EGYPT ADVENTURES 2015

LUXOR FELUCCA RIDE

Luxor is changing each time I visit.  Loads of new buildings especially along the edge of the Nile along the West Bank and spreading out beyond downtown on the East Bank.  Much of the building took place during the years

Example of House Built Since the Revolution 

following the revolution when the government was in turmoil and nobody was paying attention to the rules.  People took advantage and built buildings that would not have been usually allowed in terms of height, etc.   I am told lots of English and other foreigners are buying land here and opening businesses.  According to the locals this is driving the prices up beyond local ability to easily pay.  I suppose this is progress, but I long for the quieter times of years ago.  

I spend my days visiting with Calcum and the

My Namesake, Sara, & Me

children and

Ahmed & Joseph Buying Falafal

Ahmed when he returns from his guiding job in the Fayoum, an oasis outside of Cairo.  He is home for less than two days and he has another job with two German clients he has done business with many times before.  They also want to go to the Fayoum.

In the meantime Ahmed takes me to meet them and to go for a felucca boat ride.  The felucca is a sail boat with one sail and a jointed mast. 

Felucca

It is the same as it was in the days of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.  Usually they are made by hand.  The jointed mast allows the sail to become many types: main, jib, spinnaker, etc.  This way any puft of wind can be caught and sometimes, especially in Luxor, pufts are all you get.  Many times when taking the felucca in the past the captain and mate have had to row.

Today, however, Allah is with us and the winds are blowing quite well.  The ride begins at 3:30PM and ends just before sunset at 5:30PM.  It is a glorious ride taking us past village life

Cattle - Note Grass Shelter to Left

along the banks of the Nile on the west side.  Cattle, goats and sheep are grazing, people are working the fields and rushes.  It is a lazy feel under a bright blue sky full of sunlight.  A perfect day for sailing.

Later Ahmed and I go for turkish coffee and for me to smoke shisha from a hooka or water pipe.  My favorite is apple tobacco.  This is the only time I indulge in smoking because this way it is a lazy and soothing activity.  He tells me about the new areas of Fayoum and shows me pictures of what he has found there.

On Saturday I take a long walk from the apartment through the local souk to the cornish along the Nile.  I stroll to outside of Luxor Temple, but do not go in this time.  My hair is causing a sensation here and as I pass young school girls, they giggle and point and I smile and nod.  One man in traditional dress passes me and yells “nice hair”.

Hassan arrives back on Saturday  from working the past week on a cruise ship.  He has arranged for a pigeon dinner for him and me at the apartment I have rented.  It is the night before I leave to go to stay on the west bank.  We have a delicious dinner as he tells me about his adventures of the past week.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara 

More Pictures:

Ahmed & Clients

Hassan, Captain of Felucca

Yara & Joseph

Colorful Sails on Felucca

EGYPT ADVENTURES 2015

LUXOR #1

Very early Sunday morning 15 February Hassan, a colleague of his and I start out on the drive to Luxor.  It will take us about 6 or 7 hours and we will be traveling on the new “military road”.  To make sure we will not be stopped at check points I am covering my hair with a scarf.  No tourists travel this road, but it is the fastest way from Cairo to Luxor.

Once we leave Cairo the road becomes almost deserted and the landscape desolate and stark with a beauty all its own. 

Textures & Patterns In The Landscape

We are ripping along at 140K per hour (about 90 miles per) and I am dozing in the back when I hear a huge BANG.  Jolting awake I ask what caused that noise.  Hassan eases the car to the side of the road unsure what is going on.

As the car rolls to a stop the steam begins to rise from under the hood.  The radiator has “exploded” Hassan tells me.  He waits until it calms down then opens the hood.  Indeed the radiator has “exploded”  the bottom has fallen out.  Hassan and his friend begin pouring water into the overflow, I guess.  I really can’t see what they are doing.  After a bit, Hassan gets in the car and starts backing up the highway.  I ask what he is doing and he says “backing up”  Duh!!!  Why? I ask.  He says the exit to El Minya is just back up the road.  He takes the exit and coasts to a stop at the curb by a gas station.  Hooray!  We have toilets, water and food, if we need.

Hassan then leaves us, walks up the road to get a ride into El Minya in hopes of finding a garage with the part and a mechanic to bring back and fix the car.  I have every faith he will and he does!!!  With the magic of technology, he is able to call his brother-in-law to search for a garage, find the part and tell Hassan where it is.  As he told his brother-in-law “you have saved me”.

The beauty of it all is this: we were 15 minutes later leaving than Hassan wanted to be, BUT if we had left on time and were 15 minutes more up the road from where the radiator blew we would have been at least 100K in either direction from help.  This is why I have taken the philosophy just “go with the flow” because there is a reason for all things.  We may not ever know the reason, but many times it is revealed to us like Sunday when Allah/ God/ Source took care of us.  We were giving thanks, I can tell you that.

Tomb Scenes With Nut On The Ceiling

The apartment I rented is great!!!  He had three in the same building from which to choose and I chose the one with the walls with painted scenes copied from various tombs.  What “sold” me was that the ceiling of the main bedroom was painted with one of my favorite scenes found in the tombs.  It is of the Goddess Nut stretched across the star studded sky where she swallows the sun each night then it makes its way through her body until she births it each day.

Nut As It Is Found In A Tomb

The supermarket at the corner has all I need to make breakfast each day.  I spend Monday walking around, getting credit for my phone, doing laundry and getting settled in for the week I’ll spend here.  Tomorrow Ahmed’s wife Calcum will come to the apartment and I will go back to hers with her to visit, spend the day and probably evening so I can see the children.

As a dear friend of mines says “Life is Good” and it is.

Much Love to You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara

More Apartment Pictures:

Living Room Looking Towards Deck

Mourners on Wall Bedroom

Ornate Eye of Horus Above a Couch

I Think This Is from Ramsses VI Tomb

Geese of Maidum on Counter Wall of Kitchen

Maiden With Lotus Flower

Bath

Hunting Birds with Throwing Stick

Note Dark Sky With Gold Stars

EGYPT ADVENTURES 2015

FAMILY VISIT #TWO

This time it is Safaa’s family we are to visit.  On the day after the Khamsin ended under a clear and vibrant sky,

A Windswept Clean Sky

Safaa, Doaa and I set out across Cairo to Nasr City to visit the youngest of Safaa’s 5 sisters and her favorite.

Cairo and the surrounding neighborhoods is so huge and the traffic so thick it takes us over an hour to reach our destination.  In Cairo where there are two lanes the drivers of the cars make it into three lanes!  This means the cars weave in and out of very tight spaces.  It is totally amazing there are not more accidents, but you rarely see one.

Salon

Arriving at Safaa’s sister’s I am, once again, greeted with warmth and as one of the family.  Entsar nicknamed Noussa told me she has heard so much about me she feels she knows me and is so glad to finally meet me.  Their flat is very lovely as you can see here.

Much of the visit is spent laughing and cooking. 

Cooking 

When her husband, Mohamed (he is one of Hassan’s cousins) arrives he begins to cook too.  Safaa started the Babganouh (an eggplant garlic dish for dipping bread) and I was writing down what she did so I can make it that way at home.  When Mohamed arrived he finished it and was so fast I could not keep up, so Doaa helped me. 

Mohamed Cooking Macaroni YUM!!!

The end product was to die for.

Since I was considered part of the family, Safaa insisted we can eat in the living room like the family does instead of the dining room table.  That is very special and I feel so good to be accepted this way.  This picture shows the feast.  See the five dishes in the closest left hand foreground?  This is what was given to me to eat!!!! 

My Dishes Of Food

As I ate pieces of meat, Mohamed would add more to my plate.  Finally I had to beg him to stop.  I ate more at that one meal than I have all week!!!  No way could I finish it all.

After dinner the women all gathered in the kitchen to clean.  As we cleaned we danced - belly danced!  I was given finger cymbols and a scarf with gold disks tied around my hips as we all danced. 

Safaa Dancing With Pot

At one point Safaa put a pot on her head and danced while balancing it.  So much fun and laughter!!!

Then Noussa made a chocolate cake which we ate hot out of the oven with a bittersweet chocolate ganache over it.  Yum!!! After that she asked if she could paint my fingernails.  Here is the result.

How About These???

Truly a wonderful “girls” experience.  Again, I leave with my heart full of joy.  I am truly blessed to have such experiences and relationships.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara

EGYPT ADVENTURES 2015

FAMILY VISIT #ONE

On the second day of the Khamsin (cold wind off the desert) with a sky full of sand Hassan, Safaa and I set out to visit Hassan’s cousins in his family village located off the first finger split of the Nile in the Delta.  The sand in the air was so fine it left a dusting on everything in the car with only a small crack in the window.  

Hassan was born and raised in Cairo, but spent his summers with his relatives in the village of both his parents.  As we entered that area he began to point out various houses that had or do still belong to the family. 

Lush Land - Note Sand In The Air

Because it is in the delta, all the land is green and lush with various crops of wheat, alfalfa, arulgula and more.  Sprinkled in amongst those crops are huge heads of cabbage and I mean HUGE, cauliflower, garlic, herbs and other edibles.

Cabbage!!!!

I met the cousin and his wife the last time I was in Cairo in 2012.  I was greeted with much enthusiasm and really felt like family.  The speciality of this branch of the family is a breakfast item called Fateer (phonetically spelled).  I love it!!!   It is puff pastry-like in huge flat circle and is baked in a special oven.  A bit crispy on the outside until you tear into it and then it is soft and gooy.  Then you dip it in molasses known as black honey .  OMG!!!  

Hassan told me they say the Fateer never tastes as good as when they make it for him even if they are bringing it as a surprise!  I said just their thoughts about surprising him brings in his special energy making the Fateer especially good.

His cousin’s wife kept teasing me that I could only take one of them home for me.  Then she would say none and 4 and then 3 and then back to one. 

Teasing me. Fateer Oven On The Right

I played right in to the game and we teased back and forth for the whole visit.  Later Hassan and Safaa told me they had never seen her like that and that she never smiles or seems happy.  They said I must have some kind of magic to bring that out in her.

We were taken upstairs one level above the new house (we were gathered in the old traditional one next door) to see the

New Apartment Section

two apartments his cousin is building on top for his sons.  They are designed extremely well and will be great when done.  Little Mahmoud (about 4 years old) came up with us to show us around.  Earlier he had insisted on helping the workers and dropped a brick on one of his fingers. 

Mahmoud - note finger!!!

I am told the house can go up as high as 6 levels (this is the third).  The land is so precious here and is the way to make their living so the houses are built upwards instead of outwards, and since the families continue to live together even after the marriage of the sons (daughters go live with their husband’s family), you will see houses in an ever state of construction. 

Back down in the living quarters I start to take pictures of the family seated around the parlor.  I get to Hassan’s cousin and he holds up his hand, takes off his scarf and galabaya he wears for working. 

In His Finery

He then rummages in the wardrobe and dons his dress up robe!!  Love it!!!

Two of the daughters of the older son take me out into the fields to gather the edibles we are to take back to Cairo.  There are also delicious cheeses, butter, and of course the Fateer to take with us.  

All the women are gathered in a line as we leave and all are giving me hugs, kisses and asking for my return.  The men shook my hand with bright smiles on their faces.  My heart was full to bursting as I left with promises to return - Insha’allah (God willing).

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup, Sara

More Family Photos:

The Two Who Took Me To The Fields

Daugther-In-Law Of Youngest Son & Children

Baker Of Fateer & Husband Who Is Older Son

EGYPT FEBRUARY 2015 

#ONE

The flights to Egypt were smooth and pleasant.  Even the transfer from British Air to Egypt Air worked like a charm.  I needed to go out through customs, collect my luggage, check it in again and go back through security.  Fortunately I was able to check in on line and get my boarding pass, so it was just a luggage drop off via a kiosk.  Due the weight of one piece of my luggage I opted to take a cab for the long ride from terminal 5 to terminal 2.  Thirty-five dollars later…… But then I was not charged for my overweight suitcase so it all evened out.

Seeing Hassan after two years was so good and when we got to his new flat I was greeted by the rest of the family who always makes me feel so welcome.  Doaa, who got married in August, was home from Dubai for a visit.  I thought I would not see her, so I am delighted beyond measure she is here.  Her husband found work in Dubai, so that is why she is living there.  She has just been offered a position with Audi and is very excited about the opportunity.  You know how one should never say never?  Here is a great example: once I visited Dubai I said I would never return, but now that Doaa lives there…..

The new flat is so beautiful and big.  The room where I am staying has its own bathroom!!!! In fact there are 3 1/2 baths in this flat as opposed to 1 1/2 in the old one.  When you buy a flat in a new just-built-building in Egypt it is totally unfinished and I mean unfinished.  Here is a picture of a flat waiting for build out on the same floor as Hassan’s.

Interior Unfinished Flat

Entering Unfinished Flat

  So he designed the layout, the flooring, walls, fixtures, ceilings, windows, everything.  He did a fantastic job.  The flat takes my breath away.  He actually combined 2 flats to form one big one.

Pillar Between Salons and Dining

One Salon - There Are Two

Hassan, Doaa (daughter) and Safaa (wife) and I piled in the car leaving Hossam and Zayed (sons) at home.  Our first adventure was to Alexandria to see the newly refurbished and reopened jewelry museum.  The building itself is an old palace and is an architectural marvel.  Stained glass windows from Italy, frescoed ceilings, tiled walls, marbles floors, and even an intact bathroom with very innovative fixtures for the early 1900’s.  The palace was built by a member of King Farouk’s family and houses his and his wife’s collection of jewelry, boudoir sets, desk sets, gold cups and other such articles.  Fascinating stuff all around.  No pictures allowed inside and the palace behind its fence was too massive to photograph from such a short distance.

After our fill of opulence we had a short visit at the new library and then off to eat at the local fish restaurant where we had, calamari, shrimp, and mullet as well as mezzas of humus, babganoush, a garlic potato mash, spicy cream dip and the ever fabulous pita bread.  YUM!!!

Today, 9 February, we were headed to the modern art museum only to find it closed for renovations.  I said as long as we were out we should go to the Egyptian Museum by Tahir Square. 

Egyptian Museum With New Tahir Square Foreground

I have not been there since the revolution and it has changed dramatically.  They have built an underground parking garage under what was Tahir Square and on top is a a walking area with astro turf and cement squares.  That part is still being finished.  The parking garage is very modern and well constructed just like ours in the states.

Tahir square, to refresh your memories, the place where the revolution took place as well as other demonstrations and actions since then.  There is a former government building

Burned Out Government  Building

that was burned out and still is in that condition.

On the way to the museum we passed the site of an obvious vehicle fire where many police were gathered.  A few blocks away we passed a totally burned out bus being towed by another bus.  Hassan said it was the work of the Muslim Brotherhood.  Looked fairly recent to me as well.

The museum was fabulous as always.  Safaa was with us and was enthralled by the artifacts.  Hassan said she didn’t used to be interested in the ancient history, but now she is.  King Tut’s golden coffin still gives me the goose bumps.  Maybe some of you have read about the beard on King Tut’s mask falling off and the controversy over the bad repair job.  As usual the media skewed the real facts.  The beard was off the mask when Carter found it!!!  It has been glued back over the years as the glue failed or new and better glue was found.  It IS true, however, that the latest glue on job is less than satisfactory and there are scratches in the gold around the beard where excess glue was scrape off that can be seen.  Hassan and I also noticed some dents in the gold in several places that neither one of us remember being there.

A visit to the museum would not be complete without going into the mummy rooms which Safaa and I toured with much interest.  A  new addition to the collection is the supposed skeleton (yes bones only, not a mummy) of Akhenaten, the Pharaoh who believed in one god and by doing so was going against the religion of the time.  Anyway, I say “supposed” because I have read there is controversy about the authenticity of these bones. 

Tourism is beginning to come back with loads of buses of Chinese visitors both in Alexandria and Cairo. 

Fruit Wagon on Streets of Cairo

Some other nationalities are about, but only in small numbers.  Now is the time to come before the big resurgence this fall. 

Hassan has had some small work in the past few months and is now booked out for this October and November with Odyssey Tours, an American tour operator.  I am so happy for him because he has not worked since 2012 and has been selling family land in the delta to make ends meet.  He had already contracted for the new flat before the revolution.

As I am preparing to post this blog on February 10, the winds called the Khamsin have blown in filling the sky with sand.  Best to stay inside with the windows closed today.

If you want to see Egypt, NOW is the time!!!!  Or at the latest, this fall and next winter.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara

Oranges In The Living/TV Room

Flower Stand Streets of Cairo