Life in the desert

The other morning I decided I'd be a little late to work and try to squeeze a run in the Wadi first. Sunrise is at 6am these days but it has been very light out at 5:30am. I got a little later start than I would have liked (had to convince myself to get out of bed) but I was running by 5:45 am.

Totally worth it. The dawn was cool and it was very interesting to see that sunrise takes about 2 minutes from just peaking out, to total sun.

Meg and I have commented many times about how the entry ticket we get shows all sorts of wildlife but we've never seen any indication of life in the rocky landscape. Well, this morning I saw a desert fox run across my path and up a ridge line before ducking out of sight. VERY COOL and it really made my day.

We'll see if I can make this a regular event.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Al-Azhar Mosque

A friend and I made a trip down to the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar this morning to buy gifts for our upcoming trips back to the U.S. and visited the Al-Azhar Mosque afterward. The mosque was built in two years beginning in 971 AD and is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. Its sheikh is considered the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims. In 988 AD a university grew in connection with this mosque and became the world's second oldest educational institution.





The academic focus of Al-Azhar has remained much the same for over a millenium: its students study the Qur'an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the lunar phases of the moon. Most of this learning is done by listening in a circle at the feet of a sheikh and rote memorization. Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic law, and its scholars are seen as the highest scholars in the Muslim world.

The entrance to the mosque is through the 15th-century Barber's Gate, where students traditionally had their heads shaved. The photo above was taken just inside this gate. Once through the gate you turn in your shoes (be sure to wear socks) and women must cover their hair with a scarf. You then proceed into a great courtyard, which dates from the 10th century and is overlooked by three minarets. These tall needle-like towers are where the call to prayer is sung from. The courtyard's white facade is accented by rosettes and keel-arched panels.

Students studying at the university live within this mosque in the latticework-screened residential quarters. These are not open to visitors, but we were fortunate to meet a teacher from the school who showed us the prayer hall, which is carpeted and supported by alabaster pillars (photos below).

Notice the individual prayer spaces marked in the carpet pattern. Each points toward Mecca.

My friend and I had a guide take us up the spiral stone stair case of one of the minarets for a spectacular view of Cairo. From the top we could see the alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali which lies within the walls of the Citadel (first photo below).

Skiing in Cervinia, Italy

In April we reunited with our friends from the Telemark Ski Co. for a week of spring skiing in the shadow of the Matterhorn. As has been the case for each trip we have taken with this company the group of skiers we meet on these trips are an absolute blast to be with and we remain friends after the trip has ended.



The village of Cervinia (pronounced: Chervinia) is down in the valley with a winding road climbing up to our small hotel on the mountain side. The road was just long enough and steep enough to keep us from walking down into town each night for a beer. This was for the best as ski instruction had everyone up bright and early for breakfast in order to be on the slopes for the first lift of the day.



Meg did not take lessons on this trip as she was working on her online course work for half of each day and simply skiing for fun the other half. Seth did take lessons and his skiing showed it. He improved significantly from earlier this year and had a great time jumping off piste and playing in the crusty powder.



It was snowing like Christmas morning when we arrived in Cervinia, big, fat, fluffy flakes. Unfortunately it did not snow again while we were there. The lack of fresh snow coupled with balmy spring temperatures meant that the snow melted a bit each day and then froze over night covering the off piste with a layer of crust that would break through to softer snow underneath. The gang made the best of it and had a great time none the less.



We learned that there was to be a Telemark Ski Festival during the week we were in Cervinia. The festival consisted of a "race" in which strangers, many of whom are dressed in classic ski attire, were partnered up together and had to navigate a slalom course followed by clearing a low snow wall and finally ducking under a wooden arch and ringing a cow bell the size 0f your head. During the race competitors were required to duck off the course periodically for a drink of wine, champagne, Gienepy or any other alcoholic beverage of your choice. Needless to say everyone in our group asked, "Where do I sign up?"

Meg was partnered up with a local known as "The Flying Pineapple" because of his blonde dreadlocks and his speed on skis.



Fortunately for Meg he had a flask of "magic potion" in his pack that he offered at every stop. After the race everyone gathered at a slope side restaurant for endless wine, pasta, meats and cheeses and an awards ceremony. We were serenaded by a local band throughout the festivities.




We came away from this trip with one thing on our mind: "Spring skiing rocks!" and we will very likely be back next year for another go.

Cairo to Ain Sukhna via Bicycle

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Originally uploaded by SethTri

I've been riding with the Cairo Cycling Club on a pretty regular basis. There are several riders who are very strong and can drop me like a bag of rocks if I don't pay close attention. Even when I am, I'm frequently on the red line a lot more than I'd like to admit.

The normal Friday ride is usually a loop that is somewhere around 70-100km long. It generally takes me out for 2.5-3.5 hours depending on route and whether or not someone has a flat in the group I'm riding with.

On April 30, 14 of us rode from Cairo towards Ein Sukhna on the Red Sea coast. It's about 140km from start to finish with a few reasonably decent hills on it. The road was nice and smooth and the weather was just about perfect with temps in the low-70s and overcast skies keeping the sun at bay.

Eventually the pace broke the field into a couple groups and I stuck with the leaders. Teamwork was great and we managed to do a good job sharing the work and drafting off of each other in a good pace line of 5 riders. Four hours, 140km, 2200 ft later we pulled into the resort town of Ein Sukhna after averaging 22.5 mph. 

We saw a bunch of mountain bikers out there for a ride and got quite a bit of attention from the locals. Meg drove down with another rider's wife and took some shots of us. After a quick shower and a nice lunch with a bunch of other riders, we spent the rest of the day at the beach. We were planning on spending the night there, but unfortunately we couldn't get a room. So, with an hour or so left before sunset, we headed home to Cairo.

it was a great ride, a fast ride and finding options like this just barely over an hour from home was great.