The Edge

It's hard to imagine the knife edge of the desert and the green. It isn't a matter of foliage thinning or grasses becoming scanter. One step it's green and lush and in the next you are trudging through sand.

Instant baby toy

A sunny sidewalk and a cat to pat.

A Shave And A Haircut

Remember those beautiful patterns cut into the camels' coats? They look so crisp that they must be done with some pretty good clippers. The clippers involved are in fact hand made iron scissors wielded by hand.

Things To Do With Rice Straw

Apologies for not posting more but I broke my right hand two weeks ago and that has seriously slowed down my photography and typing. Casts hit a lot of extra keys.

We grow a lot of good rice in Egypt and the stems can be used for these beautiful thatched umbrellas and brooms.


photos by Feeney

Getting The Dome Straight

One of the loveliest aspects of house design is the dome and it is built with the aid of a long rod attached to a point in the center of the room which gradually measures the decreasing circle. There are no artificial supports in place.

So How DO You Tell Camels Apart?

They are big, mostly brown, with large rather scary-looking mouths. Line up half a dozen of them and most of us wouldn't know one from the other. So that is why they shave interesting patterns into their coats.

A Seriously Amazing Pyramid Photo

We drove out near Kerdasa today to buy some heavy woven vine mats to roof my sitting area by the bird cage. On the way home we suddenly saw this view of the Great Pyramid and Catherine got the sot. The most amazing thing about it, other than its lovely composition, is the fact that the road is empty.

Light In The Darkness

A little girl lights a candle to the Virgin Mary in the Moakalla, otherwise known as the Hanging Church because it was built in the 7th century suspended over the gate of a Roman fortress, likely on the site of an even older church. When you visit this famous Coptic church, there are windows through which you can look through the floor to see the walls of the fortress far below your feet.

Snack Time

A group of puppies were sleeping in the afternoon sun when a little girl brought a plate of scraps out. There was a scramble of dogs and cats but no aggression.