Our front door

After the Revolution people in our building decided that they wanted to put a new, more secure, door at the front of the building. So by the end of February the thin glass door had been removed and a large patterned iron metal gate was being soldered in place.

The gate was put in place and looked very impressive. For the first month or so it didn't have a lock on it and so with a bit of a push (it was quite heavy) we could swing it open.

The next step was that the intercom was installed. This invovled lots of men and wires - and a fair amount of drilling through concrete. It was quite late in the evening by the time they made it to our apartment to drill, but even after that they were drilling in the apartment upstairs and running the cable outside the building. The highlight of the evening was the naked wires on the masonry drill:

As they'd got the intercom sorted it seemed time to add the lock to the door. Before this was added though we had a knock on our door from Samah upstairs saying that they needed a little extra money for the keys and locksmith. We didn't mind chipping in as Mdm Kawthar, our landlady, had paid the flat's share for the door in February.

With new keys cut we were all set and the door started to be locked and the intercom started to be put to use.

With no glass in the door though there was realistically a fundamental part of the "increased security" that was lacking. Anyone could just stick their hands through the bars in the frame and turn the handle from the insde. In fact that is what we would normally do when we got home - much easier than fumbling with keys.

This was one aspect of our home security that we failed to tell the Prebbles when we gave them a key to our place in August when they moved out. It turns out that they couldn't get the key to work in the gated door and didn't think about sticking their hand through - so only managed to visit our apartment once!

With the door being so heavy, and everyone constantly reaching through to turn the handle (from an angle), the catch became misaligned. This wasn't a big problem, just a bit annoying that you had to wiggle it sometimes to get it to turn. But coming back in September it seemed to be at a whole new level of "mis-aligned" and would more likely catch than turn! It was at this point that we started to have to go downstairs to let people in to the building, rather than being able to just buzz them in!

Then to try and increase the security, the bowab took to double locking the door. This meant you could no longer just reach through. It also meant you couldn't buzz people in. A great idea, except that they took to locking the door at about 6pm!!! So if we were having any deliveries (not that we have them every night!!) we had to go downstairs to let them in. Why do we have an intercom, again?

It was with some surprise then that we came home two days ago to discover the bowab and two workmen fitting glass panels to the door! Only ten months on from the door being fitted, then! Coming up the stairs we could see that the workman's ladder crossed both doors and so we thought we'd wait a bit until he'd finished up there. But no need, as the other workman just pushed the ladder so that the angle decreased to the point where it was only just spreading his weight (!) while we came through the door.

We were feeling pretty good about the new glass and the fixed catch on the door until the guy came to deliver our ironing....and the buzzer wouldn't buzz! So down I go and let him in. Later that night another delivery arrives and again the buzzer isn't working. We guess that they did something to the connection when fitting the glass, but it is only in the morning that we notice a ball of cables hanging above the door - they've completely severed the system! Oh well!

It's a short 48-hours between the glass being fitted and the wires being reconnected and so now we not only have a huge metal gate, but we have a lock that locks, a catch that catches, an intercom that buzzes and glass that...well, is glass! Phew!

BCA Ball 2011

It's been a crazy week, month and term; an emotional roller-coaster that hasn't really let up. The BCA Ball is always on the calendar for us and this year we were looking foward to a night of true Christmas fun.

We were missing some good friends who've now left Cairo and so we were feeling a little down in the afternoon as we were getting ready. I guess there's the rub of being an international teacher - people move away.

The night started off with drinks at Flossies and then we took cars to the hotel downtown (our driver managing to take two random diversions on the route which meant we were really after a drink when we arrived!). We did ourselve proud with the free bar and then found our seats. Our table was right at the front next to the band and dancefloor. In the past we've been in the back corner and so this felt like a real promotion! We had ten on our table and there were at least another five or six tables of school people, so it was a really good crowd there. During the meal we had the usual drinking shenanigans and banter and people were up on the dancefloor as soon as the main course was out. The DJ played some pretty good tracks to move to, but the band, ScrewDriver, were superb as always. We were all up and dancing, but also taking regular breaks to get drinks and the bar and chatter away with everyone.

Bendy straws and christmas baubles!

Scotty with Phil(ippa) and Matt

KISS rock!

The highlight of the evening was the big reveal of Scotty's shirt. The moment we arrived our friends started saying "Oh, what shirt are you wearing tonight?" as they remember his ramadan-backed shirt of last year. It was great fun to have the reveal and afterwards people kept coming up and saying they liked it and many photos were rightly taken. For the evening Alice had her Egypt flag clutch bag which was also popular.

Doing "The Macarena"!

Egypt flag clutch bag!

Posters and Banners II

I knew I was on to something:

It's the day of the elections and it is the front page story on the Grauniad - stealing my ideas!

It has also been covered on the Today programme on Radio 4 where we first heard that the symbols have been allocated and by BBC online.

I've been taking some more photos and will go out again today to get some that we like (Coconut!) and upload them later today.

In the meantime, take a listen to this report from Hugh Sykes out covering the elections in the Zamalek area of Cairo.  http://audioboo.fm/boos/564771-hugh-sykes-reports-from-cairo-as-voters-head-to-the-polls-the-world-at-one-bbc-radio-4

Running Hard - The 2011 Pharoanic Run

We said that we wanted to do it again....even though our bodies were telling us not to (!)....and so Friday morning saw our alarms set for 2am and our cooler filled with Pocari Sweat, dried aprictos, nuts and cheese and pickle sarnies.

But to just talk about the run doesn't do the day justice - what made it a great day yesterday was the run, the team, but also knowing what else was going on in the lead up to the day and during the run itself.

The run was taking place on a Friday, as it always does, but Fridays now mean demonstration day in Egypt. It wasn't just any Friday either, this was the Friday after five days of violent and significant clashes between protestors and police which saw over 30 people die, thousands be injured and the worst conflict on the streets since the revolution. The action in the week leading up to the race was very centralised around Tahrir but we did feel some of the effects of it; school was busing everyone at 3pm and Maadi was very quiet after dark at 6pm. Watching the scenes on the news and reading the demands of the protestors (and the response from SCAF) it was really hard to see what solutions/compromises could be reached and how the situation could be resolved. People were talking about Revolution 2, demands were being made, announcements and communicays were being made, resignations, appointments, barricades but neither side could be satisfied.

With all this happening we were really concerned about the run going ahead. On the Tuesday we had a team chat and decided that we probably wouldn't run. There didn't seem much point in going for a 'nice day out' when the country was in turmoil and violence on the streets. Also the run takes place along a rural road and the 'security' on route are local bedouins who have been issued guns for the day. We didn't think they'd be particularly interested in our safety when they've got their country to worry about. Tuesday evening though saw the first evening with reduced voilence and things were looking more settled. We contacted the race director and he reassured us that the race was going ahead, that they had met with organisers and officials and were doubling security. We decided that we'd give the race a go, but would have our phones with us and would pull out if anyone on the team felt at any point that they didn't want to run. As the race starts to early, we thought we'd be able to get a fair amount of running done before noon prayers (when things typically swell in Tahrir) anyway. In our minds too was the thought 'if we don't run, and the day goes by peacefully - we'll be kicking ourselves'

In our minds though wasn't quite the thought 'we've done so much training that it would be a shame to not do the actual run'....as we'd not done loads of training! I'd been going to the gym and Scott had been out running in Maadi, we bought a stepper machine in July from a friend who was leaving and last weekend we did three long runs over two days to try and challenge ourselves. So we'd been doing bits, but hardn't been training too hard - so we knew that the run was going to be the challenge it was last year.

2am wake up. Taxi at 2.30am. Meet at the hotel and then depart in our buses to the start at 3am. It was 5.45am when we arrived at the start and in true race style the organisers then hastily erected a starting gate. Why they don't set off before the runners to do this I don't understand - and why they've decided to go upmarket with pieced together metal tubing instead of last years 'two step ladders' option I don't know.

The number of runners and teams was noticeably down on last year. At one point they asked all the runners to gather under the starting banner and the total number of runners probably tallied with the number of runners starting the race last year. A shame, but understandable. Our only hope at this stage is that we're not so left behind that we are forgotton about!

Fayoum Governate and Fayoum Tourism Authority Welcome Visitors - Tourism has definitely been hit hard since January and it's clear that this race normally does a lot to bring foreigners to the area.

This way!

Mary is up to run first. She's probably the strongest member of our team; Running Hard that includes us two, then Flossie and The Tone from work. Last year we were due to run with Flossie, but our team changed, so it's great to be running together this year. Mary joining the team is a funny one; we met Mary as when we flew to Luxor for the run in January we ended up sharing a cab from the airport with her to the hotel. There is turned out that she and her friend were doing the Luxor run and were expats in Cairo too....AND that she knew Flossie. we kept in touch through Flossie and then when she said she was interested in running the Pharaonic it made sense to join forces.

Mary running the 0 - 10km section. It's a busy one as all the minibuses are bunched up trying to find their runners.

Mary is running her 20km in two 10km sections, whilst the rest of us are opting for four 5km runs. I don't think I could face a full 10km, although the thought of finishing my k's in just two runs is tempting. The good news this year is that we start nearly on time (6.20am instead of 6am) and the temperature is a lot cooler than last year.

Tony takes over from Mary and then I take over from Tony to run the 15 - 20km section. We've gone all gadget-gadget since last years run. Scotty has his ipod which communicates with a Nike plus chip in his trainers that I bought him for Christmas. This means that he can programme a run and then it automatically tells him over the music every km he has run, his pace, and when the 5km is due to end - fancy! As an early Christmas present this year Scotty came back from England with a Nike plus chip for me too and watch to wear that tells me the distance run, the pace and the time. Out on my first run I feel good. It's a straight route, but it's not flat. There are three or four small climbs which I hadn't thought about before, but I just try to tackle them smoothly. I pass a few runners on the way which is good and my overall time I was really pleased with (under 30 minutes).

Alice's first run 15 - 20km

Scotty takes over from me for what we remember to be one of the hardest stretches of the race last year; it's a long 5km slog along a single road that stretches into the distance with desert all around you. He's psyched up for the never-ending road, but what we didn't realise about Nic's section last year was the gradual slope that it is on. It is uphill the whole way. The first 2km are a noticeable slope in the run, followed by a hill in the third kilometer. Scotty's knackered when he's done and ice's his ankle where he can feel the tendon alraedy coming through, but he's made an excellent time despite the hill.

Scotty completing his first leg.

Scotty's first run 20 - 25km

It's after this that we spy our second pyramid and it looks stunning through the desert haze. Last year we didn't even see this pyramid from the desert road because of the haze - we only spotted it from the other side when we were by the canal.

Maidum Pyramid

Stretches with a view

Tony takes my leg from last year which is through the first main town. I got some hassle from the local boys on this leg, so we decided a bloke should take it. As it is, Tony says the kids on the road are great - lots of high 5's and English phrases "What's your name?" and "Hallo!" I'm up next though and feeling OK after my first run and an hour-and-a-half off. It's my calves that are a little tight, but I'm hoping I can run them out.

Alice's second run 35 - 40km

Scotty Running Hard and about to tag Flossie

Scotty's seond run 40 - 45km

Between each run our routine has been to stretch off our legs straight away and get in to the bus again and get moving as soon as possible. With only doing 5km stretches we don't have long between each change-over, at least this year though the weather is cooler which means we're not needing a half-way water stop (which was essential last year). Once both Scotty and I have done our legs and we're on the bus we've been loading up the netbook and getting online to log our runs and then to check the news (or the other way around depending on which site loads first!). We're checking three different news blogs to see what is happening in Tahrir. Things were quiet last night and luckily the morning has been quiet too. Prayers are due at noon and we know the crowds will fill the square today, but we're just hopeful that things can remain peaceful.

Speaking of noon, the time comes and we're really pleased with the run. We've done 50km and it's taken us just over 5 hours. We're on track to finish before sunset which is an amazing feeling. The race was due to start at 6am and then the timings were that teams should finish by 4pm and solo runners by 5pm. Last year we got to the gate of Saqarra at 5.03pm and weren't allowed in. We were gutted that after all that distance we hadn't made it to the official end. With the race starting more of less on time (and a good 30 minutes earlier than last year!) we're in with a shot of finishing. We'd calculated that in order to finish by 5pm (there was no chance of a 4pm finish for our team!) we'd need to average 33 minutes for each 5km section. We were averaging that, but not significantly faster, in training. We didn't know though whether the adrenalin of the race would cancle out the fatigue or not... 

We're running through towns now and each run has a few towns along the route as well as the fields and the canal. The towns are a great motivator to keep going and not stop to walk especially with the kids on the streets. This year the bedouin guards are a lot stricter with the spectators and are making sure that they don't get in the way of runners and don't cause too much hassle. In Luxor we realy loved running alongside the kids and giving high-5's and while we love that about this run too in the past there have been some small problems.

This time the only problem I experience is one boy who doesn't understand high-5's and instead of slapping my hand, slaps my arm instead! There are lots of "Hallo"'s and "What's your name?" and I have a group of about half a dozen young boys running beside me at one point. I try to explain to them in my broekn Arabic what I am doing, but all I can manage to communicate is that I am running from Fayoum pyramids to Saqarra...I don't know the word for team and so these boys think I've just run 60km myself! Scott is relaly boosted by the large group of children on one of the bridges and he is offered a lift on a motorbike and a microbus. I'm offered a cup of tea on my last leg of the run and Scott is offered a sit down on one of the benches used by the police! It's things like this that make the run such a great day.

Alice's third run 65 - 70km

Scotty's third run 70 - 75km

Team Running Hard in action; Scotty and Flossie taggin at 75km with The Tone and Mary cheering!

We're still on track and although we're all tired and have aching legs from the runs we've done we're all pleased that our final legs are coming up and the prospect of finishing is a real motivator. It's mid afternoon now and we're onto the busiest stretch of the route at the busiest time. The road is wider than the small track we were on earlier (which was only one car wide in sections) but it's a lorry route and suddenly we find that runners are being pushed to into the verge with the honking and fast approaching trucks. Tony takes over Flossie's leg as the trucks just aren't making the running easy for her. Tony finishes her leg and then does most of his leg. I take over from him early and then Scotty takes over from me early to try and even out the distances. We make a mistake with my changeover to Scotty and also mis-judge the take-over between Scotty and Flossie which leaves Scotty with a lot longer to run.

Alice's fourth run 83.5 - 89km to Dashur pyramid

Scotty's fourth run 89 - 95km

This is one of the hardest things about the race - that you know you are running in 5km stretches, but you're never really sure if they are going to be 5km, slightly more or slightly less. This year has not been helped by the fact that they are not using sandwich board signs at the take-overs any more - just the number spray-painted on the road. These are really difficult to spot (not helped by having a driver who is stoned...) and we end up missing three signs and have to turn back to find the sign and the runner. When you are running 5km you can psyche yourself up for it, but here you psyche yourself up and then suddenly find you finish early or you have to drag yourself another five or ten minutes before you can change. Running is Hard.

Scotty finishing his mamouth last run.

Flossie takes over from Scotty just before the road bridge and Scotty collapses into the back of the van. It was a hard run and he was really strong to finish it. After the earlier problems with the tendon in his ankle he's just aching all over now. At the top of the road to Saqarra Mary waits and at the sight of Flossie she sets off on the final 3.5km to the gates of the Saqarra complex and then up the hill to the finish (she likes hill apparently, so is happy to run this hard leg even though she's already completed her 20km).

It's 4.30pm and unbelievably we're going to make it! We get the bus to the finish line and then wait for Mary. We're the last team to finish, but what matters is that we made it!

The finish!

We did it!

Running Hard

Posters and Banners

Next week the parliamentary elections are taking place. We're hoping that things will run smoothly, but we've just seen on the news today that there were clashes in Tahrir Square after yesterday's large rally.

One interesting thing about the elections that we've noticed this year is the banners and posters. There were banners and posters last year (November elections 2010) and again they adorn every roundabout and are strung between buildings and billboards. But this year there is a lot more diversity - obviously - and there are so many parties running and so many independents.

In the UK we have three major parties and each of them will have their 'logo' which will appear beside their name on the ballot. In Egypt we're finding that these symbols aren't just a quick reminder of which party is which, but a key identifier people, especially those who are illiterate. So each party (and independent) is trying to find a unique symbol that they can use for the electorate to associate with them, and with so many parties these are getting more and more obscure. Here are a few photos I've taken of the banners I've seen around Maadi.

Football net (top banner) and the key (bottom banner)

Light bulb (top banner) and gas can (bottom banner)

Coffee cup (bottom banner)

Palm tree (bottom banner)

Digital camera (top banner) and ping pong bat (bottom banner)

Video recorder

Hand

Microbus (top banner), knife (?) (bottom banner) and video recorder (left banner)

Coffee cup (top banner) and ping pong bat (bottom banner)

Eating Egyptian

An amalgamation of three tips I've just posted about Egyptian food in Cairo.



There are so many restaurants in Cairo with international influences that you could easily visit for a week and not sample any traditional Egyptian food, but you’d really be missing out.

Starters that you should look out for include dips like babaganough (aubergine) and tahina (sesame) which will come with the round Egyptian flatbread known as ‘aish baladi’ (in many places this will arrive steaming to your table as it is probably cooked on site). You should also try falafel (‘tameya’) and stuffed vegetables (‘mashi’).

A classic main you might try is ‘molokheya’, which is a broth made with greens that is often served with a meat and rice. Many places will serve a range of grills including ‘shish tawook’ (chicken), ‘shish kebab’ (lamb) and ‘kofta’ (minced meat on a skewer).

Cheap, simple dishes that are popular are ‘koshary’ (with its layers of rice, macaroni, pasta and lentils this is a carb-overload, but very filling and served with a little tomato sauce and with lemon and spicey sauce on the side) and ‘shawerma’ (marinated kebab meat served in a wrap or roll).

For dessert you might try ‘om ali’ which is pudding rice, bread and raisins in sweetened milk.

Abou El Sid serves traditional Egyptian food and all their restaurants (there are branches all over Cairo) are decked out to fit the theme. Abou El Sid serves alcohol and shisha.
www.abouelsid.com 


If you're visiting the Khan El Khalili you'll be hounded to visit one of the many cafes on the main square, but venture in and you'll find the Khan El Khalili Restaurant (and Naguib Mahfouz Cafe). This is an excellent restaurant with attentive service and good food. A real haven from the hustle and hassle outside. They accept credit cards (a rarity in Egypt), and in the cafe area musicians play traditional music.

Khan El Khalili Restaurant and Naguib Mahfouz Cafe, 5 Sekket al-Badistan, Tel: +20 2590 3788
To find the restaurant, stand in the main square of the Khan El Khalili (Midan Hussein) and face the row of cafes. Take the narrow street to the right of the cafes which goes slightly downhill (not the street that goes beside the mosque). Keep going past all the stall holders who will try hard to get you to buy from them. The street will widen slightly and you will see a metal detector in front of a door on your right (this is more obvious then the restaurant sign next to it!) and then you will know you are in the right place.

Arzak and Gad are both chains of Egyptian fast food restaurants. There are branches of both all over Cairo and they serve Egyptian fast food (and 'traditional' fast food of burgers and fries if you're feeling less adventurous).
Most restaurants will have a counter where you place your order, pay and are given a reciept. Take this reciept over to the serving counter to pick up your food. Some branches will also have a second 'back' room with table service, AC and bathrooms.

I've Been There

So I've blogged about the various tips I've written for the Grauniad 'I've Been There' site and their competitions. They started a new feature recently called "Been There Locals" where people who live in major cities inpart advise as only they know best!

Well - I'm the new "Been There Local" for Cairo!

Alice has lived and worked in Egypt's capital for four years now and has brilliant tips from where to drink with a view to where to get to grips with the city's amazing history








EDIT on Thursday 17th November: The front page of I've Been There has a picture of the Camel Market and in a "bit of a fanfare" is welcoming me to the Local Tippers!

EDIT on Saturday 19th November: First Grauniad typo spotted.

11.11.11.11.11 At the pyramids

We didn't know about all this numerology madness, so went to the pyramids on 11.11.11

We were able to get into the pyramids complex but the Great Pyramid was closed (we were there just 15 minutes after gates opened and so hoped we might get a ticket) so we got a ticket to go inside the Third Pyramid instead.

It turns out that yes the Great Pyramid was closed for the numerologist event and they'd thought of closing the whole complex, but decided to keep it open but to increase the security around the place (lots of police and a couple of army guys and tanks too). It was shortly after we got into the complex that they decided to close it to cars too, so we were lucky that Said had suggested we come early becuase we got in and he could drive us up to the viewing platau and around the whole site.

It was really smoggy on our way to the pyramids and I was a bit worried for a while that we wouldn't be able to see the tops of them. After an hour or so the smog lifted, and it even cleared accross the city by the time we were ready to leave.

I got a text from Scotty as we were there saying how jealous he was that we were going inside the pyramids in Giza, but the Thurd Pyramid is actually a lot smaller than the red pyramid at Dashur. Inside it was pretty much like Dashur in that there was no decoration. The two chambers are a slot smaller than Dashur (they don't have the valuted ceiling) but it did have a cool burial area (where there were multiple niches, almost like in the catacombs).

We had the normal hassle with touts and hawkers and to be honest there were a fair number of people at the pyramids - it definitely didn't feel "quiet" there. Two interesting encouters did take place. The first was just outside the sphinx where a small girl asked Chin something in Arabic. A young man who was with the group then translated to say that she was asking what was on her face! (the answer being freckles, but I guess these just aren't common in Egypt). We then got talking to the young man and the rest of their group. They were quite excited to hear that I was a teacher out here and promptly introduced me to one of their group who was a professor! (I guess the rational was that we were both in education, but I didn't find too much to talk about!) After we finished talking they took some photos with us which was a little odd, but fun. Later, as we were leaving the sphinx area another older lady came up to us. This time she wasn't asking about us, but just said "photo, photo" and it became apparent she wanted a photo of me and her son. I dutifully complied; standing beside him and putting on a smile, but then she moved us round - no she didn't want the sphinx in the background but the tank!


After that fun we moved on to Saqarra. Although there was a tour bus or two pulled in, it felt like we had the site to ourselves. We walked around the Step Pyramid and then took the car to see the Mastaba of Ti with all its stunning heiroglyphs, relief and colour. After this we had the obligatory lunch at the Tourist Restaurant where the rice was shaped in a heart and the band played for a prompt 5 seconds each time someone entered or left the restaurant!

We were the only people there!

Smog lifting from the city

Poppy for 11/11

The army ready to protect all the numerologists....and me from random Egyptians asking to have their photograph taken with me!

Oh! So that's how they built the pyramids!!