Friday - Shopping and Lunch at Samia’s

Every day seems to be a late day. We go to bed with good intentions but end up just poking around for way too long a time. We have been waking up between 6 and 7 most mornings but we never get going until after noon.

We went to the mall today. I have no idea what the name of the mall is but it was sure huge and had underground parking so finding a parking place was no problem. The girls went shopping and I sat in Starbucks having coffee and updating the blog. I got caught up on the blog and the ladies got their shopping done. One added bonus was the AC. It was hot outside and cool inside wonderful.

Bonnie and the girls bought a beautiful platter for Samia as a gift for all that she has done for us since we have been in Cairo. She has spent a many, many hours preparing meals and helping out at Nana’s house. With 10 people staying in the house there is much to be done every day and with the wedding preparations everyone was very busy.

After the mall we went to Samia’s house for lunch. Many of Ezzat’s brothers and sisters were there and Samia prepared a wonderful meal. There is always so much to eat. A few of the people spoke English so we didn’t have any trouble talking with one another through a translation. Had a wonderful time.

When it was time to leave Ezzat and I took the Metro home. We started walking to the station and Ezzat asked if we should take a tok-tok. So we did. Nearly got on the wrong train at the metro but got squared away before the error was complete. Bonnie and I road on the Metro the last time we were in Egypt to go downtown to the museum with Aya. The trip was quick and uneventful. When we arrived at our station we go on another tok-tok and were dropped at our door. We beat the ones who were driving by at least 15 minutes. I wouldn’t travel the Metro alone though as most of the signs are in Arabic. The station names have both Arabic and English except for one that I saw and perhaps that is because there is no English translation.

Once we all arrived home we chatted for a while and then turned in for the night.

Thursday - Back to Cairo

The plan was for Melanie and Kaja to play squash at 11 AM this morning and for the rest of us to do other activities including a walk on the beach in Port Said. Well the best laid plans oft go other ways. Today the plans did that as well. Instead we headed back to Cairo much earlier than we had planned. Not sure what the changes were but about 1 PM off we went. The trip was pretty uneventful except for the stop at the hyper market where we had lunch. When we arrived in Cairo one car went back to the house and the other went on to other activities. At the house was Nana, Ezzat, Susan, and myself. On to other activities was Bonnie, Ephraim, Kaja, Melanie, and Megan. Among other things one of the activities was bowling. Megan was the winner. Back at the house we were supposed to be resting but no one really did. Nana laid down for a bit but don't think she really rested.

At about 8:50 PM we were off to the church for the rehearsal. This was pretty standard even in the U.S. Practiced walking down the aisle got instructions on where to sit and stand. The music as selected and then we were done. Took about an hour. The wedding is Saturday at 2 PM. Looking forward to it.

After the rehearsal Bonnie, Ephraim, Kaja, and I (the four) went back to the house. Ezzat, Susan, Nana, Melanie, and Megan went to Nana's house to do some more work getting it ready. I think the four had a much better time than the others. We certainly spent some quality time with Ephraim and Kaja and got to know them better. They are a delightful couple and we are very glad to know them. We now have a great reason to go to Poland as well. We are looking forward to more time together. While we were chatting some laundry was done and hung out to dry. About 2 AM we finally got ourselves to bed. Looking forward to Friday.

Wednesday - On to Port Said

 
Another day with a late start, off we go to Port Said. It's about a four hour trip from Cairo to Port Said, Port Fouad though my brother Ezzat and his son Ephraim with tell you that it's about 3 at the most. About 50 km out of Cairo we stopped at a new Hyper-Market A hyper-mall is like a WalMart super store on steroids. I mean this place was huge and you could I think get everything under the sun though I didn't see a lumber yard but then I wasn't looking for that. Unlike super stores in the U.S. there are employees all over the place to help you find things even if they don't speak English. I'm sure they do much better than most Americans would helping a foreigner find things at Fred Meyer.

After the hyper store it was the long haul to Port Said for a party for Nana. Since she is not getting married in her home town she wanted to have a party for the people that would not be able to attend the wedding. We were able to renew some old acquaintances and made some new ones while we were there. Nana's brides maids all lined up and introduced themselves to me and I promptly forgot all of their names except the last young lady. Her name is Maggie and I told her I got that one. The rest of the names were more difficult. The party was fun. We ate, talked, ate, and talked some more and a good time was had by all.

Bonnie and I were both surprised by one young man we met when we were here seven years ago. His name is Ravey. He was just a little kid running around and annoying his brother and now he is in high school and seems to be smart-as-a-whip. He speaks English amazingly well, obviously taking after his brother. He is a very pleasant young man and I look forward to the next time we will see him. I was hoping to see his brother Andrew but it looks like we will miss him. We spent a lot of time together the last time we were in Egypt.

After this party, Bonnie and I went back to the house in Port Fouad. The others went onto another surprise party for Nana. She was really surprised and all had a great time. I spent much of the evening both at the party and when we got back home talking with David Milad Beniameen. We played table soccer for a couple of hours the last time I was here and had a great time. We had a wonderful reunion as well.  He is at University now studying computer science so we have a natural discussion platform.

The weather was cooler by the Mediterranean Sea than in Cairo so we had a nice respite from the heat. Another late night so will sign off for now.

Tuesday - Turned out to be a day of “rest”

 
So the Pyramids and the picnic will wait for another day. We had a supposed day of rest. Went to Nana’s new home sometime after breakfast (exceptional by the way). Her home is very lovely. It even smelled new. It has been completely renovated. In the States people would refer to it as taking it back to the studs. We were shown pictures of the rooms with just a piles of rubble in the middle of the floor but you never know it if you saw it now. The transformation of the house was incredible.

After deciding not to go to the Pyramids, we suggested going to Port Said this day to help with preparations for tomorrow’s party. We did not get there today either. But then there is always tomorrow. This is a short entry because after all it is a day of rest. Just a little side note: it is Saturday number two this week.

We will see what tomorrow brings.

Monday - Downtown Cairo

 
While most of us were asleep, Nana went back to the airport dark and early in the morning to pick up her brother Ephraim and his wife Kaja from the airport. They got in about 3 AM but certainly did not disturb Bonnie or I when they arrived. I got up about 5 when nature called and almost literally ran into Ephraim as I left the room. Had a nice greeting and off I went. He was in bed when I cam back. I went back to bed and slept for another hour or so. Bonnie and I were both up shortly after 6 but no one else was so we hung out in the room until others began to stir. There are twelve people staying in a two bedroom home so things are a bit cramped in the morning until we get the beds all put away. Twelve people in a small space with one bathroom is sometimes challenging but we are all getting along just fine.

Going to the Museum

Today has many events on the schedule but I am wondering if we will get to all of them because we are getting such a late start. I’m not sure what and early start is supposed to be in Egypt but when we decide to leave that’s when everyone gets ready to go and perhaps an hour or so later we actually leave the house. This drive Kaja, Ephraim’s wife crazy. It also drives me crazy but we must go with the flow and this too shall pass.

We got around to eating breakfast about 10 AM. Again there are many things to choose, There are eggs, ful (mashed fava beans), pronounced fool, bread, cheese, meats, Mulukhiya (a green cold soup), honey, dates, and many other things. I personally do not care for the soup but I know others think it is marvelous. There is plenty to eat for all and this take about an hour and a half. Breakfast and lunch are the main meals of the day and both seem to be always delicious.

Crew on the Tower

We did finally get to the museum but we only had a couple of hours there before they closed. It is only enough time to go through one exhibit. We chose to go through the Tutankhamun exhibit that was unearthed in 1922 if I remember correctly. It is an amazing exhibit and shows the majesty and wealth of the Egyptian Empire at its zenith. The whole museum is truly amazing. I would like to have a couple of days to go through this place. Pictures are not allowed inside so there will be none, sorry.

Cairo Tower

The Cairo Tower is phenomenal as well. Takes you 142 meters above the surrounding area give a really spectacular view of things surrounding the venue. It’s nothing like the Burj Kalifa but then Cairo is a very different city than Dubai. It is much older and has many more people. The population of Cairo and the immediate surrounding area is about 25 million. That is really a lot of  people, many more than I would like to live around. The panoramas that you can see from the tower are staggering you can even make out the pyramids through the haze on a good day. I would recommend this attraction to everyone except those that have a problem with heights.

Ladies in waiting

From the tower we took two taxis in different directions to get the the Nile in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. There is a dock here where the ancient Nile boats call felucca can be found and hired. These boats with their triangular sale have plied the river for thousands of years. The ride was very relaxing and got some good shots along the river. We were met here by some of Ehab’s family and they joined us on the ride as well. These are fun people and Nana should have a wonderful time.

Felluca

When we returned to the house it was once again lunch time. The meal consisted of roast beef, chicken, bread of course (there is always bread), the meat and pastry dish, salads, fresh vegetables, and many other items. It was delicious as always. Of course the inevitable question is do they eat like this all the time or is it just be the have company. The word is that they indeed  eat like we have been all the time. So be it, but if I did I would be as big as a house.

Family discussion followed as well as talking about the schedule for the next day. It was decided to go to the Pyramids and a picnic. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Once again good night.

Sunday - Arrival in Cairo

 
We left the hotel for the airport at about 6 AM. Traffic was the lightest we had experienced since our arrival in Dubai. That was also reflected in the taxi fare. It was quite a bit less than the initial trip from the airport to the hotel. We took a taxi most everywhere in Dubai as they were priced reasonably and we didn’t have to worry about how to get some where driving ourselves.

The flight to Cairo was pretty uneventful. That’s the way I like all of my flights to be. Did talk the the gate check-in person about our return flight and she said I should call Emirates as they will put up up for the night. Have to do that yet. The flight left on time and arrived on time and the food was quite good as airline food goes. The temperature when we left Dubai was already over 100 F at 9 in the morning. When we got to Cairo the temp was in the upper 70s F, a very pleasant change. Getting through passport control took a long time or seemed like it. The administration at the Cairo airport doesn’t seem to work very well.

Nardeen, her dad, and her fiancé (Ehab) were there to meet us. It was a wonderful reunion with many hugs. They brought each of us flowers to welcome us to Egypt. Getting the luggage to the cars was a chore all in itself. Traffic and parking in Egypt is just pure chaos. If you ever come here and I do recommend it, don’t even consider renting a car unless you are very, very adventurous and have nerves of steel and companions that don’t frighten easily.

We thought we were going to go to Port Said and I was prepared for a long ride. But the plans had changed and we would spend the next few days in Cairo doing some sight seeing. The actual ride to the house was uneventful and took about 45 minutes or so. This place has an elevator so we didn’t have to carry our luggage up a number of flights. That was a very nice addition.

When we go up to the house Susan and Samia had been preparing “lunch”, that’s dinner in Alaska. Lunch is the main meal of the day and is usually eaten sometime between 4 and 8 PM depending on the activities of the day. Dinner is eaten between 10 and 11:30 PM usually. There obviously is much flexibility when the meals are eaten. Once again there was a reunion with Susan, Samiad, Suzie. Suzie we had not met before. She is one of Nana’s (Nardeen) many cousins. We visited for some time and got the luggage to the proper rooms and then ate lunch.

The meal was incredible. Probably 7 different dishes were served ranging from bread to roast chicken. There were stuffed grape leaves, salads of many types, A meat and pastry disk that is wonderful. I can’t even remember all of the other things. But I know there was more food than twice as many people could eat. The meals were as amazing as I remembered from the last time we were here.

After lunch we helped clear the table and once again caught up on where things were today with the families and what the schedule would be for the week. Bonnie and I were very tired and we were encouraged to take a nap so that’s what we did. I’m pretty sure Melanie and Megan did the same. Three hours laster we awoke from our slumber and came back to the land of the living. We had some tea and the conversation turned to the evenings activities. None had been previously scheduled.

Nana and here parents finally decided to take us to a market in an older area of Cairo and to a cafe they had been to before. The market was very similar to the markets in Dubai but there were many types of vendors. It was devoted to spice or textiles or gold. It was interesting but we didn’t stop to make any purchases.

After going through the market the quest was to find the cafe, The House of Oud (Bait El Oud). After many inquiries for directions we finally arrived. I think we were the only Westerners in the whole place but I had no problem with then and neither did anyone else. We order tea that was excellent and Nana ordered some treats called Zalpia, that can best be described as donut wholes only 100 times better. They were lighter in texture and delicious all by themselves. They could be ordered with many types of topping. We got white chocolate, honey, powered sugar, and others. May favorite was the honey topped one but I are some of each, very delicious.

There was live music at the cafe as well. Three different people sang and even though we didn’t know what the songs were about they were still entertaining. We were at the cafe for a couple of hours and then it was time to return home.

We had parked in a parking garage on arrival and when we tried to fine the exit it was challenging. It turns out there as only one we could get to at the time of night and it went onto a street that took us in the wrong direction. Let’s just say that we took the “scenic route” and arrive home well after the folks that took the cab.

It was a fun day and left us anticipating the wonders of tomorrow.

Saturday - Tour the City

 
Just a huge mall. Spent time walking the halls without buying anything. We went into a restaurant that had a window onto the indoor ski and winder recreation area. It’s a huge example of how much money is in the UAE. If they don’t have it they buy it. Ski Dubai was incredible but I sure exorbitantly expensive to maintain. A larger one is being built in Aub Dabi.

From there we took the metro to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Kalifa. We had no time to get lunch so we just got in line to go up in the tower. It was much like going through security in the airport. Once we got into the elevator it was a 60 second ride to the 128th floor. The view was absolutely incredible.

The spice market (souk) was quite amazing. There were bags and bags of spices and the aroma was quite wonderful in general. We didn’t see anything that couldn’t be purchased in the U.S. very readily so we didn’t purchase anything to do with spices. We did stop into one shop that sold Turkish Delight as well. We tried some and then bought a 1/2 kilo to take to Egypt. The candy was quite tasty and didn’t last very long at all.

We had dinner at a restaurant on Pier 7. The name right now slips my mind. The service was really crummy but the food was quite good. Melanie said that is exactly the way Trip Advisor reviews explained the place. From there we took a taxi back to the hotel to prepare for our trip to  Egypt.

Getting back to the hotel we repacked out suitcases so we would be able to check two backs and not have to struggle with so much luggage at the airport. It was 1:30 AM or so before we got to bed. Would be an early day on Sunday as the flight leaves at 8:50 AM.

Pictures to follow