Mad about Rain

In a water scarce country such as Egypt, water comes at a greater price than other places on earth. Unlike the song about rain that I grew up with in Canada "Rain, Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day", Egyptians sing a slightly different version, that welcomes the rain.

The song goes like this,
"Ye matera, ye matera, ruhi ruhi, ala ara2at bint okhti" Come rain, come rain, hurry hurry, fall on the bald head of my niece.
This year, Egypt has seen an unprecedented amount of rainfall - more than I can recall in any year previous year I've been here. But I saw my first Egyptian rainbow last week, and its fabulous arch painted the entire sky. Let's hope for more rainbows.

One thing is for sure, after the rain is gone -
Cairo shines and sparkles

Encouragement when Learning Arabic

Arabic calligraphy needs its own post,
but I couldn't pass the opportunity to
display how beautiful the language is.

In Egypt, people are MOST encouraging when it comes to learning their language. The Egyptians are fully supportive of anyone trying to talk the talk.

From my earliest visits here, when literally all I could utter was "Salam Alaykum" (peace be upon you), the people would be so encouraging and clap their hands and say how fabulous an Arabic speaker I was - and basically, all I knew was "Hello".

That sort of encouragement goes a long way, and it really makes it a pleasure to learn a language, as challenging and dynamic as Arabic, in both colloquial and classical forms.

Fabulous Tailors

I always love going to these open shops in Egypt full of piles and piles of fabric and sometimes a sewing machine halfway into the street. You can get your curtains sewn, buy cushions for your sofa, fix broken zippers, reupholster all of your furniture - or at other tailors, have entire suits and evening gowns made, wedding dresses, or just get your pants hemmed. I've even seen one that sews "imported hair" together to make ladies wigs. It's easy, its inexpensive, often its quite nicely done.

Fabric/sewing shop in Heliopolis.
Note the stacks of cushions for outdoor patio furniture.
I had some made for my balcony.

A Beauty that Doesn't even Recognize Itself

Egypt has beauty that doesn't realize its own beauty. Sometimes the harsh sounds and the startling images blind us to the beauty right before our eyes. Beauty that lies in every step, in every gentle rosy sunset, in every silently whispered prayer, in every aspiration and dream kept chained inside. Loveliness moving in and out of the cascade of colors and onslaught of imagery: Glimpses of tenderness. Kind words. Splashes of color. Lyrical language. Sweetly sung songs.
Of these, the most beautiful is that which is silently unaware of its own fairness.

Night Swimming in January

A few nights ago, I took my daughter to a swim class after sunset.
Quite fabulously, it is January.

My daughter's swim class at the club. She's at the top corner of the pool.
Note the silver orb of the moon at the top left.

This is how children look in Canada in January:

(Randy from "A Christmas Story",
filmed about 10 minutes from where I grew up
for more on Canadian winter bliss watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW4IZ0Flh3M)

Need I say more?

Healthy and Delicious Fast Food

An Egyptian restaurant selling
"foul" and falafel sandwiches

Egyptian fast food is unbelievably fabulous. I still am utterly amazed when Egyptians or other expats go to McDonald's or other American chains here (which are all quite popular), and spend about 10 times as much as they would for Egyptian fast food, on food that is infinitely less healthy and infinitely less tasty.

Egyptian fast food has a whole variety of yummy helpings - from Kebab sandwiches for meat lovers (that come second only to Turkish Döner kebabs) to a wide selection of vegetarian and even vegan delights (watch out for my upcoming post on why its great to be a vegan in Egypt).

One of my favorite Egyptian fast food restaurant experiences was eating in a restaurant called "The Gash" (which means, I believe, the donkey) where we actually had to move our tables and chairs as we were eating in the middle of the street when some cars came up behind us. Talk about fabulous food on the go... ;)

Preparing falafel (in Egyptian, called "Tahmeya")

Saying "I love you" with your car horn

Music  and poetry is everywhere,
even in honking your car

In Cairo, the roadways are the very pulse of the city and are as musical as the rest of Egypt. 

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Well, fair enough. On the roadways here, the drivers have their own system of messages conveyed just through the beats of the car horn. 

If you beat it out to: ba-ha-bak (I love you), then you are saying thank you to the car ahead of you for being nice, maybe letting you pass. There is also a wedding march that echoes across Cairo streets from throngs of cars every weekend from all of the regular wedding festivities.

Mother of All Sweetness

The Mother of All Sweetness

Egyptian sweets (called Halawiat - from the word Halaowa literally meaning something sweet and beautiful) are fabulous.

Doused in a sugary honey syrup, sometimes filled with cream or covered with pistachios, then these gooey yummy treats are nice following any meal or even make for a fabulous quick breakfast.

The Egyptians can eat literally platefuls of these. Myself, I tend to max out after two or three. Nevertheless, I consider halawiat to be the mother of all sweetness and so they are way up there in my list of fabulous things about Egypt.

I would add a note here, that I think WHERE you buy the halawiat makes a difference, I've found a nice shop where the sweets are very light and just melt in your mouth. So, if they don't appeal to your tastebuds at once, believe me, divine and fabulous halawiat do exist, you just haven't found the right shop yet. Keep looking.

Fabulous Pharmacies

Fabulous 24-hour free home delivery

In Egypt, you can get medical advice and free home delivery 24 hours. This is especially helpful with babies and small children. The pharmacists nearly all speak good English and can provide medical advice as needed around the clock.

Need to take an injection or take a blood sample? Don't feel like getting up and waiting in a clinic? Don't worry, they will send a nurse right to your home to help you.

15 minutes after your phone call, all the diapers, baby food, bandages, mouthwash, toothpaste, antihistamines, or anything else you might need from the pharmacy, is there, delivered to your doorstep, for FREE. Fabulous.

Stairclimbing Heaven

"Elevators are for wimps"

Egypt, or at least Cairo, is a place teeming with multitudes of towering apartment buildings.

After a long day at work, you come home and find that you have to climb four, perhaps seven, or quite possibly even more flights of stairs. Either your building doesn't have an elevator (like mine) or perhaps yours is out of order or is crowded with people. 

FABULOUS I say! Fabulous.

In a city where there are not enough walking spaces or bicycle paths, having to climb up and down a flight of stairs at least twice a day is a blessing in disguise.

Stairclimbing is a fabulous aerobic exercise (especially if you are laden with packages and/or with a small child).

In fact, climbing stairs provides you with a total body workout, burning calories in half the time of other exercise!

The feeling you get when you finally reach your destination floor is incredible. Each time my young 4 year old does it, I congratulate her and tell her I'm so proud of her for making it all the way to the top by herself. 

Cairenes, next time you are tired and not feeling up to the climb, get yourself pumped by thinking about these guys:

FABULOUS Running Raw video on US Bank Tower StairClimb

Or listen to these guys:

Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven

Fairytale Landscapes

Fabulous view of Cairo from Al Azhar Park
(Muhammad Ali Mosque top left)

Whenever my 3 year old daughter passes by the Muhammed Ali mosque (atop Saladin's Citadel), she calls it her "castle". Indeed, Egypt's landscape is dotted with castles, ancient fortifications, minarets, domes, giant pyramids, grandiose temples, exotic dunes, black sands, hallowed valleys and mountains. In fact, there is so much to be captured one eyeful, that sometimes we cannot SEE. 

It just takes a young child's whimsical comments about the castles surrounding her to remind us of the magical history of human culture and civilization that fabulously surrounds us at every corner.

Sandal Weather - ALL YEAR ROUND

Fabulous Freedom of Toes

I think the vast majority of Egyptians really don't know how good they have it when it comes to the weather. As a Canadian, I can attest - its "milla/milla" (perfect!).

In Canada, we would LOVE to wear sandals all year round. There are some who even try (nearing the sanity of those who do the Polar Bear Plunge). Unless you are living in Vancouver, then it's really not a good idea; instead of your toes being happy, they will just have frost bite.

In Egypt however, your toes are uber-happy from the royal treatment they receive: fresh air, sun tanning, freedom to move and not be cloistered by socks. Flaunt them with rings, pedicures, lovely leather Egyptian sandals, strappy high heels, you can wear your sandals ALL YEAR ROUND.

A felucca ride on the Nile at sunset

Sunset while sailing on the Nile in the heart of Cairo

By far, my favorite thing in Egypt. 

A felucca is a traditional small sailboat used in Egypt and the Mediterranean. 

There is something quite fabulous about being in the midst of a great metropolis like Cairo, surrounded by the frenetic cacophony of lights, sights, and sounds - from the unremitting song of car horns to those of wedding singers, from the lights of the Cairo tower to the neon lights of mosques and billboards...

And in the midst of all this hubbub, you find this incredible space of absolute calm.

Warm winds kiss your face and subtle waves rock you smoothly along the water. Golden sunshine turns to rosy and gently melts away in ripples against the horizon. 

This wooden vessel is a cocoon for lovers, families, fishermen, tourists, friends, a great place to have a picnic lunch, or to steal a midnight kiss, to have amazing discussions, or just plain to relax, chill out, and enjoy peace.

Red hot spicy lemons

When your tongue doesn't know what it's looking for,
these spicy lemons are sure to perk it up
and make your mouth water in pure joy.

Yummy goodness.

Especially yummy with aish baladi (Egyptian traditional bread) and cheese. Good to eat morning, noon, or night. Taken as a side dish, or just go wild and binge on them all by themselves (arm yourself with some bread however).




Eating them always makes me think of the song by Fool's Garden, "Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky...And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree..." Well, this is one lemon tree best served shaken and spicy.

When I set about making my list about the things I love about Egypt, spicy hot lemons was the first thing that came to mind. Maybe its symbolic; there's a fiery passionate edge to Egypt that overtakes its sour elements and keeps this place delicious.

Why this blog?

Richness lies around every corner in Egypt, from its amazing history to its fabulous golden sun, to laughter, kindness, music, and dance, to innovation and resourcefulness like nowhere else on earth.

I'm a Canadian who has been living here for 4 years, and traveling here for over a decade now. My first trip to Egypt was in 2000. When I first came to Egypt, I was amazed, astonished, and in love with the country. I still am.

I hope that this blog showing Egypt through my eyes can remind the Egyptians of the fabulous things they have and serve as a window to the rest of the world into the simple beauties of this beautiful country.