Pyramids again

Being in Cairo for a couple of days made me remember all the times we went to the pyramids or passed them. You always got surprised and impressed when they emerged behind a tree or a building.

Pyramids in a distance

This is the closest I came to the pyramids this time.

Everywhere in Maadi you can see old beauties like this. Now they are abandoned and degenerated since many years. So sad!

I wounder when someone abandoned this car?

Last day I had lunch with Mira at a Thai restaurant. Surprisingly some old friends were there too. How nice to see them again!

Friendly Egyptians

A Feluk on the Nile. No time for any ride this time. A man selling drinks from his back!

Today I feel all very exicted after meeting so many people in the street who are welcoming me back to Cairo! I mean, I have been away for a year! There are something special with Egyptians!

Maadi

The Flame trees are blooming in Maadi. Every street has got at least one tree. The colorful flowers makes the heavy traffic and all the garbage in the streets look a little less discusting.

Maadi

In early morning one of the days in Cairo I went with Bo to Maadi. I walked from the office down to our old neighbourhood. It took me one hour. But I love walking in Cairo comparing to Amman. In Cairo it's crowded with people and something is happening all the time. It's a kind of chaos that I find very attractive!
I walked around and looked at all old places, visited some good shops and went to Mira for a lovely two hour massage. After that I felt five centimetres taller and ten years younger!

These two pictures show two ways of living in Cairo. The picture above is taken from our hotel window over the roofs in Cairo. Lots of people are living in small ramshackle buildings on the top of every building. You can find the description of this kind of living in the book The Yacoubian Building by Ala Al Aswany . This book has been on the top of the best selling list in Egypt for many years!

This building is a new built villa in Maadi. For the rich and wealthy!

Bulak

Just around the corner from the hotel is the Bulak area where you can buy everything made of fabric. It sounds like heaven for me, but it's more like hell because everything is syntetic. I am in the land of cotton and there is no cotton to buy!

My first day in Cairo

Took a long walking tour round the north part of Zamalek in the morning after Bo left for office. The traffic was already havy but a rather strong wind from north made the air ok.

On my walk I could see all the house boats in that part of the Nile. They look very nice in a distance. But I don't know if I would chose them for living.

After a visit in a modern art museum with, for me, not understandeble art, I took a rest in the beautiful garden at Marriott hotel and had a glass of lemon juice at table 87.

Really refreshing!