Egrets and Eucalyptus

Opportunities surround us.  Often we do not experience them because we refuse to reach out and catch on to the offering.  This isn’t philosophizing… it is just me looking at my behavior and observing the same actions in other people.  What does this have to do with the blog title?  Everything!

The trip up the Nile was one opportunity that I almost didn’t take.  Here is another….  While on that trip, it would have been much easier to wrap up the last day of touring around 1:30p, head for the sun deck, chat up the Brits and wait for our last dining experience.  However, our young guide offered another option…. a boat ride to the Aswan Botanical Garden, the experience of navigating the first Cataract of the Nile by small boat, and visiting the Nubian village.  Did any of this truly appeal to me?  Not so much, especially the garden part.  Not that I don’t appreciate botanical gardens.   However, that’s not really why I took a trip up the Nile; you know what I mean?  Anyway, Julie and I opted for the experience and it turned out to be quite the opportunity!

Aswan Botanical Garden is on a small island in the Nile.  The island was given to a British military leader, Lord Kitchener, as a thank you for his services in the Sudan campaign during the late 1800′s.   He, in turn, brought in species of trees and plants from other parts of the world and built walkways throughout the island.  It is well planned, well maintained and fairly well labeled.  The island currently belongs to the Egyptian government and is enjoyed by the locals, as well as tourists.

As Julie and I were walking along and admiring the foliage, we spied two baby egrets.  No, three!  Four!  Upon closer inspection they were everywhere.  We immediately pulled out our cameras to capture the cuteness.  Their feathers were still “fluffy” looking… they could not have been too old.  As I kneeled on the sidewalk trying to get the best shot possible…..something fell from the sky with a THWACK!  I could not believe my eyes.  A baby egret had just been pushed out of the nest by its mom.  And the nest was at least 20 feet up in the air!  The other young ones did not even give the latest arrival to earth a quick look; they just went about their business of discovery.  The fallen bird moved.  I never considered it could still be alive!  Then it unfolded its proportionately long legs, stood up and began to wobble about.  I admit I know nothing about egrets.  But I thought mother birds were supposed to teach baby birds how to fly, not push them out of a twenty-foot nest onto the ground!  Is this how they all get out of the nest?  I still can’t believe I saw it with my own eyes…

It's a Family Affair

Baby Egret

One That Did Not Make It

The second discovery at the botanical garden was the name of the huge trees with the twisted trunks that reside across the street from our flat in Cairo.  I have been looking occasionally on the internet trying to determine the name of this tree with absolutely no luck.  As we ambled about the grounds we stumbled upon the tree (not literally).  You guessed it, it was a Eucalyptus!  The guide jumped up and grabbed some of the leaves.  When you crush them, they smell rather like mentholatum – very clean,   fresh and good for the sinuses.  We discovered Eucalyptus trees hail from Australia.  I am so glad to have the puzzle of the trees solved and, would not, except for taking an available opportunity.

Scientificus for Eucalyptus!

Interesting Tree Trunk Outside the Cairo Flat

Twisted Tree Trunk Outside the Cairo Flat

Outside the Cairo Flat

So,there you have it.  Grab as many as you can… you never know what you might experience!

Egypt…. After a Year and a Half

I will admit Egypt is not as overwhelming for me now as it was when I first got here November 4^th of 2008.  “Well duh”, you’re probably thinking!  Of course not!  Familiarity helps lessen anxiety, which in turn makes life less stressful.  And, let’s face it; Kansas City isn’t exactly the most urban of cities.  Some of the craziness I have experienced stems from living in a huge city vs. the suburban life I was accustomed to.   And then there is remote village life vs. suburban life.  In Egypt I have been living both extremes:  Cairo, at 18 million and growing, and the North Coast around El Alamein that averages about 10 people per square mile, most of them Bedouins.

What have I learned after one year?  More than will fit into any blog, to be sure.  The number one thing I have learned is that I am extremely fortunate to be an American.   Many people say we are spoiled.  Actually, we are.  There is an enormous list of attributes we enjoy as Americans that very few, if any, other countries can claim en masse.  Indulge me as I list just a few off the top of my head:  our access to education, opportunities to advance our social and economic standing by working hard, clean and fluoridated drinking water, ability to travel freely in our own country and throughout most of the world, clean irrigation water for crops, superior public infrastructure, great roads (you haven’t even seen a pothole until you’ve been to Egypt so don’t diss me on that one), a free press, well educated and trained public safety personnel, quality food products, an absolutely first rate military, an extensive and free public library system, a quality medical system (it’s not perfect, guys, but it can diagnose and treat effectively which, I have discovered, is a luxury) and the list chugs right along.  Sayings develop for a reason…. the one that comes to mind right now is, “You don’t realize what you have until it is gone.”  My fear is that many of my countrymen take these benefits we enjoy for granted.  It seems a lot of the focus today has gone to criticism of what is not perfect, rather than thankfulness for what we have and what we do well.

Anyway, back to Egypt….  It has two things going for it at the moment.  One is the history of the area.  There are mounds and mounds of archeological sites and meaningful history related to them.  A huge portion of Egypt’s annual revenue comes from tourism and business associated with tourism.  Literally plane loads of people disembark daily to explore Egyptian history, as well as cruise ships full of tourists docking in Alexandria and the Red Sea.  Speaking with many tourists, it seems they are seldom disappointed with what they find here.

The second thing Egypt has going for it is its people.  The best part about actually living here, as opposed to visiting, is getting to know the people and experiencing the culture.  Talking with the people is how you really learn about the country and garner insights into education biases, religious differences and similarities, cultural practices, value systems, etc.  Ron and I have been privileged beyond belief to sit in Egyptian homes, eat authentic Egyptian food served to us as to their families, talk about current events from different perspectives and enjoy perfect hospitality.  It never ceases to amaze me how the commonalities in people are so much greater than the differences.  It is surprisingly easy to communicate joy, thankfulness and appreciation whether you speak a common language or not.

Every day life here is much more difficult than in the States.  Routine chores are often riddled with unbelievable delays.  Sometimes my sense of “common sense” is tested to the maximum.  Working smarter, not harder is not an important factor where unskilled labor is in great supply. I can’t count the number of times a day you either see someone barely escape death by traffic accident or barely miss meeting your Maker yourself.   The electricity goes out randomly whether we are in the city or on the coast.  The sense of time here is…well, frustrating.  Ten minutes never means ten minutes or less, it always means at least ten minutes and up to an hour.  Soon means maybe today.  Insha’Allah follows every plan.  If God wills it, it will happen.  This is even more interesting when used repeatedly in the workplace, i.e., “I will have that contract finished by tomorrow, Insha’Allah.”

So, that’s my summary of living in Egypt so far.  More to come, I’m sure of it.

In the Perfume Shop

Street Sweeper in Maadi

Making Friends…

Washing Clothes, Downtown Cairo

Need a Ride?

Feed for the Camel and Horses

Bread?

Egg Delivery

Cooking Falafel on the Street

Carrying Home Groceries

Barbed Wire Fence Around the Shool Yard

The Banana Man

A Tourist In Ancient Egypt

SUCH a Tourist!

I have never, ever looked so much like a stereotypical tourist!!  Hat, sunglasses, scarf, umbrella, sunscreen, bottled water, white tennis shoes and camera at the ready…. Oh, my!  And it was 45 degrees Centigrade when we arrived in Luxor.  That is 115 degrees Fahrenheit!  I have been really, really hot before, but this was like walking for two hours inside a dry sauna.  Although the wind was blowing, it felt as though I was standing in front of a furnace duct.  What an experience…. and one I will not soon forget.  Thankfully this lasted only for the first day.  After that it cooled down to a high of only 100 degrees for the rest of our temple discoveries.  It’s a sad day when 100 F seems cool!

If you are not a student of Egyptian ancient history, then the names of the places where these pictures were taken will mean absolutely nothing to you.  However, they are still fun to look at.  The following pictures were taken in Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Aswan, where many of the most famous archeological finds in Egypt are located.  These monuments are all in Upper Egypt, the southern part of the country.  Upper Egypt refers to southern Egypt because the Nile River, the life of Egypt, flows from the south to the north.  The west side of the Nile River (west representing the setting sun and the sunset, i.e. the end of  life) is where all the tombs are located.   There are currently 63 known tombs either excavated or currently under excavation at Valley of the Kings.  This is where King Tutenkahem’s (King Tut’s) tomb was found.  Incidentally, King Tut was not a great Pharaoh.  He had no spectacular accomplishments and died of a virulent strain of malaria at age nineteen.  The one and only reason he is known and famous is because his tomb was found intact.  Grave robbers never found his tomb, therefore all the gold and vast accumulations of food, furniture, representations of servants and such for the afterlife were discovered untouched.

The temples are mostly on the east side of the Nile.  The Egyptian Pharaohs built temples to honor their God(s), to record their victories in the name of their God(s) and to record their many offerings.  Karnak is the largest of these temple areas and it is located in Luxor.  In more recent times, these temples were inhabited, literally, by Christians and Muslims – at the same time; Muslims on one side of the temple, Christians on the other.  The God’s faces were scratched off in many instances and one picture shows an Egyptian God figure that has been chiseled out to resemble the shape of a cross.  There are soot marks on the stones from when the inhabitants built fires to warm themselves.  When I walked among these enormous structures, it felt not exactly eerie, but strange.  Strange to think that humans built these monuments thousands of years ago… how did they do it?….amazing that any of the structures has survived the earthquakes, floods and elemental tolls….  The immensity of what I don’t know was expanded even further on this trip.  Just imagine the vastness of what I don’t know I don’t know!!

Truth be told, when I went back to look at my pictures, I had a difficult time remembering where each of them was taken.  After you’ve seen four or five temple areas, they all rather start to resemble each other.  However, I did figure it out eventually (with the help of my dated downloads) so, if anyone is interested in more detailed information, please email me.

After visiting Greek ruins last year in Sicily and Greek and Roman ruins in Alexandria and ruins in Cairo…. I really thought I’d seen enough old stuff to last me a lifetime.  Even though many people had encouraged me to go to Luxor and Aswan, I must admit, I just was not that interested.  Prior to my friend Julie’s visit she did a lot of studying about the temples, tombs and history of Egypt.   Her interest was definitely piqued.   So, with her persuasion and accompaniment, I did take the trip.  It is truly, truly, not to be missed.  Greek ruins pale in comparison.  They pale in scale, in cohesiveness, in grandeur…   It was amazing in every dimension I can think of.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  It is at times like this you wish you owned the most expensive camera available and the photographic expertise to accompany it!

Wall Carving Showing Woman Giving Birth

Egyptian God Has Been Chipped Away So Figure Will Resemble A Cross

Columns with More Vivid Color Remaining

Karnak Columns

Karnak Column – Columns are 50′ to 69′ High, There Are 134 Of Them In The Hypostyle Hall

Karnak Columns – It Takes Six People with Arms Outstretched to Encircle Each Column

King Smiting His Enemies

Obelisk – Made From One Single Piece of Granite

Hatshepsut’s Temple Carving

Hatshepsut’s Temple Carving

Twin Figures of Amenhotep III Standing Guard to a Temple Long Ago Destroyed

Sphinxes

Hatshepsut – The Only Woman “King” of Egypt

Statue of Horus at Edfu Temple

Luxor Temple Columns and Ceiling

Luxor Temple Columns

Top of Karnak Column – Each Is Large Enough To Hold 50 People

Unfinished Obelisk Still In Granite Quarry

SUCH a Tourist!