Byblos & Harissa

Byblos
Byblos is an ancient city, beautifully situated on the Mediterranean Sea, with a Crusader castle and Roman ruins. Byblos is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited town. Byblos was called Gebal in the Bible and the Crusaders salled it Giblet. Its ancient name, Byblos, is thought to derive from bublos, the Greek word for papyrus, as the town was a stopping off point for papyrus shipments in Phoenician times.

Crusader Castle at Byblos.

Byblos Harbour at sunset.

Harissa
Harissa is only about 20 kms from Beirut, but is 650 metres altitude from the coast. We took the popular Teleferique (cable car) up and down the mountain. It gives a fascinating view going up, even going between some apartment buildings, allowing a view inside as you glide past.

The view about 1/2 way up the mountain - the cable car 'station' is way off in the distance, by the coast.

National Museum of Beirut

On Boxing Day (Dec 26th) we made our way to the National Museum of Beirut. Our Lonely Planet guidebook listed this museum as a 'must see' and we would have to agree. It is nicely laid out, well lit and has a wonderful array of artefacts from around the country. If I had to make a criticism it would be that the museum could do with MORE pieces. It's a far cry from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which is more like a dark, overstuffed warehouse.

An ornate sarcophagus from the southern city of Tyre. The frieze depicts the legend of Achilles.

A beautiful 4th century mosaic.

A colossus taken from the ancient city of Byblos.

One of my favourite pieces in the museum - a carved marble head atop a sarcophagus.

Christmas Day - Beirut

On Christmas afternoon we flew out for a brief vacation in Beirut, Lebanon. It is only a 1 1/2 hour flight, so we were there is no time at all. After checking into the hotel, we went for a sunset walk along the Corniche.

Corniche - Beirut, Lebanon

The next day we walked around a lot of the city, taking in a few more of the sights.

This suprised me - mosque with a Christmas tree in front!

Although massive reconstruction is underway in the city, reminders of the 15 year civil war are all around. The photo below is of the old Holiday Inn, Beirut. It became a prime sniper position and attracted all many of fire power, leaving it in the bullet-riddled state we see today. It was reportedly built to withstand earthquakes, so is apparently structurally sound, albeit in need of some TLC.

Holiday Inn, Beirut - scarred from a 15 year civil war.

Christmas in Egypt

Celebrating Christmas in Egypt is an interesting experience. There is no Christmas muzak everywhere you go, no Santas on street corners or in malls, and even just finding a Christmas tree or decorations can be a bit of a challenge. We managed to find ourselves a cute, fake 2 1/2 foot tree, though.
I am looking forward to our Carol Service at church on Christmas Eve. Normally by this time, I've heard Away in a Manager adnauseum, so that I'm just about 'carol-ed out', but it is quite refreshing living here to not hear them all around, all the time.
Getting into the Christmas spirit.

My new job

This week I began a new job. It's been about 6 months since I quit being a teacher at the university day care centre, so the time had come for me to start 'earning my keep' again. For the next three months I am interning at IOM - International Organization on Migration. IOM is an NGO that handles migration and resettling all over the world. I am a part of the Baghdad Team that are working on the cases of Iraqis who have worked with the US and multi-national forces, and now qualify for resettlement into the US.

My ID badge at IOM.

Weird and Wonderful Egypt - pt.1

I see many weird and wonderful things day by day in Egypt. I will try to capture, and share with you, as many of them as possible.

This photo was taken during a recent shopping trip. It is labeled as Dite (Diet) Honey - for Obesity & Diabetes!!! Go figure!!!

Eid al-Adha

This week the Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Adha. It is commonly referred to as 'the big feast', as opposed to Eid el-Fitr at the end of Ramadan which is the 'little feast'. Eid al-Adha commemorates the Muslim story of Ibrahim being willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael. It is celebrated these days by the slaughter of an animal, which is then shared with family and friends, and some is also shared with the poor.

Last year at this time, when we lived Down Town, a bull appeared outside a neighbouring apartment building. We anticipated what was coming, and were able to witness the slaughter and subsequent skinning of the bull right there in the street. Not something for the faint-hearted!! A few days ago, with us now living in 'the suburbs', pens of animals began to appear in the open-air market area. We knew what was coming, but did they????


Guess who's coming for dinner - we are!!!

Camel Trek - White Desert

Less than 48 hours after returning from Australia, I was on a bus with Dave and about 20 others, heading about 400 kms SE of Cairo into the White Desert. Ahead of us was 3 days riding camels and 2 nights camping in the desert. It took about 7 hours to get to the edge of the desert, where our camels were waiting along with their bedouin keepers.

The important task of selecting your camel.

After a spot of lunch we mounted our trusty steeds and headed for our campsite, about 2 hours away. It took a bit of getting used to the stride of the camel, and working out who was in control (us or the camel!!), but in the end we all made it safe and sound to the campsite.

And away we go!!

Tents were already set up and waiting for us, so while we got ourselves settled our bedouin hosts prepared dinner. Being Thanksgiving, turkey was the order of the day and it was delicious roasted over the open fire.

Home away from home.

Beyond the light of the campfire, the desert was absolutely black. The night sky was magnificent and many constellations were visible. I saw a couple of shooting stars and one other camper said he saw the International Space Station as it crossed the sky. Without TV's or such to keep us up, we found ourselves ready to sleep by about 8pm, drifting off to the sounds of our bedouin hosts making music and singing. Many of us had a restless night, either because of the cold or the somewhat lumpy sand under our bedding, but that aside we were up with the sun ready for our full day with the camels.

After breakfast we again mounted our even-toed ungulates and set off to explore part of the 300-sq-km White Desert Protectorate. We rode for about 2 hours to our lunch site, which was in the midst of some of the fantastic rock formations that are unique to the White Desert. The photos barely do it justice and this place certainly should be on the list of places to see before you die. The journey back was a little harder going as it was getting quite hot and the butt was getting quite sore!!!

Just one of the 'other worldly' rock formations in the White Desert.

Back at camp we chilled out watching the sun set, before another tasty dinner cooked over the open fire. We slept better the second night - whether from tiredness or our rearranged bed, I'm not sure. Our last morning, we ate breakfast, packed up camp and prepared to mount our dromedaries one last time. I chose to walk back rather than ride, but my butt and thighs are thanking me for it. The bus was a welcome sight, though I could have done without the 7 hour ride back to civilization. But we made it back and a shower never felt so good!!!

Dave and I in the White Desert.

Last two weeks in Oz

My last 2 weeks in Australia have flown by. Mum and I completed our road trip with some 'family time' - seeing aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. I was also able to hang out with some old friends.

With my mum, my sister and her family.

I also took the chance to stock up on some aussie 'essential' - wine, beer, chocolate biscuits and that nectar of the gods - VEGEMITE!!! I also bought an aussie flag which, significant of the times we live in, was made in China!

Some of the 'essentials' that filled my suitcase.

Road trip with mum

On Wednesday mum and I set out on a mini road trip. For the first leg we drove to Werris Creek, to the home of my cousin and her husband - Chris and Wayne. Wayne is a farrier - he makes horse shoes!!!

While in the area we explored Tamworth, the nearest large town/small city. Tamworth is Australia's country music capital and the home of the Big Golden Guitar!!!

The Golden Guitar at Tamworth.

"Home"

November finds me 'home' in Australia. I say 'home', as Australia doesn't feel like home these days. It will always be the place I was born and raised, but I consider my physical home to be in Egypt (at least for the moment) with David.

Currently I am in a small town called Molong. This is where my mother was born, and it is definitely her home!! In case you are wondering where exactly is Molong (which incidently I believe to be Aboriginal for 'place of many rocks'), it is in the central western part of New South Wales, about 4 hours drive west of Sydney. It is a thriving metropolis of 1,400 people, all of whom I think know my mother!!! The recent spring rains here have brought many flowers out to bloom, including one of my favourites - the native Australian Bottlebrush.

Bottle brush blooming in my mum's yard.

The other day I had a chance to catch up with an old friend from high school. I was trying to figure out when I last saw her, and she was quick to point out it was about 21 years ago!! It was fun to see her again. Now I'm just trying to figure out where those last 21 years have gone.

Cairo overview

Last weekend we went on a university organized tour. The purpose of the tour was to give a geographical overview of Cairo. The tour leader, Dr. John Swanson, is a very knowledgeable man who has lived in Cairo for 30+ years. He has seen considerable changes, as you can imagine. Since I can't show you what Cairo looked like 30 years ago, you will have to be happy with what it looks like now!!

Our first stop was Mokhattam Hills. This high point gave us a great view over the whole city. Unfortunately the city suffers from bad pollution problems and the view is obscured somewhat. But if you look really, really closely you can make out the outline of the pyramids off on the otherside of the city. If you need help to locate them look directly beyond the lake in the middle of the photo below.

This is Cairo from the top of Mokhattam Hills. Far off in the distance is the pyramids.

We then headed around the city and over by the pyramids, to the area called Giza. Once upon a time the pyramids stood alone in the middle of the desert, but over the years the growth of the city has brought residents to within a stone's throw of these wonders of the ancient world.

The suburb of Giza, with the pyramids right behind.

From Giza, we headed through the busy Cairo traffic, to one of the new areas called 6th of October City. This planned, and relatively new city is still very much under construction.

Cairo traffic.

A standard sight in Cairo - a half-finished building.

Our tour wound around the rest of Cairo and ended up at Midan Tahrir (Tahrir Square) - the location of down town university campus. Midan Tahrir has some lovely examples of belle epoque buildings.

Building on Midan Tahrir.

Ramadan

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan started about two weeks ago. According to Wikipedia Ramadan is a religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revelaed to the angel Gabriel and delivered to the prophet Muhammad.

Muslim's who observe Ramadan abstain from many things during daylight hours - no food or drink at all as well as no smoking; but come sundown the party (Iftar) begins. There is major feasting all night, every night, until the wee hours of the morning. The work day is shortened in most places, so that families can be together to start the feast once the sun is down. This basically means you shouldn't expect too much business to get done for the month!! And many small businesses shut down all together and they use Ramadan as a chance to spruce up their joints.
Lamp shop at the Khan El Khalili

People often decorate their homes and workplace for Ramadan, with strings of coloured lights and the symbol of Ramadan - the lantern. Makes for a rather festive appearance.
Ramadan light in a neighbour's window

El Rehab

Now that we are back in Cairo and settled into our new apartment, let me tell you a bit about our place. We live in El Rehab, a gated community, about 25kms northeast of downtown Cairo. A gated community here is a little different from gated communities in Australia or America. El Rehab is a city built on 10 million square metres!! It still very much under construction, but when completed will be home to approx. 200,000 people. So not your average gated community. Having spent our first in Egypt living in the noisy hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo, it is a refreshing change to live on the edge of the desert.

The view from our old apartment in downtown Cairo.


The view from our new apartment in El Rehab.


We made this move because of the new American University in Cairo (AUC) campus. AUC has been in the heart of downtown Cairo since 1919 and now almost 90 years later they have a brand new facility being built 30kms away in the desert, though it is only 4 1/2 kms from El Rehab. Classes will begin at the new campus next week, though Dave has already been on the campus everyday for about 3 weeks, facilitating a lot of things for his department.

New York - Cairo

Our last 24 hours in the US was spent in New York City. Our home for the night was The Pod Hotel, a cute, hip little place that felt a little like we were staying in an Ikea ad. We took the concierge's advice for dinner and had a fantastic Indian meal at Indigo Indian only a block and a half from the hotel. The maitre d' (owner??) was a very helpful and friendly Bangladeshi man who took great interest in where we lived and what Dave was doing in Egypt. He then proceeded to tell us a little of his 'story' and his idea of helping children in the world. We think he was talking about blindness caused by nutritional deficiency, but his accent was SO thick, that we are not really sure what he was saying!!

After our lovely dinner we walked a dozen or so blocks to Sardi's. Sardi's was once the favoured haunt of Broadway stars, producers, et al, and has walls covered in caricatures of famous patrons. We got talking to some people in the bar, one of whom was a fascinating, non-kosher Jewish man (by his own admonition) with whom we proceeded to discuss religion AND politics.

Our flight back 'home' went by pretty quick and we had an easy time thru immigration and customs, but that is where our good times ended. We had one of our worst taxis experiences (thus far) getting home. I won't go into all the details but our driver managed to go miles out of the way and ended up stopping to ask directions about 8 times. He was fined as he picked us up, which we think was because he stopped in a no stopping area. We agreed to pay his fine, which we understood to be 20 Egyptian pounds (about $4) but outside our apartment he was saying it was 10 x that. This is where the language barrier becomes so acute. We paid the exorbitant fine plus the fare just to get rid of him, but we've learnt our lesson and next time we fly into Cairo we will have our own driver/taxi prearranged and waiting for us.

USA

We are now in the last few days of our vacation back in the States. Our trip has included some 'business' but also lots of 'pleasure'. We spent our first few days enjoying the wonderful hospitality of Dave's old friends, Bill & Nancy Motyka, in New Jersey.

One day was spent in NYC where we took in a hilarious show on Broadway - The 39 Steps,

followed by a wonderful dinner at the Palm restaurant. One unexpected site while in NJ was a baby black bear. It was in the woods but real close to the road and took us by surprise.

Next we spent 2 weeks in Miami with Dave's family which included the chance to celebrate my mother-in-laws' birthday with her. While in Florida we took a couple of days and went to Fort Myers with my mother-in-law. Fort Myers was our jumping off point for relaxing on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva as well as taking in the winter homes of Thomas Edison & Henry Ford. The beaches were beautiful and the Edison/Ford homes and grounds were gorgeous.
And of course, no trip to Miami is complete without some time spent at South Beach!!

After leaving Florida we spent a fast and furious few days in Louisiana getting our taxes done and packing up a few more things to ship to Cairo. We were able to catch up with a few friends while in 'cajun country' but time was certainly limited, so I'm sorry if we missed you.

Hello

Welcome to my new blog. I trust that you will all enjoy reading my posts as we travel around this 'not so lonely' planet. My hope is that you will learn something new about this wonderful world we live in, and the weird and wonderful people that call it home.