"Habibi boy" type or "My Granny habebty" :)))))))))))))

When a man is old enough to do something wrong, he is old enough to do something right.

In the last years I heard about a lot of new cases of intimate destruction between old foreign women from USA, Europe, Asia, Australia and Arabian men. 

The number of women attempting to form, what they believe as a long term relationship, with men young enough to be their son or even grandson is increasing. 

The majority of these women are quite intelligent which makes their behavior more baffling, statistically more than 75% of these cross cultural relationships or pseudo marriages end in divorce or abandonment,

When a dark eyed 22 year old man holds you in his arms and whispers he wants to grow old with you, try to remember you are already approaching 45, 55, 65,  and that you are biologically, organically and every other ally one could describe, you are already old. Doesn’t take a genius to work out when you are 80 this guy will still be so young, you’ll be using him as a Zimmer frame.

It seems middle to old age foreign women are acquiring the label ‘sex tourist". Unlike most European or American and Asian holiday destinations, sex outside of marriage is not accepted in Arabic countries.
However in the side alleys and back rooms of certain Lawyers in the Arabian countries you will find the ‘live in sin license.’ The ‘Urfi’ is a piece of paper, a formal contract of intent to marry. It is being used by growing numbers of young Egyptian gigolos simply as a way of getting around religious strictures against having pre-marital sex.

For the older post menopausal, sexually active blinkered woman the Urfi is simply a piece of paper which allows her to bring her young gigolo into her home.

Most Arabian guys have a high sense of honour and behave in an appropriate way towards members of the opposite sex.

However tourist areas attract a certain type of predator, the ‘Habibi Boy’
The ‘Habibi Boy’ is only in love with money or the determination to get a visa to a destination where he is simple enough to believe the streets are paved with foreign gold.
Any elderly lady who is conned into thinking the ‘Habibi Boy’ is really in love with her needs her head tested.
Remove your clothes lady, stand in front of a full length mirror and tell me, does your body compare in any shape or form to a 25 year old woman?
Then ask yourself this question: “What normal young man would actually want to sleep with his Granny?

You might have gone to great lengths to explain to this ignorant juvenile the meaning of the female reproductive system, you no longer have the ability to provide him with offspring. You might even take the softly, softly approach because you are too embarrassed to say ‘my reproductive organs have shriveled up to the size of raisins.’
‘Habibi Boy’ will swear he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want children he only wants you. You are his life, his soul and two thousand other descriptions he can fabricate from the romantic songs of Amr Diab.

So an year down the road, why is it he disappears to his hometown or in the village he came out from after convincing you to invest in a little business, one which his brother can run for you both? The little business  usually involves Shaorma.

Your financial investment is used for a big slap-up village wedding with a young bride his family have chosen for him; nine months later he becomes a ‘daddy Habibi Boy.’ You are crushed, your whole world has fallen apart, you remind him of all the beautiful lies he has told you. He insists everything he said was true. He swears he didn’t want to marry the young, beautiful bride but his father insisted and he must obey his father.
He also tells you nothing will change and in his head he believes this. The only difficulty in this equation now is your funds are getting less and you will have two more members of a family you didn’t subscribe too.

Of course you do have a choice, accept the situation where your little love nest becomes the little half way house, or kick him out.

Unfortunately many women are accepting this situation for some unknown psychological reason known only to them.

Their lives are miserable, confused, always checking ‘Habibi Boy’s texts and Facebook page.
These women are under the illusion that the power exerted over them by these juvenile delinquents is because he loves them so much!
This isn’t love, this is ‘control’ you are his meal ticket or maybe his future status of emigrant relies solely upon you.

“I love you, I love you, I want to grow old with you, you are my sun, moon and stars!”  Think of how the two you would look walking arm in arm down the high street in Wigan? Think of the derision you would suffer from friends, family and strangers and get a grip.
Don’t anyone tell me ‘MMD.’ (My Mohammed is different)! If he is so different why do you carry your purse in a holster strapped under your arm?

He might look like Captain Charisma, but believe me under that handsome exterior is a Neo Fascist.
Once he has your money, bye bye love, once he has sped off with the car you just happened to put in his name because he conned you into believing it would be much easier to register. Once his name is on the deeds of your apartment he will disappear, you might even be lucky enough to get a text from him which says “Good bye you old bag,”

Delusions are sometimes romantically linked with adolescence, after that we stop trusting like a child and think like an adult.
Love and friendship is not painted in broad strokes.
Relationships are not time-shares, functioning is not enough, your happiness comes from within you, you don’t need anyone else to complete it.
There are many cross cultural marriages that work, however these unions did not meet in the artificial holiday environment of exotic Arabian resorts.

Before you dive into the murky waters of a relationship with a young ‘Habibi Boy’ look on the internet and see if his name has been put on one of the many Blacklists.

REMEMBER THESE WORDS:

The man who asks  a woman for money is not a man.

Traveling in Egypt - short advices

CULTURE

Egypt is a Middle Eastern country and has Middle Eastern customs. Whether Muslim or Copt, the Egyptians are deeply religious and religious principles govern their daily lives. Combined with religious belief is commitment to the extended family. Each family member is responsible for the integrity of the family and for the behavior of other members, creating an environment that would be envied by many people in the West. Certainly, the result is that the city of Cairo is much safer than any western metropolis.

Yet when westerners visit Egypt they are often apprehensive. Their views of Egyptians and Arabs, fomented by unkind and untrue media stories, often bear no relation to reality. Travelers are often surprised by their friendly, hospitable reception and take home with them good feelings about Egypt and its population.

Egyptians have been raised in a social environment steeped in Islam, a background that can color their decision-making in a way difficult for foreigners to understand. Yet it is precisely this training that makes Egyptians some of the most charming and helpful of hosts. By understanding the culture and with consideration for your hosts, you can be a welcome guest in Egypt.

RELIGIOUS LIMITS

Devout Muslims do not drink alcohol though most do not object to others imbibing in reasonable amounts. If in doubt, ask. In addition to the prohibition on alcohol, the faithful do not use drugs or eat pork, which is considered unclean. Explicit sexual material--magazines, photos, tapes, or records--is illegal and subject to confiscation.

Keep in mind that proselytizing is illegal in Egypt. Foreigners actively working to convert Egyptians have been asked to leave. Remember, almost all the Egyptians are either conservative devoted Muslims or Copts.

Moral Codes

In Egypt there are hardly any restrictions on foreign women. Ticket lines, for example, are occasionally segregated. Women should line up with other women (especially since the lines are usually shorter). On buses, the driver may want you to be seated in the front with other women. On the metro lines, the first car is usually reserved for women.

For men, speaking to an unknown Egyptian woman is a breach of etiquette. Take care in any liaisons you form because some families still follow ancient traditions.

SOCIAL MORES

In general, Egyptians are most accommodating and they will go out of their way to help you and respond to any questions you have. Most Egyptians require little personal space and will stand within inches of you to talk. You will find that whenever you start talking with an Egyptian, you will inevitably draw a crowd, and often the Egyptians will start discussing among themselves over the correct answer to a question.

Invitations

Egyptians, if offered anything, will refuse the first invitation which is customary. Therefore (unless you're dealing with Egyptians used to Western frankness) you should do the same. If the offer is from the heart and not just politeness, it will be repeated. If you're invited into a home, especially in small villages, and have to refuse, the householder will often press for a promise from you to visit in the future, usually for a meal. If you make such a promise, keep it, for having foreign guests is often considered a social coup. If you fail to arrive, your would-be host will be humiliated. To repay invitations, you may host a dinner in a restaurant, a common practice.

Baksheesh

Please do not offer tips to professionals, businessmen, or others who would consider themselves your equals. You may seriously offend them by your act.

Women

Before the famous Egyptian feminist Hoda Shaarawi deliberately removed hers in 1922, the veil was worn in public by all respectable middle-class and upper-class women, Muslim, Jew, or Christian. By 1935, however, veils were a comparative rarity in Egypt, though they continued to be worn as an item of fashion in neighboring countries like Syria and Jordan for 30 more years and have remained obligatory in the Arabian Peninsula to this day.

Nowadays in Egypt, most of the Muslim women still wear the veil demonstrating either modesty or Muslim piety. One reason this is favored by many young professional women, is that it tends to discourage male advances, physical or verbal.

From the 1930s onwards, Egyptian women began to enter into business and the professions. Thus by 1965, thanks in part to social changes affected in the course of the July Revolution, Egypt could boast a far higher proportion of women working as doctors, dentists, lawyers, professors, diplomats, or high officials than might have been found in the US or in any European country outside of Scandinavia.

Women Traveling Alone

In Egypt, before the revolution, a woman traveling alone was generally safe, but she could be noticed, less in large cities than in the country. 

These days, it is better to come in a touristic group or if it is a must to travel alone in Egypt, make sure that you have everything settled there: from hotel booking, to driver to pick you up from the airport, and if it is possible, even someone you know and you trust, to wait you there (this is for your safety due to the criminals that are still out there free after they were released from prisons). However, if problems do occur, seek help from the police or any shop nearby.

Although you probably will never be accosted, take simple precautions as you would anywhere: don't walk in deserted areas alone or in empty dark streets, don't go in neighborhoods you don't know and sure, avoid to take taxi's from the street (if you are in Cairo always take the white taxi - that is the safest one and the honest one - who counts your real road and the right amount to pay for it). 

Although most invitations are innocent, don't accept them from strangers and don't enter in conversations with them.

VISITOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Visiting Mosques

Major tourism mosques are open to the public unless services are in progress (the main service is on Friday at noon). Other mosques are not. Keep in mind that a mosque differs from a western church in that Christian churches are considered houses of God, while mosques are more a gathering place for the faithful of Islam. Unless otherwise posted, tickets to some that have been restored are sold by the caretaker for about LE3-6. All visitors to mosques, mausoleums, and madrasas must remove their shoes. Most Muslims walk around in their stockings but those mosques that are major tourist attractions have canvas overshoes available; a tip of 50PT to LE1 is in order for the people who put them on for you. Women must cover bare arms and should also have a hat or a head scarf (remember, on a visit in Egypt in 1992, Princess Diana of Wales was covering her hair and let out her shoes before she enters in el Azhar from Cairo). 

Princess Diana of Wales in el Azhar - May 12, 1992

The Mosque at the Citadel offers the canvas overshoes for 5 LE or one dollar.

Crime and Drugs

Crime in Egypt was before revolution nearly nonexistent, and violence was usually limited to family feuds. After the revolution, things are still healing in Egypt, but from my own experience, I'm telling you that if you follow all the steps from above, you have nothing to be afraid off. However, in tourism areas some pickpockets and petty thieves may exists, so be careful and remember that the ever helpful tourism police are usually nearby. Women must be cautious, especially in out-lying areas. Stay completely away from drugs and leave yours at home.

The gift of Allah

Ancient Egyptians, depending on their wealth and status, could have a varied diet, but central to their nourishment was bread and beer. From very early on, both were consumed at every meal, by everyone, and no meal was considered complete without them. Bread, nutritionally, provided protein, starch and trace nutrients, and it also played much the same role as beer in the Egyptian economy as well as in cult rituals. However, some flour caused severe abrasion of the teeth particularly among those who depended upon bread as their main source of nourishment. But this affected all classes and even Amenhotep III suffered badly from such problems.

Bread was made from a variety of ingredients, though often only a specific species of wheat was thought best (Triticum aestivum), though almost any cereal was suitable. Depending on the type of flour, the structure and texture of a loaf could be very different, and just as today, all breads were not light, risen or spongy.

Thankfully, the climate of Egypt, which is very arid in many locations, is responsible for preserving a rich record of organic materials, including bread loaves. Hundreds of specimens have survived, mostly from funerary offerings that have found their way into the museums of the world. These even include fragments from Predynastic graves of the Badarian culture. Talk about stale! These loaves are over five thousand years old.

These ancient loaves, though a direct source of evidence about ancient Egyptian bread and baking, have actually not been studied much by modern scholars. Hence, though many breads and cakes are known from historical documents, their distinguishing features are in fact unknown. Some scholars have suggested that pesen-bread was a flat round loaf, not unlike that found in Egypt today. However, preserved loaves have shown that breads of the same shape were not always made from the same ingredient or the same recipe and, therefore, may not have been known by the same name. For example, extant hand-formed conical loaves were frequently made from emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), though one known specimen was made mostly from figs (Ficus carica). At the same time, various shapes and textures of bread could also be made from the same batch of dough.

We mostly know the process of baking from the evidence of artistic scenes in which it is depicted. For example, one of the best examples comes from a relief in a 5th Dynasty tomb at Saqqara belonging to Ti. However, there are also Old Kingdom statuettes that portray baking activities. Middle Kingdom models, notably from the tomb of Meketra, also provide some details, as well as give us a idea of a busy, robust bakery. Also, several tombs at Beni Hasan contain bread-making scenes, and at least one other is found in the New Kingdom wall paintings of Nebamun's tomb on the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).

The preparations for making bread in Ancient Egypt were somewhat more difficult that in our modern times, principally because of the distinctive nature of their staple wheat, emmer, which differs in some properties from most modern wheat used to make bread. Emmer was used into the Ptolamic Period. Today, typical bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has ears that easily separate into chaff and grain when threshed. The traditional process for processing it uses winnowing and sieving to remove the chaff from the grain.

However, emmer requires more extensive processing, which at least in families was usually performed by women. Usually, only enough grain was ground at one time to fill the needs of a day's meals.

After threshing, it breaks into packets called spikelets, each of which is a thick envelope of chaff that tightly surround two kernels. Prior to winnowing and sieving to clean the chaff from the kernels, a process is needed to break the chaff apart without damaging the grain.

From various research and experimental evidence, we do have some idea of the procedures employed to processes the spikelets by the ancient Egyptians. We believe that whole spikelets were moistened with a small amount of water and than pounded with wooden pestles in limestone mortars. Since the water made the spikelets pliable, the chaff could be shredded without crushing the grain kernels inside. This was not a time consuming process, although the ancient Egyptian mortars were usually small and several batches of spikelets had to be processed before enough freed kernels were produced to make bread for even a family. Even after this added process, the released grain kernels and broken chaff then had to be tried, probably under the sun. Afterwards, it went through a series of winnowing steps, and sieving, The sieves made from rushes and the like were not very efficient and allowed grains of sand and little flakes of stone to remain in the flour, especially when soft mill stones were used. In fact, the last step in the process was the removal of final fragments of chaff which were picked out by hand.

Next, the the whole grain was milled into flour, usually using a flat grinding stone known as a saddle quern. From Neolithic times through the Old Kingdom, these grinding stones were placed on the floor, which made the process difficult. However, tombs scenes of the Middle Kingdom show the querns raised onto platforms, called quern emplacements. Some of these have been excavated at a few New Kingdom sites. They made life much easier, and probably made the work quicker as well. Modern experimentation with these devices has shown that no grit was required to aid the milling process, as has sometimes been suggested by scholars, and the the texture of the flour could be precisely controlled by the miller. 

Baking also evolved over ancient Egypt's long history. Excavation of a bakery dating to the Old Kingdom at Giza evidences that heavy pottery bread molds were set in rows on a bed of embers to bake the dough placed within them. By the Middle Kingdom, square hearths were used, and the pottery moulds were altered into tall, narrow, almost cylindrical cones. Then, by the New Kingdom, a new oven was introduced with a large, open-clay cylinder encased in thick mud bricks and mortar. The flat disks of dough, perhaps leavened, were slapped onto the pre heated inner oven wall. When baked, they peeled off and were caught before they could fall into the embers below.

Bread loaves are especially numerous in tombs of the New Kingdom, and are not limited as to size, shape or decorations. In fact, some loaves were formed into recognizable shapes, such as fish and human figures. Others were not as fancy, taking simple shapes such as disks and fans. The dough textures of these loaves range from very fine to mealy, mostly only indicating the people, as today, probably had preferences in the type of bread they liked to eat. Whole or coarsely cracked cooked grains were often added, creating a texture not unlike modern multigrain breads. Emmer flower was almost always used for these loaves. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) was very rarely used in these bread loaves, and the amount that does show up is in such small amounts that it may have accidentally gotten into the mix. Somtimes, the sour dough left over from the previous day might be added, or some barm from the last time beer was brewed. There were flavorings, such as coriander seeds (Coriandrum sativum), honey, butter, eggs, oil an herbs, as well as fruits such as dates (Phoenix dactylifera) which were occasionally added. Yeast might also be added to some recipes, but leavening was not always used.

Seemingly, brad flavored with more exotic ingredients were probably only infrequently available to the poorer classes of Egyptians, though more research is needed to determine what breads were available to the various social classes. Unfortunately, funerary loaves comprise most of our evidence of early breads, which might not be representative of the day-to-day variety. However, the remains of cereal-processing equipment and baking installations at settlements sites has provided some evidence for the preparation of ancient Egyptian bread, and these sites may yet yield up more typical loaves.

Food of the Pharaohs and ancient Egyptians

Doubtless, ancient Egypt's probably eat better than many others in the ancient world. After all, KMT, a name for ancient Egypt refers to its rich, dark, fertile soil and we have no doubt that since the invention of agriculture, Egyptians, with the Nile Valley and Delta, had a distinct advantage over many others when it came to food. Of course, there were lean times, when the inundation of the Nile failed them, but most often, this was not the case. In fact, we find many statues and pictures of ancient Egyptians who are well overweight.

However, it is very easy to describe any process in ancient Egypt in too broad of terms. We also must keep in mind that ancient Egypt spans thousands of years, and during that period their diets varied to some extent, while new foods were also added to their menus.

Bread and Cereal Food

Agriculture existed from an early date in Egypt. For the common people of Egypt, cereal foods formed the main backbone of their diet from the predynastic period onward Even for the rich, this staple mean generally consisted of a variety of different breads, often with other ingredients mixed in.

Sometimes these ingredients were purposeful, while at other times not. Because of the crude utensils used to make bread, quartz, felspar, mica, ferro magnesium minerals and other foreign bodies, including germs were almost always present in the flour. bread was made by mixing the dough, kneading it with both hands or sometimes with the feet in large containers. Yeast, salt, spices, milk and sometimes butter and eggs were then added, before the bread was placed in a baking form or patted into various shapes.

At first it was cooked in open fires or even on the embers. But from the Old Kingdom on, bread-molds were used which were preheated, wiped with fat and filled with the dough. Slowly this process became more sophisticated.

In the Middle Kingdom, tall, tapered bread ovens with a firebox at the bottom, a grating and domed, upper compartment which was open at the top were used. At first, and really for even later common consumption, bread was usually cooked in the shape of a pancake. However, later bread was made in long or round rolls, and sometimes even shaped into figures, particularly for ceremonial purposes. Large, soft griddle cakes were also made, just as in Nubia today.

Sometimes thick loaves were made, with a hollow center that was then filled with beans, vegetables or other items. Sometimes flat bread was made with raised edges in order to hold eggs, or other fillings. Eventually, bread was made with various other ingredients, but there was no distinction between bread and pastries. Yet bread was often sweetened with honey or dates, or flavored with sesame, aniseed or fruit.

Vegetables

Obviously, even for the poor, other items such as vegetables, fruit and fish were consumed, all gifts of the Nile. They often ate beans, chick peas, lentils and green peas, just as modern Egyptians do today. Leeks and Egyptian lettuce was also popular. garlic were eaten, as well as thought to repel agents of diseases, and onions were popular, as well as being used for medical purposes. Though Herodotus tells us otherwise, radishes do not appear to have been consumed much.

Fruit

Chances are we do not know all the different types of fruit consumed. The most popular fruit in ancient Egypt was probably dates, which are rich in sugar and protein. While the rich used honey as a sweetener, the poor more often employed dates. They were also dried for later consumption, and were sometimes fermented to make wine.

We know that figs were eaten, but mostly from illustrations and references. Grapes were popular when available, and were also sun-dried to make raisins. Persea Mimusops laurifolia we know from the food left in tombs, as well as pomegranates, which have been found as far back as the 12th Dynasty.

We have even found a watermelon in the New Kingdom tomb of Nebseni. We only know of Egyptian plums from the New Kingdom, and the peach does not show up until the Ptolemaic (Greek) period. Olives were probably bought into Egypt with the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, but walnuts and carob pods (St. John's bread) are only known from the New Kingdom onward.

Meat, Fish and Poultry

While it is difficult to believe that certain meats, such as fish and wild poultry did not show up fairly frequently on the tables of common people, we are told by Egyptologists that it was for the most part only the rich who regularly feasted on most meat. The poor ate geese, ducks, quails, cranes and other species, and from the New Kingdom onward raised domesticated fowl. Most edible fish from the Nile were consumed, though some fish, such as the genera Lepidotus and Phragus and a few others were forbidden because of their connection with the myth of Osiris.

In some locations, even the Nile perch was worshiped, and therefore never eaten. While fish were roasted or boiled, most frequently they were salted and preserved and dried in the sun.

Beef from cattle was frequently eaten by the rich, but appeared on the tables of common people usually only during festive occasions, when a sheep or goat might be slaughtered. We also see from tomb paintings, the preparation of wild game such as antelope, ibex, gazelles and deer. Pork was eaten, though the animal was associated with the evil god Seth. Early on it was widely consumed in Lower Egypt, but rarely in Upper Egypt. Yet we know that pigs were later bred and pork widely eaten throughout Egypt.

Dairy Products

While milk, cheese and butter are not well attested to, at least in text, we certainly believe that the early Egyptians were familiar with all of these dairy products. We do find a number of scenes showing men carrying what appears to be pots of milk or cream, and in one Theban tomb from the 19th dynasty, we find a seated woman pulling white cones of what is probably butter or cheese out of a large vessel.

Fats and Oil 

There were also a number of different oils and fat used in the preparation of food. We know of beef, goat and other fats, and the Egyptian language had 21 different names for vegetable oils obtained from sesame, caster-oil plants, flax seed, radish seed, horseradish, safflower and colocynth. Horseradish oil was particularly popular. Oil and fat was mostly used for frying meat and vegetables, though food was also cooked in milk or butter.


Seasonings and Sweeteners


Sea salt, because of its connection to the evil Seth, was not consumed but salt from the Siwa Oasis was available. Pepper, however, only appears from the Greek period, but other spices were also used, including aniseed, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, marjoram, mustard and thyme. Sugar itself does not appear in the Egyptian diet until late in history, though honey was used by the rich for a sweetener, but was probably too expensive for the poor.
Common people used various fruits as sweeteners, though the most popular seems to have been dates. Without doubt, because of Egypt's rich soil and lush vegetation, the rich of Egypt probably always ate well, even during times of drought. In the worst of times, common people probably suffered to some extent, but mostly they were probably fed well, though not as lavishly as the rich.
Banquets were frequent, as were various festivals and other celebrations, and at these times, it is likely that everyone enjoyed the bounty of the Black Land. In fact, it is likely that their superior nutrition had much to do with their success in the ancient world.

Common bakeries were not known until the New Kingdom, but larger kitchens were manned for work gangs, the military as well as the royal household and temple personnel. Common meals were often served with beer, or for the very rich, wine. Beer was fermented mostly from wheat, though occasionally stale bread was utilized. Notation: While one may discover "ancient Egyptian recipes" on the internet, text for recipes on cooking food are notoriously absent from the archaeological record.

Egypt - The Mother of the World - part I

 Bismillahi Rahmanu Rahim!

Once upon a time, there was a land where the Sun was sacred! That land was Egypt! Today, Egyptians offer you their most precious treasure: the Sun! Egypt - where all begins! Nothing compares to Egypt! Egypt - Mother of the World!

I just love this video so much and I was thinking to share it here...  Today I want to describe Egypt - Masr - Om el Donya...

When I speak to someone about Egypt, I see that people get fascinated... but they are like this because they see Egypt from the side of curiosity, from the side of a tourist... people who don't actually feel the soul of Egypt, can't reach the heart of this country.

My beloved husband call me "the daughter of Egypt" "enty benty Masr"... he knows and understands, as also he is not jealous at all because my heart was kidnapped 20 years before I met him, by Egypt. Therefore, he is so proud with this, as he is with my knowledge and reading about Islam, years before we found each other. 

When I speak about Egypt, I get confused and I have millions of ideas in my mind how to describe it. Some are seeing Egypt as the land of pharaohs, the place of the pyramids, and Sphinx, sand and dust, Red Sea and the resorts from there... for someones Egypt is similar with the best vacation they had or with the riding of a camel... 

Others see Egypt as a country of Third World, so poor and dirty and after they have the chance to see it once, they came back to their ordinary life with the idea: "Egypt - yeah... so much dirty there and omg... did you notice the smell from the streets? and those people how they live??? horrible"... 

None of the situations above don't actually contain the view with the heart, the view with the soul, as a simple person... not the tourist who comes and goes, who's unique desire is to have a real "cool" story to say it when he returns home! Visiting a place, even if it is or not Egypt, has nothing to do with the thing "to be cool"! You can be "cool" too even if you feel and breath the feeling and the soul of the places you walk, you can be "cool" even if you stop a moment to admire and see what others can only imagine and hope that one day, they will see!

 

Allah have granted me the possibility to visit many countries from Europe before I reach Egypt... I still remember when I first visited Le Chateau Versailles - I was 19 years old... the minute we entered inside and I saw the beauty from there, my heart was like stopping... I could hardly breath... I was looking to all the amazing things creating by humans hands and keep thinking that Allah gave us the possibility to create beauty, as also the possibility to destroy it! 

When we reached Nothe Dame and Sacre Coeur, my eyes and my entire body were swimming in tears and keep thanking to my parents, to Allah - that they have made this dream possible for me! I still remember even now how my father was so proud to hear that the high school selected me to represent the city in France to the IUFM Arras - L'Institute des Maitres" - my father did everything that time to make sure I will be there!

After this first chance to see the world with my eyes, Allah gave me other opportunities and one of the most precious is the one when I first visit Egypt.

 

The first thing I remember from that trip is the people from outside the airport after I arrived. I keep see in my mind not the clear images, but many people dressed in white clothes, brown or black and from one place to another, a spot of blue or green or red color... the spots were the women... Little voices you could hear all the parts - kids jumping next to their parents... taxi drivers who were asking you if you need a cab or not, hopping to have a new customer, so that at the end of the day, to return home with some pounds... they know that the tourists can be generous, especially the Europeans and they count on this!

It is impossible not to feel as soon you get out of the airport, the hot dry wind of the Egypt and the power of his ancient God - RA! No wonder that in Antiquity the ancient Egyptians were seeing the sun as their God - RA and were so happy that they are blessed by His gifts.

 As soon I got in the cab, my mind relaxed again and I started to enjoy the view. Some of you could think that what view??? Sand and Dust? well YES! for some.. but for me was more!I was following the line of the road with my eyes and watching the sides to see behind the dunes... I was keep thinking all the time to the wonder of those sand mountains and how that the powerful wind was not vanishing them from years... Because the wind is so powerful!!!!

When I reached the hotel, I remember that the manager, an Italian lady was waiting for me and I was amazed to see a non local actually living and working there and feeling so good!!! But more amazed I was when I heard her speaking Arabic with the employees and give them particular requests!And I can tell now after years, that she is not the only one! 

When I was entering in a fruit shop (I am crazy about fruits!!!), the seller from there was always having with him 2 little assistants: his 2 little boys, all contrary with what I was hearing before - that women are the only ones who take care of the kids and are the only ones responsible for them! The kids were so shy, but with really good manners.

All the parts I was going, you could see all kinds of people: from tourists to locals Egyptians as non locals too... in every shop you enter, even you don't actually buy something, the seller was thanking you for visiting his shop:"shokran ya oustez/ shokran ya anisa". I hear many times from the tourists who went in Egypt that the sellers were after them to make them buy something from them... well... I wonder if those tourists ever informed before how to avoid these situations and what to say to sellers (we don't speak about the sellers from the stores, but from the ones near to the touristic points - pyramids, Sphinx, etc). 

Believe me, it is enough to say a simple "No, thank you sir" or "La/a, shokran ya ustez" and they will not continue to bother you! After all, no matter how poor they are many of the Egyptians, all of them possessed the Egyptian proud! Also, we have to think that this people are living from the trade with tourists and to sell their products, they just can't stay like statues and wait, maybe a tourist will go and buy something from them! I mean... let's face it... if you see a local Egyptian sellerr and you are for the first time in Egypt... would you just run to him to buy quick souvenirs? Me I was not knew what to do first and where to go first! 

Tourists are the "kawaaga"... the ones who come to see Egypt and take a part of Egypt with them when they return... because Egypt leaves marks in everyone of us, after we saw it! And some of us, wish and pray to come back...

Speaking about wishing... I remember that I found a fountain and I dropped a coin on it, wishing from all my heart to come back in one year! AlhamdulilAllah, it happen and after one year I returned in Egypt, that time as the fiancee and the future wife of my beloved husband.

To tell you the truth, when I was in France... I dropped coins in all the fountains from Versailles and Paris, wishing to come back... but  don't think I actually did it with the wish in my heart! I did it because I saw others doing this thing and I said..."Me too"...

When I returned in Egypt, this time I was seeing the Egypt from other side... as a future local from there... as a future wife of an Egyptian... many of you could think that the first trip in Egypt was the one who bring together me and my husband... As a matter of fact... it was Allah's hands and our destiny... because nothing guarantees you that a true friendship can turn into real love and a blessed marriage! But that time... none of us was searching to get married and sure not with a foreigner... 

The man that is my husband he was actually having my destiny in his hands from years before he knew me... my destiny locked in a stone... jade stone... When I look now to the jade necklace, I see on it my past, my present and my future...

Egypt was preparing my destiny from far away... I can look back and see a little girl carrying a huge book in french language about ancient Egypt... I look back and I see a teenager drawing Egyptian antique images... I look back and I see a young lady devouring documentaries and movies about Egypt from yesterday and Egypt of today... I can loo back and I can see a sleepy student reading about the Mystery of Egypt... I look back and I see me... 

But when I look to now and in front, I see US together... I see family...

Egypt has everything what you can find in all the other countries and even more! Egypt has luxury and poverty, technology and rudimentary ways, Egypt has cleaning and dirty, sand and dust as also so good roads, good people as bad ones, children, women and men, old and young people, hard workers and lazy ones, single and married, divorced, Muslims, Christians and other Non Muslims ... shortly Egypt has everything that could make you feel home or stranger... it depends on the eyes of the one who see Egypt and on each one of us way to feel the breathing of this country! And lately Egypt got back something so precious: Freedom!

Above of this, I can tell you for sure that for the Egyptians, the dust of Egypt is much more precious than anything in this world!

Ya Masr Om el Donya!

Ancient Egyptian Papyrus

 Papyrus...

Paper... so delicate and easy to break...but so durable in time and space...

Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians. It helped transform Egyptian society in many ways. Once the technology of papyrus making was developed, its method of production was kept secret allowing the Egyptians to have a monopoly on it. The first use of papyrus paper is believed to have been 4000 BC.

The raw material of papyrus paper comes from the plant Cyperus papyrus. This plant grew along the banks of the Nile and provided the Egyptians with the necessary raw materials. This plant was quite versatile and was not only used in the production of paper but it was also used in the manufacture of boats, rope and baskets. However, the singularly most important and valuable product was the papyrus paper. Not only was this ancient Egypt’s greatest export but it revolutionized the way people kept valuable information. No substitution for papyrus paper could be found that was as durable and lightweight until the development of pulped paper by the Arabs. The way of making pulp paper was far easier to produce but not as durable. This not only led to a decline in papyrus paper making, but also to a decline in the papyrus plant cultivation. Eventually, the papyrus plant disappeared from the area of the Nile, where it was once the lifeblood for ancient Egypt. 

Papyrus making was not revived until around 1969. An Egyptian scientist named Dr. Hassan Ragab reintroduced the papyrus plant to Egypt and started a papyrus plantation near Cairo. He also had to research the method of production. Because the exact methods for making papyrus paper was such a secret, the ancient Egyptians left no written records as to the manufacturing process. Dr. Ragab finally figured out how it was done, and now papyrus making is back in Egypt after a very long absence. 

The Method of Papyrus Paper Production 

- The stalks of the papyrus plant are harvested.

- Next the green skin of the stalk is removed and the inner pith is taken out and cut into long strips. The strips are then pounded and soaked in water for 3 days until pliable.

-The strips are then cut to the length desired and laid horizontally on a cotton sheet overlapping about 1 millimeter. Other strips are laid vertically over the horizontal strips resulting in the criss-cross pattern in papyrus paper. Another cotton sheet is placed on top.

- The sheet is put in a press and squeezed together, with the cotton sheets being replaced until all the moisture is removed.

- Finally, all the strips are pressed together forming a single sheet of papyrus paper.