Mara’s (Marie Vaughan) personal diary of daily life running a hotel in Luxor – Egypt as lived day to day, not as a destination: the people, the setbacks, the small victories, and the long relationship with a place she now calls home.
“This advice has been updated with new amendments to the Travel Summary and Safety and Security Political Situation. We continue to advise against all but essential travel to Cairo (all four governorates, including Giza), Alexandria, and Suez. However, we no longer advise against all but-essential travel to Luxor. We have also removed the recommendation that British…
Be careful what you ask for – you just might get it! Or to put it another way….be as specific as you can about what you want – for you will surely get it then! A few weeks ago I put it out to the Universe (God if you prefer that term) that I was…
As everyone probably know by now President Mubarak resigned yesterday. I have been busy preparing to get back to business myself so here are just some items of news to bring you up to date. People turned up at Tahrir Sq. today with brushes and bags – they cleaned up the square, the streets leading…
Christian Bible begins with the words “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We could spend lifetimes trying to understand these words alone – Words creates our World. We have long heard the phrases “the power of the pen” and “the pen is mightier than…
We have a phrase in Ireland – usually used in a rather patronising or sarcastic way…..”the hurler on the ditch”. The hurler on the ditch is the loud mouth on the sideline shouting instructions (and sometimes abuse) at the players on the field. And, of course, he is the guy who (in his own mind)…
Just back from Tahrir Sq. Before you read any further please remember that there are basically 3 groups of people in Cairo today. The first are those who are into the hype and excitement of the moment. The second are those who are interested but detached from the excitement and see a different version of…
The situation in Tahrir Sq. has been hijacked by people massaging their egos in public and now they are martyred as well! I have a problem with the media blaming every piece of violence on Mubarak or pro-Mubarak supporters, even the language they use – 75% of the time the pro-Mubarak people are labeled…
In my previous blogs I have tried to give a balanced view of Egypt. Now as the time and days pass, I find that my focus has been fixed more and more on the media and it’s method of conveying the “news”. Read the following, do your own research, and decide for yourself….this problem does…
If you are sitting watching BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera or Press TV you will notice that they are having a really good go at creating by virtual reality. For those of us watching these channels and then also having the chance to listen to state TV or go into the streets in Cairo you would…
This is the easiest way to keep you up to date with real-time events here so I will up date this part of the blog site every day. On the 25th and the 26th I was in Cairo in our apartments in Downtown Cairo, 10 – 15 minutes walk from Tahrir Square. The first I…
“Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt’s leaders. Only the Egyptian people can do that. What is clear — and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak — is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.” Those are…
Egypt (and the world) needs to ask some investigative questions. 1. Who are the faceless organisers of this present situation? Please don’t try to tell me it was a spontaneous popular outburst. 2. Who has gained out of this situation? Who inside of Egypt has gained out of this? Are there individuals or organisations or…
Nobody will dispute that the first thing a country, any country or state needs is political, religious and economic stability. Granted the economic aspect has not been as quick in it’s evolution as many would like. But economic growth depends as much on a country’s citizens as it does on it’s government. In the Middle…
Much of the media is focusing us on the negative so I am going to try to shine a little light and balance!! But to understand we need to be willing to take a deep breath and leave our emotions aside for a few minutes. Open up the wider truths, bigger picture and genuine understanding…
6.45 am this morning, 22 degrees celsius and I was woken up by a giant balloon passing before my eyes….what was it? Just one of the early morning balloon flights coming into land on the next street……. – supposed to be over the West Bank not gliding past my window! But who cares? The longer…
As the days go by I spend more and more time thinking to myself “I don’t know, I just don’t know.” What is Ramadan? I’m not really sure. I know it is both a difficult time and a wonderful time for some. The theory is that from sunrise to sunset, if you are observing Ramadan,…
Isn’t it wonderful? Just when you think you’ve heard it all – along comes a revelation like this.I’ve been under the impression that the airlines were trying to conserve fuel (for the sake of the environment) so they wanted us to reduce the amount of luggage we carry on planes….what an idiot! Therefore they deter…
Metro Supermarket opened in Luxor last night…..much to everyone’s delight and mine….until I tried to buy some stuff there today! It’s fantastic….cheaper prices across the board, great selection of everything from fruit to household cleaners BUT especially welcome to me and I think maybe every foreigner living here….THE MEAT counter…..wow! This might seem OTT to…
Law of Attraction – what you think about, talk about, focus on, give your attention to ….BECOMES! Now, I don’t think much about honey – but I saw on TV that honey is a humicant ……..and my skin feels so dry…..decided to give it a go. Trying to put honey on your face gets a…
Vaseline’s facebook Page is now offering an application that lightens skin colour. When I went to Egypt I could not believe the amount of advertising on TV, billboards, chemists, etc. for ‘Fair and Lovely,’ a skin-whitening product. It went hand in hand with Egyptians telling me every day that my skin was so lovely. I…