The Waiting Room

Families gather on the sidewalk along the Nile just opposite the government cancer hospital in Kasr el Aini. Their loved ones are inside perhaps getting chemotherapy, but they are waiting outside on the sidewalk where vendors sell tea and snacks. I want to tell them that they should be so thankful that they are living in a country where the weather allows this informal system...but on the other hand, they should live in a country where the hospitals are funded properly.

Sailing With Your Lawn

Despite the fact that everyone thinks of Egypt as a barren desert (which in fairness, much of it is), anywhere you have water, almost anything grows. Still, I was surprised to see grass growing on the rudder of a felucca sailing near us on the Nile the other day. At least the captain isn't bringing a goat along to mow it.

Summer Evening

Egypt is hot but the temperatures drop quickly when the sun sets, and even more quickly if you are lucky enough to be on a felucca, one of the old wooden sailing boats, on the Nile.

Riverfront Property

Along the riverside that parallels the island of Zamalek are lined old houseboats, one of the more exotic and romantic varieties of housing available in Cairo. These are near the northern tip of the island along the Giza shore. It looks more like a resort than one of the craziest cities on the planet.

Some Things Never Change

Cairo's bridges are more than just ways to cross the Nile. They are parks on summer nights, sites for protests, and more than anything else a public yet private space for a young couple to meet and talk about life.

The Edge

The images that come out of Egypt tend to be too selective for my taste. Dusty cities, camels by pyramids, people fighting against security forces downtown, stones in the desert.... they only catch small parts of our country. One of the most important things to know about Egypt is the dichotomy between the desert and the Nile Valley. Although geographically, Egypt is roughly the size of France, in terms of usable land space it is more  the size of the Netherlands. We have close to 100 million people with their cities and industries jammed into a tiny sliver of land running along the Nile. This photo shot from a hill just south of Sakkara's Step Pyramid highlights the knife-edge break between the desert and the lush valley.

Silent Vigil

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the death of Khaled Said, a young man in Alexandria who was beaten to death by the police in that city. A lot of people have tried to analyse why his death so shook the people of Egypt and I suspect that much of it had to do with the fact that he was very largely and Egyptian Everyman, someone who in various ways was much like many other young people here. After his death in 2010 protests were organised in which people wearing black or dark colours would simply stand about four or five metres apart and they wouldn't speak to each other or to passers by. The spacing was important because in 2010 protests were illegal and broken up, but if each person was not in contact with his/her neighbour, it couldn't be called a "group". Yesterday along the bridges of Cairo and the corniches that run beside the river and the sea, people gathered again in the same way to mark the anniversary of his death.

The photo is thanks to Zeinobia, who talks about the events of the day in her blog.

Tilted

Life in Cairo these days goes on in many normal ways but at the same time seems sort of out of balance, much like the lines in this photo.  Two young men chat beside an empty refreshment stand along the Nile overlooking the Cairo Tower. I'm not sure what the poles attached by a line are...perhaps part of a stand by the river just beyond the railing, perhaps part of a boat.

A Suitably Heroic Pose

There was a horrible duststorm blowing across the Nile from the west and traffic was pretty much at a standstill. The erection of huge concrete block walls on some of the main downtown streets has really put a nail into Cairo traffic's coffin. A group of young men were laughing and horsing around as we were stopped in traffic and one got up on the railing by the river for the appropriate male Egyptian portrait in a mobile phone.

The Golden Island

Every time I cross the Nile on the Moneeb bridge I see Dahab Island under the bridge and I think how wonderful it would be to explore it on foot or horseback. It is truly exquisitely beautiful.

Winter Feluccas

Although it's mid to late November, it's still warm enough to enjoy sunset on the Nile. So people rent these wooden sailing boats for an hour or two.

The Only Place To Be

The temperatures for the past two days have been ridiculous! We've been sweating through days of mid-40's C or around 110 F. Too bloody hot. On days like this the feluccas do good business, carrying dehydrated weary Cairenes out onto the water for an hour of peace. Photo by Kelly Anderson

An Island In The Stream

The Photography Elf was driving across the Moneeb bridge and decided to stop on the side to take a couple of pictures. (Reminder to self: tell him to do that sometime when I'm in the car!) He got a few boats which I will post and this lovely shot of Dahab Island. This island has no roads or cars and is in the middle of the Nile almost within shouting distance of the chaos that is Giza and Cairo. Heaven.

A Spot of Refreshment

Just passing along the Corniche in Giza near Garden City I noticed that someone had set up a drinks stand on the railing. The bright coloured glasses were enticing even if it was a cool day.

Riverside Afternoon

A pair of young friends or lovers converse while a man sits waiting for something and an old man sells snacks near the stairs that go down to a felucca landing. A warm sunny autumn afternoon in Cairo.

The Lost Island

A few years ago people driving into Maadi noticed a flurry of activity of activity opposite the Maadi Military Hospital. Dredgers were hauling river silt up to the banks of an island offshore, rocks were being piled up along the island's banks, palm trees and sod were being planted. People tried to find out who had authorised the construction, but to no avail. No one at all would own up to ordering the changing of a natural island in the Nile to an artificial island in the Nile. Even UNESCO got involved since the changes to a major river like the Nile affect everyone along the river. Work stopped abruptly but possibly only in the hopes that the commotion would die down, because there are now further signs of life on the mysterious island. Whose life? Who knows.

Bridge Fishing

It was 2 am and I was beat. My daughter had to catch an early flight to Amsterdam and then on to New York, so she had to be at the airport at 1:30 am. On the way back, the people on the Moneeb Bridge, the southernmost bridge across the Nile in Cairo, were still enjoying their picnics, tea, and fishing, so I pulled my jeep over to the right and took a few photos. I'm obviously not the best at night photography. Balancing car lights, advertising lights and the darkness is pretty much a mystery to me, but I liked the way the light caught the fishing lines.

Bringing The Water

One of the roads from the Nile to the Citadel at the very edge of the desert under the cliffs of the Moqattam hills runs along the Arab aqueduct. At the river, the aqueduct is very high, perhaps 15 meters, and then it seems to grow shorter as you go uphill. Over the roughly thousand years since the aqueduct was built, the roadbed has come up higher and higher against the stones. Now the city takes better care of things.

Houseboats on the Nile

Houseboats, many of them larger than my house on the farm, line the shore along the neighbourhood of Agouza. The houseboats have a reputation of being a rather racy place to live, something to which I can't testify. The beauty of the spot, aside from being along one of the busiest streets in Cairo, is a real attraction.

The City and The River

The Nile isn't just the giver of life to Egypt, it is the heart, lungs and soul. It's easy to believe that a river is a living being after meeting the Nile. One can stand on a bridge or sit under a tree for hours just watching the rafts of water hyacinth sail by on their way to the sea. I find that the city always looks better across the water.