Our Time in Russia: January 2009

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Pictures from Egypt and Jordan

Hope everyone enjoys these.

In front of the Muhammad Ali mosque in Cairo (no, not the boxer).

Olga sitting in the mosque.

Jay standing on the pyramids at Giza, the only remaining structure of the original 7 wonders of the world.

In front of the pyramids with Cairo in the background.

This is NOT like riding a horse. Not even close. But don't we look at peace?

I'm not sure who is more relieved here, me or the camel. I really struggled at first, as I felt as though I kept sliding forward in the 'saddle'. I really thought that I was going to slide over it and onto the camels neck.

In front of the sphinx at the pyramids.

In front of The Treasury at Petra.

Petra

The amphitheater at Petra.

Petra

Egypt & Jordan

Olga & I found ourselves with quite a bit of free time at the beginning of January and decided to escape the fine winter weather here in Moscow. I know the weather here has been mild compared to what our friends and family have just endured in the midwest, but hey, you decided to live there! I believe the sun has been out maybe 5 days here since the first of November and while the snow is pretty when it first falls it gets quite dirty here due to the amount of sand put down.

We found ourselves with this free time because: a) I have nothing to keep me from taking off at a moments notice except a dual-entry visa; and b) Russia had a very long holiday period from January 1 - 10. The only real hurdles we had to overcome were finding a reasonable price and an available flight. With the entire country basically shut down for 10 days and the weather being snowy with temperatures between -18C and -7C, everyone was looking to get away!

We spent some time relaxing on the beach in Sharm El Sheik and took two day trips. The first trip was to Cairo and the second to Petra, Jordan, also known as the lost city. Here is a link if you want to know more about Petra: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra

Here's what we thought about the cities:

Cairo - This city is HUGE and is only dwarfed by the size of the pyramids that literally sit at the edge of the city. There are approximately 18 - 20 million people that live in Cairo, which combined with the desert being at its doorstep caused it to be quite dirty. There are over 70,000 mosques in the city, which adds to the architectural qualities. The housing is much different than we are used to in the western world. When looking around it appears as though most of the buildings are still under construction, but our guide informed us that most are actually completed. In their culture it is common for the family to continue to build up as the family grows. For instance, the parents live on the ground floor and the first son to get married will then add a second floor for his family, and so on. The economy is struggling so the street hustling can get a bit overwhelming, one just needs to be vigilant and either continue to say no or just ignore. It was also a bit strange to be in a car and see a donkey or camel go trotting by.

Petra - We literally walked through a canyon until it opened up into a small area where the most impressive 'building' was found, The Treasury. This is not a bank, but rather a tomb which we found quite odd. In retrospect, all of the architecturally fascinating 'buildings' were tombs. We still don't know exactly where the people lived, but we do know where many of the important ones were buried! The beginning of the trip was a bit overshadowed by the temperature, which our tour folks failed to inform us of when we purchased the trip. We left the resort at 15C and when we arrived in Petra it was all of 7C. That's the low 40's and that, my friends, is NOT shorts and sandals weather (see the pics to understand more on this).

I'll post the pics in the next posting.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

С Новым Годом!

Translated 'Happy New Year'! As I mentioned in my last posting, New Years is the 'real' celebration here in Russia. The day was filled with a lot of food preparation and purchasing of last minute needs and the night was filled with much food, drink and festivities, all capped off at about 5AM. In addition to the festivities, we also found out that our place comfortably sleeps 7, so long as everyone knows each other.

We started the night with a multitude of traditional Russian appetizers and some wine. The dining started at about 10:30PM and we toasted, drank and ate until 11:55, at which time the president gave his traditional address. The address lasted only 5 minutes (thank god, as I didn't understand much) and ended with a shot of the Red Square, the Kremlin and the clock striking midnight. I have to admit, this was quite impressive. Putin did not give his own address, as I had laid out as a possibility. I guess I started out the New Year 0 - 1. After the speech and a toast of champagne we commenced with the opening of 'подарки' (presents). We finished the opening of the presents just in time to have our main course, pork smothered in mayonnaise, onions and cheese along with several side dishes including 4 cheese au gratin potatoes that Olga & I made. After reading what the main course was, anyone have any questions as to why my cholesterol is off the charts??? The night closed with Olga's family taking a walk to the square by our place where the city put up a tree to celebrate with their fellow Russians.

We hope everyone that reads this had a great holiday season and enjoys the pictures below!