PTP Ibn Tulun & Kritliya Cause-Related Walk

Couldn't make it to the PTP Ibn Tulun & Kritliya Cause-Related Walk today .

Woke with terrible back pain. Result of all the bending & stretching & carrying, heaving & cleaning & polishing of all the stuff that came in our consignment from India. No way would have been able to manage to climb a single flight of stairs.

I feel so terrible that I missed the walk. Although most of the explanation happens in Arabic, the passion of all the members & the people who explain the history & architecture of each place is amazing. Camel & his team do such a wonderful job of bringing history to life. While Camel explains the History, Timur explains the Architecture & Haitham provides good solid Egyptian breakfast, hence the nickname PTP Khazindar.

The PTP walks are also a great way to meet new friends & chance upon hidden gems of the city that no guide book will tell you about.

The walks themselves are free, at the end you can donate as much as you want to a cause that PTP adopts. Each walk has a different cause which is announced beforehand. All for worthy projects in Egypt/Cairo. The cause for todays walk (& until June) is Walk-for-Life - for the Al Galaa Hospital.

"Donations will go to the N.I.C.U (neonatal intensive care unit) at El Galaa Teaching Hospital for Gyn. & Pediatrics.

Our fellow Templar, Dr. Mohamed Bahaa El-Din, was kind enough to send me more details for those who want to know more:

NICU power at El Galaa Hospital is 40 incubators with 2 spare incubators, split into 4 divisions according to the case:

1) Critical cases which are on mechanical ventilation and need continuous observation for any emergency measures (10 incubators of the 40).

2) The normal average weight of a newborn is between 2.4kg-3.6kg, so any baby below 2.4 kg is admitted to a unit for feeding because most probably below that weight neonates can’t feed themselves and hence, die starving.

3) Normally, babies stay for 9 months in their mom's womb, which is 40 weeks. Any baby delivered for any reason before 37 week is called preterm, and can't tolerate our environment and has no immunity against any infection, so he needs antibiotic therapy.

4) Neonatal hyperbillrubinia (in Arabic, el safra). Sometimes, the neonate turns yellow and needs phototherapy or complete blood exchange; otherwise it affects the brain and makes him mentally retarded all his life.

Save babies…Walk-for-Life with PTP"


Here are the pictures of what I missed out on
Ibn Tulun Mosque & Bayt Al Kritlya

Question of the week was : "How many Tulunid monuments in Egypt?"

Three is the answer: Ibn Tulun Mosque, the Aqueduct at Basatin and remains of a fountain at Suyufiya (at Sunqur Al Sa’di Madrasa, beneath the Sama’khana).

If you would like to join PTP (no membership fee) the link is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pen_Temple_Pilots/


Ed Note : On Whazzupcairo : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whazzupcairo/ I do not post PTP events as these are open to PTP members only.

Weather is turning again

Hey was able to sleep without turning on the room heater the entire day or night. We are still using the quilts, but the weather seems to be turning warmer.

Today was really sweltering in the noon sun. Actually broke into a sweat.

Haven't been able to post for a while. Blogger problems, but I have my posts saved up, so expect a flurry when blogspot works for me again. Karl from the blogspot team is doing his best to help me. Thanks Karl.

Johnny Carino's, Cairo

In the mood for Italian, we set out to Johnny Carino's which advertised home style Italian Food. The Zamalek branch is set on the Nile City boat so you can imagine the nip in the air on a January Night. The outdoor seating would be wonderful on a balmy Summer evening but we rushed to the comfort of 4 walls & a ceiling.

Nice & cosy with some lovely black & white & sepia toned framed photos on the wall it does start to impart the feel of a family owned restaurant rather than a chain. The service was alarmingly fast for Cairo standards, but it suited us just fine. Portions are huge & as usual 2 starters filled us up completely........................

Read the Entire Review Here