Walk Like a Camel

Best defense against souk touts: "Walk like a camel."

Egyptian Tour Guide

This morning I read an article on the Edmonton Journal website entitled, "There's no better time to see Egypt's charms" by Carmen Farrell. I was happy to read a traveller's positive reaction to Egypt and its people. Then, as I read further on, I had a good laugh at the advice of the Egyptian tour guide for avoiding hassle from touts in the tourist souks: "'Walk like a camel' and look straight ahead, [make] no eye contact and absolutely no response to any questions whatsoever."

This is good advice so, for the edification of all my dedicated readers, I walked down the road a ways to visit with the two flocks of camels that recently arrived from Sudan. They kindly posed to show just how a tourist should stand in the souk.

And here are the expressions your group should wear as you wander through the narrow alleys crammed full of colourful delights that tumble out of the shops and spill into your path.

Here is the answer to the common question posed by touts, "How can I spend your money?"

I particularly like this camel's rather more haughty demeanor achieved by raising one's nose level to one's forehead. This look will definitely silence pesky touts.

The problem with walking like a camel and looking straight ahead, of course, is that you can't ogle all the wonderful trinkets to find that special something that you really would like to buy. This fine beast exhibits the solution: heavy eyelids and a sidelong look.

Another solution, in order to avoid having flocks of 'camels' herded through the souks and buying nothing, would be to mute the touts. But, alas, they have been pestering tourists since Herodotus came to visit, so reform seems implausible. So . . . Walk like a Camel!

Idyllic Wednesday

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.

Henry David Thoreau

As I look over the images from today I think, "What an idyllic life!" To be honest, it's all in how you look at, and crop, the image. My idyllic Wednesday began with breakfast on the balcony overlooking a donkey munching on his breakfast. I have cropped out the illegal house constructions that are sprouting up because building inspectors seemingly cannot do their job without a President at the helm.

As we walked to catch a service taxi to the vegetable market, a camel grazed in the next field. I have cropped out the modern houses that make me ponder how long it will be before these fields will be covered with brick and concrete too.

Golden wheat harvested by hand is an idyllic sight -- yet I know that it is back-breaking work.

We had a bit of a laugh on the idyllic path home. I worried about the donkey but he did not complain about his load.

Along the route, an egret posed regally on an abandoned banana plant that had fallen into the canal. A little surprisingly, I did not have to crop out any rubbish that is often present.

Finally, as we headed towards the shadow of the mountain for a quiet dinner at Nur el Gurna, the Sun set behind a thick bank of clouds but light beautifully illuminated the sky's upper reaches.

I may need to do a little 'cropping' to find the idyll, but I'm thankful to have the small bits that I have.

Farewell Paradise

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Shakespeare

Tomorrow I begin a journey back to the homeland, so I took my camera out to record my farewells.


The camels weren't too interested in me. I never paid attention to their fringed tail before, so there is still much to learn about these beasts. I suspect that they will travel to market soon and will not be here when I return. I will miss them.


I will also miss my beloved palms. Just look at that fruit! I see lots of date squares in my future.


I will miss my kind neighbours. I had tea this afternoon with Younis (aka el Mudir). He introduced me to his family and his newest addition: a 4-day-old calf (with her very protective mother). After gathering lemons and climbing his fig tree to send me with a bag of the freshest fruit, he walked me home. Along the way he solved the mystery of my "White Bell" plant: it is sesame (simsim). I have much to learn.


I will miss all the activity along our road. Some day I want to sit with the camera pointed at the road and just capture the variety. Here is an itinerant home goods salesman.

And finally, I will miss the sunsets over the magical Theban hills. It is a thrill to catch the very last arc before the Sun disappears for another day. Farewell Ra.

Good night, good night! parting is such
sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Noble Beasts: Large and Small

My weekly trip to the laundry presser took me past the camels this morning. He/she struck a 'king of the jungle' pose.


Returning to pick up my laundry this afternoon, the donkey was singing the blues. He was quite happy until I showed up in his field.


And I spotted a third species of dragonfly. This fellow is more squat than the others and spent most of his time upside-down.


I'm not sure what this plant is growing on the banks of the canal but it is fascinating. It has the red blossoms and a column of prickly 'fruit' beneath the foliage. A neighbour came across from her house to see what I was doing and told me that it was not edible. When I said it was beautiful, she looked at me with some pity for my obvious mental health.

The Unfamiliar Familiar

I took advantage of the cool evening to go for a walk to the river. I have not passed this way in several weeks and the landscape has changed dramatically. It was familiar, but not. I posted a photo of a boy walking through a golden wheat field on March 26. If he passed this way now, he would be shoulder deep in water.


Where once there were wheat fields, fishermen are now netting fish. I was in awe of the transformation - a small taste of what the inundations must have been like before the Aswan dam was built in the 1960s and completed in 1970.


Take a close look at the oars. These ones have more width to the blade than most Egyptian oars. I always shake my head when a felucca captain caught in the doldrums resorts to paddling to shore with what look to me to be big, heavy sticks. How they achieve any propulsion I do not know.


My walk enabled me to check in with the camels. They are in fine form!


My companion for the journey was the neighbour's pet. Her familiarity with the route made it obvious that she passes this way often. Here her attention was focused on a little fox. My propensity to talk to animals meant that I exclaimed aloud, "Oh look! A little fox." And with that, the fox high-tailed it back to its mother and I missed the shot.


I ended the day with an iced cappuccino at my favourite cafe and then caught the sunset from the ferry.

All the World's a Stage

Raising the sun curtain, I had a grand background for my sunset G&T.


All the world's a stage, and camels are but the clowns.


It is said that the camel is God's joke for the world. As the last Being created, it comprises all the leftover bits.


I'm not a fan of riding these beasts, but they do bring a smile.

Wardrobe Update: Check back tomorrow when some major 'tweaking' will take place to fit the wardrobes properly. All together now: Bokra, insha'Allah.

Too Cute (or not)

I checked in on the camels in our neighbour's backyard. They're looking better . . . well, as good as a camel can look. The children tell me that the camels will stay for a while until they are bigger. Then they will go to Cairo.


I never tire of witnessing the sun's orb disappear behind the desert plateau.

Laying It On Thick

Here we are where it all began with a big hole on March 28th. The "Saharawy" evaporative cooler now resides seamlessly in the patched wall. This morning I was at the paint shop when it opened at 10am to buy another gallon. I used almost the entire can. The colour seems somewhat 'richer' than the original: I'm not sure if this is a result of my laying in on thick, or if the fellows at the shop didn't quite get the colour code exact. Doesn't matter. It looks good. Ilhumdulila!


A dust storm was already blowing when I woke up this morning but that didn't stop the farmers from loading up their donkey carts with bales of chaff. The photo was taken at 6:45, so they must have started at 6am.


On my way to the ferry, I spotted another herd of camels, which looked younger than those in the banana grove the other day. This must be the season for the great camel drive from Sudan to the market in Cairo. Camels walk across the desert to Luxor, where they are put on trucks and transported to the Friday market in Imbaba.


They looked a little thin after their strenuous journey, however, everyone seemed content with their breakfast of clover (birseem). I suspect that they are being fatten up so that they catch a better price in Cairo.


As I waited for a motor launch, I spotted a friendly croc. The boat is named after the Egyptian god of creation, fertility, strength, and protection: Sobek.


I keep a careful eye on the waters in the canal beside our home looking for Sobek's cousin, the Nile Monitor. The lilies have been blooming for about a week and with the banana plant blossoming the canal looked quite exotic. Neighbourhood boys were swimming in it as I returned home from the paint expedition. I'll keep to the chlorinated pool.