Catch up time!

It’s a long time since I wrote and I’m sure you’ve mostly stopped reading and looking by now, so you’ve probably come across this by pure chance! Life has just become so busy with the company (Nile Wave Travel, find us on Facebook and become a fan - sorry, small ad break there) and the net is so slow here that I just never seem to get around to writing. Besides, life is now routine- the same routine you have – get up, go to work, come home from work, have dinner, watch TV or work on the computer, go to bed! There’s not much exotic or interesting about that!

But because it’s been a few months there have been a few bits and pieces.

Mohamed’s sister Shimaa and her husband and 2 kids, Yousef and Hella visited from Kuwait. I have put some photos of the kids on Facebook – they are gorgeous but “full of life” shall we say. Shimaa is adorable and taught me a little more Arabic and a little more cooking. They mostly stayed in their own flat in Maadi, and bought another one while they were here (in our estate). Mohamed adores the kids and it was lovely when they were around.

We bought a new car – Mohamed finally got his way and we now have a new black BMW which is nice but not sure that I would buy another, at least another not 3 series. There’s no storage room in it for anything, only takes a single CD, no cup holders in the front, doesn’t have anything like floor mats (the dealer generously gave us rubber ones), the leather seats and sun roof are unbelievably hot here in summer (maybe I’ll appreciate the sunroof more in winter) – I have a list! I know these are all little things and I’m sure the engineering is superb, still, little things matter. I especially hate the no cupholders and no storage, there’s nowhere to keep any CDs for example when you want to change the one you can have in the player and your bottle of water rolls around on the floor and you can’t have a coffee…. whinge, whinge, whine…

There was a story in the trip when went to collect it – having sold the Honda we took a taxi. Not just any taxi, the most dangerous, decrepit, battered taxi in all of Cairo I am sure. When we got there Mohamed gave him 100 pounds and told me he hoped he’d go home for the day so no one got killed. For most of the 15 or so kms I was sure it would probably be us! At least I was in the back, but I didn’t have a seatbelt and my door didn’t close properly…. Seemed very incongruous arriving at the BMW showrooms in this fashion.

And Mohamed’s sister Hagar got married, a very nice Nubian wedding through the night with much music and dancing – so many different customs. The contract ceremony was on the Saturday, with Mohamed standing in at the mosque for Hagar (men only ceremony) and then the party on Sunday night. They are not together until after the party.

So - Hagar's wedding was different and interesting, about 200 people I'd guess, most from Upper Egypt (Aswan) as both families originate there. So the faces looked African rather than Egyptian and the music was Nubian, like Ethiopian/Sudanese. The dancing was also African rather than Arab, so no belly dancing. More like line dancing of a sort.... really easy to do.

It was all very different from the start - we collected Hagar around 8.30 pm from the "coiffeur"/dress place/photo studio and her Mohamed (yes her husband is also called Mohamed) was already there along with about 40 other people attending the wedding and about a dozen other brides, all with their own crowds - incredibly hot, incredibly crowded, incredibly noisy - we had one family photo taken and then, once the most important people had all arrived, we all loaded into cars and one of our Coasters amid clapping, tambourine banging and music, people blessing the couple etc. Our new car was the couple’s transport, decorated with flowers, Nubian music playing - loudly.

We all went in a sort of procession (as much as you can in Cairo traffic), horns tooting and music blaring, with some cars weaving in and out of the traffic, to the reception place beside the Nile, open air with coloured lights, awnings and heavy satiny curtains - hard to explain. Tables and chairs and a dance area (concrete but with carpets over some of it). A raised stage for the bride and groom with big chairs. Food was a small cardboard box with a small round croissant, a slice of sponge/cream cake and a small juice. Feeding Omar (one of our little nephews) I managed to get the cream all over me. Lots of dancing. Sometimes just men in one group and women in another, sometimes together. Sometimes the bride and groom sometimes not. Stick waving (like walking sticks being waved in the air by the men), finger snapping, clapping, ululating, spraying with Santa snow and air freshener (go figure). SO HOT!!!!

About 1 am the bride and groom danced with Mohamed's parents (his dad on crutches so couldn't get up onto the stage etc.) and another relative of Mohamed's also danced with them holding a tray on which was a velvet box and chocolates. Then back onto the stage and it was revealed that this was the wedding gold for Hagar including her wedding and engagement rings, gold bracelets, another couple of gold and diamond rings and a diamond pendant. So Mohamed put those on her and she in turn transferred his wedding ring from his right hand to his left. Then they threw all the chocolates into the crowd. Lots more noise – tambourines and ululation.

And there ended the only formalities, as such. Lots more dancing. Finally the procession out preceded by the tambourine type drums (big ones) and singing, clapping etc., then up to the car and the men all picked Mohamed up and threw him into the air three times after which he joined us in the car and half a dozen cars made another horn-tooting, music-playing procession to where they were staying. Normally it would be to their house but the carpenter didn't finish the kitchen so they stayed a few days at Shimaa's flat. Then it was goodnight and goodbye.

So there you have it – all very exciting and interesting.

And now I’d better go, get back to work so to speak, designing more tours, talking to more hotels, etc. etc.

I hope you are all well and happy



Lotsa luv

Lyndall


PS - there's some wedding photos on Facebook and photos of the family - look for them in the family in Egypt album but feel free to browse and comment on my other photos as well :-)

Getting to know the locals

Yesterday I became better acquainted with a few of the locals. Not that we had any scintillating conversation but I really enjoyed getting to know just a few of them a little better.

It was a good day, maybe it was my Mother’ Day a day early. Mohamed had to go Downtown to see one of the companies we deal with and also to see the lawyer so I went to the Museum. The Egyptian Museum (http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/) is in Tahrir Square right in the heart of the city – a huge pink building that was opened at the end of the nineteenth century and which will be supplanted by a brand new Museum that is currently being built just a few kilometres from us. And the locals I got to know better were just a few of the pharaohs and higher court officials of the ancient Egyptian dynasties.

The Museum is huge and absolutely stuffed with artefacts of all sizes and types, from colossal granite and limestone statues to the tiniest of gold beads. In between are wooden boats, papyri, linen clothes, chariots, funerary goods, mummies, the fabulous grave goods of Tutankhamun, leather sandals, exquisite jewellery and painted plaster pieces of tombs and temples. When I went before we only spent about 3 hours and there’s far too much to cover to even scratch the surface in that time. I had Hend with me as my guide then and while I was grateful to have some of the Museum’s treasures shown to me, I was also delighted to have this opportunity to wander on my own and just go where my whims took me.

Previously, Hend did all the work getting me in and I tagged along, but it was a simple matter to do it alone. There are many, many police around and all of them were friendly and welcoming. My ticket was 60 pounds and I went through several security points and had my passport checked. Cameras are not allowed, nor are food or drink and bags are X-rayed several times. It gets quite warm inside so you need to dress in fairy light clothes, or at least layer so you can strip down if you need to. Yesterday wasn’t as busy as it was the first time I went so it was a little easier to see what I wanted.

When you walk in you can almost be overwhelmed. To the left and right stretch large halls full of stone statues, stele, sarcophagi and coffins. Straight ahead, through an opening flanked by colossal statues, is the main hall, sunken, with a temple opening at the end, a pair of lit statues in front, just as you might see in situ at many temples in old Egypt. To the left and right of this hall are extra galleries, the one on the left containing one of the Dashur boasts and appearing to be closed off, while the right one also has a boat, but is open for you to walk part of the way through. Beyond a sign that says you can go no further is a long gallery full of dust covered objects of all types jumbled together. Some of tourists take no notice of the sign and walk on through.

The two Dashur boats are worth a close look. (http://cairodahshur.imrd.org/) As I get close, looking at the incredible mortise and tenon joints inside that hold the planks together I can smell a distinctive odour. It smells of age and dust, old mud, a slightly sweetish smell that is really indescribable but quite unforgettable. These boats were discovered under the sands on the Dashur plain in 1894 at the funerary complex of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senwosret III. Five or six were excavated but only four can now be located with certainty – these two in Cairo and two in the US. I wonder where the other two are.

Because I’m taking my time and looking closely at anything that interests me I am zigzagging around a bit. When I was studying art and art history we certainly learned a lot about the conventions of ancient Egyptian sculpture and painting. And this sort of potted knowledge certainly led me to believe that until the Graeco-Roman period added its own particular influence, the art appeared the same, bodies in the same position, figures and faces stylised to a great extent. And while this is true to an extent, closer study in the museum shows just how adept the ancient artists were at portraying the people (or wildlife) they were depicting, and how the differences, sometimes subtle, sometimes pronounced, almost outnumber the few conventions.

So in wandering through these first floor galleries I came to see lots of little (and large) gems that I am so delighted to have discovered. Some of them are famous and considered treasures of the Museum, others, like the small pottery fragment painted with the back quarters of what looked like a giraffe in the grass – exquisite.

But I think it was some of the “portraits” that I really enjoyed seeing most – the portrait of Siesi with his double chin and strange lip carved on a stele and the brilliant Rahotep and his wife Nofret (the Beautiful), carved and painted limestone from the 4th Dynasty , the reign of Sneferu (between 2613 and 2589 BC). This work looks as fresh as if it was done just a few years ago, but it was excavated in 1871 at Meidum. One thing that I found really unusual is that Rahotep has a moustache and there are not too many representations of this. So we know the concept of the “mo” is at least 4600 years old. These two are of the high nobility, Rahotep maybe a son of the king even, while his other titles label him as a priest of Ra and supervisor of works. As his pharaoh, Sneferu was a very active builder of pyramids, completing the step pyramid of Huni at Meidum, commissioned his own step pyramid at Meidum as well as the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dashur, so maybe Rahotep had lots to supervise. The Museum describes his wife as a “Royal Acquaintance”. Wonder what that job description was?

Perhaps the most beautiful portrait is that of Nefertiti, not the painted one we are so familiar with in pictures (that isn’t in Egypt) but an unfinished sculpture which is still very beautiful, if this is what she looked like she really was a great elegant and classical beauty.

I loved the King Sahure relief which showed the gods/goddesses making tribute to the king. The Nile god had an amazing overhanging belly, while the ocean goddess had a body covered in waves. The corn goddess was covered in spots. Another goddess had the pendulous breasts and belly of an older woman who has had a number of children. These were definitely real people portrayed here.



Thutmose III was one of Egypt’s most warring pharaohs, reigning for 54 years (1479 – 1425 BC) and conducting many military campaigns. I’ve read a little about him and Egyptologists seem to agree that he was the most competent pharaoh in ancient Egypt. His portrait, on the statue of him as a young, athletic man, showed very defined features, a slightly hooked nose and almost feline eyes, smaller mouth and thinner lips – he even looked familiar to me, reminded me of someone from my past. (For my family I finally figured out it was the Genrich boys).

And of course Akenhaten is unmistakeable with his long face, big chin and full lips.

Another fragment of plasterwork that I loved was a small wall section that had geese painted on it. The sign said three species but it looked to me like two species, the male and female of each. But really, what do I know? But they were delightful, painted in such detail and in quite realistic poses. This was also from the 4th Dynasty (IV) from Neferma’et’s tomb at Meidum.




I did sneak upstairs quickly, because the crowds thinned right out so I swung by King Tut and had a long uninterrupted look at his mask – yes, THE mask, 11 kg of solid, beaten gold, lapis lazuli, glass paste and semi-precious stones - which is so beautiful, although not quite perfect with some of the lapis missing at the back. But it’s amazing to be able to have your face (albeit through the glass or Perspex) just a few inches away from it and really see it… All his grave goods and the big gold sarcophagi are incredible really. Not all of it is there just now; there is a temporary international travelling exhibition, the funds from which are going towards the new museum.

And I had the Tanis tombs room to myself for a few minutes, the jewellery is exquisite and the silver coffin of King Psusennes I, engraved all over, is really something. This is late, the XXI dynasty. The work is quite fine, wish I could read hieroglyphics.



One other thing that I loved on the upper floor was the coffin lid of Maakare. Maakare (a princess of the 3rd Intermediate Period, XXI Dynasty also) seems to have been the first of this dynasty of princesses who was sworn to celibacy. These princesses devoted themselves exclusively to the service of the god Amon, while retaining all the royal privileges, and they came to play an important political role. The funerary ensemble enclosing Maakare's mummy was found at Deir el-Bahari. The exterior coffin, whose lid is amazing, is the most elaborate part. The body of the coffin is decorated with intricate scenes of gods and goddesses protecting the " ba " of the deceased. But it is really, really lovely.

Anyway that’s more than enough from me – when you come to visit Egypt I hope that you can find your own special treasures in the Museum. I’ll be going back again someday to concentrate on another section. I still haven’t been to the Mummies Room or looked at the models or….

Till next time

lotsa luv

Lyndall

PS - you can't take photos inside the museum so I've relied on a few I have got from the web (with permission to use them)

Apologies

Apologies, apologies to everyone who reads the blog – now that I “Facebook” and we are busier I just find it hard to sit down and really write. Facebook is so bitsy, there’s really no concentrated writing but it’s kind of addictive and so easy to keep in touch with lots of people.

I posted an album of pictures taken on our bit of a trip around the Faiyoum on Facebook (look for me under Lyndall El Masry) – had a great day there really, seeing the water and all the greenery. And on the way out, not too far from home I looked off to the left and there were more pyramids on the horizon. They are the pyramids at Dahshur – especially the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid. In fact, although there are really only the 3 (well 2 really) famous pyramids, Egypt has over 100 and there are many more in Sudan also. In fact they recently found yet another near Saqqara buried under 65 feet of sand. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2008-11-11-egypt-pyramid_N.htm

So who knows how many more there are out there? Anyway, I really want to go and take a closer look at these and get some photos but we haven’t managed to make the trip yet. Far fewer people go to see them so I’m hoping it will be easy to get good photos. I understand you can also enter the Red Pyramid

The Faiyoum also has a couple of pyramids and I didn’t get to see those either. I have now bought a little guide book to the Faiyoum and have discovered just how much we didn’t see. It’s a fascinating area. I knew there was bird life and a national park but I didn’t know there were flamingos and it’s a breeding ground. I knew there were the big waterwheels in the middle of town, but I didn’t know that there are so many all over the area that it’s the symbol of the governate. I didn’t know there is a huge fossil park known as the Valley of the Whales because of all the whale fossils there and although you can’t get off the beaten track you can still see some of the large fossil skeletons from your sand road. I also didn’t know that there are Roman ruins as well as pharaonic monuments and early Christian buildings. In fact there’s still a small monastery hidden away. So the Faiyoum has lots to offer and I really want to go back more often.

We also went up Cairo Tower one day – 187 metres – gave an amazing view of the city and even out to the Dahshur pyramids. So here we are on El Gezira Island in the middle of the Nile and we look to the south west and we can see the pyramids and to the south and we can see the Dahshur pyramids, to the east and there’s the Citadel and the Ali Muhamed mosque, Tahrir Square is just over the Nile and minarets are everywhere. It has really helped me to get a better feel for the city on the ground. I also put an album of photos for that visit on Facebook; even though it wasn’t terribly clear (and the air smelled awful up the tower) there’re still some nice views of the city and some of its landmarks.

I have been back to Ethiopia for 8 days, I really enjoyed seeing all the kids again and I managed to do a little work, getting a financial report ready for supporters in the US and also re-jigging the forward budgets. Also started to write the text for a new website for Youth Impact but need to finish this now I’m home. It rained every day so it was quite a change for me, even thunderstorms. Since I have been back we have in fact had one shower of rain here – our second for the year. Saw a couple of movies in Ethiopia, one of which was Slumdog Millionaire – I think it’s one of my new all-time favourites – I thought it was just an amazing movie. Interesting construction, great story, terrific messages – we all liked it so much.

Although I had a great time I had a litany of woes to do with my little trip. At the airport a lady put her bag down right behind me (and walked off to get a visa) in the passport line and when the man beckoned me to go around into a new line I turned around and fell straight over her bag fair onto my knees on the marble floor – really badly bruised them both and the right one is still sore. Then after 3 days I caught the flu, from which I am still suffering with a sinus infection and asthma. Theeeeen, coming home, in any one of my 3 airport security checks and searches and taking everything off, one of my Pandora charms came off my bracelet without me noticing and the flash drive fell out of my handbag without me seeing….. Hopeless! I think that’s all – otherwise it was great!

I’ve also created a Facebook page for Youth Impact Ethiopia – the aim is to spread the word as much as possible in the hopes that somewhere, someone with some spare money will help support the organisation and get it onto a secure footing – they desperately need financial assistance, they struggle continually and above all need to secure their housing. The other aspect of spreading the word is that they always welcome people to volunteer with them or just visit; they do get some US students to help tutor the kids in summer and occasionally have visitors stay at one or other of the kid’s homes. All interest and assistance is welcome. The library still needs books, the kids need clothes, and the list is never-ending.

Mohamed remains a non-smoker, I think it is around 2 months now – he misses it very badly but remains smoke free. He keeps threatening to return to smoking because he seems to have been far less well since he gave up than he ever was when he was smoking. I keep trying to tell him it will take time (he’s been smoking since he was 15) and that at first his body has to get rid of all the rubbish and he might not feel so well, but the explanation’s not really cutting it. Still, I am keeping everything crossed that he will stay off the cigarettes, mostly for him and his health, but also a little selfishly for me – life is much more pleasant these days…

Once he gave up Mohamed went to the dentist because he developed sore teeth and mouth but mostly to get his teeth cleaned. That was an exercise! Although the elderly dentist seemed very nice it was an eye-opener for me, I think my dentist that I had in childhood was more modern than this surgery. No assistant of any sort, no masks, bibs, spit suckers, cotton wads – the list goes on and on. The dentist’s desk was in the very small treatment room so I sat in the visitor’s chair at the desk and watched the whole thing. The filling composite was in the desk drawer. Treatment was very inexpensive. After several goes Mohamed’s teeth were pretty much cleaned but he does have special toothpaste to use for a while. All-in-all a very interesting experience….

Perhaps the biggest news is that the office is about finished, we have a company name – Nile Wave Travel – and the men from the Ministry come to inspect the office next Tuesday (Monday is a public holiday). All being well we will pay all the fees etc. in the following week and we very much hope to be able to commence business by 1st May. Given that Mohamed made a first application in November 2007, we made another in June 2008 and a third in September 2008 it does seem that we’ve been waiting forever. It’s actually the September application that’s been approved; can’t wait until we’re open. I think the office looks fabulous by the way. It will all be cleaned up on Sunday, will take some photos then and will put them on Facebook.

We have also been Downtown a bit, one of the main companies we deal with has moved down there just off Talaat Harb Street. Talaat Harb is one of the main streets in the heart of Cairo. One of Egypt’s best-known novels – The Yacoubian Building – is set in a real building at 34 Talaat Harb. I’ve read the book a couple of times so I always try and relate when I’m Downtown in this area. There’s a building being renovated on the outside and we think that is the Yacoubian building, right on Talaat Harb Square… And I went into Groppi’s – featured in another famous series of novels by Mafouz Naguib - who won a Nobel Prize – but didn’t find it had the atmosphere I expected. Cakes were amazing though…

Have also been to the local orphanage and met all the very beautiful little girls (35 girls aged between 3 and 7) and will go back and volunteer on a regular basis.

Also Logan is great – 4 teeth now, Lahni says he got 3 all at once at Easter. He’s very adorable.

Anyway, enough for now, I invite all of you to the Facebook page as well for the latest in photos, take care

Lots of love

Lyndall

PS – To Jeff Payne – if you lived in Singapore in 71 and 72 then yes we did know each other – glad you enjoy the blog, staggered that you ever came across it. Sorry I can’t reply to your email – comments come in as “anonymous” without an address.

Busy, busy

Busy, busy

First off let me extend deep sympathy to everyone affected by Australia’s current disasters, floods at one end and those almost unbelievable bushfires at the other. Hope all of you and your loved ones are safe and well. The fires have been on the news here (Al Jazeerah) and so have seen some footage, and of course have been keeping up on the net. A very sad time.

Otherwise, g’day from sunny, albeit cold and windy, Cairo – soooo sorry that I haven’t managed to write before now, I seem to have been really busy since I got back with lots going on every day and not very much time spent in the house. Mohamed found me a lady (Umm Rami) to come and clean twice a week while I was away and so with most of the cleaning chores out of the way I now go with him pretty much everywhere all the time.

One of the places we go is the office, although we have yet another holdup in the company process. We thought we would be working full steam ahead by now but we are still waiting for our final paperwork while the Ministry and the government debate whether we will be able to supply visas for pilgrims to the Hajj in Mecca. I find it frustrating but Mohamed remains philosophical. Meanwhile he did an excellent job while I was gone and the office looks great, we are just waiting for the chairs which will be ready about the middle of the month. He organized a paint job, new blinds, new glass door, air-conditioning, desks, computers, phones, fridge and stove and resurface on the wooden floors upstairs while I was away and had it cleaned so it all looks good. We need a plumber to do a little work in one of the bathrooms and that’s about it. Some plants, carpets and wall decorations and we will really look ready for business.

We are meeting a prospective partner from an Aussie company there on Wednesday so we’ll go again today and have another quick clean and make sure it all looks as good as it can.

We had Hagar stay for a week which was nice; she has started a ticketing course so that when she is done (3 months x 2 nights a week) and we are ready she will come to work with us. She is still planning her wedding for July although there’s no date set yet. Sister Walaa who lives in Kuwait is expecting baby no. 3 in June so I’m guessing Hagar wants to make sure that she and the family will be right to come.

Had a computer disaster with the laptop dying not long after I got back – when they took it to fix it they completely wiped my hard disk so I have lost lots of things including photos. Some I had on my external hard drive but not all – another hard lesson learned. But it did mean that I lost Yonas’s story which I had promised to post – I now have to wait to get it again from Ethiopia, sorry.

We’ve also been out to dinner at Mohamed’s friend Mohamed’s house – Elkardy and Sabah and their two children, Sabah speaks a little English - to City Stars a couple of times, the movies etc. etc. We had a small household disaster when the bedroom door slammed in the wind and the decorative glass panel smashed to pieces (have ordered a replacement – 600 pounds gone in the blink of an eye) and another when one of the figs blew over on the roof and broke the pot. We have had power outages, the net going super slow, the water off, the traffic is still totally chaotic and parking almost impossible – life is normal really.

Went to the Cairo International Bookfair although my hopes were not fulfilled by it. The site covers about 15 hectares with a large number of exhibition halls and try as we might we couldn’t find any maps of it. So we set out in hopes of finding books in English but sadly no, we were exhausted before we came across them. We did find some religious items in the Saudi hall and I did buy 3 books in English about the Muslim religion and also a Qu’ran in English. I hope this will all help me understand the Egyptian culture better and maybe also the people. I have dipped into them but not had any sort of concentrated read yet.

Today has turned into an appalling day with a strong wind and the sand so thick we can’t see the pyramids. It looks like the khamseen although that’s only supposed to come in March. We had a quick trip out to deposit money in the bank and visit the office but I’m pleased to be home again. It’s cold and miserable. There’s been no rain so far this winter except the very lightest sprinkle one day before I left to go to Oz. Mohamed says none while I was away.

Last night we went into Mohandaseen to order a new sheet of glass for the bedroom door and also to take a new fire extinguisher to one of the Coasters (the driver helped someone else put out a fire). On the way home we went past one of the luxury car places and thought we’d stop off the have a look at the Mercedes roadster and the Porsche Carrera etc. The boss wasn’t there so we had a look round, looking terribly interested and discussing which one we liked best etc. – definitely prospective buyers and everyone being very attentive. Until I looked down and discovered that I had odd shoes on…. I have two pairs exactly the same except one pair is pink and one pair is natural leather and I had managed to stick my feet into one of each… Needless to say I left the shop very rapidly, leaving Mohamed a bit bewildered until he came out to see why and I showed him my feet…. Doubt that I’ll be able to forget this one in a hurry. But we did laugh all the way home and now I am Linda Two Shoes who must be checked before she is allowed out of the house .

Anyway, time to go and wash the dishes after “lunch” (that is the main meal which we had at 4.00 pm today). For anyone interested I now also have a Facebook page that I keep up-to-date, must admit it’s easy to keep in touch that way… so maybe I'll see you there.

So until next time take care, lots of love

Lyndall

More from Africa

I had hoped to be able to post Yonas's story today. Yonas was one of the young men, just off the street, who was living in the Hope Centre in Ethiopia. He told me his story, as I've explained in a posting before, while I was visiting, and it was incredibly inspiring and touching. And even more inspiring was news that he came top of his class at the end of term a few weeks ago when he graduated. I have just received his permission to publish what he told me. However, much as I hate to disappoint, I have discovered that I've left a really important part of it on my laptop in Egypt. So sorry, you'll have to wait until I get home in January. But I promise I will do it as soon as I can after I get back.

So here are a few photos to tide you over....

Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a peaceful and healthy 2009

lots of love

Lyndall


The sun goes down over the dusty African grasslands - Botswana. This is often the time of day we would go looking for lions.





Elephants gather to drink at a small waterhole on the edge of the Kalahari


The mighty Victoria Falls from the Zimbabwe side. Omus Otunda - The Smoke that Thunders. That little bit of the local language was taught to me by a Zimbabwe man begging on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya.


Playing football in Kasane near the border of Botswana and Zimbabwe only the only sort of field available. Football (or soccer) is immensly popular all over Africa.



The camp helpers Amos and Timan get the water out to allow us to shower. All our water had to be carried with us on safari in Botswana.


The lion and the jackal - there's been a kill, the lion still has a little blood on his nose and fortunately he's too full for us to be of much interest


A hyena watches us warily - Botswana









Some of the children of Khwai village Botswana. We stopped here and visited the general store and these children were delighted to be given lollipops. They were friendly if a little shy, happy, delightful.


An injured young lioness rests up in the shade during the heat of the day - Chobe, Botswana




An elephant threatens with a head shake as we get too close in Botswana. The clapping of ears is a BIG sound up close

A year ago - Ethiopia

It's Gabriel's Day and for almost half of Ethiopia's population this means a day at church, and a holiday for everyone. It was an amazing thing to witness.



At the entrance to a church, crowds wax and wane


The grass is sold to be laid inside the house to freshen it and also in some way to mark a new beginning or "fresh start".


A street seller







Crowded streets on Gabriel's Day


This woman smiles shyly as she sells her candles.


Some of the crowd in one street near a church, Gabriel's Day.


It's Gabriel's Day (after the Archangel Gabriel) and the citizens of Addis come out in their hundreds of thousands to celebrate. Impromptu markets are near every church and everything you could imagine is on sale, including candles and very colourful umbrellas used for offerings.


An Addis street


Koni and Dagem say goodbye with a typical open-handed slap "handshake". The harder the bigger the "slap" (that is how far back the arm is taken, and the slap never hard enough to hurt), the more affection and regard you have for a person (the same in Egypt). Once the hand is slapped a loose and quick shake follows.


The Emperor Haile Selassie's throne, in the Museum.


Dagem, one of the former street boys who lived in Ermi's House, or the Hope Centre, looks at Lucy's skeleton in the Museum. We went to the Museum on a "field trip". The boys were all fascinated with their country's history and culture. The oldest humans known have been found in Ethiopia. Lucy, several million years old, was discovered there in 1974.


"The interestingly named "I Love You Hotel"



Building scaffolding - I used to hold my breath watching the workers go up this ramp, bags of cement and other materials across their shoulders


A man makes his living with a sewing machine at his "shop" on the street


Pedestrians walk past one of the "plastic houses" of the homeless














Shoe shine "boys", some of the homeless of Addis. When Sentayhu asked me about shoe shine boys in Australia and I told him we didn't have any he couldn't contain his amazement and referred to it often.



Just a small supermarket


Near the end of the street that eventually leads to the girls' house (Joy Centre)


One of the small workshops where artists make goods for sale to tourists like me. I bought beautiful beads, a wonderful knitted shawl that I use all the time, saw weavers and artists at work.

G'day. I've been looking through some photos while I've been home and of course many of them are from Africa last year. I miss Ethiopia and all the wonderful kids and even Addis - I really found a heart-to-heart connection there. Sadly Konjit tells me that the Youth Impact Library hasn't opened again yet after the summer break when this year it closed down, not offering a summer program. It's all money of course, that's all, such a simple answer to this particular problem. Not even a lot of money.

Is there anyone out there who knows how to access around $30,000 US to make this amazing project basically self-sufficient for the forseeable future? $20,000 for one year's operation and $10,000 to set up the little business venture that should make it self-sufficient. Anyone who could help or who has ideas don't hesitate to let me know - PLEASE!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy these few photos of Addis that you probably didn't see before.

Hope you enjoy,

lots of love

Lyndall

PS Tomorrow the kids go away for the day and so I will add some more photos and stories from the African trip

A visit to City Stars

Mohamed bought me all this cake for my birthday and even candles. This was a big deal as birthdays are not important in Egypt.


Well hi, sorry that I haven’t posted for a while, life has been just in the house but without anything very exciting happening. Yesterday we went for a drive and visited City Stars looking for clothes for Mohamed and so I thought I’d better send you something at least, and this is what you get.

I was amazed at how many changes there were to be seen in just over a couple of weeks. At the end of the street, only a couple of hundred metres tops, there’s a new building going up, on the corner of First Street (our street) and the main road into the estate from the second gate (Khefre Gate). There are 3 main gates leading into our estate from the Faiyoum Road and they are named after the 3 pyramids.

As we head into the city we must go through Ramiya Square (well, it’s a huge roundabout really). This is a total bottleneck and almost always busy – for example last night (about 6.30 pm) we were at crawling pace for around a kilometer or more. The roundabout is controlled by police, usually there’s about a dozen on duty. There are 4 divided roads that feed into the square, the Cairo-Alexandria Road in one direction and the Faiyoum Road and the street that leads down to Faisal Street (one of the biggest and busiest in the pyramids area) in the other. It seems that the powers that be have finally decided there must be a better answer and the roundabout has road works happening, which at this early stage look like they are making it into an intersection. All I can say is - I hope not, I think that will make it even worse unless there’s an overpass that goes in. I guess time will tell.

I notice that the police are now in their winter uniform. Egyptian police wear a white cotton uniform in winter and a black uniform in winter. When I last went out they were all in white, now they are in winter uniform. And it is getting much cooler, especially at night, so the timing is good.

As we head into El Haram (Pyramids) Road (yes, it is the main road that leads from Cairo through Giza and up to the pyramids) I also notice there are new traffic and tourist signs looking SO clean and spanking new. Most street signs in Cairo are pretty battered so these really stand out.

The trip on the Round Road is fairly smooth and we have time for a stop at On the Run for a coffee. One thing that's new is the price of coffee there - and the coffee is very good I might add - but when I came a year ago it was 7.50 pounds, now it is 13 pounds for a cappuchino. Inflation in Egypt is running at around 23% at the moment but this still seems a huge price rise. Off the Round Road and into Ourouba Road and down into Heliopolis and finally we arrive at City Stars after about an hour’s trip. City Stars is on the north east of the city, while we are on the south west. It’s not so busy tonight and we jag a park on the first sub-level near one of the doors. To get into the car park we must open our boot and have it swept for explosive traces, a sniffer dog goes around the car and another guy with one of those mirror devices to see under the car also goes round the vehicle. Once we’ve parked and want to enter the shopping centre we must also go through a metal detector and my handbag goes through an X-ray machine. This sort of security also applies at the big hotels and some other shopping areas we’ve been to. It’s a world away from Oz.

So we shop, it’s a big shopping centre, about 6 floors and I never know where I am particularly but I reckon we walked it all, ending up getting one jumper for Mohamed at the Levi’s store. He is a particular shopper but always looks great in his clothes so I guess it pays off. We just shop differently – I always want to go in to take a look but Mohamed just looks from the outside unless something sort of attracts him, I’m not quite sure what, and then he goes in to have a little look. We also visited the Virgin Megastore which stocks all sorts of good things. We can get movies there with Arabic subtitles although they are around 200 pounds which is pretty expensive. They have just started to stock what they call DCDs and these are movies on CDs, which only cost 25 pounds (about $6 at current exchange rates) and are good quality. So we got some movies and also some X-Box games (reduced from 550 pounds to 50 pounds – crazy) and I also got to get a new book at the bookstore. For which I am grateful as I’m reading a book for the 4th time right now. I’ve told the kids I need books to be on my Christmas list.

City Stars is full of designer label shops, big chain food outlets (Pizza Hut, McDonalds etc.), coffee shops like Costas and Starbucks and a cinema complex, with more big name shops opening soon, I notice for example, that Versace is opening next month. They have just opened a new section of 250 shops so there’s plenty to see. Prices are high though - to go with the big rents etc. I guess. Just like lots of shopping centres in Australia. There’s also a section called the Khan El Khalili (named after the big bazaar in Old Cairo) which has all sorts of traditional clothing, perfume and souvenirs.

Monday 17th

Sorry I got to take a break, longer than I intended, yesterday was the usual routine but we went out to the Dendy Mall last night and after looking again for clothes for Mohamed (without success) we sat and had coffee in one of the outdoor coffee shops which wa very pleasant. Today I’ve just been busy washing all the floors etc. Mohamed is out at the moment meeting with one of the companies we work for and I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy, a few seasons ago. I’ve got some bookwork to do yet so I’m going to finish off; sorry it’s a bit abruptly. I’m beginning to get excited about getting home – I fly out on the 1st December and arrive early on the 3rd in Brisbane. I’ve got just about a month and hope to get to Melbourne as well as staying in Brisbane and on the Sunny Coast. As far as I know Christmas is with Lahni and Ian and Logan for as many of us as can get there.

So I’ll go now and certainly hope to see some of you when I’m home. Take care, I’ll write again I’m sure before I get home,

Lots of love

Lyndall

Masr el Gadida

Pronounced (sort of) Moss-ra-Gadeedah, or in English New Cairo, this is an area of Cairo on the north-east of the city beside Heliopolis, situated between the airport and the city centre (or Down Town). One way to get there is via Cairo's remnant and old tramway system which looks like the trams can barely stay upright (and if I believe what I read, is incrediby shabby and bumpy) but is also I understand incredibly cheap. But we go via the Ring Road, or the Round Road (take your pick of what sign you read and Mohamed always calls it the Round Road) and we did that today to go to Royal House (where we got the TV table/cabinet) to look at office furniture.

I took some photos on the way which were all from the moving car with my little point and shoot that has a mark on the lens I can’t get rid of but I will put a few on and you will see that this area is quite different from where we live on the Giza Plateau. Heliopolis was actually a planned development that occurred in the early part of the 20th century and was proposed by a Belgian called Baron Empian (who subsequently lived died and is buried in Cairo) who wanted to build a garden city in the desert to help solving Cairo’s intense demand for housing. Commuters would travel to work in the city each day by tram. Empian’s dream was brought to fruition by British planner Sir Reginald Oakes between 1905n and 1922 and is based on a grid of streets with greenery and open spaces and originally even a racecourse (which is now an amusement park, I’m pretty sure it’s the big one called Cairo Land).

The streets, with well-grown trees, older buildings with sort of Islamic-looking facades or very modern ones, have a variety of apartment complexes and modern shops, fast food restaurants, classy looking cafes and nightclubs, are quite wide and the traffic, at least today, was reasonably under control, although parking is still chaotic and 2-3 deep and hard to find. But often you look down a side street and see a mosque at the end of it, even though this area originally had a large Christian and Jewish population. I think it might still have a reasonable high Christian population as there’s definitely a higher proportion of women without scarves than elsewhere. (From an article I read there are now only about 200 Jews in Cairo, almost all elderly).

We had a meal at Tikka, a fast food chain that serves all sorts of stuff so we can both get something we like even though it’s mostly meat, we shared the salad bar (not quite like a western salad – we had potato salad and coleslaw, sliced cucumber, and green bean and white bean salad with onion and in a sort of sweet sauce (I wish I knew how to make it coz I really like it, they serve it at Pizza HWhile we were eating all the traffic stopped while a “VIP man” came through under police and army escort – Mohamed thinks the Minister of Defence as the Ministry is just around the corner from where we were. We went past it later and there were soldiers and special police everywhere in squads and singles. Several hundred at least I would have thought so I guess the Minister was indeed in residence.

Anyway it was nice outing, good weather and clear skies and we saw some good furniture although dearer than I had hoped but I think that it is what Mohamed would like, it certainly would make the office look good when the Ministry comes to inspect.

As I said I’ve given you some photos but they are not great quality as they were all taken while we were moving over the bumpy road. But they’ll give you an idea of what I saw today.

So it’s goodnight from me, take care

Lots of love

Lyndall




A load of bananas passes us on the Round Road


This one looks not quite finished but certainly occupied


One of the unfinished apartment buildings along the Round Road


One of the apartment buildings along the road where residents have chosen to decorate in different colours


A large mosque under construction in conjunction with a hospital


And only a couple of hundred metres away a large church is also under construction


A mosque at the end of the street and some residual water from yesterday's rain, it looked like they might have had more than we did


Looks like yet another fast food place is opening soon



The tramway but no tram, by the time I saw a tram my battery had gone flat


The shops along one of the main streets



The view from home is still great though