God’s Country.
A couple of friends and I decided that it would be a good idea to get out of Cairo and breathe some clean air, swim in the sea and relax at the beach. So, we got a car, loaded up the cooler and drove across Sinai to a little coastal town called Nuweiba and chilled on the beach for a few days.
Driving through Sinai definitely gives one a sense of why nomadic folks often went there to talk to their god. It makes one feel small and alone. I can’t imagine taking the same journey on foot or camel-back. I got to drive back as well, which was pretty superb. I am most certainly in love with driving through the desert.
It was an absolute blast. Here are some pictures of our adventure.
While my friend Lesley was here visiting her in-laws in Alexandria, she and her two daughters, and her husbands cousin came to Cairo to go to the souq: Khan al-Khalili.
Khan al-Khalili is actually just the name of a single, very short street. However, a gigantic souq has sprung up in the past 1000 years which now comprises nearly an entire district of the city. It is superb. You can buy absolutely anything there.
We set out this day with a mission to purchase belly-dancing garb for a friend of Lesley’s and, as the photos of Sarah dancing will tell you, we were very successful.
Oh yah, and the Pyramids
A few photos from the Giza plateau near the pyramids. Jeff, Mamoon, and I rented camels for a few hours and hired a guide—Ragab—to take us riding and then get us in the “back door” of the Pyramids site. Something that he insisted was the “Egyptian way.”
It was a great time, even though we did get chased off by the cops, on camel-back. The kid that was minding the camels pulled the reins of mine down so that the camel would lower his head and then somehow scrambled up his neck and threw himself onto the saddle in front of me before inciting the camels to trot away from the cop at a clip.
Fun times.
Whirlwind tour
These are some pictures that Jeff and I took as we wandered around Cairo for a couple of weeks in February. High on my list was the Lehnert and Landrock Bookstore, famous for their photographic depictions of Cairo in the early 20th century. We bought a load of postcards there.
Cairo is a great city to walk around. There is always something interesting to look at. Interesting people to see and talk to. It’s busy though, and full of cars and traffic, noise and pollution—not to mention that someone or another is always trying to sell you something. But hey, that’s the way it is. I wouldn’t love it so much if it were any other way.
Egypt style
My friend Mo’s family own a farm in the delta, near Damanhur, which they so graciously invited me to visit. I was thrilled because I had been wanting to see a farm here for some time. I love farms. Tilled earth and animals and and non-stop fun.
I was most excited to see how the irrigation works. Mo’s dad, Moataz, gave me an amazingly in-depth tour of the entire operation and showed us the whole irrigation system. It was truly fascinating.
The trade-off was that I had to ride a horse, which I hate, but was fun, regardless. I had a blast.
There is a podcast in the works from the audio that I collect on this day—which will include some videos of the pump and water-wheel in action. Stay tuned for that and in the mean time, enjoy these pictures.
