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 Contradicting Poverty A distant cousin of mine took this picture from Azhar Park. Azhar Park was an amazing initiative that transformed a dumping area to a beautiful park in the middle of Cairo where people can spend a great time while also providing the locals with job opportunities. The picture is interesting because of so many things, what do you think? Is a picture really worth a thousand words? You might also like
I have always enjoyed reading history books. I probably read them more like a novel than a serious work of non fiction, first because I find it more entertaining that way, second because I don’t beleive everything I read. Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have said “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon”. That said I am currently reading a book called “A History of Egypt: From the Arab Conquest to the Present An excerpt from the book;:
The book is divided into seven parts:
It is interesting, appears to be unbiased and is written simply yet is proof that history books can be just as entertaining as best selling novels. You might also like
These are some amazing pictures of Heliopolis in the early 30s.
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I had this discussion with a friend/second cousin of mine that I thought was really interesting. He had this idea that as Egyptians we look down on citizens of countries whom we think are less than us. We are mean, snobby and bullyish to them. On the other hand when we meet people from more developed countries we act like know it alls to overcompensate for our lack of skills. His conclusion was “everybody hates us”. He was half joking but I think there is some truth in what he said. For example some Egyptians think that they are better than the Indians, but are we? They have surpassed us in fields like information technology but we still like to act that we are better. How about the way some Egyptians suck up to Americans and Europeans. As usual this is not a generalization, this happens from some Egyptians not all of them. Just think about it and let me know what you think. You might also like
Although MamaMona didn’t tag me she did say she was interested in seeing this done for 8 places in Egypt. So here it is:
 Alexandria at night Alexandria. Alexandria is the love of my life, it is said that Alexians can live anywhere in the world but will always want to move back and live there. It is a city with a rich historic tapestry from the Greeks to the Romans to Alexander the great to the Arabs and the Brits and the French. It is a coastal city and like most coastal cities it is a metropolitan filled with so many different nationalities. It is lazy compared to Cairo but it overlooks the Mediterranean and its architecture is so filled with buildings from the turn of the century with Parisian design. It was originally designed like a grid but with todays population and it’s ever expansion it has lost some of its original form but it is still Alexandria. When you travel the Cairo Alex desert rode, once at the toll station comming into Alex you can smell the sea, feel the salty breeze and hear Fairuz singing. The weather is nice most of the year except for August which is very hot and January which is quite cold and rainy, but who cares the sun eventually shines. It is ultimately more enjoyable in the winter when the summer tourists are gone. I would love to live in one of those ancient buildings down town, the ones that are a hundred years old. My dream home would have a huge balcony where I would have a swing and a breakfast nook and a comfortable chair where I could enjoy the sunrises and sunsets with a book and a cup of Turkish coffee.  Cairo at night Cairo. Cairo or the city that never sleeps as it is often called is over populated, polluted, noisy and very crowded. It is crazy over there, you can easily get stuck in a traffic jam for literally hours, if you live in a crowded area you can not open your windows and if you want silence buy some ear plugs. That doesn’t mean it is not amazing. Imagine a really old lady, she was very elegent when she was younger and pretty, she has aged gracefully but you can see her wrinkles, her joints are old and painful but she still has a sparkle in her eyes. That is Cairo, I would love to live in one of three places; an appartment overlooking the Nile in Zamalek, a house in Maadi or a house in Garden City. I love Zamalek it has my favorite bookstore (Diwan, not to mention a couple of really nice used booksellers), culture place (Sakyet el Sawi), my favorite pasta place (Didos, it’s really small like two tables but the prices are really funny cheap and its a fun hangout) and my favorite pizza place (Maison Thomas).  Aswan Aswan. We spent our honeymoon in Aswan so I have a soft spot for it. It is a super lazy city. We were the youngest tourists when we were there, most of the tourists were senior citizens. But it is a haven for nature, islands in the nile, sand dunes, temples, Pharaohs , Nubian heritage, the High Dam and amazing scenery. I would love to retire here and live on a small island surrounded by the Nile and enjoy long walks and buy a small rowing boat to move across the Nile banks.  Port Fouad Port Fouad. Port Fouad is across Port Said on the other side of the Suez canal, it looks like an old English town actually with lovely small houses, trees and lots of green areas. I visited there once when I was younger and thought it was one of the prettiest towns ever. We stayed at relatives and they had a lovely garden and mango trees, so I think that explains why I fell in love with it  Old Siwa Siwa. The first time I visited Siwa was back in 1997, it was my mother’s idea (haven’t I told you she’s a visionary) it was in February and it was the Smaller Eid and she talked the whole family into going, rented a bus and made reservations at Siwa’s only hotel ( at the time it was the only one available ). So there we were, cousins, second cousins and my grandmother’s cousin who had been to Siwa in the fifties and is a photographer and had these superb pictures from the fifties and wanted to see it again, on our way to Siwa and the trip took 12 hours because a tyre went flat and we stopped in Marsa Matrouh. By the time we got there it was night so it looked boring. In the morning we were surprised to find this oasis in the middle of the desert, palm trees everywhere and everywhere they dug a hole water would come gushing out. You could find hot water springs with boiling hot water next to cool water springs. It was incredible. I would love to live there and open a little health spa for relaxation and just live the simple life.  Fayoum Fayoum. In an attempt to recreate the Siwa vacation, my mom decided that we should see Fayoum, and again rented the bus, made reservation and convinced everyone to come. We got lost getting there and had a mix up with the hotel but it was all worth it. It is so beautiful out there.  Red Sea Coast Red Sea Coast. If you have ever driven on the Red Sea Coast you will know what I mean, there are places where the road is sandwiched between rock cliffs and the sea, it is just gorgeous. Just a one story house that opens directly on the sand and the sea with the backdrop of the mountains would be heaven on earth for me. Where would you like to live? You might also like
we koli sho2 we a7lam. You might also like
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“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” Robert Anson Heinlein
“. I had recently come across a 
