Finding a Breeze

While visiting some mosques in Old Cairo, in this case Sultan Hassan, it was readily apparent as we strolled through that they'd been built in such a way as to maximise air flow to reduce the summer heat. At doorways and windows (which are usually open to allow for the air to flow) there would be anything from a gentle whisper of a breeze to a refreshing blast of air. A young man sitting inside the mosque takes advantage of this flow and the shade to find relief on a summer day.

Almost Invisible Cat

Visiting the mosque of Sultan Hassan today in ridiculous heat, we encountered a tabby cat relaxing on the wall of the basin for the washing before prayer. The mosque was built in the 1300's and had included a fountain at one time, but now the area for the water has stones and the colour of the cat matches the stones almost perfectly.

The Shop Comes To The Village

Most villagers don't own cars, and it isn't easy to go to town with a donkey cart. If you think an SUV is difficult to park, try a donkey. At least the SUV doesn't get bored and decide to go home. Clever merchants load a pickup truck with what they think that the village women will want and make their rounds.

Flight

I've been away in New York for a week or so for my son's wedding, so no photos to post. The wedding was lovely and the bride and groom took off for a honeymoon in Alaska to do whale-watching, kayaking, and glacier-stomping. On my return, I went out for a look at a wall that the Antiquities Department is building to block us off from our desert and discovered a huge flock of European Storks resting in a mango grove. I was quietly shooting photos when about half the flock suddenly took off. It's late in the season for storks and we've had an unusual number flying through this area and taking rest stops. The change in migration pattern makes me wonder what is happening in our world.

Waiting Our Turn

Every so often I help a photographer friend who shoots portraits of championship body builders all over the world. He shoots some of them in different settings showing off their ability to make particular muscles pop out all over their bodies and then he also shoots photos of them on my horses. The horses and I have gotten used to the routine although it only happens about once a year. They wait patiently and then carry the young men ever so carefully around a prescribed area or they stand looking off into the distance while the men flex and pose on their backs.

High Flyers

Every year the European storks travel from Germany and other parts of that continent south to Africa in the winter and then back again in the spring. Usually we see a few of them who have stopped off in our fields for rest over night before continuing on the next day. This year we've seen them daily in flocks of ten to twenty birds on their northward flight. I don't know why there are so many more of them this year unless the wind currents have changed a bit. The storks will be out in the fields early in the morning and then as the air heats up they catch the thermals soaring up gradually in spirals until they reach almost 20 thousand feet where they catch the northbound jet streams. On the ground they are ungainly, tall (a metre) but light weight, but in the air they are extraordinary.

Towing a Motorbike

I don't spend all that much time in the car here but the odds are good that I'm going to see something bizarre and enchanting. The other day it was someone riding a motorcycle towing a friend whose motorbike wouldn't work. How do you tow a motorbike? By holding hands of course! What else?

Spectacles

White or grey Arabians are usually born another colour. This foal was born a chestnut but you can tell that it's going to be white or grey by the light hairs around the eyes. Usually they aren't quite this prominent.

Sign of Multiculturalism

I have no idea who the Sheridans are, but they have a house out in the Abu Sir area with a very lovely sign, incorporating Arabic calligraphy.

Old Friends

Two village elders sit together on a bench in front of a house painted with the Kaaba to show that someone inside traveled to Mecca on the haj.