Art and Life in Egypt

Francisco Brennand and Suape

2011-07-13T01:38:00.002+02:00

Yesterday was a very full day - the highlight was visiting the artist, Francisco Brennand on his 4000 acre estate near Recife. Francisco is the descendant of 19th century Irish immigrants to Brazil. His father ran a brick and tile works and Francisco inherited it. For the last 40 years, he has been working in clay and is about 85 years old. Before that, he painted and still paints in as he says "a more traditional and less controversial style." His clay sculptures, some of which are absolutely monumental, decorate the grounds of his estate as well as the interior of the converted tile factory and gigantic kilns. The buildings are absolutely beautiful. his cousin, Ricardo Brennand also has a sizeable estate but has chosen to house his 5000+ collection of swords in a medieval styled castle. He also has, in his collection, armor and paintings. We weren't able to see Ricardo's collection but had the opportunity to actually talk with the artist since one of the former ambassadors of Brazil accompanied us and is a personal friend.

I asked Francisco where the clay came from and what kind of glazes he used. He said that the clay was specially chosen from a place in Pernambuco because of its properties and the glazes were not scientifically applied or mixed but were rather the result of such a long experience with them. I took lots and lots of pictures of the sculptures, tile wall collages and the temple. Outdoors, he has a sacred site with a blue egg shaped dome that colors everything with a celestial blue hue when the sun is directly overhead.

I have to disagree with Lonely Planet's description of this famous artist and site. They describe his work as weirdly sexualized earthworms, lizards and frogs. Did they actually see his work? Yes, some of the pieces might appear phallic at first glance and yes, sensuality and sexuality is a part of Francisco's style but he makes frequent references to creation, mythology, history and biblical references with a twist. Adam and Eve are represented outside as is Cain but Cain is given complete redemption in Francisco's interpretation as he should be. He is the one who gave the gifts of the earth and the harvest rather than shedding the blood of animal in sacrifice to God. Frogs and fish emerge from the waters of the pools and fountains, large ceramic eggs stand on end ready to hatch into what the viewer chooses to imagine. Inside, Joan of Arc has two heads symbolizing perhaps her two natures or the way that she was both virgin and dressed as a man to get the job done of crowning the Dauphine King of France.

One can feel a mysticism and animism and spiritual force walking around Brennand's clay bodies and forms. He said that none of them can be moved or separated from each other. Another quotation that I found very inspiring was "My art may be immovable but it is not inert." In fact, nothing on earth is inert, not even rocks, rivers or sand. Everything is alive. Before leaving all too soon, I was able to buy a small sphere from the restaurant gift area made by Brennand that I will keep in my office in our new Art building so that I can be reminded of the Brazilian artist with the kindly face who is one of Brazil's most important living artists. If you go to Brazil you must visit both cousins. They are exceedingly kindly men, our tour guide, Ni tells us - she is a native Pernambuca native Brazilian - who do a lot for the poor in the municipality.

The talk about urban planning in the state was not as inspiring, I'm afraid. It focused on development of the Boa Viagem beachfront area and moving the poor out of their shanty towns along the waterfront where they eke out a living by fishing. The solution, unfortunately for low income housing is to move people out to the fringes of the city where it is nearly impossible to get to any kind of work situation. In some areas that we passed through in Recife like San Antonio and San Jose, there has been frequent flooding so that some houses that used to be for the wealthy were abandoned. Gabe and I have decided that we could start a business here with a power washing company to get rid of the mold that seems to constantly endanger the health of Recife's inhabitants. We would add a little bleach to it and then sell at low cost, dehumidifiers too. Gabe is my fellow Hawaiian from Hilo - he has taught at the community college there for over nine years so he's become an official Hawaiian native in my classification.

That was Monday July 11. Now today, July 12, we had an appointment to visit the new Port of SUAPE nearly one and a half hours away. It takes such a long time because first of all, the roads are terrible with potholes like you can't believe. And then there is the traffic. Anyway, we were presented with a 9 minute slick video about the publicly owned port of Suape (which we were given as well along with the power point on CD) which is giving private companies huge tax incentives to ship things in and out of Brazil. The tax break is around 75% so it will definitely benefit those private companies. There is a shipyard, fiberglass company, resin company and lots of others. They say they are dedicated to sustainability and maintaining a large green area around the port. They have two Goliath cranes that can lift 1500 tons which is important in shipbuilding. Suape has very deep water at its port and is the closest to Africa of any site in Brazil. Their plans are expansive and will give jobs to many Brazilians in this state. Well, more jobs as they are building the port and other buildings and less when the building is complete. Of the total number the private companies are supposed to employ 50% Brazilians - I imagine for the lower paying jobs.

I asked about waste management and air quality control for pollutants. I was told that containment areas were designated and when I asked where? I didn't feel that I was answered in detail but we were given the email account of the VP who spoke with us and he promises to find answers and then get back to us. Hopefully there will be no DuPont situations or oil spills. They have very close offshore oil sites and oil refineries are being built by Petrobras, the largest oil company in Brazil on the site as well. I took some photos from a site where our bus drove us so that we could see an over view. Pernambuco is one of Brazil's poorer states.

Is Brazil a country of the future? Will Brazil be able to reap the benefits the capitalism without selling its soul and the health of its people? Many other questions will come up I'm sure as I think about the ramifications of conservation, sustainability, social welfare, etc.

Islamic New Year

2009-12-18T19:33:00.004+02:00

Delivered the two paintings to Soheir Osman at the Faculty of Applied Arts at Helwan University. Their International Festival is Monday, Dec. 21st, the Winter Solstice. She liked these paintings a lot. Met another artist,Dr. Mostafa Kamal. Will visit his new art school in 6 October city soon.

Yesterday, the 17th of December was noteworthy for being the Roman Saturnalia and the sunset start of the Islamic New Year. As far as the New Year here in Cairo, I was told by Ali (the IT guy at Fulbright) - he had come to work on my wireless - he said people eat meat. What? OK at iftar (the breaking of the fast at each Ramadan day or else the Eid - people eat meat especially the common people. Rich people eat meat a lot and Copts each pork. My sister Liz, does turkey AND ham on Christmas day and a rib roast on Christmas Eve if she can afford. I'll say, rib roast and beef tenderloin cost a lot. I'll be missing Peggy's awesome beef tenderloin with reduced port sauce and the scalloped potatoes with mushrooms.

"The Islamic New Year is a cultural event which Muslims observe on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. Many Muslims use the day to remember the significance of this month, and the Hijra, or migration, Islamic prophet Muhammad made it to the city now known as Medina. Recently, in many areas of Muslim population, people have begun exchanging cards and gifts on this day, though this is not commonly done. For Shia Muslims, Muharram is the month grief and sorrow because they mourn the death of Imam Hussain and his companions on the day of Ashura.

Ras as-Sana (Arabic: رأس السنة ) is the Islamic celebration of the new Hijri year. The term is similarly used in the Arabic language to mark the start of the new Gregorian year. The word literally means "Head of the year," and is cognate to the Hebrew term Rosh Hashanah. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Muharram migrates throughout the seasons."

I made brownies today from a Betty Crocker mix -it was easier than homemade though we do have the ingredients to make Christmas cookies with brown suger, flour, eggs, spices, chocolate chips both milk and semi sweet and walnuts. I even found a molasses brown sugar so Dominique can try to make gingebreak cookies.

Today, I stayed at home and made some necklaces - well, as far as I could get without the necessary technique to finish them off. I spent all afternoon at the Khan el Khalili armed with my business cards for the Bedouin Shop to see Ahmed. I bought the most magnificent vintage Mosque lamp with colored glassw inserted so when the light shines through, it is gorgeous. I bought some beads and some more Bedouin stuff from Nasser brothers - he has a picture of himself with the Queen of Spain on the back wall. Tiny store. Had tea at the Pancake House and waited for traffice to die down around 7 pm.

New Abstract paintings completed

2009-12-15T17:14:00.003+02:00

Picked up my two paintings, framed and adhered to the foam core board today from Mr. Helmy, aka, the Framer, on Yehia Ibrahim Street in Zamalek. I had to put the four freshly painted portraits on the one and add some calligraphy and color to it as well. Just tweaked the first one and got rid of the black line beneath the Bedouin portraits at the bottom of the painting. I'm posting the photos of the paintings as well as the el Nafeza paper paintings of the Bedouin woman and children. I figured since the paintings are based on a rusty door that I saw in Al Arish in north Sinai, that Bedouin women and children were appropriate portraits to add. Also, I did a little Arabic calligraphy. Thought I was spelling Bedouin door and Mother and children but also blurred those lines with paint. The door was rusty with layers of black, white, blue and yellow paint. I'm pretty happy with it and hope that my audience likes it as well. It's for an International Group Show at the Opera House probably Al Bab Gallery next to the Modern Art Museum again.

Cocktails on Jamie's Houseboat

2009-12-14T13:04:00.002+02:00

Sunday, yesterday, Karl, Joelle and I were invited to Jamie's houseboat in Kit Kat, Imbaba, Cairo. Just past the Zamalek bridge, is Jamie's rental - it is very rare for anyone to get one of these as they belong to families who might come to visit a few months out of the year like the Sudanese family who own his and live in the U.S. Jamie's apartment is the upper floor of a two apartment houseboat. His is enviable - he has a very large covered patio space with a two bedroom, two bath, living room, dining area, kitchen and a wrap around porch. Everything, one desires in houseboat living. True, it does get cold in the winter and there is no air conditioning but he does have a TV - it came furnished too and has internet access. His beds look as if they can sleep three people each, he says five but the Brits get cozier than Americans. Our king sized beds are only for two.

I took lots of pictures and will be there again, as he invited us for a New Year's Eve party with about 30 people. I was hoping for a good invitation - I'll bring Carla as she will be with me from that time. Jamie has worked for Oxfam for the last 17 years and is just about ready to turn over his directorship - he officially stopped working for them but wants to pass on the baton so that his replacement is properly trained.

After plied with many glasses of beer, we staggered off to get to our party in Zamalek at the Lohof's. I was worried about my inebriation but apparently, others were feeling as happy as I was. We had to say au revoir to Karl last night as he was leaving early this morning to get back to Alexandria by train. He was such a good house guest - loved our conversations. I would love to find someone as nice but he is taken. We both have to leave Cairo on the 17th of January so he will probably spend his last day or two back at our place.

Will add more soon

Bedouin trinkets at Atef Wassef

2009-12-10T11:44:00.003+02:00

Without too much trouble, I managed to get to the silversmith's store - Atef Wassef. Mona, the owner and pharmacist of Nefertari Cosmetics had told me about this store. Her jewelry is so gorgeous that I am going to try to copy the coral and silver necklace she was wearing when I met her. Atef Wassef is located downtown at 54, Kaleq Sarwat Street perpendicular to the Corniche and near the Nasser Metro stop. The store is colorfully painted on its exterior, pink, blue and white in arabesques. The store is huge, two life sized bronze horses in the front part of the store.

Mona, a new Egyptian friend I met in the White Desert and owner/entrepeneur of Neferari Cosmetics told me about Atef Wassef, whose store is downtown. He had two big baskets full of all kinds of Bedouin belts, necklaces, bits and pieces. As I and two assistants pawed through the piles, my hands turned black with tarnish. Bedouin pieces are usually 60% silver (which makes them cheaper per gram to buy around 3.5 LE). Right now I am wearing a wonderful ring with an intaglio horse carved carnelian stone with tiny turquoise stones on the sides. It could be from Turkestan (Afghanistan). For a heavy sack of things, it came to 1765 LE around $300. I have enough to make about 10-12 necklaces as I concentrated on buying pendants though I did purchase some earrings too. They are generally called zar pendants - meant to protect the wearer and attached not to the earlobe, but to a Bedouin woman, attached to her head scarf near her ears.

Another NGO in Mokkatam

2009-12-09T20:36:00.004+02:00

Today I went downtown after the W.A.'s Christmas party. They had someone making Irish coffee with real Irish whiskey. The woman who fixed it for me (20 LE) was generous with the whiskey and there was plenty of fresh whipped cream. I bought a loaf of banana bread for 20 LE (omg, fabulously moist, redolent of bananas, no nuts but didn't miss them) and a date cake for 50 LE. Everything to benefit the W.A.'s coffers - they have charitable projects. Met a women there selling these bags made by a group of women at the Garbage Collectors Village but at St. Simon the Tanner's church there.She is Dutch (Fenneke) and has been working with the women here since May 2008. The Center there had a small training center for making clothes but they had no work and they asked her if she had work for them. After a few days, she found the cloth made in Egypt called Khayameya - it's made 100% in Egypt, 100% Egyptian cotton, colorful and very sturdy. She thought they would make good aprons and then brought the six yards of material she had purchased to the Center along with her apron as a pattern.

In August of 2008, she had the women making bags - one of which I bought for 60 LE. In one year, the women had made 2500 aprons and 4200 bags. With that, they can earn a fair trade salary, the Center was able to purchase several sewing machines and an industrial ironing board. Any profits benefit the Amalna Home which is an orphanage for 8 girls. A nursery for Sudanese refugee children in Nasr City with monthly salaries for 5 people, rent and electricity paid for as well as contributing toward Operation Smile Egypt which offers free surgeries for children born with cleft palate. I found some information by googling Amalna Home and Fenneke has given my information to Laila, a woman who now runs the organization at St. Simon's. Fenneke was going back to Nairobi and wanted to start some other NGOs but with the help of a few others as it is so much work to do it alone, she told me.

Nomad Store and a new phone

2009-12-08T23:01:00.002+02:00

I thought today was the Christmas coffee party at the Women's Association in Zamalek and I got there around 11:20 but there was no one there. The party is tomorrow which is Wednesday. I just thought it was Wednesday because Dominique had school on Sunday as a make up class. Then I looked at my email and found that I had a package - it was the one mailed from Maadi - silver prayer beads that I want to use for my jewelry. I was hoping it was a package or two from Istanbul, also ebay but not. I went to the Nomad store, the big one and bought a gorgeous necklace and some earrings. I am going to redo the necklace and get two out of one once I switch the beads around. It turns out that Nomad gets different beads and amulets from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, and makes a version of the vintage pieces. Hmmm, same thing I am doing. They served me tea today as the owner was in. It was real mint tea not the usual Lipton stuff I usually get served. Mostafa, or is it Mohamed? is going to make me some neck clasps because they do that too in a shop/workroom nearby. I love shopping.

More pics tomorrow and a story

Monday, it rained in Cairo

2009-12-07T19:48:00.002+02:00

Yes, it's true. I was walking along 26 July Street on an infrequent walk, looked up at the sky which had puffy white clouds and above them a black series of clouds that looked like the black mist in Lost. You know, the one that swallowed Echo. The rain lasted only about 10 minutes but the sky tossed down about 1/10 of an inch. So that's my weather report!

I did a survey of the sidewalks in my neighborhood and the heavily trafficked 26 July Street the other day on my way to Alpha Market. In the light of day, one can watch for mishaps waiting to happen. In the dark, forget it! Pipes sticking up randomly (at least to me though they must have some purpose other than maiming visitors and residents), square holes about 12" x 12" usually partially filled with sand and/or trash like plastic bottles and paper and missing chunks of the 6 sided cement tiles and other random holes and protuberances. Then there are the high sidewalks with depressed driveways that you have to step down into and out of to continue on your way. No wonder Cairenes walk on the blacktop streets. But then, you have to make sure a taxi or other car's driver doesn't run over your foot. And believe me, it happens. I've gotten pretty good at crossing the street but downtown, it is treacherous. I did a little photo shoot of my walk - in real life, it looks worse, the photos make it seem not so bad but that's up to you to decide.

I find foam core at the art store on Ibrahim Mohamed Street near the art school. Lots of girls carrying their black portfolios and other art supplies, more than male students. So I wondered if the young women found that art was a safe major to pursue since most will get married and have families. I had one of those days where I would see a couple - Egyptian guy dressed in western wear with his wife all covered up, head to toe, only eyes showing and got annoyed. Some days it makes me really irritable and I want to yell at the men. The argument always is that a married woman is "protected" from the eyes of other men. Yes, I can see that but why are the men who might be ogling her so 1950s construction worker like in their patriarchal male chauvinist attitudes. Oh, the argument goes, they are frustrated. So what, do what men do, no not cheat on their wives or jump on foreign women, respect your Egyptian sisters. Really!

Anyway, it made me really happy to find the foam board rather than the heavy masonite backing that Mr. Helmy used in my last framed work. I am nearly finished with the backgrounds of two large 60 x 80 cm. acrylic paintings (background of rusty door with blue, white, yellow and some black paint that I photographed in Al Arish last Thursday. Then, I'm going to do a semi Ida Applebroog thing of having three 5" x 5" portraits of Bedouin women and children using the transfer technique on the bottom. I finally got the yellow paint with substantial drips the way I wanted. I've been working on this for three days now. It will take the last treatment a day or two to fully dry before the transfer. I have to have them ready by December 15th for a December 27th International Exhibition that Helwan University is sponsoring curated by Dr. Soheir Osman.

Sunday I went to the Khan Khalili to see if I could find some old beads. Note to self: never trust anyone who takes you to a shop. Prices are inflated because they get a cut of what you buy. They are all flattery and niceness until you find that the old beads you happily chose are 40 LE a gram, Even silver isn't more than 5 LE a gram though what's his name said it was 8 LE. I ended up culling my lovely collection of coral, turquoise, lapis and amber to four small pieces which I am embarrassed to admit, were very costly. If I had bought my small pile, they were going to charge me 6700 LE. Are they insane? No they thought I was. Beads do not cost that much. So I am back to ebay buying what I want at very reasonable prices. In case you don't know, 6700 LE is over $1000. I could nearly buy an ounce of gold for that! Anyway, lesson learned.

I'll post pics of the beads, my painting and the sidewalk horrors.

Remembering Jeanette

2009-12-01T13:57:00.004+02:00

My sister-in-law Jeanette, wife to my brother Joe in Colorado Springs, died Sunday night and I wanted to express my sadness of her death. She was diagnosed in the summer with a bilateral brain tumor which she didn't know she had until she took a nap and didn't wake up for over three weeks after her surgery. I met Jeanette when I was around 19 years old. We worked at a nursing home and she taught me how to take care of patients. Then my brother started working there, her pursued her despite objections from her mother, they married and were together for 37. They have two children, Gina (Regina) a working mother of two sons, and Ricky (Richard) who is in his second year of law school in New Mexico.

My brother Joe was such a good husband and provider. He took care of Jeanette himself with a little help from some friends and hospice at the end. A man like him is hard to find these days. Aside from her hospital stays after her two surgeries, she was at home.

Jeanette was a veteran shopper, she loved all sorts of things and kind of reminded me of myself alittle. My sister Loretta and I went to visit Joe and Jeanette this past August and helped Joe clean up a bit - all those clothes with tags still on etc. I hadn't seen my brother for many years. I got to meet my niece and nephew for the first time - they are both amazing. Joe is really close to his grandsons which will really help in the sad months to follow. Her funeral will be December 11th and she will be buried in the cathedral in the Queen of Angels side of the columbarium. Joe said she would have liked that.

Dis Manibus Jeanette, Rest in Peace.

Camping in the White Desert

2009-11-30T14:54:00.002+02:00

I just got back yesterday from four days, three nights camping in the White Desert. It is situated southwest of Cairo in between the Bahariya oasis (where the golden mummies were found) and the Farafra oasis. It takes quite a long time to reach Bahariya (nearly five hours) which we got to by a private Badawiya Expedition bus. We met at the British Council in Agouza just across the Nile from Zamalek. Four Fulbrighters including myself plus Jamie, a Brit who works as head honcho for Oxfam here in Cairo and Mona and Sharifa, mother and daughter. Mona is the owner of Nefertari, a natural cosmetics company now in its 10th year with stores in Zamalek and Maadi. I had made an expedition to Nefertari as I had read about it in our Cairo book; Oxfam and I have acquainted for years from my time in England and Oxford.

Once the police had copied our passports at the Bahariya oasis entrance and we looked at various handicrafts - the best of which were the sheep's wool blankets, nearly as soft as mohair or cashmere - Jamie bought a camel hair blanket which he will use as a rug on his rental apartment on a houseboat across the river from me - we changed transport to our 4 x 4 jeep. The desert road grew progressively bumpier with long long stretches of desert as far as the eye could see and beyond. It is said that there is 700,000 miles of desert and we had barely touched the fringes.
From Bahariya, we went on to our campsite, tired and hungry.

After some debate as to whether the five of us would all sleep in a large tent, we finally moved in. Jamie obtained the mattresses - thin pads of fabric covered foam and so the men were on one side of reed covered tent space while Joelle and I occupied the other side. Luckily I had brought a sheet as the blankets were scratchy camel wool. It was cold too as deserts are wont to be, warm in the daytime. We joined around 40 others - Egyptian families with rambunctious children and our Bedouin male hosts in charge of setting up tents, making our meals and driving us around. That night - Thanksgiving - we had grilled chicken on a metal grille directly over a fire, potatoes cooked in a large pot with with a tomato base, rice, chopped up tomatoes and cucumbers and assorted things to drink, nonalcoholic of course.

There was a three sided covered area to eat, again with the reed mats and the Egyptian families were at one side and we on the other. It was pretty much a quiet night and we retired fairly early. There were two porta-potties, one ostensibly for showering but really, that was an impossibility. Thankfully, I had brought facial wet wipes and body wipes and got myself ready for three more days of non-hair washing. There was a bit of snoring but I had brought ear plugs and proceeded to shiver myself to sleep.

Naturally, nature called and as the actual toilets were quite a walk in the dark - there was a 3/4 moon though - I looked around for anyone awake and nearsightedly saw none - walked or rather wobbled on the sand and saw that a 4 x 4 truck was parked conveniently not so far away from our square tent. I didn't really look into the truck but thankfully got behind it, squatted and peed with great relief. Once done, I looked up into the straw strewn night sky with too numerous to count stars, I have no idea what time it was - maybe 2 am. I'm glad I did see the sky because on the next two nights I woke up closer to dawn and couldn't see the abundance of stars as on the first night.

More later - for our second day's adventure.

My Next International Exhibition

2009-11-23T19:23:00.000+02:00

I met with Professor Soheir Osman today at the Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University in Dokki. She is such a wonderful woman and so generous with her time in the midst of all the work she has to do as Dean, teaching, curating an International Exhibition and her upcoming daughter's wedding. She had compiled a CD with 40-50 Egyptian women artists and their work; had an exhibition catalogue for me of women artists from Helwan University, and several other articles of information and images. I am so touched by her generosity. Dr. Taha Hussein had called her without notice when at our meeting a couple of weeks ago, I had mentioned that I was interested in interviewing and documenting women artists in Egypt. Dr. Hussein felt that my overly ambitious plan of visiting those 35+ workshops all over Egypt was a bit much for me to accomplish in 4 1/2 months. He's right - what with a whole month of Ramadan when I first arrived - and the brutally hot and humid weather - plus this new holiday tha coincides with our Thanksgiving - difficult to say the least.

However, I have an appointment with her tomorrow to drop off a CD with my c.v., photo portrait of myself and a photo of one of my paintings, I chose the Bedouin Girl who wasn't exhibited at the Al Bab Gallery at the Cairo Opera House complex. However, I am now working on a larger canvas which I sketched out in charcoal for a painting. I can exhibit two paintings so #1 is a group of three Bedouin children, two girls and a boy and the other one will be of Coptic Egyptian children but I haven't yet decided on which composition to do. I have until December 15th to bring the paintings in.

Tomorrow at 10 am I drop off the CD for the publisher - I am just under the wire for the catalogue. Did I mention that Dr. Osman asked if I were interested in exhibiting for their December 27th International Exhibition. She showed me who was exhibiting and the countries represented: Palestine, Oman, Canada, England, Australia, Holland, etc. and I (MOI) am the American participant. Wow! Dominique says that my stars are apparently lined up in the correct position for me. I will go to Soheir's studio on Sunday right after our Desert trip and take Dominique with me if she can go. We are supposed to get to Agouza at 6 pm and I thought we were getting back earlier as my appointment is 6 pm at her house/studio right on the Corniche de Nil. So I will have to tell her about the later time.

Tomorrow at noon, I will meet with Shayma to conduct interviews with the women who work on crafts at the All Saints Episcopal Church. Susie - an Egyptian woman who is a survivor of bad burns on her face as far as I could see, speaks some English and I will go to see her and the women. Finally, I have gotten more energetic (I am forcing myself and it is paying off) as the time for me in Egypt is winding down. I could do well here, I love how helpful my Egyptian friends are and I know now that I will have to apply for the WCU PASSHE grant for this coming summer. I want to study Arabic in Egypt and then I will be ready to apply for the Fulbright Hays Faculty Research Grant. So this is all for now, just wanted to catch up on today. I still have to fill in the blanks from Saturday's trip.

Wadi Heitan Valley of the Whales

2009-11-22T16:13:00.002+02:00

Saturday was an all day trip to the Valley of the Whales - a long ride by Land Cruiser 4x4s past Fayoum oasis. In 2005 skeletons of 39-43 million year old marine mammals were discovered throughout the desert floor close to Wadi Rayan. I'm not sure how truly accurate the claim is that these whales with vestigial limbs are the "missing link" between land based animals and ocean based animals. I thought it was the other way around that sea creatures gave rise to amphibians to truly land locked types which eventually became the might dinosaurs.

Well, be that as it may, it was still remarkable. What I loved were the "coins" small dime to quarter sized fossils which were once prehistoric single celled creatures around 43 million years ago. I collected a bunch of these from Wadi Ryan as there are millions of them and the geologist at the Valley of the Whales said that we could bring these home. Naturally, my over zealous collecting resulted in a little pouchful and I will have to cull my geological specimens before I go home. I was thinking that they would make interesting earrings but then, I would have to find some way to drill small holes in them - a talent beyond my capabilities at this time.

It was a very long day! We had a great lunch, albeit on the cold side, of chicken, large haunch of lamb and the usual rice with raisins, salad, etc. Our 4x4 jeeps were very axle impaired what with the bumpiness of the road but I made it home relatively intact.

Al Bab Gallery & Cairo Symphony

2009-11-17T21:07:00.002+02:00

Saturday night's art gallery opening was well attended even by the American Ambassador She didn't seem all that interested in me but was very courteous to my fellow Egyptian art colleagues. I got to meet Gazbia Sirry, the petite 80 something dynamo whose passion for painting has not ceased. She said her next showing of new work is slated for February 2010. Unfortunately, I won't make the opening but maybe her work will still be up when I return to Egypt for my presentation at Alexandria University March 2 to celebrate Women's History Month. I was really thrilled with the attendance of my Fulbright colleagues: Karl, Kathy and the kids, Karl Schaefer, Zohair, Dominique of course, Sussan and many others. Thank you all for coming. Shayma brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers - I felt like a rock star. Also my friends from the jewelry class of Women's Association in Zamalek. So impressed with the fact that they braved the horrendous traffic as it was the Egypt-Algeria finals. I loved seeing my friend Mounira because it's been a year and she has been so busy with with conferences in England, Austria and the U.S. just in the last couple of months.

Here are the artist's works that I felt were pretty fabulous: Gazbia Sirry, Khaled Hafez, Gamal Lamie, and Mostafa Razzaz. I have to get to the gallery tomorrow to take some photos as there were so many people there, I didn't get around to it. I want my readers to see it too. The other thing I wanted to mention was the ride home. It was difficult because all the taxis were full of people either going downtown where all the action was or from October 6 City that the U.S. Embassy issued a warning about since people get pretty worked up over soccer or football as they call it here. The rematch is tomorrow so more traffic woes. Anyway, we were finally picked up by a taxi whose wife and young daughter (with her face painted with Egypt's colors) were riding in the front seat. The photo I am posting will shock you as the mother had the baby daughter perched outside the window as if she was a dog needing air. I had given the child a few flowers from my bouquet and she, just like a femme fatate, had them in her mouth.

I just finished reading Taxi about taxi drivers in Egypt. The real life stories never cease to amaze me in terms of my own experiences. That child could have been decapitated at any time or at last made limbless as she put her little arm to pat the van next to the taxi. Sigh.

Garbage Collector's Village

2009-11-17T20:49:00.002+02:00

The Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE), Mansheyet Nasser, Mokkatam, Cairo, Egypt.

P.O. Box 32 Qal’a, Cairo, Mansheyet Nasser, Mokkatam
Telephone: Nicole Saad at 012-241-0522

Getting to the Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE) near the hills of Mokkatam, Cairo is a difficult if not impossible task with local transportation. Everyone in Egypt knows where the Garbage City location is yet few have ever visited the site. Additionally, not many residents outside of Mokkatam or visitors to Egypt know about APE though it is a model concept for recycling and for raising the esteem and livelihood of young and married Egyptian women. APE is close to the Coptic monastery chapels of St. Simon the Tanner. You should engage a driver who speaks Arabic (and who is willing to take you there) making frequent stops to ask directions, and a less than perfect sense of smell. You are, after all, going to a neighborhood where 7000 tons of garbage is dumped daily from over 20 million inhabitants of Cairo. You will know when you enter the “garbage collectors” village by the site and smell of piles of garbage, paper, styrofoam, plastic and other bits of flotsam and jetsam. Mahsheyet Nasser is home to some 30,000 zabbaleen (a name that means garbage collector) The total number of inhabitants of the whole of Mokkatam, a district within Cairo with few green trees but many shacks and jerry rigged apartments, is well over 1.2 million.

The zabbaleen are mainly Christian Copts, the Sai’idi from Upper Egypt. Sai’idis in Cairo are former fellahin who subsisted on farming for landlords in southern Egypt akin to the sharecroppers of the American dustbowl and south. They were landless peasants whose only available place to live was on the outskirts of Cairo once they severed ties with family and friends in the district of Badari, home to them for countless generations. As Cairo grew, they faced many evictions and relocations to places further and further away from the metropolitan center. The farmers had hoped that urban Cairo would allow them a new start, a better situation for themselves and their families. Unemployment is extremely high in Cairo, moreover, the fellahin were illiterate and unable to compete in the main job market of tourism and services. With their insufficient education and lack of established relationships in Cairo they took over the only job they were remotely qualified to do - the odious task of garbage collection run by middlemen living in Cairo and known to the urban households to which they had access. The middlemen established themselves in Cairo around the late 1920s and are known as waahi, a name for a dweller of the oases in Egypt. The zabbaleen coming from the Nile valley (Assiut province) paid for the privilege of collecting garbage on specified routes and turned over all paper products for recycling to their sponsors who made a good profit. Additionally, they had to rent the rooms they were assigned with the profits they made from all non-paper garbage. Organic refuse from the carts full of mixed rubbish was collected by their wives and daughters to feed the pigs which the family raised for their landlord. When mature, the pigs were sold for slaughter to the four main Coptic pork brokers; Muslims are forbidden from contact or even merchandizing pig related products. The pigsty was in back of the rental with waste piling up each day until it was removed (for a price) and sold by the dealer to farmers in the Delta area as uncomposted and bacteria laden fertilizer. With this kind of unhygienic work, the farmer and his family were hosts for disease and illness yet they persevered with long hours and back-breaking labor. Profits were made with items retrieved from the garbage of wealthier clients in the city such as electrical appliances, copper, tin, plastic and cloth. Rent money was obtained, pigsty and pig ownership was slowly gained and even some luxuries such as dowries for daughters and money for school for the sons were set aside.

Markaz Foundation, Maadi

2009-11-16T22:06:00.002+02:00

Markaz Crafts Revival & Development Center
1B, Road 199 (Entrance on Road 233)
Degla, Maadi
Telephone: 02 2754 7026 / 010 240 5858
Opening hours: Daily 10:00am - 7:00pm
Fridays & Holidays 1:00pm – 7:00pm

The beautifully designed Markaz showroom is not only a shop, it also functions as an organization which supports local crafts from all over Egypt, raising public awareness about the women who make their livelihoods from traditional handicrafts. Now of course, with shopping being a women’s pastime all over the more affluent nations of the world, Markaz puts together in one place, the finest products which are tailored to contemporary aesthetics. One would have to travel considerably and with some discomfort (dusty and bumpy roads, deserts, mountains and tiny Bedouin villages) within the many regions of Egypt to find these products if indeed, this were possible to the casual tourist. Many Bedouin women work at home, one rarely sees them at all in the marketplaces plying their goods as their husbands, brothers and sons bring their work to places like the Thursday Market in Al Arish. The items bought there might be one third the price that you find at Markaz, but in the end, one stop shopping when one has limited time, is priceless. Additionally, craft quality such as the silk embroidered bags from Fansina in South Sinai and the glorious textiles of Akhmin in the Sohag Protectorate is unrivalled amongst other shops in Cairo where the owners buy from similar NGOs and private groups.

The unique quality of the pillows, bedspreads, handbags and even dolls at Markaz is that the showroom employs designers who take individual pieces from tassels to beading and textiles and create truly gorgeous and one of a kind items as one can see from the photos above. The Markaz Foundation is dedicated toward the documentation of local and regional craft traditions and, as much as possible, their continuation. Different crafts produced in Egypt include baskets, pottery, embroidery, textile and carpet weaving, brass and leather work, papermaking, quilting and jewelry. Many contemporary Egyptian artists use traditional crafts or aesthetics in their own fine art.

Mohamed Amin is the founder and owner of Markaz Crafts Revival & Development Center in Maadi. He chose the name Markaz because it means center and his is a center of craft from production to education. He is passionate about the concept and the continuation of preserving Egypt’s most precious traditions from the 11-13 Bedouin tribes as well as regional Nubian, Sai’idi and even Sudanese artisans who have immigrated to Egypt. I first became interested in local crafts two years ago while on a Fulbright Hays Summer Seminar to Egypt. I had found several craft stores in Cairo such as Nomad and Fair Trade Egypt’s Craft Store but until now, had not discovered additional centers such as Markaz. I had learned about Fansina Crafts in South Sinai which employs Bedouin women from local villages in 2007 as well and found the project there to be enlightening and beautiful. Then in the summer of 2008, I returned to Cairo and visited around seven NGOs such as APE, Basheyer, El Nafeza and others. It wasn’t until last week that I found Markaz with the help of Sussan, who lives in Maadi.

Markaz was actually conceived on a smaller scale by Mohamed Amin in 1996 and then started in a small way, in 1999. Foundations such as Markaz are not a handout but a hand up to bring dignity, economic freedom, and appreciation to the artisans. In Egypt, associations are based on kinship and honor among friends. It is nearly impossible for a foreigner to truly understand and take part directly in such working relationships. The ability of women to create such astonishingly beautiful handmade products has escaped the notice of most tourists to Egypt. Traditional wedding dresses and headpieces are often showcased but are not really practical as purchases for most. Ethnic Bedouin and Nubian jewelry is sold at high prices over the Internet on eBay and other African craft marketplaces and even in the Khan el Khalili when one can find them. Each piece is unique and savvy Egyptian and European collectors have all but cornered that market. However, the documentation of these crafts and new marketing to target an appreciative audience through publications like the AUC’s plan to publish fourteen books on crafts through a project run by Professor Robert Jones in his Community based Learning Project will provide a wonderful resource and economic freedom for the workers employed not only by Markaz but other NGOs with similar objectives.

The most important life-giving aspect to the craft tradition is a gradual switch from function to the decorative arts. An appreciation of artisan crafts brings a different sort of awareness to us all from the mass consumption of cheaply made objects toward a love of beauty, nature, handmade and unique pieces. Even if every type of weaving pattern and embroidered stitching types fall along the wayside and exist only in books, at least the continuation of some will ensure their survival and appreciation for the people as cultural treasures. Young people often leave their villages to go into the city for education and jobs. Unemployment is high even with a university degree. For the Bedouin and Nubian younger generation a sense of family may be lost along with a sense of belonging and being proud of their culture. There is still a chance for a reversal of fortune not just economically but aesthetically when people like Mohamed Amin and others like him use their talents to revive a nation so rich in history and cultural traditions.

copyright V. M. da Costa

Coptic Christianity in Egypt

2009-11-12T18:47:00.004+02:00

In the 1st century CE, Egypt was evangelized by St. Mark who came to Alexandria two times c. 50 CE to found a School of Theology. The Romans considered St. Mark to be a threat to their authority and he was martyred in Alexandria c. 60 CE. By the 3rd century CE or so all Egyptians were Christians. By the same token, the Christians who had persecuted the Egyptian temple priests were themselves now persecuted. How was this massive Christianization accomplished? Purgatory, Heaven and Hell were all incorporated into ancient Egyptian beliefs despite the fact that their religion was polytheistic in nature. The Romans who had conquered Egypt in 30 BCE had mistreated the indigenous population so they turned to the new religion which was similar to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (the Book of Going Forth by Day) with its promise of immortality in the next life.

In 284 CE, the Emperor Diocletian's persecutions of Christians were the most brutal. The Coptic calendar begins with the year 284. The Emperor Constantine became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity on his deathbed and declared toleration of the religion. Two churches were developed: 1) the Church of Alexandria and 2) the Church in Rome. After the persecutions, the two Churches parted. The Aryan controversy which focused on the nature of Jesus Christ gave rise to theological discussions which met in Ephesus. There were two interpretations: One was the Monophysite which said that one cannot separate the divine nature of Christ from his human nature and that Mary was the Mother of God (Orthodox Egyptian religion); the Diophysite emphasized the divinity of Jesus Christ versus the humanity of Jesus Christ which stated that Mary was the mother of the human Jesus. Sound confusing?

The 4th Council of 451 CE decided on the Diophysite interpretation but Egypt refused this branch of theology and thus began the Egyptian Coptic Church. The literal meaning of Copt is Egyptian. When the Muslims came to Egypt, the word Coptic meant religion. The Byzantine Church tried to bring the Egyptian Church back and a second wave of persecutions developed this time, Christians against Christians. The Muslims helped the Egyptian Copts and the Egyptian Copts helped the Muslims fight against the Byzantine empire and the Crusaders.

Architectural differences in Coptic versus Byzantine style - The Coptic Church is rectangular with three chapels which harkens back to the Pharaonic Temple style (Temple of Isis,Philae). For Egyptian Copts, art and architecture was a cry for identity. An example is thelate 7th century CE Coptic Church also known as the Hanging Church (also known as El Muallaqa) because it rests between two towers. There may have been an earlier 4th century church built in the vicinity but archaeological eremains have not been identified. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a local female martyr. The Copts have their own popes (Patriarchs); however Coptic priests can marry while Roman Catholic priests cannot. In a Coptic Church the vaulted roof is meant to remind the faithful of Noah's Ark. The Iconostasis is separate and divides the main chapel from the church.

Coptic language was the last development of ancient Egyptian language. Hieroglyphic, Hieratic and Demotic. There are many archaeologists who claim that with Christianity, the Egyptian priests were killed or driven out and the knowledge of hieroglypics was eventually lost. While this is true, the rest of the Egyptians spoke Demotic and the Coptic language is a direct descendant giving us a linguistic link to ancient Egyptian language.

For Copts, the relics of martyrs and icons are important (as they are in Catholicism but in a different way). Saint worship is extremely significant and worship of the Virgin Mary is of the highest degree of worship and respect.There are 110 icons in the Hanging Church of the Virgin Mary.

Unlike the Roman's love of colored marble, it wasn't in strong usage in Egypt until the 11th century. Columns in a Coptic church often have one black column to symbolized Judas. The star pattern is a Mamluke innovation with a tongue and groove technique employing ivory and wood. The representation of the fish is Coptic but it was also used in Pharaonic Egypt. Baptism in the Coptic religion takes place in a font where the infant is dipped into the water three times to symbolize the Trinity.

Nothing is so strange as a stranger in a strange land - Camus

2009-11-12T15:26:00.004+02:00

To watch and to wait,
To hear but miss nuances of conversation
Is to be alien and left alone
To draw conclusions that may be false.
To begin at the beginning because there is no end,
Sometimes adrift without worry,
Tossed in a small boat in stormy seas
Or floating without movement in still water.
Splashes of color along dusty roads,
Faces seared by the sun,
Flicking away flies and ants
Intruders in the small niches of calm.
Never fully here but certainly not there,
Never lost, yet neither fully found.

In the vast sea that is my universe,
I find small islands with clear water
Seek and find in the desert oases,
Heavy dates hanging from the palms
I snatch these stolen sweets and greedily eat
Ever aware, I tread lightly in the dark
And find my way, nourished and alone.
My colors are the greens and blues of the Nile
Oxidized copper and tarnished silver
I find beauty in the most ordinary things
And seek within my soul, the seeds of serenity.

Alexandria Poem

2009-11-12T15:16:00.003+02:00

The setting sun on leaving Alexandria
Was on fire as if it would burn the earth
When it reached the horizon.
A deep vermillion pyridoxine orange
I expected to see at any moment
Flames bursting forth from its fiery surface.
They say the brilliant colors of a sunset
Are most spectacular when airborne pollutants
Fill the city skies at dusk.
A big price to pay but a spot of beauty nonetheless

Do the poor on the rooftops of Cairo
Look up at day's end to admire
The color so sacred to Buddha who they know nothing about?
Is their world affected by the sun as in ancient times
When the sun god Ra was all important?

In the lifeblood of its people
The Nile and the Sun once ruled supreme.
Though the Nile no longer floods in summer
The sun still rises in the east each dawn
And boats still sail.
The poor are still farmers as in ancient times
The Pharaoh is now president of the Republic
And Nubian soldiers are now police of every category.

The Only Book Binder in Cairo

2009-11-06T23:07:00.002+02:00

I made it finally to the book binder's shop behind Al-Azhar Mosque across the street from the Khan Khalili. He is so amazing. Love the hand bound books. So thought I would post a few pictures. Of course I made it out of the store with two gift bags full of books with Fabriano paper stamped with my initials in gold and other items.

I've been working on more portraits but it is going a bit slower. I did get my Costa Rica March 8-12, 2010 application finished but must work on the bigger grant proposal for the Fulbright Hays grant. I'm shooting for a three month grant during the summer of 2011. Finally, I have loads of stuff to plan ahead for and I'm still here in Cairo for another two months or so.

Picked up my framed portraits from Helmy the framer - oak, gallery frames with matting, back board, wire and glass for 180 LE which is around $36 each. I took a cab to the Abiba Gallery which is in the Cairo Opera Complex that also houses the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art - chose the four that would be in the exhibition and set off with the other two back to my place. It was really hard to choose. I am nearly finished with Maria's portrait and also with Shayma holding Safety. I'm rather proud of my ability to make that black cat look like a cat. Still having trouble with her hand holding him and a little ackward part between her hand, turquoise shirt and the bottom of the cat. Still, I'm happy with the rest. I have trouble with necks sometimes fitting the anatomically correct position under the head and joining with the shoulders. I also have a sketch prepared of this wonderful sweet old lady who was quite arthritic but still managed to smile a bit in her wheelchair. And Ranya's portrait is halfway done. I was in near despair over how it was turning out. I can't even remember how many times I painted her eyes in and out and back in as well as her lips which are so distinctive. I think the trouble comes with painting people you want to impress. I wonder if Velasquez suffered the same doubts? I have to get that distinctive individual gleam in the eye. I was pretty pleased to hear that Helmy was having a conversation with the people I painted as he was framing "them." Sweet!

Thursday, was our jewelry class day for the Khan and picking out strands of beads, silver beads in jars,Bedouin remnants,etc. I ended up staying longer so I could seekout the Bedouin shop again and it paid off. First I had lunch at Naguib Mafouz again and then fortified, it was off to my favorite shop. I have started a necklace with an old silver Bedouin piece from the Spanish jewelry dealer who has old stuff beneath his showcase. The rest is old glass beads from my cannibalizing old pieces from the Bedouin shop with mostly copper jewelry and low grade silver. I bought three old pieces with dangling pseudo-coins and the glass beads that he had made into keychains. Plus, I asked if he had any more glass beads - he only had light and dark amber colored ones so 12 each for me. My "keychains" had green, blue, clear, turquoise, cobalt. The only thing is, is that I want to redo the necklace that you will see posted so that I have old silver beads all the same interspersed with the glass beads. And I now have four medallion pieces which I shined up with Oxy-Clean. Oxy-Clean, I learned from personal experience, gets hot when water is added which surprised me!

My felucca ride for tonight had to be postponed as I have not been feeling my best for a couple of days. Sunday is a Fulbright guest lecture on human rights in Islam from 5:00-6:30 pm. So enough for now. Promise to blog more!

So Far Behind in my Blogs

2009-11-01T17:33:00.004+02:00

It's not that I have done nothing this past week, I have done loads of things. Yet, I feel so guilty! Anyway, the coolest thing this week was the Blues Concert funded by the American Embassy at the Pyramids on Friday. The Embassy sponsored this for free and I had already missed the previous two earlier in the week. A friend of Kathy's at AUC who teaches math got a van together and there was a spare seat. So for 25 LE which included our driver's tip, it was off to Giza for the 4 pm concert. And once again, it was raining but not bad. You would scoff at what we called rain in PA or DC. A few cold fat raindrops for 30 minutes but after the concert, we could flashes of lightening.

Anyway, I came armed with my camera and got some photos of two little Egyptian girls selling postcards - they had blonde hair and hazel eyes. Dominique has seen them before - I guess that is their job. I swear they are only around 10 years old or so. And yes, blond kinky curly hair. One of the girls gave me a postcard of Nefertiti and Prince Ranofer and Nofret. I took her picture with her sister and yes, another portrait. So a boy with THE MOST beautiful eyes asked me to take a picture of him. Just for the sake of his gorgeous eyes, I couldn't resist - he must have been around 13 or 14. Kids seem smaller here too especially the poorer ones. Imagine Peggy having little Sarah selling postcards to help feed your family! So sad really. They were really cute and street savvy but still innocent. I wanted to save them and educate them.

Then once the music started, some older boys were jammin' and dancing' Chris and Katie would have been there in front of the stage too. I decided after a while to dance with some little Egyptian teen girls. A couple less shy danced with me. At one point we were surrounded by a gaggle of teaming teenage testosterone. I guess I was the hot foreigner, ha ha. After a while, our hostess Kathy asked me if I would dance with other girls. Apparently, most of the teeneage boys and girls had come to Giza on a big bus -from Fayoum, Beni Suef south of Fayoum and Minya whichis about 4 hours away and south. The teacher who asked was a male teacher from Minya. He told me that the girls from Minya are shy. So I did a Marshall Becker impression taking individual girls by the hand, twirling them around for a couple of minutes and then to another girl. I would say around four girls out of twenty wouldn't dance. I kind of felt like a fairy godmother of dancing. One petite girl said she loved me. And of course, no one else was dancing with the girls. They certainly wouldn't be comfortable dancing with thei male classmates.

Also, the music was incredible. The Blues Band was from the U.S. they had us singing along for the chorus of certain songs. It was truly magical with the sun setting behind the pyramids right in front of us. After that, I was so exhausted that I couldn't even manage going upstairs for dinner with the Lorenz family. I collapsed in my bed, tired and happy and astonished at what had occurred. It was a pharaonic moment - I think I was chanelling a dancing girl for the god Amun-Ra - a noble position in ancient Egypt!

Rain and Scalloped Potatoes in Cairo

2009-10-26T20:32:00.002+02:00

Yes, it did rain today - I felt drops that kept falling on my head but sadly, it wasn't much in the way of real rain like we get in Delaware and Chester county. Just enough to make a little bit of acid rain and add to the 0.07 inches that fall in the Cairo area per year.

I did go out on a two hour walk, not planned to be so long but it took me a while to check out a couple of stores I had wanted to see. One of these was And Company where my jewelry teacher designs earrings and necklaces and bracelets. I looked at the price tags of a few necklaces and they were around 300-350 LE. Not bad if you consider the workmanship and unique beads - it's around $60. Of course, making the necklaces myself in class and buying the beads of semi-previous stones and silver is around 1/3 of the store price which is nothing. We will learn more techniques and get more practice this Thursday and NEXT WEEK get to go with teach' to the bead stores of the Khan. I still remember dipping my hands into the huge bowls of silver and coral and lapis in Rabat, Morocco.

Dragging my feet and sweaty despite the slightly lower temperature, I stopped at Mandarine Koueder for a lemon ice gulping it down to try and cool myself. Then once at home, those two cans of orange soda Mirinda worked like a charm.

Before coming home though, I wandered around trying to find the natural cosmetics shop called Nefertari. The street I was looking for was parallel to And Company but it had a different name, hence the senseless wandering. Just about ready to give up, it appeared. And then there was another one after I had purchased some things at the first one. They specialize in oils, soaps, Egyptian cotton robes and towels, scrubs and other fun things. Without much thought, I grabbed a wooden container of Egyptian kohl for the eyes (my unadorned eyes are looking so plain, I need help), Moroccan liquid soap in a mason jar. The directions say to soak in a hot tub covering the body. They haven't seen my reduced size tub! Hope I can get out of it. I also hope that my makeshift stopper works - my sister Loretta gave me a jar opener and hey, it's plastic and rubbery and just might work. The directions also said you needed a Moroccan scrub mitten and they had them. I bought one for Dominique too as she had been looking for one. They are NOT like loofahs but not quite like brillo pads. Kind of like the stuff you scrub your pots with! I guess that's why you have to soak first to loosen the dead skin. I may have to use the plunger again.

Now I'm cooking scallop potatoes with mushrooms, a bunch of butter, a combination of left over Egyptian soft cheese and will top it off with some shredded mystery cheese and roasted garlic. One half hour and voila! Vegetarian dinner. It won't be as good as Peggy's fabulous scallop potatoes but it will satisfy me and Dominique anyway. I used two packages of mushrooms and sauteed them in butter and layered them in with the thinly sliced potatoes. After this weekend's staring fish for lunch it will be a welcome change.

Alexandria Trip

2009-10-25T11:48:00.002+02:00

We just got back from a Fulbright overnight trip to Alexandria - a whole busload of us. Fulbright paid for everything - a room in a nice hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, all of our meals and sightseeing. Our meals featured seafood and I thought of Nancy, who when we traveled, would take off the legs of my shrimp. Our first lunch was three shrimp with their legs and heads on!! And the worst was the whole fish we each got which wasn't that well cooked. I was feeling queasy? but was OK but Ranya who works in the office had to leave the sightseeing early and was violently ill. Luckily she made it to the hotel in time. Maria the 14 year old was horrified at the face and could barely eat her rice. The ice cream with pomegranate sauce was good. That night we had beef slices in a kind of sauce and chocolate mousse - the salad with feta cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes was excellent. Then our last lunch was, you may be guessing this, another whole fish but cooked a bit more.

We toured the Jewish Synagogue in Alexandria and got to take pictures - there are only 18 women and 4 men left. Our guide was the youngest at 54 years old, the rest of the men are in their 80s or 90s. The women are pretty old too and taken care of in a special rest home. There used to be 35,000 Jews but with the war of the 40s and 50s in Egypt, most moved to Israel and Europe and the US. They had always gotten along with the Muslims and Christians but things changed drastically mostly American meddling in politics as usual.

We then went to St. Marks church - a Coptic church in Alexandria. They are the proud owners of the head of St. Mark. We went down into the crypt of the church - had to take our shoes off to walk down the concrete stairs to peer into a glassed in window, except for a hole where people would write their prayers and drop them in. No head visible unfortunately as I had hoped - just lots of dried up flowers and pieces of paper. In the time of the Crusades, St. Mark's body was smuggled out - the story I know is that they covered the body in its container with large pieces of pork which the Muslims would not have disturbed and so didn't stop the merchants on their way to Venice where his body is. How did Alexandria get his head? Oh through later negotiations with the Pope in Rome and the Patriarch in Alexandria. Kind of like the way St. Catherine of Siena is divided up. In Siena they have her head and one pinky finger and the rest of the body is in Rome. Weird but so fascinating.

We drove through a district called the Atarine where lots of reproduction antique furniture was made and sold and, sold as real antiques. Stuff from the 19th century. Pretty nice furniture ornate, covered in gold ormulu which is the embellishments on wood furniture. We passed one antique store (we only had a bus view) that looked promising with lots of old silver and metal things. Unfortuntely this trip was a whirlwind.

Up early the next morning in time for a lavish buffet breakfast where Dominique and I had omelettes made to order. I was admiring the omelette maker's skill in flipping the eggs and he offered to let me do it but I declined as the eggs would have landed on the floor. So he flipped mine again. Oh the things men do when they are complimented!! Tiny croissants were on my plate too. I was waiting for the new batch of crepes but we didn't have enough time. Just enough time to get a French press cup of coffee. Then off on the bus for a tour of the Biblioteca Alexandrina where one of the Fulbright scholars who is a librarian is working.

Our final lunch after the very fast tour of 3 hours at the library was lunch and this time with some of the Fulbright alumni (the Egyptian ones). I met one of the artists who is exhibiting at the CairoOpera House and found that I am one of about 10artists and the only non Egyptian. Wow, I really fell into something pretty cool. I am ready to start painting again. Gamal, the artist was so funny, we sat next to each other and then an Egyptian physicist, Wegdan - a woman - sat with us too. She was so animated and traveled all over the US and Europe. Her next trip is to Boston and she asked me if I needed anything from Boston, how cute. Then she is probably going to Seattle next to collaborate on a project. It's so nice to meet the professors they are so charming, women and most men (well the artists I have met anyway).

I slept late today. I had gotten up really early with a headache and took a Fiorinal then heard Dominique leave at 8:30 and I went back to sleep until 11 or so. Had some coffee and rice pudding for breakfast. I have been eating too much what with the Chris and Katie visit and the Fulbright food fests so back on the wagon. Our shower was still clogged when we got home with standing water so we had to rouse ourselves at 9 pm to walk to the Alfa Market to try to find a plunger and draino. We found both and I plunged the shower successfully. It was gross but I was happy it worked, used the shower attachment to send boiling water down the drain then had to use my makeshift cleanser - oxyclean to clean the tub and now it is in good shape.

Must get it together today and get some work done. I meet with my Helwan professor Dr. Taha Hussein in Applied Arts on Tuesday and I want to print out my research schedule to show him. I'm tired already.

Beading class, Women's Association

2009-10-22T19:44:00.003+02:00

Today was my first beading/jewelry class at WA headquarters on 11 Yehia Ibrahim Street in Zamalek, Cairo. Our teacher has been making jewelry for 15 years and is part of a shop in my section of Cairo called And Company. She gave us the basics with tools which we didn't really need today but there were beads and wire to string them on. She also brought the book on Crystals and their Healing Power which I have a version of at home. I was going back and forth between fondling the jasper and the carnelian/agate then placing the beads and replacing others until I found a combination of them that I was pretty happy with. In two weeks, we go on a field trip to the Khan to a huge bead shop where we can choose our own silver spacers and beads, stones, etc. which will be much better.

I ended up making a carnelian and pearl necklace which I think looks pretty good. Our teacher helped us with making the clasp and voila! My necklace was worn home. I'll post the picture of the necklace soon. So now you know what I will be giving out as gifts this year - earrings and necklaces made in Egypt. That's all for now. Off to Alexandria tomorrow for a Fulbright trip

Shahira Mehrez Fashion Show

2009-10-20T23:27:00.002+02:00

10:00 am bus trip to the Fostat Souk to see a fashion show of Bedouin and other Egyptian traditional dress by collector Dr. Shahira Mehrez. This trip was sponsored by the Women's Association of Cairo of which I am a new member. I sat next to a wonderful Egyptian woman, Edna from Heliopolis who was at least 75 years old. She was a wonderful and lively woman in spite of her having a headache. She told me she has, first thing in the morning, a cup of Turkish coffee and two cigarettes plus breakfast and she is set for the day. Only two cigarettes per day, she says it makes her calm and ready for anything. I rubbed her neck and told her to massage it to alleviate the headache since she doesn't like to take any kind of pills beyond the one she takes for high blood pressure and something else for her osteoporosis. The women were saying "how do you know about this?" I said I was a healer and an artist. Just simple things. Lots of Egyptian women, American women, French etc. who live in Cairo and are English speaking belong to this association. There are a lot of activities sponsored as I may have mentioned in a previous blog.

The fashion show started at 11:30 am and was an hour with countless examples of dress from Siwa to Upper Egypt and Nubia. I bought a Bedouin bracelet and earrings later on at one of the shops there. I also have contact information for Shahira who has a grand opening of her collection and shop on the 27th in Dokki.

All in all, a great day. I had the chance to speak to so many women. We took the bus back to the Cairo Marriott and I exalted in the cool air conditioned palace of a hotel. It's my place to get money from the ATM and today, the bank clerk at the Bank of Alexandria there gave me change for 400 LE in all the bills I could desire. It is sooo hard to get change here and so helpful to have small bills. Imagine walking around with $100 bills and you want to ride the bus and purchase a ticket with one. That's what it is like here.

Well, must go now. Tomorrow is jewelry class at the Women's Association in Zamalek very close to me at 11 Yehia Ibrahim Street.

Monday means Saqqara

2009-10-19T20:26:00.002+02:00

Today was our day to visit Saqqara and Dashur. I had called Mohamed, our taxi driver for pur taxi tour appointment last night and our agreed upon time was 10:00 am. He called this morning to tell me he was running fifteen minutes late. While waiting at the garage, we got an earful from his brother in law about the magnetic qualities of the pyramid at Dashur. He was trying to tell us that you go into the pyramid, it smells like ammonia (ugh, like the worst collection of cat pee ever) and then you go to the top chamber and go into a yoga pose and meditate for 15-30 minutes. He said you would feel tired but three days later, would have amazing energy. Hmmm. We couldn't get past the nasty cat pee smell. We couldn't wait to get out of there. Somehow, I don't remember it smelling that bad before but then it was at least ten years that I was there. We saw the Bent Pyramid from a distance and got back into our taxi. Katie was suffering from acute ammonia poisoning and then we went to Saqqara.

The best part of Saqqara is the limited number of people who go there. It was much cheaper than Giza which you can see in the distance. First we paid to get in, 15 LE for students and teachers. Katie must have batted her eyelashes and swung her blonde hair because she didnt have a student card but got the student price. Chris had to pay 30 LE. When we got in the area, I saw that admission to the New tombs was extra and the guard let us pay 50 LE for all three. A guy took us dowm to the tomb area which was discovered in 1954 but only open to the public for the past 5 years. He gave us a nice little introduction then called for the guard to open the tombs. Of course, I had to see them. The usual "no cameras, no photos" but still it was worth a look.

Our guard came clad in a dark blue gallabiya with grizzled face and sprouting facial hairs. He immediately launched into who the men were - two twin brothers who were high priests at Abu Sir and also the pharaoh's manicurists. You see, no ordinary person could touch the pharaoh because he was considered to be a god so it was a good side job for priests apparently. Here's where the fun began. Our guard said, it's OK for photos. Yessiree, I took lots. The boys are there holding hands, with baskets of food before them, there are men butchering cows, milking cows, calves being born all in super graphic detail. It was exciting because I had never seen them before and because I got to photograph the forbidden images. Plus, I tipped our guard 20 LE for the privilege. Then we went to another tomb with more scenes. The last tomb was not as colorfully painted but there were scenes of grape picking, graphe smashing and wine making. Now there's an article for a wine magazine or blog! Another 20 LE tip and our guard was quite happy. I took a picture of Chris with him and then Chris took a picture of me with him. Oh yeah, part of the tip was a pen which he asked me for. No problem, happy to oblige. I think he said he had six children, he may have been charged up by my proximity to make number seven - was that a compliment?

We walked to the Pyramid of Unas just up the causeway of Dynasty 5 which had covered over the tombs we had just visited. I had been in Unas House of Eternity before but this time it was closed. Too bad as there were the first pyramid texts on the inner walls of the tomb. they were bringing in camera equipment and it was closed to the public. We also asked about getting into the Pyramid of Djoser but that too was closed as it often is. There was a flurry of activity setting in new limestone blocks apparently to shore up the very first stone pyramid albeit in stepped mastaba form. some of the stones seemed to be in mid avalanche down the six steps. I told Katie and Chris about the heb sed festival of revealing the strength of the pharaoh. we made our way down to Mohamed and the taxi - tore into our turkey and cheddar sandwiches and decided to skip the Mastaba tomb of Mereruka. It was enough for the day which was very very smoggy with the rice straw burning and heat of the day. It was overcast but not in a good way.

Last stop, Nomad store on the Corniche Nil - larger than the small store in the Cairo Marriott - so Katie could buy a small pillow case with a camel on it. We got home, I opened a Stella Egyptian beer and went to bed promising the three kids that I would order pizza for dinner. Mohamed is taking them to the airport at 10:00 pm tonight so they have plenty of time for their flight back to Prague where the rest of their journey continues. The end for now. Pizza was great - I also got a small apple pie and a small lemon meringue.

Sunday, Nafeza and Khan Khalili

2009-10-19T19:29:00.005+02:00

Waking up LATE, we join up with Shayma (Chris, Katie, Dominique and Ginger)and take the metro to Fostat to visit the workshop of el Nafeza. Since we had Chris with us, we couldn't take the women's carriage in the metro and had to be crammed together in the everyone but God carriage, stinky men, brave women, and more stinky men. We did meet a Bulgarian group who were part of an experimental theater troupe who were performing that night and they invited us to come see their performance. We waited until the first metro had left as it was jam packed with the same mix of people. Ugh. So with the second car, we got on and stood the entire time. That's what happens at the Sadat station as it is the main place to change for other metros.

El Nafeza is in the same complex of studios and workshops as Darb 17 18 which we also visited. Enas was there, the wife of Mohamed el Nagy who is in charge of the workshop that mainly trains deaf/mute young men and women. Everyone was working that day on colored vats of paper pulp making magenta, royal blue, turquoise and green paper. We observed the entire process from the cleaning of the straw bales to the boiling of the straw which seemed to be releasing some rather toxic fumes. Upon arrival, Enas took us around and explained the process. She had working with her in the workshop, a French women who is helping to get them more business. She said that just now, Diwan's book shop was making an order to have in their bookstore which is across the street from where I live across 26 July Street. The finished materials have changed somewhat beyond the packets of paper, lampshades, and scrapbooks, to more embossed paper which they were fashioning into magazine holders and other items.

Immediately on going outside to where the paper was being macerated and then dumped into tanks where screens accepted the slurry of rice paper pulp, we met little Akhmed the small son of one of the deaf mute workers. His father is also deaf as is Akhmed. He would scream with delight when I would show him a photo I had taken of him. He wanted me to take photos of everything! So I will post some of Akhmed posing next to ultramarine blue sheets of paper adhering to the stone walls; Akhmed lifting up a chair, Akhmed posing, etc. Just recently, the shop obtained a paper press which they use to make smoother versions of the rougher rice paper.

I purchased six larger sheets and a pack of 20 sheets around the size of my portraits. I thought I would use it in the same way for painting portraits in my series. With the day's photos and from Saturday's as well, I have several more choices for my Faces in Egypt. Chris and Katie each bought some items and somehow I have been roped into taking Chris's scrapbook and a few papyrus paintings home with my stuff. Hmmm.

It is actually Monday now but I wanted to keep the day's activities in order. After Nafeza, we went back downtown via metro and this time, I told Chris to go in the men's car and how many stops (four) and we women went into the all girl car. It was pretty crowded in ours but no stinkiness. Chris was treated to a lot of armpit odors. He's a good sport. From there, both Shayma and Dominique were too tired to acompany us to the Tentmaker's area or Khan Khalili. We took a taxi to the Bab Zuweila right at the entrance to the clothing district. For the life of me, I couldn't find the place where they made tents. We needed Shayma with us but she was under the weather. After a truck backing up nearby ran over a woman's foot - Chris said he heard an audible crunch - and the woman was screaming in pain. We decided, actually, I decided to hightail it out of there with the kids in tow.

We decided next to get to the Khan Khalili and Naguib Mafouz cafe so off we went. The day then turned around for the better. After a great "light" lunch around 4:00 pm or so, we were well fueled for some last minute shopping. Katie needed scarabs in different colors for the boys she babysat and Chris wanted some papyrus as well as some small stuffed camels at the bargain price of 45 LE for three of them. Katie got her small scarabs in turquoise, ultramarine blue, lime green and light blue for 2 LE each. We found a nice guy in his shop who took us directly to the Bedouin shop. I couldn't have found it on my own and there was Ahmed who I had met last year. We browsed around the shop and went upstairs too where he has stacks of old Bedouin costumes, face veils and other assorted Bedouin items. I bought an Eye charm with dangling chains and beads on it, a set of silver and amber earrings, a Siwa ring for a perfect price. I think Ahmed has a crush on me but not in an icky way. I got several of his business cards so that I would never lose his shop again. I intend to take Carla there when she comes to visit December 31.

Saturday, October 17

2009-10-17T20:56:00.002+02:00

Today we woke up late! We did make our way out of the apartment to see the Ibn Tulun Mosque, the oldest mosque in Cairo. It was an incredible space. I gave the foot cover man 5 LE and off we shuffled off. The place was huge.Not really used extensively as a mosque but WOW, what a place. We got to climb the minaret, the only one of its kind with the spiraling form. And that was an experience. While there, we met a young girl Salema and her father visiting Egypt from Saudi Arabia. He was a mechanical engineer. We talked about the problem with the black cloud of Cairo and pollution and the possible solutions. Salema was so cute, in her last year of high school. She wants to pursue a degree in art but her father is into medicine or engineering. Her sister is a pharmacist and her mother's side of the family have some artists. I took her email address down so I can help advise her and her father thanked me. I seem to be adopting more and more children these days. Spreading goodwill around the world.

Again,the photos from today were really good. We were hungry but I wanted to take the kids into the Khan Tulun - a shop where there are good prices, lots of handicrafts and less insane than the Khan Khalili. Chris and Katie managed to buy some presents and even Dominique got some things, postcards mainly. Earlier today, I bought a fold old laminated map of the Western desert from the mini Diwan's bookshop at the Marriott Hotel. The kids needed more money and I figured I would take out a little more.

We have vowed to get up early tomorrow at least by 9 am so we can go to Nafeza papermaking shop in the Fostat area, from there to the Tentmakers Bazaar and then finally to Khan Khalili. Also tomorrow night is the boat ride down the Nile. So many things to see, too little time. Monday is the day to go to Saqqara for the Stepped Pyramid and tombs of Nobles as well as maybe Dashur for the Red pyramid. I have to call Mohamed the taxi driver to remind him. More bargaining for the drive. But so worth it. Signing off for now as I want to get to Diwan's. I had Katie go with Dominique and Chris and I will follow.

Yesterday, Pyramids

2009-10-17T20:22:00.002+02:00

Waking up pretty late yesterday, 12:30 pm to be exact with Chris' knocking on my bedroom door saying Ginger, get up, we got ourselves together for a trip to the pyramids. My original plan was to go to the Metro and ride to Giza then a short taxi to the 7th ancient wonder of the world. However, with our time constraints, I switched to plan B. This was to find the taxi driver in the underpass who I had ridden with before somewhere. He spoke good English and I learned his name was Mohamed. I had lost his card before but got another one. Bargaining began with the starting price of 200 LE but oh no, I said 100 LE and he said 150 LE, it's a long way and finally, we agreed on 100 LE with waiting for us in addition to taking us to a restaurant called Andrea.

As we were nearly there, I asked how much a camel ride would be and so straight away, we were wisked to the stable area - THE place to get the horses and camels that one rides around the pyramids and sphinx. We had to give 100 LE each for the camels - yes, I know, I had said never again for a camel ride. But I was assured that these particular camels were safe, their owners were good and didn't maltreat their animals. Apprehensive, I agreed since the 100 LE would cover a 45 minute tour around the pyramids. Of course, we had to pay to get into the pyramid area - 30 LE with my ITIC and 60 for Chris and Katie who didn't have one. Katie forgot hers at home, silly girl! The discounts you can get with an ISIC is very good here in Egypt, Turkey and other places, not so much in Europe.

Anyway, we had some intermediary guy who made me promise to visit his "papyrus and perfume" shop. Yadda yadda yadda. Our camels were brought to us in the stable parking lot by Omar, our guide and little Akmed who is in training to learn English. I got to ride Ali Baba, Chris had Mr. Lover, Katie on California. All were boy camels I learned after inquiring. Omar said the girl camels are not allowed for tourists because they cry all the time, no not the tourists but the camels. The tourists cry the next day with inner thigh pain! I was a little apprehensive naturally because of my experience two years ago. Ali Baba was such a nice camel - all white and well behaved. As soon as we got into the pyramid enclosure, Omar got on my camel with me, in front and little Akhmed leapt on the camel in front of Chris. Katie went solo. Those 45 minutes turned into nearly two hours while we slowly made our way around the smaller pyramid of a queen and then were shown a small opening which Zahi Hawass had discovered last year.

There are many many tombs which have been excavated by Hawass, all new since I was here in 2007. Along the way, Omar paid a bit of money to the guards to allow us to climb a little way on the pyramid of Menkaure for photo ops. And the pictures are great. We didn't have time to go into any of the pyramids and that was OK. We also ran out of time to actually get close to the Sphinx and that was OK too. The poor Sphinx is deteriorating before my eyes from the inside with rising groundwater seaping inside and pollution eating away at the limesone surfaces. The face of the Sphinx is definitely less sharp than I noticed only two years ago. I will be posting some great pics soon so stay tuned.

Yes, we did make our way into the papyrus shop with the horrendously and luridly painted Pharaonic scenes. I did my typical art critic evaluation and spouted off all the places I have been on one of the maps painted on the prepared reed plant surface. We drank our cokes provided by the shop and I managed to get us out of there in time. Right before, I asked Omar to get our driver Mohamed so we could make a quick getaway. I to think my way out of a box before the lid closes if you know what I mean. Before we got off our camels and dismounted in view of the intermediary, I had pulled out 110 LE for Omar. Katie and Chris ended up giving little Akhmed around 30 LE. Omar asked me to say I only gave him 20 LE in case anyone asked but no one did. He was a nice guy, around 31 years old. We had the chance to talk about a number of things. He is kind, hates cruelty to animals and despises anyone who is judgmental in a religious way. not your usual touchy grabby sort. And he took really photos of us. So different from when Katie Nemec, Stacie Kranzley, Cathy Holskin and I had our tour from Pack2Egypt hell.

Tired, sweaty and smelling of camels, we showered and got ready to go to our party on the rooftop with artist's studios as part of the Townhouse Gallery initiative. Artists put in an application for a two to three month residency. Jennifer was turning 23, a British artist who has a studio there now. She had a slide show of her work going on. Lots of people were there, one was a belly dancer from Libya named Fatma - she was fabulous, beautiful, young and I took many pictures. The studio managers had lots of beer for sale for 10 LE and food there too. There was dancing and really good music - they even played the Bangles, Walk Like an Egyptian! We made our way home around 2:00 am but Dominique and Shayma stayed there until 5:00 am.

Dinner at Aubergine in Zamalek

2009-10-14T23:03:00.003+02:00

I joined Dominique and her Arab class buddies at Aubergine where I ate a couple of times last year. It is right in Zamalek and boasts a menu of primarily vegetarian dishes. Everything looked good. Carnivore that I am, I had one of two well done hamburgers. Sometimes, you just miss good old American style food. I'll be good tomorrow. Sitting next to me was a petite French nurse who works all over France and decided to learn Arabic in a five week course before traveling to Luxor. She likes the variety of work and places and as a nurse, it is a great opportunity. Brianna was there as well, a Fulbright student who I think I have mentioned before. She is an anthropology student studying migration and refugees. One of the best conversations with a man from Montreal, Canada who is Persian and loves film. We talked about Turtles Can Fly which I had shown my students and he wrote down a number of other films he thought I might like. He is a writer and will be staying in Egypt for a full year, he came in July. I told him that I was writing a book as well. There were probably a dozen different people from all nations who had come to Egypt to learn Arabic for various reasons. Christoffe, German, I believe unless he is Swiss, said that he likes to be in a place and learn the language and the customs. After his Arabic classes, he will travel to Syria and Jordan and may return to Egypt. Europeans really know how to travel. I don't know how they can leave their jobs but like the nurse, she has a built in ability to work and travel wherever she pleases. And of course, in Europe it is standard to be paid for at least six weeks per year regardless of whether you have worked at a company for one year or longer. Not the miserly two weeks that Americans give after a whole year of working. My brother Tom, was afraid to even take off a couple of days from his new job of six months to come for a long weekend to visit me in Media. No wonder Americans are full of stress and neuroses. Not enough time off to see other cultures. Of course, in Europe countries are smaller and closer together but still, Australians are far from anywhere and they travel like the French and Dutch too.

Click for Free Mammorgrams

2009-10-14T13:49:00.002+02:00

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
Please click daily to help provide free mammograms for needy women. When detected early, breast cancer fatalities can be alleviated. This site also has links to Free Hunger, Child Health, Literacy (which helps children and adults to free themselves of ignorance, creates better job opportunities and raises esteem), Save the Rainforest, Assist Animal Rescue.By clicking every day, you can help and it doesn't cost you anything. The mark of a true humanitarian is one who does not say I can't do anything to alleviate world hunger, sickness and untimely death. She says,it is only a moment of my time to help others every day. That act will allow you to think of other ways to put a smile on a child's face, a cup of rice into a struggling widow's stomach, a few trees saved to help our ozone layer not become depleted by the cutting down of rainforests.

I am nearly finished with all six paintings and need to take a break from portraits and perhaps record some other intimate scenes of city life here in Cairo - the colorful array of lights caused by speeding cars, the glimpse of buildings when I look up at the sky, washing hanging out a window, a Fauve landscape created by small rooftop gardens. Even if you can't be here, think of ways to colorize your world. Have your children make art everyday even if all it is, is a scribble of colors across a plain sheet of paper. Encourage it in yourself, put on some dangling earrings, a touch of color on your lips, and breathe the fresh air of your neighborhood. Talk to animals, from the birds on the trees to the squirrels running up and down and around the lawn of your apartment or house, to the meowing cats and barking dogs that you encounter. Most of you will not see donkeys on the streets or horses pulling carts like I do, or camels spitting and blinking their huge fringed eyelashes - I will provide that for you in this blog. Delight in the colors around you, the orange hues of the fall trees. Love who you are. You are fabulously talented men and women!

Well, I'm on a high from getting money at the HSBC ATM at the Marriott in preparation for my hosting Chris and Katie. I had a cappucchino and crossant at Simonds and got a merci beaucoup from the older barista when I gave my 1 LE tip. I went to the Women's Association of Cairo on 11 Yehia Ibrahim Street just a few blocks away and joined as a member for 200 LE. This now entitles me to discounts for their excursions like the one I will be on Tuesday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for the Traditional Bedouin costume fashion show at Fustat. We meet at the Gezira parking lot at the Marriott and then take an air conditioned bus. It will be the chance to meet other women in the area - this "club" is for English speaking women. You never know who I will meet through them.

Then walked to Alfa Market for the usual shopping, bread, tomatoes, 1/2 kilos of sliced turkey and cheddar cheese (sheedar), croissants, loaf of freshly baked French bread, chocolate. So will have lots of food for my guests. Now it's time to relax a bit - think about writing something scholarly - I finished my article interview with Shayma which I had forgotten about. There is still the one on origins of beauty: women, wisdom, fear and desire in art.

Help Save Egypt's Mau Cats

2009-10-13T17:12:00.000+02:00

www.emaurescue.org

Two more paintings for the series

2009-10-12T18:55:00.002+02:00

Can't believe how active I was today painting. I felt the need to complete the ones I had started so I could post them! I love the Little Coptic Girl - she was the sweetest little thing, one of the zabaleen - the garbage collector's at Moqqatam - the hills above Cairo. Garbage is delivered there and by 2 pm, it has disappeared into various areas - paper, cans, organic stuff. The smell is pretty terrible on the hot days and most of the garbage people are Coptic Christians. The monastery is a little oasis full of children who go to school there and all ages, very friendly children too. Though the families collect and sort garbage, surprisingly, most little girls have gold earrings. Actually, if there is any money left, the women - Muslim, Christian wear gold and 22 or 24 K gold at that. Silver means you aren't very well off and is disdained.

The other portrait is of Amira, the journalist for the English weekly version of Al Ahram newspaper. I got the idea to include a few of the letters of the Newspaper in the portrait partly from Picasso's use of the Parisian paper in his cubist collage works. It's only 7:00 pm here but I feel like I have been working all day. I woke up and stayed up from 9:15 am. I never hear Dominique leave - she is so quiet. Only if I ask her to wake me up do I get up earlier. Anyway, it is so hot here as I stated earlier in the 10 day weather forecast for Cairo.

10 Day Weather Forecast for Cairo

2009-10-12T10:10:00.002+02:00

Chance of precipitation - 0%. Temperatures ranging from 90 degrees to a high of 95 degrees on Saturday. Temperature is finally 89 degrees on the 21st of October - the official Autumn equinox. Humidity is rather high too.

Birthday part for Jennifer on October 16 on the rooftop studios downtown.

New Paintings and Food Delivery

2009-10-11T18:36:00.003+02:00

This morning, yes 11:00 am is still morning for me, I was on a roll and started two new paintings and one new charcoal sketch. One is my friend Amira el Naqueb who writes forAl Ahram. It is just blocked out color and shape wise but I have her expression well defined. Then I started on a little Coptic girl from the church in Moqqatam hills. She is barely four years old, wispy hair big wooden cross on a leather string around her neck. Her big eyes reminded me of how I used to look. I made some adjustments to the little St. Catherine's girl especially her left eye. Somehow the left eyes are too high up. I thibk it's because I am drawing flat when I should have an easel. Acrylics are easy enough to correct though. I like the way they are going on the watercolor paper. Once the 12 are finished of this size, I want to work on the larger size canvases I bought for a group portrait.

I had to stop the paintings because I don't want to get mechanical about them - no paint by numbers - the scourge of the wanna be artist - I want the spark, the expression intact, coming out from within the paint and the sitter's eyes and mouth. Needing a break, I suggested to Dominique that we get out. It is so easy to stay in the air conditioned apartment! It is still humid outside and I heard that Nebraska is having the first snow storms and West Chester is getting chilly. Needed to stock up on mundane stuff like t.p. and desperately in need of bottled water so off we went to Alpha Market.

As our shopping cart ended up with more and more items, I figured, we should see about delivery and that way, I could get two boxes of water - this time the Nesle brand which is way better than Baraka, I also saw Siwa water but Nesle is tried and true. I was down to the last one at home. We each got chocolate - I had bought a variety of bars last week and Dominique liked a certain Hershey's and I am a great fan of Galaxy chocolate bars, so creamy. Just for comparative purposes, I also bought one Cadbury my ultimate favorite. We bought some stuff for stir fry, the tricolored peppers and mushrooms that Dominique will cook - veggies!! I will also eat tomatoes but no lettuce or other hard to clean items.

We made ourway home, hands free except for the two dozen country roses I bought for less than $3. They are pink but there were maybe three red roses mixed in. They even smelled faintly of roses. We got home, thrilled with the air conditioning, and I got the roses trimmed and put into the water pitcher - not the Brita - that water is for making tea and coffee. I'm now drinking some hibiscus tea (I had snitched a bunch of tea bags while in Costa Rica). I also am typing this on my mini Dell laptop. I finally figured out how to connect wirelessly about I bought a cord for direct connection to the modem. I had tried the wireless before on this b ut I guess I am better at pushing the right buttons now. I also had some kind of security on it which asked for a password each time another web site was accessed which was really annoying. Took care of that problem too. So now I sit on my green hard backed loveseat, sipping tea and typing on this lovely lightweight mini.

Well, that's all for niow, two young boys from the market delivered the groceries and I tipped them each 5 LE and they were happy. Me too. I love having lots of water.

1:00 am

2009-10-10T01:03:00.002+02:00

As you can see by the title of this blog, it is past midnight. I just read a note from my sister, Liz and was inspired to post the unfinished next two paintings I worked on today. The preteen boy I met on top of Mount Sinai - he showed me some crystals he had found on some of the other nearby mountains. All kinds of prophets like Elijah climbed upwards in their quest for godliness or something. It's a tough climb as I've stated previously. Walking upwards for hours does make you lightheaded and full of serotonin releasing into the blood stream, the runner's high. Add to that, the three hours of stomach cramps I had, well, getting to the top and being able to rest supine was akin to a religious experience in my mind. Well, OK, that and finding out that there was actually a toilet of a sort modestly closed off with branches.

OK, back to the boy - I just had to have those crystals - kind of a smoky quartz - which I gave him about 40 LE for. I told him that he should find more to sell to tourists. A really sweet kid, reminded of me of my nephew John so open and honest. Well, I decided to have his right hand showing clasping a crystal and I think I have achieved that bright eyed look that he had though this painting needs another day of work. The little girl, too is in progress. She had these pouting cherry red lips, big brown eyes that did not light up - a solemn little girl of around 5 or 6, not exactly trusting me. Bedouin women are cautious, do not often have anything to do with strangers and foreigners. But there is something so exotic and mysterious. Now the Berber women in Morocco seem much more forthright and powerful. I hope this little girl from Saint Catherine's monastery area continues to be feisty with that "I dare you to make me smile, I won't you know" look. I don't quite have that in the portrait yet. Again, another day or so.

As for what women wear in the villages, I would have to say it varies. Most wear scarves or hijab on their heads with no hair showing. In Tunis village, garments were rather drab amongst the potters. Clay colored long gallabiya to match the clay from which they fashioned vessels, plates, tiles. I saw one of the girls later come swimming in the pool of Evelyne and she was breathtakingly beautiful with thick dark brown hair, dark lashes, nubile in a one piece black swimsuit. No wonder they cover up! But other women had on some colors, reds and blues but very plain. Some wore skirts and a long sleeved long tunic. The fashion is functional - show no curves. Preteens and children are different with uncovered hair and limbs allowable.

Among other women, sometimes even face coverings exist - this particular "fashion" comes from Saudi Arabia - where women are swathed in black from head to toe. Some even wear black gloves of all things which I witnessed on the metro women's car. No where in the Quran, I am told by my Muslim girl friends, does it say that women are to be covered up with no hair showing. In Iran, a man walks around with a stick to hit women who have an errant wrist or ankle showing or a wisp of hair. Bedouin women are covered but their clothing, at least the traditional clothing is jubilantly embroidered with shell buttons forming part of the design. Sadly, polyester fabrics have entered - they never should have been allowed to keep living after the disastrous introduction of them in the 70s. Cotton, was and still is, the fabric of choice. I have tried to find out what happened to the linen of the ancient Egyptians without a satisfactory answer as of yet.

As for the feet, ugly half croc type shoes to flap in down the street or shuffle really. Villages are entirely different from the more fashionable Cairo. Even here though, amongst the western tight jeans and form fitting shirts of the girly girls of Cairo, I have snapped many a picture of a black clad woman wearing Nikes next to a motocycle. Incongruity reigns supreme in the city. Brightly coordinated double scarves match the outfit that no self respecting What Not to Wear guru would don. And it's amazing how closely the colors match. I would like to see the factory where they put together the outfits. I wonder what a fashion show would be like here. The farmers though in the villages have no time for fashion. They do wear gold earrings 22K no less and sometimes gold bangles too. I will add to my fashion commentaries as I travel. The next medium length trip will not be until October 26th.

A smile from the barista

2009-10-09T16:25:00.005+02:00

Since last summer when I was here in Zamalek, I vowed that I would find a way to make the barista at Simond's cafe smile. Today that wish came true. It was the last cappucchino of the day for him - he is on the early shift apparently. It was Dominique's first time there and I really needed a good jolt of caffeine to jumpstart my painting. I paid the 7 LE, took the receipt to him - he asked what I wanted and I assumed correctly that's what he asked. Dominique brought her receipt to him as well. I am calling him Mohamed for now, it is a safe guess for a man's name around here. We parked ourselves at the new marble counter and drank our coffees. When he brought his small bowl of change - 25 piaster bill with a few little coins to the young, veiled female cashier, I jumped up and put a 1 LE note in his hand and I got my big smile and a Merci beaucoup Madame as well. I was as pleased as I could be. Next time, or the time after that, I will ask for a photo. The man is a legend and Simond's is written about in most guidebooks - it has been around for over 100 years. The clientele is generally made up of Egyptian men. There is a big non-smoking sign on the counter which most seem to ignore. Today though, we were blessed with no indoor pollution in the nicely air conditioned cafe. I never thought I would be graced with a smile since last year, he only seemed to favor his old cronies with a hello and to me, Simond's was like an old boys club. Maybe I have changed. I wore a purple tea shirt with the requisite scarf wound about my neck and decollete. I've decided that tipping someone who makes the best cappucchino in Cairo with a 1 LE note is a small favor, well earned. If we did this in America, a 20 cent tip would get us a sneer or a round of expletives. This is what I love about Egypt, days like this.

Perusing the glass cases, we looked at the enormous birthday cakes and other treats and I decided to buy what smelled like a pound cake, a small one the size of Nancy's shoe was 5.5 LE. Something nice to have with our afternoon tea.

On returning home, I cleaned my palette peeling off the dried acrylic paint with ease, and settled in for an afternoon of painting. I am halfway finished with two more portraits - a young teenaged boy (around 13 or 14 years old) from Mount Sinai and a little Bedouin girl from St. Catherine's. I drew in his hand holding a crystal - I paid him a few dollars for a large smoky quartz crystal which he had found in the nearby mountains and wanted to add it to the portrait. I feel that I've captured their expressions well and blocked in the colors. They are a little different from my first two but then I am only in the middle of the painting - I like seeing my progress and have them propped up against the wall in front of me. By the time the beginning of November rolls around, I would love to have a dozen completed. I'll be painting the little girl from Tunis village that I have posted here with more planned.

Dominique just made tea and I cut the tea bread - pound cake with golden Egyptian raisins. Not too sweet with soft raisins, just right for tea time. More later

Homework

2009-10-07T14:58:00.003+02:00

Today I'm catching up on what I call homework - no, not housework - you all know me as the limited domestic goddess! I did get the laundry done. Did I mention before that my washing cycle takes at least 1 1/2 hours for a small load? Drying is quicker.

At any rate, I contacted Ghada who manages a women's sewing coop or workshop for women and girls near Maadi. We will meet Saturday at 11:30 am at the metro station and then go from there. On Friday is an art exhibition called "Bread" at Darb 17 18 with contemporary art by 12 artists. Egypt is the world's greatest consumer of bread and this is nothing new. In Pharaonic times, the farmers and workers existed on rations of bread and beer - not your Wonder bread and Yuengling but greasy thick flat loaves and very soupy almost chewable beer full of vitamins. I still don't understand how one can work after drinking beer. I would fall asleep. But if you slept, you didn't work and if you didn't work, no survival for you or your family. The Egyptian government subsidizes bread and petrol. Gas prices are around 85 cents per liter here. Egypt is the only Middle Eastern country who sells oil to Israel.

I was stressing out about getting my ten line artist biography for the Cairo Opera House exhibition translated into Arabic. Finally, this afternoon, the light bulb went on. I used Google to find an English to Arabic translation site for free and plugged in my bio and voila! - Standard Arabic translation. Then I remembered something that Karl upstairs had told me that I should check the translation as it sometimes turns out pretty funny. Boy, was he right. One of the online sources was nearly unintelligible. Yikes! So went back and forth from Arabic to English and vice versa, simplifying my English words until the final product was not embarrassingly stupid in context. Now why didn't these translation tools exist when I was working on my Master's degree or PhD? Technology can be a very good thing for the smaller problems like this. If you want to see what it looks like here it is:

السيرة الذاتية
الدكتور فرجينيا M. دا كوستا ، وهو بحاثة بمنحة من فولبرايت (2009-2010) وأستاذ مشارك في تاريخ الفن في جامعة وست تشيستر في بنسلفانيا منذ عام 1998. حصل على درجة الماجستير في الفن (1990) في جامعة ولاية كاليفورنيا ، لونغ بيتش في الرسم وتاريخ الفن ، ودكتوراه (1997) في جامعة كاليفورنيا في سانتا باربرا. كما غرامة الفنان ومؤرخ الفن ، أستاذ دا كوستا ينظر إلى المرأة بوصفها الفنانين والعباد.

منهج دراسي جديد للمرأة في الشرق الأوسط : الفن والسينما والأدب التي أنشأتها دا كوستا بعد فولبرايت هايس الحلقة الدراسية الصيفية في مصر (2007). أستاذ دا كوستا قد سافر على نطاق واسع -- تركيا وسوريا والأردن وتونس والمغرب ومصر منذ عام 1992

الأبحاث الحالية على المرأة في مصر والحرف والفنانين الذين يستخدمون الفنون التقليدية في عملها سيؤدي في منشور. هذا سيضيف إلى مناقشات عالمية حول الفنون التقليدية في الشرق الأوسط من قبل النساء. لوحات بورتريه في هذا المعرض : وجوه من مصر تعكس التعبيرات الفريدة والثقافة من الرجال والنساء والأطفال انها اجتمعت هنا.

Of course, you can pick out the years and remember, it reads from right to left. This is modern standard Arabic which is more formal than colloquial Egyptian Arabic.

I want to paint another portrait today so will post when I do. First though, I have some proofing to do for my friend Sally, something pretty easy for me. She is a wonderful artist and deserves her promotion and tenure.

I also caught up on numerous emails --more later.

Back from Fayoum

2009-10-06T21:22:00.002+02:00

What a weekend it was going to the Fayoum. First of all, we got a ride with two guy friends of Shayma's. I didn't realize that Islam (yes, that's his name) had just gotten his driver's license. I thought he just got his official driver's license and had driven for a few years before. He didn't even take the exam since he knew a friend of a friend who worked at our version of the DMV or PennDot. He drove a Russian Lada car with a stick shift. I remember when I learned on my Datsun 280 Z back in the day when I bought the car used but had to have the dealer drive it home for me since I had only driven an automatic car. Well, the driving was stop, start, stall and go. When he swerved a few times, I thought, well this is due to crazy other cars cutting him off to the side. But it was an inexperienced driver. They say to beware of drunk drivers at home, this was insance. But we got to Tunis in one piece.

We were dropped at our "Ecolodge" the Zad al Mosafer Guest House and got our double room. We had two beds, a single mattress atop a palm frond built foundation, palm frond open closet and hot pink mosquito nets for each bed. A powerful fan overhead and at least for our first night, a portable air conditioner. The lodge has a pool but I had no suit. Friday night there was a Germanic looking family with three tow headed kids splashing about in the pool. The place is owned by an Egyptian writer who has used local materials of mud brick for the place. At 75 LE for the two of us not including taxes, it seemed a bargain. We ordered much food for dinner and vowed to go easy the next day.

We walked to an artist acquaintance of Shayma's - Mohamed Abla who runs a winter artist program from February 1 to March 15. Artists can choose to work in printmaking, painting or sculpture. Nearby, is another artist's studio, a man we dubbed Morgan Freeman because he looks just like him. His wife, Reem Saad is a professor of Anthropology at AUC. She sent me an article she had written on traditional crafts in Upper Egypt. Her daughter Tamara is four, very cute and smart. We communicated in my broken French as I cannot understand Arabic well and she didn't speak English. That worked well enough for us. Mr. Saad was running a wood puppet workshop for Islam and his friend which is why they were going to Tunis.

There are many villages in the Fayoum. Tunis, Fayoum city (on our way to Fidimin in search of another craft weaving school, we passed with difficulty through its crowded streets, crowded because Monday was market day - more on that later.

Cultural Tour

2009-10-01T11:26:00.002+02:00

One of my favorite Egyptian foods (though it is also Greek) is the Moussaka - eggplant, tomato sauce and bechamel sauce on top and baked in a clay bowl. The other is the Um ali although I still haven't found my favorite one like I had two years ago. Little Maria (upstairs triplet) and I are going to make it from my Egyptian cookbook. I told her that the one I liked best seemed to be made with corn flakes. She suggested frosted flakes so we will try that and cut out some of the suger added. It also has raisins, pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts and milk. I forget the rest.
Yesterday, we had our lunch at Naguib Mafouz restaurant in the Khan Khalili - the gigantic marketplace full of kitschy souvenirs and also real Egyptian stuff like copper pots, instruments, etc. They had asked before hand whether anyone was vegetarian. When we got our main plate of food, I knew why. Yes, there was grilled lamb, charcoal grilled chicken chunks, those long cigar shaped lamb pieces - it's like hamburger and then oh yeck, tiny little pigeon grilled, spread eagled, very little meat, lots of bones. Now I have seen grilled pigeon at Abu el Sid but they were big pigeons. I played with mine and then put it on a plate. There was rice too. Before that we had the appetizers- baba ghanough, hummus, tzatziki, and wonderful fresh Egyptian flat bread all puffy since they just baked it. I sat at what the triplets dubbed "the table of coolness" it was a cushioned booth and I sat in a cushioned chair just next to them. We laughed and chattered away all through lunch. I gave Nick my cigar meat and told him we would ask for a doggie bag which he actually got!

The walk was long through Coptic Cairo - we visited two Coptic Churches and one Synagoue that is a museum. Our guide was an Egyptian woman with perfect English who had a PhD from Cairo University in ArtHistory. She really gave a wonderful explanation of the history and the architecture. She specializes in Islamic art history . She tied Egyptian art together from Pharaonic influence, to Coptic and then to Islamic. I had walked to the Fulbright office from Zamalek thinking that we were leaving at 9:30 - well, we were leaving at 9:00 and Hend called me to see where I was. Unknown to me, I was SIX blocks away and I ran to find the bus. I guess I am getting in better shape because I only started wheezing at block four. Then off we went.

After lunch, we went to Islamic Cairo to see a variety of mosques. I had been to all of them before but our guide explained how the differences came about. By the end of the day we were pretty tired out. Kathy and Karl needed to go to the bookstore so I volunteered to take the triplets home in a taxi. We got a good taxi driver! I negotiated the price and off we went. Right before traffic was really horrible. Kathy had invited me to have dinner a la Al Omda via our online ordering. I had my orzo soup again and rice pudding for dessert. We laughed, we talked and after a couple hours it was time for me to go downstairs to relax, check email and go to bed.

Found out my diplomatic boxes arrived and so I will pick them up today. I'm really happy about that and now Shayma and I can put some children's workshops together. I need to call the ecolodge in Fayoum today. Dominique will come with us too at least through Sunday. The eco lodge is right on the lake so yes, I will take my DEET in case there are mosquitoes.

I'm trying to get in the best shape so when I get back, people will say wow! I might even get extensions in my hair. Shayma says it is not expensive. Wouldn't that be a hoot! Hend said she would email me the phone number and address of a place downtown where they do pedicures and manicures and waxing - that will be a cultural experience.

Well, I just got an invitation for dinner tonight with Dominique and her friends in Maadi - about 20 minutes away from Zamalek. Brian is the curator at American University in Cairo and was Shayma's employer. I met him at the Art opening at the Townhouse Gallery Tuesday night. The contemporary artist's exhibition was four huge screens showing a rather strange series of scenes - Bedouin children making stone structures in the desert, a Bedouin man with a cow and microphone, tied to a wheel and picking up strange sounds that it made when the cow with a cone shaped object on its back and a plug for the microphone on it to pick up the music. Strange strange. But I liked it. It was at least a 20-30 minute film.

I saw a tiny little black kitten on the way to the Fulbright office. Oh, I wanted to scoop him up and rescue him. There are so many cats in Cairo. It is heartbreaking - I want to see if there are any veternarian schools. They need to sterilize the kitties. Oh well, so I will take off for another walk, but before that, I need my coffee and my yogurt.

90 degrees in Cairo today

2009-09-29T14:55:00.002+02:00

Sunday took a long walk to the Fulbright office in Dokki - about an hour round trip but it was soooo humid. And I can't help walking fast. Too much traffic - and no, I didn't just notice that. I hate the pollution, love the people. I started a painting then gave up as I was so tired. Monday, took it easy as well, tried to ignore the painting until I felt inspired.

Today, I finally decided I HAD to finish it and capture the woman's spirit. She has the hint of a smile and all the wrinkles of age. There was a woman I saw once begging in the street and she was an old Bedouin or Berber woman because she had tattoos on her chin. I thought it would be cheating though to paint on tattoos on my grandmother. I'll wait until I get to Siwa or elsewhere and see if I see another woman like that. I like to paint portraits but only if I like the person - they are not generic - and I have to be inspired by their soul as well as a personal experience with them in some way. I love how her veiled outfit turned out. It was tough going for a while and this is the third rendition. Hopefully, when I look at it again, I will be happy. I'm moderately happy with it now or happy enough.

Like the Prince song, "maybe I'm like my mother, she's never satisfied ..." When I have more of the series of Faces of Egypt, I think it will be better. I'm still amazed really at how Egypt has inspired me. This is part of my way of giving back, dedicating any success to the universal well being of Egyptians. These are memorial portraits of people living today in the 21st century

I signed up for a lecture presentation at Alexandria University along the lines of creativity and innovation in women's crafts in Egypt. Date to be arranged. Uh, I need something tangible to present so I think late November or so. Fulbright will pay for our hotel room, train ride to Alex and food stipend. Isn't that nice of them? I wonder if they would help with my conference in Davos? I'll have to ask Hend.

More later, meeting Shayma at 4:00 today - we are going to the Tentmaker's area where men make applique quilts, tents, etc.

Finished a painting

2009-09-26T18:10:00.003+02:00

Last night, Dominique, Shayma talked about art and life in Egypt amongst other things, I was badgerd by Dominique to do another sketch. Having bought art supplies at a shop in Dokki, acrylic paints, paint brushes, canvases and paper, I had a late start this afternoon but finally completed one. Started out with a sketch of a Bedouin boy in South Sinai and dida watercolor wash but it looked too contrived, too stiff so I went over it in acrylic being much more free. It is in my Fauve style and I am pretty happy with it. A tad more work on the eyes and lips and my photo is not quite as colorful as the real painting. Dimensions are 11" x 15" and is on coldpress watercolor paper.

I also worked on more research about my research mapping out the destinations so that as little as possible backtracking will be done. One trip is Cairo to Marsa Matrouh along the coast. some workshops there. I found that FTE/Egypt Craft Center is another part of the Fair Trade Egypt Foundation aka World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) from 2001. Then a 4 hour bus ride to Siwa. At Marsa Matrouh, one needs to get a permit to visit Siwa. Shayma knows someone there so she will see if he will introduce us to his wife and then we can mingle with the Bedouin women - a difficult task otherwise. I read that on the full moon in Siwa in October there is the date festival, October 4 which would be quite a festival to witness. Will try to go there then.

A second trip is going to the Fayoum very close to Cairo and perhaps Bahariyya Oasis - Valley of the Golden Mummies.

Then there is the Dakhla oasis trip where there is a pottery festival in mid October. This can be combined with other visits. More later.

Supposed to go to a music concert at the Sawy Culture Wheel in Zamalek, close to my Alpha Market.

Food shopping and other stories

2009-09-24T15:51:00.008+02:00

On my way to the Alpha Market today, I stopped by a pharmacy - Gohoumia Pharmacy on 26 July Street. It was a big store, they had the medication I wanted and I also bought some face cream -cucumber/yogurt for 5 LE. Then off to Alpha for washing powder (I know I've been overseas for a while when I call laundry soap, washing powder). Hellmann mayonnaise, sliced turkey, sliced cheddar, more yogurt, fresh baladi bread. I learned the secret for keeping my bread fresh. Freeze what you don't use that day and then defrost as needed. My diet is half Americanized and half Egyptianized.

On my way to the store, I am a keen observer of what is going on around me. I passed a woman carrying fresh bread on a large tray on her head. Remembering what Shayma told me about the bread sellers, that you get more for your money than at the store. Not knowing where a furna was (bread bakery) I thought, yeah, I'll buy some bread. Just as I was hesitating in my thoughts. I saw one fall off the pile; she stooped down to pick it up and put it back. And I thought, OK, I will just avoid the top of the bread pyramid. A half block later, about a dozen fell off. A man on the street helped her pick them up and put them back on her wooden tray. That did it for me. There was no way I could get the bread from the sides of the pile without the top portion falling off. Have you ever wanted a piece of fruit, like a really crispy looking apple, from the bottom of a pile and then apples start falling from the top? Of course, you have. Alpha market bread has touched (I assume) fewer hands and sidewalks since I think it is made in their store. At least, that is what I want to believe.

Other tricks I use while walking. When a man is walking too closely, I stop and look in a store window so I am behind him. Nobody gets to look at the tort, Cate! This time I got to look all over the store's second floor where housewares, shampoos and anything not food is sold. I bought a manicure set with toenail clippers, fingernail clippers, emery boards for 5.75 LE. After I found the Persil laundry soap, I walked around looking at everything. Shampoos, creams, and even hair coloring products. To my surprise they had Schwartzkopf hair color which is the best product ever. I used to get my hair colored with that in Santa Barbara but was never able to find it since. And it's in English and Arabic. Cool. So for fellow Fulbrighters, when they say don't bother taking shampoo and other products, take their advice. It lessens the weight of baggage.

Should go out for another walk but it's kind of nice at home. If so, I'll have to start another charcoal sketch in preparation for my watercolor. Hasta la vista baby!

Karkedeh Tea and Fig Juice

2009-09-24T00:11:00.002+02:00

Woke up late again! I wake up early, then think, 8:30 is a little too early and then ... After being up for 10 minutes Shayma called fresh from the auspices of the U.S. Embassy. She had been there from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm, mainly waiting for her visa challenges. In the end, she was given her visa, no problem. And now, poor thing, her external hard drive crashed with all her documents and work that she had worked so hard to put together in one place. Dominique and I put blessings on it after she picked it up from the computer shop who had it for one week. And the dirty rotten scoundrels charged her 250 LE! they did give her a video disk with the data but it nees to be converted somehow and retrieved. She has to go to yet another computer place to see if they can help. So hopefully, my asking the universe will work.

Anyway, went first to the Marriott to get some money out of my Egyptian account Left the Marriott to get a taxi. Hailing a Marriott taxi would cost 54 LE from the hotel, walking outside would be around 20 LE I was told. I determined that I would pay no more than 15 and so a man just inside the confines of Marriott volnnteered a taxi. So we established the price, we walked across the street to a fleet of taxis. I asked for a new one and off I went with a nice taxi driver. A man who prays, as one can tell by the callous and bruise on the forehead. Of course, I wanted to get to the Townhouse Gallery and the directions weren't clear but got on the phone to Shayma and met her at a well known coffee shop called Groppi's with glass cases full of cakes and cookies.

Shayma was a welcome jolt of color, oranges and sunshine. We did the happy dance for her success. Off we went to the Townhouse Gallery - she showed me her work stacked up in storage. They were getting ready for another exhibition opening on Tuesday. We went upstairs to see the staff and I met William, the British gallery director. I also got to meet many other congenial staff members. I especially liked meeting Amina - Shayma, I hope I am spelling this right - he is now directing the children's workshops and will let us know about the next one. We also want to collaborate on other children's workshops. William was a mine of information about contemporary Egyptian artists who use traditional materials and methods in their own own work like the artist who lives in area where they produce baskets and mats - he used the technique to create animals and tableaus. Another artist had all the women of the husbands who did work in the gallery, building walls, making stands for sculpture -make dolls - the dolls are used for protection and are integral to the lives of the women and others living here. It reminded me a bit of the Fabric Workshop and Museum's work with artists translating their usual mediums of paint or sculpture to thread and silkscreen innovative expressions.

Then we went to the Mashrabiya Gallery nearby. Both galleries are the top galleries for contemporary art in Cairo. However, most of the artists promoted are well established. There really needs to be a venue for emerging artists, no kind of support currently exists for them. So Erin, what you do at the Barnstone Gallery in Phoenixville for new artists is a wonderful thing.

Shayma took me to a great fresh juice place called Mohamed Ali, it was established I think, in 1934. She wanted me to try fig juice. I love how she introduces me to new things. It came to 5 LE for the two of us and we got two glasses of chilled, freshly made fig juice. They have all kinds of juices that they make from fruit and even dates. She was reading to me the health properties of dates - pretty amazing - good for the blood, digestion, full of vitamins. As we were sitting on a planter surround of concrete, who came our way but Dominique, printmaker extraordinaire. Shayma turns everyone on to this grand juice house and she got another juice as we sat and talked about art and life! Dominique and I were hungry - I had eaten a Trader Joe's granola bar so we went back to the place we had had dinner last week - the area is called the Bursa that in the late afternoon puts out tables for people eating, drinking tea, smoking sheesha. We ordered, I got a hamburger on a bun with tomatoes and cucumbers, well cooked and Dominique got a fried egg sandwich with fries. I thought I was getting hibiscus tea but I got juice.

The funny thing or actually sad thing is that a bread delivery boy lost his balance and half his baladi breads fell on the floor of the "restaurant." So some was clean, relatively so, and the rest, well it was scooped up and brought inside. OK, you might be icked out at this but my brother told me when he worked in a drive-in they were told if a pizza fell on the floor while they were making it, to put on more cheese and serve. So don't think this is only Egypt. It did give me cause for thought though. I just said a prayer for my innards.

And then, a fight broke out. It couldn't get better. NOT. A dispute between two shops with bystanders joining in and others pulling the two fighters apart, a short teenager trying to prove his manhood. Testosterone flying everywhere, glasses breaking. Kind of a sticky ball that kept gathering more and more guys. As they were starting to get closer to our table, we stood up for safety inside the juice/tea shop. It went on for quite a while. It shook me up but Shayma says it's these guys who want to prove something, they yell and push but no one gets killed like they would in West Philly.

My taxi driving going home - a metered one was sooooo cheap and it was so easy. I wondered why the others kept taking me all over before "finding" where I wanted to go. Well, later on today, it's 12:17 am now, I need to go shopping for the mundane things like laundry soap, milk and other supplies. Did you know that my washer takes over 1.5 hours to wash a load. Be grateful my friends, for your conveniences. I know I am. Good night!

Art and Life in Zamalek

2009-09-20T18:00:00.004+02:00

Wondering whether http://www.otlob.com/ was delivering food from restaurants, I chatted online and found that yes, most restaurants are serving. They said if not, they would call me. I ordered from Abu el Sid restaurant in Zamalek, very close by and well known for its typical Egyptian dishes. Aub el Sid is somewhat pricey by Egyptian standards and even American but I was hungry for some good food. I ordered the molokheya dish (a little like spinach but slimy) -- a soup with chicken and rice. On otlob you can leave a note for any special requests. I wrote that I only wanted chicken breasts. I have always had trouble with this in Egypt before. It is rather embarassing to point to my chest at KFC and say breast but online, no such embarrassing charades necessary. Besides, I always end up with the thigh or back or legs which I don't like. Thinking I might as well have two meals stocked up, I also ordered a veal casserole with hulled grains which came with a separate red sauce - I love Egyptian red sauce - it is sort of like marinara. For me, most orders are like two servings unless it is a sandwich. I remembered how good the eggplant appetizer was when I was treated to lunch by Safaa and Mounira last summer, so I ordered it as well. And of course, the best om ali in Cairo with nuts which I love, love, love.

I've already eaten some molokheya with rice and a few pieces of chicken. Very filling, low calorie and full of vitamins. This is the nutritional value of molokheya: If you have ½ cup for lunch and dinner, it has 20 cal, 1.3 grams of protein, 0.3 grams fat, 3.1 grams carbohydrate, 0.4 grams fiber, 87.3 mg calcium, 1,334 for beta carotene, 1.0 mg iron, 0.02 mg. thiamin, 0.04 mg riboflavin, 0.3 mg niacin, and 10 mg Vitamin C. Molokheya for dieters - maybe I should market this though I'm sure someone already has. I've looking up nutritional values for foods - my last google was for Hawaiian taro leaves and poi.

Lots of Arabic writings about molokheya - the bad leaves are yellow and veiny and a derogatory term for a woman was to call her molokheya, the yellow one from the Luk gate vegetable sellers. Aparently these sellers were not very ethical and sold old leaves. Good, healthy molokheya is said to be an aphrodisiac - so why do the Chinese insist on endangered species powdered rhinocerous horn, bear penis and other ungodly animal parts. Buy some viagra for heaven's sake! I did write about a sandwich on otlob last week or so called Viagra which was generally made up of shrimp, crab and sometimes squid. Of course, sellers in the Khan will tell you any number of items are aphrodisiacs like perfumes and herbs.

Well, off to the kitchen to eat a little of my om ali. I always say a little bit but then, it tastes so good, I eat the whole aluminum container! I will try to have some restraint this first day of Eid.

Weather and other things

2009-09-19T18:09:00.002+02:00

Forecast today and next week - 90 degrees low of 73 with 45% humidity. We get a break in the weather Wednesday when it will be ....... drumroll ...... 89 degrees.

I feel pretty tired today, must drink more water. I downed a Fanta in about three minutes right outside Alpha Market. Gave 5 LE to an old Egyptian lady all in black sitting on the curb. I blew her kiss and she did the same. Funny how making someone smile and give them a flutter of happiness makes me feel so good. You know, I have a weakness for old ladies - probably because I never knew either of my grandmothers as they had died before I was born. When I was six and took the bus to school, my brother Joe who was nine never sat with me so I would sit next to old ladies. My mother said it was only OK to talk to them and talk I did, telling them about my day, they would show me crafts they were working on. I was so happy to be noticed.

I bought yogurt, what I think are beef burger patties but after eating one, I think they are more vegetable protein mixed. Still with melted cheese on top and in a bun, delicious and satisfying. Wasn't feeling my best on the walk home, kind of dizzy but made it. As I was leaving the little old lady and Alpha Market, the flower sellers approached me. They were asking 15 LE for a bunch of roses but I said 10 LE and walked away. They said 13 LE, I still walked and before I had walked more than a few feet, they agreed. I bought a bunch of flowers kind of like broom flowers, red violet in color. I bought them for Kathy's birthday who turns 50 tomorrow. She's the professor from Gettysburg who lives upstairs. She was so thrilled with them. I'll have to take a picture of them tomorrow.

While walking down 26 July Street, I passed a few tables of mercy filled with the poor who are given a meal for Iftar every day during the month of Ramadan. Then I saw a young boy giving plastic wrapped packets of dates -- when the taxis slowed, he would toss in a beribboned package. Ramadan is a time for generosity and it is beautiful to see such acts of kindness. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera with me today. I should always have it for these moments.

Now at home taking it easy - tomorrow begins the Bayram, or Eid days of celebration when Muslims spend time with their family maybe close to Christmas or Easter with Ramadan perhaps being like Advent or Lent for Christians. That's the closest thing I can compare it with but not knowing enough, I am not sure.

Hi all of my friends and family -- I miss you all. Love, hugs, kisses, Ginger

Fabulous Walk Downtown and Islamic Cairo

2009-09-19T00:47:00.006+02:00

Kathy Cain, Karl Lorenz and I took a taxi downtown today at 4:45 pm for a 5:30 pm walk advertised in Cairo Listserv. You never know how traffic will be but Kathy was right, if we left early, it would only take ten minute to get there but if we left at 5:15 it would take 45 minutes. We didn't want to be late so we hung around the KFC for half an hour - our meeting point where eventually 14 of us took off trailing rather quickly, I must say, behind Mohamed our lively walking guide. The group was made up of a variety of people, a British couple who had been here a month and would be here for two years while Lara studied at AUC; some Cairo young men, hoping probably to meet American or British women, American professors, an Egyptian professor, and some students of different nationalities.

It was there that I started talking to a young Egyptian woman named Amira who is an arts journalist for Al Ahram weekly. I couldn't wait until I got home to look up her articles. Now, after I looked through the two weekly English papers I had at home, I found an article she had written about the area around Saqqara. She says she likes to have a theme, an off the beaten path kind of journalistic essay. She is a fabulous writer and a charismatic and interesting woman. She lives in Giza near the Pyramids. She had driven downtown to take the walk. She told me about the Hash House Harriers who sponsor hikes which she participates in because she loves hiking and enjoys nature. I'm tired now from the walk but I would like to elaborate later on this gem of a woman. She is putting me in touch with an NGO in Cairo where the women and girls sew clothing designed by her, clothing with an "edge" for better market appeal.

We decided to eat at the completion of the walk since she had been fasting all day and as we had ended up in Islamic Cairo right near the Khan el Khalili, we eventually found a place. Absolutely inexpensive, tammiya (aka felafel) was only 1.5 LE with bread. My water was 2.25 LE so for less than 4 LE I had a pretty good dinner = less than $1. I paid for dinner for three of us for 20 LE which is less than $4. Wow, it was fun experience and one of the nice things about our upstairs room was that I got to sit directly under an AC - it was especially humid in Cairo tonight.

We went to the Hussein Mosque so that Amira could pray. Naturally, I was thrilled to accompany here, a rare opportunity; I draped my scarf over my head and neck in preparation. The women pray in a separate area from the men in the mosque. She told me to keep my shoes with me (you have to take then off you see) before you enter a mosque. I sat next to Amira and meditated taking it all in, the women and girls in different kinds of clothing, different ways of praying. I told Amira that she looked like an angel in her white veil that she donned before we entered the mosque - she really did, she had such a beautiful glow about her. After she had finished praying she explained what the prayers meant, what she had said in her prayers and how Hussein was a brother of the prophet Mohamed so that going to this mosque is a reminder or an inspiration from being in a holy place where a saint is buried. The point in Islam is not to pray to Hussein or any other prophet, even Mohamed since one has a direct and personal connection to God but to be in a place where you feel more spiritual. While there, an older woman tried to give me some kofta (ground cooked lamb) to eat and luckily Amira was very politely saying no thank you for me. How sweet that was to offer me food in a mosque when she obviously didn't have much. Still, I was happy not to have to accept. Amira told me that she prays anywhere and we agreed that of course, you can pray while being out in nature, at home, really anywhere but she feels nostalgic after being away from home sometimes and going to a mosque is appealing because it is a tradition.

We grabbed a taxi to go back downtown to get Amira's car which she had parked relatively close to the KFC - she wanted to go to a kind of flea market on 26 July Street - not the one in Zamalek but one where second hand clothes are sold. This was like having a little treat, to buy herself something for the holiday. The traffic was absolutely nerve wracking but she drove with the skill of a seasoned Indy 500 driver. Anyone who complains about traffic in the U.S. has no idea how crazy it is here and how hard it is to cross a street with taxis, regular cars and motorbikes whizzing by. Some drivers will actually stop for pedestrians but not many. Amira told me that in winter you can get a fur coat for very little money in this area. I may just do that since I am going to the land of frostbite in January - Davos, Switzerland before I leave Cairo. We wandered around but didn't speak English because then, she explained, it was harder to bargain. She ended up with a bright yellow tank top and a pair of white pants trying on the pants while I felt like I was guarding the dressing room from straying male voyeurs. I so enjoyed this peak at the underbelly of Cairo with Amira of walking through crowds of the poor and lower middle class people out in the streets, looking at clothing, buying and eating packets of popcorn - it was more fulfilling to me than the walk. She's a Reiki practitioner too. Did you know that metal blocks chi and that wearing a watch blocks the energy which starts in the toes and goes up the hands? Well, I immediately took off my watch. I can use all the energy I can get! The walk, however from downtown Cairo to Islamic Cairo, was just what I needed in terms of exercise.

When I got home, I immediately took off my shoes, peeled off my sweaty clothes and took a well deserved shower in my luxe Fulbright apartment in Zamalek. I took the jasmine flowers threaded in a few loops out of my purse and put them in the living room. Life is good.

EXCURSION: ARCE Annual Camel Trek through the White Desert | American Research Center in Egypt

2009-09-18T16:23:00.001+02:00

EXCURSION: ARCE Annual Camel Trek through the White Desert | American Research Center in Egypt

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Events in Egypt | American Research Center in Egypt

2009-09-18T16:02:00.001+02:00

Events in Egypt | American Research Center in Egypt

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Hanging around the house

2009-09-16T22:38:00.002+02:00

Well, I am hanging around the apartment today but I got some work done like an overdue teaching observation and some other WCU work. I also was researching desert safari outfits for the Western Desert. I made some emails, answered others. Elnafeza papermaking facility in El Fostat is in desperate of funding. They do such humanitarian work, helping single women and the deaf mute community that it would be a shame if they had to close. Mohamed Nagy is a friend of Shayma (she seems to know everyone!) and he was so prompt in emailing me. I suggested to him that we organize an artist's papermaking workshop and book art session.

I will try to find some funding resources and talk to Fair Trade Egypt about them. FTE is now starting to buy some of their paper products and journals. During Ramadan they are open on Wednesdays from 10 am till the afternoon so starting on the 21st their hours will be longer and more days of the week.

I've been researching the rice straw burning phenomenon in Cairo which contributes to the Black Cloud over Cairo. It is already polluted and the rice straw burning contributes greatly to the problem. Of course, the diesel belching millions of taxis, microbuses and city buses besides the private cars are way too much for the air to assimilate. Luckily for me, I live in an area with more trees. It's not nearly enough. The problem is that recycling is very costly. So no recycling of plastic bottles which I contribute to on a daily basis. The paper is recycled into more paper but not everywhere. Basically, it occurs at APE in Moqqatam and at el Nafeza for some of their papermaking. The only recycling of plastic bottles is its reuse by the poor for their drinking water which we are told not to do in the U.S.

Beautiful Egypt has many problems and many people who want to help but not nearly enough funding. At least they include the arts in the curriculum but teaching really needs to be revamped. Some students who are poor are physically abused by teachers; others don't get passing grades even though they study and do pass. If you have money, teachers tend to pass students who are otherwise unprepared for exams and then they get the good jobs. A very unstable state of affairs. Shayma is an example of a student who fought hard for her education. But not everyone has such inner strength.

I hope to help in some way; as soon as my boxes of art supplies arrives, I will organize some children's art workshops in the area with Shayma. Lots of opportunities for that.
Tomorrow I will get myself up early and walk to the Agricultural Museum in Dokki - scenes of daily life, agricultural stuff and my favorite, animal mummies from ancient Egypt. Good night

Monday, Monday

2009-09-15T21:54:00.002+02:00

I went to visit Shayma Kamel today at her studio so I could see her latest works of art. She switched her decor from last year, just like me always changing furniture and rooms. Her studio is in one room with a lineoleum floor with plenty of room for her new work, very large canvases. She was currently working on some monoprints. Her work is so monumental despite the sometimes very small scale. Other canvases are 5' x 6'.

We talked, I played with her black cat Safety and took some pictures of him. He's pretty sociable like Shayma, was very happy to have me pet him, even his belly. She told me about her neighbor upstairs, Jennifer who graduated with her MA from the Royal College of Art in London. Jennifer is a painter but also has done other work, some film too. So we went up to her flat to visit and decided to all go to dinner together for the Iftar. Iftar is the meal that breaks the fast from Ramadan, when the sun goes down around 6 pm or so. We were joined by another friend, Atiya from Yemen. Atiya is getting married in Egypt in December so I have an invitation already. We were downtown and walked to an area with lots of local restaurants. The firest choice place was occupied so we walked down and around the block.

Dinner was kofta (grilled lamb like meatballs), okra in a delicious red sauce, rice, Egyptian bread, tahini, salad of tomatoes - I was too full to eat that and bottled water. Dinner for four people was 58 LE so less than $6. Amazing.

Today, Tuesday was our in country Fulbright orientation for scholars and students at the U.S. Embassy. A quick guide for safety, health, higher education in Egypt, tips from current Fulbright students, etc. I met Dominique, originally from Nebraska who has her BFA in printmaking and just finished her peace corps stint in Morocco. She was home for a month and then got the Fulbright. Shayma had told me about her. I met at the Iftar which we were bussed to (at the Citadel) a professor couple, Mostafa and Saraya who were both printmakers. Saraya teaches Art Education and told me of the UNESCO decision in 2007 to make mandatory art education for children because it has been proven that art, brain mapping and learning are all integrated. Harvard University, the Getty Center and two other places in the U.S. are pioneers in the field. So how come Egypt is so progressive in this when the State System of Higher Education is not? Why do the public schools in America drop funding for the arts especially the visual arts when UNESCO has this mandate? We are so backwards.

Mostafa and Saraya have invited me to visit their studio and home after Ramadan. I brought Dominique over to meet them. Mostafa is interested in c0ollaborating with me. Oh, I love Fulbright and the wonderful people who are alumni. Their daughter Dina is a graphic artist as well. Mostafa has done it all - woodblocks, etching, lithography, art books, etc. They were both so open and wonderful. I feel so lucky to have such great connections. There are two art stores in Zamalek with oil paint and other items made in Egypt that are quite good. They also know about El Nafeza, the papermaking workshop in el Fostat (Cairo).

I am going to need to make my art pieces for the exhibition very soon - I want to use Egyptian made paper, paints, etc. and theme too as my interpretation of Egypt through my eyes. A perfectly wonderful evening with good food, great music and Sufi dancing, and conversation with my Egyptian friends. Oh, Mostafa and Saraya also have a database of Nubian handicrafts from a project they did. I love the spirit of the people I meet, so generous and gracious. Just wanted to post this to let everyone know how great things are going More later and will post pics tomorrow.

Wissa Wassef Art Center

2009-09-12T15:27:00.005+02:00

Ready for an adventure, I take a metered taxi to the HSBC bank to get my ATM card. I'm early, the bank doesn't open untl 9:30 am. But no, the bank is closed today and open tomorrow. Oh well, it was a 5 LE trip. So I look for another meter taxi and off I went. But, you guessed it, my taxi driver spoke not a lick of English and had no idea how to read the map I showed him. When I said Marriott, I thought surely everyone knows the Cairo Marriott. Evidently not. I even had my handly compass out knowing that we were supposed to go south. After a 5 LE fare, we were back where we started and he acted like it was all new to him. Getting more exasperated by the minute, I made him stop for directoins. He finally dropped me off at the other side of the Marriott. Shayma was coming and I didn't want to be late for her. Although the meter showed 12 LE I gave him 5 and said that's all you get. It was so irritating but then I thought, yes well, you sometimes get so lost in Philadelphia that you enter a time warp of altered dimensions. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. However this is me thinking many hours later. I was only 5 minutes late even after circling Zamalek for half an hour.

But the real adventure begins when we embark on our journey to Wissa Wassef around 10 am. First a meter taxi to Sadat Metro Station - only 1 LE each and it take far less time than a taxi since we will be going to the Giza Station Metro. We take the women's car which is clearly marked (in case you can't read Arabic) in red with the symbol of a woman in a skirt. Very clean station and car, not like you might encounter in other places like New York or some parts of Paris. We then take a microbus - another first for me. Luckily, the bus isn't too crowded and it is only 3 LE for both of us. We get to a halfway area (toward Saqqara) before we transfer to another microbus which will take us to the village of Harrinayya. After that, it is a short walk to the Art Center.

We are greeted by Alfons, one of the art center's managers who is a wonderful guide and storyteller of this amazing complex. It started around 1953 as the dream of Ramses Wissa Wassef and his wife Suzanne to provide a creative outlet and minimal training in weaving to children of the village, particularly young girls. It is a mud brick complex with open studios. The women (primarily) who work there have keys to the loom rooms so they can set their own hours since most are housewives with families to take care of as well. In addition to wool/cotton tapestry weavings and cotton/cotton weavings, other studios are devoted to batik painting and pottery. Suzanne Wissa Wassef is a potter, she has one assistant handling the clay preparation and making glazes. Other than that, she creates all the plates, vases, and other items for sale. I set aside two coffee mugs made of Nile clay from Aswan with blue and white markings.

Alfons takes Shayma and myself on a tour of the studios where we meet a total of six women and one man. Most are second generation weavers. Do do meet a first generation weaver who started in 1954 at the age of eight. Another woman started in the 1960s at the age of fourteen. Their work is astonishing, woven sideways on the looms in designs that are entirely freehand. The weavings are created with yarns dyed in natural colors. In fact, Alfons went to the garden and dug around to show me the rose madder root used to create deep reds and softer oranges. Most of the colors are grown in the complex gardens - Ramses Wissa Wassef wanted his studios to be self sufficient. Only indigo and cochineal are imported. However, the dyes used for the batik work are chemical dyes that can be used in cold water because of the process involved. Even the batik work is free hand with designs "drawn" in hot wax on the raw material of cotton which comes from Egypt. Silk isn't used because it is not native to the country.

How Can It Be Friday Already?

2009-09-11T18:00:00.002+02:00

I hadn't realized how many days had passed since my last blog. I guess I had been emailing and chatting and Skypeing all of my news but to only a few people. Tuesday, I went to the Fulbright office to turn in my ugggglllly passport photo. I had a conversation with Hend in the office there and she said all of those photos are bad and her driver's license is awful. What is your idea about this? My sister Loretta says she looks like the undead or a zombie which are actually the same thing I suppose. I think it's because they shoot against a start wall with overly bright lights. The camera is set up on a tripod just below a person's face so it shows all the shadows and lines and starkness and double chins even if yours isn't bad. Kind of like trying on bathing suits in front of a dressing room mirror that is brightly lit with fluorescent lights, which, if you don't know, shows all every inch of cellulite! My method for taking more flattering pictures is to have the camera pointed down from above - stand up on a chair if you have to. I learned this trick from a photographer journalist when I was interviewed in 2003 for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Oh well, it cost less than $2 for four. They told me at the office that it couldn't be a digital print but that's exactly what the Kodak store on 26 July Street did. I could have just as easily stood in front of my own white wall here.

I gave them my passport because Yousri was going to the Mugamma to get our resident visas - you need one of these in case you stay over 30 days. My metered taxi driver this time spoke not a lick of English. No one has heard of Amer Street. I made him ask as he drive all over the place but still it cost 11 LE (which I'm going to be using instead of EGP - L is the symbol for pound as in British pounds). My taxi driver on the way back cost me only 6 LE. Go figure. Passing from one zone to the other seems to be the problem in terms of knowing streets. Of course, my lack of Arabic fluency is also problematic.

After that, I went to Egypt Craft Center to ask for May but she no longer worked there. It was Nadia, I was informed who could help me tomorrow morning around 9 am. I thought well, I'll get in a good walk to the Alpha Market for you guessed it, more water. I had my backpack, the one Fulbright gave me which was handy for three bottles but it weighed a lot. Home then, and watched a bunch of movies while working on various things.

Wednesday morning - I actually woke up at 7:30 am, the time I had told myself to wake up and got there a little early. Nadia was wonderful, she had met me last year. Nadia is from Upper Egypt which as you might know is southern Egypt. She had a baby last year which I congratulated her for, a boy. Anyway, since May el Sadek moved on, Nadia now is associate manager. Between the two of us, I got my list more updated. Sometimes there aren't phone numbers or even streets. In the Fayum, for example, I go to the village of Tunis and ask for Abd Sattar. Everyone knows him.

After this, I saw an electronics store and wanted to get a converter for my mini laptop Dell which it turns out, one doesn't need because laptops are made in dual voltage. I did get the pieces to change the flat prongs of the U.S. to the round pins. Then it was home again. and I called Shayma to see how she was. She asked to come over the next day so she could call the Embassy for her visa appointment. It is scheduled for Tuesday the 15th. She wants to make it for three months so that she can visit a friend in New York and a friend in Canada. I looked up Canadian requirements for her, and she does need a visa to visit Montreal or anywhere in Canada.

Shayma is helping me with some essential Arabic phrases like please, right, left, here, thank you. We had a nice time visiting. Wednesday night, I stayed up really late past 1 am and didn't get up until noon. Then it takes me so long to get moving that by the time I looked up the bank's hours, it had closed. During Ramadan, banks have shorter hours and are totally closed on Fridays. I will have to wait until Saturday, tomorrow, to get my ATM card for my Egyptian account at HSBC.

Tonight, Shayma is coming over so we can go for a walk in the area. She's spending the night so that she can help me call Wissa Wassef in the morning, I am feeling a bit deprived from seeing art and doing my project. That would be a good start. I found that one of my workshops run by a mother and daughter who make candles are no longer part of FTE. I promise to be better about blogging. Just a few new photos to post.

Monday, Research and Writing

2009-09-07T22:53:00.005+02:00

Not much to report today, I woke up late because I stayed up late. Staying up too late happens to me every five days or so. I think I was so revved up by the great evening I had visiting with friends old and new. Shayma called and was running late - I still wanted to see her, so she was coming over around 9:30 pm or so. As I was expecting her, the doorbell rang and it was Karl and Kathy, my Fulbright neighbors upstairs. We started talking about research and I mentioned that my neighbor, Selema Ikram had introduced herself to me as an Egyptologist. Karl asked if she was the Egyptologist at AUC. I wasn't sure so I leapt up and rang her doorbell to see if she could come over for a few minutes to chat. It was a great coincidence. I told Karl that there are no coincidences, just wonderful opportunities that the universe provides. Wow, what great neighbors!

Shayma came over after 15 minutes or so. I introduced her to Kathy, who will be teaching two classes in psychology at Ain Shams University, the same university that Shayma and Mohamed had attended. It was a good connection for Kathy since she is interested in street children. And Shayma is so sweet and giving, she is providing contacts for Kathy from the NGOs that she has worked for in the past. She still does art workshops several times a year, the last one two months ago. After everyone but Shayma left, we talked about collaborating on some art workshops for kids here. My boxes of art supplies may be here next week. I mailed the four boxes in my "diplomatic pouch" allotment the Saturday before I left for Cairo. Half the contents are books for my research, the other half are art supplies like paper, construction paper, pencils, pens, coloring books, and crayons. Shayma and I are on the same wavelength, she is as good for me as I hope for her. I really want her to be successful - she wants to get her MFA in America so when she comes for her exhibition at WCU, we can visit Tyler Art School and some others like the Pennsylvania Academy of Art.

While I'm here, I want to host an exhibition of Shayma's art at my apartment, like our alumnae from WCU who host exhibitions in the apartment that Kim Knorr rents a room in. Isn't it great to get ideas from one place and implement them in another? I will invite the Fulbright scholars and students and neighbors for a little reception for the show. So, I need to design a flyer invitation by September 15 when we have our Fulbright Orientation. If I can get some art done by then, I will have some of my things hanging too. Actually, I need to get two works of art for the November 60th anniversary of the Bi-National Fulbright Commission in Cairo Art Exhibition. I think I will do something along the lines of "Faces in Egypt."

Only made to the corner Beano's, a coffee cafe with Wireless Internet - very nice place. It will be a good spot to do some work when I want to get out of the apartment. I stocked up on water after that, but only got four, the most I could carry. Must buy more tomorrow. Don't want to run out of water. I've been pretty healthy. Boil water for tea and coffee and cooking.

Oh BTW, the duck turned out great. I think that 1.5 hours boiling is too much. Doing it again, I would only take 1 hour for that part and 45 minutes roasting and see how that turns out. For dinner, I had a duck and eggplant sandwich on Egyptian bread (like pita or nan). I like to eat yogurt every day with honey but skipped today. As late as I stayed up, I forgot to do strain it - I prefer it thicker. A better and more productive day tomorrow but I did get some research done along with catching up on a lot of emailing. There's always more to do though.

Egyptian duck and a bucket of butter

2009-09-06T19:33:00.000+02:00

I was inspired last night after thumbing through new cookbook, My grandmother's Egyptian kitchen, to cook a duck from the roast duck recipe or else chicken and rice which required a clay pot. I've cooked duck before but not for a long time so I jotted down the ingredients: duck, salt, pepper, cardomom seeds, mastic seeds, bay leaf and of course, I needed a big pot because my kitchen is only equipped with two saucepans with lids. Great for cooking rice, veggies and boiling water for coffee or tea but not enough to accommodate the 5-6 lb duck I wanted to buy.

I walked, again, to the Alpha Market for the above purchase. Now all this is due to the fact that my friend Shayma is coming over tonight and I thought I would feed her something interesting. It has to be better than the take out bony chicken pieces with rice and not to my liking, chicken liver, surpise topping. Oh yes, and before I go further, this cookbook is awesome. Now I will never ever cook fried testicles or sheep's brain but at least the book has all the egyptian basics and is illustrated in lovely color. So I get to the store, find the meat section which I have only casually walked by before and look at the chickens. I see what appears to be a duck. However, whereas the chickens are in plastic bags with Arabic and English writing identifying them - the alleged duck is not. I go through this silly charade making chicken and duck noises and finally draw a reasonable picture of a duck. Great, it worked, I guess. And yes, it is a duck. I could not find bay leaves but will keep an eye for them. Cardamom features in many recipes involving poultry and other meats. I actually found the mastic but it was labeled gum. I don't know its exact function but I guess to thicken the broth a bit?

The big pot was nearly $30 but so worth it for those big dinners I plan with pasta or whatever. I know have a huge pot of duck broth. I still remember fondly the time I made duck soup. I liked saying it too, reminded me of the Marx brothers. It tasted really good.

The directions for preparing duck are this, rinse well, remove any blood clots and be sure to remove the chick pea shaped gland near the tail. OMG. I had to search for it under the tail area and managed to get it out, because I feared what could occur if I did not. I also removed the tail part, yes, I know, the Pope's nose and the section right above the gland on the surface because, ew, it was the duck anus. The directions did specify that a male duck was to be obtained. Why I don't know but I think that male animals have an anal gland and I do NOT want anything of the sort to be ingested or cooked by me. Again, ew ew ew. You boil the duck for 1.5 hours along with a whole onion. Then you take the duck out of the broth and put it in the oven after bathing it with butter, salt and pepper for 1 hour until the skin browns. Great smells were coming from my kitchen and while my duck didn't look as glorious as the author's duck, still it has some panache to it.

I managed to burn the bottom of my rice but because of the bucket of President's butter in it, it gave it a lovely golden brown crispiness. I can't remember what country but I think I read a book or saw a foreign film about fighting for the crispy bottom of rice. Maybe it's Afghanistan in a Thousand Suns by the author of the Kite Runner. I will correct this later. Now I'm cooking the mixed veggies of cut green beans, cubed carrot, some kind of marrow (not bone, but a kind of squash) in duck broth and my day is done. Just waiting for Shayma. I did eat a wing just to make sure it was OK. I'm not that picky of an eater. The crispy skin is wonderful though.

Will post photos of the duck and stuff. An interesting day! More later.

What Not to Wear - Egypt

2009-09-05T20:05:00.001+02:00

Now here is a title that illustrates my fashion do's and don'ts for Egypt witnessed today at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Cairo currently is full of Aussies and Americans with a smattering of Germans, French and of course, Egyptians. All the guidebooks like Lonely Planet, Cairo Guide to Egypt, Fodor's, etc. talk about the big cover up and modesty especially during the month of Ramadan, a period of one month of fasting and other deprivations like no smoking, no sex, etc. And here's the kicker - at the Egyptian Museum, I noted a great number of female tourists wearing sleeveless tanks with low necklines, shorts, tight shirts so lots of bare skin not to mention the bending over to see the mummies more closely as the guards got to see cleavage front and side and well outlined buttocks not to mention camel toe though I didn't actually see the latter. My best shot was of an Aussie girl (but she was probably German) who handed me her camera without conversation so I could take her picture outside. I've posted her photo that I had quickly snapped prior to this - I like to take photos of tourists taking pictures of monuments or other scenes. I thought she was the quintessential "what not to wear" model for Ramadan disrespect. No underwear, maybe a thong beneath the shortest shorts I have seen in a while. Oh yeah, and an all over tan from what I could see.

But mainly, I was enjoying the mummies wrapped in a variety of things upstairs in the mummy room which I paid the student price. Now this is in addition to the cost of entering the museum which currently is 100 EGP for adults ande 60 EGP for students with an International Student Identity Card - Ok so I have an International Teacher Card but it looks the same and besides most guards can't read English - sweet! It is estimated that it will cost 500 million USD to build the new Egyptian Museum which may not happen in my lifetime. I so enjoyed seeing Hatshepsut's mummy - It is thought that she died between the ages of 45 to 60 - she was obese, probably diabetic, with bad teeth. Her mummy, along with that of her wet nurse, was discovered in KV50 - her original tomb was KV20. And with the discovery of the late 19th century mummy cache which was the work of 21st dynasty priests who moved many of the royal mummies so that they would escape the fate of others before them whose tombs and mummies had been desecrated and destroyed, a boxs containing some items marked with her cartouche was found to contain part of a tooth. When the mummy was research by Zahi Hawass he matched the broken tooth with what was remaining in her mouth and voila! the identification was a done deal.

What I didn't know was that her husband, Thuthmosis II was her half brother He in turn, fathered a son by a minor queen, Isis and this son was Thuthmosis III. So when Thuthmosis II died, Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh for nearly 22 years (21 years, 9 months) while Thuthmosis III was at first, too young to rule by himself. Tut was ruling ostensibly by himself from the age of 9 but of course he had help from the priests of Amun Ra recently restored to power. He of course, comes after Hatshepsut. To gaze upon the faces of Egyptian royalty is always a treat for me. In the mummy room are Seti I (father of Rameses the Great), Rameses II, Mereneptah, his son who ruled after his father died, Thuthmosis I (Hatshepsut's father), Thuthmosis II, III and IV, Ahmose father of Amenhotep II and a few Egyptian women. The most shocking one is Seqenenre II who must have died horribly in battle - he has big head wounds and his eternal grimace can be seen eternally - pharaohs went into battle with their troops unlike our presidents, who though they are chiefs of staff, don't go on the frontline like the Egyptians did. Unfortunately, all visitors have to check their cameras before entering the museum, no exceptions, darn. I would have loved to have taken my own photos of the great mummies. I bought some second rate B&W photo postcards of a few of them just to give an idea. Maybe I'll take my photos of the photos to add to this entry.

I had such a wonderful cab driver today - I asked him for his number so I can call him when I need a ride. This was my first metered taxi - when I saw the fare, I couldn't believe it - less than 6 EGP from Zamalek to Downtown to the Egyptian Museum. Yesterday, I had the unmetered black and white cabs and gave 20 EGP for a similar distance. Well, I was still jet lagged and hungry and tired but now I know. Go for the solid white metered taxis. Plus the taxi I took today was new, didn't smell like cigarette smoke (can't smoke during Ramadan) and had fabulous air conditioning. Life is good today.

Shayma just called me - she was at an Iftar with some friends and family. I had sent her an email this morning since I was feeling better than I have since I arrived. And Carol, if you are reading this, the walking definitely helps. I managed with the help of my small compass to walk back from the Egyptian Museum to my place. Pretty easy, follow Corniche el Nil to the 26 July bridge, cross the Nile and veer left to Marsafy Street. I still get just slightly lost for the last bit but found it just fine. There is a sign for the All Saints Cathedral just up the street that I use as my signpost.

Before coming home, I stopped at the No Big Deal Cafe for an early dinner, chicken kebab with rice and yogurt for around $8. High cost by Egyptian standards but the menu is in English. This is the cafe where I had such good breakfasts at last year and now they have some new art. Looking foward to tomorrow.

Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut

2009-09-04T19:43:00.000+02:00

Queen Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut's name means Foremost of Noble Ladies. She was the fifth pharaoh of Dynasty 18 of Ancient Egypt. Most Egyptologists regard her as one of the most successful female pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty.

Records of her reign are documented in diverse ancient sourcesIt is known that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh, and her reign as king is usually given as twenty-two years since Manetho assigns her a reign of 21 years and 9 months. The date of her death occurred in 1458, which implies she became pharaoh circa 1479 BC.

It was uncommon for Egypt to be ruled by a woman, but it was not unprecedented. Hatshepsut was the second women to have formally assumed power as "King of Upper and Lower Egypt" after Queen Sobekneferu of the Twelfth Dynasty. As a queen regnant she is preceded by Merneith of the First Dynasty; and Nimaethap of the Third Dynasty, who may have been the dowager of Khasekhemwy, but who acted as regent for her son, Djoser, during the Third Dynasty, and—she may have reigned as pharaoh in her own right.

Other women whose possible reigns as pharaohs include Nefertiti, Meritaten, Neferneferuaten, and Twosret. Another pharaoh, Smenkhkare is believed to have been male, but there is some evidence that he was actually a she.

Among the foreign rulers of the later Egyptian dynasties, the most notable example of a woman who became pharaoh was Cleopatra VII, the last to rule Ancient Egypt.

Identification of Hatshepsut's mummy
Hatshepsut's remains were long considered lost, but in June 2007 a mummy from Tomb KV60, known as the "Strong One" was publicly identified as her remains by Zahi Hawass, the chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Evidence supporting this identification includes the results of a DNA comparison with the mummy of Ahmose Nefertari, Hatshepsut's grandmother. Further conclusive evidence includes the possession of a broken tooth previously found inside a small wooden box inscribed with Hatshepsut's name and cartouche: Zahi Hawass's team's CAT scan revealed that this tooth exactly matches this mummy's jaw. Modern CT scans of the mummy believed to be Hatshepsut suggest she was between 45-60 years old when she died from a ruptured abcess after removal of a tooth. There are signs in her mummy of metastatic bone cancer, as well as possible liver cancer and diabetes.

Family and early life
Hatshepsut was the elder daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose of Dynasty 18. They are known to have had only one other child, a daughter, Akhbetneferu (Neferubity), who died in infancy. Thutmose I also married Mutnofret, possibly a daughter of Ahmose I, and produced several half-brothers to Hatshepsut: Wadjmose, Amenose, Thutmose II, and possibly Ramose, through that secondary union. Wadjmose and Amenose were prepared to succeed their father, but neither lived beyond adolescence.

In her childhood, Hatshepsut is believed to have been favored by the Temple of Karnak over her two half-brothers by her father. Among the official records of her reign are assertions that her father, Thutmose I, named her as his direct heir and later, official depictions of Hatshepsut show her dressed in the full regalia of a pharaoh, including the traditional false beard to indicate that she ruled Egypt in her own right.

Upon the death of her father in 1493 BC, Hatshepsut married her half-brother, Thutmose II, commonly believed that Queen Hatshepsut exerted a strong influence over her husband.
Hatshepsut had one daughter with Thutmose II: Neferure. Hatshepsut may have groomed Neferure as the heir apparent, commissioning official portraits of her daughter wearing the false beard of royalty and the sidelock of youth.

When Thutmose II died, he left behind only one son, young Thutmose III. He was born as the son of a lesser wife of Thutmose II rather than of the Great Royal Wife, Hatshepsut, as Neferure was. Due to the relative youth of Thutmose III, he was not eligible to assume the expected tasks of a pharaoh. Instead, Hatshepsut became the regent of Egypt at this time, assumed the responsibilities of state, and was recognized by the priests of the temple. daughter, Neferure took over the roles Hatshepsut had played as queen in official and religious ceremonies.

While Thutmose III was designated as a co-regent of Egypt, the royal court recognized Hatshepsut as the pharaoh on the throne until she died. It is believed that Neferure was the royal wife of Thutmose III and mother of his eldest son, Amenemhat, who did not survive.
Thutmose III ruled for more than thirty years after the death of Hatshepsut though the official rule is said to be 55 years.

Rule -- Dates and length of reign
Hatshepsut reigned as pharaoh for twenty-two years according to ancient authors. Dating the beginning of her reign is more difficult. Her father's reign began in either 1506 or 1526 BC. The reigns of Thutmose I and Thutmose II cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Modern chronologists tend to agree that Hatshepsut reigned as pharaoh from 1479 to 1458 BC, but there is no definitive proof.

Policies
Upon the death of Thutmose II, the throne passed to Thutmose III, and Hatshepsut—as the child's royal aunt and stepmother—was selected to be interregnum regent until he came of age. Although ancient histories mark her reign from the death of her father, some scholars argue that initially, it appears that Hatshepsut was patterning herself after the powerful women who were regents during Egypt's then-recent history, but as Thutmose III approached maturity, if that was so, she could have had only one model in mind: Sobekneferu, the last monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty, who ruled in her own right. Hatshepsut took one step further than Sobekneferu, however, by being crowned pharaoh around 1473 BC, taking the throne name Maatkare, meaning "Truth in the soul of the sun god Re."

The date of her formal assumption as king is not known but this event must have occurred by her Seventh Year due to the discovery of the intact tomb of Senenmut's parents—Ramose and Hatnofer—which contained various grave goods including several pottery jars, one of which was dated to 'Year Seven' and bore the seal the 'God's Wife Hatchepsut' and two of which were stamped with the royal seal of 'The Good Goddess Maatkare', the name she took as pharaoh.

Hatshepsut surrounded herself with strong and loyal advisors, many of whom are still known today: the Vizier Hapuseneb, the second prophet of Amun Puyemre and her closest advisor, the royal steward, tutor and "overseer of all Royal Works" (or architect) Senenmut. Senenmut had two tombs constructed near Hatshepsut's tomb. This was a standard privilege for close advisors. Some Egyptologists theorize that the two were lovers. Other evidence offered is a graffito from an unfinished Deir el-Bahri tomb used as a rest house by the workers of her mortuary temple: it depicts a male and a second person of ambiguous gender with pharaonic regalia engaging in an explicit sexual act from behind. The latter person in the graffito "is wearing what has been identified as a royal headdress. Other scholars argue that the drawing has been misinterpreted "as a contemporary political parody to highlight one way in which Hatchepsut could never be a true king--she could never dominate a man in the way that she is now being dominated."

Senenmut's rapid rise in fortune at court and privileges extended to him included the placing of his non-royal tomb within the confines of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri. Senenmut served her father and husband also, and it may simply be that she was rewarding her servant for his great loyalty to her and his obvious skills.

Major accomplishments
Hatshepsut reestablished trade networks disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period. The wealth of Dynasty 18 was unprecedented with evidence from the discovery of the burial of one of her descendants, Tutankhamun.

She oversaw preparations and funding for a mission to the Land of Punt. The expedition set out in her name with five ships, each measuring 70 feet long with several sails and accommodating 210. Many trade goods were bought in Punt, notably myrrh, said to have been Hatshepsut's favorite fragrance. The Egyptians returned from the voyage bearing 31 live frankincense trees. This was the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees. Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her mortuary temple complex. She had the expedition commemorated in relief at Deir el-Bahri, also famous for its depiction of the Queen of the Land of Punt, who is depicted as quite obese with rolls of fat and steatopygia.

Although many Egyptologists claimed that her foreign policy was peaceful, there is evidence that Hatshepsut led successful military campaigns in Nubia, the Levant, and Syria early in her career.
Building projects
Djeser-Djeseru is the main building of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri. Designed by Senemut, the building is an example of perfect symmetry. Hatshepsut was one of the most prolific builder pharaohs of ancient Egypt, commissioning hundreds of construction projects throughout both Upper and Lower Egypt, that were grander and more numerous than those of any of her Middle Kingdom predecessors.

She employed two great architects: Ineni, who also had worked for her husband and father and the royal steward, Senemut. Following the tradition of most pharaohs, Hatshepsut had monuments constructed at the Temple of Karnak. She had twin obelisks, at the time the tallest in the world, erected at the entrance to the temple. One still stands, as the tallest surviving ancient obelisk on Earth; the other has since broken in two and toppled. Karnak's Red Chapel was intended as a barque shrine between her two obelisks. She later ordered the construction of two more obelisks to celebrate her sixteenth year as pharaoh; one of the obelisks broke during construction, and a third was constructed to replace it. The broken obelisk was left at its quarrying site in Aswan, where it remains, known as The Unfinished Obelisk.

The masterpiece of Hatshepsut's building projects was her mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri. It was designed and implemented by Senemut on a site on the West Bank of the Nile River near the entrance to what is now called the Valley of the Kings. The focal point was the Djeser-Djeseru or "the Sublime of Sublimes,", a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony. Djeser-Djeseru sits atop a series of terraces that were once graced with lush gardens and is built into a cliff face that rises sharply above it.

Official propaganda
Hatshepsut has been called the most accomplished pharaoh at promoting her accomplishments. Besides her great building prograns it reflects the wealth that her policies and administration brought to Egypt, enabling her to finance such projects. Much of her decorative reliefs had religious overtones and was supported fully by the priests at Karnak. Since the passage of leadership was determined in advance by these same religious leaders, and enacted at the moment of the death of a pharaoh, the transition to the next occurred without question. A large granite sphinx bearing the likeness of Hatshepsut, with the traditional false beard, a symbol of pharaonic power, resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lineage was traced through maternal relationships. A woman becoming pharaoh was rare, however; only Khentkaues, Sobeknefru, Twosret, and possibly Nitocris preceded her in known records as ruling solely in their own name. There is no indication of challenges to her leadership and until her death, her co-regent remained in a secondary role, heading her powerful army.

Hatshepsut assumed all of the regalia and symbols of Pharaonic office in official representations: the Khat head cloth, topped with an uraeus, the traditional false beard, and shendyt kilt. Many existing statues alternatively show her in typically feminine attire as well as those that depict her in royal ceremonial attire. Statues portraying Sobekneferu also combine elements of traditional male and female iconography and may have served as inspiration for the works commissioned by Hatshepsut. All formal depictions of Hatshepsut as pharaoh showed her in royal attire, with all of the pharaonic regalia, and with her breasts obscured behind her crossed arms holding the regal staffs of the two kingdoms she ruled. By assuming the typical symbols of pharaonic power, Hatshepsut was asserting her claim to be the sovereign and not a "King's Great Wife" or Queen consort. The gender of pharaohs was never stressed in official depictions.

Even after assuming the formal regalia, Hatshepsut still described herself as a beautiful woman, often as the most beautiful of women, and although she assumed almost all of her father's titles, she declined to take the title "The Strong Bull" which tied the pharaoh to the goddesses Isis, the throne, and Hathor by being her son sitting on her throne -- since Hatshepsut became allied with the goddesses herself. Statues such as those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, depicting her seated wearing a tight-fitting dress and the nemes crown, are thought to be a more accurate representation of how she would have presented herself at court.

As a notable exception, only one male pharaoh abandoned the rigid symbolic depiction that had become the style of the most official artwork representing the ruler, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten) of the same Eighteenth Dynasty, whose wife, Nefertiti, also may have ruled in her own right following the death of her husband. Nefertiti is thought to have been a woman from the same lineage as Hatshepsut.

The Oracle of Amun proclaimed that it was the will of Amun that Hatshepsut be Pharaoh, further strengthening her position. She publicized Amun's support by having endorsements by the god Amun carved on her monuments: “Welcome my sweet daughter, my favorite, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Maatkare, Hatshepsut. Thou art the Pharaoh, taking possession of the Two Lands.”

Once she became pharaoh herself, Hatshepsut supported her assertion that she was her father's designated successor with inscriptions on the walls of her mortuary temple: "Then his majesty said to them: "This daughter of mine, Khnumetamun Hatshepsut—may she live!—I have appointed as my successor upon my throne... she shall direct the people in every sphere of the palace; it is she indeed who shall lead you. Obey her words, unite yourselves at her command." The royal nobles, the dignitaries, and the leaders of the people heard this proclamation of the promotion of his daughter, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Maatkare—may she live eternally.”

Death and mummification
Hatshepsut died as she was approaching middle age given typical contemporary lifespans. The precise date of Hatshepsut's death--and the time when Thutmose III became sole ruler of Egypt--is considered to be Year 22, II Peret day 10 of their joint rule as recorded on a single stela erected at Armant[34] or January 16, 1458 BC. This information validates the basic reliability of Manetho's kinglist records since Thutmose III and Hatshepsut's known accession date was I Shemu day 4. (ie: Hatshepsut died 9 months into her 22nd year as Manetho writes in his Epitome for a reign of 21 years and 9 months) CT scans ofthe mummy identified as Hatshepsut reveal that she died of blood infection while she was in her 50s.; it also would suggest that she had arthritis, bad teeth, and probably had diabetes.

For a long time, her mummy was believed to be missing from the Deir el-Bahri Cache. An unidentified female mummy one of whose arms was posed in the traditional burial style of pharaohs was found with Hatshepsut's wet nurse, In-Sitre. Zahi Hawass claimed to have located the mummy of Hatshepsut, mislaid on the third floor of the Cairo Museum. In June 2007, it was announced that they had identified Hatshepsut's mummy in the Valley of the Kings; this discovery is considered to be the "most important find in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun." Decisive evidence was a molar found in a wooden box
inscribed with Hatshepsut's name, found in 1881 among a cache of royal mummies hidden away for safekeeping in a near-by temple. The tooth has been conclusively proven to have been removed from the mummy's mouth, fitting exactly an empty socket in the mummy's jawbone.

Burial Complex -- Hatshepsut's Temple
Hatshepsut had begun construction of a tomb when she was the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose II, but the scale of this was not suitable when she became pharaoh, so a second tomb was built. This was KV20, which was possibly the first tomb to be constructed in the Valley of the Kings. The original intention was to hew a long tunnel that would lead underneath her mortuary temple, but the quality of the limestone bedrock was poor and her architect must have realized that this goal would not be possible. As a result, a large burial chamber was created instead. At some point, it was decided to dis-inter her father, Thutmose I, from his original tomb in KV38 and place his mummy in a new chamber below hers. Her original red-quartzite sarcophagus was altered to accommodate her father instead, and a new one was made for her. It is likely that when she died (no later than the twenty-second year of her reign), she was interred in this tomb along with her father.

The tomb was opened in antiquity, the first time during the reign of Hatshepsut's successor, Thutmose III, who re-interred his grandfather, Thutmose I, in his original tomb, and may have moved Hatshepsut's mummy into the tomb of her wet nurse, In-Sitre, in KV60. Although her tomb had been largely cleared (save for both sarcophagi still present when the tomb was fully cleared by Howard Carter in 1903) some grave furnishings have been identified as belonging to Hatshepsut, including a "throne," a senet game board with red-jasper game pieces bearing her pharaonic title, a signet ring, and a partial ushabti figurine bearing her name.

Changing recognition
Toward the end of the reign of Thutmose III, an attempt was made to remove Hatshepsut from certain historical and pharaonic records. Her cartouches and images were chiselled off the stone walls—leaving very obvious gaps in the artwork—and she was excluded from the official history that was rewritten without acknowledgment of co-regency during the period between Thutmose II to Thutmose III. At the Deir el-Bahri temple, Hatshepsut's numerous statues were torn down and in many cases, smashed or disfigured before being buried in a pit. At Karnak there was an attempt to wall up her obelisks. Much of the rewriting of Hatshepsut's history occurred only during the close of Thutmose III's reign, it is not clear why it happened, other than typical self-promotion among the pharaohs and their administrators, or perhaps to save money by recycling the grand structures built by Hatshepsut for Thuthmosis III.

Egyptologists assumed that the deliberate erasure of a person's name, image, and memory, would cause them to die a second, terrible and permanent death in the afterlife. It is unlikely that the determined and focused Thutmose—not only Egypt's most successful general, but an acclaimed athlete, author, historian, botanist, and architect—would have brooded for two decades before attempting to avenge himself on his stepmother.

Erasures were haphazard, with only the more visible and accessible images of Hatshepsut being removed; had it been more complete, we would not now have so many images of Hatshepsut. Thutmose III may have died before his changes were finished, or it may be that he never intended a total obliteration of her memory. There is no evidence to support the assumption that Thutmose resented Hatshepsut during her lifetime. As head of the army, he could have led a successful coup, but made no attempt to challenge her authority during her reign.

It is possible that Thutmose III, toward the end of his life, decided to relegate Hatshepsut to her expected place as queen regent rather than king. By eliminating the more obvious traces of Hatshepsut's monuments as pharaoh and reducing her status to that of his co-regent, Thutmose III could claim that the royal succession ran directly from Thutmose I to Thutmose III.

The deliberate erasures or mutilations of the numerous public celebrations of her accomplishments, but not the rarely seen ones, would be all that was necessary to obscure Hatshepsut's accomplishments. By the latter half of Thutmose III's reign, the more prominent high officials who served Hatshepsut would have died thereby eliminating the powerful bureaucratic resistance to a change in direction in a highly stratified culture. Hatshepsut's highest official and closest supporter, Senenmut himself seems to have either retired abruptly or died around Years 16 and 20 of Hatshepsut's reign and was never interred in either of his carefully prepared tombs. Newer court officials, appointed by Thutmose III, would have had an interest in promoting the many achievements of their master in order to assure the continued success of their own families.

Thutmose III may have considered the possibility that a successful female king in Egyptian history could set a dangerous precedent since it demonstrated that a woman was as capable at governing Egypt as a traditional male king. This event could, theoretically, persuade "future generations of potentially strong female kings" to not "remain content with their traditional lot as wife, sister and eventual mother of a king" instead and assume the crown. Hatshepsut's glorious reign demonstrated that women were as equally capable as men in ruling the two lands since she successfully presided over a prosperous Egypt for more than two decades.

The 2006 discovery of a foundation deposit including nine golden cartouches bearing the names of both Hatshepsut and Thutmose III in Karnak may shed additional light on the eventual attempt by Thutmose III to erase Hatshepsut from the historical record and the correct nature of their relationship and her role as pharaoh.

Popular and fictional attention
Biographies such as Hatshepsut by Evelyn Wells romanticized her as a beautiful and pacifistic woman. This contrasted with nineteenth-century interpretations of Hatshepsut as a wicked stepmother usurping the throne from Thutmose III. The novel Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, maintains the wicked stepmother view by casting Hatshepsut as the story's villainess. At least four authors have written fictional novels featuring Hatshepsut as the historical heroine: Hatshepsut: Daughter of Amun by Moyra Caldecott, King and Goddess, by Judith Tarr, Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge, and Pharaoh by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, as well as the Lieutenant Bak series of mystery novels which is set during her reign.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What Can You Get for 20 EGP

2009-09-04T17:46:00.000+02:00

I thought this was a good title for today - challenging myself to see what I could purchase for the equivalent of less than $4 USD. I bought a bouquet of Egyptian pink roses - about 2 dozen from a guy on the street outside the Alpha Market. They even had a faint scent. Of course, they are very thorny, the kind of tiny thorns that are more irritating than skin puncturing. I had trim off most of the leaves and snip off the ends. In the end I filled a large water pitcher with the taller ones and a water glass with the rest. I don't know, I think they were actually more like 3 dozen, small, pretty, pink roses. Passing by what smelled delectable with to go styrofoam containers of rice and what looked like eggplant (don't ever assume, it turned out to be spicy chopped chicken livers) and some freshly (no not killed but probably that too) grilled chicken) I asked how much, and yes, 20 EGP. I also ventured to ask for the chicken to be breast, and the man said yes. I can't tell you how many times I have requested this and ended up with legs, etc. Ha ha ha on me, I got a chicken leg, a piece of chicken back and who knows from what area of the chicken the last tiny morsel came from. Well, except for the chicken liver surprise, I ended up eating it all. what was described to me as salad, was some very very spicy tahini. ILast item: I bought a navy blue handwoven scarf from the Nomad store - a little over - but at 25 EGP, still a pretty good bargain.

Taxi Drivers of Cairo

2009-09-03T20:46:00.000+02:00

With nearly 7 million people in Cairo and an estimated 50,000 taxis (not to mention other vehicles) a taxi ride is puzzling, amazing and sometimes downright dangerous. I was going to label this post "The Bipolar Taxi Driver" but somehow I think he was more of an anger management client. Of course, I had a little conversation today at the HSBC bank in Dokki when I opened up my first Egyptian account - 10,640 Egyptian pounds - not all that much really but at least three months worth of assistance toward food. The rest of the money goes directly into my American account in American dollars. Anyway, May, who helped me, has her degree in accounting but had actually wanted to get a degree in psychology at Stanford - BUT, much too expensive, hard to get in and parental disproval. Also, Egyptians by and large do not believe in therapy, psychiatrists, psychotherapy or any other form of assistance to the mentally ill. Which I feel that this man was over the top in crankiness. While it's true that Ramadan fasting can give rise to outbursts of anger, irritability, etc. since there is no intake of food or water from sunrise to sunset and yes, it is hot. In the words of Forrest Gump, You never know what you're going to get. Of course, he meant a box of chocolates but it could substitute for taxi driver.

Some of my friends know of my tales of taxi drivers on my travels. The taxi driver in Turkey who insisted on taking me to see a dam, not frankly my dear, I don't give a d... but an actual dam. And he kept talking to me in Turkish and all I could imagine in between deciphering a few words like fish and water was that he was going to tie me up, beat me and them throw me into the water where I would swim with the fishes. Not really, just my active imagination. And there was a truly creepy fat French taxi driver who insisted on pressing his liver lips to mine. Ugh. OK, so the Turkish driver must have thought I was an American woman of easy virtue because I sat in the front seat How did I know it meant I was that kind of woman? And there was the taxi driver in Amman, Jordan who drove around the entire city for an hour trying to find the YWCA and then wanted to charge us a gigantic taxi fare. But I have since learned, no one knows the streets or sites or hotels except for the ones they supply with unknowing tourists.

So back to my Cairo taxi drivers. Call me a glutton for punishment but I took three today. I am usually an anti-taxi kind of traveler and you can why with just those few examples. I sometimes have walked an extra oh, let's see, 5 or 6 miles to avoid taking one, getting lost in the process. I am selectively cheap. But today, first I got the nice man who spoke not a lick of English, except to say no English - he was so fervent a believer and so devout that his forehead had a huge raised callous on it from praying five times a day. He was so honest and reasonable for a fare from Zamalek to Dokki that when I gave him a 20 pound note, he actually gave me back a 5 pound note with 5 pounds in coins. Of course, and you should be laughing here as I was not in the thirty seconds after he sped away that he had taken me to the Spanish Language Institute. I know, I know and there was even a nicely dressed guy in his late 20s or early 30s who got in the taxi to show him where to go. hahaha on me. It took me three or four guys that I asked - not to be sexist, but most women do not know their streets or fancy this, do not understand me - to finally find the place. The Fulbright office that is. Eventually I found the office.

After signing papers, I went to the HSBC bank to open an account for my Egyptian stipend of 3000 pounds a month, roughly $550. Back to the Fulbright office to give them the 100 pounds for my resident visa. I had forgotten to bring along two passport photos but promised to get some made, knowing of course, that they would NOT be flattering like the ones I took of myself - it's all in the angle of the camera lens, ladies at a local Kodak store. At least the price is right - 10 pounds for 4 photos, less than $2. They take just as ugly pics in our photo places in the U.S. but you pay much more for the ugly photo AND you are stuck with it for several years, 10 years if it is on your passport. I think I should have a professional make up artist and maybe some liposuction before the next passport photo. Ha ha ha ha. I scream (and alternately laugh hysterically) every time I see my photo and think, who in the world is that? This is why people posting their pics on personal ads always use their old photos which are more flattering, then you meet them and think, oh no! Where did your hair go? Or else, where did your waist go? Where did your teeth go? And finally, why didn't I shoot myself in the foot before agreeing to meet you?

Well, anyway, I'm feeling hot, faint, and tired so I decide to get another taxi for the ride back to Zamalek. I had Hend write out in Arabic my apartment address in Arabic as well as the Diwan Bookstore on 26 July Street in Arabic to then hand over to a taxi driver. And another thing, they can barely read. And, I started noticing that most taxis have at least one dent, usually more. Well, no sooner than I had gotten into the taxi, when the Indy 500 began in our race to cross the Nile the fastest way possible narrowly missing cars by inches or more correctly centimeters (they are metric you know). No seat belts of course in the back seat but I grabbed onto the back of the passenger seat. And for the life of me, I could not remember the Arabic word for slow down! Over the bridge, he narrowly missed squishing a boy of around 11 or 12 and kept up a verbal harrangue with another taxi driver, yelling obscenities and perhaps giving him the finger. I was afraid to glance at his eyes imagining that they were by now glowing red like a demon. Shortly before we reached our destination, he swerved around a too slow car and a poor guy wearing a white cap (means you have gone on a haj) on a bicycle. Missed by .5 inch to my estimation. Almost killed the guy but the bicycle man was pretty philosophical about it, I suppose he was grateful to be alive. In the hood, he would have pulled out a gun or knife. My blood pressure shot up, developed quite the headache and when I saw Diwan Bookstore, said OK. I couldn't get out fast enough though my foot was temporary trapped in a broken down plastic bit of the door. I gave him 20 pounds for not killing me or anyone in front of me and he seemed OK with it. I probably overpaid. Instead of going into the bookstore, I went into Maison Thomas where I devoured a croque madame - basically a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato. Then I asked the waiter if he had heard of Alpha Market and he made a little pantomine to show me where -- around 10 minute walk, last street on 26 July and go right, then turn left two streets up. The Alpha supermarket is open 24 hours not that I would go at 3 am just nice to know I could. To be continued...

At home in Cairo

2009-09-03T01:04:00.000+02:00

I arrived in Cairo around 4:00 pm (my time) - Philadelphia time around 10 am, tired of sitting in an airplane for so many hours. We gained some tailwinds coming out of the east coast so arrived in Frankfurt about 45 minutes ahead of time. But, of course, the usual waiting in line for passport control, etc. Then, not too much of a wait before boarding my next flight - Frankfurt to Cairo. Have you ever noticed that duty free is not such a bargain? I was going to buy some wine but decided against because in Germany even duty free is really really expensive. For example, in the food court, a small bottle of water was 3 euros. Come on now! Around $5 for a bottle of water. I did get a brie sandwich and glad I did because Lufthansa has changed - their food is awful and their service is minimal and rather unfriendly. Oh well, the Teutonic coolness. My ride on the plane had me in a window seat which, I have decided is not such a good idea. My side of the plane had only two seats so at least when I had to make my aisle seat weird younger guy get up it was only one person. He was getting sick of me by the end but the tasteless pasta dish made me sick. He was dressed all in white, young, probably gay, couldn't quite figure out the nationality. When we landed he jumped out of his seat and elbowed his way out. Gee, usually my relationships with men aren't that bad! I tried to control my negative thoughts about how he was NOT going to take up my small space. The guy behind me kept kicking my seat. Riding in an airplane does not bring out the best in anyone when you are in the role of lab rats with too little space. On the 4 hour ride to Cairo, I sat next to a very large Egyptian woman who was lovely. She had been traveling basically all day from Oklahoma City - she loved it there - to help out her younger son whose wife had had a new baby. She asked me if I had children and when I said no, she patted my hand and said "God loves you." That's a new one! She was tired of taking care of her kids and husband and said a friend who is the happiest is childless. Hmmm, new insight into what a 60 someting Egyptian woman thinks about life. I believe she was Coptic Christian because she mentioned Jesus here and there. Anyway, I managed to sleep partially on this flight out of sheer exhaustion. I watched three movies on my personal screen from PHL to FRA - Fast and Furious because I love Vin Diesel, an Indian film called Luck ... and one about a woman who was a university professor who lost her job and has to work as a tour guide in Greece. That same woman in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was cute and all you Greece fans, just to see the scenery and the shopping etc. is worth it.

Later on this morning, I will go to the Cairo office to get my finances secured, my first check, my first deposit in Egyptian pounds. When I arrived in my apartment I was so happy. Extremely tall ceilings around 14 feet high. Nice inlaid furniture. Big wide open spaces. I have a big bed in the main bedroom with great air conditioner. There is another bedroom with two twin beds. I haven't quite figured out how to make the hot water heater work for the shower - always a challenge. Took a cool shower anyway. There is a nice big living room for entertaining, a separate dining room with seating for at least 8 people and get this, a separate big office with couch that could sleep a visitor as well. I have DSL wireless which is a treat as I am lying in bed typing this. I fell asleep reading Chronicles of the Queens of Egypt.

I had to pay $300 for overweight luggage - it would have been more but the nice check in woman at Lufthansa had me take out some books for the official weighing in. You are allowed 23 kg and I had 32 kg on one and 35 on the other. After 33 kg, the cost goes up exponentially and instead of $150 it is $300. So she saved me another $150. with three bags it would have been $250 so I should have stuck with my original packing. At least there is a bawoab - kind of the building super for this apartment who brought the bags upstairs. After fasting all day in 87 degree heat, my handler, Ibrahim who is not too burly, had a hard time getting my bags in his station wagon - I gave him $10 American for his help and 10 Egyptian pounds for the bawoab. I got my visa no problem for $15 at the airport in Cairo, another nice sticker with stamps on it for my passport. Ibrahim gave me a tour of the apartment and in my nearly brain dead state tried to remember things. He called Maggie William, the housing supervisor and she spoke to me saying how they worked all day on Sept. 1 getting the apartment ready. She had food there for me, bananas, red delicious apples, water in the fridge, Laughing Cow cheese, butter, wheat bread, Egyptian bread which is like pita bread, coffee, tea, sugar, boxed milk, etc. I was so impressed and happy - she said it's too hard when you are tired to go out and find these things so they wanted to get me started on the basics. I had used about a dozen rolls of toilet paper and two rolls of paper towels as padding for my large case so now I don't have to buy any for a while.

I'm nearly unpacked - hung up all my clothes but stopped short of total putting away of stuff. I dreamed that my fulbright neighbords and their 14 triplets came to visit me bringing chocolate cheesecake. My dreams are definitely improving! More blogs later today when I can upload pics of my surroundings and apartment. Love from Cairo!

It's only Friday but I can't wait to get on that plane

2009-08-29T03:12:00.000+02:00

Did a round of shopping today and actually made a list though I know there is stuff I need. Managed to misplace my Yellow Fever certificate and had to get a replacement. Also lost my original medical clearance form with all my labwork - again, got a replacement signed by my doctor. Hmmm, oh yeah, a case finally for my mini Dell laptop, a case for my regular laptop, a laser wireless mouse, noise cancellation headphones for my iPod, an iPod docking station that is a clock radio and stereo player that doesn't weigh too much. I'm hefting all purchases in my hands seeing what is absolutely not going to work. Fulbright advises us to bring our electronic devices with us in our checked baggage and not in the Diplomatic "pouch" shipped boxes of educational materials which by the way, I still have to mail. Tommorow, tomorrow.

Nancy and Heather are coming over tomorrow to help me organize. I figure I'll be more relaxed with a mojito - I have two bags of limes. I'm starting to get dyslexic talking about the trip, I mix up words when I'm a little stressed. I am totally looking forward to this though, just a little sleep deprived. Any day now, I'll have that travel dream where I've gotten to my destination and then suddenly find myself in the airplane going back to Philadelphia. I even have the dreams where I'm packing and have too much stuff and then end up leaving it all behind.

The reason why I can't wait to get on that plane is that that is the moment when I can finally relax. Well, as relaxed as I get on an 8 hour flight. tgfm - thank god for medication. I usually get very antsy at about three hours. And the eternal question, shall I go for the aisle seat for easy bathroom access or should I go for the window so I have something to lean on. I read that the t-people always choose the aisle person to harrass so maybe window. Want to get an actual pillow to take on the plane. Have you ever really slept comfortably with your neck in one of those neck pillows? Didn't think so. I hope I don't get seated next to the really big guy who keeps his legs in a huge pyramid shape, you know, where his left leg is all the way over on your right hand space. We get very used to our own little space on airplanes. I

haven't even looked at the local weather, probably a gazillion degrees. Anyway, after over 12 hours of actual flying time, not counting the down time in Frankfort, I'll be pretty ready for a shower. Nice that I'm being picked up at the airport. In Cairo, the handler comes in and takes care of your visa stuff - at least the Fulbright handler, Ibrahim. Then he gets my stuff brings it to the vehicle and takes me to my apartment and then, when I'm falling over with tiredness will take me for a little walk around my neighborhood because I promise not to drink the water. I do have a Brita filter but that's for my hair basically. What I did last year when I was desperate for water was boil some and cool it and made hibiscus tea with it. The Egyptians do make great hibiscus tea - very red, very tart, very thirst quenching.

I was checking out spy cameras in the shape of pens and stuff but didn't leave enough time to order one. They are pretty cool. They also have spy cameras that look like buttons - only black buttons but still great. I checked out the videos people had made. Stupid ones like driving in a car and looking at goldfish. I guess real spies wouldn't actually show clandestine operations. I love those TV shows like Leverage. I would have used the camera/video to record street life. oh well, probably just as well but wouldn't it be neat? However, to be honest, this totally goes against my "to observe is to disturb" quote that I always say to my non-Western art students. You will be getting plenty of regular photos from me, maybe even a camel somewhere but not at the pyramids because my camel will remember me. They sense fear, you know.

A mere ten days until departure

2009-08-23T22:58:00.000+02:00

Today I am preparing a lecture entitled "Walk Like an Egyptian" based on Egyptian artifacts I have seen around the world for a retirement community in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I have taught classes on Egyptian art and traveled to Egypt for a total of five times. The lecture is tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. I had been invited to give lectures there and thought that this would be a good beginning. When I return in the Spring of 2010, I am going to use my wine knowledge (from an intensive Foundation Wine course at the Philadelphia Wine School, www.vinology.com ) which I completed on Friday. I wanted to create a class on Art, Food, Wine and Film and thought that the senior citizens would be my willing guinea pigs for a very short version of the class complete with real wine tasting. I can't do that in my state of Pennsylvania.

Although I only guessed two of of the four wines on the blind tasting, if I "kick butt" on the written online exam, I can look forward to passing. Actually, that old saying of don't change your first answer is pretty much right on. I had thought at first the wine #1 was a Sauvignon Blanc but the grapefruit didn't hit me as hard as I thought it should. I over thought it and chose Riesling. The other one wine #4 was a Cabernet Sauvignon, which I initially thought it was but I decided the herbiness of it and the bitterness on the back of my tongue made it a Sangiovese. Dumb me. I have to pass the online exam for the Intermediate Global wine studies exam. Holy merde.

In only ten days, I depart via United Airlines/Lufthansa for Cairo spending the next 4.5 months researching women's artistic heritage in over 40 women's organizations and NGOs. I have already done some preliminary work in Cairo last summer with seven workshops. My apartment is in Zamalek and in the same apartment building as a Fulbright couple with triplets who I met at the Orientation meeting in Washington, D.C.

I need to get back to lecture prep but wanted to start this blog. More later.