Elections

The boys congratulate the Muslim Brotherhood on their first round victory.  Yalla means go, and Ichwan means Brothers.

We sent this to Dave from the red sea, where we spent the long election weekend, so he would know we were thinking of him back in Cairo.

Through the cracks

Sometimes things slip through the cracks around here.

Case in point, these fine pictures of Clare and Thomas deciphering the pyramids.

And what about these fellows?  Do we miss them?  We sure do.

One month exactly til we are on the plane to the states!  At that point, Egypt will have a new president. Most people think it will be Shafiq or Mousa, both tainted by connections to the former regime.  Or worse case scenario: both, in a run-off, with the Islamists and the youth circling up again in Tahrir.  Here's hoping Egypt defies the pundits at least one more time.

Theo look-a-like

I always want to run up and hug this little girl, Camilla.  Because she's adorable.  But also because she looks so much like cousin Theo.

(She's hamming it up there, so maybe you can't really see the resemblance, but it's there!)  The other day she made a special card for Emmett and presented it to him at school.  It was very glittery.  He loved it!

Like Theo, Camilla also claims some Japanese heritage.  Her mom, Terumi, is American-Brazilian-Japanese.  Camilla's father is Danish.  Here Terumi holds Camilla's little brother Nikolaj.  Everyone says he looks just like a little Emmett.  Maybe that's why I always want to run up and squeeze him too.

Big hugs and thanks to Uncle Arthur, who gave us the South Park Stars treatment over on Elsie and Theo's blog.  He really got cairo, with its goats on rooftops and friendly people in impossible situations.  (Kind of like how he likes to write as if he grew up in a trailer park, he did leave out the tony expat 'burbs where we live.  Also left out, for different reasons, was the time Dad saved me from a mob of angry taxi drivers in Tahrir . . . )

Finally, here is the lone surviving photo from Aswan, as I cleverly left my phone with all the pictures there.  It is in the south, part of ancient Nubia, and was so lovely.  The hotel we stayed at was right on the Nile, with the ruins of an ancient temple across the way:

Garbage City Redux

When Grand Kathy was here, I knew she would like Art Cafe, Fagnoon, and the art galleries in Zamalek.  When Grandpa Doug and Grandma Nancy were here I thought they'd appreciate the history of Luxor and Coptic Cairo.  But what about Grandpa Peter and Uncle Arthur?  What part of Cairo would they like best?

The question answered itself: Garbage City  

There we could see Egyptian-style recycling and alternative energy in action.

Here our guide Magdy explains to Dave about how his rooftop biogas generator works just like a cow's stomach.  Kitchen waste goes in, methane gas comes out, and travels through a long and totally unsafe rubber tube to light the burners in his kitchen.:

But first we had to appreciate the cave churches.  As Coptic Easter would be celebrated the next day, they were already filled with worshippers, or closed.  Nonetheless, Arthur created quite a stir and was mobbed by young "Dogwalker" fans: 

A few old men in a tea shop shouted out what sounded like "Fragile Structures! Fragile Structures!" as Grandpa Peter strode past.  We couldn't be sure though because the phrase for "large jewish spy" in arabic sounds very similar.

Here we are in someone's apartment.  It might have been Magdy's.  There we were shown the generator and a short film claiming that fart gas could save the world.

Saba, one of the leaders of Solar Cities, the NGO who runs the tour, provided free babysitting while we checked everything out.  This is one of my favorite things about this part of the world- everyone welcomes children and no one considers it a bother if they run around, make noise, sample toys etc. 

(note the black race car on the floor.  You'll see it again in a moment.)

The night before we had gone felucca'ing.

Here Emmett and Thomas hold up gifts from Grand Kathy.  There's that race-car again, which rarely leaves Emmett's side these days.

After garbage city, we washed off the grime in the Maadi House pool.

So there you have it.  Egypt's not just camels and pyramids!