Daylight Only

Sometimes I think I've been bewitched by Cairo drivers. This car was probably...HOPEFULLY...just being driven between workshops when I saw it. I certainly wouldn't want to meet it on a dark road.

With "Friends" Like These....

I've been annoyed with the Supreme Council for Antiquities for a while over their decision to put a "protective" wall along the farms in our area so that people can't get out in the desert. Their argument is that they are protecting the safety of tourists (90% if whom are guests of local residents on sedate horseback rides in the desert) and the antiquities. So when I went out yesterday with some friends and took them to see a lovely little sarcophagus that has been laying undisturbed on the sand near the edge of the desert for lord knows how many centuries, only to find that it had been broken by a bulldozer or tractor that had been driven over it, I was, to say the least, a tad ticked off. Raving is probably a better word. So they build a wall to "protect" our antiquities and in the process destroy a local landmark that has been enjoyed for centuries...and none of us have ever damaged it.

Gracious Living From The Last Century

While some of the buildings in Old Cairo date back about a thousand years, much of downtown Cairo was built in the late 1800's/early 1900's. This building that curves around one of the downtown roundabouts is a lovely example of some of the well maintained buildings in the downtown area.

Selling Grapes

An old man has parked his donkey cart, as he does every day, in the middle of a relatively busy village intersection where he sells his seedless grapes. The police at the checkpoint just beyond the intersection obviously have no problem with this.

Sincere apologies for not posting lately but the gerbils running my internet seem to be on strike again and I have to borrow bandwidth from friends whenever possible.

Going To The Butcher

The village butcher is an open-air establishment where they slaughter an animal (cow, buffalo, sheep, or goat) early in the morning and then people come to get meat throughout the day. Egyptians like their meat fresh. The village women sit and chat while waiting their turn.

Bicycle Rider

He was riding his bicycle next to me in the village and I had to admire the crispness of his blue galabeya and the face.

Bread In Palm Boxes

An afternoon shopper picks baladi bread (aka: wholewheat pita bread) out of boxes made of the rib of the palm frond.

Ridem Cowboys!

What can I say? I was just driving into Maadi to see my physiotherapist and there they are cruising along the Ring Road at about 80 km per hour. They LOVED having their picture taken....

Crows Stopping By For Lunch

As the dates ripen and fall during the harvest, the crows gather after the workers have gone to eat the sweet fruit lying on the ground.