Monday, August 22, 2011

New heroes born each day

I think Egypt has had a lot of unsung heroes for a long time now, but after Jan25 they are beginning to surface more and more. Egyptians are starting to realize their potential to redefine limits, to do the impossible, to stretch the folds of their own imagination, and to allow themselves to reinvent themselves as heroes.


For more on the redefining of heroes in the Arab world, read this article from the BBC on TEDGlobal talk 2011 by Suleiman Bakhit.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

McDelivery

In Egypt, you can have anything delivered to your doorstep. Fast food, pharmacy, full restaurants, bakeries, groceries, etc. I'm not a big fan of McDonald's, but I am a big fan of delivery. These cute little delivery trucks fill the roadways of Egypt. Considering the Cairo roadways - McDonald's on wheels gives new meaning to the phrase "fast food".





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Swimming in Ramadan

Going to a pool during Ramadan is fabulous because you practically have the pool all to yourself. One of the advantages of Ramadan taking place in the summer in Egypt and why its a great time for tourists to come here! The waters start to get a bit fuller just before sunset (when a lot of people do exercise), so be sure to go early!
Travel to Egypt!

Suntanning

I do believe you should never encourage suntanning. However, for those of you who do prefer that California glow, you can save your money from the tanning salons and pick up a ticket for Egypt.

Or better yet, just buy a bronzer and still hop on the plane over here.

Source: Queen Estee's How to Care for Sunburnt Skin

Rockin' Christmas Parties

Since it is currently Ramadan, and I've made quite a lot of Ramadan posts, I wanted to balance the blog with a post about Christmas which is also a major time of celebration here in Egypt. The below pic is from a Christmas party hosted at a club just after New Years. As with every fabulous Egyptian party - loud music and lots of dance are involved.




Trendy Restaurants

Egypt (and by Egypt I mostly mean Cairo and Alexandria) has a large and growing selection of restaurants, cafes and night clubs. Great food, great atmosphere, and great company.  Cairo 360 is a great site to dig the latest reviews on where to go. Other sites to check out include Yallabina, CairoDining, and VirtualTourist.


Hibiscus

The Hibiscus flower (called "karkaday" by the Egyptians) is not only gorgeous, all over the place in Egypt, but also made into a fabulous drink which can be served both hot and cold. Drinking it hot is a great natural remedy for lowering your blood pressure. The drink is prepared with quite a bit of sugar, and it is really refreshing in both summer (cold) and winter (hot). The hot version is interestingly a bit like German gluhwein, minus the wine.




Hibiscus comes also in other variations of color, such as pink, white and even blue, but the most common variety here in Egypt is red.