A Girl and Her Dogs

 

Christmas is chaotic anywhere anytime. My daughter and I decided that a walk in the desert would help to clear our heads. A couple of the dogs agreed.

Water Work

Just a few metres from a busy road traveled by tourists visiting the Sakkara Pyramids a canal flows behind houses and apartment buildings to carry irrigation water along the farmlands and eventually out to the desert for reclamation projects. In the canals there live fish of various sizes, frogs and toad pollywogs, birds of all types and a newcomer to the area, crayfish. An enterprising fish farmer thought he was buying fresh water shrimp but when he saw his purchase, he dumped them into the river. Since then, about 15 years ago, they have multiplied like rabbits with a lovely side effect. The crayfish are especially fond of snails and have been devouring the snails that have carried bilharizia with the result that this parasitic organism has decreased 95% in parts of the canal and river system. But the crayfish are tough on the nets that the farmers set out for perch, so one of the men working in a boat is fixing his nets, while the others by the bridge are fishing water hyacinths and the ubiquitous plastic bottles out of the water.

Attacked!

My sincere apologies for not posting for a while but my MacBook got attacked by a Trojan that was hijacking programs on my computer and using up all my internet allowance. I've had to have technicians clean it out and we are now trying to reconstruct my data which was saved but I worry might be infected. Bear with me.

Meanwhile, yesterday was the birth date of young Khaled Alaa Abdel Fattah, whose parents are Alaa and Manal, two of the first Egyptian bloggers that I found when I started my own blog. Most of their work is in Arabic and they are second or third generation activists who have been working to improve life in Egypt most of their lives. Alaa was arrested by the military on charges that are so obviously false it hurts to even think about it. He is still in detention and missed the birth of his first son, just as his father missed the birth of Alaa's sister Mona, another activist here. So everyone wish Khaled a happy birth day and a speedy reunion with his father.

Don't Mess With Egyptian Women

I generally post my photos from Cairo/Giza, but today is very special for all of us in Egypt and when I saw this photo I knew it was the perfect photo for Egypt today.

Black Pyramid on a Winter Day

Riding near the Black Pyramid at Dahshur is an amazing experience any time, but yesterday was one of those crystal clear days with high rain clouds passing by. Truly incredible.

When Is A Cloud Not A Cloud?

Riding back from Dahshur today with friends we found the sky full of black and silver rainclouds that, happily for us, did not end up soaking us thoroughly. Looking to the southeast, I noticed a thick black cloud roiling across the cities on the other side of the Nile. It was the cloud of pollution from the brick kilns and cement factories of Helwan and the pressure of the clouds above was keeping it low to the ground.

Blending In

Beige and black sheep against the beige desert with the Step Pyramid in the distance. I spotted this flock in the desert just after Eid el Adha, so the sheep were probably very relieved to be ambling through the desert. A pair of grey baby donkeys chased each other through the sand alongside.

Open Sesame!

These are sesame plants. They are planted in Egypt during the summer and the stalks are saved after the harvest to use for fencing and thatching.

Dishwashing

Think of this young lady the next time your dishwasher is on the fritz. When all you have is a hand pump, doing dishes is pretty complicated. Soapy water in one pot, clean in another, and enough dishes for a huge family.

Taking a Rest

A street cleaner in Giza rests on his palm broom as traffic crawls by in the usual afternoon snarl.