Christmas in Cairo

Now Christmas Day is done and dusted it's nice to just blob around. I have to admit there was no mad last minute rush to the stores for presents or food this year. It was strange not being able to find much in the way of Christmas Decorations until the actual week of Christmas though.

outside a local daycare centre

Garden centre Xmas trees for sale

Decorations for sale

snowman at school

                           





Christmas dinner was ROAST PORK, kumara, potatoes and very fresh beans with lashings of gravy and apple sauce. Mmmm. Roast pork you ask? We managed to buy one from the caterer at our local expat club :-) We only managed to eat half of it so it will be roast pork sammies for lunch today for Tony and I.
Bruce and Margo are well established in our Cairo lifestyle. Today they are off to the Coptic area of Cairo so should have some stories to tell us when they return. They will be doing a self guided tour so their perspective will be very different to ours.

Tahrir Square

If you Google Tahrir Square, Cairo you would  expect it to look like a demolition site from all the demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and police. 

On the 23rd we decided to catch the Metro train into Tahrir and have a look for ourselves. Last time Tony tried to see it the street was blocked with tanks and razor wire but this time it was a totally different story.

The square, which is actually a circle, was typical of Downtown Cairo - bumper to bumper traffic, the odd policeman on each "corner" to direct traffic, store owners milling around outside their stores trying to draw passersby in, a line of tanks stationed outside the museum which was about 100 metres along the road, and the few tourists. The monument in the photos was opened by Government Ministers about 3 weeks ago. Sadly, the day after, demonstrators sprayed all over it with graffiti and tried to tear it apart. You can see some of the damage the steps in the photos. The eagle eyes amongst you would have spotted KFC in the background too.

While we were there hawkers approached us selling Egyptian flags, photos of General Sisi and face painting of Egyptian flags. They were not impressed with our "La Shukran" (no thank you) responses. No point getting mixed up in the politics of Egypt when you're standing across the road from a gathering of about 200 people waving flags and chanting, very peacefully though I might add.
How would I describe Tahrir Square? An important landmark in Cairo's journey towards democracy. After Googling it yourself you will probably have your own definition.

Build Up Before Christmas

Can't believe I haven't posted anything since mid November. The main reason - there hasn't been anything to write about except work.
Where to begin? As you know Tony has been substitute teaching at the Canadian International School, 1 - 2 times per week. His stories from school are far more interesting than mine, eg. the day he subbed in a grade 1 class and they were fascinated by his bald head. He knelt down to talk to one of the little girls and all of a sudden there was another 5 year old's hand rubbing his head. It was the same class where he was wearing his reading glasses and would then rest them on top of his head. Funnily one of the little boys thought that was a great idea and copied Tony. Problem was the boy was as blind as a bat while he had them on top of his head. 5 year olds - who'd teach them? Anyway to get you up to speed Tony has accepted a full time position at our school for 3 months in the New Year as a substitute teacher and working with the special programs if he's not subbing. Doesn't pay anywhere as good as the Canadian school and it means I'll have to help with the housework. Not sure he'll last 3 months, maybe 3 weeks. Interferes with the lifestyle.
In the meantime ...
we have moved house. Living on a busy street had some good points, close to shops, taxis, etc BUT the noise got to us in the end. We moved 15 minutes walk from where we were, to a 3 bedroom apartment on the 7th floor.
Bruce and Margo have arrived and are keeping us amused. Margo is such an amazing chef and has contributed to us putting on more weight. We even have a bar set up on the kitchen counter. The Lockie influence,  ha ha! Let's hope they don't drink all the duty free before I finish my antibiotics next week.
Finally, I spent a few days in hospital (women's issues so don't ask if you don't want the details). Now I'm home while Tony plays Super Sub in my class. The kids are loving him but he's told me they miss me so I don't feel so useless after all :-)
I'm hoping to have one more entry before Christmas Day - need to drag Margo and Bruce out of the house this weekend. They're actually enjoying living in a house and doing nothing. Maybe Tony can take us all into Tahrir Square now the tanks have gone ...

View of Road 199 from our verandah

Hallway to the bedrooms

Margo and Bruce in the lounge

The bar

A much bigger kitchen than the last

Our bedroom, ensuite behind me.

The new Lockie suite.

The third bedroom.