Blogs from Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 111

So, today is election day in Egypt. Why is this important? Well, you see, I told my parents that I would stay home in Ma'adi on this day, as our school closed for the day because of the crazy traffic that was anticipated today (yes, even crazier than usual!). We were told to maybe stick around Ma'adi today. But you know, I was in the UK and was in London 5 days after the bombings there; s**t can happen anywhere. Furthermore, today seemed like the perfect day to hang out with a new Egyptian friend, a lovely girl named Marwa who works at my school. So today, Marwa, Christine and I went out...downtown - sorry Mom and Dad! But you see, now I am back in Ma'adi, and I didn't get blown up or arrested. In ... read more

Yesterday was a very long day and a crazy onel The morning started with a lovely good morning orchestra at 5am doors were banging, cats were fighting violently (agro cats lol), construction works started in front of my window, the muezzin called the believers for the morning prayer (the minaret was right in front of my broken window). Time to get ready and to be honest I was quite emotional (=glad) about leaving this place (=the rubbish hostel with which i had a love-hate relationship) (today I regret that I didnt stay 2 more nights at least) This time the narrow streets of the old city were spookily empty in contrast to my arrival in Jerusalem. I caught a taxi to the Israeli (western) part of Jerusalem and was dropped right in front of the central ... read more

Let me tell all of you first that living in Egypt is not as difficult as many people at home tried to convince me - I bought Kraft peanut butter at a store, for goodness sake (all Canadians will know this reference)! It does have lots of things to get used to, like traffic, finding your way through mostly unmarked streets, etc., but I like it here. And of course, "here" is El Maadi, a largely ex-pat community in Cairo. My apartment is very spacious, and my Bowab (door man/security person) is great. Living on my own has taken some adjustment, but having a good Bowab helps you to settle in well if you are on your own. As well, a good Bowab will keep your building clean, too. Being a woman has it's own "rules" ... read more

I think that it was interesting that a lot of the tourist attractions have gone to the bother and expense of installing x-ray machines and metal detectors but they didn't stop us on any occasion when we beeped!! So not seeing the point! I assume it was only to make all of us feel better!! We then flew back Cairo with Egypt Air, who were definitely better than that dodgy Memphis Air we flew with from Abu Simbel!! It was quiet in Cairo as it was a Friday and Fridays are classed as a holiday - everyone goes to the mosque to pray. We went to the bizarre and tried our hand at bartering for things we didn't really need again! It was sooooo hot though that after an hour and a half we called it ... read more

This is the first time we've been back to Egypt since 1997. Oh, how I've missed it! They say that if you drink the water of the Nile, you'll be sure to return. They're right.. Ahh, ya Eskendereya.. :)... read more