What a fantastic way to end the day. This evening we caught up with a guy Ahmed who we met in Alexandria. Before you ask yes Ahmed is a muslim and to be honest he is more lovely and geniune then most people I've crossed paths with and I consider it a privillage to have met him and spent such precious little time with him.
So this evening we hopped in a taxi and made our way to El Fasseh (downtown) to met with Ahmed. We had inquired about getting pappyrus with our names, Ahmed said he found a store near by that could help us with our desire, and this is where our adeventure begins. The next 2.5 hours was spent in this little dingy store (if you can call it that) with the store owner Mohammed (who was such a character, this guy had me laughing so much and he didn't speak english)looking at papyrus pictures, talking about Egypt, learning a little arabic, and talking religion. I was particularly interested in learning more about Islam because I think the west has created this image that we are meant to adhere to and just accept based on no knowledge of what the religion is really based upon. Both Ahmed and Mohammed were very open about Islam and we spoke in great detail and length about it. It was interesting to learn that they don't veiw christianity as wrong however they call us christians their brothers and sisters with the same god. Nonetheless I was very ingrossed and I think I now have a better understanding of Islam and in general the people that practise it. I think too many people have jumped to conclusions without actually knowing facts and sitting down and talking to a practicing muslim.
So we bid our farewell to Mohammed and went for a little walk down the street, and found a little cafe to sit and chat (I felt like I was at home having coffee with the girls, BTW they have some of the best coffee here!). Within 30 seconds of sitting down about 10 people were in our faces trying to sell us stuff, we are kind of used this now however Ahmed found it very unfimiliar along with all the stares that we got, we asured him he'll get used to very quickly when out with us. So again for the next hours we sat there talking and getting interupted by vendors, until this one particular guy comes up to us selling stuff and when Ahmed turned him away and called him Osama Bin Laden, Ahmed told us this was the norm for him, that his own people won't allow him to visit places like the pyramids, and tourist locations because he has the sterotypical look of a terroist. How incrediable sad that not only the west has this view on people based upon their looks and but also the middle east, I asked him if he had contemplated shaving his beard off and he said yes but when a friend of his did that they throw him in jail, because it was a sign he was about to 'do something'. I guess in conclusion to anyone who might stumble upon this entry I want to say, don't judge anyone based upon their looks, culture or ethinicity, instead get to know them, learn about them and make your decision based on what you learn.
Until next time,
Mandz is off to see a pyramid of two, and hopefull not fall down one.
If there are any spelling and grammar mistake sorry, I'm typing this at 5.30am and uploading while eating my breakfast.
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