The Prime Minister at a press conference in the council of ministers decides: Starting tomorrow Wednesday. (this is a google translation so I don’t understand some of it) Ban the movement of citizens all over the republic or move on all roads from 7pm to 6am for two weeks All public and private mass transport…
update on coronavirus in Egypt
Get ready to pedal through my first Luxor cycling adventure – fear, coordination quirks, and all. Let’s chat about conquering challenges, how society shapes us, and finding our brave side. Plus, I’ll spill the beans on how Egypt’s handling COVID-19.
Maybe when I’m dead, some people will say I was an entrepreneur. What’s that? Dictionary definition: “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.” Yes, I been trying to do that since about the age of 21. I never succeeded until Mara House, but I…
What Is Slow Travel, Really? “Slow travel” was a new phrase to me until recently—but the idea isn’t. I’ve been talking to solo travelers for years, and many of them say the same thing: “I don’t want to be rushed from temple to temple.”“I like to take my time, explore alone, and soak things in.”…
Resurrection Ertugrul would be on my list of “Must Watch” TV/Film Series before coming to Egypt – it’s a Turkish film with english subtitles –
Prepare for a different side of Egypt during winter. Discover the need for warm layers, cozy nightwear, and jackets for chilly evenings. Explore temperature variations across Egyptian regions and stay comfortable while sightseeing, even amidst the sunshine. Pack wisely for your December and January trip to Egypt.
A film to get the imagination going, especially if you are thinking of visiting Egypt.
We are born, we live, and we die. So what? The first we have little control over. The second is something we are supposed to have some control over, to varying degrees. The last one, we once again have little or no control over. My question today has to do with what comes after all…
Since I started doing Dr. Joe’s work I have become aware that now I sometimes catch myself reaching for a past memory – no, reaching for a past gut experience, a bad, unhappy, miserable, worry-some feeling. But feelings are created by our thoughts, so my body is pushing me to search my memory for a…
If you are wondering how I came to believe in all this stuff that I am constantly trying to talk to you all about… I would have to start by saying I think I was incredibly lucky to have the parents I had. In the sense that beyond fostering some basic human values in me,…
I haven’t written here for a while. My life has been a bit hectic between family, travel and business. But I woke up this morning in Mara House, Luxor. I have been back exactly 4 weeks yesterday and it has been a whirlwind of catching up with everything. My son has built us a BBQ…
According to legend, Beit al-Kreitlia is home to Sultan al-Watawit (Watawit means bat) – King of the Djins and his seven daughters who sleep peacefully in golden beds at the bottom of a magic well in the corner of the courtyard of Beit Al-Kreitlia. The well also contains the Sultan’s treasure which he closely guards….
Following up on my TripAdvisor saga. Just another example to illustrate how they don’t appear to either read/comprehend what they are doing regarding reviews nor have an internal owner account filing system to track what they do to us. This is the latest email from them entitled – Your Review Dispute and below it you…
The purpose of this post is to record these events and facts to do with our ranking on TripAdvisor. I try to be a positive person, always looking for the silver lining behind the cloud and encouraging everyone else to do the same. This is going to be a rambling post so you might like…
My heading might not be 100% appropriate but it’s the best I can come up with just now. I am taking a few days off in a 4 star hotel in the USA. I’m not going to name the hotel because really the staff here are doing the best they can. But to be honest,…
Agha Saleem’s Secret Treasure Trove Beit Al-Kreitlia, as with all houses of the wealthy and governing families had quarters known as the Harem where the ladies of the house could relax safely from strangers’ eyes. The ‘harem’ at Beit Al-Kreitlia is situated on the first floor directly above the magic well – where lives the…
Speaking the same language doesn’t guarantee understanding. Here’s how cultural differences in Egypt can derail conversations—and how to avoid the most common pitfalls.
When I first moved to Luxor in 2003 and wanted to buy material/cloth, curtains, sheets, house furniture etc. I had to go to Cairo for them. Anything available in Luxor was NOTHING even remotely near what I needed. Finding a laptop to buy was impossible. It took me 18 months and 6 trips to Cairo…
Before the Kretlis family owned the house it was owned by a man named Hagg Mohammed. In those days there lived in the house a benevolent serpent by the name of Anon – she protected the house by preventing other reptiles from entering and keeping evil outside the walls. Hagg Mohammed had two little boys…