My customer queuing ticket read 13.58 (should have read 12.58 because Egypt did not change the clock this year) queue number 463 and number of people before me 84. That’s ok – I scanned the row of cashiers and counted approx. 8 or 9 apparently working. Found myself a seat and made some phone calls. …
Why is there a sexual harassment problem in Egypt? Why revolution and civil unrest? Why do some people protest in the streets and other people don’t? Why do some people want to work and other people don’t? Why do some people commit crime and other people don’t? Why do some people have ideas and other…
My mother used to say that nobody except myself would ask people for what he/she wanted at the wrong time – but somewhere else I got the belief that “if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so what have you got to lose by asking?” With that thought in mind, I headed off to see…
EGYPT MOVING FORWARD – major step in the right direction……………THE “ARAB Spring” has prompted the Sunni Muslim world’s most venerable institution of religious learning to issue a declaration of independence from the Egyptian government and to state it supports demands raised by uprisings in the Arab world. An 11-article document written by clerics and learned…
In my endeavours to return to my former positive-thinking, optimistic self I have stopped watching CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and Press TV – though 5 – 10 minutes watching Press TV does give me a pretty clear picture of the day’s events without instilling the same fear engendered by the other stations. I briefly check…
So, what was the ‘not such a good thing’ that happened me on my Egyptian life adventure? It wasn’t something that happened overnight, it was a training I received from “living like an Egyptian” that gradually instilled in me an expectation for nothing to turn out the way I wanted, to never get anything to-day…
I will continue tomorrow (in’sh Allah!) with my “Personality” blog as promised but in the meantime I must let you know that we are all very excited here in Cairo………..when I say “all” I mean those of us who are involved in the tourism business. WHY???? Because tomorrow the 15th June 2011 after 5 months…
I don’t walk around the house naked, I never wore a bikini, was even shy about wearing a swimsuit! Didn’t expose myself to my children and my husband really only had a good look at me between the sheets! Last time I flew to Ireland I found myself pushed into a body scanner machine, at…
There’s nothing like a ride in a Cairo taxi to renew your wish to stay alive! Went to visit a friend in Maadi this morning, had a great day – she’s Irish, lovely woman. Taxi trip out there went fine, except for the usual nonsense of the taxi driver lying about knowing where I wanted…
Retirement, forced retirement, unemployment in a country experiencing economic disaster, losing a business, physical incapacity, old-age resulting in deteriorating physical mobility, imprisonment, losing children or family whether because they have grown up, moved away or lost through divorce etc. – it strikes me that for a person with an active mind accustomed to leading an…
The good days can be wonderful but the “bad” days can drive you nuts. There are days – like today – when trying to get something done is like wading through mud, have you ever tried it? When I was young I used to have what I came to interpret as “frustration” dreams (no, not…
If I wanted to take growth hormones I would go to the doctor not the supermarket! Exploding watermelons in China – poetic justice from Mother Earth towards greedy farmers as far as I am concerned. They injected too much growth hormones into the melons – read the story here http://shanghaiist.com/2011/05/18/exploding_watermelons.php And what the hell are…
We learn from history……or we don’t – mostly it seems in Egypt, we don’t. We had the swine flu’ scare and the government of the day immediately ordered the slaughter of all the pigs in Cairo. So what? So what is the fact that the pigs ate all the organic waste that was collected in…
Egypt’s current and future economy is on my mind – it’s been on my mind every day since Jan! You see, I’m a small foreign investor here – would have been bigger investor if I had not fallen foul of some ex-government officials here! And some still in government positions here!!! The key word here…
“Do you speak Arabic?” I am often asked…….from now on my answer will be “just enough to cause a riot if I want!” One thing that sends my blood pressure up is when someone jumps a queue I am standing in. Now, if the person is in a terrible hurry (even if I am also)…
In a fight against corruption, suppression, police intimidation and in their search of human rights the people of Egypt took to the streets in early 2011 and so began the Egyptian Revolution which ended in the ousting of President Mubark and his government. The demand for human rights…..hmmmmmm.. – we all know what the basic…
The moving finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a line, Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it. – The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Go to any temple in Egypt and the guide will show you where Pharaoh…
The revival of the tourist industry in Egypt is the fastest and least painful way (much less painful in the long run than borrowing money from the IMF) to get the Egyptian Economy back on it’s feet. It is adventurous people like Caye Poe and John Francis of Dayton who will hasten the return of…
Niqab – Hijab. To wear or not to wear. There is a brilliant personal piece of writing by Nadia here where she tells her story of going from not wearing to wearing and back to not wearing the niqab (face veil etc. worn by some muslim ladies). The 70+ comments at the end of her…
The new Egyptian Minister for Tourism, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said on April 15: “We are doing whatever we can to inform the world that security is prevailing, that hotels and Egyptians are waiting to receive tourists,” Abdel Nour said. “And with this effort, I expect the last quarter of the year to be excellent.” …