Friends, this is Cairo. On Pyramids and Places of power. Ok, I saw the Pyramids to day. I just saw them, did not tour, and was not allowed to take pictures, due to security, but another teacher, an Egyptian, said I could not start school without seeing them so she drove me over to Giza, about 30 minutes from Cairo. We had to hurry and beat the curfew. Down the road in the rhythm of Egyptian driving, fast, swerving, never exactly straight, but always making progress. Much like Egypt itself. When we got to Giza, I stared and looked and tried to take it in. Words will not do it justice. All of the touristy stuff fell from my eyes, and felt like I could really see them. Years of staring at Civil War Battlefield came back, and suddenly I was clear and alone, in in awe. Awe is the right word. Ancient, powerful, and beyond cool. I will write more soon, but on, man, what a sight. So, as we were getting ready to leave, an old Sufi came up the to the car, my friend the Egyptian told him to get lost, that we were not giving him any money, but in Arabic, he told her to tell me that he knew I was troubled in spirit, and that I was not meant to be alone, and the Egypt was speaking to me, and that I should listen, then he walk off. My Egyptian friend was apoplectic. She said that he was obviously in Fana, or a mystical state of seeing. She found it a little creepy. But, she said that normally, he would have asked for a donation. Must have been the red beard that threw him off. On the other hand, I remember having an experience of some spiritual import with the Cherokee in Oklahoma and as cynical and I am, I like to believe that there are forces in the world beyond sight. My friend, Jenny DuFresne would be better at explaining this, but for me, I will just say that it was both unnerving, and hopeful. I have been a little homesick and lonesome. Perhaps I am leaning that I need to open myself to all possibilities. The Pyramids are tombs, of course, but sacred places can, I believe, speak to us, perhaps it did to me. Or perhaps it was being at dinner with friends, four Americans from Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, and Kentucky, a woman from Sweden, another woman from Lebanon, and three Egyptian woman from here in Cairo. Conversation in English, Arabic, French, German, and Swedish. And finally, one of the Egyptian woman getting the phone number of the extraordinarily beautiful local girl for our Marine vet and Texan, because in Egypt, women are the best wing men. No one is Egypt is ever alone. Family, friends, tribe, it is a group culture, and to feel comfortable, one must connect. Perhaps that is what the Sufi is telling me. I am half way across the world, and finding out about myself in unusual places, including hole in the wall restaurants in Cairo, and traffic pull offs in Giza.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 18:07:08 +0000
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