Important Addition To The Neighbourhood

We have much less pollution out here than in the city and more room, at least technically. But most of the land in the countryside is spoken for and used for farming or housing for the most part. The true stuff of life for male Egyptians under the age of about 50 is football (aka, soccer for North Americans) and it is played in any place that it can be played. In the villages along the desert there are football pitches lined up along the edge of the desert that are filled every Friday afternoon. Near my farm, an enterprising individual leveled some land, fenced it and laid out a football pitch that can be rented by the hour. If everyone playing chips in a couple of LE, the cost of a game is minimal for each. There are even lights for a night game. This is going to be a busy place.

A Place To Play

One of the things about the crowded Nile Valley is that there are so few places for leisure activities. Of course, leisure for the boys and men is football (soccer to North Americans) and for this you need a football field. These players are from the village of Abu Sir which is to the left of the photograph. Every Friday they gather on the edge of the desert and have a complete football league that plays in impromptu pitches.  In our little village, a clever land owner has built a football pitch complete with light poles on a piece of empty land. He will rent it out to people wanting to play by the hour, about LE 50 per hour which works out to be only about LE 2.5 per player for people wanting to play a game.

The Next National Team

These determined young men are typical of boys this age here. If there is one thing that Egyptian males take seriously, it's football, aka, soccer. In any small patch of bare ground you will find a group of boys (or men sometimes) kicking a ball around, and they can create a good football pitch out of anyplace. Naturally, one is less likely to find a three-piece suit playing football but on a weekend once the vests and ties have been shed, even the suits are game.

Finals Tonight! Egypt Is On Hold

Egyptians are totally crazy about football, soccer, whatever you want to call it. I'm on my way to a neighbour's to watch the Egypt/Ghana match in Angola for the Africa Cup. I'm not a football fan ordinarily, but to see if they can pull off the third Africa Cup win in a row...tonight I am! Like everyone else here.

Boys Will Be Boys

Football, aka soccer, is a national insanity in Egypt. There is hardly a boy here that doesn't play or hasn't played football. Today I was quietly reading in my garden enjoying an unseasonably warm afternoon when I heard shouts and laughter from the driveway at the farm. My grooms had finished feeding the horses and the gardeners were done transplanting lettuce plants to new spots in the kitchen garden. My driver/personal assistant (the Photography Elf) had joined them all in an impromptu football match.

Football Mania

The Egyptian national football team is playing Algeria for a chance to go to the World Cup this evening in Sudan. A good portion of Cairo was totally blocked by celebrations after the Egyptian win a few days ago and sales of flags for supporters has been brisk.

Most Scenic Football Field Ever?

Egyptian boys of all ages adore football...or soccer as it's known in North America. They play in the streets, empty lots, proper fields, anywhere they can. The sorts of places that people gather in for a game fascinate me so I'm collecting a group of pictures of football games in odd places. This, however, must be one of the most scenic spots for a football pitch in the world. The day we came by there were three separate games going on the grassy parts of the lake at Dahshur. As we were taking one shot, a nice new Mercedes pulled up next to us and a fairly well-fed gentleman stepped out in a galabeya. He went to his trunk, opened it, and pulled out shorts, a football jersey and some very nice shoes, smiled at us and strolled over to one of the games.

By the way, thanks to everyone who has visited my blog and commented. I've finally gotten a decent web connection and can return the favours.