Welcome to the Family, Piper!

On January 20, 2010 baby Piper was born at 12:23 PM weighing 6 lbs 2.7 ozs and 19 1/4" long. Congratulations to my bro and sis n' law for being proud parents of a beautiful baby girl!

Browsing at Morgana's Antiques

I got up early this morning and captured this pic of my surrounding neighborhood from my balcony. Cairo being the metropolis that it is, is a city teeming with dense real estate where the practicalities of development "build up" vice "build out".



Since I was up anyways, I walked a couple blocks to get some freshly baked Egyptian bread that looks similarly like pita bread. It's sooo good hot and freshly baked!

Being a thrift and antiques lover that I am, I jaunted over to Morgana's to see if anything new had come in that would strike my fancy AND be within budget. I love how other people's relics can be deemed treasures for moi! Here's what I liked:

I liked this Egyptian clock with the Arabic numbers.

Or this collapsible inlaid wood chess and scrabble board....

This antique stand up desk phone....

I opened this leather case to discover that ....

it was filled with a grooming kit in finished silver....

I thought this 7" pewter mummy's case was intriguing.

I loved this antique manual typewriter!

But the only thing I purchased today was this Arabian pewter pitcher that matched a smaller one I had at home. I thought it was exotic and loved all the flourishes etched on the exterior. Below are more purchases that I've bought at Morgana's in the past:

This antique copper Egyptian cooking vessel (used to cook dried beans or "fuul")....

This handcrafted Egyptian lantern....

This genie lamp that I find myself buying more of (a girl can't have too many)....

This wine bottle holder....

And last, but not least, is this antique Arabian brass bowl with kewl Middle Eastern details.

Masalama (good-bye), Morgana. Rest assured I'll be back to visit again!

Shopping at Mokattam Hills Recycling Center

Following my Coptic Churches tour, I went to the Recycling Center in Mokattam Hills, an area in greater Cairo where Garbage City is located. The Recycling Center is on the tourist circuit, because it's a section of Garbage City that rakes in monies for various charities in the community that focuses on the poor. In 1984, the Association for the Protection of the Environment (A.P.E.) registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs in Egypt. A.P.E. is a private voluntary organization that promotes environmentally safe waste management by "empowering garbage collectors, particularly women, children, and youths to manage a viable system of household waste including recycling in Egypt through comprehensive development: health, education, social, economic, and cultural programs to become better agents of change for a better environment." In a nutshell this group teaches women, who normally would not be able to support themselves, a craft trade such as weaving, quilting, and sewing so that they can lead independent lives and provide for their families. They create hand crafted items out of remnant materials, not thrown away in the garbage, but from cloth manufacturing factories that donate discarded material. In part, these women hand craft rugs, bags, clothing, wall hangings, and quilts via a small systematic production line. These items are then sold in a back storeroom where tourists and locals can purchase said items, and effectively fund the charities that A.P.E. sponsors. These programs include pre-schools and nurseries for indigent families; literacy programs and after school classes for people who didn't go to school; social activities and summer camps for impoverished children; awareness programs for adolescent girls to reduce the number of early marriages; treatment programs for mother-baby care and Hepatitis C patients; and prevention programs for infant mortality and hygiene care. It was wonderful knowing that the hand crafted kitchen rugs, wall hangings, and quilts I purchased at bargain prices were going to earn revenue for this charitable group, thus overriding any buyer's remorse I may have developed later. Finally! A worthy reason to go shopping!!

10,000-Seated Coptic Church

I continued my tour of the Mokkatam Hills Coptic Churches, and visited the largest Coptic Church in Cairo that seats 10,000. Like the first one I visited, it was built within the caverns of Mokkatam Hills but I thought it was more aethestically pleasing because of the colored lines of earthly limestone that naturally painted the walls of the church. It was set up like an outdoor amphitheatre with holy figures etched on the cavern walls. While this type of church would not be suited in locales where 4 seasons would bring inclement weather, it is perfect in Cairo where 2 benign seasons are the climates of choice. I especially liked the outside of the church, which had more etchings and holy scripture written in Arabic that graced the rocky hill side. I was privileged to visit this hidden jewel that is not mentioned in the tourist books; an advantage of being a "local". Bonus!

Garbage City's Coptic Churches

Today I went to "Garbage City", the slums of Cairo that is the site of Cairo's garbage industry suburb and home to 50,000 people; 90% comprised of Coptic Christians. In a city of 20 million people predominantly Muslims, Garbage City's Coptic Christian prevalence is due to their control of the garbage industry. Why do Coptics control the garbage industry? Pig slop. Before the landfills were filled with money making recyclable materials such as aluminum, plastic and glass, garbage collectors that lived and worked in Garbage City would make extra money by rummaging through the landfills and separating the refuse of food thrown away that would later be sold to pig farmers for pig slop. Muslims, by the teachings of the Qu'ran (Islamic Holy Book), revile pork and cannot touch it. Therefore, Coptic Christians were given the sordid duties of dealing with pigs, and anything associated with them. Later, more lucrative recyclable materials began appearing in the landfills, and the slums of Cairo nicknamed "Garbage City" began to resemble a real community. Low rent apartments, markets, schools and Coptic churches sprang and the community thrived. In the summer, the smell of Garbage City is so bad that visitors rarely venture there, but for those that grew up in Garbage City it is the smell of home. The Coptic churches in Garbage City are a hidden secret, and are remarkable. They were built in the deep caverns of "Mokattam Hills" and was believed by Coptics to be founded by St. Simon, the shoemaker, who performed the miracle of moving the Mokattam Mountains in Cairo, Egypt in 10th Century A.D. with God's help. Coptics credit him for the establishment of the cavern-like Coptic churches in Garbage City that are nestled in the foothills of Mokattam Hills. There are two notable cavern Coptic churches in Garbage City. The one featured in this blog is the smaller of the two that seats 500. As you can see, it was rustic and uniquely structured. The 10,000-seated Coptic church is featured in the next blog.