Award from a fellow blogger

A Fellow blogger in Cairo, Noles Family presented this blog of mine with an award:
“This blog invests and believes, in ‘proximity’ meaning, that blogging makes us 'close'. They are all charming blogs, and the majority of them aim to show the marvels of friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate? Then let’s try to give more attention to them!”

Thank you for sharing your lives and experiences the Noles family appreciates each and every one of your blogs.

Thanks Noles Family. Its always good to know that someone is benefiting from what you blog in cyberspace :)

Buy Fresh Pizza Dough in Maadi

Manisha also blogged about an interesting "raw" material available in Maadi. . .

. . . . . . . . Fresh Pizza Dough at 16LE/kg.

Check out the details here.

Cons posing as cops

Manisha from Living in Egypt blogged about a new con game in town here

I haven't faced that yet. But I have encountered people in regular clothes stopping me at the pyramids saying they are cops and demanding to see my tickets etc.

How do you know that someone approaching you at the pyramids is not a plains clothes policeman? (a con would be speaking tourist guide/tout English, a cop will speak more halting Egyptian - English)

Restaurant Review : Sports Cafe, Cairo

Sports Cafe
37, El Batal Ahmed Abdel Aziz St.
Mohandaseen
3345 8425/8426/8427

Food and drink was better than average. Ambiance wasn't too great, but it can be ignored. This looks like a place that students wanting to watch a game would hang out at.

Read the entire review here: on my restaurant review blog

Maadi Women's Guild Christmas Bazaar

One of the Best Bazaars that I have attended in Cairo. This was a mammoth effort. Around 80 stalls. There were the usual suspects from the Tupperware/jewelry designers/shawls/sweaters/candles brigade.
But what was truly unique was the sheer number of charities and NGO's that were given the opportunity to present the handiwork of their wards. Some beautiful work was exhibited by the nuns of St Barsoum Monastery - Toys, decorations, embroidery, lace, knits, Coptic Icons, Stained Glass and needle point made by underprivileged families in the Helwan area. They have a wide variety of handicrafts and I would highly recommend visiting their workshops at El Maasara in Helwan.


Other Charities that exhibited work of wonderful quality (which is so hard to find in Egypt) were House of Charity (3381 1063), Woodwork Center of Hagaza (012 759 9479), Touch her World and Tukul Crafts.
There were products created by orphans, young girls, prisoners, refugees and other marginalised groups. This was an excellent opportunity to pick up Christmas gifts in one location while contributing to some great causes.

Entry was 30Le which was completely worth it, unlike the over priced bazaar at Narmer American College

There were stalls that had activities of finger painting, wax hand impressions, decoupage etc. for the little kids, like Art Cafe


There were quite a few Food stalls too. Chinese by Peking and Dragon House, Shawarmas from Bistro, Smiley, Max's Restaurant and a few others.
Amera was offering some excellent hot dogs (I wonder where they buy their sausages from, but they are the best quality and consistency I have eaten in Egypt)

Jared's bagels were making fresh waffles and corn dogs on the spot. I'm not sure if corn dogs are on the regular menu at their Road 9 outlet. I'll have to check the next time I'm there.

If you attend only one bazaar in the Christmas run-up, then this should be it!

Eid Mubarak - Kol Sena Wenta Tayieb

Eid Mubarak to all my friends who celebrate this feast.

Cairo has these special colored cloths associated with different feasts through the year. The color for this festival is red as seen in the pictures below of the butchers shop all decorated for Eid.

They were taken from a moving car, so the picture may not be as sharp, but its colorful :)

Handmade - Hobby Space & Craft Item Supplier in Cairo

Handmade
39, Abdel Moneim Riad Street
Mohandaseen

3749 7242

I saw a stall that the people behind this store had organised at one of the Christmas Bazaars around town.

They sell knitting yarns, patterns, crochet hooks and a lot of other accessories.

They do have some embroidery kits that seem to be imported, they were a bit expensive at around 250LE, but I guess they can afford to charge a premium since I haven't seen these kits anywhere else in Cairo, yet.

They also offer courses in knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, drawing, painting and decorative crafts for adults, teens and children.

Call them for rates

Zafir - the Egyptian t-shirt shop!

Zafir is a cute Egyptian T-shirt shop on
15B Taha Hussein Street
off Marashly street.
(walk left from Kipling)
Zamalek.

Right next to Touch of Glass

The designs on the tshirts are unique. some have Arabic calligraphy on them with proverbs, some have truck art, some pun on Egyptian pronunciations and some are just cute!

The tshirts come in a range of size and colours and there are a specially curved cuts for women.
They all cost a uniform 110LE and if there is any defect you can bring it back within a week.

Each tshirt comes with a printed card attached explaining the significance of the particular design in English and Arabic. So they are really cute gifts for people back home.

The overall cloth quality looks good. Will let you know how well it washes once I wash my own :)

Edited on 24 May 2009 to add:
Daily News Egypt, did a full length article on this store a couple of years ago. Read the article here.

Siwa House - Shop for Siwan Items in Cairo

Siwa House
Hand Embroidery and natural products from Siwa Oasis.
17 Ahmed Heshmat Street
Zamalek

+2 02 2737 3014
+2 02 2736 3139



They have a really interesting range of items from Siwa. There are 2 parts to their collection - Siwa Creations and Siwa Organics

Their shop in Cairo is much fancier than the counterpart in Siwa which is quite basic. The walls of the shop are decorated with salt crystals and Siwan pebbles.

Siwa Creations items include hand embroidered clothes and Siwan Jewelry. These may seem a little expensive at first glance unless you feel it is worth the price for individually crafted items.

Siwa Organics comprises of Organically grown Siwan specialties like Olives and Dates and products made out of them like tapenades and salad dressings.

You can buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Lemon and Orange flavors too. (upto 65LE for a liter)
Pickled and herbed olives also cost about 25LE for a regular sized bottle.
Tapenades and jams (olive, carrot, sycamore, bitter orange marmalade) are also 25 LE.
There is a wonderful variety of Salad dressings in olive tomato, orange and sycamore flavors for 25 LE.
A Kilo of organic dates costs 10LE.
They also have pure organic salt crystals in small jars (165 gms) for 10LE, the olive flavored salt goes for 20LE. These can again be used in salads in their natural form.

Touch of Glass - Shop for Glass Work in Cairo

Touch of Glass is located on
15A, Taha Hussein Street
Zamalek
Cairo

+2 02 2737 1488
They have some really nice items in glass to serve food in and for decorative purposes in different colors.

Their rates seemed reasonable, in the range of 100LE onwards.

They also have a small selection of scented and decorative candles.

Cakes and Cookies from Hope Village Society in Cairo

The Hope Village Society makes and sells cakes on behalf of street children in Egypt.

Not only is this a worthy cause, but their cakes are truly awesome.

I've tried their Lemon Cake (from 10LE - 20LE depending on size) and Coffee Cake (15LE).

The best of their baked goods that I have tasted so far are the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (20LE for a dozen) These are some of the best cookies that I have eaten in Egypt.

Check out the Hope Village Society at http://egyhopevillage.com

You can contact them for details on ordering at "hopevillage1988 @ hotmail . com" (without the spaces)

Siwa Oasis : The Collection

These are the links to the Eleven Parts in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration
Part 10 : The Desert
Part 11 : When to go, Where to eat and more

I hope to add to this collection when I make my own trip to this alluring oasis.

Siwa Oasis - Part 11 : When to go, Where to eat and more

This is the Eleventh in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration
Part 10 : The Desert

When to go:
All year round if you don't care about weather :)
April, May, October and November if you consider good weather.
October if you want to attend the celebration.
Summer (June, July, August) if you're going for treatment by burying in the sand.
And Summer till September if you want to drink "lagby" or try tasting "robb".

Lagby is a drink from palm trees, they cut on special parts in the palm tree at night and leave it to "sweat" overnight, and the liquid is collected in a pot. It should be drunk before sunrise, otherwise it gets fermented and turns into an alcoholic drink. I'm not sure if it is bottled in some way, to be sold and drunk at any time of the day.

Robb is the dates honey. It is like making a juice from dates, very sugary, looks like and almost tastes like molasses.

Where to eat:
The most famous is Abdou restaurant in the main square.
There is also East-West restaurant between the main square and the big mosque.
Also you can try restaurants at hotels like the one on the roof of Kelani hotel at the main square with a charming view on Shali.
You can arrange to have a "special meal" at dream lodge or the restaurant at Kenoz Shali Lodge hotel.

More photos and more about Siwa:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345637/index.html

Some Tips:
When in town, don't show a lot of skin.
Men try not to wear shorts.
Ladies cover at least upto knees and upper arms.
This is not for safety but to respect local traditions and culture.
Siwa is one of the safest places you can visit.

For ladies, when at Cleopatra spring, at least put a T-shirt on over the swim wear, this is because Cleopatra spring is a public place and locals may be offended.
It is less restricted in other "private" or far away springs like the one in Fatanas island, in Abo Shrouf or any of the those in the desert.

When you are walking between gardens and want to eat some dates, eat as much as you like but don't carry a single date away with you.

You can rent a bicycle for a complete day for only 10 L.E.
Other means of transportation is the donkey cart, or you can hire a truck/ toktok/ bike to visit the far away places.

Siwa Oasis - Part 10 : The desert : Is it the original Siwa? Hiking in Siwa!

This is the Tenth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa
Part 9 : The Annual Celebration

I have been to Siwa twice, but haven't experience a desert safari yet. I like to leave something to do during my next visit :)

The basic desert safari in Siwa is visiting Bir Wahed (Well Number One), and to an area called Sheyata.

Bir Wahed is about 15 kms to the South-West of Siwa. It was closed for a period of time to control smuggling through the Egyptian/Libyan borders. The well was dug while searching for petrol (please correct me if wrong), now it can be visited after getting theappropriate permissions (the safari organisers handle them).

Sheyata is another area to the West with a lovely scene at sunset and not far from the paved road and the inhabited areas. It is the place where they go for the cheapest safari trip. When you pay more, you go deeper in the desert to more "special" places. I say special because while I was talking with one of the people who works as a desert driver he said that each driver keeps to himself some special places.

There is a place to visit known as the petrified village.

I was talking to an Arabian person from Matrouh who owns a shop in the main square in Siwa. He hold me that when he was a kid, he used to travel with his family (nomads) until they reached Mauritania, and that his grandfather was told by his ancestors that current Siwa is not the one they used to go to! Could this be real? Is the petrified village the original Siwa? I don't know.

One more interesting thing he told me was about some food his grandfather used to prepare and eat for such long distance travel (as far as I remember it is called "telbina" and is made basically from camel's milk and barley/she3eer).

There is a Siwa protectorate in the West. I have heard that there are some 4-6 ibex there, which sounds like good news :)

Hiking in Siwa:
Is there any desert hiking in Siwa? I don't think so, but the project manager of the Italian development project in Siwa (called Shali project) said to someone familiar with the desert "go find me routes suitable for hiking in the desert, in the area of Sheyata for example".

There was a suggestion for hiking to Bir Wahed, but it would be a long distanceto cover in one day (going and returning) and there is no shade along the way.

There are three uninhabited oasis around Siwa (on the route from Siwa to Bahareya, their names are el-Bahrain, el-Arag & Nawameesa.

There is also the oasis of Qaret omm el-Shagheir, about 130 kms to the northeast of Siwa and needs special permission to be visited. There is a complete article about it in the Al-Ahram newspaper, as far as I remember it was dated 26 September 2006.

Siwa Oasis - Part 9 : The Annual Celebration

This is the Ninth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island
Part 8 : The House of Siwa

Konwn as "3eed el-sol7" (peace making celebration), the celebration is held at Gebel El-Dakroury over 3 days at the full moon (or around) in October, after the harvest season of dates and olives.

I asked an OLD Siwan man about the festival and asked why they celebrate it. As his mother tongue is the Siwan language, I felt he was struggling to tell me the story in a foreign language (Arabic). He was trying hard to find the right words and here is the story as he narrated it to me:

Many years ago, there were huge problems (between Eastern & Western Siwans as I understood) and there was a good man who was trying to solve the problems. It took him three days to make peace among all the Siwans. To celebrate the peace they searched for a place where all could gather eat and celebrate together (eating together is a sign of peace) and they chose Gebel El-Dakroury.

He also told me about the preparations nowadays. People start to collect the food (ro2a2/kind of bread) across 17-18 mosques in the town, then food is distributed at Gebel El-Dakroury. The Implication is that it is not known who the person who offered the food that was eaten/finished. (It looked to me that if someone's food is eaten/finished, this means something good).


The kids were wearing nice colorful clothing, playing some games like those at normal "Mulid". Lots of street vendors including some from Matrouh who come over in the hopes of making some profit.

This celebration as much as I understood from that old man and from Dr. Ahmed Fakhrey's book is a unique Siwan event.

To my surprise when a journalist questioned one of people at the celebration who looked like a leader, he said the festival originated in Libya.

Personally, I believe the journalist had some wrong info from wrong sources and she was trying to put words in his mouth.

The Leaders' name is Sheikh/Ahmed Beshir el-Madani, the Sheikh of the Madaneya Shazeleya Tarika (way). He is the decendant of the founder of the Tarika Sheikh elMadany (Sheikh/Mohammed Hasan Hamza Ghafer Elmadani). He stated that this is a religious event (not a local event), "we are here and we're from Libia" and called "3eed elseya7a"(tourism celebration)

Seyaha/tourism in this context has the meaning of spiritual religious thing (related to walking very long distances that may reach hundreds of kilometers). They sing some religious songs. One of them is a poem telling the story of his great grandfather (Sheikh elMadany).

While he was telling this to the journalist I interrupted him twice to drop a hint because what he was saying contradicted with what I read before. After the second time he commented on what I mentioned by saying "you know a lot". I was sure now that the information I had was right and left the journalist so she could feel happy that she was "controlling the situation" and that she would have an "interesting" article.

You can read a books and if you attend the event yourself.

Enjoy the photos of the celebration on the following link:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345676/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 8 : The House of Siwa : The Grandmother...and the gun

This is the Eighth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock
Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island

The House of Siwa:
It was built recently to demonstrate how the traditional houses of Siwa were built. Its exhibits show glimpses of how daily life used to be, the traditional dresses and the jewelry.

At the entrance of the house there are three mannequins wearing three different dresses usually worn by the bride on the first, third and seventh days after her wedding. On the first day for her friends (ladies of course), on the third day for her aunts, and on the seventh day for her mother (yes, the mother doesn't visit except on the seventh day).
There is a warm corner in the house where the grandmother used to sit every night and gather the children around her for story telling: stories about their history, heroes and culture. The guide taking me around sadly remarked "but now the hero on TV, is the one who has the gun in his hand, not the one with good manners".

I heard this a couple of years ago, but understood it last October when I attended the annual celebration. ALL the kids had plastic guns in their hand and were "shooting" each other. I was shot twice, before a kind old man told the kids not to play/bother older guests.

I think as a "Siwan kid" after watching TV "the hero is the one having a gun in his hand not the one who is well mannered as the grandmother used to say :("

More pictures can be seen at :
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

When the "House of Siwa" was newly constructed a couple of years ago, it was operated voluntarily by some people from the town council (magles elmadina), now there is a trained employee who is in charge.

Visiting Hours:
From October to March: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2 - 5 p.m.
From April to September: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 - 7 p.m.

Siwa Oasis - Part 7 : Cleopatra Spring, the mountains & Fatanas island

This is the Seventh in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit
Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock

Cleopatra Spring:
Located to the East of Siwa, it is believed that Cleopatra used this spring for bathing. In the late 90's, the wall of the spring was covered with ceramic!! Now it has been removed to maintain its original look.
People do swim in the pool, but ladies must show some respect to the local community traditions and culture by not showing too much skin (bikini/swimsuit should not be worn - its recommended to wear a t-shirt over a swimsuit before getting in).
Check the photos to see how local kids look strangely (and may by offended) at some tourists not respecting their culture.

Gebel El-Dakroury (El-Dakroury mountain):
The mountain is to the east of Siwa. It is famous for curing rheumatic disease by a therapy involving being buried in the sand, usually in the summer (June, July & August).
This mountain is also the site for the annual Siwan celebration which lasts for three days. Usually held on or around the full moon in October after the dates and olives harvest season.

There is more than one opinion about how the mountain got its name. The only one I remember is that the area was a slave trading point, where slaves used to come from Dakar.

Gebel el-Mawta (Mountain of the dead):
Located in the northern part of the oasis, it is the first archeological site you see on arriving at the oasis (it will be to the left). It contains many tombs from Pharonic times. Four of them have drawings on their walls. It was used by Siwans and English soldiers as a refuge during World War II, and so several drawings/paintings were destroyed by the war or removed and taken away by English soldiers. these paintings could have helped identify the inhabitants of the tombs.

There are some ruins in front of the mountain.
The big mosque is just off the main square on the way to Gebel el- mawta, it was build by King Fouad and there is a shrine beside it.

Fatanas Island:
It is an island in the Western Salty Lake, famous for its magnificent sunset view. The salty lake was created from agricultural sewage water. However, few years ago an agricultural sewage project took place to solve the problem of excessive waste water. This moved the natural borders of water away from the island, but tourism to the island wasn't affected. The locals say that the project was like a temporary "pain killer" and did not "cure" the problem.

There is a fresh water spring where people can swim.
Please check more photos on the following link
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 6 : Aghourmy : The Oracle & the Broken Rock

This is the Sixth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali
Part 5 : Places to Visit

The Oracle Temple:
Siwa is historically famous for the Temple of the Oracle which 'Alexander the Great' traveled for almost 18 days in the desert to visit. No one knows what he was told there, but he conquered the world after that.

The Oracle Temple is located on a huge rock called "Aghourmy" about 3 kms to the East of the main square. Aghourmy rock is suffering old age and is almost broken (split into two halves) in the place beneath the temple, but some restoration work has been done to save the temple from collapsing.

Over the years, people started to build their houses on top of the Aghourmy rock and around the temple, but they are now in ruins. The restoration mission started by restoring the mosque first to gain the respect and cooperation of the locals.

In the rocks of the wall of the temple, there are traces of marine fossils.

Temple of "Um Eibeida":
Not far from the Oracle Temple, this temple was completely destroyed in 1898 by an officer who wanted to use the rocks as building material for a house. At that time, there was no awareness about archeological sites. However, the construction of the temple and the drawings on its walls was previously recorded by other travelers/explorers.

View more of Gabi's pictures on http://www.worldisround.com/articles/345617/index.html

Siwa Oasis - Part 5 : Places to Visit

This is the fifth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)
Part 4 : Shali

There is a lot to be seen in Siwa. I have been there only twice, the first was as a tourist among a group, the second time was on my own. (Kims Note : Gabi has visited Siwa again since he wrote this)

The basic sightseeing that can be done in one day are all on the Eastern side. You can start the day by visiting Gebel El-Mawta (Mountain of the Dead), very close to the main square to the North, then starting from the main square: The Oracle temple, the destroyed temple of Amun know as "Um e'beida", then Cleopatra spring, then Gelel El-Dakroury (El-Dakroury mountain), then circle back to the main square where you can end your circuit at Shali. At sunset you can go to Fatans islands on the Western lake.

The above tour can be done by bicycle, donkey cart or car but the first two modes will take more time. There is a professional Siwan archeologist who conducts such tours if you're interested, his name is "Fatehy Diab". He has done great amount of research on siwa.

The house of Siwa is a must see.

There is also Siwa museum behind Gebel el-Mawta but I haven't yet visited it.

To the East there is "Abo Shrouf" which has a water spring for swimming and very beautiful scenery, it is about 25 kms to the East of Siwa.

In the West (about 20 kms) there is an area called "el-maraki" where there is more than one temple to be visited.

Siwa is famous for its desert safari, there are several travel agencies in the Siwa market who offer such trips.

There is also a handicraft center at the entrance of the oasis in the North (can't remember the exact name).

Qaret om el-sagheir is a small oasis 130 kms away from Siwa. You need special permission to visit.

Some descriptions for most of the mentioned places will be in the following messages.

Siwa Oasis - Part 4 : Shali

This is the fourth in a beautiful series of articles written by my friend Gabi Philips who has spent an extended period of time in Siwa.

I had started posting these in May and then got side tracked. Here are the rest of the series.

Also Read
Part 1 : Transportation
Part 2 : Where to Stay
Part 3 : Where to Stay (contd)

Shali in the Siwan language means "town", it could also mean "citadel".

Shali was built in 1203 to protect the Siwans from attacks. It is built from "karsheif" which is mainly from the local salty soil in Siwa. It was partially destroyed during 3 days heavy rain in 1926.

Shali used to have one main gate that closed by sunset and was called "el-bab enshal" (as far as I know, it means the main gate), it was divided between Eastern Siwans and Western Siwans, each living in the East/West half of Shali. The houses sometimes reached 7 & 8 levels (floors) as there was no space for horizontal extensions.

My aunt who visited Siwa thrice in the 80's told me that there were people still living in Shali and who hadn't left it. She also said that you had to go with a local to be able to find your way through the maze of streets.

To compare Siwa before the heavy downpour and now please click the link.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/344279/index.html

In the third photo, you will notice new buildings down Shali. It is a hotel less than 2 years old, named "el-bab enshal" also made by the same owner of Adrar Amellal.