Mummy! Mummy!! I asked Laurel how I could open up this blog today and that was her suggestion. Corny, but man what a day we had at the Egyptian Museum. A definite must see if you get to this part of the world. Our Egyptologist ( aren’t they all?) was in fact an amazing old fella who seemed to be the favorite with all of the Police staff throughout the building. He started with a description of the plants of Lower and Upper Egypt as displayed outside this beautiful French built Architecture: Papyrus from the North (Lower Egypt) and Lotus Flowers and Bees from the South (Upper Egypt). Significant, as later these were the two Lands ruled by the Pharaohs. On each statue, the Hieroglyphics and their hand positions often showed which kingdoms they ruled. But you can read all about that from better sources than us. Suffice to say what caught us most was the amount of Kilos of gold, the many Sarcophagi that held King Tut, and the age and quality of the many exhibits. Some of the many things that just leave you a bit speechless. Art, science and beauty are both very well preserved and yet often destroyed in the same halls.

Once again the Taxi rides are fast and furious. We came back to the flat for a few hours then walked to another fine restaurant that spoiled us for less than 10.00 each. Boy will we be adjusting in Cyprus! Cairo and Egypt - a place of great bewilderment. The more you think you can understand it, the more it raises questions. To understand the people of today and yesterday will take a very long time, but being in their presence seems to be a very special treat. Wish you were here! Not only to share the experiences but we both feel a bit homesick at this point. Hugs from afar. Dale and Laurel

June 29, 2007

Hi again. Yesterday I ventured forth in the morning for a walk and to get some groceries. I also managed to get out later to attend the Thursday evening service at Ma'adi Community Church - they sure have lively services. It was approximately 43 degrees out, but according to some locals here, it can only officially get to 41 degrees, since otherwise they have to send all the government workers home with pay. Dale arrived here at around 2:30am for the first time in over a week. We still managed to get up this morning and find the Community Service Association, which I had meant to attempt to get to all week (http://www.livinginegypt.org/). It wasn't so difficult now that we are getting familiar with the crazy intersecting streets, so we carried on and found the MGM (Ma'adi Grand Mall). Seeing as it is Friday, most stores were closed so we stopped for a coffee and went back home. We are thinking of heading downtown Cairo for dinner tonight, so we'll let you know how that goes.

June 29 evening - Dinner on the Nile

Dinner was great. We went to the Grand Cafe on the Corniche, which is the riverwalk along the Nile. I had a Greek Salad with the lightest, freshest Feta ever tasted. Dale's lentil soup was marvelous, and yummy spring rolls too. The Sakkara beer and the iced latte topped it all off nicely. We watched the sunset and the Felucca's sailing up and down the Nile. It was very peaceful and relaxing. The cab ride there and back is another story altogether. There are lane lines painted on the roads, but no one pays any attention to them. As a matter of fact, if you straddle a line, you are in a better position to chose when to dart ahead as an opportunity presents itself. Merging is best done with ones eyes closed, as I am sure even the drivers do. But traffic keeps moving and one gets to their destination intact albeit slightly dazed. We were told that if you did hit another vehicle, you get out of the car, yell at each other, then get back in and drive away. There are very few insured vehicles here - many battered ones.

Dale here. Hello from Paris for the last time. I leave for exotic points east tomorrow and will update in a few days. Hopefully I will meet up with Adam as he is starting on the new CJ3 jet now. The hotel here is in a great location and the frequent walks took us to the Corniche on the River Seine passing many cafes, and historic buildings. Behind the hotel one block is this beautiful church. If curious cut and paste this website for more great photos.

http://www.parisphotogallery.com/Paris/photos/monuments/church/St-Eustache/photos_selection_St-Eustache.htm

For those who were curious about Cyprus and our new village, I have found the latest news on the reason why we won't lose our view. I mentioned to many that UNESCO has deemed it an Historic site. Here are the details...

Rare ancient coffin found in Cyprus
KOUKLIA, Cyprus, March 20 (UPI) -- A sarcophagus of unique archaeological value was reportedly discovered during the weekend at a Cyprus dig.
The sarcophagus is reportedly identical to two found in other areas of Cyprus during the early 19th century, the Cyprus Mail reported Monday.
A sarcophagus is a coffin usually made of stone that in ancient times was decorated with carvings of the deceased or religious icons.
Archaeological excavations began Sunday at Kouklia, where the sarcophagus was found.

Then as similar article a few days later with more detail

March 22, 2006
Archaeologists unearth ancient sarcophagus

A 2,500-year-old sarcophagus with vivid colour illustrations from Homer's epics has been discovered in western Cyprus, archaeologists said on Monday. Construction workers found the limestone sarcophagus last week in a tomb near the village of Kouklia, in the coastal Paphos area. The tomb, which probably belonged to an ancient warrior, had been looted during antiquity. "The style of the decoration is unique, not so much from an artistic point of view, but for the subject and the colours used," said Pavlos Flourentzos, director of the island's antiquities department. Only two similar sarcophagi have ever been discovered in Cyprus before. One is housed in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the other in the British Museum in London, but their colours are more faded, Flourentzos said. Flourentzos said the coffin painted in red, black and blue on a white background dated to 500 BC, when Greek cultural influence was gaining a firm hold on the eastern Mediterranean island. Pottery discovered in the tomb is expected to provide a precise date. Experts believe the ornate decoration features the hero Ulysses in scenes from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey both hugely popular throughout the Greek world. In one large painting, Ulysses and his comrades escape from the blind Cyclops Polyphemos' cave, hidden under a flock of sheep. Another depicts a battle between Greeks and Trojans from the Iliad. Archaeologists think the scenes hint at the status of the coffin's occupant. "Why else take these two pieces from Homer and why deal with Ulysses? Maybe this represents the dead person's character who possibly was a warrior," Flourentzos said. Other drawings depict a figure carrying a seriously injured or dead man and a lion fighting a wild boar under a tree. These are not believed to be linked with Homer's poems. Reflecting a long oral tradition loosely based on historic events, Homer's epics were probably composed around 800 BC and written down in the 6th century BC. The tomb was found in an area containing several ancient cemeteries which belonged to the nearby town of Palaepaphos, 17.6 kilometres inland from modern Paphos. First settled around 2800 BC, Palaepaphos, now Kouklia, was the site of a temple of Aphrodite the ancient goddess of beauty who, according to mythology, was born in the sea off Paphos.

Finally, some crazy news again...

Aphrodite perfumes sniffed out
22nd March 2007
The world’s oldest perfumes have been found on Cyprus by a team of archaeologists.

The perfumes were scented with extracts of lavender, bay, rosemary, pine or coriander and kept in tiny, translucent alabaster bottles. The remaining traces found in Pyrgos, in the south of the island, are more than 4000 years old.
The scents were discovered inside what archaeologists believe was an enormous, 4000sq m factory.
Italian archaeological team leader Maria Rosa Belgiorno said: “We were astonished at how big the place was. Perfumes must have been produced on an industrial scale.”
At least 60 distilling stills, mixing bowls, funnels and perfume bottles were found preserved at the site, which had been blanketed in earth after a violent earthquake about 1850BC.
The abundance of perfumes fits well with the mythological status of Cyprus as the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
Pavlos Flourentzos, head of Cyprus’ Antiquities Department, said: “The myth of the goddess was strongly linked to the perfume she used to get what she wanted.”
The finds are on display at the Capitoline Museum in Rome. Four of the perfumes have been recreated from residues found at the site.
An Italian foundation which aims to recreate antique traditions distilled them according to techniques described by Pliny the Elder, by grinding the herbs, adding them to oil and water, then burying them in a small, long-necked jug over hot embers for 12 hours.
Museum visitor Alessia Affinata, 30, said: “They smell good but strong.”
ROME

Who'd a thought.... Take care..

June 26, 2007

I'm back. I am so glad Dale was able to keep you up to date on his activities for the last two days, as I have been stuck with a bad case of Pharaoh's Revenge. No need for details, since the name says it all, but as you can well imagine, I have not ventured farther than it takes to return to the bathroom in 2 seconds or less.
Unfortunately, I was by myself and unable to get to the pharmacy (not to mention not knowing what to take), so I called Pastor Larry at the Church this morning to get some advice, and bless his heart, he sent over some medicine that is supposed to start working in the next 2-3 hours. I wonder if he has had any calls like that in the past. His wife Barb called a few minutes later to see if I needed anything else, but even though I need a few groceries, there is no sense until this has all settled down. I can't even do crackers yet. They said that this always happens to first time visitors, and that it too shall pass. But don't let it concern you about visiting. Cyprus is not a third world country like Egypt. And from now on, I will carry this medicine around with me. And if you do come to Cairo, bring "Cipro". I feel like a walking advertisement for pharmacies. By the way, they deliver and so do the grocery stores, so I am all set.
Dale is complaining about rain in Paris, and I have heard that Comox is a bit soggy right now too. I am more than willing to share at least 10 degrees from here, as it is supposed to be 40+ here for the next 9-10 days. That will also slow me down. I figure if I can finally get out tomorrow morning, I will do so before 9am so I can be back before 11. I'm glad I brought a few books with me. I read "The Cairo House" which was very interesting, and I could certainly relate. It is one that was recommended by my book club too.
So, not to worry, everything is fine, just slowed down a notch or two for the next couple of days. Dale is supposed to be back here on Thursday, so maybe by Friday we'll go out and do something interesting. I'm sure I'll be chomping at the bit by then. Talk to you soon.
Love,
Laurel

The War Museum in France. The Motorbike in the cylinder was parachuted in by the French Resistance. (We could have taken our motorbikes in our Golf Bag cases, I guess?!?! The Crypt in dark brown holds none other than Napolean Bonaparte and the other tin suits is what we may type trial as our new uniforms ;) Seriously, it was a great museum and as you read the earlier post you can see it has really piqued my interest in History.

From Dale in Paris again. Promised more Airshow shots - here they are. The BD clone is quite impressive but has a way to go. the website is www.lhavaition.com
Also included is some photos of the River tour and today we went to the War Museum. Trying to do guy stuff as I know Laurel and I don't Museum well in formation. This one did have some cool stuff. You are looking at Nepoleon's Crypt, some cool medeival armour, and some amazing sculptures. The section on the two world wars was fascinating to see from France's perspective. It made me go online to read more of why Germany decided to attack France so early in the Great War. It also peaked my interest to read more about the flawed attack by France,Britain and Isreal on the Suez Canal in 1956 and how that influenced Britain's later behaviour in Cyprus vis a vis supporting the Turkish interests there. Wow, have I got lots of catching up on History to do. Cheers for now...

June 24, 2007

Today's surprise is . . . a tour through the City of the Dead. Sounds gruesome, but really its not. As Mostafa explained it, hundreds of years ago, the cemetery was designed to accommodate the dead and house the keepers of the plots. Each plot is rather like a walled brick room approximately 4m x 3m with no ceiling, and a locked wrought iron gate. The tombs are below ground, so you look in and see only a sand floor. The vault is accessible through a 1m x 2m block that must be swept off to find it. In the tomb there is a room for males and a separate room for females. Now, back to the keepers of the plots. A small house was built for the people who maintained the plots and watered the trees outside them. Each person looked after a row or two of plots. Then, of course, they married and had children. In the Egyptian tradition, they built on to their house for their children's children for 700 years. So now, many plots have a roof over them on which these generations of plot keepers live. Hence, the City of the Dead. And, since wooden caskets are only used to transport the bodies after they are washed, perfumed, and wrapped in at least three but could be five, or seven or more (prime numbers only) layers of cloth (different colours), there is lots of room in the tombs.
So, tomorrow I catch up on basic necessities like groceries and laundry, which I am sure you will await with baited breath, and maybe another crack at the old map.
Love,
Laurel

Meanwhile over at the Paris Airshow... The skies opened up and the show went on. Weather was almost ideal as the temperatures stayed cool and only two light moments of rain broke the perfect climate. The show was ...well Big. So many halls of exhibits, but frankly once you have seen extruded aluminum, and bearings and life rafts and and and.. it was time to step outside to see planes, planes, and more planes. The difference from N. American shows was the obvious presence of Military hardware and blatant, actually frightening marketing of the same. The latest gadgets were the Unmanned vehicles. As an RC flyer, I really liked seeing them. There is also a new BD-5 type plane that caught my eye as a high performance ultralight pusher. More photos to follow. For now, here are a few.

June 23, 2007

You know things are pretty quiet when the plumber was the highlight of the day. There was no communication gap figuring out what was wrong with the toilet, it was obvious. The breakdown came in miming out what was to be done about the bill. Thank goodness he could write numbers in English. But then comes the shock. It took a while to figure out what was needed, and about 45 minutes to go get the parts, then the repair - approximately 1.5 hours. Then translate 92 Egyptial pounds into US dollars - comes to $18.40! I will try to convince several plumbers that they should move to Canada (if only I could speak Arabic).
After that I received a phone call to show the apartment again, so I finally struck off around 3pm to try my directions again. After looking at the map on Bour Said Street for the umpteenth time, I decided that I needed to get my camera and take a picture of it. My problem is that the map is oriented North, but I needed it turned upside down to match the lay of the land. So, home again and remembering to bring my camera when I went back that way to go to The Episcopal/Anglican service at 5pm. At least I knew all the hymns, and we were inside in the airconditioning this time, but unfortunately I decided that I preferred the more informal, livlier (and louder) service of the Ma'adi Community Church. Now - to remember to go to Church on Thursday or Friday!
Eureka! I rotated the map on the computer, and found my way! At least I think I did? I will know better when I try it out on Monday. Tomorrow I have booked Mostafa (Mary Jean's driver) to take me somewhere. I don't know where yet, but we will discuss it in the morning when he arrives at 0930. Total suspense for 24 hours!
Love,
Laurel

June 22, 2007

Hi there,
I'm back for a quick update on today's church service. It seems that Friday and Saturday is the weekend around here, so no services on Sunday. This morning found me at Ma'adi Community Church at 09:30. It is outside under a huge tent on the grounds of St. John's Episcopal/Anglican Church - and I didn't get lost. I met Pastor Larry and Pastor Bill, who were both very welcoming. It was a lovely service with lots of new songs, but we ended with an old favourite "Great is Thy Faithfulness", which was wonderful to sing along to. It was closer to two hours than to one, but I think that time here is not as important. I signed up to a Cell group, which may or may not happen, since it is summer and many groups don't meet during the summer. Other than that, Mary Jean Crouch is passing my name along to another friend who I hope to connect with. Since it gets hot very early here, I didn't spend any more time outside, and caught up on emails and some reading. I also talked to Dale in Paris - it is cold and rainy there, so unless the weather breaks, he may not get to see the Air Show.
Tomorrow, I think I'll venture in the other direction to try my luck at not getting lost. I don't know what will be open since it is still the weekend, but I will let you know.
Oh yes, time zones - we are 9 hours later here. Call before noon in BC - Skype is free.
Love,
Laurel

Hi Everyone, this is my contribution to the blog. I am trying to download images for people to see. This is from our first house hunting trip to Cyprus.

Laurel and I are finding the adjustment a challenge but feel that it is good for us in so many ways. More later....

June 21, 2007

This is an attempt to catch up with everyone whenever you wish to hear whats been happening.
I am sure that initially I will keep this up to date, but as we get more accustomed to what is going on around us, I will probably slow down to bits of interest here and there.

June 18, 2007
The flights went remarkable smoothly, although as I was travelling standby, I didn't get the favoured seats, so Dale swapped his with me during the middle (read long) flight from Toronto to Frankfurt (bless his heart). It was the new Boeing 777 that has sleeper seats, so it was a real treat. In Frankfurt, I had to go outside security as travelling standby, one's bags do not get tagged to the destination, rather to the next carrier. Lufthansa was wonderful though, and didn't charge for the extra weight. Unfortunately, we now had to make a run for it to catch the flight to Cairo. It certainly didn't matter that we arrived sweaty (but made the flight), since it was 31 degrees in Cairo, and sweaty happened again. The company that looks after the pilots from Dale's organization - Tiger Aviation, met us and whisked us through customs. That was nice.
When we arrived at David and Jacqueline's, the maid wasn't there to let us in, so we got ahold of David by phone and he told us how to break in! After dumping all our luggage (and there was a lot) we were taken to the grocery store and to get a new phone. The rest was a blur of making supper, reading Jacqueline's notes about the house, the maid, the cats, etc., and catching up on urgent emails. My allergies kicked in in high gear, so I thoroughly vacuumed the bedroom just in case.

June 19, 2007
Started to unpack a few things, but since David and Jacqueline will be moving their household in a week or two, didn't want to get too carried away. So we went for a walk to try to find 9th Street where, thankfully Mary Jean Crouch had taken Dale on one of his previous visits. Lunch was at a lovely restaurant, I'll remember the whole name later, something 55. I managed to find a pharmacy who knew the word allergy, to find something to help lessen the effects of the cats - since one of our main purposes here is catsitting. Zyrtec is my new medication of choice - just once a day, and my brain is finally starting to unclog (could be a bit of jetlag too). The cats, Oreo and Taxi are really lovely cats. Oreo is the spunky mischevious one, and Taxi is a bit shy and quieter. They are very friendly, and I am sure I am their new best friend since I feed and brush them.

June 20, 2007
We got to go sightseeing today! We called Mary Jean's driver Mustafa, and he took us to see garbage city. What an enterprise. Each family takes whatever garbage it gets and sorts it out by material in a carport like space under their home. They then bag it up and sell it to the individual dealers - glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. It is then loaded into very large bags or bins and hauled out by donkeycarts to sell again. Nothing is wasted, and the end refuse is sent to the dump. I wonder if people at home saw this if they would be more willing to recycle. It is a very large section of the city, as I suppose it sorts the garbage of the 20 million people living in Cairo. It is also very smelly, but not nearly as dirty as you would think. There are also little business operating there, selling everything and anything to the local population.
Up the hill, after passing through garbage city, you get to the caves which are the churches of the Coptic Christians. They are very beautiful and very large. One supposedly can hold 20,000 people, and another 1500. There is also a much smaller one - the oldest which could possibly hold 100 or so. It has a lovely painting which we could see from above, which Dale got to see up close, but women weren't allowed in the room (the alter was there too). The others all have beautiful carvings in the stone. Apparently, the blasting to make the caves deeper was done during Ramadan to disguise the noise. They are still adding more carvings.
Above the churches is a water resevoir made to catch rain water. It feeds the Citadel which is where we went next. Before that, aquaducts were used to send water from the Nile, 3 km away. What a feat. The Citadel now houses about four museums, but since we only had 2 hours we just went to the Military Museum. Fascinating history but by then it was getting a bit too hot for me, so after an hour and a half, I went back outside to find a bench and some shade and waited for Dale (the Military stuff appeals more to him). We will have to go back on a cooler day for the rest. I am hoping some of the other museums we visit might be airconditioned.
Mustafa then picked us up and took us home. Along the way he pointed out the two English Churches. After supper, Dale and I went for a walk to try to find our own way to them. The first one was easy, but since it was Catholic, we decided to try and find the other one. That was easy too, but then Dale decided we should go another way home - big mistake! Apparently the streets are not just east and west and north and south. Some also cut through at an angle, and you end up further away than you could possibly have imagined. We did get a good walk, but even at 9pm it was still hot out. So, we retraced our steps and got home. I don't think I'll be as brave venturing out after that.

June 21, 2007
Dale had to go off to Paris today for a week, so I thought he could help me stock up on a few more groceries before he went, plus insure that I could get there and back without too much confusion. It was a good thing we went, since I got turned around just when I thought I had it! David also managed to pop in for a moment on his way through town. The maid's name is Rupa, and she came with her son today, since he had just had a tonsillectomy a couple of days ago, and wanted to be with her. Also, since these guys are moving, the landlord came and showed the apartment several times today. Things have now quietened down, and I can finish this up. I am planning on attending church services tomorrow, so I will let you know how that goes.
I hope this is a good medium to not fill up your emailboxes, and do keep in touch via our gmail.
Love,
Laurel