Paris for the weekend

Paris, the most visited city in the world, covers 40 square miles of land and is home to 11.5 million people. So, of course, on a recent weekend trip there with my friends, we tried to see it all. Though we missed a few sites (most notably, going into the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa), we made up for it with the miles we covered on foot and bicycle.

Parisian eco-friendly transport is impressive. Electric car charging stations were scattered around the city and the bicycle rental system was fantastic! For 1.30 Euro you are extended credit for 24 hours. The first half hour is free after which the rental cost is 1 Euro per hour. The extensive network of bike lanes and bike stations make it a super cheap, easy way to see, or get lost in, Paris. [velib.paris.fr] Figure it out and ride to Eiffel Tower. The roundabouts on the bicycles during rush hour were somewhat harrowing for the inexperienced. We circled the big roundabout near the Bastille at least six times before exiting onto the correct road.

 

The Pigalle neighborhood, though described as a seedy sex district in one guidebook, was a convenient and affordable place to stay. Our hotel was about a block from Moulin Rouge in the Pigalle neighborhood. It was more campy than the seedy sex district as described in a guide book and at night Parisian hipsters packed the nearby bars.

French people have an unfair reputation as being unfriendly and disdainful. Though our exposure was limited, we asked A LOT of directions, with “Bonjour” being the most of our French, yet everyone we met was super nice and helpful.

 

The Free Walking Tour was perfect. Especially after spending the first day and a half trying to navigate Parisian maps and apply the directions of well-meaning strangers (French words sound very different to an untrained ear than they appear on maps). Our guide, Phillipe, was full of jokes at the expense of everyone (mostly the British), shared local anecdotes like those of Dirty Bertie’s excesses in the city, and offered tips on skipping lines at the busiest museums.  

Parisian sites are everywhere and as beautiful as imagined. I do wish we'd known that listed closing times exclude the fact that last entry is an hour earlier. As a result, we missed seeing the Catacombs and the Cemetery of Pere Lachaise. The Catacombs were in use from 1786 to 1814 when Parisian cemeteries were closed due to hygiene and are home to the remains of 6 million Parisians.

Sainte Chapelle, accessed through the Palais de Justice , was built 1245-8. It is known for its stained glass windows fifty feet high depicting 1,134 biblical scenes were something else all together.

Jardin du Luxembourg is the second largest public garden in Paris and covers more than 55 acres. It was began by Marie de Medicis, regent for King Louis XIII, in 1611 who wanted a garden like those in her native city of Florence.  

 

Jardin des Tuileries (1666), where it meets the Place de la Concorde (1754) and looks down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. In the middle stands an Egyptian pillar from Luxor. Referred to by our Parisian guide as a gift the Egyptians have periodically asked to be returned, the same pillar was described by our Egyptian guide in Luxor as having been gifted in exchange for a large clock installation. The clock in Luxor broke after less than a year, whereas the Egyptian pillar still stands.

Palais-Royal was once home to Cardinal Richelieu and the dukes of Orlean. It now houses the Council of State, the Council of the Constitution, and the Ministry of Culture.

Construction began on Notre Dame, the super famous Gothic cathedral,  1163 and lasted until the 1240s. It was restored after being badly damaged during the French Revolution and upkeep is ongoing to keep it in working order. When we visited there was a crowd watching a discussion near the altar and plenty of priests. 

Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

 The McDonald’s (I know, terrible, but I didn’t buy any food!) in Paris even had a Coke Lite fountain sodas!  I’ve been craving one for the past 18 months!

 

The July Column topped by the Genie de la Liberte, at center, honors the victims of the revolution of July 27-29th, 1830. The square became a symbol of the French Revolution after the 1789 storming of the Bastille.

Stairs in Montmartre and Sacre Couer was built in the 1870s to atone for the general hedonism of the era. Some believe it to be the source of the country’s geopolitical misfortunes; nevertheless, it has a fantastic view of the city.

 

Versailles, the center of French royal power from 1682 until the French Revolution of the 1790s, has more than 700 rooms and 1,250 fireplaces. When construction was complete on the initial building phase (which took 50 years), the palace could accommodate 5,000 people. 

 

The flea market of Le Marche aux Puces de St-Ouen de Clignancourt has more than 250 vendors with everything from modern cookware to old perfume decanters. It is part of the flea market complex on the city's northern side with over 2,500 open stalls. 

More from Mogila

Here’s a link to Brian’s blog. He’s a fellow PCV in Bulgaria and has some great photos from last week’s events in Mogila and posts about life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria.

http://windowtobulgaria.blogspot.com/

Family Reunion or Bridal Auctions? Kalaidzhii in Mogila

When I first read about the Kalaidzhii bride auctions, I couldn’t believe it. How is it possible that young girls are being auctioned like cattle in 2012? And, in the European Union??

I wanted to see the event for myself, and planned to meet up with other volunteers for the festival. What I observed on Sunday was less the hyper sexualized bridal auction portrayed in articles from the New York Times [LINK], Global Post [LINK], and Huffington Post [LINK] than a family reunion for a traditional group whose members now live scattered throughout Europe. The foreign journalist present didn’t have a translator and she departed while vendors were still preparing food, long before most people arrived. If her presence was any indication of the journalistic research upon which articles were based in previous years, those responsible for printing them ought to be ashamed. Thanks to them, a quick Google search for Kalaidzhii, turns up dozens of articles about the tribe selling their girls to the highest bidder.

I don’t excuse the activities, bride prices were still discussed during the event, and parents and grandparents, not the young people, seemed to be the driving forces behind pairings. But as one mother said: most important is that they care about each other, though the man should also have a good job and be able to take care of her. Large sums, like those reported in the articles, the woman claimed, have not been at play for quite some time. The event had more in common with the old tradition of young women presenting at court in the UK or the original idea behind debutante balls in the US, than a market selling young girls as brides.

The festival is traditionally held on Todorov Den (St. Todor’s Day) in the village of Mogila, Stara Zagora region, Bulgaria. This year it was held the following day. Adults and children socialized, showed off new babies, and gossiped. Keeping shared traditions and histories together is a key motivating factor behind the event and discussing children of marrying age, was, of course, a prominent subject. If families find match suitable, the boy and girl will get to know each other, and a marriage, perhaps, will follow. The boys and girls in question appeared in their late teens and early 20s, awkward, and shy.

The girls of courting age wore white pancake makeup to lighten their skin and stark red rouge. Their outfits glittered and shined, often at the same time. Their makeup and clothes set them apart and seemed to serve as a signal that they hoped to find a husband in the crowd. Older women wore flowered scarves and bright clothes, younger girls looked like little kids anywhere.

We spoke with one girl, age 18, in her fourth year getting dressed for the event. She lives with her grandparents and cousins in a small Bulgarian village. Her family was together for the event, even her mother, who has worked in Greece for six years, travelled back to Mogila. Last year, the girl said, she was paired with a boy. They talked on the phone for a while, but it didn’t work out. She hoped for better luck this year.

Another family we spoke to is the only Kalaidzhii family in their village. They brought their little girl to play and meet other Kalaidzhii. Maybe she will find her a husband at the event, but it won’t be for a few years, now she is too young, the father said.

Before the festival became busy, we shared a picnic table and chatted with a grandmother of two girls of courting age. When the crowds arrived, I saw her deep in conversation with a trio of older women, their heads bent together in conversation. By the time we left a few hours later, her two granddaughters were sharing a picnic table with two young boys.

A bride price system is the opposite of dowry practices in some traditional societies—instead of paying the groom for taking the daughter, the groom must demonstrates his suitability with financial offerings to the family of the bride. I believe both practices are wrong. They commoditize women and take choice away from the individuals involved. 

My personal opinion is that bride prices and arranged marriages are outdated relics and should not be excused under a cultural relativist banner for being anything other than a demeaning practice that hurts both the young men and women involved. BUT the Kalaidzhii event in Mogila was unfairly sexed-up and sensationalized in the media.

The Kalaidzhii are one of 18 Roma tribes in Bulgaria. Traditionally tinners or metalworkers in towns and villages across Bulgaria, members of the Christian Orthodox tribe now work in a variety of industries. In my opinion, Bulgaria’s Roma are unfairly blamed for a panacea of social issues—scapegoats for budget woes, petty crime, and gangsterism. Without going into the veracity of these claims and the European wide struggle of Roma-integration, I can say that experiences, conversations, and observations of the weekend festivals (horse fair on Saturday and Kalaidzhii gathering on Sunday) in Mogila were pleasant and welcoming events. (the horse fair was not Kalaidzhii-centric, ethnic Bulgarians and Roma were present). 

Very, very few females attended the horse fair, but I and the other female volunteers were not made to feel unwelcome. No one threatened or spoke to us inappropriately. Even when we found ourselves at the center of a large crowd, we were given space. If any off-color comments were made, they were done so at low volume and out of earshot.  On Sunday, women and girls chatted with us and answered questions. I’m sure the questions we asked, considering we expected to see a bride auction, were, alarmingly probing and personal. There were a few creepy men scanning the girls in the crowd, but this is not unusual for large gatherings anywhere. The men that spoke to me were friendly and polite-wanting to pose for pictures with us and asking if we were sure we weren’t Kalaidzhii. For the most part, everyone humored us, posed for pictures, and one woman and her mother even apologized for not having something to “cherpi” or treat us to. The spirit was joyful, one of family and friends getting together for the first time in a year.

Spring???

Woohoo!! I think the worst of winter may be over. It was warm enough to clean today (finally!) and I found and killed two spiders. Hugely significant not only because I really needed to clean, but also because the spiders mean the world is coming back to life! 

Birthday Party and Macarena

This weekend was Palma’s 30^th birthday party and I spent the weekend hanging out with her and friends in Zhelezna. They were a hit. So Though I’m pretty sure the local impression of my cooking skills is grossly inaccurate, I’m so. grateful for  the care packages with ready-made mixes.  Palma’s party was great. We danced, toasted, and ate until late.  I never thought I’d think this, but a highlight of the party for me was the Macarena. I hadn’t heard the Macarena for at least a decade, but it’s not a song or dance one easily forgets. Finally, a song with moves I know and look no more foolish than anyone else dancing! 

Offline

Chiprovtsi

 The cold weather has seriously disrupted internet. Anxiety was a bit high this week as I tried to translate a super-technical proposal for updating the municipal water system, keep abreast on law school decisions, and plan upcoming events with friends. Though it’s not perfect, Google translate makes translating a lengthy proposal a million time easier than it otherwise would be. At the very least, it gives the ‘gist’ of what is being written, then I clean it up and make it sound nice. When the subject includes construction specifications and uses jargon words that I’m unfamiliar with in English, much less Bulgarian, the internet is a lifesaver.

The only good thing about being ‘offline’ was that I was unable, for the most part, to obsess over law school applications. I ended up applying to 14 schools. I’ve heard back from five schools so far, but decisions may come as late as April/May and I could be on waitlists until August. Driving me crazy! 

Car under snow in Zhelezna

Post office yard in Chiprovtsi

COLD COLD COLD / PCV love

I clearly did not know what I was talking about when I titled my last post. It’s waaay colder in Bulgaria right now. Like super super cold. After we were slammed with a snow storm last week (two feet in Chiprovtsi in two days, major highways shut down, and emergency zones declared for much of the country), a “Siberian Cold Front” moved in with temperatures not forecasted to get above freezing for as far as the 10 day forecast goes. This morning, around 11 am, the temperature was minus 11 degrees Farenheit, windchill was minus 25. Schools are closed and people are staying indoors. Even the international news has paid attention (48 people have died from exposure related causes across Eastern Europe in the past few days). I’m staying warm-ish, but despite letting my pipes drip, they froze overnight. Not that I would have taken a shower anyways as my shower room is not heated. I sleep/live in my kitchen and it’s the only room I keep heated. The rest of my apartment is pretty cold… the distilled water I keep in my living room froze last night. If it gets too bad, I'll go stay with one of my friends in town with a wood stove, but for now I'm enjoying an excuse to make lots of hot chocolate and eat bowls of semi-heated cookie dough/other baked care package comfort foods.

Dozens freeze to death as 'extreme cold' grips Europe

In other news, I had a good week last week and a fantastic weekend. Spelling Bee, adult English, scouts-all went well and Chiprovtsi really does look breathtaking after a blizzard. On Friday, I went to Sofia to meet a group of volunteers to celebrate one of their birthdays. We sang karaoke (Neysa and I did a Bulgarian song-so funny and so terrible; the other PCVs who sang were all super talented and wonderful, we had a lot of heart…), ate amazing food, attended a music festival, went shopping, watched youtube clips of Toddlers and Tiaras, and bought a day pass to a gym (using an elliptical machine and showering in a warm…don’t have words to describe how great this was). Love my fellow PCVs! 

Neysa and I singing "Taka Me Kefish"

Cold and Snowy

...describe my second January in Bulgaria. Last week was rough: my hot water boiler broke and I had to cancel several planned activities due to heating issues in the school. BUT, now I have a new hot water boiler and rescheduled the activities. Besides continuation of the regular activities, I’ve added a few new things.

With Palma, we’ve begun prepping kids for participation in the National Spelling Bee. Last year was its first year and it was a huge success. Each school is given a bunch of materials (it’s an English spelling bee, Bulgarian is phonetic) and holds its own Bee. The winner goes to a regional Bee and then to a national Bee in Sofia. The whole thing was organized by a Peace Corps volunteer and her host organization last year; she extended an extra year to help institutionalize the program. Almost 200 schools will be participating in this year’s Bee from across the country. We had our first practice a week and a half ago and about 15 kids turned out. On Monday, I’ll show Akeelah and the Bee, a movie about spelling bees, with Bulgarian subtitles and we’ll start going through the practice list. Participants that make it to nationals get to stay in Sofia (with their teachers/PCVs) for two nights and receive a bunch of prizes.

This past Tuesday was the first conversational session for the advanced English adults. We held it after the beginner English group finished, from 7-8:30-ish. Quite a few people turned out for it, though there were more listeners than participators. The Zambian/British retiree who lives in Chiprovtsi also came. I haven’t seen him in over a year, but it was super helpful to have another native speaker for the students to listen to. Next week we’ll meet in a local guesthouse and practice restaurant conversations.

I’ve mostly finished law school applications! Huge weight off my shoulders—I feel like they were hanging over my head forever. I still have a few minor adjustments to make on the final one, but it’s mostly complete. Now I just have to figure out how to pay for it…

My kindle has almost been returned! A fellow PCV picked it up at Sofia Airport and left it for me at PC Headquarters. I haven’t had it since I left it on a chair in the Istanbul airport during the layover from Cairo and didn’t expect to see it again. It doesn’t have my name or any identifying information on it. My mom emailed the airport the next day. But it was New Year’s Eve and then a weekend. A week later my mom receives an email informing her the kindle was found and is waiting at the Sofia airport for pickup! I can’t believe someone turned it in or that the airlines/airport people coordinated to send it on to our destination. So happy! And impressed—dealing with lost and found during holiday travel time, sending it free of charge, and giving a personal contact number to arrange pickup. Bravo to Turkish Airlines! Love them: Turkish Airlines always has food and drinks, even on short flights. And shows a cute video of little kids fastening their seatbelts, putting on oxygen masks, and turning off electronics instead of the stewardess demonstration that no one really pays attention to. 

Kukeri in Razlog

After we returned from Egypt, my parents and I travelled to the southern Bulgarian town of Razlog to see their Kukeri festival on New Year's Day. Kukeri festivals are a Bulgarian tradition held in different towns between January 1st and Lent. Not celebrated in my region, I missed seeing any Kukeri last year, but had some idea of what to expect from other volunteers.

At the Kukeri festival in Razlog, men dressed in goat hair costumes with terrible, phallic shaped head masks, and large bells and in bearskins with a chain around their necks, tethering them to a costumed minder with a big stick. Others, and most of the women and children participants (though a few of both dressed as Kukuri and bears) wore a mix of traditional folk attire and tall cone shaped hats, often with the men in women's clothes and the women in men's and women as men, and large hats.

Each neighborhood in Razlog, a town of 14,000, had their own group of Kukeri, musicians, and dancers that paraded/danced into the town square at a set time. Children in the crowd carried sticks and bags. With the sticks, they tapped the backs of strangers, wishing them good luck in the coming year in exchange for coins. Some kukeri wandered the crowd and “captured” men for money by lifting them off the ground until they paid in coins. Seven neighborhoods participated 11-2pm, each with Kukeri, bears, costumed residents dancing the horo, and musicians.

In Bulgaria, the tradition cites Thracian festivals for fertility and harvest as its roots. It is likely a mix of  ancient Thracian festivals for fertility and harvest, influenced by pre-Lent celebrations of the Middle Ages. Many of the Kukeri practices are shared with European Mummers and other mid-winter merrymaking "revelry, unruly or forbidden behavior, under the cover of masks or disguises." The folk costumes, scary Kukeri masks, and faux fights are meant as a for parody good and evil, similar to Mummer plays in the UK. Like them, performances for money/faux begging (or occasionally real ones) are part of the tradition. 

Kukeri in Razlog, Bulgaria

         

Courir de Mardi Gras in Savoy, Louisiana, USA

The Kukeri festival in Razlog reminded me of the Courir de Mardi Gras celebrations held in Cajun towns in Louisiana. There, men dress in costumes, ride horses to the village farms to collect items for a party, then parade/ride horses with musicians in tow to village center for a day of dancing and all day celebrating. The picture above in Savoy is credited to Herb Row [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) via Wikimedia Commons].

For background on Kukeri and European Mummers this website is the best: Mumming  
For specific details on Bulgarian Kukeri, though not all of it applies to all festivals, this website had the most in English translation: Kukeri

Coptic Cairo, Museum of Antiquities, and the Citadel

Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

Back in Cairo, we visited the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, an overwhelming museum with art, giant statues, sarcophagi, mummies, and gold everywhere—the museum houses more than 250,000 artifacts from the past 5,000 years. The animal mummy room, treasures from King Tut’s tomb, and the wooden carvings with stone eyes were some of my favorites. The folding bed Tut used for travelling (it had hinges that looked just like those on modern doors) and the board games found in King Tut’s tomb were unbelievable. It is so interesting to me how 5,000 years ago, people still liked board games and found travelling beds (with metal hinges!), useful. My mom really liked the well-preserved 4000-year-old wooden boats. The amount of treasure, high quality craftsmanship, and giant gold boxes-sarcophagi-coffins of King Tut’s tomb were also pretty incredible. Can’t quite fathom the amazement of  Howard Carter must have felt when discovered the tomb in the 1920s.

In the Royal Mummies Hall, the mummies had skin, hair, and fingernails. It was easy to discern individual facial features and some looked about ready to wake up. 

Coptic Cairo

Egypt is 90% Muslim, Coptic Christians make up about 9%, with other Christian denominations accounting for most of the rest. We visited the Hanging Church, a 9th century Coptic Church build on top of the Water Gate of Roman Babylon. It is named the Hanging Church for its appearance during the annual Nile floods. When the waters of the Nile rose, the church would appear to be floating, supported from below by the old Roman towers. 

Below are pictures of Mahmoud, Mom, and I walking through Coptic Cairo and a mosaic from inside the courtyard at the Hanging Church depicting Mary, Joseph, and Jesus during their 3 and a half years in Egypt while Herod’s purge of baby boys. 

Ben Ezra Synagogue and Abu Sirga Church

Egypt’s Jewish population numbered around 80,000 in the 1920s, but is now estimated to be as low as 200. The Ben Ezra Synagogue near the Abu Sirga Church in Coptic Cairo. It has been housed in the shell of a 4th century Christian church since the 9th century. It is supposedly built on the site where the pharaoh’s daughter found Moses in the reeds and where Mary drew water to wash Jesus.

Citadel of Salah Al-Din and Mohammed Ali Mosque

The Citadel was home to Egypt’s rulers for 900 years. Saladin started construction in 1176 AD to fortify the city against the Crusaders. The Mamluks enlarged the complex, adding harems and palaces. Mohammed Ali, an Albanian soldier in the Ottoman army who rose to power after the French departure in 1801, replaced them with the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. The Mosque of Mohammed Ali, also known as the Alabaster Mosque, was constructed in Turkish style with alabaster dominating the interior décor.

Khan El Khalili Bazaar

Khan El Khalili Bazaar, mostly geared towards tourists, it was constructed in the 14th century and lies near one of the most sacred Islamic sites in Egypt, the Mosque of Sayyidna al Hussein.

We ended our Egypt trip with a Felucca ride on the Nile.  

Tombs, Temples, and Shisha in Luxor

One of Queen Hatshepsut's Obelisks at Karnak Temple, Luxor

We spent a whirlwind day touring in Luxor, flying there in the morning and returning after a late dinner of kushari, mint tea, and shisha. Kushari is a mix of noodles, rice, lentils, and fried onions with a spicy tomato sauce and a garlicky, vinegar sauce.

During the New Kingdom, Egypt’s capital was moved to Thebes, modern day Luxor, around 1000 years after King Menes chose Memphis as the Old Kingdom capital. The construction of underground tombs in the Valley of the Kings (Tut’s tomb was found here) and the large temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor occurred during the New Kingdom. 

The Valley of the Kings, Three Tombs, Luxor. This is the valley where Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut in 1922. Though Tut’s is most famous thanks to it being the only tomb yet found undisturbed by tomb raiders, it is by no means the only one there. There are 62 tombs belonging to Pharaohs, plus tombs of queens, nobles, and priests dug into the limestone mountains.

Pictures were not allowed in the tombs. This is of Dad and I walking with our guide. Some entrances to tombs can be seen in the mountains behind us.

Temple of Hatshepsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut was once one of three in a massive complex carved into the stone on Luxor’s west bank. She was the first and most famous of Egypt’s female pharaohs. Hatshepsut lived from 1473 to 1458 BC. To gain power, she married her half brother Tuthmosis II and briefly took control after his death. To maintain her power control, she then married her stepson/nephew. When he died, she seized full control and undertook large-scale building projects. To gain support of the high priests, she constructed the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and gave them full control of its management in exchange for their endorsement of her continued power. She also built obelisks at Karnak Temple.

The Colossi of Memnon are 18 meter tall monuments built by Amenhotep III. They were part of a large temple complex, but the faceless statues are the only intact parts not covered by sand. 

 

Karnak Temple

The Karnak Temple is an overwhelming place covering 2 square kilometers. It was constructed by different pharaohs over the course of 1500 years and was the most important religious site of the New Kingdom. Records show it had 81,000 people working in or for the temple, plus owned 421,000 head of cattle, 65 cities, and 83 ships. 

The Temple of Amun, the main structure of the Karnak complex, is one of the largest religious monuments ever built and could contain both Rome’s Saint Peter’s Basiclica and London’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral with room to spare. The temple houses 10 cathedrals, the 134 towering stone pillars of the Hypostyle Hall, two 30 meter high Obelisks, a sacred lake, a sphinx lined avenue, a boat dock, and giant statues. Most New Kingdom pharaoh’s added to the temple’s archetechture in some way, but it’s primary construction occurred from 1550-1069 BC.

Pictures: Entrance along avenue of ram headed sphinxes. Courtyard. Columns in Hypostyle Hall. Mom and Dad at the Central Court, Karnak Temple. 

Luxor Temple

The Karnak Temple complex is connected to the Luxor Temple by a three kilometer, sphinx lined avenue. Luxor Temple was built by pharaohs Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC and Ramses II (1279-1213 BC) and lies in the center of town. The Barque Shrine was partially rebuilt in by Alexandar the Great and reliefs in it portray him as an Egyptian pharaoh. In the central chamber, the hieroglyphics were frescoed over by Christian Romans who used it as a chapel in the 3rd century AD. After the city declined, the temple was slowly covered by mudbrick houses, debris, and village life. 

In the 14th century the small mosque seen in the wall below was built. Excavation work began in 1885 revealing the temple as seen today, but the mosque remains. The entrance to the temple once had two obelisks, but one is now found in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.