The Ladies Visit the Horus Silver Shop

 The ladies had expressed an interest in visiting a sliver shop and perhaps purchasing some items. Our guide, Roshdy, knew a good place for silver, Horus Silver near the Giza Pyramids, so we stopped in. 

 

The ladies admired the pieces in the shop and were immediately hooked. A couple of the ladies decided on silver cartouches. 

  

This was not just a shopping stop for us because we were privileged to watch as the cartouches were put together in the workroom. The best part was that under the tutelage of the shop owner, Ahmed, each one got to participate in the creation of her own silver cartouche, soldering in place the hieroglyphic transliteration of their names.    

  

  

Horus Silver is a family business. The brothers, Ahmed and Abdul Rhaman, along with their sister who handles marketing, are continuing the silversmithing that their father taught them. They all enjoy being able to show their creativity. They are happy to talk about how they learned the trade and they have a gentleness about them that is not so common among Egyptian merchants and is very much appreciated.

Not surprisingly, everyone found some items that suited their fancy. 
 

 Linda and the brothers

 

We're Headed to Vietnam!

This year, we snowbirds are taking a vacation from our regular winter nest in Cairo for two weeks and are headed east to Vietnam.  We will be flying Qatar Air with an intermediate stop at Doha followed by a long flight into Hanoi.  Linda has never been to Vietnam and it has been quite a while since my last trip! (The one-armed keypunch operator is me in 1970.)

While this travel blog is never quite "live" I do try to keep it up to date when we travel.  But for the next two weeks, it will just see a few posts from Egypt created and set to publish on a delayed basis.  Vietnam pictures will come later after we return to Egypt.

In preparation for our excursion, Linda has been learning a tiny bit of the language and I have been reading a lengthy history of Vietnam.  Yale professor, Ben Kiernan's 2017 history of Vietnam is a difficult read.  (Criticism of his research on his Wikipedia entry is interesting!)  Buying it in electronic form is highly recommended to permit searching for names already mentioned.  It also allows one to easily note that the term "beheaded/beheading" appears seventeen times. 

 

Our private tour has been arranged by Way To Vietnam where Ms. Huong Bui appears to have done a good job of combining cultural and military destinations for us.  I'm looking forward to seeing 56 years of change.  The pictures below are from 1970 and show the countryside near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) between Cu Chi and Ben Hoa airbase.

 

 

 

My subscription to the 25th Division Association Newsletter, Flashes, has had many stories of army veterans who served in the Cu Chi area where the 25th division headquarters existed during my stay in 1970.  That and stories of other veterans who visited in the past few years inspired this visit.     

 

More photos at this Flickr Album, of course.

Other posts on this blog pertaining to a particular topic can be found by entering the topic (such as Vietnam) in the search bar at the top of this post and clicking the little magnifying glass nearby.

 

 

Ramadan Has Arrived!

 It's official!  The crescent moon was sighted last night, the 17th, according to breaking news this morning, the 18th, at Ahram Online.  That means fasting will begin tomorrow on the 19th.

Following Maghreb prayers after sunset, Dar Al-Ifta confirmed that Wednesday, 18 February, marks the 30 th and last day in Sha’ban, based on the sighting of the crescent moon.

Note that other countries may vary!

In recent years, several Muslim-majority countries have adopted astronomical calculations to determine the start of Islamic lunar months.

However, Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta affirmed that, despite astronomical calculations, the official announcement of the first day of Ramadan 2026 depends on the legitimate moon sighting in accordance with established religious criteria.

Egyptian Streets supplies more details:

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar announced that Ramadan will begin on Wednesday 18 February. In recent years, it has been common for countries across the region to announce different start dates.

Other countries across the world, such as Syria, Jordan, Oman, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Philippines and Australia have said that Ramadan will commence on Thursday 19 February, aligning with Egypt.

Perhaps most importantly, Egyptian Streets says:

In Egypt, Ramadan carries a unique cultural atmosphere that blends religious devotion with longstanding traditions.

Streets and balconies are adorned with colourful fanous (Ramadan lanterns), a tradition dating back centuries to the Fatimid era. Families gather each evening for iftar, the meal that breaks the fast, often beginning with dates and water before sharing soups, stews and classic dishes. Mosques across the country host Taraweeh prayers late into the night, drawing large congregations.

People are out in the streets rushing to make last-minute purchases. (Have you stocked up on dates and oranges? Tomorrow will a peaceful quiet will descend on Cairo as people adjust to new work and shopping hours.  But everyone will be having an Iftar (break fast) meal around 6:15 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

2026 - Ramadan Is Coming!

 Ramadan is coming soon! The precise start is, of course, unknown until the sighting of the crescent moon appears in appropriate fashion:

"To mark the beginning of the new month, two conditions must be met: First, the crescent moon must have been born at least four hours before sunset on that day. Second, the new crescent must remain visible above the horizon for no less than five minutes. "

While we suspect that all conditions will be met tonight, nothing is certain until the authorities speak.  Meanwhile, preparations have been underway for the past month, but particularly in the past few days.

Mohamed and Abdul were arranging the vast display of oranges at our favorite fruit market a couple of days ago. The evening breakfast meal frequently begins with a glass of orange juice.

Out in the countryside, the displays are smaller but still prominent. 

 

 

Lights have been strung making the local shopping streets more attractive.

Colorful banners have been strung across the sidewalks.

And the fanous (lanterns) have been hung - many lighted in anticipation but some held in reserve until the magic moment arrives for certain.  

More photos at this Flickr Album, of course.

Other posts on this blog pertaining to a particular topic can be found by entering the topic (such as Ramadan) in the search bar at the top of this post and clicking the little magnifying glass nearby.

 

What's New on Our Block

It's always interesting to take our first walk down the block after arriving at our Cairo apartment. Since we are absent for nine months each year, a lot can change as new shops come and go.  We live on a long, long block. It's about a half mile long and can easily take an hour to circle completely when stopping to visit with people who recognize us.

This year, the biggest surprise was to see a new shop taking shape above the entrance to our building! Since moving in seventeen years ago, the majority of the ground floor and the entire next floor have been vacant - but available for rent to some enterprising merchant. We have always hoped for a bakery to occupy the ground floor - but so far, no luck.

Part of the ground floor has been occupied; an auto dealer selling the Chinese Chery was there for two or three years, then the space was occupied by a luxury wedding palnner -  and as the sign indicates, a swimming pool supply and construction company was present for several years; they moved down the block to more spacious quarters about four years ago.

  

When we arrived on January 5th, I noticed the electrical wiring being installed. It is now more than a month later and air-conditioners have been connected to the wires and some paint has been applied. Construction can be slow in Cairo. (Our place took nearly three years to complete) The rumor is that this is going to become a furniture showroom. We'll see.

 

Another sign of change was spotted next door at the Auto1Mazar shop. This is the neighborhood used-car lot and has been here for many years. It usually has about three used cars squeezed into the interior and during business hours, maybe three more with their rear wheels up on the curb and front wheels out in the street. The shop opens at noon and usually has two or three salesmen out at a table in the evenings. The key thing to note in this picture is the sign that says "Shop for Rent - 250 square meters." I guess these neighbors will be leaving.

Part way down the block, there is a new electrical supply store.  Electrical stores are always recognizable by the coil of orange flexible conduit hanging near the entrance. I stopped in to buy a light bulb shortly after we arrived. The owner is frequently working on a project for some customer when we pass by.  The dress shop next door is also new.

At the end of the block, there is a major change. This is busy, high-traffic area. The cart in the street on the left side of the photo is where we buy our fresh bananas, oranges and strawberries.  Linda waits patiently for me by the neighboring coffee, tea and shisha shop as I capture this photo. 

The shop on the right is a bakery where Linda likes to buy fresh balady or shami bread. We wish they had a railing on those stairs!

 

But right on the corner is a new store. This shop has been a mattress store for as long as we have lived in the neighborhood but has now become a telephone and computer accessory store.

The signs on the storefront indicate that they can even take on hard-drive repair. The store name translates to "Blessed" and appears to be a branch of a well-known local company. The "Barakat" displayed vertically is the phonetic pronunciation of the store name. Fawry is a major Egyptian electronic payments system.  I used Google Lens to produce the translations in this photo.

Upon discovering that the cordless mouse I brought along this year was totally incompatible with my current office space in the apartment, (too much RF interference of some kind) Linda and I headed down the block to check out the store. They had four mouses (mice?) in the window, two cordless and two with cords. Each one was priced at 150EGP - a bit over three dollars and all made in China. 

Like most shops one finds in Egypt, what you see in the window is what you can buy.  There is no "stockroom in the back!"  Two windows flank the entrance to the Fawry/Barakat store.  On the left are telephone accessories.  The window to the right of the entrance displays computer accessories.    

  

More photos at this Flickr Album, of course.

Other posts on this blog pertaining to a particular topic can be found by entering the topic (such as Chery) in the search bar at the top of this post and clicking the little magnifying glass nearby.

 

 

The Ladies Visit the Blue Lotus of Sakkara Restaurant

This year Linda and the Ladies Tour visited a new restaurant "out in the country" offering a wonderful buffet luncheon of Egyptian home cooking.

When making the twenty mile drive south from the Giza Pyramids to visit the Step Pyramid at Sakaara (Saqqara is spelled in a variety of ways!) you drive past a number of "carpet schools" as you near the destination. Here a visitor can stop, meet the students, learn the ways of the Egyptian carpet weavers and, of course, experience the ways of the Egyptian carpet merchant!

  

 

Nestled in among the several carpet establishments as one nears Sakkara, a modest driveway leads to a rest-house with a delightful garden courtyard. Operated by the Bakr Fahmy family, the Blue Lotus Restaurant offers a great buffet featuring many of our favorite local dishes.

 

 

The first welcoming sight upon arrival is the bread baking operation out in front of the entrance.  The bread lady is carefully preparing the pallet to place in the wood-fired clay oven.  This ensures that the bread inside the restaurant is fresh and tasty.

 

  

 

After being seated and ordering a beverage, the guest picks up a plate and chooses from the savory and colorful selections on the long buffet table.

  

 

The two potato dishes were flavorful additions to the chicken, kofta and stuffed vegetables that form the bulk of the luncheon. Oh, what to choose? How about a little of everything. This isn't restaurant food, it's genuine home cooking.

 

The courtyard seating arrangement offers a choice of sunny or shaded seats.  Beverages are served to the tables.  After a return trip or two to the buffet line, the typical desert fruits of banana, yousafandi (mandarins) and dates make a fine finish.  

 

 

The ladies enjoyed meeting Mrs. Fahmy who personally supervises the food operation.

 

Linda and the ladies visited in January and gave it a thumbs up so she and I returned in February for an afternoon outing. We rate it five stars.

 

Additional photos for this post can be found on this Flickr Album.

Other posts on this blog pertaining to a particular topic can be found by entering the topic (such as step pyramid or sakkara) in the search bar at the top of this post and clicking the little magnifying glass nearby.