists...).  I eventually got some Turkish Apple Tea that looked a little more legit at a market close by.  Somehow we later found ourselves walking through the lesser known Livestock Bazaar and I have to admit I'm a little disappointed I couldn't bring a goat back to the ship.  We walked around for a few more hours seeing quite a bit of Istanbul and eventually got back to the ship.

Back at the ship I hit the gym and grabbed a quick dinner.  This evening I was signed up to attend a Sufi Dervish Ceremony.  The music is played on typical Ottoman instruments including the flute-like "ney" and is a great example of non-western ritualistic music.  The Dervish dancers went through a ritualistic routine of whirling as a representation of a union with God.  The ceremony is still preformed in a religious setting in some parts of central Turkey but what we saw was a (hopefully) authentic performance.  It was a really interesting and quite an "entrancing" local cultural experience, I'm glad I got the chance to go.  Tomorrow I have a short trip focusing on Islamic practices in Turkey that visits a few more mosques and palaces.  That's all for now, I need to work out tomorrow's schedule so I can fit in a climb of the Galata Tower before we depart for Egypt.

Day 38: Ephesus

The original trip itinerary described most of the day as an opportunity to "discover Ephesus."  I didn't really understand how this could take all day until we arrived at the ancient city in the morning.  The city in its entirety is very large and in 95 degree heat can be a rather challenging area to tour and explore.  We walked through the Agora and town hall before seeing the ancient Roman baths (hmm, seems like I've seen something like that before...).  There were also some interesting fountains and a huge restored portion of the Celcus Library.  We saw the Grand Theatre and Gymnasium before eventually making it all the say to the Stadium (still in use for concerts today) at the end of the city.

It probably sounds like just another ancient archeological site but understanding some of the related history is what made the experience a real highlight.  If the book of "Ephesians" sounds familiar it was because St. Paul was a visitor to the town and synagogue/church.  St. John also spent a significant portion of his life around Ephesus.  He did quite a bit of preaching and likely composed his Gospel  in the area.  One of the cooler things to physically see was the actual hospital ruins where St. Luke, also an Ephesus resident for a short time, treated patients.  There was a lot of staff on this trip (including one of the nurses, the psychologist, and a psychiatrist) so I was in line right behind them for the geeky photo-op at Luke's clinic.  The roads we walked on around Ephesus are original; it's pretty awesome to think that I've possibly walked on the same routes as some of the more influential names in history.

After spending quite a bit of time around Ephesus we made the drive up into the mountains (beautiful scenery once again) to visit the officially recognized House of the Virgin Mary.  There are quite a few alleged Mary residences around but this is only recognized by the Catholic Church.  It was a pretty big tourist area and a small little house (mostly reconstructed) with a nice little chapel nearby.  When finished here we traveled to the Basilica of St. John.  John spent the majority of his later years (before the exile) in and around the region.  The remains of the really large
church we visited also contain John's original tomb (no remains anymore).  There were some more awesome views around the area which included a few stork sightings.

We made a late lunch stop at a restaurant near the previous night's hotel.  The lamb kabobs and rice were a pretty good first actual Turkish meal.  After lunch we visited the Ephesus Museum that houses a lot of the original sculptures from the ancient town.  Once again I have to thank HumTut and this darn liberal arts education for the ability to recognize a lot of the names and faces.  In the museum I had fun talking with some other folks who appeared to be American and learned that they were also on a study abroad program based in Athens where they visit a lot of early religious sites.   After the museum we stopped by the famed Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  The only thing part of the enormous and elaborate temple left is a single pillar.  It was kind of anti-climatic but still interesting and good to see.  After a stupid tourist visit to a leather fashion show and store (funny how our guide just "coincidentally" led us so we'd be close by "if" there was extra time) we made the way to the airport for our flight back to Istanbul.  After arriving on the ship I joined most of the other members of the tour by running upstairs to grab a much needed salad and fruit smoothie.

Overall the trip was really great.  The only other student I knew well was Lacey and it is always good meeting others on these sort of things.  Besides the food issues (and Lacey leaving her cell phone at the hotel...) there were no real kinks, all moved very efficiently.   There was a decent group of students but also a lot of faculty and staff.  It turned out that my Abnormal Psych teacher was the trip leader and my Infectious Disease prof was also tagging along.  It was fun getting to know them a bit better and talk with some of the others.  We had a good time and I can't wait to explore some more of Turkey.  That's all for now, we're off the the Grand Bazaar tomorrow (any souvenir requests email soon!).