Sand Sifters and Floor Coverers

It's a problem in the countryside. We live in an area where the most common surface for a road is sand or dirt. People wander in and out of homes all the time and the dust blows in from the desert. Stone or tile floors are cold and hard, and in village homes most people sit on the floor rather than on furniture. Rugs are nice but they collect sand and dust and really hard to clean, so these woven plastic mats are a great solution to the floor covering problem. They provide a bit of cushioning, a bit of warmth and the sand and dust just sift their way through the mat to the floor surface. The mats can be rolled up, the sand swept out, and you are good to go. When you want to wash them, all it takes is a hose and few minutes to let them dry in the sun. AND they are quite cheap.

Fluffing Up The Pillows

 

I'd bet anything that most people can't identify that machine. It's a cotton fluffer for pillows and mattresses. The traditional mattresses are filled with cotton and every few years the fluffer man comes around to re-fluff the mattresses.

 

Soft Lighting

In the restaurant complex at Al Azhar park there is this lovely chandelier that gives off a soft light diffused by hundreds of fine brass chains.

Park Bench

Maybe our trees simply don't grow straight? We don't grow trees for lumber in Egypt. Building wood is generally imported, making wooden projects very expensive. But that hasn't stopped local bench makers who make lovely seats out of the curving local logs.

Redoing the Pillows

Many people in Egypt use cotton to fill their mattresses and pillows. Aside from the substantial weight of the filling, cotton eventually packs down necessitating the visit of the people who remove the stuffing, fluff it up and restuff the mattresses or pillows. Here the man is beating the pillow to settle the stuffing.

The Pause That Refreshed.

These plain wooden bench sofas are common in gardens in the countryside. They are usually wide and long enough to double as a bed with a cotton mattress as well. The Coca Cola? Ubiquitous.

Do It Yourself Shade

Apologies to blog friends but I was in New York City for the past ten days visiting my offspring.

This shot was taken, as many of our photos are, on the highway as we pulled up behind a truck carrying furniture and a workman who decided that balancing a drawer over his head would provide enough shade to protect himself from sunstroke. Now if we followed rules here, we would never have these great scenes to meditate on.

Cairo Abstract

A random pink chair, wrought iron railing, red sign in Arabic and the reflections in the car window were caught by the Elf. I'm not even quite sure where.

Craftsmanship

While on a shopping trip with friends in Old Cairo we saw this man repairing folding chairs with new seats and backs. The sticks to his right are parts of garden umbrellas. Good repairs on things here are not very expensive and most people will repair rather than replace.

One Of The Many Uses Of The Palm

Date palms are useful in virtually any form. We eat the fruit in early autumn for the fresh crisp dates, but dried or fermented they are available all year round. The fiber of the frond can be used to make mats and baskets while the wooden rib can be split and formed to make furniture like this garden sofa. They don't last forever but they are comfortable and inexpensive. Just ask Geo.

Bales of Cotton

Huge bags hold clean cotton to be used in stuffing mattresses and pillows. Households that have these types of upholstery will have men come to the house every so often to remove the cotton stuffing, fluff it up and restuff. These bales were photgraphed in Old Cairo.