In Praise of the Nile

Praise to you, O Nile, that issues from the Earth, and comes to nourish Egypt . . .

He fills the storehouses, and makes wide the granaries; he gives things to the poor.

Pharaonic Hymn to the Nile God

Dad and I walked the length of our road this morning in order to buy oranges. Along the route it seemed as though every irrigation channel was brimming full of life-giving water.

Sparkling in the sunlight, the waters appeared full of life.

This evening we crossed the source of all these waters. Our destination was Oasis Restaurant. Its Shish Tawook dish of marinated chicken was so good it deserved a photo. It is served with tasty Egyptian rice, which is flavoured with lots of fried onions and a little tomato paste. Yum.

The Time Traveller's Souk Experience

A shopping strategy has evolved for the Time Traveller and I: he sits in the tea house guarding our purchases while I wander through the many vendors, chatting and buying our weekly supply of vegetables. Temperatures soared to 40C today. I swear I heard the parsley sigh with relief when I dumped the bag into a cool chlorine bath.


Today, the Time Traveller's tea expanded to include a tasty bowl of koshary. This is a typical Egyptian morning meal made of rice, pasta, chickpeas, lentils, fried onions, and tomato sauce that is accompanied by hot pepper or lemony garlic sauce.


Bananas are so beautifully exotic! These buds at our front gate will grow into a big bunch of fruit.