all the pretty girls go to the citadel

Everyone has been warning me that August is the worst month in Cairo for weather. I didn't think it could get much worse than the 97-103 degrees it has been in July (this is about 33-37 Celsius), but if possible, it does indeed feel hotter now that we've hit August. Ironically, I also seem to have caught a cold. It feels weird to be sniffling when it's 105+ outside, but I'm loaded up on cold medicine and am hoping it passes.

Anyway, started the weekend out by going to the British Club (as usual) on Thursday night, followed by a U.S. Marines party at the American Embassy. I have to say, there was a lot of build-up for this party (my friends A and J were particularly excited), but it ended up being a lot like... a frat party. Weird. The party was in the Marines' quarters at the U.S. Embassy, and included a bar stocked with Bud Light (did I miss this? Not so much...), foosball and air hockey, and a huge outdoor patio. Factor in some strobe lights, a DJ and a "beach party" theme, and you can see why it reminded me of a frat party. It was another one of those things that didn't feel like Cairo, kind of like shopping at City Stars.

On Friday I went to the Mohamed Ali pool club again to enjoy some downtime by the pool, then went out at night to the birthday party of a friend of a friend. Saturday, I went to the Citadel, one of the more tourist-y locations in Cairo, with my friends from AIESEC. The Citadel is where the kings of Egypt used to live, and includes a palace that has been converted into a military museum, the Mohamed Ali mosque, which is one of the most famous in Cairo, and several other smaller mosques and museums. It was really hot out, but so we took plenty of time to sit and relax in the mosques and museums. We also enjoyed all the trees and lawns in the Citadel; there aren't a ton of parks or trees or nature in general in Cairo, so this was a nice change. There are some photos of everything below.

Random encounter of the week: while at the mosque in the Citadel, I saw two friends from Northwestern, who had been in Israel and were traveling for a week in Egypt (mostly Cairo and Dahab) before heading home. So yes: random to see them, but a nice surprise.

Anyway, the August issue of the magazine I work for is out. It looks good, though we are still working through some kinks and getting me adjusted. We won't have a September issue because of Ramadan (very few cultural events to write about during that month), but we're going to use that time to restructure the magazine a bit, as a discussed in my previous posting. I think it's going to be pretty exciting.

Here are some photos of me friends and I at the Citadel. Enjoy!

The palace at the Citadel (and note the greenery -- very unusual for Cairo):

This is the exterior of the Mohammed Ali mosque at the Citadel:

The courtyard of the mosque (I am the one in the middle):

Inside the mosque, where people were sitting down to enjoy the pretty lights and take a break from the heat outside:

Walking around the Citadel:

Pretty architecture in one of the smaller mosques:

Looking down on Cairo from one of terraces at the Citadel. The smog I think is particularly lovely.