Learning From A Master

One of the biggest problems facing Egypt is the rather sad state of its educational system. Most children do start school and many get to a point of basic literacy, but much fewer actually survive the entire process. This fourteen year old boy attended school where he learned the basics of literacy and basic math but then he decided to leave and learn a trade. He's fortunate that his father is a master brick layer, an artist with bricks, who specialises in constructing unusual shapes. I can vouch for his skill and artistry, as I've used him on my farm. Here he is instructing his son in the method of constructing a dome out of bricks. At only fourteen, the boy's work is beautiful.

Yep, It Probably Is

Sometimes you see something and just have to look and wonder. I was at a neighbour's farm and some workmen arrived in a pickup truck which they parked in the driveway. As I was leaving I glanced at the windscreen and did a major double take. Dongrous? Probably.

Riverside Afternoon

A pair of young friends or lovers converse while a man sits waiting for something and an old man sells snacks near the stairs that go down to a felucca landing. A warm sunny autumn afternoon in Cairo.

Cairo Tower At Night

There is a story about the Cairo Tower on Gezirah Island (another one of those repetitiously named places like the Sahara Desert since Gezirah means "island"). The story is that the Americans paid Gamal Abdel Nasser a chunk of money to influence him in some way and he used it to build the tower as an expression of independence from American influence. Like many stories in Egypt, it could just be a story. The outside of the tower is a concrete filigree and an elevator takes visitors to the top from which vantage point there is an extraordinary view of the city spread below. Recently the shaft of the tower was surrounded in scaffolding for some time and I was fairly curious why. I had to go into the city the other night and as we drove by the tower I saw that it had been "improved" with lights that gradually change colour around the shaft of the tower. It is fairly dramatic.

A Simple Restaurant

Egypt doesn't really have zoning laws or functioning building inspectors. Sometimes this leads to problems, like when a building collapses, but thankfully that doesn't happen all that often. What we do find is some extremely interesting and creative decoration schemes...but probably no worse than a giant moose or something. This restaurant is found in Khan el Khalili. I've never tried the food but I like the brass, wood and tile.

Concealed Shelter

This is not a model of a rocket but a folded umbrella out in front of the mosque of Hussein in Khan el Khalili. The shape models a minaret and when opened the umbrellas provide shelter for the overflow from the mosque during prayer or for people in the plaza below. The umbrellas are a modern addition to a very old mosque but somehow don't violate the design.

Pyramid Housekeeping

I was riding by the pyramids of Abu Sir not long ago and found a work crew cutting the grass and bulldozing the sand in front of the pyramid. Long ago this area was a lake bed where the water from the inundation would collect and stay over the winter, so tough grasses grow in the low land in front of the pyramids. I guess someone important is coming to visit. I rather liked the grasses myself.

A Family Home

In the villages a house is rarely a single family dwelling and if the Cairenes, or at least the older generation, are given a choice, they will build their children apartments in the same building as the parents. Visitors often remark on the many unfinished buildings in Cairo and Giza, and this multigenerational living is one of the reasons for them. The upper floor is often left unfinished until the son marries, and then it is finished for him and his bride. Daughters will often go to an apartment in the groom's parents building.

Just A Cupboard

The ingenuity of Cairenes never fails to impress me. This gentleman has a lock and key shop that is literally only a cupboard against a wall...but then how much room does a locksmith really need?

Leading By Example

Crawling along in traffic, it really warms one's heart to be passed by one of Cairo's finest giving a friend a ride on his motorcycle while smoking a cigarette with the one helmet on the bike hanging off the handlebars. Sigh.