Weekend Desert Trip

President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Cairo, Egypt

Egypt Reports 1st Swine Flu Case

Egypt's health minister has announced the country's first confirmed case of swine influenza A-H1N1.

In remarks carried by state news media Tuesday, Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali said a 12-year-old American girl showing flu symptoms arrived in Cairo Monday on a flight from Europe. The minister said she tested positive for the virus and is being treated. He said she is in good condition.

The girl's family is of Egyptian origin, and she was traveling to Egypt with her mother to spend her summer holiday there. Her mother has not tested positive for the disease.

The case marks the first confirmed case of swine flu on the African continent.

When the global swine flu outbreak began, Egyptian authorities ordered the slaughter of all 300,000 or more pigs in the country, a decision that sparked riots in the mainly Christian community where pigs are raised. The United Nations condemned the pig cull as an overreaction, since this outbreak of swine flu has been spread by humans far more than by pigs.

Egypt has been hit hard by a different flu strain in recent years. The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed 27 people in Egypt since 2006, when the disease first arrived in the country. It also has devastated Egypt's domestic poultry industry.

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Jinx

He wants to go out on the balcony. But it's 39C and way to hot for the fur ball.

Babylon & Beyond: Obama speech great news for Cairo University

Over the last couple of weeks, Cairo University has been at the center of the Middle East’s attention. The university, which will be hosting President Obama’s anticipated June 4 speech, is undergoing major renovations.

The Egyptian government is installing a first-class press and media center near the main hall, where Obama will make his address. The main hall itself is getting a new Egyptian flag – instead of the old torn one –along with air conditioning, lighting and sound systems. Campus roads are being refurbished and swept, and the university’s famous dome is being polished by hand.

Many areas around the university campus also are having renovations. A number of neighboring streets will be covered in flowers when Obama arrives, a scene that didn’t even occur when Cairo University celebrated its centennial last year.

Cairo University has been a main pillar in Egyptian higher education for generations. But until it was chosen as a venue for the speech, the university had looked pretty much the same for the last 30 years.

It was thought that Al-Azhar Mosque was a main contender as the site for Obama’s speech. Now Azhar officials are looking at Cairo University with envy. Their mosque missed out on a great redecoration opportunity.

Watching how Cairo University and its surroundings are being transformed in a fortnight to one of the tidiest and most beautiful spots in the country may make Egyptians hope the U.S. president visits more often.

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Cairo University. Credit: Reuters

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First Day of Summer

Doortje and I have declared today as the First Day of Summer here in Cairo as it's the first day we've swam in our pool. And it was nice though it's not that hot today, just around 34C/93F.

NRC: Netherlands to close prisons for lack of criminals

The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty.

During the 1990s the Netherlands faced a shortage of prison cells, but a decline in crime has since led to overcapacity in the prison system. The country now has capacity for 14,000 prisoners but only 12,000 detainees.

Deputy justice minister Nebahat Albayrak announced on Tuesday that eight prisons will be closed, resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs. Natural redundancy and other measures should prevent any forced lay-offs, the minister said.

The overcapacity is a result of the declining crime rate, which the ministry's research department expects to continue for some time.

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StrategyPage.com: Egypt Legalizes Corruption

The Egyptian parliament passed a law allowing the president to buy military equipment and weapons for the next three years, without making details of the deals public, or even reporting them to parliament. The justification for this was the need for secrecy while making certain types of purchases. Exactly what types of purchases the government was considering was not revealed. It's a secret.

Now there are two types of military purchases that would be made easier because of this new law. The most obvious ones are corrupt purchases, with lots of payoffs and exorbitant prices. This, however, is risky, as the law expires in three years, and Egypt is already pretty corrupt. Government officials don't need a special law to help them steal. They do very well without it.

The other type of military purchase that would benefit from this law would be those items needed to build a nuclear weapon. Were such a project to be made public knowledge, the international community would go nuts and, worse for Egypt, much foreign aid would be halted.

Can you think of any other reason for a secrecy law like this?

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Andy's Egypt Pictures

Andy has his pictures from his Egypt visit on Picasa.

We're Back

We are back from Holland.

Doortjes Mom

More pictures here.

Doortje at the Embassy

Koptisch Cairo

Op weg naar de kerk van St. George ( Mar Girgis) loop je langs prachtige mozaieken; deze afbeelding gaat over de Heilige Familie op weg naar Egypte , waar Jozef en Maria schuilen voor koning Herodes.

Hier is de ingang naar een convent van nonnen die hier wonen.

Het gebouw met de koepel is het Koptisch Museum, waar ze een schat aan koptische bezienswaardigheden, geschiedenis en natuurlijk iconen ten toon stellen.
Hier een doorkijkje vanaf de trap van de Mar Girgis.

Islamic Cairo

Hier hebben we 2 mooie, beroemde,grote moskeeen bezocht, de El Rifai en de El Hassan als ik me niet vergis, waarbij we prive uitleg kregen over de bezienswaardigheden in de 2 moskeeen, want er waren amper toeristen! Het was echt bijzonder:we kregen onderricht in zingen in de moskee ( Allah il Alla ha), en hoe we richting Mekka moesten buigen en bidden: dus nu zijn we half muslim....(hm)

We staan op het hoogste punt van de citadel ( El Ka alla) en kijken over Cairo uit naar de moskeeen op de vorige foto. De citadel ligt in de moslimwijk van Cairo en is gebouwd als vestingwerk door een Pasja. Het is een prachtige, zonnige dag zonder zowaar veel smog zodat we ver konden kijken; links boven aan de foto is de richting waar Door en Brian wonen, wij zagen zowaar de piramiden liggen.

Hier weer een kijkje over Cairo en als je goed kijkt zie je midden bovenaan de piramiden van Gizeh liggen, daar in de buurt wonen Door en Brian.

Marga in Cairo

hier staat ze dan...in Cairo bij de piramides van Gizeh.Het was eigenlijk typisch hollands weer: harde wind, zonnetje en wolken; maar te staan bij zo,n oude cultuur is toch indrukwekkend.

het is een heel plateau: het plateau van Gizeh, de farao die er begraven ligt heet Cheops, en met hem zijn er vrouwen, bedienden etc. hier begraven

er is veel te zien op het plateau: toeristen,kamelen,ezels....egyptenaren aan het picnicken op hun vrije dag,en natuurlijk....zand,en nog eens zand. Door en Brian wonen vlak bij de piramiden van Gizeh en dus ook dichtbij de woestijn

hier staan we op het hoogste punt van het plateau, met op de achtergrond Cairo, en als je dan naar rechts de weg naar beneden volgt kom je bij de Sfinx, de Bewaker van de Dodenstad

hier lopen we naar beneden naar de Sfinx toe; een steile weg naar beneden waar de paardjes en ezeltjes een moeilijk traject hebben. We zullen het hier maar niet over de behandeling en toestand van de dieren in Cairo hebben....

De Sfinx........hij/zij mist de neus waar allemaal vogels op bivakkeren; echt zuinig op hun oudheden zijn de egyptenaren niet echt!!!

In het sjieke Mena House waar we heerlijk!!!! gegeten hebben; ik geniet...hm.....

My Dad and Sister in Egypt

Our visitors left this morning for home, it was a good visit and we hope they enjoyed themselves. I don't have any pictures to post as I didn't take any as my sister took tons, but she wasn't willing to let me copy any of them so we have none of their visit. Pity.

Andy and Doortje at the Souk

Baking Bread: Part 1

Baking Bread: Part 2

Desert Driving

The White Desert

Tea Break

Djara Cave and Dune Camping

We are In The Desert

Sakkara