L-APC: Organized Chaos in Egypt

When I saw that Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #88 had the theme of chaos, I immediately thought of Egypt… Egyptian roads are chaotic. Jokingly – but not really – locals will describe to you the beliefs of Egyptian drivers: Speed limits are just suggestions. Lines on the roads are merely for decoration (really, no one pays much […]

APAW: People at Work in the Middle East

Nancy Merrill’s weekly A Photo a Week challenge has the topic of Work. On our trip last year to Egypt and Israel, we had the opportunity to photograph and meet many people at work. In Egypt, we witnessed several craftsmen working at their craft: We also encountered agricultural workers and fishermen on the Nile. In […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 21: Last Night on the Aida

January 1-2, 2019 Tonight was to be our last night on our lovely dahabeya, the Aida, so there was a celebration. When we returned from the Daraw livestock market, of course, the steward had cleaned our room as he did every day. Anyone who has been on a cruise knows about towel art: you come […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 20: If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be…the Daraw Livestock Market

January 1, 2019 (Tuesday) HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Today was a light day sightseeing-wise, which was a good thing. Dale and I were up late watching a movie about the Exodus (not the original movie; a newer version) and today we had time to just relax on our last day onboard the Aida. In fact, Dale […]

CFFC: Busy Hands

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the theme of HANDS. Looking through my photos, I found hands in various positions and engaging in various tasks – hands are seldom idle! Some hands are meant to scare… like on Halloween! Sometimes hands are helpful, pointing out things of interest… Hands demonstrate how to make things… […]

The Doors of Fares Island

On Dec. 31, 2018, during our cruise on the Nile in Egypt, we cruised to Fares Island, where we took “tuk-tuks” through the dusty street of the town on our way to visit a crate maker (more about that in a separate post). Of course, we took as many photos of doors (mostly gates […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 16: Besaw Island: a Visit to a Farming Family

December 30, 2018 On our third day of our Nile cruise on board the Aida, we had a leisurely day enjoying our cruise and visiting a farm family on Besaw Island. Sayeed is an attractive 35-year-old, intelligent, and thoughtful man. He was as curious about us as we were about him. After showing us around […]

Journey to Egypt, Part 11: Luxor – Lunch, a Ferry Ride, & Dinner with a Local Family

December 27, 2018 A Walk to Lunch Back in the city of Luxor (about 850,000 population), our bus driver dropped us off in the vicinity of the place where we would have lunch. The restaurant was a few blocks away down dusty streets, and we had to walk. I was glad for this because as […]

Thursday Doors: Besaw Island

While on our 5-day Nile River cruise in Egypt, we stopped at an island where we visited a farmer and his family, and we were shown around the area where he lives. For Norm’s Thursday Doors feature this week, here are some doors and other sights on Besaw Island. On our way to our host’s […]