Home Again

Home at last. It certainly was a comfort to touch Canadian soil again. Although I had a lot of fun and had wonderful experiences It was so good to get back home to all that is familiar and dear to me. I was up at 4:00 AM and left for the airport at 5:00. My flight left at 8:35 AM. Stopover in Heathrow in London and were delayed there for an hour. Arrived in Montreal, made it through customs and although I was afraid I would miss my connection to Halifax I was OK since my Halifax flight was delayed for an hour. I was able to catch up on a bit of sleep in the airport and on the plane to Halifax. Pat and Bill Danburger picked me up at 12:30. It was so thoughtful of them to wait so they could pick me up on their way home. I was in bed just as the sky was getting bright. Archie arrived home Saturday from Fort McMurray so now we are a family of 3. Our lawn mower was non responsive till Linda finally was able to fix it , but by then the grass was out of control so we had Ranald come with his bush hog. Looks like a bad hair cut now, we will have to do a lot of trimming and raking.

Back to Bulaq

A group of us went to Bulaq again today (high of 41C) to look at fabric and the sights. The fabric is awesome and the market is loaded with fabric and clothing. Got a bit more silk, so cheap I couldn’t resist for $6.50 a meter. We walked through the network of walking streets and each one filled with fabrics and clothing. Then you run out off the fabric section into the next area. The neighboring souq/market is car parts. All arranged in every nook and cranny. The dresses are very flashy and full of sequins and lace. I posted some to my web album…… http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27 …. The picture of the fellow on the bike is classic Egypt. They can drive a bike with an almost impossible load. The same goes for motorcycles and small cars.

Irlen Lens

Time for an information break!! I have been involved with promoting Irlen lens/filters for students since about 1 ½ years. I discovered it accident, because I had many capable, intelligent students in my class who were not achieving their potential, especially where reading and paper work was involved. Because of them I searched the net and found the Irlen method of helping readers using colored lens. These students who obtained the Irlen lens have on the whole experienced a surge in their learning process ranging from moderate to astonishing. We have to keep in mind the Irlen lens/filters are a “piece of the puzzle in solving learning problems. For some it is the only puzzle piece which is missing, for others it is one of the pieces but there are other factors which play a part.So if you are a capable person, unable to reach your potential, have problems with the words on the page moving, going into 3D, they may have shadows or just disappear, read on. Studying is a nightmare for you, for no matter how hard you study you can't retain the information, you are sun sensitive, dislike reading because of the work your eyes have to do, maybe have headaches and feel restless when you have to sit still, check out this web page and do the self test questionnaire and read all about this Syndrome. ------------- http://www.irlen.com/I am very excited for now a group of parents in Egypt are going to have their children, who I have screened, tested for the Syndrome. PS: I am not involved in selling them!

Bulaq Fabric Market

Doesn't time fly!! One more week, can't believe it. Maadi is in a fly lane and when I see the big aircraft flying over, I think, won't belong before I'll be on one heading out. Today I went to Bulaq the fabric market, with an Egyptian teacher for both of us wanted to get some fabric. We went by subway and got off at the Nasser Station. Coming up from that station you are hit by a mass of humanity and vehicles. The street is choked with vehicles which are honking most of the time, so very, very noisy. Getting across the street is like a Video game. As Gerri Mac Donald told me “use a local as a shield”. So watch when Egyptians cross and follow behind them. It is one big market, with stores filled to the top with fabric. The prices there were much better than what I have seen before, $9 a meter for silk, and $2 for crepe lining. The fabrics there are beautiful, Egyptian cotton and so many patterns and kinds of silk Besides fabric there is so much clothing, and every thing else you can think of stuffed into tiny shops. I looked in one place off the sidewalk and there were car wrecks stacked 3-4 high selling car parts, another shop had large coils of rope and there are people wandering about selling food and drinks.

Ain Sukhna Beach

Today a group of us took a van to Ain Sukhna, a resort town on the West bank of the Red Sea about 2 hours from Cairo. We went to the Ramada Hotel beach, (you have to pay to use the hotel’s beach) and got to sit in the sun and swim a lot. The water was very warm, past the very best temperature Cape Breton can offer, even in August. The beach fee includes towels and a lunch from the beach restaurant. It is a sandy beach and has a lot of little tropical fish swimming as you swim. There was a huge oil tanker anchored off shore and some type of refinery close by but the water appeared clean and was the usual turquoise colour. Some of the girls saw 5 dolphins body surfing in the waves. The beach wasn’t crowded and some Muslim ladies were there dressed in heavy jeans or full length heavy skirts, long sleeves and headscarves. Hot, Hot, Hot. The Muslim bathing suit consists of something like a full body wet suit and some wear a dress over it and the required headscarf ……... http://www.jelbab.com/Swim-Suit.asp

A Walk Downtown on Friday the 13th

This morning I went to pick up a new suit case and walk around in the downtown shopping district. On the way to the subway I noticed so many mango trees, just like apple trees at home, full of mangos. I also saw a fig tree which has the fruit very close to the trunk of the tree. I took the subway to the square opposite the Egyptian Museum. The subway is always very crowded and there are, just like in NYC, hawkers trying to sell their wares to a captive audience. Today there was a lady with assorted trinkets, a man with air freshener (very bad smelling) and a fellow with sesame seed sticks all in the same car at the same time. The subway brings you right to the heart of a very busy intersection. I can never get the courage to walk through traffic like the Egyptians. They just stroll calmly through the 3 or 4 lanes of heavy traffic. It is amazing more aren’t killed in the street. Walking down the street was getting very crowded as I went down Talat Harb Street, for the sellers were opening up their bags and spreading their wares over the side walk. Suddenly they all expertly grabbed the four corners of the square of cloth they had their wares spread on, or others lifted up the large tray their wares were displayed on to their heads and they all (20 or more) went running or dragging their wares down the street. Behind them ran a policeman, (but I could see he was enjoying it for he was trying not to laugh). They all melted into alleyways and down other streets. After the policeman left I could see them peeking out and reestablishing themselves in a safer area. It is amazing how many friendly people approach you and strike up a conversation asking where you are from and praising Canada. Then….they start trying to steer you off to the store they are working for to sell you fake papyrus, poor quality gold or ‘essence’. Scammers everywhere!! I found some shops selling fabric and saw some beautiful silk for about $20 a meter or less. The Egyptian cotton was very nice as well and I bought a piece. (I guess all they sell here IS Egyptian cotton.) Tuesday I am going to a big fabric market called Boulac.

Baa Baa in the hallway

This picture is priceless. As I walked down the stairs to the lobby (outside porch) of my apartment I could hear children laughing excitedly. This is what I saw when I came down. The children in the apartment above me had bought the sheep in a market and brought it home in the car and were waiting or their dad to come home and see it. Don't think he knew about it..... It was gone when I returned and and all traces swept up. I'll have to ask the kids next time I see them.

Hemochromatosis

This information could make a big difference in your life! In 2003 I was curious about my blood iron/Ferritin levels and asked for them to be tested (It is important to stress it is NOT the hemoglobin test but the Ferritin level). Turned out I had very high levels and further genetic testing revealed I had the genetic condition Hemochromatosis (iron overload). Symptoms do not appear till damage has occurred, so it is important to be checked before you show signs. This condition has a higher rate among people of Celtic/European descent. Since I have this condition, it is a fact, Hemochromatosis is scattered throughout my family tree, the French one and the Scottish. (among those names in ‘Fair is the Place’ our family genealogy) Both my mother and father were each carrying at least one gene for me to be positive. My own children all have at least one gene for Hemochromatosis which makes them all carriers. Quoting The Canadian Hemochromatosis Society

“Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HHC) is the most common genetic disorder affecting Canadians. It is a crippling, potentially fatal condition caused by a defect of iron metabolism that leads to iron overload in vital organs, joints and tissues. The complications caused by the disorder are preventable if a diagnosis is made before the excess iron causes irreversible damage, and effective treatment exists.”

By the way I discovered it early, no damage, just regularly give blood. One of my first tasks when I get home will be to make appointments to give about 3-5 pints of blood (one a week) as soon as possible. I was not comfortable giving blood in Egypt, so I am overdue. Their website: http://www.toomuchiron.ca/index.php So.... get your Ferritin tested!!

Water Games

Sitting here with my hair soaked, I was working and forgot to put the AC on, when you start dripping then you realize how hot it is. Time is flying by and the end of year activities are starting. Today we had a games day in the afternoon. The high school kids planned it for the elementary. They were outside games with one twist. They all involved water. As the kids played the games they were continually being sprayed with hoses or sprinklers. They were all totally soaked by the time it as over as well as a lot of teachers. Only in Egypt could you do that without worrying about the children being wet and cold. It was about 36C today so we dried off very quickly. The mango tree, one house down is growing big fat mangos (Nora) although they are still green, hey look very good. On Tuesday after school I am going to the fabric market to look for some silk or other exotic fabrics. Tomorrow afternoon I hope to take the Metro (subway) Downtown to have a last look around. The roads are very uneven and bumpy, and walking after dark is hazardous not because of thugs (there are literally policemen on every corner in my neighborhood) but because of the holes and bumps in the road. I am learning how to roll with a fall. Last night I added a few more bruises and to my road rash look after I unexpectedly hit a speed bump.

How much hotter??

Put the thermometer on my window ledge at my apartment and this is what it read! Finished my report cards at last and had to stay in my bedroom where the AC was cold to do them. The bird family has moved out of my kitchen AC unit, so my landlord is going to get it repaired. Tomorrow I will have to get another suitcase to carry home what I have acquired. I bought a scale so I will know for sure how much I can pack.

Ticket Home

Pictures of my students playing games with a parachute I borrowed from another school. Hot as can be today 40C+. Like an oven but a dry heat. IT IS OFFICIAL, I LEAVE CAIRO ON THE 25TH OF JUNE, FLY TO HEATHROW, MONTREAL AND ARRIVE IN HALIFAX AT 11:30 PM THE SAME DAY. I could take time to travel in Europe or elsewhere but it will be much better to get to Canada again and see what is familiar and Canadian. Susan tells me my daffodils are blooming, the asparagus is up and my fruit trees blooming. That is exciting to hear. Report card marks are due in on Sunday the 8th then it is much less stressful. I was sitting out in the sun at school today waiting for my students when a little boy came and sat next to me. He looked at me and said, “Your hair is so beautiful! It has two colours, white and brown”. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Dahab in May

This is one of the Bedouin children, hitching a ride. The other is the "Blue Hole" from above. The light coloured water is coral reef. We left for Dahab from Maadi around 5:00 and arrived there about 12:30. A long ride by bus. We had a coach so they are more comfortable. We stayed at the Star of Dahab Hotel. A new place with the same almost desalinated water as last time. Next morning we all met for breakfast at the restaurant which is a sit on cousins area just on the beach with shade from the sun. After breakfast the divers started their diving schedule which left us non divers to do whatever we wanted. I got snorkel gear and explored the reef near the board walk. The reefs start right at the waterline and go out to varying distances then it’s a drop off, to deep water. I guess we are on the continental plate boundaries and the water is very deep just meters from the beach. The fish are wondrous to see, neon colours, deep blues, oranges, vivid yellows, spots and stripes. There are larger fish and tiny ones too. It is a wonderland. It is also so strange for they aren’t afraid and you swim in the midst of a school of fish, but they don’t ever bump you. In between going in the water it was time to walk the board walk or just lay out in the sun. That evening we went up in the mountains for a Bedouin meal. We drove up in off road vehicles and there was a meal set out for us. The light was provided by candles in sand bottles. After we ate the food which wasn’t so authentic Bedouin but still very good in the dark, who could tell what it was anyway. We just stretched out and listened to a Bedouin sing American songs and looked up at the stars which were so very bright. Next morning we went to two places down the coast, the Canyon and the ‘Blue Hole’. The snorkeling there was awesome. We ate lunch at one of the seaside restaurants and looked down over the verandah to the sea below where we could see the coral reefs so clearly in the water. The fish cluster near the reefs. They just swim about eating things off the coral. I thought it would be fish chasing each other to eat each other but they just swim lazily by without a care, so it seems. At the “Blue Hole” the reef goes out maybe 10 meters or less then there is a drop off to about 1800 meters. When you look down it is blue with fish swimming everywhere close by and in the far distance. These beautiful fish swim in as far as the water line. I saw Nemo again, this time in the real sea Anemone. The Bedouin kids and camels are everywhere, selling bead work or riding by on camels trying to get riders, On the way out to the Blue Hole the little fellows about 8-10 hitch a ride on the back of the truck/jeeps by jumping on the bumper and hiding behind where the driver won’t see them. No one seems to care. I think these kids just leave home in the morning and reappear sometime before it is time to sleep. Not many restraints on them. On the way home we drove up the coast North as far as Taba, very near Israel/ Jordan and then cut over toward the Suez tunnel to Cairo. It was a long trip back. We left at 4 and arrived back in Maadi at 1:30 AM.

Fruit

I have a new ticket possibility and may be home late evening the 25 of June. It means I will leave a day early. Just have to get it paid for by the school. I am very excited but have a lot to get done before I leave. Today was high 35C but I know it is hotter than that on the bus on the way home. We have AC in all classrooms but it is a melt-freeze situation. I guess we will have to rearrange furniture to get everyone, including me out of the icy blast. There are always new trees bursting into bloom. The red ones are still prominent but now there are beautiful pink ones as well. The holly hocks are at the end of their stalks. The fruit at the market is so good. The little (6 inch) Egyptian bananas are tasty, the deep purple all the way through Egyptian plums are so sweet, apricots so tart and tasty, black berries, blue berries, many kinds of melons, guavas, sweet tiny tomatoes, and many more and vegetables as well. I always buy fresh squeezed juice by the liter, it is so very good, orange, grapefruit, lemon, strawberry, sugarcane, coconut, guava, mango and more. I have noticed two large trees on either side of my flat have a lot of green fruit, I know one is mango and the other I will have to ask about. A bus load (coach type) of us are going to Sinai, I will be with the divers and go to Dahab to snorkel, swim and relax on the beach. We are going after school Thursday and will get there late. We will return Saturday evening. Dahab is nice, not as high pressure as Luxor. The coral reefs there are close to shore.

Spring Fling

Today was our big “Spring Fling” celebration/recruiting event. Teachers were picked up by bus at 9:00. We were running games and activities for the kids, face painting, fish pond, painting, lawn bowling, toss to the target games and a lot more. It was a big splash with tents, fancy tables and chairs with large real flower center pieces. There was a variety concert, scuba intro lessons, pony rides, dunk tank and big inflatable games. The last event was a tug of war between, elementary and secondary teachers...won by elementary and a students vs. teachers match…won by teachers. The last event was a concert by a fairly popular Cairo singer and his large band. Raffle tickets had been sold and there were a lot of prizes given out. I won a beach themed large basket of beach toys and other interesting things. I kept two towels and a bottle of sunscreen and gave the rest to my classroom cleaner. She was very happy as she is quite poor. It was a bit like a summer festival at home, (a bit fancier) even had a fight out in the parking lot! We didn’t get to leave school till 6:30 and we were all very, very tired, out in the sun all day. When we got to an overpass bridge on the way into Maadi, where we live, the traffic was diverted. A double load flat bed truck loader with cement bags had failed to make the curve on the overpass and the cab and first flat bed section were dangling from the overpass just about touching the ground with gas pouring out of the gas tank. I hope no one was riding on the back of the load, often this kind of truck had 'unloaders' snoozing or sitting on top of the load. Police were directing traffic around it and people were watching and of course smoking. No evacuation! I also noted cracks in the section of the overpass where it was hanging. We had to take an alternate route and didn’t get home till 8:00. It was so, so hot on the bus. School tomorrow! See pictures on Web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27

Walking Downtown

This little old fellow was begging on the street. I gave him 10LE and he was happy and posed for a picture. This afternoon I planned an excursion to Mohamed Ali Street. The pictures I saw of it showed a nice spacious street with a non threatening atmosphere. It is the street where they sell musical instruments and music. I wanted to buy some CDs of traditional Egyptian music. Took the Metro Train to the downtown stop and walked the route that would take me to Mohamed Ali street. I passed a large Palace Museum and was able to locate the route to the street I was looking for. Up till now my route was Western with many western people. When I start getting near “Egyptian” areas I switch to a cab. The cab took me to Mohamed Ali street but it was not a place I felt comfortable. The street was very narrow and very crowded with Arabic people, so I had him drive down it, but take me back to where I felt comfortable on Talat Harb Street. So much for the music, I’ll have to get an escort or look elsewhere. Very hot again today, 35C. I wanted to wear pants with lots of pockets but they were just out of the washer. I grabbed them and put them on anyway, In about 10 min or less they were dry. Hot dry, weather! And yes Peggy and Alice I did see the same scammers trying to persuade a couple to visit their shops. I was standing behind the scammer as he spoke to them, and I was shaking my head and pointing to him. They said they had been enticed into the Essence shop but didn’t buy. FYI: There are always scammers lurking near the Egyptian Museum, who make a living luring unsuspecting tourists to shops where the scammers get a commission of the sales on shoddy merchandise passed off as genuine, (gold, perfume, papyrus etc). They all pose as helpful friendly Egyptians who pose as teachers or other (supposedly) trustworthy people, perhaps on the way to pray. They intercept tourists, ask where they are going and say oh that place is temporarily closed but…you can go to this government shop while you wait…

Felucca Ride

Just came back from another felucca ride on the Nile. Sometimes I feel this can’t be real, here I am on the Nile. It was a lovely 38C and hotter day. About 20 of us went to the Corniche where the feluccas are tied up. Feluccas are Egyptian sailboats which can be hired for 50 LE an hour. We always take a picnic with us and set it out on the table in the middle of the boat with bench seats arranged around the sides and back of the boat. The boat captain sits in the back and guides the boat through the traffic of other feluccas, ferries and other pleasure boats carrying tourists and Egyptians out for an evening sail. While waiting to board we saw something you don’t see to often, some brave soul water skiing on the Nile. Waterskiing isn’t a dangerous sport, the danger is falling in and swallowing the water from the Nile!

CBU

On the way to school there is a billboard advertising a partnership with one of the Egyptian universities and CAPE BRETON UNIVERSITY. So....I can't be the only Cape Bretoner in Cairo.

Birthday Party

I just arrived back from my first Egyptian child’s birthday party which was more like a wedding at home. The invitation said 1:00 so I arrived at 1: 10 because my taxi had trouble finding the house. I was the first person there, she said, oh that is Egyptian time which means no one comes till at least 1 ½ or two hours later than the time on the invitation. The house was beautiful. The living room, full of paintings, was about the size of the whole downstairs in my house at home. The house borders on the high class golf course, I would think they get a few golf balls in their yard. It was a party for parents as well and I met a lot of nice ladies who all speak English quite well. Several of them I had met already as they were parents of my students. It was a comfortable party and I was glad I went. There must have been a staff of about 30 workers including waiters, cooks, life guard, DJ, games organizers and videographer. That was not counting all the nannies who arrived with the children and their mothers. They had a restaurant cater to the kids menu with a large outdoor barbeque and 2 chocolate fountains as well as ice cream and the birthday cake. There was another catered buffet inside for the accompanying adults and there were no plastic or paper dishes in or outside. Waiters circulated offering non alcoholic refreshments. It was a pool party so the children had fun with the games provided by the team of people hired to run the games in and out of the pool. There were games for the children which changed every so often to keep them from getting bored. When I left they were finger painting traced pictures of their bodies on large sheets of paper and spray painting a white sheet with spray bottles of food colouring.

Cairo

Nora left Cairo at 8:35 the 12 and is safe home with all her baggage. She was loaded down and despite being over weight by a lot she didn’t have to toss out any of the rocks I sent home with her. My clothing choices are pretty limited for I sent home as much as possible (and more) with Nora, Linda, Alice and Peggy. The trees here are beautiful and covered with flowers of all colours. The hollyhocks are almost at the end of their blossoms. I’m in negotiations with the travel agency to get a good ticket home. The school booked me for the 20 of June and didn’t change it, despite my repeated reminders, now the only way out for me on the 26 is with a 15…..yes……. 15 hour layover in Frankfurt. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were Paris or London or some other city where I haven’t been before. The other choice he is trying to book for me is 4 hours in Frankfurt and I’m 13 on the list for that option. Tomorrow I’m going to a student’s birthday party at a villa. This is my chance to see what a villa is like on the inside. I may be just an English bump on an Arabic log there but I think it will be interesting. The children are getting so restless, during the hot months people stay up late and sleep in. Well my students are staying up late and having to still get up early, so they are not very focused on school work. Can’t imagine what it will be like in June. Even after being here since January I am still amazed by the lack of safety issues. A manhole cover missing on a busy street is marked by a rock, 3-4 foot deep holes are in unlit side walks, police barricades appear randomly, without warning and squeeze 3 lanes of traffic into 1, donkey carts drive in traffic with the crazy Cairo drivers, vehicles stop anywhere on a busy highway to pick up or discharge passengers, no such a thing as wet paint signs, transport truck loaded with cargo carry their unloaders, sleeping on bags of cargo on the back of the open truck. This morning I saw a load of bricks covered by a tarp, but the tarp was held in place with bricks on top of the flapping tarp, with the good chance of bricks flying off into traffic! There was also a very small truck, carrying 3 wheelbarrows, other tools and four men balanced on the wheelbarrows. But that is Egypt!

Guests Gone Home

Heard from Linda and she arrived home on Saturday afternoon. A very long journey, two days long with long layovers in airports. Friday night Nora and I went to a friend’s party on her balcony. A lovely evening and in Egypt you never have to worry about your event being interrupted by rain. Nora and I went to Ain Sukhna on the Red Sea Saturday morning, about 2 hours south of Cairo. Going to the beach here isn’t like Judique where you just go to the beach. We had to book a spot at the Palmaria Hotel Beach and pay to go the beach. The beach was very nice, very warm and the water is turquoise. We took a short trip out in a boat to snorkel and saw some neat fish, no sharks Linda! Sunday was Nora’s last day here and she surprised me with a large bouquet of flowers for mother’s day. I forgot all about it since the Egyptian Mother’s day was last month. We took a quick Metro ride Downtown (the area is called ‘Downtown’) and bought a carry-on for Nora and one for me. Nora left this morning at 5:00 for her 8:35 flight out of Cairo. Sorry to see her go but I will be home before very long. The school is booking flights home but of course there is a mix up with mine. I am scheduled to return the 20 of June and the last day of school is the 25… so they need to change it, but that’s not so easy here, wouldn’t mind leaving the 20 after all. Today was a scorcher, felt like sandstorm weather, with a hot wind blowing but nothing came of it. The high was 38 C. Thursday is forecast to be another very hot day. Finally I am in a place where I’m not cold all the time and I actually don’t mind the heat very much. My bedroom AC works fine and keeps me cool but the kitchen one is a nursery for a second catch of baby birds. Got to catch the nest when there are no babies and get Mohamed the electrician over. I think every 10th male here is called Mohamed.

Visitors From Home Part 3

Back to reality and school on Sunday May 4. Linda and Nora were able to start catching up on their sleep after finishing school and exams. Nora has now officially graduated from NSCAD, although she choose being in Egypt with me instead of graduation ceremonies. She has now a degree in Graphic and Product Design. Oh I forgot to mention our visit to the carpet factory/school on the way between pyramids. We suspect the guides get a cut on articles we purchase at places they take customers so they schedule side trips to ‘museums’, ‘schools’ and ‘factories’ where tourists often buy articles. The carpet ‘school’ was well worth the visit in terms of viewing beautiful work, learning the culture of Egypt and especially for Peggy to see weavers at work, since she herself is a weaver. The looms which are manned by children, who go to carpet school and learn to make carpets, but not to read or write, brought tears to her eyes. The families there are large and children have to help support the family. The children sit on a bench in a spacious well lit area and their fingers are blurred as they fly tying knots in silk or wool. The owner told us they make about 500 LE a month on a carpet they would sell for about 3000. I suspect the figures may be doctored to sound good to our conscience. I also suspect he took us to one of the better school (they are many clustered in that area), and in reality many would be what we consider ‘sweat shops’ but when it is a way to live they are happy to be working. I will post pictures on the web album when I get a chance. Every evening after school the girls and I went exploring in the little crowded shops near where I live. There are so many restaurants and tiny places just filled to overflowing with Egyptian crafts. The Bedouin women from Siwa are skilled at embroidery/cross-stitch and spend months on cushion cover sized squares of stitched patterns they create for next to nothing, (about 150 LE which is about $25 retail.) they are beautiful pieces of work). The little shops have Pashminas for next to nothing, Bedouin embroidered article of many types, brass, leather clothing and crafts, Egyptian cotton clothing, sheets and bedding, pottery, soap, carvings, jewelry, silver and the list goes on. Every day we find new places. Going out to eat cost about 1/5 of what it does at home so I have taken the girls out every night, to experience the restaurants of Egypt. The food is very good, but often the servings are too big, it is best to order appetizers and than you get a reasonable sized meal. This s true, especially when you don’t have a son or husband to finish off the leftovers. Wednesday after school we rushed off to the Cairo Egyptian Museum to show Linda the mummies. We took a cab to the Metro and took the Metro down town. Linda got a whirlwind tour of the Museum and in 1 ½ hours she had enough. You can only take all the amazing antiquities in small doses before you get overloaded. I have been there three times and like to go for short periods of time. Note to Peggy and Alice: After exiting the Museum we decided to take a walk down Talat-Harb Street. Who should we meet but the same hustler, we encountered last trip. He was still was pretending he was a teacher and wanted to show us a good ‘Government store where we could get good ‘Essence’. These fellows patrol the downtown area, watching for unsuspecting tourists, are very friendly and offer to give directions to your destination but their destination differs in that they lead you to a shop where they get a cut of what is sold and the articles are shoddy. We walked the crowded street close to the Metro stops and it didn’t take the girls long to decide they had had enough, for we were hassled by too many overly attentive Egyptian men. It is a very difficult place for young Western girls, I understand why our young teachers are so cynical about the men here. Linda left for the airport with our driver, at 2:15 AM on Friday morning. We all stayed up till she left and I went to the airport with her. I did get to see her off but couldn’t keep my eyes open either on the way to the airport or on the way back. She packed all she could take for me and my closets are pretty bare, for Alice and Peggy took a lot as well. I was going to run into the terminal with her, but the police were next to our van with a wheel lock ready to put on if we stayed any longer (It costs a lot to get then off). Time to go!

Visitors From Home Part 2

May 1, Thursday Our last day on the boat. We had breakfast at the usual buffet meal served on the ship, and we left to see the Luxor and Karnack temples. They are a huge complex with an avenue of Sphinx which used to line an avenue between both temples. The columns are awesome, so huge, so many, so old. We had a guide who was very well versed in Egyptian history, he even was able to read and write hieroglyphics. He could tell us a great deal about each site. Our flight didn’t leave till 1:00 AM so we had the afternoon free to wait, so we went about in Luxor for a while, avoiding the market and spent time relaxing on the boat. The boat had three decks plus an upper open air pool lounge area. Bottom deck was the dining room, second and third was guest rooms, lounge/bar and the top area was open air with lounge chairs and sitting areas so we could sit out and watch the Nile scenery pass by. We visited just a small fraction of the sites available, and we saw many cut into the banks of the Nile as we floated down river. Our driver was at the airport to meet us and we arrived here at my apartment about 3:00 AM quite tired. Ten o’clock next morning, Friday our driver was at the door to take us to Sakkara, Memphis and the Pyramids of Giza. (I’ll explain driver: when you want to go on an excursion whether it is to the airport, a tour of the city or out of the city, you can hire a cab for a day which is cheaper but sketchy and usually ready to fall apart. An other choice is to hire a new van, with a familiar driver, from a travel agent for about 14 dollars a day and that is all day going to a destination about 1 ½ hours away. Also with a familiar driver you can get in and say ‘swiya, swiya’ (my spelling of ‘slowly’ in Arabic) and he will go at a reasonable speed.) Sakkara is on the site of one of the earliest pyramids, we saw the step pyramid and the Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, who later built the Red Pyramid. The Pyramids are so massive you can’t imagine their size till you actually are beside them. I’ll post pictures on my web album, the only way to give an idea of what they really are like. Up till now I had barely time to sleep…..but enjoyed every bit of time with friends and family. Sleep I can get later! Peggy and Alice had an early flight Saturday and we were sorry to see them go. It was so nice to have familiar faces around for a few weeks.

Visitors from home

Friday April 26 The past few weeks have been a blur. No time to even post here. Linda is leaving the 9th, that is tonight, we are leaving for the airport at 2:30. Nora leaves on the 12th. Alice and Peggy left left last Saturday the 3rd. Friday the 25th was the day to visit the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. Had a guided tour of the building for about 1 ½ hours. That is about the right amount of time to spend there before you get overwhelmed by all the amazing antiquities. The treasures of King Tut’s tomb and the huge sarcophagus are incredible as well as all the other treasure on display there. We took a walk down Talat-Harb street and got a taste of the big city with all its sights, sounds and hustlers. Learning from others where the best quality can be found we took in the leather coat shops and the silver smith’s shop which are very close to where I live. Sunday Linda arrived and I hired a van to pick her up. A van from the travel agency is more reliable and safe to travel long distances. We picked her up in the afternoon we just had time to return home go to bed ,catch a few winks then we were up again to catch the van to the airport at 3:00 AM. We caught the 5:30 flight to Aswan and met up with our cruise ship in the morning, the MS Isadora. Turned out to be a nice vessel with good food, comfortable rooms and an upper deck where we could relax by the pool and watch the sights as we motored up the Nile. We were assigned a guide who was with us throughout the tour. He took us to see the High Dam in Aswan which supplies all of Egypt with electricity. The construction of the dam stopped the annual flooding of the Nile and created Lake Nasser. The rising water submerged some temples and ruins but many were moved piece by piece to higher ground such as the Philae. We took a felucca ride around the islands and then took a motor launch to the Philae temple. That night our boat sailed up the river and we arrived at Kom Ombo the next morning. The temple of Kom Ombo is dedicated to the Crocodile God. There are crocodile mummies in this temple. The temple of Horus at Edfu is dedicated to the God Horus the falcon god. Both temples have so many beautiful columns and are massive structures. We returned to the boat and sailed through the locks on to Esna. The locks are to ease the ships through the different levels of water on the Nile just like the St Lawrence Seaway. Every day we had meals in the dining room and when were sailing we could relax/snooze on the upper deck by the pool. We all got enough sun to give us varying degrees of tans. The markets in Aswan and Luxor were a test of stamina. The vendors are super aggressive, and stand in the street calling tourists into their shops. Best strategy is to walk by and ignore any invitations to look at merchandise. Eye contact with a vendor means you are blitzed and have scarves draped over your shoulders, purses put on your arms and table cloths almost stuffed in your bags. Having two young ladies didn’t help either. Egyptian men are very bold and fall in love at first glance especially if the girls are young and have the potential of a good salary and a ticket to Canada. They are bold and make comments and instead if disguising their interest, they exaggerate it. This can get quite obnoxious day after day. Our boat docked in Luxor and we spent the night. Morning we visited the Valley of the Kings. This is a large valley on the upper bank of the Nile. There are many tombs of Kings cut deep into the cliffs of the valley. Nora, Peggy and Linda went into the deep tombs and Alice and I joined them in the tombs that weren’t low and too deep into the cliff. The can get very hot and make it hard to breathe. Those emerging came out sweating and red faced. The temple of Queen Hatshepsut, (a woman pharaoh) was beautiful but by then we were getting “templed out”. We saw the Colossi of Memnon, (huge statues) and went to an alabaster factory/museum. It was quite interesting. It is a house constructed over an ancient tomb, where they make and sell alabaster articles. We went in the tomb which they used as a storage room. The family lives there along with roosters, hens and an indoor pigeon roost. After lunch we took a motor launch to a beach a few kms up the Nile and docked to find our camels awaiting us. We all choose a camel and Nora was first to mount her camel. Turned out she had the most vocal and most spitting beast. Linda got on her camel which was sitting, the camels get up rear end first which pitches the rider forward on a steep angle so you have to hang on tight. Got some good pictures of Linda in “OMG” mode as her camel rocked to a standing position. We were led through a rural area by 6-9 year olds children who kept giving the camels whacks on the behind when they stopped to eat THORN bushes. The boys also kept up a steady stream of comments about ‘bakshesh’ which means tip money. We were very glad to have our guide Ahmed with us for when you are on a camel you are at the mercy of the drivers. We continued on in the boat to a banana plantation where we saw, mangos, guavas, grapefruit, mandarin oranges, avocado, and banana.

Safe and Sound

Just checking in to let everyone know all is well. We are back here in Cairo. We were in Luxor which isn't near where the bus crash occured.

REd Sea Snorkel Pictures

Check out my web album to see Red Sea Snorkel pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27

Friends in Cairo

Top photo: Nora and a shopkeeper in Coptic Cairo. Bottom photo: Alice. Colleen, Nora, Peggy at the Citadel. Alice and Peggy arrived on Tuesday evening. Their flight was about an hour late and I had to take a tour of the 3 terminals at the Egypt airport before I finally found them, it was so great to see them. “Lucky’ for me I had eaten something that hadn’t agreed with me the day before and had to stay home from school the next day. Honestly I was sick, and was a bit under the weather for about two days but not enough to stop me from going out with the girls. We went to see interesting local spots in Maadi on Wednesday after school and we went out to dinner with some of our teachers in the evening. That evening we hired a van to go to the airport to pick up Nora. So wonderful to see her, We all stayed up till 4:00 talking and were able to sleep in next day since Thursday was declared a national holiday in Alice’s and Peggy’s honor, no school. Really it is Sinai Liberation Holiday and Mubarak declared it a national holiday, a real pleasant surprise. Friday we employed a guide and van to take us on a tour of the city. We went to Coptic Cairo, Islamic Cairo, The Citadel, Ataba, The Khan el Khalili, and a few other stops. The Khan was a memorable stop, never will you ever find such persistent, in your face vendors. They have jacked their prices up by about 80% of what they should be and expect to be haggled down, but not too graciously. Had the van drop us off at the leather shop and we walked home. After freshening up we took a taxi to a shop that sells fabric on Road 105 and finished up with a walk down the shops of Road 9. Nora had a quick taste of Egyptian Culture. I was offered 500 camels for the hand of my daughter several times by several young men. They were gracious enough to offer 10camels each for Peggy , Alice amd myself! It was a very full day. So glad they are all here. We pick up Linda at the airport on Sunday and early Monday we depart for Aswan by plane where we will meet the ‘Miss Isadora’ our cruise ship.

Snorkeling Hurghada

Photos: With Gabe, one of my Canadian students and our charter boat 'Tiny'. Thursday after school we were met at school by a bus/van to taking us to Hurghada. It was a 7 hour drive but the bus/van was comfortable and the company good. We arrived around 10 PM and stayed at the Santa Maria Hotel, impressive from the outside but not so swanky inside, but it was $20 a night for my share of a double room. Had a choice of going to the beach or going out to try snorkeling while the others did their diving. I opted for the snorkeling and it was an excellent choice. We had a charter boat with upper and lower decks and rented snorkel gear. The water was turquoise and although there was a little breeze it was very warm. We drove about 45 min to the first reef and the convoy of boats all anchored in a row. When the divers went down, I went in to have a look at the fish. The water was like Judique in August and very clear. The reefs have such beautiful coral formations, of all colours. The fish are unbelievable, flute fish, clownfish (Nimo), brilliant blue fish, yellow and black fish, yellow stripes, orange, rainbow, pink, turquoise, black and white, brilliant blue Angel fish and many more. The fish just swam around me and went about their business as if I wasn’t there. I’m not sure what they eat but they didn’t seem to be bothering each other just occasionally nibbling on coral, or what looked like coral. In all I was snorkeling at 4 different reefs and each was more amazing than the next. I felt safe for the area where the snorkelers were, was close to the reef where the boats wouldn’t go. The boat ‘Tiny’ was comfortable and we had our noon meal served on board, very good food all made in a small Galley. The whole 2 days was amazing and well worth the trip. We arrived home at 11:00 PM tired and well roasted, the Egyptian sun is strong. I’m sitting one sunburn area and leaning on another. The sun is magnified when you are on your belly looking down in the water. On the way home we had to go in a convoy (which is the norm) with a police escort. For photos see http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27

Felucca Ride

Finally got my washer fixed, the repairman spent 4 hours putting it back together, now it works, mind you it takes more that 2 hours to run through a wash cycle but that is an Egyptian washer for you. The repairman Mohamed is a general fix it all so he was going to repair my 4th AC unit but when he took of the cover off the unit which is outside, a mother bird flew away. She left behind her just hatched baby and some eggs, so we put the cover back on and will wait two weeks. Today was in the high 30s and this evening we hired a felucca for a ride on the Nile. Lovely evening, the water was calm as it usually is and it is quiet out on the water. We rarely ever have wind here in Cairo, the seed pods from last years season are still hanging on the trees. I’m excited about Peggy Burke, Alice Campbell and my Daughters Linda and Nora coming to see me. We will take a Nile Cruise from the 28 for 4 days and 3 nights. Will have to visit the pyramids and see some of the sights in the city. I’m going to Hurghada this weekend, another beach weekend on the Red Sea.

Markets and Beggars

On the street today on the way to the Metro, I saw an old Fiat Taxi as usual, with its roof rack piled high with cargo. The cargo was about two or three beef carcases cut up in quarters or more going to market. Just a small tarp pulled over to hold it on with most of the load or more exposed to the elements. On the Subway/Metro I rode in the ladies car, no men allowed. (The Egyptian men in close quarters tend to get too friendly, hence the ladies car).Got off at the Nasser stop in the downtown area and walked to Ataba, where there is a huge fabric market. The downtown streets are bustling with people and modern looking shops with trendy Muslim clothing and some Western looking clothes. It is amazing that even though we are in full summer weather they are just getting out the summer clothes, but a lot of corduroy still around. I had to do a lot of experimenting with routes and asking friendly Egyptians for directions but I found the fabrics. On the way there I had to pass through a HUGE Bazzar type street market where the streets were blocked off and jammed full of vendors selling about any type of clothing, pink ‘bloomers’, scarves, gallabayas, bedding, baby clothes, T-shirts and so on. The markets are often by type of item, I passed through an area where appliances were sold, hard ware, house wares, carpets and then I finally found the fabrics, upholstery and clothing. Some areas are only wholesale and sell by the bolt, with some searching I found the fabrics I could buy. Most of it is cotton made in Egypt. I bought three cotton pieces at $2.72 at meter. Found some sheets as well for $6.36 (no fitted sheets here, I could find). for a flat sheet and 2 pillow cases. Every shop I went into is about as big as the bed of a small pick up truck. No room to turn, with a big school bag on my back. The fabrics are plied high with a path through. It is the side streets that are very interesting. They are so narrow with delivery people running through with fabric bolts on their shoulders, huge boxes on their backs, small delivery carts and even when there is no room, small delivery trucks. I took a walk down one and it was full of spice stores, little tiny shops filled with every spice you can think off over flowing from burlap bags with the sides rolled over to form a rim. Curcumin, white ginger, red ginger, cinnamon, saffron, pepper, toothpick plant, hot peppers, dried lemons, a real yucky looking tennis ball (size) which looked a lot like bear poop (leaves berries, tarry looking substance), they told me put it in water it makes a good drink! Mixed in with this is dust, dirt and many flies. I didn’t venture in too far for I stood out very obviously, being the only person with a ball cap visor while the other ladies all were wearing a headscarf, or a veil and dress/skirt. No pictures on this trip, people were friendly but taking pictures would push it to the limit. The always ask where I’m from and always smile when I say Canada. The small streets wind in deeper and get odder and narrower as they get away from the main streets. Lots of food vendors but you leave your appetite home if you are smart especially when you see the conditions in which some foods are packaged and prepared. That was the interesting part and this is the ‘keep you awake at night’ part. This is where you see the beggars and you see why they beg. There was a man sitting on the sidewalk in the dust and dirt, cradling his approx 14 year old son in his arms. The boy is unable to sit up, is handicapped or injured, maybe burns. His hand has no skin on it and is a red open sore accessible to the flies and street dirt. There is a woman sitting on the street with her 3 year old who is playing on the sidewalk and climbing a fence watching the cars going by. She is calling to him to come to her for she has no feet. An old man with his hand held out, blind eyes covered by very droopy lids. There is a handicapped man in an antiquated wheelchair, very small, very deformed, who smiles so gratefully when I gave him money. Meanwhile people are rushing by them without a glance. Can’t forget it, be thankful we were born in Canada. “There but for the Grace of God go I”!

Dahab and Mt Sinai

Saini, Dahab We took an East Delta bus from Heliopolis at 8:00 AM. The bus is very similar to Acadian Lines here in NS except it has loud Arabic music and movies. The trip took 8 ½ hours to get to Dahab which is on the Eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula and on the Red Sea. On the way we were stopped about 5 times for the police to check our passports. They have posts probably every 70 -100 Kms. We left Cairo and drove to Suez where we went under the canal through the Suez Tunnel. Then we went South toward Sharm El Sheikh the very touristy resort on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula where we turned and drove up to Dahab the less fancy and cheaper resort town where many people go to dive. When we arrived at the bus stop the ‘taxis’ (small half tons with a carpet on the floor of the truck bed) were swarming trying to take us to our accommodations. We stayed at the Auski Camp. For Friday to Tuesday morning (4 nights) it cost us about $12 each total. The place wasn’t bad except the shower, which was nice and hot, but it was ‘SALT WATER’. The next morning I joined a group going to St Catherine’s Monastery and then on to climb Mt Sinai. The Monastery was built by Constantine’s Mother, Helena to honor St Catherine an early Christian martyr who was killed there. The ‘Burning Bush” (or a descendant of) as in Moses and the 10 commandments grows in the courtyard of the monastery. Our group started to walk up the mountain path at 2:30 PM in order to catch the sunset on top of the mountain. It is a grueling trek, with loose gravel, very uneven ground and thin air. We were lucky not to be crowded as we walked up but some camels and drivers came up with us waiting to pick up any people who couldn’t make it on their own. There were also camels coming down and I soon learned camels just keep coming, they don’t swerve to avoid, they just go straight on with their big feet, which look like a foot in a bag of jelly. So make way for camels. The path is up the side of a mountain, bare of vegetation, except for a few plants in cracks where they have found a bit of moisture. Along the way there are Bedouin ‘canteens’ where you can stop and get a drink or rest. The mountain is 2285 m high and the path snakes up for 7 kms. It has beautiful scenery, bare stark mountains in all directions, banded with different colored geological formations. The path is dry and scattered with dust, rocks and camel poop and winds back and forth. Just when you think you can’t go any farther there are the last 750 stone steps to the summit cut in rock by a monk many years ago. It is a grueling last portion and very steep. The top has a small church and Bedouins selling, geodes, crystals, food, drink and blankets for the people who come up at night to see the sunrise. The hurried trip back down was probably just as difficult as the way up. By now it was dark, I luckily had the small flashlight Susan Mallette had given me before I left and it illuminated the path ahead of us. (Thanks Susan). Now we were going down a sometimes fairly steep path in the dark and I had on sandals and there was so much loose gravel. I and a Dutch lady linked arms and held each other up, we both sprained our ankles (enough to hurt just a bit next day) and would have fallen several times without our supporter. It was long trip down and I smelled like a camel for didn’t care on the way down what I stepped in. Next day in Dahab we rented some snorkeling gear and found a spot in the sun. The beach where we went out was a bit rocky with coral growing very close to shore, The Red Sea doesn’t have tide extremes, so the sea urchins live close to shore and are easy to step on. I avoided the urchins but when I went to snorkel the jelly fish got me. There were little ones all around with stings just like ours at home. That wasn’t fun so I lay on the beach and read most of the day and waited for the back of my legs to recover from mountain climbing. Next day no snorkeling because there was a high wind and lots of waves. I spent the day browsing the board walk looking at the shops and getting so tired of aggressive street vendors who all have the same script. Considered going on a day trip to Jordan but it wasn’t worth it, only 3 hours in Petra for $200. As we lay on the beach we could see the mountains of Saudi Arabia across the Gulf. Tuesday caught the East Delta bus, and made it back to Cairo in 9 hours. Pictures up on web album http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27

Bling Bling

Went for a walk tonight and went in looking at some shops. The jewelry here is something else. The rich ladies are flashing with bling, bling huge rings necklaces and ornamentation. It is hard to find clothing without sparkle, dresses, night clothes, socks, shoes, coats, scarves, pants, skirts, purses and underwear. I bought a silver scabbard beetle necklace and earrings for $18. Found a Bedouin craft store. The Bedouin women do very painstaking embroidery on clothing and other articles. They also do intricate beadwork. I bought a bracelet and necklace to wear on Arabic day at school tomorrow for 12 LE ($2). The store has so many beautiful articles. What ever you want they will deliver for next to nothing. That means there are always bikes and motor scooters on the road. The motor scooters you can hear but the bikes can surprise you coming from behind, almost got run down by an old no speed bike this evening. They are old put together bikes driven by men and boys, without reflectors and they deliver from grocery stores, laundries, restaurants and more. Spring is here, blossoms everywhere, trees and flowers. The birds are also singing so much in the tress near my house. This is sandstorm season, Nothing much here yet, but some of the teachers were held up at Al Fayoum on the weekend until the winds died down. Saturday I cleaned the house and scrubbed and swept the floor. I left the windows open to let in the breeze. Well the breeze came in but so did the dust, had to scrub all over again and dust. This weekend I’m going to Dahab. That is on the Sinai coast of the Red Sea.

El Marg Children

This morning I went with Melissa to help with the El Marg project. Our high school students need volunteer hours before they are able to graduate. By helping with the El Marg Project they can earn volunteer hours and provide guidance and enrichment for the El Marg children. These children are very poor and live in poverty. There is garbage dumped nearby and a few hundred meters their homes, is a slaughter house. The affluent from this place runs into the slow moving ( if they move at all) waters of the canal by their road. It is a smelly place to say the least. The children are great, they love to play games and are so smart. One little girl is so small but very smart. These children, although they are poor, may be some of the more fortunate of the poor in Cairo. We meet the bus to take us to El Marg at a Coffee shop. Every day there is a tattered and dirty child sitting on the steps of the coffee shop. Since we can’t speak Arabic, we can’t talk to him, but we suspect he is a street child. We must remember how lucky we are to live in Canada.

Went out for a birthday party down town near the Museum of Egypt, same place we went before where the cats were begging for food. The cats living there do very well. Lots of big shops in a very interesting area, May go back tomorrow or Saturday. Found out I’m sharing my apartment with some critters. Found two cockroaches, my weekend project will be to get rid of the rest of the family. Definitively got to get rid of them before Alice and Peggy come to visit. Got to mention driving in Egypt. This is the way it goes when they drive after dark. First of all they can display lights of any colour to the front, back, sides, doesn’t matter red, blue, what ever. So you meet lots of red lights and some vehicles decorated with multi colored lights. When they meet a vehicle they first flash their lights a few times, put the outside blinkers on and they as they are about to meet they turn off their lights and flash them back on just as they meet. Passing is even crazier…They approach the car they want to pass , flash their lights and then as they pass they TURN OFF THEIR LIGHTS, what if some other fool is driving with lights out too? Also in the city they don’t use their lights much, just parking lights. At dusk and even after dark you can see fools with their lights off on the highway.

Desert camping : Part 2

We stopped at noon while Hannie made lunch for us, Shak Shuka which is scrambled eggs, tomatoes, onions, and vegetables. It is so good, They also make a salad with, tomatoes cucumbers, onions and cream feta cheese mixed. This is always served with Egyptian bread. It is all so good. We stayed at the camp for the hottest part of the day under the tent cover, where it was reasonably cool although the sand was too hot for bare feet. Hannie our cook taught us some card games to pass the time. This lunch stop area was on a large dune with rocky outcrops around us. By mid afternoon we set out off road again to our campsite. This one was spectacular. We drove through a mountain pass which reminded me of the Grand Canyon and out on to a huge line of golden sand dunes. The oasis in the valley was below us. While the Bedouins set up camp we climbed to the highest part of the dunes. Funny but it must be instinct to get to the top of the highest spot around. It was full moon and the view was spectacular. After supper the cook put out our leftovers and some water and a tiny Fennec Fox came out to eat. He is about the size of my medium size cat and has a big bushy tail and long perky ears. I saw his tiny foot prints in the sand. Again we slept out in the open, just stars and moon and loud Bedouin music till lights went out. Friday March 20 After breakfast and another long climb through the dunes we went into the oasis in the valley below. We had a tour of a 1200 year old mud brick fortress. Amazing place, the modern day town is also made mainly of mud brick. The basket weavers were selling their wares and I bought a hat (same as the farmers there wear) and a laundry basket woven by the ladies there. We drove through the oasis which was at least 20 KM long and went into a field which had a large pipe pouring water from a hot spring into a cement holding pond. By this time we were very dirty from the sand and not washing for two days so in the big holding tank we went, clothes and all. We washed out hair and got clean allover. What a treat, we stayed there in the field while the cook made diner and watched the farmers work in the fields and the traffic on the foot path go by. There was a procession of donkeys with carts or being ridden as well as people on foot. Shepherds and a large flock of sheep and goats came by and all the sheep were dipped in and washed. Now the sheep didn’t like that and ran away each time a new sheep was selected for the tub, then the shepherds had to round them all back again many times. The baby goats were the cutest. After another good lunch we set off on road and off road to our next camping spot. We turned off into a desert area and headed into the dunes, huge dunes, running North to South as far as the eye can see and parallel to them was another set of dunes following the same pattern. As did the next as far as we could see. The dunes look like huge sculptures, they are so beautiful. We parked in a large valley between the sets of parallel dunes and they set up camp. We set off up the dunes again, these were so high, higher that the night before. I sat on top till the sun a set and the moon rose. Later that evening instead of bunking down in the shelter the fellows had made with the trucks I took my sleeping bag and camel blanket and went to a few feet from the highest point and slept in a little hollow. It got a bit breezy, which meant fine sand everywhere but I turned out of the wind, pulled up my camel hair blanket and slept there. I was awake to see the sunrise from the high dune. After breakfast we hit the road/off road and by lunch time we stopped at a ‘cold’ spring they called it but another hot spring to us. We hopped in again , clothes and all and I was dry within and hour in the scorching heat. We were met there by our van to drive us to Cairo, I was sorry to have to leave. Truly an unforgettable experience.

Desert Camping in the Sahara

We left late from school because our driver got lost but we were on our way at 5:30 Wednesday evening. We drove to Baheria where we had dinner waiting for us out side beneath palm trees. We transferred to two 4X4 Toyota Four Runners packed high with camping gear and all the food we needed. There were 7 of us plus 3 Bedouin guides. First night we drove to the White Desert. It is called white because the sand in some areas is white and the place we camped was dominated by massive chalk formations. We arrived there and were able to see these formations by the light of the full moon. They parked the ‘jeeps’ and strung a tent between them for us to sleep under the stars. They supplied the sleeping bags and a heavy camel hair blanket to keep us warm for it is chilly at night even though the days are scorching hot. Thursday. The Bedouins, Sammy, Yehia, and Hannie made breakfast of foul (fava beans in tomato sauce with onions, peppers, and other vegetable), Egyptian bread, jams and cheese. They packed up the vehicles and we set off road across the desert. We drove over differing types of desert, some with scrubby vegetation, other parts just sand dunes and other parts rocky and bumpy. While going over the dunes both vehicles got stuck so we had to push. The sand can be hard packed then turn soft. Some times we went down dune slopes which were VERY steep.Just hang on! As we traveled we passed quite a few green spots or Oasis. They just appear out of the sand. Some have wells dug , others are natural oasis. To be continued.. Check web album for some pictures

Well just survived the first parent teacher night in Egypt and all went well. Parent teacher afternoon is tomorrow and then we leave for desert camping,(Wed to Sat). I'm excited about it, sleeping under the stars and going to Bedouin camp. The whole weekend all inclusive will cost about 200 dollars. We go in jeeps and go off road in the desert, stopping at several Oasis. I was walking home this evening and could smell Jasmine flowers somewhere. The perfume was so nice. The trees are all starting to bloom and are beautiful. WE had a science exhibition today. As I was putting up stuff and assembling the projects I was thinking, what am I doing here? I thought my last science fair was last year!...............But we have an EIGHTY FOUR year old substitute so who knows how long I could be doing this.

Today we took a trip to the City of the Dead. We mainly went to see the main old mosques and large tombs. The mosques were all closed, we did some sight seeing from the outside and then went to the Khan el-Khalili market which is near the old citadel. The City of the Dead is pretty well like any community in the city except most of the homes are tombs. As we drove through we saw herds of goats being driven through the streets and donkeys and horses. This Market is the shopping mall of markets. It is huge and all those with similar items are side by side. The vendors are very competitive and aggressively try to sell their wares. I bought three very light cotton tops $6 each for the hot days to come and a large 100% camel blanket for $21. In the evening we went out on a Felucca (Sailboat) ride on the Nile. Very nice, it was to celebrate Kurt’s birthday, so we had food and cake. The air was still warm even after the sun went down. See more pictures on Web Album http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27

March 14, 2008 Tuesday evening , to celebrate Women’s day four of us went out to eat and paint at a Ceramic Café in Mohandeseen, which is near the down town area. We took a cab and the Metro. It was fun and the food was especially good. We have to pick up our creations later next week. Today Friday I went with Melissa and some students to a place called El Marg. It is about an hour and a half away on the school bus. Our school students do volunteer work with underprivileged children. This is a very poor neighbor hood. It is in an area that was zoned for farming but people just put up houses anyway. There is no plan to how the houses are placed and very little running water and no electricity. The ‘streets’ are bumpy and full of holes and mounds. Donkey and motorcycle are the main mode of personal transportation. We had about 34 children aged from 6-16. We played cooperative games and they had a lot of fun. I don’t feel we did a lot but I guess our presence is excitement for them. These activities are sponsored by an aid organization in Egypt. See some pictures on http://picasaweb.google.com/colmac27 On the way home we passed through the City of the Dead. The road passes through this area. It is a huge area where people have formed a community in the cemetery. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/africa/1858022.stm I stopped off at Road 233 and found a hairdresser to cut my hair and repair the damage done by my last cut. This fellow did a good job and at least both sides of my hair match. When I came in he was curling a girl’s hair with a curling iron…but using a curling iron I had never seen before. He was heating the ‘irons’ over an open flame. He said the hair stayed curled for a much longer time. (see picture). Yes he had better watch out before he sets himself on fire. (click to enlarge)

March 10, I’ve been in Cairo for 2 months, hard to believe. I’m getting used to crossing the streets but still run like a chicken to get across, while more experienced people and locals stroll through traffic. Today on the way home we noticed a large block of marble by the side of the road, the kind we usually see being transported on the back of large trucks. A second glance revealed on the other side of the road the smashed up truck on which the huge block of marble/limestone had been sitting, with the driver still sitting in the truck. The streets are set out in the English Roundabout system. Trouble is…. Cars go around these 8 or 9 armed roundabouts from all directions. The side walks are an obstacle course, where they still don’t have large signs or restaurants built on them they have holes, pieces of metal and wood sticking through the cement. Most of the time people walk on the road. The black smoke from the vehicles is unbelievable. I don’t know how their vehicles are still running. School is still fun, the children are interesting and very nice. It is always so great to see them learn. They are well behaved but exuberant which is to be expected, when you see how animated the adults are especially when they argue. The high school kids quite polite and agreeable. All teachers here are called by their first names with a Miss or Mr. I am Miss Colleen. That is how people are addressed here. I think it is because their last names are long recitation of their ancestor’s names. So Duncan John Archie Jim Sandy would fit right in over here. Their official last name is about the last two or three grandfather’s names. My gas bill so far has been 9 pounds total, that is $1.60. I do use the stove every day. A 15-20 minute taxi ride costs $5.45 or less. Twelve 1.5 liter bottles of Nestle bottled water costs $3.81. Four liters of fresh squeezed (before your eyes) orange juice costs 5.45. My electric bill since I arrived was $13.00.