Week 1: 8–11 January 2025
Even though it's only been one week since most of us first arrived here, so much has already happened that it seems unbelievable that this is only the first of our eight weeks in Egypt. Looking back at the photos I've taken in the past few days, we've definitely accomplished a lot: found an apartment, visited two institutes, had our first Egyptian Arabic class, and of course had a wonderful day at Giza and explored the stunning pyramids!
Although the semester started on the 8th, most of us arrived a few days earlier to give ourselves more time to get settled. In the process of finding our apartments and exchanging money at banks, we managed to get a first peek at the bustling daily life of Cairo. Busy streets filled with fruit and snack stalls, hectic traffic that could make one get lost, cute cafes with people casually sipping their coffees or smoking shisha… Smoke from the little carts selling roasted sweet potatoes and nuts merges gently with the rays of sun that manifest themselves via the desert wind, while every place the sun caresses is bursting with life. I felt so at home from the very first day, as if I were once again that 6-year-old little girl running around our lively neighbourhood in China.
The 7th of January was Coptic Christmas, so we took the opportunity to explore Coptic Cairo. Two of us hopped on the subway while the rest of our group decided to take a little break after the busy first days. In contrast to the Christmas Day I experienced in the Netherlands, the streets were still quite busy. We visited some beautiful Coptic churches and even got candy from the bishop at the famous Hanging Church. That really added to the festive vibes and definitely gave us a boost for the upcoming semester!
The first two days of our programme were full of introductory sessions. We started with Marleen’s important lecture on “Post-Pharaonic History of Egypt 101”, followed by a minibus tour to explore more parts of modern Cairo. We even got to see the tiny silhouettes of the Giza pyramids from the Moqattam Hills (from that distance they kinda looked like the ears of kittens). The next morning, we were blessed with Khawla’s “Introduction to Egyptian Arabic”. As we immersed ourselves in basic conversations, I have already started to appreciate the beauty of this language and got excited for the occasional reminiscence of Akkadian. And of course, I was super happy when I managed to greet our friendly doorman at the apartment that evening!
After our first Arabic class, we went to visit the Swiss Institute (Schweizerisches Institut für Ägyptische Bauforschung und Altertumskunde in Kairo) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAIK). It was interesting to learn about the history of these two institutes and the fact that the original German institute was actually in the current Swiss building. The director of the Swiss Institute, Dr. Cornelius von Pilgrim, passionately showed us around the nice villa and we had a relaxing moment in the garden appreciating the amazing view of the Nile.
Dr. Dietrich Raue, the DAIK director, welcomed us with coffees and gave us an entertaining tour. My highlight of the tour was definitely the amazing glass negatives — isn’t it the dream of every photographer to produce one of them?!
After a free Friday to catch up on our work, we finally got to the day which we’ve all been looking forward to: excursion to Giza! The extraordinary aura of the pyramids probably needs no elaboration, but I was still struck by the moment when the clouds made their way for the mid-day sun: I was all alone, sitting in silence beneath the pyramid of Menkaure, when the sun-lit surface of the pyramid of Khafre started burning my eyes. At that very moment, there was no dramatic replay of my childhood aspiration nor could I feel the sand beneath my feet, nothing, nothing but the manifestation of the pyramid itself. It didn’t last long, though, as the shadow shifted back and brought back the sharpness of reality. So returned the memories of the elegant statues of women in Meresankh III’s tomb, our exploration among the cemeteries and casual picnic right in front of Ankhhaf’s tomb, and the impressive round of the adhan from every mosque of Giza.
It has been such a hectic week, chaotic even. While chaos might not be ideal for the upholders of Maat, I’m happily a friend of Seth and gratefully appreciate all that we’ve encountered. And one thing is for sure, we are all super excited for what’s going to come next!
Yasi Zhu
