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.

Urban Cow

Not exactly the sort of thing you expect to see inside an iron railing in Zamalek. The cow isn't real and neither is the grass...or there would be one very overworked gardener at the Dutch embassy.

The Cleaning Crew

My housekeeper has been bringing her now almost 6 month old son to work since he was two weeks old. I was worried at first about how the dogs would handle a baby since this is really the first one they've had much contact with. There have been visitors with babies but this little guy lives with us for about 6 hours a day. As you can see, I didn't have much to worry about. Our newest dog, 5 month old Dillah ("shady" in Arabic) has appointed herself the after meal baby car cleaner and is not averse to quickly wiping a spot on his cheek as well. The baby, in turn, babbles away at her and buries his head in her cheek. This is one village boy who won't be afraid of dogs.

Life on The Top Floor

Yet another random architectural wonder from Giza. This peculiar building is on Pyramids Road and I'm honestly not sure what it is other than an amazing waste of space. Will they ever put something on the first...how many?...floors? My daughter suggests that it must be governmental, the wazeeret wazayer? For you non-Arabic speakers that would be the mythical Ministry of Ministries.