The End of ‘Krempt’

The other day I saw a poem about ‘Sweet Summer Days’. Ah, the end of summer, especially September.
I remember them well. Loved them in North America. Now today, at Equinox, Autumn begins.

But even as my friends and family in North America will watch the days grow shorter and nights longer, the cold creep slowly in, the frost on the windows, we await the end of ‘Krempt’.

Krempt is the Amharic word for the rainy season. The rainy season is long, as long as the weather is cold in North America. From the beginning of June (this year even earlier) until the end of September, 4 months. Four long months. Rain every day, sometimes even hail. Downpours at least once a week. Cold and damp. Muddy roads and dirty floors. And don’t forget to take your umbrella everywhere, every day. The skies may look fine for the morning but storm clouds can come up quickly.

The Ethiopian holiday of Meskel is this weekend. Meskel is a religious holiday where the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate the finding of the true cross. It will be a long weekend for us. But even more important is has traditionally marked the end of Krempt. But the rainy season rarely ends on the day but sometime in October. Still it is amazing how one day the rain stops and now you enter the long season of sunshine from October to May (OK, for those who know, yes there are short seasons of light rain in February or thereabouts, but recently they have been hardly worth mentioning). Now we can travel into areas of the country with our LandCruiser that were impassable last month.

Soon will come the days of sunshine when Ethiopia will be pleasant even as I hear winter approaching in North America. I will enjoy this time, this last year of our term in Ethiopia. There are many things to do yet. Work to be done, people visiting us, a year of school for our girls. Sunshine will be a welcome reward for having endured the wet weather. Still, as each year has passed here I have missed the 4 seasons more and more. I can't wait to get into that seasonal rhythm again next summer . . .

The Week That Was

Just a fairly quick update on the week that is almost finished. I was thinking to write this on Monday to include Saturday and Sunday but I project that we will be busy so I'm whipping out a quick eletter now.

Yes, Wanda is 'home' and there was great rejoicing (yea!!). On Tuesday night I tried to go to bed early but it didn't matter. Like so many times before I couldn't sleep before a 'big event'. On top of that I also felt a cold/ flu coming on. Dry scratchy throat and a general achiness. Great. Wanda was to call me so I waited for the call. Eventually it came, later than I expected but by 12:45 a.m. I was on my way through the mostly darkened and abandoned streets of Addis. Surprisingly there were some people out at that time. Yes, the streetwalkers as usual (eyeing me as I passed) but also the odd minivan and other assorted people. Wanda came through the doors to the outside of the airport (sparing me the pain of buying a ticket and being frisked to get into the airport), a happy reunion. She had her haircut and it was very nice (see, I noticed).

We came into the compound about 1:30 a.m. as quietly as possible but still Sophia and Abby woke up and groggily gave Wanda hugs and 'welcome home'. There were many pages of special drawn paper with colorful words of welcome as well as a large bouquet of roses from the family. After talking a while we tried to go to sleep.

I had to be up early in order to be at the US Embassy at 8 a.m. That meant, by my calculations, I should leave at 7 a.m. So I was out the door soon after 7. I was groggy and my body was now telling me that a cold/ flu was flowering inside. Had I known how the day would unfold I might have stayed in bed, or at least gone another way. Hindsight is 20/20. As I approached the unpaved Total traffic circle the lanes became tight as vehicles were avoiding the right side where a large pool of water stood. Slowly my car was being squeezed on the right and left. Then the bus next to me brushed my mirror and it went flat against the side of my vehicle. This was too close, so I stopped moving forward. The bus continued. A jarring action shook my LandCruiser as his back bumper (an old wrap around) acted like a crow bar and pulled against my smooth ride side bumper, ripping it out from the body. His bumper was bent back.

Oh no. My first accident in Ethiopia. I'm feeling crappy anyhow. This can only make it worse. The traffic was so tight I couldn't get out on my side of the vehicle. I rolled down the windows and looked. The driver did too as well as a small crowd. When the truck on the left moved I decided not to be in the flow of traffic and moved my LC off to the right side of the road. All the Ethiopians were startled, hey, hey! I shouldn't move. But I wasn't going to have my LC in the middle of rush hour traffic which would increase my vehicle's chances of getting dinged further. I stopped, got out of the LC and waited. I had no energy with my cold in full bloom. I stood there listlessly while a crowd of mostly men gathered around and stared at me. Two very young traffic cops came over. Neither spoke English. So a couple of men in the crowd tried to translate. The explanations started. The bus driver insisted I turned my vehicle into his. I told my story of how his vehicle edged over into my lane. But none of this mattered because these traffic cops had little or no authority. At one point the crowd began urging me and the bus driver to trade phone numbers and be on our way. At first, being sick and tired, I was ready to do that. But I finally remembered that I needed a police report for the insurance. When the crowd understood I was taking this to my insurance company there was a visible shrug of resignation. The farenji/ foreigner was going the expensive and time consuming route. So much for the rest of the morning. And I was resigned to that too. Finally one traffic cop who looked like he had authority came over. I was asked, again, why I moved my vehicle and I explained again. Yes, I shouldn't have moved my vehicle. Sorry about that (but I really wasn't).

I had called my MCC team. Yeshi and her brother were the first at the scene. Once she arrived my anxiety level went down. Finally someone who I know and trust. Soon Mekonnen and Solomon were on the scene. We were told we needed to go get a traffic officer up at the Kolfe Keranyo police station. If no one went it could take all day. So I immediately volunteered to go. Yeshi came with me and the other driver, at the last moment, jumped into my vehicle. I was too sick and tired to care. Let him come. We found the police station and brought the officer back. He seemed to be a decent chap. Back at the scene the officer insisted my LC be moved to place of the accident. So Mekonnen moved it for me (that was a scene in and of itself. Driving backwards into oncoming rush hour traffic, even with a cop diverting traffic around the scene). He wrote up the vehicle places and then it was over. I took the officer and Solomon back to the police station. The other driver drove his bus and now some others from his work that he called up, also to the police station.

It was there that the matter got solved, more or less. An officer took 3 of us into his office, the bus driver, Solomon (for translation) and myself. By now there was a tall bald man with a loud voice (or big mouth, depending on your point of view) who was acting as the driver's advocate. I thought he might be his lawyer but they said no. He certainly was acting like one. He insisted on being present in the room as the driver and I gave our testimonies. But the officer would have none of it and closed the door on him. So we presented our testimonies again. Solomon helped with translation but I spoke as clear English as I could and the officer did not once ask for a translation. The ruling came quickly, the other driver was at fault. The officer opened the door and let us out. The bald man, as soon as he heard the ruling, went ballistic. As Solomon and I, and later Mekonnen, sat in the room next door we could hear the man going after the officer, berating him. Mekonnen was shaking his head as he told me how this bald man was badgering and insulting the officer. But to my relief the ruling would stand. I had my doubts. This bald man was Tigrean (the ethnic group who is in power) and he was addressing an Oromo (the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia but also the underclass from times past). I wouldn't have had a clue which ethnic groups these men all were but Mekonnen and Solomon sure knew and told me. At one point this man came into the office we were sitting in to berate the officer who made the report. When I understood (with my very limited Amharic) that he was saying that the ruling was without logic I couldn't stand it anymore. I was sick, I lacked energy, just wanting to sit there quietly, but I roused myself to say that on the contrary, the ruling was completely logical, it was his argument that lacked logic. Interestingly, where he had demanded eye contact with the Oromo officer, he now refused to make eye contact with me. But it did shut him up for a moment.

So the matter is resolved, yet unresolved. The ruling stands, it was the bus driver's fault. They took his license away (I got mine back) and took the plates off his bus. They told him to pay a fine but the bald man insisted they wouldn't pay and demanded an appeal. The police said that the process is to pay then appeal. So I don't know where they left that. But we can't move forward in fixing the vehicle until the appeal is finished and we have the police report. I don't know when that will happen, hopefully next week. When the appeal is finished then we can take the LC into the Toyota garage for replacing the front ride side. But, here's the catch, the driver has to come with us. I have a feeling my LC will be unrepaired for some time to come.

So I am still ill. I've taken all manner of medication but nothing has helped really. I have a great hacking cough, enough frequency to make my head hurt. Wanda is still struggling with jet lag. Wednesday night/ Thursday morning we finally both got up and watched the DVD John Adams at 1 a.m. in the morning together. Oh, and by the way, I did get to the US Embassy with the papers to apply for the girls' passports. I drove that afternoon even though I wasn't in the mood to drive anymore that day (guess I got back on that horse and rode it). Then Thursday we took the whole family into the Embassy for an interview and passed that. So now in a couple of weeks the girls will have US passports to go along with their Canadian ones. I need to get a new US passport since my current one is almost out of open pages. The same goes for Wanda and the girls' Canadian passports, they are almost full as well. So we'll spend the money this fall to get all our passports up to standard. Then 4 out of 5 in our family will have both Canadian and US passports.

Last night we went to the airport and picked up our newest SALT'ers, Benjamin Chleboun and Naomi Yoder. We got stuck in the longest traffic jam I've been in, in a while here (I'm ready to drive in NA again). But in the end that turned out to be a good thing. We were late but we saw them inside the airport waiting for someone to pick them up. We didn't have to go inside. Good thing too since the line to get inside was at least 200 meters long. It would have taken an hour to get in. We figured out who each other was (having never seen each other) and waved them to the exit (Krista, our MCC SW'er had seen their photos on Facebook so it was helpful that she was with us). We took them to the MCC SW'er house where they will stay for the next 6 weeks as we do orientation and they do language school.

Tomorrow we have a house church service here since our regular church will be having special all day worship service in Amharic. Then a busy 6 weeks kicks off with SALT'er orientation, the girls beginning school on Tuesday, August 24 at Bingham, and MCC work to prepare for next year's budget.

Can't wait for the next break . . .

Travelogue Egypt: Day 12 Travelogue Reflections

By now my gentle readers will have either been totally bored for 11 installments and will no longer be reading this or you may have actually found something interesting over 11 days and are here for the final analysis. For those about to read, I salute you.

This vacation to Egypt was a lifetime event. I remember significant family vacations as a boy, driving to Colorado and climbing Pikes Peak, visiting Washington D.C. as a family. As I look back now I think that children rarely can assess the impact until later. Our girls enjoyed our vacation but it will be the photos that spark the memories years from now.

The travel contained all the great elements for a good vacation; the nervous excitement of going to a place where you have never been (for me, it was an excitement to see what was the same and what changed), the touring of ancient historical sites, the contrast in weather (from cold, rainy Addis to hot, sunny Cairo) and fun things to do (eating at NA fast food places and swimming every day).

I must admit that I thought about money. I saw a lot of it slipping away from our MCC PDA account in Akron for this vacation. I knew that in the end we would appreciate it. I tried not to think about all the dollars flowing out. I tried to think about what we got for our money. A reliable tour guide and driver for 12 days, freedom from being in charge (arranging hotels, driving, touring, etc.), nice hotels where we were bumped up both times (which made a huge difference in the end) and eating out at nice places (with just Wanda or the whole family). Yes, I enjoyed going to McDonalds, KFC, Hardees, Pizza Hut, Chilis. I am also glad we ate a couple of times at Felfelas and the Thai restaurant in the Grand Pyramids Hotel complex.

Visiting Cairo after 17 years was a jarring experience. It was familiar and comforting several ways. First was that MCC is still in Egypt and doing similar work. It is good to see they have branched out into other areas besides teaching English, the only job for all of us MCC’ers from 1990-93. The office moved but it still felt familiar to me because it was the home of the CR’s during my years in Egypt. I remember many fond visits to MCC CR home of Frank and Holly, and later Rick and Jan, and now I found myself sitting in the same flat but with an extreme makeover. In our short meeting with the MCC’ers, I found myself marveling at the quality of volunteers and national workers MCC manages to attract, the same earnest, friendly individuals. Yes, there are personnel problems in all units from time to time but overall quality of personnel MCC’s retention and cohesive unit rate must be higher than other NGO’s. Just a hunch.

The second comforting and familiar thing was the language. It is unfair to compare my Arabic and Amharic for I was given more time to study the former. However, I think Arabic is the easier language to learn. I found that a dormant part of my brain started waking up upon hearing many familiar words and speech patterns. I loved it. Each day I would reclaim more and more vocabulary. I wasn’t speaking sentences by the end of 12 days but I was understanding a whole lot more than when I arrived. It was fun throw out greetings and phrases. Most Egyptians don’t expect westerners to know any Arabic so it was fun to speak enough to impress.

Another comforting and familiar thing was the rhythm of culture and Cairene life. Yes, the city was still big and bad. There were even more vehicles, more people, possibly more pollution than before. But the rhythm of life was still there and even though we were a step removed in our hotel environs, I could still see it and feel it. Yes, the call to prayer was the same. I am a Christian and I don’t like competing loudspeakers for either Muslim calls to prayer or Christian chanting of mass (which happens in Addis) but the day we were up at the top of the minaret, at the ancient Ibn Tulun mosque at the midday call to prayer, was spine tingling. All of the sudden there were hundreds of different voices (and different volumes) all at different places in their call to prayer. At midday, I enjoyed the call. I remember the midday siren every day in Kidron (and later Scottdale, PA) so that rhythm of life was familiar even from my youth.

One other thing that was comforting and familiar was the food. As I said before we ate at NA restaurants because our girls were so excited about doing this. Yes, I did enjoy my Big Mac, FF and Coke. I also enjoyed the hot fudge sundae as well. I have to admit that my Hardees meal was good, especially the vanilla shake. And the KFC chicken was good, even our driver Ashraf and tour guide Mohamed came in and ate. But I was more excited to eat at Felfelas. The baba ghanoush, tahina dishes with aiesh baladi was such a treat, not to mention the fuul and falafel, the kebab and many other dishes we had. Yes, I know the girls will remember the ice cream desserts as the best ice cream we’ve had outside of NA (so will I for that matter). But eating at Felfelas restaurant and a Felfelas fast food outlet (fuul and falafel in pita bread pockets) was a great experience. Fast food is something we miss in Ethiopia. Not the food per se but the idea of fast food when you are out in the city and don’t have time to sit down to eat. Everything takes longer in Addis. Finally, it was also wonderful to find a Chilis restaurant next door to the Sheraton in Alexandria. We ended up eating there several times. But it did seem a bit odd to have SW USA cuisine and atmosphere (especially the music) on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Some things changed greatly for better or worse. Cairo has even more highways than before. The highways are wider and more extensive. A good thing too because I think there are even more vehicles out on the road. There are more Metro lines as well. We didn’t take the Metro while we were there and I am sorry about that. But what amazed me the most was the desert highway between Cairo and Alexandria. Yes, the 8 to 10 lanes of highway was most impressive, but even more so was the development springing up along this highway. Obviously land developers saw the highway and instantly bought up land on both sides knowing that it would be worth a lot. Huge billboards advertised in English the future; green lawns, large houses and shopping complexes, all self contained. If the reality will be like the billboard, it will be like a piece of suburban Americana. Yes, the beginning of the end of old Egypt but if a middle class is a good sign of stability in a country, then this is a good sign. Is the Chinese saying true that a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’? Then good for Egypt.

Except I mourned that the western desert monasteries are no longer in the desert. The city of Wadi El Natrun sprung up about a decade ago (so I’m told) and the development encroached all the way to the edge of monastery property. The monastery has subsequently developed its own lands and into livestock and grain farming and fruit trees to be even more self-sustaining. But it is no longer alone. Is that what will happen in the Eastern Desert to the monasteries of St. Paul and St. Anthony? I hope not. Maybe new monasteries will have to be built further out. Or maybe the monks will no longer want to be isolated.

Was it a coincidence that we didn’t see as much begging on the streets as we do in Addis? I remember a substantial amount of beggars 20 years ago so either we weren’t in the right places or there has been progress in giving assistance to beggars. I think it may be the latter because even when we were out on the street we felt much freer as a family. We were not ogled or harassed in general. People went about their business. In Addis not only do we as a family stick out but we are ogled and harassed at times. Egyptians are so used to foreigners (after centuries of invasion) and the city of Cairo is so big and cosmopolitan that a foreigner is not an unusual sight. Addis is moving in that direction but the extremes of poverty and class still prevail. Maybe Addis will be like Cairo is today in 20 years.

We’ve been back in Addis a fortnight now. Life is almost back to ‘normal’. I do enjoy sleeping in my own bed and being in familiar surroundings but Egypt will be a pleasant memory. Wanda said at some point during our time there that now she understood me better having been to Egypt and seeing where I lived as well as seeing the culture, language and people in Cairo. She liked Cairo too, a lot. Maybe we’ll be back . . .

Travelogue Egypt: Day 11: Alexandra to Cairo to Addis

The day dawned bright and sunny over the Mediterranean, as usual, and we took one last long look from our balcony before busying ourselves with dressing and packing. One last breakfast at the Sheraton. I overate, I think, because I didn’t need a meal until later in the afternoon. We managed to find everything that had been scattered throughout the 3 rooms (the girls 3 beds room, the middle room and our ‘master bedroom’). The upgrade given to us by the Sheraton after they gave us an unmade room was a blessing. No complaints. I found out later that Mohamed has some connections and a few phone calls produced the desired result.




So the checkout went smoothly and we were able to finish our payment of Mohamed thanks to the ATM machine actually giving us money. Our driver, Ashraf met us with his minivan and we took off through the streets of Alex along the Mediterranean all the way from east to west before heading south on the desert highway back to Cairo.

The trip was uneventful but it was the last time for many things; last time to see the Mediterranean Sea, to see Alexandria, to see the western desert, to see the pyramids, etc. We kept rolling all the way from west to east in the city of Cairo until we got to Heliopolis and found the MCC guest flat again. There we lugged up all our luggage, took a breath, got back into Ashraf’s minivan and headed for the largest mall in Egypt (perhaps in Africa). The Star Centre Mall is 6 stories high and filled with every type of western store (NA and Europe) you can think of. I think every major NA food chain is represented there. It has a huge center with a fountain that you can see on each floor. There are wings the go off in several directions with more and more shops. We thought we would shop in the local supermarket store on the main level. It wasn’t fun at all, suffocating is the way I would describe it. It was Wal Mart Superstore sized with all the same departments and 1000’s of people swarming everywhere. I just wanted to get out of there, it was making me physically ill. So I went and sat at the designated meeting place by the fountain. Amani and Abby had gone off shopping with the strict agreement that we would rendezvous here at 5 p.m. Wanda and Sophia continued shopping and I breathed somewhat easier.



The large fountain was made of marble designed with phalanges that made for perfect seating. At least all of us in the general public thought so. But the mall guards were apparently instructed to shoo people off of them. When he came for me I asked, in English, why but his answer, in English, wasn’t coherent, at least to me. But his answer in Arabic must have also been questionable for many people argued with him as time and time again weary mall shoppers stopped to rest for a bit. The mall guard would wait for a couple of seconds before slowly ambling over and asking them to move on. I noticed that the young women and young couples usually got up and went with little dissent but it was the older people who argued the most and, in the end he would often back off and walk away. At least until more people sat down, then he had a bad precedent on his hands and would try again. Young men were his hardest work. They would argue with him, then get up and simply move to another part and sit down. That got under his skin. I was, at the same time, annoyed by this silly and unreasonable policy (who came up with this rule? If they didn’t want people to sit around the fountain they shouldn’t have made it so obviously ‘sittable’) and felt some sympathy for him having to enforce an unenforceable rule. The policy makers obviously gave him strict instructions to enforce their rule but must have also trained him in PR in order to present a friendly face to the public. No force, just state the rule and encourage them to move on. I told myself I was leaving in an hour, (likely) never to return so it didn’t make sense to complain. Still I felt badly for all the patrons in the mall who will continue to be annoyed by such an asinine policy.

We found a cab and made our way back to the MCC guest flat in Heliopolis by 5:30. It was a hot and sultry evening and there was lots of noise next door at the Nasser Club, which we could see from our 4th floor windows. No one was tired, no one was ready to sleep. But I knew I needed to sleep, even if for a short time. So I showered and, as I was also not particularly sleepy, I took my time ‘getting ready for bed’. Red eye flights are no fun, especially with a family. But I managed to close my eyes and soon it was dark. Finally the phone alarm rang at 12:25 and by 12:35 our family was slowly in motion.

Cairo never sleeps. It was not quiet on the streets, although much quieter than at 7 p.m. It was still warm. One MCC’er named Rowan was in the guest flat and we talked while waiting for Mohamed and Ashraf to come. Ashraf was late. Apparently there was a big accident on the main highway from Giza and he was stuck in traffic. He finally arrived and apologized, looking harried. We said goodbye on that city street to Rowan and were off to the airport. Traffic was heavy at 1:30 in the morning, believe it! But we got to the airport and it turned out that we had plenty of time. Mohamed and Ashraf said farewell and I quickly tipped Ashraf for his good service to us over 11 days.

The flight back to Addis was really quite uneventful. We asked to be seated as a family together and this time the man at the checkout complied. We were given as good a seating as one can get in economy class, the first row behind the first class. That part of travel went well. But ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ they say and we paid for our good luck with the extremely bad luck of standing in the passport/ customs line for 2 hours while the customs agents acted like lawyers going over fine print on a legal document for every person who came through the line. In addition they were understaffed (4 out of 12 counters were open), but naturally no one in customs thought to call in reinforcements. People would just have to wait. Soon people in line struck up casual conversations with each other. A brother and sister in front of us were from Calgary but were born in Ethiopia. They were coming back for the first time since leaving 9 years ago. They were polite and well spoken. The crowds of Ethiopians and foreigners (they had separate lines for us) were for the most part well behaved. People grumbled but no one tried to cut in line, as far as I could tell. There was a conservative Muslim woman with a number of crying children who finally decided they couldn’t wait in line and went to the front and sat right under the counter. The children were finally given something to eat and we all watched them as they sat there.

Finally we were through and went to find our luggage. It was no surprise to see the luggage carousel overcrowded with luggage from several flights on all 4 carousels. Our luggage was supposed to be on carousel 4 but we only found 2 pieces there, even after it went around several times. It dawned on me that the disorganization was rampant this morning and to look on other carousels. Sure enough, the balance of our bags were on carousel 3. We hurried and picked them up and ran them through the x-ray machine before the line got worse. Then we headed out the door.

Our MCC driver Assefa was waiting for us. If all of our luggage, and our persons, get back to our MCC house healthy and complete, then the whole trip would be a success. And that is indeed what happened. The MCC staff and help came out to greet us, the animals seemed happy to see us (particularly Peanut the dog, who goes nuts [no pun intended] when we come back after being gone a while). Home sweet home with good memories from a vacation of a lifetime.

Travelogue Egypt: Day 10 The Library in Alexandria

The final day of touring began with another fine breakfast. All those sweetbreads and coffee, tres bien, owi kwayyis, sehr gut, very good. Chocolate covered donuts and croissants, many glazed and glaced pastries. I love the already prepared grapefruit and oranges, knife-peeled and sliced. There is a coffee machine that can make you an expresso or cappuchino or just plain (strong) coffee. A chef stands at the ready to make you an omelet and there is a cheese and meat island. Fresh orange juice and karkaday juice are at the ready.

We headed out at 9 a.m. with Mohamed and Mohammed, an Alex driver with his own tour van. This van was more of a bus, much bigger with room for over a dozen people. He seemed pleasant enough but his driving was just a bit closer to the edge and that made me edgy. I could relax with Ashraf but not him. Thankfully it was only one day.

We headed across the street to see the Montazeh Palace and gardens. Not much to see really. We could see most of it from our 4th floor windows at the Sheraton. We walked the grounds a bit, going out on the walkway along the Mediterranean, strolled past some old houses. This all belonged to the 20th century kings of Egypt, Fuad and Farouk. The palace looked, well, palacial. But it is still being used by the Hosni Mubarak family so no admittance. In the end the whole little tour didn’t seem worth the time and money but we can say we saw it. I did enjoy talking with Mohamed. His English is quite good and he is learned and thoughtful.

Next we drove all the way across town to the Qietbay Fort. Again we didn’t go inside, just looked at it from the fishing pier. Mohamed bought everyone an ice cream cone (Italian ice). We watched the fishermen attempt to catch something and some boys diving for something, who knows what. It was a pleasant morning to be out, sunny and cool.



Finally we drove to the Biblioteca Alexandrina. I was quite excited about finally visiting this world architectural marvel and idea; resurrecting the idea of a great library in Alexandria, like the one which was considered the greatest in the ancient world, only to be burned to the ground. Some say it’s a mystery, but I had heard that the Christians may have burned down this ‘pagan’ structure. The time is far removed and the spirit of the times can hardly be understood from this distance but I find it sad that Christians, especially learned ones, might have contributed to the destruction of the library and other amazing places in Alex. But such destruction has happened by Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and other religions in all times and places. Humanity’s dark side.



In the end I was a bit disappointed in the library. The children’s libraries they wouldn’t let us in at first but when we pleaded (we are from a distant land, here for only one day), they relented. And it turned out that the libraries were really local libraries for Alexandrians in this world library. That was disappointing. We were given a tour, along with a huge group of planetarium scientists from around the world. The tour felt very hands off and we only saw things at a distance and not for very long. Again, very disappointing. Even the 9 screen, computer interactive screening of the history of Egypt (Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic and Modern) was far short of what I thought it would be (Disney World’s Epcot Center in Florida does the same idea much better). We couldn’t go into the planetarium because of the conference so really I didn’t see any ancient manuscripts, saw not one book housed in the adult side, did not sit in the library. So disappointing. But I got the feeling that our girls had seen enough and I couldn’t blame them. We didn’t need bells and whistles, just real books, old and new.

It was time for lunch, time to fulfill a promise we made in Cairo; that we would eat at Pizza Hut in Alex. So we did. The food was ok, the service was ok, at least the location was great. Second floor overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. I have to say that the vistas of the Mediterranean; from our hotel rooms, on the beach, from the restaurant and the tour sites, were all spectacular.

After lunch we went back to the hotel. Now it was time for one last beach run. This time it was late afternoon and the sun was now coming directly into our ‘kitchen tent’. We were also getting bit up by something, I guessed ‘no-see-ums’ or something like that. At any rate the family swam for a while then had enough of the biting and we showered in the outdoor shower facilities and walked back across the street and up to the Sheraton pool. Wanda and I finished our Scrabble game and the girls were back in the water.

Dinner time was one last chance to either go to a local seafood restaurant or go to Chilis. My thoroughly NA family didn’t take long in voting, we went to Chilis. In a small way I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to try to read an Arabic menu or haggle with the waiter over the price of the daily catch. Everyone like the Chilis food even though it is expensive (NA prices).

Our last night in Alex and we came back to the hotel for bed. The girls were getting tired and were soon off to sleep. Wanda and I watched a movie on TV called ‘Elizabethtown’ starring Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom, who did a good job with the American accent. It wasn’t a particularly noteworthy film but entertaining nonetheless. A ‘chick flick’ as it were. And we were off to sleep.

Travelogue Egypt Day 9: A Day by the Water in Alex

This was our ‘free day’. The day I put in to relax. Good thing too. How could we leave Alexandria and not go to the beach? The Sheraton has a small beach front for its guests just across the road. A well maintained, well staffed beach front.

But first was breakfast. The Sheraton breakfast is the one thing that beat the Grand Pyramids hands down, so far the only thing. In many ways they were similar, both had a large breads selection, a juice section, cereals, meats and cheeses, fruits but the Sheraton’s is nicer, presented better, maintained better. They have a coffee machine that can give you espresso or cappuccino or regular coffee. Beats anything GP had. At any rate we had a wonderful time eating and relaxing.

Then we hung out up in our rooms. I enjoyed 45 minutes of free internet time, making sure I downloaded everything first before I ran out of time so I could read offline. By 11 a.m. everyone was ready to go to the beach. We dressed in our swimwear and headed on down to the sea shore.



The Mediterranean Sea. I couldn’t tell at the time but our vista over the sea faced west (sunset at night revealed that) even though the shoreline in general faces north. A beautiful day, not as hot as the previous day. Sunshine and a light breeze. Tents were available on the beach so we found one and put our stuff down. We went out to the water, which was just right. The temperature was roughly the same as Lake Huron in summer but of course it was salty. The waves were gentle yet strong enough that one got a taste of the salt water if one didn’t watch for the next wave. So everyone swam or built sand structures or read in the tent.

What a mixture of people even on the exclusive Sheraton beach. There were no Muslim women in complete black burkas swimming (I have seen that, imagine an Amish woman in daily dress floating in the water). But there were plenty of Muslim women in full length modern swimwear. One was in black from head (niqab or hijab) to toe but in pants and top that clung to her. There were some that were dressed fully but didn’t get into the water. One Muslim girl, I think, was in a bikini. The little Muslim girls were in ‘normal’ swimwear, like the kind my girls were wearing. Then there were a handful of us westerners including one young woman who didn’t want to have any tan lines. Needless to say I was curious if there was such a thing as the ‘moral police’ here. But no one seemed to pay too much attention (she untied all strings but didn’t go topless).

All along the coastline the beaches have been full of vacationers. Mostly Egyptians but still quite a few foreigners from the west, from Arab countries and even Asia. The blue and white umbrellas were a ubiquitous site on the beaches wherever you looked.

We might have stayed there all afternoon but for hunger overtaking our daughters. We came back, showered and changed (well I did) and went to Chilis once again. We were trying for a lighter (and cheaper) lunch. The bottomless chips and salsa, nacho plate, a couple of drinks with free refills and desserts. But Chilis succeeds in making money any which way you order. Nevertheless it was good. I keep telling myself ‘we’re on vacation’.

The rest of the afternoon was rest and relaxation. An afternoon siesta, the girls going down to the pool, watching the shootout on the big screen in the Sheraton bar, Caesar Inn, between Japan and Paraguay (Paraguay is through, Mennos in Paraguay must be delirious with joy), having supper in the Italian restaurant and going to bed. The girls swam particularly hard and were wiped out.

One last day of Alexandria tomorrow, Wanda has already said she isn’t looking forward to going back to Ethiopia. Vacations are meant to be a nice break and that is what this has been.

Travelogue Egypt: Day 8 Alexandria

Dawn at Anafora Retreat Centre was quiet and peaceful. Probably the only time in Egypt it will be so. The Grand Pyramids was relatively quiet but you could tell you were in a city. We were rested thanks to going to bed at a relatively early hour. After all, if there are no distractions, like TV’s or restaurants or other activities and the light bulbs burn dimly in one’s room, turning in for the night happens quickly. The bed was solid so I tossed and turned but in the end I slept well enough. Wanda had a harder time with it.

We finally gathered the family together to eat breakfast and went into the open kitchen. Not untypical fare; a runny oatmeal (I think), fuul beans (but not mashed) and boiled barley (again, a guess). There were also boiled eggs, an assortment of fresh veggies and aish baladi. We all took the oatmeal and added cinnamon sugar, coconut and other ingredients in a charming 6 jar set next to the oatmeal.



As we were eating, Bishop Thomas approached us to greet us good morning. In my mind this was my last chance to talk with him so I quickly re-introduced us by reminding him of his visit to AMBS over 15 years ago. I inquired about his accident and his health and about how the Anafora Retreat Centre came to be. I also talked about our current jobs as CR’s in MCC Ethiopia and our work with churches there. It interested him enough to sit down and we had a good conversation about peace projects. I felt good about our conversation. He invited our daughters to come and volunteer someday for a time at Anafora. That would be exciting to me (perhaps one of them will remember and do it). Before we left we took a photo together.



So then we traveled to the Saint Bishoi monastery in the Wadi Natrun Desert. Only it wasn’t a desert anymore. To my great surprise (and some disillusionment), the monasteries are no longer in the desert. Wadi Natrun city has encroached on the monasteries. Now there is development right up to the gate of the monastery. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. I wonder how it all came about. The monasteries survived the Berber invasions in the 300’s, the Muslim invasion and rule for the past 14 centuries but now something more insidious is happening to a way of monastic life, encroachment by society. Yes, there is a brand new church and new dormitories for the monks. It’s good to have farms and orchards now on monastery land for their use. And it is wonderful to hear that the monastery has gone from 7 monks some 20 years ago to over 118 monks today, so the tradition will continue. But in what way will it continue?

Our guide was a monk Rouis and he was a friendly monk. The longer we toured with him the more jolly he became (as we got to know each other). In the end, after I told him I had visited the Bishoi monastery 20 years ago and had lived in Egypt and worked with the Coptic church, I think that warmed him up to us. At one point another monk passed him on the stairs and warmly greeted him, giving him some communion bread. He said something to the monk, I think he was saying something like we were Orthodox or friends of Orthodox and the monk turned and offered us a piece of the same bread. That was when I felt welcomed at the monastery. We got a photo with Father Rouis and we exchanged email addresses. He is eager to learn more English although I don’t know how I can help.

The morning was quickly disappearing by the time we got in the minivan and left for Alex. Mohamed offered lunch choices once again and our girls, once again, chose McDonalds. So just before Alex on the desert road, at an exit that looked very much like an interstate exit in NA, we went to a McDonalds for lunch. The desert highway is transforming everything commercially.



We arrived in Alex in the afternoon and in the heat started our tour. The minivan has a good a/c and we were all just fed and watered so we were up for it. We visited ‘Pompeii’s Pillar’ and the catacombs underneath the site. Again the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry has done amazing work in 20 years. I remember a pillar and nothing more but now after an excavation the whole thing is walled off and a visitor center is up and walkways constructed. It was impressive. This should be Diocletian’s Pillar, by the way. He was loved as much by the Alexandrians as he was hated by the Christians. The Pillar was a grateful gift to him for his benevolence but somehow his name didn’t stick.

We then went to ‘Kom Shuqafa’ catacombs where Romans and Egyptians of high standing were buried. At least 30 meters underground the ancients created large spaces and put the bodies of loved ones in little chambers. Later Christians, during times of persecution, worshipped in this space. For our girls, going underground was at least cooler than the hot summer sun above.

We finally got in the minivan and drove from western Alex to the eastern side of the city through small city streets and finally along the corniche. All along the way, where there was any beach and sand there were thousands of blue and white umbrellas and thousands of people. A day at the beaches. The buildings along the corniche attest to the diversity that once was Egypt; Italians, Greeks, etc.

We found the Sheraton on a busy corner on the east side. There will be nothing quiet about staying here. Anafora silence is only a memory now. But the beds are soft. However all did not start out well. After a pleasant check in we went up to see our rooms. What cramped quarters! It was like rooms on a ship. When we opened the girls room we were even more shocked, everything was still a mess. The beds were unmade, glasses and cigarettes doused in them, lights on, TV on. So we went downstairs. The front desk was surprised and apologized. At first they promised to clean it up. But I got a second phone call which then promised an upgrade to a suite with an adjoining room. I accepted. Although this upgrade still wasn’t as big, space wise, as at the Grand Pyramids, it was much more satisfactory than the first set of rooms. That felt better. But two things remained annoying; the lack of World Cup games on TV and the internet policy. Yes, they offer 40 minutes free but not on one’s one computer, you have to go down to their computer place. The cost for 24 hours of internet is almost $30 USD. That’s what it costs for a month in NA! I’m afraid I didn’t respond well to a young woman who went to access the 40 free minutes for me. I thought I would get an access code but she is the one who must do that every time. It seems like a waste of time, an absurdity. Nevertheless we must play by their rules, however absurd.

Our evening ended with a dinner at Chilis. Yes, that same Chilis which is the North American restaurant found in all the large NA cities. We ate a late supper like all the Egyptians normally do, after 8 p.m. It was good food and a pleasant walk from the hotel. Back at the hotel we washed away the sweat and grime of the day in a very nice shower and watched the Brazil-Chile game until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer. The game was effectively over by half time anyhow, with Brazil up 2-0. One more day to finish the round of 16 and be left with the ‘elite 8’ (to mix a NCAA basketball tourney term in the mix).

Travelogue Egypt Day 7: Anafora Retreat Center

The day started out like all others at the Grand Pyramids hotel. A quiet Sunday morning, sun rising, temperature pleasant. It was time to pack up. The plan was to have breakfast, pack up, allow the girls to swim and be at Ashraf’s minivan by 10 a.m.

But, dear reader, things don’t always work out, as you know. Wanda discovered that the Visa credit card she had in her purse the night before was not there. Was it misplaced? Stolen? Lost? We turned the rooms upside down looking for that card. Same for her purse and all our luggage. We retraced her steps. She hadn’t used it on Saturday but had got it out at the shirt shop at the hotel. We had also gone to Hardees. Was it possible that it fell out of the one pocket she had it in?
Or was it taken? The 10 a.m. time came and went. Hotel personnel were involved in helping us. Nothing. Finally we called the Visa phone number in NA and Wanda talked to a person on the phone. The woman reported only one activity, an attempt to withdraw $35 USD equivalent which failed because the person couldn’t produce the right pin number. So no activity. Wanda said to cancel the card and the woman complied.

By now it was almost noon. We were late in going. Forget about visiting the desert monasteries in the morning, or at all, let’s just find the Anafora retreat centre. We made one stop for three things; to stop at Hardees and inquire if they had seen a Visa credit card or anyone flashing one around, to stop at a pharmacy (Amani’s inner ear was hurting and she couldn’t even smile without pain. We consulted a doctor and got an antibiotic), and to grab some lunch at an Egyptian fast food joint (sandwiches; fuul, falafel, chicken kebab)

And so we made our way out of Cairo by means of the desert highway to Alexandria. Indeed this was a highway, one that didn’t exist 20 years ago when I was living in Egypt. A brand new 8 lane totally asphalted highway. It’s just being finished right now. All along the highway are new communities springing up. These look more like NA development. Huge signs in English are selling lots and houses that will be built along with malls, just about everything that is needed to be self contained. The dwellers will be commuters to Cairo or possibly cities on the highway. This looked like it could be the desert outside of Phoenix. Amazing.

We did eventually find Anafora Retreat Center. No neon sign for sure, just a sign in Coptic which Mohamed picked out. We did need to call the number I had for the retreat centre and Mohamed tried to get information but the woman wouldn’t divulge anything until she talked to me. Then she would give directions to him. Same for the guard at the gate. It was a Muslim-Christian thing. Mohamed didn’t seem upset just mildly perplexed but I think we all knew what lay behind the extra caution.

The Anafora Retreat Center is a large tract of land, not very wide but goes fairly deep into the desert on the east side of the highway (direction of the Nile). As we drove in we passed buildings being built and groves of mango and fig trees as well as date palms. Finally we got to the area where the chapel was and were directed down the road to the next ‘settlement’. There we found a main building which was a place of wicker chairs with woven rugs on them and short tables as well as rug covered floor space to sit, with rug covered pillows and special rug covered ground chairs around short tables. A dining area and meeting place. The kitchen was the next room over. A small library is on the second floor. So we ate lunch and were shown to our rooms. Pretty typical Christian retreat centre rooms, nicely done but spare. Compared to the rooms we just came from (and the rooms we will be going to) this was spartan.

The girls noticed the ‘pool’ which is a long lap pool with rectangular ends and different levels. So they got in their swim suits and went swimming. If there is a pool motor that filters and circulates the water, it wasn’t on. So the pool looked like standing water (perhaps that is why we had so many items to fight mosquitoes in our room). The girls did find a water straining device and tried cleaning the surface. They earned their keep.

That night after supper and as the sun was setting we realized that our favorites things to do in the evening would not be available. There is no computer connection for travelers and no TV. Want to know about World Cup action? Did England win or lose? Sorry, that will have to wait.

But that was alright. A good change of pace. It was a beautiful sunset and a quiet, warm, evening. We read a bit but the lighting was rather dim. That made the decision easy,

Travelogue Egypt Day 6: The Felucca Ride and the Egyptian Museum

Our first stop this morning was near the Hyatt Hotel on the banks of the Nile River. There Mohamed directed us to a mini-marina of sail boats, feluccas, for a ride on the Nile. It was to be an hour ride. But it was morning and the boatman, dare I say sailor, was asleep. Indeed, a quick look at all the boats found boatmen still sleeping. But the man in the galabeyya at the dock got the boatman up. He seemed unperturbed that we interrupted his sleep and went to find his breakfast and get ready.
There was no wind so, even though he unfurled the sail, the boatman had to use his long stick to push the boat out into the Nile. And so we slowly moved out.



The sun had risen and was starting to warm us up on the boat so the boatman pulled a canvas over the iron ribs above us giving us shade in addition to the gentle breeze, it was quite pleasant. Wanda loved it, the girls seemed to be enduring it to get to the next thing (to eventually be done and to go back to the hotel to swim). I enjoyed it, spent much of the time talking with Mohamed about various subjects. We talked about the Cairo Tower that was easily seen and that led to talking about Russians past and present in Egypt. There was a huge mansion, built like a replica of the White House, on the river and Mohamed told me it was the house of the first president of the Republic of Egypt back in 1952. Today it is being renovated as a museum. We talked about how there are no crocodiles in the Nile now, at least below the dam.

Eventually a small breeze kicked up and we were using the sails. The boat made one lazy circle and in an hour we were back at the dock. Everyone made a pitstop at the Hyatt in their beautiful 5 star restrooms before piling back in Ashraf’s minivan and heading to the Egyptian Museum.



The Egyptian Museum was as I remembered it long ago, a grand old lady but overwhelmed by the artifacts stuffed within and the crowds that come daily. Yet it was a testimony to the vision of several Egyptologists over a century ago. Mohamed took us on his abridged tour of the museum, one that is somewhat more kid friendly. And the girls did well in listening. He is engaging, telling stories and asking them leading questions. So we went from the old kingdom section to middle kingdom to new kingdom. We visited the King Tutankhamen exhibit, both the room with the gold sarcophagus’ and the surrounding area with all the other relics found. An amazing discovery by Howard Carter in 1922. On everyone’s mind, from myself to Wanda, to the writer of the National Geographic guide to just about everyone who has contemplated this discovery; if an 18 year old boy king is buried in this fashion can you imagine what the most powerful pharaohs must have been buried with?

It was about 1 p.m. when we got out of the museum having stopped and looked at a quarter of it and having ‘driven by’ about ½ of it (maybe not even that much). But even I was ready to go, my back was stiff and hurting. The girls wanted to eat at McDonalds again and Mohamed, though he had another suggestion, acquiesced. I tried not to react because the girls were in a good mood at that point and why spoil it? It’s hard to tell pre-teens that they have a whole life in front of them in NA with McDonalds’ opportunities. Ah well, the food is good and there is ice cream . . .

So we got back to the hotel by mid-afternoon. We had stopped to shop in a cotton shop, where Mohamed directed us, but the quality didn’t match the prices. So when we got back to the Grand Pyramids Hotel we actually went into their little shops and I ended up buying 2 polo shirts, Egyptian cotton and personalized with my own cartouche (my name woven in hieroglyphics). Wanda and the girls bought some things as well. Then everyone went swimming.

We needed to eat supper and by this time of the week we had run out of new options in the hotel. One of the restaurants was too expensive, the Thai restaurant we had eaten at twice, the Italian restaurant was good but also expensive, another outdoor restaurant didn’t serve good food. While eating at McDonalds for lunch, Wanda and I had seen other restaurants there and it didn’t look so far from our hotel so why not walk? It was a beautiful early evening. The heat of the day was waning. There was still a lot of traffic and people but that was OK. Wanda thought she had seen a Pizza Hut and that was enough to entice the girls to go with us. So we walked and walked. What we thought was going to be about a kilometer turned about to be more like 2 kms. But it was a pleasant enough walk. Unfortunately when we got to the cluster of restaurants we saw earlier, there was no Pizza Hut. There was a Pizza King and the McDonalds we ate at earlier and a Hardees. So we ate at Hardees. The girls had to be persuaded (what’s a Hardees?) but in the end, after we had eaten there, they agreed it was good. Hardees has won over new customers. Still we haven’t eaten cushary here yet. Maybe in Alex.

The end of the evening after a pleasant walk back was to be an enjoyable watching of USA-Ghana in the World Cup. Unfortunately it ended badly for Team USA. I stayed up until midnight watching the defeat 2-1 in overtime (or extra time as the Brits say). I think I’ll root for the winner of the England-Germany match for the rest of the tournament. Sunday we linger at the Grand Pyramids Hotel and leave at 10 a.m.

Travelogue Egypt: Day 5 St. Andrews and Where I Lived and Worked

Every new day means one can start over. So it was with our family. Everyone had a good night’s sleep and was ready to go. We slept in and didn’t have to leave until 9:15, that was nice. I went down for a hotel breakfast. It’s part of the cost of our stay and it is a large buffet. There is mostly breads, a salad bar with cheese and meat slices, fruit, a hot plate area, juices, tea and coffee. They also have an Egyptian breakfast of fuul and aish baladi (beans and pita bread). It’s hard to find a seat at the busy hour there (about 7 a.m.) as all of us tourists are scrambling to eat before our tour departs. If the heat weren’t so bad later in the day, I would say let’s sleep in. As it is all tours try to start early to ‘beat the heat’.



Ashraf, our driver, and Mohamed were waiting for us as usual, on time (that is a way to win the hearts and minds of westerners). We headed up towards Heliopolis to an area called ‘El Is’aaf”. It took a moment (because we were coming from another direction than I used to come, or was it 20 years of faded memory?) but after seeing the Anglican church across the street I looked and, voila, there was St. Andrew’s. We crossed the street and walked in just as people were coming to worship. Mission accomplished, Mohamed wished us a good service and left.



The congregation looked to be very small but eventually at least 50 were seated. An international group of westerners (NA and Europe), Africans, Egyptians, Indians and Asians. It felt wonderful to be back at the church after 20 years. An interim pastor for the summer, Amy, a Lutheran from Minnesota (imagine that!) now teaching at the Coptic Catholic Seminary, was our worship leader and preacher. A short service and a short message, our girls were impressed. Afterwards we went over for tea and instant coffee in the fellowship hall. We sat with Elizabeth and met a number of people. Finally Wahba arrived. He looked the same, perhaps a bit thinner. And of course all three of us have graying hair now, that’s what 20 years will do. “Eamil eh?” was the first thing he said (what are you doing?). I hadn’t heard that in 20 years.



So eventually we made our way out of the fellowship hall, called Mohamed and went to lunch, again at Felfelas Restaurant. I could eat there every day. Wonderful food and great atmosphere. The whole Amstutz family ordered ice cream sundaes for dessert and the girls were right, the best ice cream in Africa so far. We had a great time catching up with Wahba and Elisabeth. We talked about health (occupational hazard, for them) and about our time in Ethiopia, would we extend? Let’s just say that we are praying for God to bring the right person/ family forward as soon as possible. So we parted ways after Ashraf dropped them off near the church, a quick good bye on a busy road.

The rest of the afternoon was an exercise in futility mostly. We found all the places where I lived and worked but that was about it. Ramses College for girls was closed and the guard wouldn’t let us walk around. There were no volunteers in the compound otherwise I would have cold called them to ask permission to come up. Rules are rules, no one allowed to wander. It was unfortunate but understandable. The Coptic Orthodox Cathedral compound was the opposite (but with the same result), tons of people wandering around, especially children, but no one that I knew. We eventually found the floor I taught on and even the English department offices but no one knew who Hala was. Strange since the MCC’ers said she was still the supervisor. The large Cathedral was closed and the basement was no longer one big room. They had renovated it into many small classrooms. Finally we went looking for the Coptic Evangelical Seminary on 8 El Sekah El Bedah Street. Mohamed and Ashraf had to ask a couple of times but we finally found it. Again much has changed in 20 years including my classroom. It is now an office. Of course no one was around so we wandered up the stairs to a new 3rd floor of beautiful marble and amazing walls. We also went to the new dormitory, 6 floors high and stood looking over the city from there. But it was all changed now. Time to go.

And so we went. The girls were relieved. We were going back to the hotel (and more importantly, the pool) early. And so we made our way on the city streets back down to Giza to the Grand Pyramids hotel. Tonight was going to be a happier night.

The girls swam until they had their fill (2 hours). They came up to the room and turned on the TV and didn’t want to leave the room. We had bought chips and pop at a small souk on the way back and that was all they wanted. After the debacle the night before, I was happy to let them eat on the cheap while Wanda and I would go once again to the Thai restaurant. My mouth watered in anticipation. So it was Wanda and I had a delicious Thai meal and the girls happily stayed in their room with their chips and pop. And everyone was happy.

Travelogue Egypt Day 4: Islamic Cairo

A quiet Friday morning in Cairo, prayer day. Traffic is down, even the tourists in our hotel, the Grand Pyramids, aren’t stirring. My family is still asleep. Sitting on the 4th floor balcony of our room I can look out and see the pool in the large courtyard, the elevated ring road highway and . . . yes, two pyramid tops, Khurfu and Cheops, jutting above the city apartments. Folks here live in view of the pyramids daily and probably don’t think much about them as they try to get on with life. I can’t help being a bit awed, after all, this is what we came here for.



Now to talk about Day 4 in Islamic Cairo. A long day. A day that started well and ended, um, not so well. We left the hotel at 9 a.m. and in hindsight should have kept to our 8 a.m. departure time. That’s because we tried to find where we could cash American Express Travelers Cheques. Nowhere, it seems except at an AMEX office. So a word to the wise coming to Egypt, don’t buy AMEX Travelers Cheques, they are so passé. So that unfruitful excursion pushed everything back. We went to the Citadel of Saladin or Salah El-Din. The Citadel is on the highest land in Cairo and the panoramic view from its walls of the whole city is impressive. We sat in the Mohammed Aly mosque and listened to our guide, Mohamed Zakaria, explain about who Mohammed Aly was and features of the mosque. We saw the guest suites inside the Citadel and heard how Princess Eugenie of France was a visitor there. Then we left.

We went to Ibn Tulun mosque, walked around the colonnaded (and shaded) area around the great courtyard. I learned from Mohamed the connection of Ibn Tulun with Shia Islam. We climbed the minaret and at the moment Amani, Abby and I were at the top, the call to prayer began in 1000 mosques all over the city. I won’t forget that, I hope the girls won’t. Then we went to lunch.



Lunch at Felfelas or ‘Peppers’. It was still the same as it was 20 years ago and that is a good thing. The prices were reasonable and the food was good. The waiters were attentive. We ordered taumayia (falafel), kofta and kebab, lentil soup, mahshi (stuffed grape leaves) and they brought out a variety of dipping dishes and bread. The girls found ice cream on the menu, they said it was the best they have had (in Africa). All of that was so good for my soul. Wonderful familiar food. After 2 lunches of McDonalds and KFC (which I didn’t mind too much) it was great to have food I ate regularly many years ago.



We started our afternoon tour of the Khan Il Khalili late, about 3 p.m. Actually I wanted to see Al-Azhar mosque and the girls and Wanda agreed. This is surely the most famous mosque in the world, one of the most influential, no doubt. Al Azhar University is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world. We didn’t see the University but the mosque was open. Mostly men were lying around. Some studying but most sleeping. An imam was holding forth in the older section of the mosque in front of some ‘students’ and cameras. A bank of studio lights were on him as he lectured.



Finally we went to the Khan and headed down a street full of obnoxious vendors. But, as Mohamed said, the street became less so the farther you went. We wandered in and out of shops. The girls looked at things and eventually we bought some scarves and a galabeyya for me. No t-shirts though. We’ll need to look further.

I could see we were getting into trouble as Abby became more agitated the later the time. We were cutting into her swim time at the hotel. And indeed the ride home was long as we got caught in traffic. By the time we were at the hotel Abby was in a foul mood and the other girls were none too happy as well. In hindsight they were troopers most of the day but their outlet is the pool. Touring is strenuous even if it is done in the easiest format (which is what we are doing, a personal driver and van is amazingly less stressful than doing all these sites by public transportation, taxi or driving oneself), I found myself really enjoying the whole thing more than I remember from the past.

So the evening was spoiled. The hotel closed the pool even before sunset. The girls wanted to eat in the rooms and we felt we should eat down in one of the restaurants in the Grand Pyramids (there was no conversation at all about eating outside the hotel grounds). Long story short, nothing went well and we all learned some lessons. The girls learned that they need to be flexible and that life is not fair. Wanda and I learned that the day in Islamic Cairo, already was planned to be the longest day, was too long. Our itinerary looks less ponderous (for the sake of the girls) the rest of the trip. It seems that being able to swim washes away the stress of the day . . .

Travelogue Egypt Day 3: Saqqara Pyramids and Coptic Cairo

Saqqara, off the beaten track, for most tourists. Even though there were other tourists at Saqqara it felt, to me, like we were almost alone. At least compared to the crowds at Giza.
It took about a ½ hour to get to Saqqara, a fine drive on a nice morning. When we climbed out of the air conditioned minivan the warmth of the summer sun was strong. The girls are still getting used to the heat. Again it was different from 20 years ago. Now there was a fine museum at the entrance to the Saqqara pyramids. We walked through it looking at the pharonic artifacts. Hey, it’s a statue of Imenhotep, the most famous ‘renaissance man’ in the world and the power behind the throne of Pharaoh. He is the one who designed the first pyramid. Mummies are here and there. Look a statue of a nude man! Mohamed explains that it was a servant who worked in food service back in the day. Whether you stomped grapes or made bread, you had to do it with no clothes on. The girls are disgusted.




We go into a video room and see a short National Geographic film on the ancient history of Saqqara, narrated by Omar Sherrif. Well done. Now it is time to venture into the sun to see the actual step pyramid, the one Imenhotep designed for Zoser. There are groups working on digging and cleaning on site. Archeology is happening as we look on. All of the mounds of sand that we see in the desert? Those are tells, buried archeological treasure. Someday more will be discovered and the history books will need to be revised again.



Hey, what’s this writing in this obscure corner of an ancient stone? Why it’s the oldest graffiti in the world! It seems that about 3,000 years ago a tourist came to view the great pyramids and temples at Saqqara and was so impressed he wrote something to the effect of ‘I was here’ before he left [I got the following excerpt online]; Graffiti from those belonging to what may be deemed as the “middle class” dating to Ramesses II's reign has been found all over the Memphite necropolis. One such example, belonging to a Treasury-Scribe named Hednakht reads:
 “Year 47, 2nd month of winter, day 25 [January 1232 BC], the Treasury-Scribe Hednakht, son of Tjenro and Tewosret, came to take a stroll and enjoy himself in the west of Memphis, along with his brother Panakht...He said: 'O all you gods in the West of Memphis...and glorified dead...grant a full lifetime in serving your good pleasure, a goodly burial after a happy old age, like yourself...”
Tourists don’t write graffiti like this nowadays . . .



After Saqqara we are heading back to Cairo and Mohamed suggests we stop and see a place where rugs are handwoven, mostly by children. We agree. I can see this will be a pattern over the next number of days. It is not unusual for guides and businesses to strike up a ‘deal’ whereby the guide brings his clients to the business. Since there are 100’s, even 1000’s of rug making establishments, this is a way for one rug weaver to get ahead of the others. A symbiotic relationship. One can only hope that tourists like ourselves also are not getting ripped off. Mohamed has taken us to places that he says have the seal of approval of the Ministry of Tourism. There are certain standards involved.
We like the rugs, especially the silk ones. The manager says ‘no pressure to buy’. The Egyptians have learned that turns Westerners off. I’m sure it goes against his business nature but he is pretty good at being low key. The basement has the looms and the children at the looms. They are village children being taught this trade to help their families survive. The income allows the children to stay in school (otherwise they would be forced to quit school and work). One little girl, Noori, is working at the looms and invites Amani to sit down and try to weave the way she is doing. She is dressed in a headscarf, a hijab. She has a winning smile and friendly eyes so Amani sits down. We leave them to go upstairs to look at the ‘showroom’ of rugs. Amani says Noori asked her name and when she heard ‘Amani’, she started talking in Arabic, likely thinking that anyone named Amani would know Arabic. Amani found out she was 15, but she didn’t look it. In the end we didn’t buy any rugs, they were quite nice but expensive.
We drive back into Cairo and the girls are sleeping by the time we arrive at Coptic Cairo. Sophia doesn’t want to wake up. It makes for some grumpiness all around. The ancient church of the Virgin Mary, also known as the ‘hanging church’ because it was built over an ancient Roman guard tower. The church was under renovation. We also saw St. Sergius church and the Greek Orthodox church of St. George.



Finally it was time to eat. Off we went to KFC for lunch. Don’t worry, we’ll eat Egyptian food soon. The girls needed to get McDonalds and other western food for lunch first so they can go back to Addis and tell everyone they ate at McD’s and other fine dining establishments. We are happy to oblige because it is somewhat cheaper than a nice restaurant (but more expensive than street food).



After lunch we stopped in at a perfume shop, the Golden Eagle Perfume shop in Giza. Mohamed always asks if we want to stop and if we don’t it’s no problem for him. So I feel like he is doing this for us. At any rate the girls and Wanda enjoyed the experience. The salesman was good, he showed us how he only sells the real oil essence, not like some in the Khan Il Khalili which might have up to 70% alcohol. Even western perfumes do. He took one perfume spray bottle, lit a match and pumped the bottle, the spray turned into a big fireball. Impressive but hard to know if it was accurate.
We all tried the different oil essences on our arms. We finally bought some oils; sandalwood (for me as an oil for my joints), jasmine, secrets of the desert, five secrets and mint (Abby got this for medicinal purposes as well). 3 LE for 1 gram, not cheap but relative to the perfumes of the west, not expensive. It was a fun time for the girls as they enjoyed the oils of the Orient and the fancy glass bottles to put the perfumes in.



After a quick stop at a pharmacy for Sophia we headed back to our hotel where the girls once again rewarded themselves with a long swim in the pool. They didn’t want to go out to supper afterwards so we ordered in for them (sandwiches and salad) and Wanda and I went to the Thai restaurant in the hotel compound. The food was excellent and we had a great dinner for two. On top of all this from the day, Team USA had won their World Cup match against Algeria 1-0 with an exciting goal in the 91st minute. USA and England are through to the round of 16 so I was happy going to supper.
No complaints about going to bed these days. Everyone went down with nary a peep. A big day tomorrow in Islamic Cairo.

Travelogue Egypt: Day 2 The Pyramids in Giza

The day dawned very predictably, sunny and already warm. We learned from yesterday how hot it would become. Mohamed and Ashraf were waiting for us. For my family this was a big moment, to see the great Pharaonic pyramids up close and personal. For me it was another surprise. The entire pyramid complex has been fenced off and there is now a modern place to purchase tickets to visit the pyramids. In some ways it was still the same, tourists from all over the world, Egyptian tour guides busy telling the stories of the pyramids, hawkers of trinkets and camels for rent. But it was more orderly than the past, less ‘free agents’ running around.

Everyone but Wanda went down the long dark passageway into the second pyramid. The passageway goes down, then up. But now there are railings and foot boards to help tourists go down and up. There is also air circulation and even dehumidifiers present inside the pyramid. So it wasn’t quite as hot and stuffy as it was 20 years ago when I went in a pyramid. It would still be a hard slog for anyone claustrophobic. The enclosed (entombed?) space was a reason Wanda didn’t join us.

In about 20 minutes we emerged back into the brilliant sunlight, got our photos taken with the pyramids, showing how large we are or how small they are (see photo). Love that optical illusion. From there we went up the hill to where the camels were. The girls each had a short ride on a camel. No one fell off, no one had a runaway camel. It was all pretty touristy normative, including the boys asking for their tips. As a tourist you are expected to spread the wealth around and we did although I was glad that Mohamed paid for almost all of our activities up front. It just made it more fun for me, I didn’t have to worry about wrangling for the most part.



We made our perfunctory stop down at the Sphinx, our last point on the Giza tour. Even in low season there were a lot of tourists from all over. The Egyptian government and businesses must be happy to see all the tourists again, we bring in a ton of money for them. I can’t imagine what high season (Jan-April) looks like. At any rate, everything was also very organized here as well although a few more independent hawkers were among the tourists. One young girl followed us around for quite some time. I am sure she was convinced she could sell her wares to a family of three young girls and the wife. But our girls are pretty inured to people in their face, they don’t like it and they ignore it. The downside is that they tend to shut out all conversation at times, making it hard to make friends in country.

The final stop for the morning was at a government approved papyrus shop where they showed tourists how papyrus was turned into pharaonic writing paper. Of course the whole point was to sell tourists papyrus sheets with some ancient pharaonic script and drawings on them. And yes, we did buy a very nice drawing that shows the ancient Egyptian tree of life with all our names in hieroglyphics. It was fun to see how the papyrus paper was made and to come away with something we can hang up when we get home.

Now it was lunchtime and the girls were hungry for McDonalds. It was only the second full day in but they were focused on eating at McDonalds, the pre-teen nirvana for those abroad. The question was, could they wait for lunch, since McDonalds was all the way up in Heliopolis? An emphatic yes. So Ashraf drove through mid day traffic, a 45 minute drive north east to the area I used to live. We were driving there because we planned to visit the MCC offices in the afternoon in Heliopolis. I have to admit I enjoyed eating at McDonalds that day. The reason they are so successful is that the food is good and it tastes the same, whether you are in Wooster, Ohio or Cairo, Egypt. The French fries were crisp and tasty, the Big Mac tasted the same, the milk shake was thick as always. Only the flurries tasted a bit different, the flavor a bit bland and the toppings a bit thin. But it was a large dining room with air conditioning so everyone was quite content.

After lunch we went downstairs shopping at a little supermarket, mostly just to check out the prices and selection. Once again, there was more selection in Cairo than in Addis and the prices were lower. We would shop again before the end. Then we went to look for the MCC Egypt offices. Here Mohamed and Ashraf charting unknown waters, they had never heard of MCC. But they were great in finding the street and the number and we eventually pulled up to the door of what was once the CR residence. I remember when Frank & Holly Keller and Rick & Jan Janzen lived there. It was converted to the MCC offices now. We knocked and found several MCC’ers there. So we sat down and chatted. Ayman, Maggie and Rowan happened to be there. I could have chatted all afternoon but the family had limited patience and we were on the clock with Mohamed and Ashraf (although we had paid for their services). In the end it was a mutual wish to make further connections because there are special connections that could be made between MCC Egypt and Ethiopia because of the unique Orthodox, Evangelical and Muslim contexts that both countries have. Some of our programming is similar and even though they have a good relationship with the Orthodox church and we don’t have any relationship at the moment, maybe we will in the future. So maybe someday soon there will be an impetus to connect the two MCC programs.

We finally went to see the MCC guesthouse. This would be the place that Ashraf and Mohammed would bring us on the final day prior to leaving for Addis. Thanks to Ayman for escorting us to the door. Once they saw where it was, they were sure it would be no problem to bring us back on the final night. So we arranged to get the key on that day for access.

By now the girls were itching to get back to the Grand Pyramids hotel to swim. We had to fight traffic back the whole way, not making anyone’s moods any better. But in the end once they hit the pool, all was well. The waiting, the driving and the hassles of the day were washed away with the plunge into the water. As for food, room service would do. Everyone could swim until dusk and we would eat in our rooms. The girls were ‘home bodies’ in that way. No going out, no showering and dressing up. Just hanging out in your swimsuit or bedclothes. This was vacation. This was the way to do r & r.