Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Visited Egypt lately?



Gentle readers, have any of you been to Egypt? Eleanor needs to interview someone who's been to Egypt and ask a few questions:

1. When did you go to Egypt?

2. Why did you go?

3. How did you travel in Egypt?

4. Where did you visit in Egypt?

5. What did you eat there?

6. Who did you see there?

7. Did you buy anything there?

8. What kind of animals did you see there?

If any of our world travelers would be so gracious as to answer her questions (before her class on Thursday!), we'd be awfully grateful.

8 comments:

RL said...

1. When did you go to Egypt?

We moved from the near suburbs to B.F. Egypt when I was 11.

2. Why did you go?

My father wanted to become a farmer like Eddie Albert in Green Acres.

3. How did you travel in Egypt?

By car or tractor, but one guy actually had a team of mules to pull his wagon.

4. Where did you visit in Egypt?

Most visiting was done in the hay field when bailing or when the volunteer fire department was on a call.

5. What did you eat there?

Cows and Corn

6. Who did you see there?

Just fellow B.F. Egyptionites.

7. Did you buy anything there?

Yes

8. What kind of animals did you see there?

Cows, pigs, horses, and goats.

Banshee said...

Sigh. Nothing Ohioans love better than to make jokes about BFE. It's how we assure ourselves that someone else lives somewhere more remote.

Glenn Belverio said...

1. When did you go to Egypt?
February 2013

2. Why did you go?
My friend Susan was doing a fashion event at the First Mall in Cairo so I went to cover it and used that as an excuse to visit Egypt for the first time. I explored Cairo and then went to Aswan.

3. How did you travel in Egypt?

Planes, taxis, cars with drivers.

4. Where did you visit in Egypt?
Cairo and Aswan

5. What did you eat there?
Local Egyptian food, Syrian/Lebanese food.

6. Who did you see there?
I met Egyptians of all different socio-economic echelons and talked to them about what is going on in Egypt now.

7. Did you buy anything there?

Yes, alabaster vases, a copy of the Qu'ran

8. What kind of animals did you see there?

Sheep and goats in both cities. Camels, of course.

My full coverage is here:

http://confessionsvelvetropes.typepad.com/my_weblog/2013/04/egypt-february-2013.html

MrsDarwin said...

Glenn, many many thanks! Eleanor will be very grateful. We don't seem to have a vast Egypt-going acquaintance, so it's good to have the power of the internet for projects like these.

MrsDarwin said...

Glenn, many many thanks! Eleanor will be very grateful. We don't seem to have a vast Egypt-going acquaintance, so it's good to have the power of the internet for projects like these.

Robert Lennon said...

1. When did you go to Egypt?
January 2012
2. Why did you go?
Being the dead middle of the off-tourist season in Israel, myself and the other volunteers at the monastery of Tabgha in northern Israel got permission to take a week off, and putting my fortune in the hands of my fellow German volunteers, we went south to Egypt.
3. How did you travel in Egypt?
Taxis - vans, sedans, both pre-arranged and hailed on the spot.
4. Where did you visit in Egypt?
The coast of the Red Sea, Cairo, a day trip south along the Nile to visit pyramids and antiquity sites, including Giza, ancient Memphis, and Dahshur.
5. What did you eat there?
Local cuisine - Kushary, falafel, tahini and hummus, pita, Arabic coffee, &c.
6. Who did you see there?
The locals, mainly. Tourism at that point was down ~90%, and so we individuals (5 Germans and 2 Americans) stood out quite a bit.
7. Did you buy anything there?
Not much more than essentials. I did buy a painting done on papyrus, most likely for far more than it's worth, but alas.
8. What kind of animals did you see there?
Horses, dogs and cats (feral and domesticated), camels, jellyfish and the whole host of aquatic life in the Red Sea.

I hope this helps a little!

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani said...



1. When did you go to Egypt?

I've lived in Egypt since 1988. I live there now and live on a farm near the pyramids of Abu Sir.

2. Why did you go?

I've been most places in Egypt: Cairo, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Port Said, Sinai, Hurghada, the Western Desert, Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel.

3. How did you travel in Egypt?

I've traveled by plane, boat, and car when going long distances. Here around the farm we travel by horseback or donkey wagon as well for short trips.

4. Where did you visit in Egypt?

See the list above. I've seen most of Egypt.


5. What did you eat there?

I've eaten all sorts of things here although not usually from street carts. Egyptian food is largely vegetarian but they like grilled meat and chicken, and also stuffed pigeon and quail. Alexandria and the Red Sea are famous for their fish and shrimp. The pita bread is especially good. We cook old family recipes on the farm.


6. Who did you see there?

I see all sorts of people. We have a lot of foreigners who live here and work here as well as local people. I have family here in Egypt and also in Sudan.


7. Did you buy anything there?

The favourite things to buy to take as presents to the US are fabrics, gold, silver, handmade inlay boxes and things like that.


8. What kind of animals did you see there?

I've seen all sorts of wonderful birds: storks, kingfishers, egrets, herons, ibis, eagles and hawks. I've seen wild animals like foxes, snakes, chameleons and so on. We have wolves in the desert but you don't see them much. And if you go snorkeling in the Red Sea you can see porpoises, turtles, sharks, eels, all sorts of fish, and even whale sharks and manta rays.

MrsDarwin said...

Thank you, Robert and Maryanne!