tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89755880039946781342024-03-13T13:51:51.552+02:00Carol, Jeff, and Cameron in CairoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-48098677146350502102011-07-12T03:40:00.000+02:002015-07-21T07:16:13.318+02:00More Videos from Tahrir Square<div style="text-align: center;">
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Though I am back in the U.S., I still have videos from Tahrir Square that I haven't posted yet. These are from the last Friday in May. This was the first time I'd stayed at the protest in the Square into the evening. The crowd was smaller then but the atmosphere was something special. Walking around the grassy area in the middle of the square, I saw people recognizing friends and going to hug them and others sitting on picnic blankets in small groups talking. Though I wasn't alive for the protests in the 60's in the U.S., I imagine this was what Central Park in New York was probably like after a big protest day. The discussions and connections continue and these conversations are part of the rebuilding, part of creating a new vision for Egypt where people can voice their political opinions without fear and can participate meaningfully in helping their country to evolve. <br />
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This first video is of a friend of mine from school.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YKVG9jk3epw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
This video can be viewed at this link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKVG9jk3epw" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKVG9jk3epw</a></span><br />
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This father was holding a newborn baby.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/smJopzKuR34?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Here is the link for this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0033cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smJopzKuR34</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ydTjK4RKOzo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0033cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Here's the link: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydTjK4RKOzo" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydTjK4RKOzo</a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/a8BSqFWjjow?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0033cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">Here's the link: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8BSqFWjjow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8BSqFWjjow</a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Fpglib3Gc9A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Here's the link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpglib3Gc9A" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpglib3Gc9A</a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/33o-nJu7wTo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Here's the link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o-nJu7wTo" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33o-nJu7wTo</a></span><br />
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This young woman, a doctor if I remember correctly, was one of the many Egyptians who had not involved in politics before the revolution but then went to the Square because she decided she could no longer stand on the side lines.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/aQrXng3pYr4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Here's the link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQrXng3pYr4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQrXng3pYr4</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-57311831691243917412011-06-25T06:12:00.002+02:002011-07-11T18:00:44.747+02:00Petra: Hike to the Monastery<span id="goog_1091410379"></span><span id="goog_1091410380"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Petra was an inspiring and beautiful place to visit. We got up very early, leaving at the 7:30am shuttle so we would have enough time to hike up the monastery, a difficult hike involving more than 1,000 steps. Petra in general involves a lot of walking though there are horse and buggies and then donkeys that can carry you to most parts of Petra.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">To get to the Treasury and inside the ancient city of Petra, one has to first walk a kilometer or so along a path and then through a narrow pass through the enormous and beautiful red rocks, and area called the Siq. A horse ride covering the first quarter mile or so is included as part of the cost of entering Petra (which is not cheap-- $75 per person, though at least children are free).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are photos of Jeff and our Japanese friend Koje on horseback. Cameron and I shared a horse. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TT1guOUX8BI/AAAAAAAABek/vpnkYrzlv04/s1600/DSCF0912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TT1guOUX8BI/AAAAAAAABek/vpnkYrzlv04/s320/DSCF0912.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjsbkJDlQI/AAAAAAAABEM/UKTljro5Jw0/s1600/DSCF0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjsbkJDlQI/AAAAAAAABEM/UKTljro5Jw0/s320/DSCF0892.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were costumed cave-dwellers drinking tea on the way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSmnPNz9EWI/AAAAAAAABIA/Noc0LMdqyb8/s1600/DSCF0909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSmnPNz9EWI/AAAAAAAABIA/Noc0LMdqyb8/s320/DSCF0909.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are photos of the beautiful Siq. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R22FtO-PO2c/ThsRBu-OtII/AAAAAAAACnk/twQh9lKtCYY/s1600/DSCF0788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R22FtO-PO2c/ThsRBu-OtII/AAAAAAAACnk/twQh9lKtCYY/s320/DSCF0788.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Unfortunately, the colors are not nearly as vibrant and deep in my photos as they are in person (-- I still need to experiment with different settings on my camera), but they at least give you a sense of things. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hHJX9RV21w/ThsRIM3ymeI/AAAAAAAACns/3eSChLcRqvA/s1600/DSCF0780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hHJX9RV21w/ThsRIM3ymeI/AAAAAAAACns/3eSChLcRqvA/s400/DSCF0780.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjvvLANc1I/AAAAAAAABEc/kUxTnfxpyXg/s1600/DSCF0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjvvLANc1I/AAAAAAAABEc/kUxTnfxpyXg/s320/DSCF0553.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QslvyRM8D_A/ThsRziHw6kI/AAAAAAAACpE/VMffKrgrZLU/s1600/DSCF0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QslvyRM8D_A/ThsRziHw6kI/AAAAAAAACpE/VMffKrgrZLU/s400/DSCF0753.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OxDGNqHO3Ug/ThsRO-T2EnI/AAAAAAAACn0/l7IgMH2N1dg/s1600/DSCF0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OxDGNqHO3Ug/ThsRO-T2EnI/AAAAAAAACn0/l7IgMH2N1dg/s320/DSCF0776.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Erwjk97I6fY/ThsRLFFYKAI/AAAAAAAACnw/m-O7VSLuOwg/s1600/DSCF0779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Erwjk97I6fY/ThsRLFFYKAI/AAAAAAAACnw/m-O7VSLuOwg/s400/DSCF0779.JPG" width="300" /></a>Below is<br />
a video of walking through the Sig as one comes upon the Treasury. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time that videos can't be turned, so you'll have to turn your computer to see this video right-side-up.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R4QQzanta5g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4QQzanta5g" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4QQzanta5g</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjzOUBn2uI/AAAAAAAABEs/WE_XQS1dXGo/s1600/DSCF0606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjzOUBn2uI/AAAAAAAABEs/WE_XQS1dXGo/s400/DSCF0606.JPG" width="300" /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjxhI7iNQI/AAAAAAAABEk/-yJ_huY22d4/s1600/DSCF0592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjxhI7iNQI/AAAAAAAABEk/-yJ_huY22d4/s400/DSCF0592.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
Photo of Jeff, Koje and Cameron entering the Siq.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once we got to the Treasury, we took a short break for photos and water. (We always carry our water bottles around here. Partly because these are desert climates and partly because the water in Jordan is not safe to drink. Koji, who was planning to do the really serious 3-4 hour hike in Petra, one we didn't attempt, was carrying 4 liters of water for his day hike!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjs0Bw53kI/AAAAAAAABEQ/G7i8ElghL0E/s1600/DSCF0916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjs0Bw53kI/AAAAAAAABEQ/G7i8ElghL0E/s400/DSCF0916.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordanians in costume as Roman soldiers from 2000+ years ago.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj1qE9tUKI/AAAAAAAABE4/RChXzUoHoho/s1600/DSCF0604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj1qE9tUKI/AAAAAAAABE4/RChXzUoHoho/s400/DSCF0604.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As we rested for a moment, Cameron took a few photos. He loves to take photos of cats. Here's a photo of Cameron with the camels in front of the Treasury.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We decided we wanted to do the moderate, but still challenging, hike to the Petra monastery, high up in the mountains, at the end of 1,058 steps. (Yes, that is the right number; Jeff counted on the way up.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Before you begin the steps, there is a large wide-open area with tombs in the rock mountains on either side and an old Roman road further down. Here are photos of these.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjuvMGiBOI/AAAAAAAABEY/XJ4MGpHFgS4/s1600/DSCF0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjuvMGiBOI/AAAAAAAABEY/XJ4MGpHFgS4/s400/DSCF0612.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlrGcCK0DI/AAAAAAAABGA/J0oGND__C94/s1600/DSCF0723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlrGcCK0DI/AAAAAAAABGA/J0oGND__C94/s320/DSCF0723.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since there are no public toilets in these part of Petra, <br />
we joked that the Men's Room was the cave on the left <br />
and the Women's Room was the cave on the right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj0HwwQ7vI/AAAAAAAABEw/KAhc2PEMGaA/s1600/DSCF0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj0HwwQ7vI/AAAAAAAABEw/KAhc2PEMGaA/s400/DSCF0613.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When Petra was discovered in modern times, some thought the whole city was a necropolis, or a city of tombs since these caves appeared to be mainly tombs. But the monastery confirms that the city was inhabited with dwellings as well. Also, because the Bedoin people often sleep outside in tents, their sleeping places were not in the caves though they still inhabited the city. Even today, it's reported that Bedoins use some of the caves in the more remote parts of Petra as homes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjwnjuGP3I/AAAAAAAABEg/HNwXMqhg3oQ/s1600/DSCF0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjwnjuGP3I/AAAAAAAABEg/HNwXMqhg3oQ/s400/DSCF0573.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj0HwwQ7vI/AAAAAAAABEw/KAhc2PEMGaA/s1600/DSCF0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj0HwwQ7vI/AAAAAAAABEw/KAhc2PEMGaA/s400/DSCF0613.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is a photo of an ancient amphitheater that seated 6,000 people.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj2hOYcOCI/AAAAAAAABFA/P1VQ4Mb5gfU/s1600/DSCF0615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj2hOYcOCI/AAAAAAAABFA/P1VQ4Mb5gfU/s320/DSCF0615.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are photos of the ancient road called the Colonade built by the Romans. You can see the ruins of the ancient Roman pillars.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJPjLsXVXVs/ThsRgEGfN3I/AAAAAAAACog/ofHET1QBkfM/s1600/DSCF0738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJPjLsXVXVs/ThsRgEGfN3I/AAAAAAAACog/ofHET1QBkfM/s400/DSCF0738.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFRh4j-UEuk/ThsRWhIns1I/AAAAAAAACoM/Smagh0pDfaA/s1600/DSCF0739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFRh4j-UEuk/ThsRWhIns1I/AAAAAAAACoM/Smagh0pDfaA/s400/DSCF0739.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, we reached the steps... the many, many steps leading up to the monastery. I was glad we had started early in the morning (we got to Petra by 8am) and we had decided to hike straight up to the monastery while we had the most strength. This meant there were almost no tourists hiking down the mountain yet and there were no tour groups there yet. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are photos of the steps and the views looking back as we stopped to rest.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj2FOlTlgI/AAAAAAAABE8/TCZzvKbhqL8/s1600/DSCF0642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj2FOlTlgI/AAAAAAAABE8/TCZzvKbhqL8/s400/DSCF0642.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj3a9OTAdI/AAAAAAAABFI/_DJ-11Bc3Gc/s1600/DSCF0652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj3a9OTAdI/AAAAAAAABFI/_DJ-11Bc3Gc/s400/DSCF0652.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj69AkvWnI/AAAAAAAABFY/siPQU5elH5g/s1600/DSCF0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj69AkvWnI/AAAAAAAABFY/siPQU5elH5g/s320/DSCF0661.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As we got toward the top, we did pass this one woman with her guide coming down from the monastery. I asked her how the ride was and she said, "A little bit scary!" I was glad we had opted not to ride donkeys up. He were worried about having enough time to do the hike so at one point had negotiated with the donkey vendors, but once Cameron was in the saddle of one donkey, they started to say we would have to pay for three donkeys rather than Cameron and I riding one and/or that we would have to have one person get off the donkey to go up the steps (which was the main part of the hike). Since this would mean we were still only travelling at the speed of a hiker, we opted not to hire donkeys. I'm glad we walked. Cameron is a strong hiker for a 6 year old and he did just great even though this was the longest hike he's ever done (probably about 6-7 kilometers total.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a short video taken as we were coming close to the monastery.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/RaAdKStlmoM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAdKStlmoM" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAdKStlmoM</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlkIj3hZMI/AAAAAAAABFg/3tGgaT0nhCQ/s1600/DSCF0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlkIj3hZMI/AAAAAAAABFg/3tGgaT0nhCQ/s400/DSCF0672.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, we reached the monastery! It took us about 2 and 1/2 hours from when we started but it was worth it. It was incredible to see this impressive building all carved out of stone... a very similar style to the Treasury when you first enter Petra, but here, there were few people so it seemed like this remote treasure tucked high in the mountains. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a photo at the doorway to the monastery.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HdN7ylhldDc/ThsSBFMIs6I/AAAAAAAACpo/32_ZNGNkJwU/s1600/DSCF0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HdN7ylhldDc/ThsSBFMIs6I/AAAAAAAACpo/32_ZNGNkJwU/s320/DSCF0709.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We learned that the monastery was not the top however, there was still a steep but short path leading up to a point that had a sign saying "Best View in Petra". We hiked up to this point where the views were truly spectacular. We had a picnic on top. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlz3kWbraI/AAAAAAAABGM/FD83TWn1XHA/s1600/DSCF0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlz3kWbraI/AAAAAAAABGM/FD83TWn1XHA/s320/DSCF0703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You come to a fork in the path where you can choose between the view of "All Places" or the "View the End of the World" also known as the Sacrifice View. We opted for the view of All Places.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlomGb8hrI/AAAAAAAABF0/m9hLOKfRLiQ/s1600/DSCF0674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlomGb8hrI/AAAAAAAABF0/m9hLOKfRLiQ/s320/DSCF0674.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSllB4_JLkI/AAAAAAAABFk/MYRVh4uRmeU/s1600/DSCF0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSllB4_JLkI/AAAAAAAABFk/MYRVh4uRmeU/s400/DSCF0679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the last 20 meters to the top. <br />
There actually is a path there though you can't see it from this angle. <br />
It's not as treacherous as it looks here. It's enough of a path that the donkey gets up fine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlpdbqPnUI/AAAAAAAABF4/TKREnN2kEgQ/s1600/DSCF0684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlpdbqPnUI/AAAAAAAABF4/TKREnN2kEgQ/s320/DSCF0684.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The donkey that reached the top.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlnuZ-6lHI/AAAAAAAABFw/SdAioiQeDqI/s1600/DSCF0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlnuZ-6lHI/AAAAAAAABFw/SdAioiQeDqI/s400/DSCF0688.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bedoin shop at the top of the world.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the Bedoins we talked to in the shop was discussing how he worked at another historical site somewhere else and his job was to sit and drink tea (and basically be part of the scenery). He laughed at how they would pay him to sit there all day and drink tea. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are the magnificent views from the top of Petra:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdr54LOdohA/ThsSGpoGODI/AAAAAAAACp4/NAW4xVgRDnA/s1600/DSCF0694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdr54LOdohA/ThsSGpoGODI/AAAAAAAACp4/NAW4xVgRDnA/s400/DSCF0694.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wvQgIf9wnLI/ThsSJfS5CmI/AAAAAAAACp8/xHswvGO7R9o/s1600/DSCF0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wvQgIf9wnLI/ThsSJfS5CmI/AAAAAAAACp8/xHswvGO7R9o/s400/DSCF0691.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n1IRxVDzuSE/ThsSMIqwybI/AAAAAAAACqA/Wb9TccSl1Gk/s1600/DSCF0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n1IRxVDzuSE/ThsSMIqwybI/AAAAAAAACqA/Wb9TccSl1Gk/s400/DSCF0690.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pdHFetxawSQ/ThsST6Zph-I/AAAAAAAACqM/m1WppPgSBH4/s1600/DSCF0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pdHFetxawSQ/ThsST6Zph-I/AAAAAAAACqM/m1WppPgSBH4/s400/DSCF0687.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The hike down was a lot easier than the hike up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EpqZuuokZEA/ThsShJWU3HI/AAAAAAAACqg/LWJlctS7TGQ/s1600/DSCF0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EpqZuuokZEA/ThsShJWU3HI/AAAAAAAACqg/LWJlctS7TGQ/s400/DSCF0676.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-edT9SnLAgkw/ThsRsl_TlhI/AAAAAAAACo0/tA85Ra8ENwQ/s1600/DSCF0705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-edT9SnLAgkw/ThsRsl_TlhI/AAAAAAAACo0/tA85Ra8ENwQ/s320/DSCF0705.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a photo looking back at the summit with the Jordanian flag in the foreground.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x-LF6vVw0Yo/ThsRwilj7QI/AAAAAAAACo8/s4HQD7jvAg0/s1600/DSCF0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x-LF6vVw0Yo/ThsRwilj7QI/AAAAAAAACo8/s4HQD7jvAg0/s400/DSCF0707.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We passed quite a few donkey caravans, some carrying people who were part of tours. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj5KC9GLLI/AAAAAAAABFQ/UpGIFGBl4PU/s1600/DSCF0659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSj5KC9GLLI/AAAAAAAABFQ/UpGIFGBl4PU/s400/DSCF0659.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were Bedoin venders all along the way selling jade and silver jewelry and inviting us to join them for a cup of Bedoin tea. We had passed them all by on the way up because we wanted to keep focused on hiking, partly because the car from the hotel was picking us up at 1:30pm and we wanted to be sure we had enough time to get up and down the mountain. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the way down, I did buy a few pieces of silver and jade jewelry after bargaining a bit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlm2jQ9wCI/AAAAAAAABFs/k5OfV4dgS_8/s1600/DSCF0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlm2jQ9wCI/AAAAAAAABFs/k5OfV4dgS_8/s320/DSCF0716.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also bought a lovely sand painting in a bottle for 4 dinar (about $6). I bought it from the artist who was sitting in his shop making them. Here are photos of the sand painting I bought and the shop he worked in with the many bowls of different colored sand on the work table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx9ziI-cmnI/ThsRZtg00HI/AAAAAAAACoU/2z_XmZgwp5s/s1600/DSCF0757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx9ziI-cmnI/ThsRZtg00HI/AAAAAAAACoU/2z_XmZgwp5s/s400/DSCF0757.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRwplsKgVOU/ThsRda2uidI/AAAAAAAACoY/tmU8KwpJFeI/s1600/DSCF0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRwplsKgVOU/ThsRda2uidI/AAAAAAAACoY/tmU8KwpJFeI/s400/DSCF0756.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a photo at the base of all the steps where the donkeys are resting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UWNyZuOQkOk/ThsRpeXvj9I/AAAAAAAACow/VjBnzNjsbM4/s1600/DSCF0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UWNyZuOQkOk/ThsRpeXvj9I/AAAAAAAACow/VjBnzNjsbM4/s400/DSCF0730.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We kept running into these two Australian women who took our photo at the monastery and the top peak and we took photos for them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlyyixqNSI/AAAAAAAABGI/nXtkXQNbzvM/s1600/DSCF0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSlyyixqNSI/AAAAAAAABGI/nXtkXQNbzvM/s400/DSCF0733.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">By the time we hit the final stretch of this long hike, Cameron (and Jeff and I) were all tired. Jeff talked to Cameron about how legs feel like they just can't make it at the end of a marathon so you just focus on putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you finish. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjrNur2EyI/AAAAAAAABEE/V8o8cABqGeU/s1600/DSCF0793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjrNur2EyI/AAAAAAAABEE/V8o8cABqGeU/s320/DSCF0793.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This last photo is of us at the Petra Visitor Center before we set off on this odyssey. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjqHPoeH7I/AAAAAAAABD8/R8FlwqUx3HE/s1600/DSCF0911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QE1LxN370V4/TSjqHPoeH7I/AAAAAAAABD8/R8FlwqUx3HE/s400/DSCF0911.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We ended the day with ice cream cones while we waited for the car from the hotel to pick us up. Petra was an amazing experience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-35105125035119264232011-05-29T00:44:00.001+02:002011-07-11T16:56:07.488+02:00Videos from May 27th protest, part oneHere are a few videos from the protest on Friday, May 27, 2011 in Cairo's Tahrir Square:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oXqtJWq-wWQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqtJWq-wWQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqtJWq-wWQ</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JVeRsXOJ988?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVeRsXOJ988">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVeRsXOJ988</a><br />
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I have several more videos from this protest that are still uploading and will hopefully be posted in the next few days.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-59015120995101003022011-05-28T03:30:00.002+02:002011-05-28T22:03:52.848+02:00May 27, 2011 Protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square.Yesterday's protest in Tahrir Square was peaceful and drew a large crowd, some say a million by the late afternoon. I arrived in the early evening and it was a smaller crowd, maybe 10,000 or so. Before it got dark there were several parts of the square with speakers and small crowds chanting. Once it was dark, there were a few thousand people still in the Square and people were gathered in small crowds standing or small groups sitting, sometimes on blankets in the area in the middle of the Square. Traffic was stopped all afternoon and evening. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--fDDyf6FUI8/TeAi4jWNYQI/AAAAAAAAChg/utIVblNuSNQ/s1600/DSCF0167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--fDDyf6FUI8/TeAi4jWNYQI/AAAAAAAAChg/utIVblNuSNQ/s400/DSCF0167.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The protesters I spoke with offered numerous reasons for the continued protests including the need to continue prosecutions for the Mubarak family. civilian trials rather than military trials for civilians, releasing of political prisoners including protesters who have recently been arrested, and requesting a council of civilians and military leaders to guide the country during this transition. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J0bCWcYxgRE/TeAjSVInhlI/AAAAAAAACho/dNNvwrBhxas/s1600/DSCF0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J0bCWcYxgRE/TeAjSVInhlI/AAAAAAAACho/dNNvwrBhxas/s320/DSCF0166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tx_eg_Db3lA/TeAjtHq-YOI/AAAAAAAAChs/5mZADha1tm8/s1600/DSCF0168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tx_eg_Db3lA/TeAjtHq-YOI/AAAAAAAAChs/5mZADha1tm8/s320/DSCF0168.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWnfgHdLhKM/TeAkHQRWNOI/AAAAAAAAChw/5tEI6t7rFss/s1600/DSCF0170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWnfgHdLhKM/TeAkHQRWNOI/AAAAAAAAChw/5tEI6t7rFss/s320/DSCF0170.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qCHOs-pN7Dc/TeAkiaRpimI/AAAAAAAACh0/U72qeijLSbs/s1600/DSCF0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qCHOs-pN7Dc/TeAkiaRpimI/AAAAAAAACh0/U72qeijLSbs/s320/DSCF0173.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unlike most Friday protests, I didn't see a single police officer or military officer when I was there, though I did hear that the authorities (-- not sure which branch--) had poured a lot of water on the grassy/dirt part in the middle of the Square to make it a big puddle so people couldn't camp out there after the protest. I left around 8:30pm and didn't see anyone setting up tents so perhaps no one will be spending the night. The curfew is still in effect, starting at 2am I think, so spending the night would mean risk of arrest for whoever stays.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xkS5sb-1b6c/TeAlM7BvwrI/AAAAAAAACh8/Jgba6MuCj0E/s1600/DSCF0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xkS5sb-1b6c/TeAlM7BvwrI/AAAAAAAACh8/Jgba6MuCj0E/s320/DSCF0174.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylqvGDiJ5_8/TeAlxE5sGZI/AAAAAAAACiA/D1s98vkSPWo/s1600/DSCF0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ylqvGDiJ5_8/TeAlxE5sGZI/AAAAAAAACiA/D1s98vkSPWo/s320/DSCF0177.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The protesters were a very diverse group of all ages. I spoke to a few people who were fairly new to the protest scene. One woman said this was her third time to Square and that she decided she needed to be involved. I have a video of her and a few other people I interviewed in the Square tonight that I will be uploading over the next couple days for a later posting. Below is a photo of a man who sounded like it was his first time to Square. He came with his one and a half month old baby.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bMs8nFh-zXE/TeBSfPKKC8I/AAAAAAAACkU/xYbr6qFUHFA/s1600/DSCF0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bMs8nFh-zXE/TeBSfPKKC8I/AAAAAAAACkU/xYbr6qFUHFA/s320/DSCF0232.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMX8YkbZDhs/TeAmMbZEjGI/AAAAAAAACiE/NmnmOJP2CG0/s1600/DSCF0187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMX8YkbZDhs/TeAmMbZEjGI/AAAAAAAACiE/NmnmOJP2CG0/s320/DSCF0187.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some people were going around picking up trash in the Square during the protest. Here's on man lugging a big sack of trash.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PLfcyWa3YRE/TeAm1LjasnI/AAAAAAAACiI/7X2A2sxwBh4/s1600/DSCF0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PLfcyWa3YRE/TeAm1LjasnI/AAAAAAAACiI/7X2A2sxwBh4/s320/DSCF0186.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvLnI07hRxg/TeAniuH-lSI/AAAAAAAACiQ/g7CfciN97ZU/s1600/DSCF0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dvLnI07hRxg/TeAniuH-lSI/AAAAAAAACiQ/g7CfciN97ZU/s320/DSCF0183.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-drfYCTh2zno/TeAoMW-GHXI/AAAAAAAACiU/Hx1hK8csQnc/s1600/DSCF0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-drfYCTh2zno/TeAoMW-GHXI/AAAAAAAACiU/Hx1hK8csQnc/s320/DSCF0181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9pLSz8aF_N4/TeAo1F07yXI/AAAAAAAACiY/BgVOvtE0_Rg/s1600/DSCF0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9pLSz8aF_N4/TeAo1F07yXI/AAAAAAAACiY/BgVOvtE0_Rg/s320/DSCF0184.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LTvL9Nk_GzY/TeA5P0Sy8UI/AAAAAAAACic/2GOPZcVH0So/s1600/DSCF0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LTvL9Nk_GzY/TeA5P0Sy8UI/AAAAAAAACic/2GOPZcVH0So/s320/DSCF0188.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7XFpe4Li55I/TeA6MRNRgXI/AAAAAAAACik/AxhDkTOlwHA/s1600/DSCF0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7XFpe4Li55I/TeA6MRNRgXI/AAAAAAAACik/AxhDkTOlwHA/s320/DSCF0189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjNRgQk6CGg/TeA7GmPnd6I/AAAAAAAACio/acxafPChd3Q/s1600/DSCF0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjNRgQk6CGg/TeA7GmPnd6I/AAAAAAAACio/acxafPChd3Q/s320/DSCF0191.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ONxA0CWv-o/TeA8AFt2ApI/AAAAAAAACis/ZfIZaHOisXk/s1600/DSCF0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ONxA0CWv-o/TeA8AFt2ApI/AAAAAAAACis/ZfIZaHOisXk/s320/DSCF0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AwUtlKKt5dY/TeA875QUD8I/AAAAAAAACiw/PXv2IIUob-o/s1600/DSCF0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AwUtlKKt5dY/TeA875QUD8I/AAAAAAAACiw/PXv2IIUob-o/s320/DSCF0194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I noticed that Hardees, which is right on the Square and which had to partially rebuild after the revolution now has a type of door that shuts over all the doors and windows making it impossible to enter. I also noticed the restaurant was completely closed, though this isn't the norm for a Friday afternoon or evening. The word had gone out that yesterday's protest was supposed to be the biggest one yet since the revolution. Also, some said violence was expected, so I assume that's why they decided to close. But there was no violence as far as I know.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FcomUV7tGJY/TeA923Tjj3I/AAAAAAAACi4/h2z5rGosoZ0/s1600/DSCF0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FcomUV7tGJY/TeA923Tjj3I/AAAAAAAACi4/h2z5rGosoZ0/s320/DSCF0200.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v-KOx3BTSMs/TeA-yTeEp0I/AAAAAAAACi8/hdBNAB5Wjpw/s1600/DSCF0203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v-KOx3BTSMs/TeA-yTeEp0I/AAAAAAAACi8/hdBNAB5Wjpw/s320/DSCF0203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Below is a photo of me with my classmate, Shady, and his brother, Ramy, who is an up and coming musician who already has a large following here in Egypt. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UBkoLmjiG9w/TeA_uBsbqUI/AAAAAAAACjA/PQvoSZDkswI/s1600/DSCF0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UBkoLmjiG9w/TeA_uBsbqUI/AAAAAAAACjA/PQvoSZDkswI/s320/DSCF0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Shady explained to meaning of the poster below. Apparently, the word for calculator is the same as the word for prosecute in Arabic. Egyptians are quite funny with their posters and protests sometimes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hUKb3KiBwU/TeBAvdM10XI/AAAAAAAACjE/c2QteLvQoQ8/s1600/DSCF0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hUKb3KiBwU/TeBAvdM10XI/AAAAAAAACjE/c2QteLvQoQ8/s320/DSCF0211.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> Here's another funny poster of a bottle of mouthwash, like Listerine, which I guess would be meant to say that all the germs should be washed out of Egypt.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCNzebzyRqA/TeBBmWWbEgI/AAAAAAAACjQ/mdrvHid_ATg/s1600/DSCF0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCNzebzyRqA/TeBBmWWbEgI/AAAAAAAACjQ/mdrvHid_ATg/s320/DSCF0212.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qo_fR6ewrfA/TeBCfdvMd1I/AAAAAAAACjU/cJ7r667rY1Q/s1600/DSCF0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qo_fR6ewrfA/TeBCfdvMd1I/AAAAAAAACjU/cJ7r667rY1Q/s320/DSCF0220.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This poster of the camel is to remember what happened in the square with what people now call "the Camel Battle" when camels and horses charged into the Square to attack the protesters on February 2, 2011, in the middle of the revolution.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zj6ptdYwvAg/TeBDWWen-6I/AAAAAAAACjY/11KtafULesU/s1600/DSCF0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zj6ptdYwvAg/TeBDWWen-6I/AAAAAAAACjY/11KtafULesU/s320/DSCF0219.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFU5ZTWa4O0/TeBERWCTVlI/AAAAAAAACjc/49sZZukLDho/s1600/DSCF0224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFU5ZTWa4O0/TeBERWCTVlI/AAAAAAAACjc/49sZZukLDho/s320/DSCF0224.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMTgrVzFnEo/TeBFKG_-EyI/AAAAAAAACjk/NWO12XohSKk/s1600/DSCF0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QMTgrVzFnEo/TeBFKG_-EyI/AAAAAAAACjk/NWO12XohSKk/s320/DSCF0227.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp8DtXPzLic/TeBGG-oUNlI/AAAAAAAACjo/HQxY2fqGZoQ/s1600/DSCF0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hp8DtXPzLic/TeBGG-oUNlI/AAAAAAAACjo/HQxY2fqGZoQ/s320/DSCF0231.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> The protester wanted me to take photo of his shirt which shows unity of Muslims and Christians. He pointed out it has a mosque and a church together.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQbKTkmt4N0/TeBG_0J_4iI/AAAAAAAACjs/9i-w1ChlMoE/s1600/DSCF0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQbKTkmt4N0/TeBG_0J_4iI/AAAAAAAACjs/9i-w1ChlMoE/s320/DSCF0235.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qHsA2npKe74/TeBH8D-LlTI/AAAAAAAACjw/N6plP54VfhY/s1600/DSCF0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qHsA2npKe74/TeBH8D-LlTI/AAAAAAAACjw/N6plP54VfhY/s320/DSCF0240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IE0tFUaS898/TeBI3DZ-r1I/AAAAAAAACj4/VY-VfCvr4fU/s1600/DSCF0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IE0tFUaS898/TeBI3DZ-r1I/AAAAAAAACj4/VY-VfCvr4fU/s320/DSCF0241.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> The photos below show the Egyptian flat on top, then the Syrian flag, then the Libyan flag, in solidarity with the struggles there.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hkp2QGLR43k/TeBJxKyczVI/AAAAAAAACj8/6rErdvcdO7w/s1600/DSCF0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hkp2QGLR43k/TeBJxKyczVI/AAAAAAAACj8/6rErdvcdO7w/s320/DSCF0244.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nA1RT5qlpPk/TeBKpD0HKNI/AAAAAAAACkA/3xAh5wQ7ueM/s1600/DSCF0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nA1RT5qlpPk/TeBKpD0HKNI/AAAAAAAACkA/3xAh5wQ7ueM/s320/DSCF0245.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDyoNrL_dQg/TeBLkuxC6_I/AAAAAAAACkE/UML_XjRFtCE/s1600/DSCF0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDyoNrL_dQg/TeBLkuxC6_I/AAAAAAAACkE/UML_XjRFtCE/s320/DSCF0246.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I saw this woman and little boy on the metro ride home.<br />
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<span id="goog_1002044079"></span><span id="goog_1002044080"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-61379440316547417382011-05-07T01:17:00.001+02:002011-05-07T01:19:25.023+02:00More videos from the May 1, Labor Day protest in Cairo's Tahrir SquareBelow are a couple videos of the speakers and chants at the Labor Day protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square that drew about 3,000-5,000 protesters. See my other blog entry for additional photos and videos.<br />
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In other news, there is a 2500 person conference happening today in Cairo to discuss the future direction of the revolution. Here are few excerpts from an article about the conferences:<br />
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CAIRO: An estimate of 2,500 youth activists, political party members and others will participate in the “First Conference of Egypt: The People Protecting their Revolution” scheduled for Saturday, the organizing committee said...<br />
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During the conference, participants will nominate a National Council of 60 members, representing different political ideologies that believe in a civil state, that will be working on maintaining the achievements of the January 25 Revolution. It will also address the remaining objectives in order to fulfill the ambitions of Egyptians in change and building a society based on freedom and social justice.<br />
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The Council will also issue the ‘Revolution Document’ and have a unified list of the candidates they’ll support at the upcoming parliamentary elections, Hamza added.<br />
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The conference will include four sessions; first, the basic principals for the upcoming constitution; second, a future vision for development and social justice; third, unifying the political and national powers for the upcoming legislative elections; and fourth, electing a National Council to aid the SCAF."<br />
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The article also reported that 7 members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, who are currently in charge of the country, will be attending.<br />
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Here are more photos and videos fo the May Day protest:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/51TsS0YkaGc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link for this video: </div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51TsS0YkaGc" target="_new"><span style="color: #0033cc;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51TsS0YkaGc</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/sJ1PeT0zspI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ1PeT0zspI" target="_new"><span style="color: #0033cc;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ1PeT0zspI</span></a><br />
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Here is a video of a young man who is working on helping to start a new political party.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/V6BVhu2I0CY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6BVhu2I0CY" target="_new"><span style="color: #0033cc;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6BVhu2I0CY</span></a><br />
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Here are more photos:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NrS8t5yJkTE/TcD1pvCVeKI/AAAAAAAACZc/QKY1uUKSr3s/s1600/DSCF9226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NrS8t5yJkTE/TcD1pvCVeKI/AAAAAAAACZc/QKY1uUKSr3s/s320/DSCF9226.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-2458768335669589242011-05-04T00:26:00.001+02:002011-05-04T00:32:34.209+02:00Whirling Dervishes of Cairo, Egypt: An amazing performance!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJvyJ7aYYqE/TZE3gwRhLnI/AAAAAAAACEU/DxO-vMFF_ps/s1600/DSCF6363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJvyJ7aYYqE/TZE3gwRhLnI/AAAAAAAACEU/DxO-vMFF_ps/s400/DSCF6363.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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We visited the Whirling Dervishes last month. Watching the Whirling Dervishes in an ancient castle-like building in Cairo was an amazing experience. The dancing was mezmorizing, the music haunting and beautiful, and the colors and other worldliness quality about it unforgetable. The shows are even free with several shows per week. We went with our 6 year old and he really enjoyed it too.<br />
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The dancing is a religious event, in addition to being very entertaining. One branch of Islam is called Sufism and Sufis believe that the twirling dance which puts them in a trance-like state, is a way to leave your body, have mental focus and be closer to God (Allah). The founder of the Whirling Dervishes was a man named Jelaluddin Rumi, an Afghan, born in 1207. It is said that Rumi met a 'wandering dervish' in the road and said, "What I had thought of before as God, I met today in a person." Rumi founded the Mevlevi Order of dervishes, also called the Whirling Dervishes of Sufism. <br />
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Here is a poem from the founder of the Whirling Dervishes, Rumi. The poem is called "Art as Flirtation and Surrender". <br />
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In your light I learn how to love.<br />
In your beauty, how to make poems.<br />
You dance inside my chest,<br />
where no one sees you,<br />
but sometimes I do,<br />
and that sight becomes this art.<br />
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Other poems and more history about Rumi can be found at this web link: <a href="http://www.indranet.com/potpourri/poetry/rumi/rumi1.html">http://www.indranet.com/potpourri/poetry/rumi/rumi1.html</a> <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eUuLKo0ey14/TZE7ZoWZF5I/AAAAAAAACEs/QePtWwjiSBg/s1600/DSCF6376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eUuLKo0ey14/TZE7ZoWZF5I/AAAAAAAACEs/QePtWwjiSBg/s400/DSCF6376.JPG" width="400" /></a> <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNGtCZXnZVk/TZE4dy-_ODI/AAAAAAAACEY/oxgDegqg03Q/s1600/DSCF6366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VNGtCZXnZVk/TZE4dy-_ODI/AAAAAAAACEY/oxgDegqg03Q/s400/DSCF6366.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mNJeLj6tjJs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is a link to this vide <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNJeLj6tjJs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNJeLj6tjJs</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n__emS-Hovw/TZE2nMi6rsI/AAAAAAAACEQ/nuiPsAGx6J0/s1600/DSCF6359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n__emS-Hovw/TZE2nMi6rsI/AAAAAAAACEQ/nuiPsAGx6J0/s400/DSCF6359.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/k3QJ_5N9cAE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k3QJ_5N9cAE?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k3QJ_5N9cAE?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3QJ_5N9cAE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3QJ_5N9cAE</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U7syiteLU_c/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U7syiteLU_c?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U7syiteLU_c?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7syiteLU_c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7syiteLU_c</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTl4WXFItxk/TZEvYx2I8aI/AAAAAAAACDg/wu1BiZm8SLM/s1600/DSCF6413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTl4WXFItxk/TZEvYx2I8aI/AAAAAAAACDg/wu1BiZm8SLM/s400/DSCF6413.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1tJv9n96GI/TZEubzCZ2eI/AAAAAAAACDc/lGPX8VZydnE/s1600/DSCF6412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1tJv9n96GI/TZEubzCZ2eI/AAAAAAAACDc/lGPX8VZydnE/s400/DSCF6412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-42CTwAbemeY/TZE0CwL0lMI/AAAAAAAACD8/C3SuD2q3MEQ/s1600/DSCF6397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-42CTwAbemeY/TZE0CwL0lMI/AAAAAAAACD8/C3SuD2q3MEQ/s400/DSCF6397.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq6-gSNE1pY/TZEzNvpwlqI/AAAAAAAACD4/HMucPjCekiY/s1600/DSCF6405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq6-gSNE1pY/TZEzNvpwlqI/AAAAAAAACD4/HMucPjCekiY/s400/DSCF6405.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Um0G-oPt-k/TZEwakSY1II/AAAAAAAACDk/Aakdx1xEn-A/s1600/DSCF6406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Um0G-oPt-k/TZEwakSY1II/AAAAAAAACDk/Aakdx1xEn-A/s400/DSCF6406.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq6-gSNE1pY/TZEzNvpwlqI/AAAAAAAACD4/HMucPjCekiY/s1600/DSCF6405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kq6-gSNE1pY/TZEzNvpwlqI/AAAAAAAACD4/HMucPjCekiY/s400/DSCF6405.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7JdnglCxo8M/TZE1m_Hv6bI/AAAAAAAACEM/zyHWYBBbyGA/s1600/DSCF6395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7JdnglCxo8M/TZE1m_Hv6bI/AAAAAAAACEM/zyHWYBBbyGA/s400/DSCF6395.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VKI587UTXpk/TZE9N2e_oTI/AAAAAAAACE4/zQX1EvYCMZo/s1600/DSCF6386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VKI587UTXpk/TZE9N2e_oTI/AAAAAAAACE4/zQX1EvYCMZo/s400/DSCF6386.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-heEU1uplhHE/TZEyQLbKHtI/AAAAAAAACD0/OS5liYMDBfU/s1600/DSCF6407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-heEU1uplhHE/TZEyQLbKHtI/AAAAAAAACD0/OS5liYMDBfU/s400/DSCF6407.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zXiyBKxYC_E/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zXiyBKxYC_E?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zXiyBKxYC_E?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXiyBKxYC_E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXiyBKxYC_E</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLNwMUuKFbk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
Here is a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLNwMUuKFbk" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLNwMUuKFbk</a></span><br />
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I found one online source ( http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=4300) that offered these interesting historical meanings of the words "Whirling Dervishes".<br />
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'The followers of this Sufi sect used to always wear wool garments over their bare skin. Hence, the term Sufi is derived from the word "suf", which in Arabic means "wool". However, some believe that the term Sufi comes from the word, "sophos", which means "wisdom" in the Greek language. On the other hand, the word Dervish comes from the Persian word "Darwish" which can be translated as "on the still of the door". It implies that the Sufi are at the door of enlightenment."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/p5x2vHfSapQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Here is the link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5x2vHfSapQ" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5x2vHfSapQ</a></span><br />
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<strong>Logistics about the Whirling Dervishes:</strong><br />
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If you would like to visit the Whirling Dervishes, they perform a couple times a week at an ancient stone building not far from the Khan El Kahlili market. We walked to market after the performance and it was about a 10-15 minute walk. We took a cab to get there from Tahrir Square, about a 10-15 Egyptian pound cab ride (about 15 minutes I think). One online source said the location was called El Ghory, Sharia Al Azhar and that the nearest metro is Al Sayeda Zeinab. The show is free and lasts between an hour and an hour and a half. It can be very popular so I've heard it's good to get there early. <br />
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Below is a photo of us with our Egyptian friend, Mahmoud, who brought us to see the Whirling Dervishes. His friend is one of the dervishes. After the performance we went to a cafe in the Khan El Khalili market called El Fishaway, a cafew that has been open nonstop for 400+ years. The market was buzzing because it was a holiday, the birthday of Prophet Mohammed's son. The mosque next to the market was draped in colored holiday lights and the feeling in the street was very festive.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1U38VR6rldg/TZEtco8P2nI/AAAAAAAACDQ/WmXjphkbH9c/s1600/DSCF6416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1U38VR6rldg/TZEtco8P2nI/AAAAAAAACDQ/WmXjphkbH9c/s400/DSCF6416.JPG" width="300" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One last video for any family and friends following this blog: here's our signing duo playing guitars, Cameron's 'guitar' being something he put together with his erector set. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aOE_JdlYGAE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aOE_JdlYGAE?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aOE_JdlYGAE?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOE_JdlYGAE" style="background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOE_JdlYGAE</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-73216056392404976452011-05-03T10:12:00.001+02:002011-05-03T23:03:05.013+02:00Labor Day protest (May 1, 2011), Tahrir Square, Cairo, EgyptSince the revolution, protests have been happening in Cairo every Friday afternoon in Tahrir Square, but I had heard that this week the main protest day was going to be on Labor Day, May 1, which is a holiday. There were people protesting there, about 3,000-5,000 or so I would guess. Since it was Labor Day, many of the groups there dealt with workers rights. It was interesting to speak to a couple people from different political parties that are in the process of trying to become legal by collecting the requisite number of signatures and paying the necessary fees.<br />
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Here is an interview with a man from the Communist Party:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/b1PY1F9WmAU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> This video is available at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1PY1F9WmAU" target="_new"><span style="color: #0033cc;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1PY1F9WmAU</span></a><br />
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Here are a couple videos from men who are part of a new party that is forming describing itself as liberal, and in favor of equal rights, but not as far left as some of the other parties.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mpuYw2Vwlos?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's a link to this photo: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuYw2Vwlos">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuYw2Vwlos</a><br />
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Here are some of the photos I took at the Labor Day protest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kClAVWKevA/Tb3YA5GBsdI/AAAAAAAACWw/a9mzqTBLDDk/s1600/DSCF9129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6kClAVWKevA/Tb3YA5GBsdI/AAAAAAAACWw/a9mzqTBLDDk/s400/DSCF9129.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9kdw-AvKswg/Tb3Y4-_L_5I/AAAAAAAACW4/3mESUCgAZmw/s1600/DSCF9141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9kdw-AvKswg/Tb3Y4-_L_5I/AAAAAAAACW4/3mESUCgAZmw/s400/DSCF9141.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wHaUCqUieMw/Tb3ZtG2JNUI/AAAAAAAACW8/5bNkxkIM0Ag/s1600/DSCF9157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wHaUCqUieMw/Tb3ZtG2JNUI/AAAAAAAACW8/5bNkxkIM0Ag/s400/DSCF9157.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqyOt2EJYbU/Tb3ad9aH09I/AAAAAAAACXA/E5W_4cOVGYE/s1600/DSCF9165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CqyOt2EJYbU/Tb3ad9aH09I/AAAAAAAACXA/E5W_4cOVGYE/s400/DSCF9165.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ovK8vdiR-t4/Tb3bR3kNAHI/AAAAAAAACXE/RuTqFH-pNJo/s1600/DSCF9176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ovK8vdiR-t4/Tb3bR3kNAHI/AAAAAAAACXE/RuTqFH-pNJo/s400/DSCF9176.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VS7Gyrnvaq0/Tb3gsWT2BGI/AAAAAAAACXM/IqG5U9eIQsk/s400/DSCF9169.JPG" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_1qNe_u_0" target="_new"><span style="color: #0033cc;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf_1qNe_u_0</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iVk7XgjrbeY/Tb3iRPs4q1I/AAAAAAAACXQ/jfAoDk__mpg/s1600/DSCF9145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iVk7XgjrbeY/Tb3iRPs4q1I/AAAAAAAACXQ/jfAoDk__mpg/s320/DSCF9145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gio8lTdjhqw/Tb3jMulEYJI/AAAAAAAACXU/q3jb1Hy5EFY/s1600/DSCF9170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gio8lTdjhqw/Tb3jMulEYJI/AAAAAAAACXU/q3jb1Hy5EFY/s320/DSCF9170.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w9WZGmlO-S8/Tb3lCdyxzvI/AAAAAAAACXg/kPkjNB28Pc8/s1600/DSCF9177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w9WZGmlO-S8/Tb3lCdyxzvI/AAAAAAAACXg/kPkjNB28Pc8/s320/DSCF9177.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgE5dwiz8ZY/Tb3l-49CI8I/AAAAAAAACXk/352xRjMowwc/s1600/DSCF9173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgE5dwiz8ZY/Tb3l-49CI8I/AAAAAAAACXk/352xRjMowwc/s320/DSCF9173.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sym4zbhKNVk/Tb3m5OtcKwI/AAAAAAAACXo/zSVK2q1PcEo/s1600/DSCF9186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sym4zbhKNVk/Tb3m5OtcKwI/AAAAAAAACXo/zSVK2q1PcEo/s320/DSCF9186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRPDSP4aB8Q/Tb3nzqKm_xI/AAAAAAAACXs/oDTHF3Mrpeg/s1600/DSCF9181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRPDSP4aB8Q/Tb3nzqKm_xI/AAAAAAAACXs/oDTHF3Mrpeg/s320/DSCF9181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-447nkCq5NTk/Tb3owMzkExI/AAAAAAAACX0/sL_eQ68BwXE/s1600/DSCF9192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-447nkCq5NTk/Tb3owMzkExI/AAAAAAAACX0/sL_eQ68BwXE/s320/DSCF9192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9YSV2VBxJB4/Tb3ptlDIntI/AAAAAAAACX4/ae54dtd4c9A/s1600/DSCF9197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9YSV2VBxJB4/Tb3ptlDIntI/AAAAAAAACX4/ae54dtd4c9A/s320/DSCF9197.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAGgk2E_gao/Tb3zlQPZ2xI/AAAAAAAACX8/zfm2y6r8x0U/s1600/DSCF9194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAGgk2E_gao/Tb3zlQPZ2xI/AAAAAAAACX8/zfm2y6r8x0U/s320/DSCF9194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I like this photo of a young woman wearing a shirt with Cuban Revolutionary (and medical doctor) Che Guevera on it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VKMQhAJIpA/Tb30dRs9MQI/AAAAAAAACYA/oGoVlEOFuK0/s1600/DSCF9182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VKMQhAJIpA/Tb30dRs9MQI/AAAAAAAACYA/oGoVlEOFuK0/s320/DSCF9182.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-72945939964931661162011-05-01T02:25:00.001+02:002011-05-01T02:34:19.286+02:00Circus in Cairo, EgyptCameron and I went to the circus tonight in Cairo. It was a fun, family-centered event. <br />
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I read that all the performers were Egyptian. The audience was all Egyptian too aside from us. The narration of the circus is all in Arabic, but the acts don't need translation so it's enjoyable for everyone. Cameron liked the show. He thought the clown, whose unicycle kept falling apart, was very funny. He also liked the jugglers. He wasn't quite as impressed overall with the circus because he compared it to another circus we saw in the U.S. that was slicker with more special effects. This show is mainly people who have worked hard to cultivate some circus kind of skill. There's a live band playing above the ring which is pretty loud but you get used to it. <br />
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We got there a little late so missed the first act or two. The unicycling men were in the ring when we arrived.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_e8VmdjIR_w/TbyTwPi8wKI/AAAAAAAACVc/o68CSQQLsUc/s1600/DSCF8956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_e8VmdjIR_w/TbyTwPi8wKI/AAAAAAAACVc/o68CSQQLsUc/s320/DSCF8956.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dowcHlVOFtQ/TbyUhxX9V5I/AAAAAAAACVg/F6-Zan8R1jc/s1600/DSCF8957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dowcHlVOFtQ/TbyUhxX9V5I/AAAAAAAACVg/F6-Zan8R1jc/s320/DSCF8957.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLRfKUfDi8c/TbyVHlCT2xI/AAAAAAAACVo/ti-Or4umyf0/s1600/DSCF8978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLRfKUfDi8c/TbyVHlCT2xI/AAAAAAAACVo/ti-Or4umyf0/s320/DSCF8978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CF7Rfuvj6Lw/TbyViscx5XI/AAAAAAAACVs/c5ZQ3aQOWB0/s1600/DSCF9002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CF7Rfuvj6Lw/TbyViscx5XI/AAAAAAAACVs/c5ZQ3aQOWB0/s320/DSCF9002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This next juggler balanced a pyramid of wine glasses on a tray with a stick.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tP13ItPLws/TbyWDyF47GI/AAAAAAAACVw/UMh7of237bw/s1600/DSCF9006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_tP13ItPLws/TbyWDyF47GI/AAAAAAAACVw/UMh7of237bw/s320/DSCF9006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This act involved men walking around on ladders with one even dancing a bit on the ladder.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lm_GY6_gquE/TbybkT9khpI/AAAAAAAACV8/I8IFXle68Bo/s1600/DSCF9023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lm_GY6_gquE/TbybkT9khpI/AAAAAAAACV8/I8IFXle68Bo/s320/DSCF9023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Some of the acts were quite dangerous with performers at high heights with no net. Below are some photos of a kid who looked to be about 10-12 years old doing hanging poses from about 20+ feet high. Cameron and I were both watching anxiously.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vaAwpYssEVU/Tbyb_u83bSI/AAAAAAAACWA/aJlYFaQicQY/s1600/DSCF9062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vaAwpYssEVU/Tbyb_u83bSI/AAAAAAAACWA/aJlYFaQicQY/s320/DSCF9062.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPqyhJUkmxc/Tbyck9jUheI/AAAAAAAACWE/BhYvE8B8CFA/s1600/DSCF9065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mPqyhJUkmxc/Tbyck9jUheI/AAAAAAAACWE/BhYvE8B8CFA/s320/DSCF9065.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hN4lTULNRE/Tbyc_zj-YPI/AAAAAAAACWI/9_9lcBKtf5Q/s1600/DSCF9068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hN4lTULNRE/Tbyc_zj-YPI/AAAAAAAACWI/9_9lcBKtf5Q/s320/DSCF9068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Here's the high wire act. They road a bike on the wire, walked across it while blind-folded and while standing on one another's shoulders. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hmaof6RlcXs/TbyeoK5fNEI/AAAAAAAACWU/WoGXytfHmvw/s1600/DSCF9094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hmaof6RlcXs/TbyeoK5fNEI/AAAAAAAACWU/WoGXytfHmvw/s320/DSCF9094.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I thought the lions and tigers were pretty impressive. There were 5-6 of these enormous cats in the ring with the woman lion tamer and she handled them well. She shook hands/paws with one, had others jumping from pedestal to pedestal, and had another jump on her back on his way out of the ring. She never hit them either which I liked. One of the tigers roared at her a couple times. These big cats are strong and amazing animals. <br />
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One thing that was sad to see was the baby lion that was brought out to pose for photos with children and adults. I think this lion must have been drugged because he just lay in the man's arms totally limp while one child after another posed beside him or was held on his back for a photo. Just the repeated flashes alone must have been hard for the animal, but there was no complaint. From a distance, it wasn't clear that the animal was even a living animal, but I saw its eyes open and shut when it went by so I know it was. I wondered if it was this same baby lion who was brought out night after night with 2-3 shows per night. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BMQyrfZIW34/TbyfDNhMH6I/AAAAAAAACWY/vohPmkKdvsY/s1600/DSCF9105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BMQyrfZIW34/TbyfDNhMH6I/AAAAAAAACWY/vohPmkKdvsY/s320/DSCF9105.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwukQ8qVvMg/Tbyfd2R_83I/AAAAAAAACWc/9dLmrb-S3_M/s1600/DSCF9117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwukQ8qVvMg/Tbyfd2R_83I/AAAAAAAACWc/9dLmrb-S3_M/s320/DSCF9117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZiDS5OB5kc/TbyhBLSmvrI/AAAAAAAACWo/kRNEMCObW2E/s1600/DSCF9110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZiDS5OB5kc/TbyhBLSmvrI/AAAAAAAACWo/kRNEMCObW2E/s320/DSCF9110.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3cs7L1pgvFw/TbyhcWldWBI/AAAAAAAACWs/3CLCmr6HLWo/s1600/DSCF9121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3cs7L1pgvFw/TbyhcWldWBI/AAAAAAAACWs/3CLCmr6HLWo/s320/DSCF9121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<u>Here are the logistics if you would like to go to the circus.</u><br />
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The circus has at least two shows every night, the first being at 8pm. I think the next one is at 10:30pm or so, but I'm not sure. The cost is 50 LE (Egyptian pounds) for the seats next to the ring, 30 LE for the seats behind those (which are about 15-20 feet from the ring) and 20 LE for seats in the back, which are still decent seats since they're only about 25-30 feet from the ring. (The prices seem to be for any age and there's no discount for students.) The Circus is located on the Nile, next to the balloon theater. If you take the metro, get off at the Dokki metro stop, it's a 5-10 LE taxi cab right from there (depending on traffic).<br />
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There was a person going around the ring selling popcorn, soda, chips, water and juice and I think I saw a snackbar outside of the tent. <br />
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All in all, I thought this was a fun event and one that kids and adults alike would enjoy. Everybody there seemed to like the show. I'll be posting the short videos I took at the show in the next couple days.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-33174248185994946272011-04-28T21:32:00.000+02:002011-04-28T21:32:28.389+02:00Videos of Balloon ride in Luxor, Egypt over the NileHere are some videos of our amazing balloon ride in Luxor, sailing over the homes, fields of sugar cane, and the Nile. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rlTQPwvMXeI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The exhileration of lift off! Cameron says, "it feels like an outdoor plane!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XW7MY8y2fj8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW7MY8y2fj8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW7MY8y2fj8</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sunrising with balloons in the sky. Brandon's take on the balloon ride: "Definitely better than coffee" in the morning. Jeff had been reluctant to do the balloon ride but ended up being glad he had.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zUqYydSXkHI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUqYydSXkHI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUqYydSXkHI</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A very interesting interview with the pilot of our balloon. He gives a good overview of the logistics and training of piloting balloons.</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fim8ByrxyCs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<div>Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fim8ByrxyCs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fim8ByrxyCs</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's the real landing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/4sNibuUOJSU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>First landing attempt. We learned later that the balloon was coming in a little at an angle so the balloon driver decided to go up again and try again for a level landing in the field nearby. In the background a couple people are discussing how some of the balloons, though not ours, had gone over the Valley of the Kings. Ours went over the Nile instead and that was beautiful. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/aCZCcEr65To?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZCcEr65To">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZCcEr65To</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Crossing the Nile at sunrise with silhouettes of three balloons in the distance. Cameron sees a boat below and pretends the balloon is racing the boat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iAT3wABrkxA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAT3wABrkxA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAT3wABrkxA</a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Farmland, the roar of the firing up of the balloon and a look at how many people the balloon basket holds.</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/X464tYO-Fdw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<div>Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X464tYO-Fdw&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X464tYO-Fdw&feature=related</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Cameron hiding from the firing up of the balloon, Valley of the Kings in the background, and sunrising over the Nile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LO1IVZiPqJY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1IVZiPqJY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1IVZiPqJY</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Sunrising over Nile, donkey cart, cemetery below, harvesting sugar cane, canals from the Nile from the 'lego town' (as Cameron calls it).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ebVKPBgB2rw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebVKPBgB2rw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebVKPBgB2rw</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div>Here's part of the landing procedure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YRxbhOtiA94?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div>Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRxbhOtiA94">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRxbhOtiA94</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Here we are in the basket after landing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vkxrW_LkZgc/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vkxrW_LkZgc?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vkxrW_LkZgc?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div>This video is at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkxrW_LkZgc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkxrW_LkZgc</a><br />
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For more pictures and a couple other videos of our balloon ride, you can see my other blog entry at this link: <a href="http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/04/hot-air-balloon-ride-in-luxor.html">http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/04/hot-air-balloon-ride-in-luxor.html</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-71319908485545486792011-04-24T13:34:00.000+02:002011-04-24T13:34:50.803+02:00Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Riding in a hot air balloon next to the Valley of the Kings in Luxor and crossing the Nile at sunrise was one of the best experiences ever. It was breath-taking and amazing. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lL-5fErf6ZQ/TbNUY3y_esI/AAAAAAAACT0/OVXRx7y-Zhc/s1600/DSCF8518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lL-5fErf6ZQ/TbNUY3y_esI/AAAAAAAACT0/OVXRx7y-Zhc/s320/DSCF8518.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The day started at 4:30am when the van from the balloon company picked us up at our hotel. The van was clean and comfortable and the driver drove safely. They took us to a boat to cross to the west side of the Nile. The balloon lift-off area was near the Valley of the Kings. While we were on the boat, they served us a cup of tea. Here we are with our friends we met at the hotel, Andrea and Brandon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atz9F3YVq-4/TbKiUQQNhVI/AAAAAAAACQQ/5Rw5LzSrg34/s1600/DSCF8334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atz9F3YVq-4/TbKiUQQNhVI/AAAAAAAACQQ/5Rw5LzSrg34/s320/DSCF8334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here are the other people on the boat. We're all looking pretty tired because not yet 5am.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-tJRBSD54s/TbKiv6ENPjI/AAAAAAAACQU/QSo1-2C05NU/s1600/DSCF8337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L-tJRBSD54s/TbKiv6ENPjI/AAAAAAAACQU/QSo1-2C05NU/s320/DSCF8337.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Crossing the Nile was beautiful because of the full moon. Here's a photo I took from the boat.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gFetkGRgee0/TbKjKpZx_kI/AAAAAAAACQY/jmv8LLAKvvg/s1600/DSCF8339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gFetkGRgee0/TbKjKpZx_kI/AAAAAAAACQY/jmv8LLAKvvg/s320/DSCF8339.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It was exciting to arrive at the balloon site and see so many balloons firing up to lift off. There were about 4-5 vans of guests from various hotels. Many of the people in our van were from the Sheraton. We had stayed at the Oasis Hotel. We were told there were more guests than usual because they had not been able to fly the balloons for the past two days because the weather was too hazy. We were also informed that if the weather was not good when we got there, that we would get our money refunded if we couldn't go another day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg-4pU9lIIY/TbKjjiGKO6I/AAAAAAAACQg/6UneHk-GUzo/s1600/DSCF8354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg-4pU9lIIY/TbKjjiGKO6I/AAAAAAAACQg/6UneHk-GUzo/s320/DSCF8354.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It turned out to be wonderful to have so many balloons going at the same time because we enjoyed watching all the other balloons sailing through the sky. Ironically, I have great shots of the neighboring red balloon but no shots of us flying in our balloon because of course I was in the basket of our balloon. If any of you from the red balloon ever read this blog and have shots of our balloon (the multicolored one near you after crossing the Nile), please leave me a comment so I can get your photos!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SF2sCVULpS0/TbKj9HrFaUI/AAAAAAAACQk/mchDcrLayEI/s1600/DSCF8357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SF2sCVULpS0/TbKj9HrFaUI/AAAAAAAACQk/mchDcrLayEI/s320/DSCF8357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The ground crew for the balloon was very nice about offering to take our photos in the balloon. They were very nice folks and tried to accommodate us and make us feel comfortable and happy at every step.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIFBQI8VDjQ/TbKkXmeJtjI/AAAAAAAACQo/by9lN-kvyD4/s1600/DSCF8361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIFBQI8VDjQ/TbKkXmeJtjI/AAAAAAAACQo/by9lN-kvyD4/s320/DSCF8361.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Before the balloon took off, one of the ground crew gave us a quick talk about what to do when landing, particularly if it were a rough landing. There are strong rope handles all along the interior of the basket and he said to squat with our backs toward the direction the balloon was landing and our child held between our legs. Fortunately, our landing was very smooth so we didn't need to worry about any big bumps. <br />
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The ground crew seemed very experienced about getting the balloon up in the air and handling guests. It took a little while for our balloon to get off the ground. At first I worried that our balloon was too heavy because there were a lot of people in the basket, but I later learned that our size balloon was designed to carry up to 32 and I think we had about 28 people in the basket. Once the balloon got into the air, it didn't seem to matter that the basket was pretty full.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrAJoaA4uRE/TbKkx1fi49I/AAAAAAAACQs/XPFlQGrNfgo/s1600/DSCF8363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrAJoaA4uRE/TbKkx1fi49I/AAAAAAAACQs/XPFlQGrNfgo/s320/DSCF8363.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here are many photos and videos of our balloon adventure.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/r6q7RiEoLfM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vFzcc6EUGaY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpg-z-IVXvo/TbKlKYByPzI/AAAAAAAACQ0/S0YGQBYw_Mg/s1600/DSCF8366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpg-z-IVXvo/TbKlKYByPzI/AAAAAAAACQ0/S0YGQBYw_Mg/s320/DSCF8366.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The fire in the center of the basket was quite hot. We were at the outside of the basket so it didn't effect us much, but I heard from another woman that when she went a balloon ride, she was toward the middle of the basket and put a scarf over her head because the fire felt pretty hot on her hair. So you may want to bring a scarf just in case.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--BR7k1FVGqk/TbKl8hTDMYI/AAAAAAAACQ8/tRvc_9NTsnQ/s1600/DSCF8371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--BR7k1FVGqk/TbKl8hTDMYI/AAAAAAAACQ8/tRvc_9NTsnQ/s320/DSCF8371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here's Andrea with her face reflecting the glow of the firing up of the balloon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-06iHJpaS9Xg/TbKmVhLVR9I/AAAAAAAACRA/S1iIYxHtjpo/s1600/DSCF8378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-06iHJpaS9Xg/TbKmVhLVR9I/AAAAAAAACRA/S1iIYxHtjpo/s320/DSCF8378.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XW7MY8y2fj8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW7MY8y2fj8&feature=player_detailpage<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhrL0JPJByA/TbKmux6nS-I/AAAAAAAACRI/zhKKdEAYLNo/s1600/DSCF8375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhrL0JPJByA/TbKmux6nS-I/AAAAAAAACRI/zhKKdEAYLNo/s320/DSCF8375.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1KnfoJ-bfMc/TbKnIOT-ORI/AAAAAAAACRM/WpSElkdSI-k/s1600/DSCF8383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1KnfoJ-bfMc/TbKnIOT-ORI/AAAAAAAACRM/WpSElkdSI-k/s320/DSCF8383.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Valley of the Kings is right over this range. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RhHmHXfe1K8/TbKnhQZM5gI/AAAAAAAACRQ/wW6pgZzk5pg/s1600/DSCF8391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RhHmHXfe1K8/TbKnhQZM5gI/AAAAAAAACRQ/wW6pgZzk5pg/s320/DSCF8391.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The sun is just starting to come up in this photo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HoSngB8AlKs/TbKn40nSnwI/AAAAAAAACRU/K98b7pmYW4Y/s1600/DSCF8397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HoSngB8AlKs/TbKn40nSnwI/AAAAAAAACRU/K98b7pmYW4Y/s320/DSCF8397.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-54bEqv8urio/TbKoSRudH-I/AAAAAAAACRc/LGYtHCQ9QGY/s1600/DSCF8398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-54bEqv8urio/TbKoSRudH-I/AAAAAAAACRc/LGYtHCQ9QGY/s320/DSCF8398.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sunrise with balloon silhouettes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVmtn5fE00I/TbKorCH6dFI/AAAAAAAACRg/hY24YtNrzt8/s1600/DSCF8404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVmtn5fE00I/TbKorCH6dFI/AAAAAAAACRg/hY24YtNrzt8/s320/DSCF8404.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Cameron (as well as some of the adults) was a little scared when the ride started off. The firing up of the balloon makes kind of loud torching sound and looks a little scary, but after the initial strangeness of it all, things were fine. Cameron just hid down in the basket when he was scared in the very beginning. He later came to love flying through the air, saying the balloon was like "an outdoor plane"!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MLepJYM_WH8/TbKpFpquEiI/AAAAAAAACRk/ev-PM0H4x1I/s1600/DSCF8409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MLepJYM_WH8/TbKpFpquEiI/AAAAAAAACRk/ev-PM0H4x1I/s320/DSCF8409.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here's a shot looking up at the inside of our balloon. The colors were so vibrant. It must have been beautiful to see it sailing through the sky.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cgQjtFYUsM/TbKpf1VONaI/AAAAAAAACRo/GPJVQdAwTT4/s1600/DSCF8401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0cgQjtFYUsM/TbKpf1VONaI/AAAAAAAACRo/GPJVQdAwTT4/s320/DSCF8401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We sailed right over houses and could even see goats and donkeys inside the courtyards and clothes hanging on the clothes lines. This photo shows a cemetery next to some houses.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IjQT22W-q4/TbKp6mfGcHI/AAAAAAAACR0/gfnMYJBAuJU/s1600/DSCF8413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IjQT22W-q4/TbKp6mfGcHI/AAAAAAAACR0/gfnMYJBAuJU/s320/DSCF8413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tq2RZFsKblI/TbKqWLXuhpI/AAAAAAAACR4/T8G_CXpMgUc/s1600/DSCF8416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tq2RZFsKblI/TbKqWLXuhpI/AAAAAAAACR4/T8G_CXpMgUc/s320/DSCF8416.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cOFkV78SKoY/TbKqw_oba0I/AAAAAAAACR8/Mv-IhddAMI8/s1600/DSCF8424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cOFkV78SKoY/TbKqw_oba0I/AAAAAAAACR8/Mv-IhddAMI8/s320/DSCF8424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The checker-board look of the crops was interesting to see.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UtS6Yw2iDLs/TbKrLbPuACI/AAAAAAAACSA/bORoW9D5of4/s1600/DSCF8442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UtS6Yw2iDLs/TbKrLbPuACI/AAAAAAAACSA/bORoW9D5of4/s320/DSCF8442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMfxjnRHDjo/TbKrkbuOMDI/AAAAAAAACSI/Md2zEMmGQ8U/s1600/DSCF8440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eMfxjnRHDjo/TbKrkbuOMDI/AAAAAAAACSI/Md2zEMmGQ8U/s320/DSCF8440.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here's a donkey pulling a wagon below us.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bWluJ6-BVLg/TbKr-8t51oI/AAAAAAAACSM/EYtJRfa6rOc/s1600/DSCF8454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bWluJ6-BVLg/TbKr-8t51oI/AAAAAAAACSM/EYtJRfa6rOc/s320/DSCF8454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brandon is telling Cameron something about what he's seeing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ibvJvDtSvF4/TbKsZC5bDxI/AAAAAAAACSQ/m7xmx4sViFg/s1600/DSCF8448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ibvJvDtSvF4/TbKsZC5bDxI/AAAAAAAACSQ/m7xmx4sViFg/s320/DSCF8448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I love this shot. I think I will blow it up and frame it when I get home. This memory is precious.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Prs-Who0Fks/TbKsxkpXyKI/AAAAAAAACSU/_e3m-Ug0oJQ/s1600/DSCF8458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Prs-Who0Fks/TbKsxkpXyKI/AAAAAAAACSU/_e3m-Ug0oJQ/s320/DSCF8458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It was sugarcane season and there were enormous trucks heaped high with sugarcane in the streets. Two doors down from our hotel was a little food stand that sold sugarcane juice in big glasses for two pounds each or in a large water bottle container supplied by us for 5 pounds. Cameron tried the juice for the first time in Luxor and loved it. I love it too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JnaS8J9PJQ8/TbKtLm7vR5I/AAAAAAAACSc/svz2NOZTBro/s1600/DSCF8455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JnaS8J9PJQ8/TbKtLm7vR5I/AAAAAAAACSc/svz2NOZTBro/s320/DSCF8455.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TekUzJkiRkY/TbKtmbNBD_I/AAAAAAAACSg/5qcLsf4t7ks/s1600/DSCF8464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TekUzJkiRkY/TbKtmbNBD_I/AAAAAAAACSg/5qcLsf4t7ks/s320/DSCF8464.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc_rWnF9r5o/TbKt-fGEZCI/AAAAAAAACSk/uQlxv1RuQfM/s1600/DSCF8467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc_rWnF9r5o/TbKt-fGEZCI/AAAAAAAACSk/uQlxv1RuQfM/s320/DSCF8467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We thought one of these might have been our cruise boat that we had left the day before. We'd done a 3 day Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFWhCb5T6ak/TbKuZQukQtI/AAAAAAAACSo/N5Pp9sPezoo/s1600/DSCF8470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFWhCb5T6ak/TbKuZQukQtI/AAAAAAAACSo/N5Pp9sPezoo/s320/DSCF8470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Nile, with many cruise boats parked on the left.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uWjQ_Xead1k/TbKuzUR1NZI/AAAAAAAACSw/LLjNnFnQVxY/s1600/DSCF8471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uWjQ_Xead1k/TbKuzUR1NZI/AAAAAAAACSw/LLjNnFnQVxY/s320/DSCF8471.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0AW0YRu5Mo/TbKvLqMV2cI/AAAAAAAACS0/kODwJWhKZXU/s1600/DSCF8473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0AW0YRu5Mo/TbKvLqMV2cI/AAAAAAAACS0/kODwJWhKZXU/s320/DSCF8473.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yWkcJInic1M/TbKvlnIy-OI/AAAAAAAACS4/ilLlaNZLSAc/s1600/DSCF8482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yWkcJInic1M/TbKvlnIy-OI/AAAAAAAACS4/ilLlaNZLSAc/s320/DSCF8482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iubMWWpeCTE/TbKv-dcv50I/AAAAAAAACS8/OwOEIXNAWtU/s1600/DSCF8486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iubMWWpeCTE/TbKv-dcv50I/AAAAAAAACS8/OwOEIXNAWtU/s320/DSCF8486.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-le93RJhMtRs/TbKwVgIy6_I/AAAAAAAACTE/tgQxHptovfc/s1600/DSCF8488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-le93RJhMtRs/TbKwVgIy6_I/AAAAAAAACTE/tgQxHptovfc/s320/DSCF8488.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Many of these crops get water from an extensive canal system from the Nile that was built centuries ago during the time of Egytian ruler Mohammed Ali. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nT6VzOSOZnQ/TbKwwgZ9nRI/AAAAAAAACTI/FnLguUCIWkc/s1600/DSCF8514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nT6VzOSOZnQ/TbKwwgZ9nRI/AAAAAAAACTI/FnLguUCIWkc/s320/DSCF8514.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--INf1wFiIe8/TbKxLup5FSI/AAAAAAAACTM/lexCve81t-4/s1600/DSCF8425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--INf1wFiIe8/TbKxLup5FSI/AAAAAAAACTM/lexCve81t-4/s320/DSCF8425.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rP0ds5BDPDI/TbKxl0rnRAI/AAAAAAAACTQ/m6FPGDSGqgQ/s1600/DSCF8518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rP0ds5BDPDI/TbKxl0rnRAI/AAAAAAAACTQ/m6FPGDSGqgQ/s320/DSCF8518.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We were going to land in one clearing initially but then we went back up in the air again and landed instead in a field nearby. I later heard from the balloon pilot that the first landing was coming in a little bit at an angle so he opted to go up again and try for a perfectly level landing. It was very smooth, smoother than the landing of planes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ioa2gfLYRks/TbKyBZSpgwI/AAAAAAAACTY/rxT7LfE1pRY/s1600/DSCF8526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ioa2gfLYRks/TbKyBZSpgwI/AAAAAAAACTY/rxT7LfE1pRY/s320/DSCF8526.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka-XCW3MyLI/TbKybtxlRyI/AAAAAAAACTc/M99CtnNiBzY/s1600/DSCF8510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka-XCW3MyLI/TbKybtxlRyI/AAAAAAAACTc/M99CtnNiBzY/s320/DSCF8510.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The red balloon went very close to the minaret of a mosque. It was quite a sight.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXBe9t8_jbs/TbKy2Vl0OAI/AAAAAAAACTg/cY4oKfrvdJU/s1600/DSCF8503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXBe9t8_jbs/TbKy2Vl0OAI/AAAAAAAACTg/cY4oKfrvdJU/s320/DSCF8503.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vE1nFshNFaU/TbNSjkaMSxI/AAAAAAAACTo/eW3vjbJlapw/s1600/DSCF8509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vE1nFshNFaU/TbNSjkaMSxI/AAAAAAAACTo/eW3vjbJlapw/s320/DSCF8509.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uHpKct-odd0/TbNTdEMv8cI/AAAAAAAACTw/ae1HGY8e87w/s1600/DSCF8510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uHpKct-odd0/TbNTdEMv8cI/AAAAAAAACTw/ae1HGY8e87w/s320/DSCF8510.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pvvaq6ldcmA/TbNVWt-1e7I/AAAAAAAACT4/UNZmI_G3T9c/s1600/DSCF8525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pvvaq6ldcmA/TbNVWt-1e7I/AAAAAAAACT4/UNZmI_G3T9c/s320/DSCF8525.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This is the field we ended up landing in.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GhOmb101mDg/TbNWSF6f_EI/AAAAAAAACT8/pVxFXo2yGmA/s1600/DSCF8519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GhOmb101mDg/TbNWSF6f_EI/AAAAAAAACT8/pVxFXo2yGmA/s320/DSCF8519.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I was sorry to see the flight end since it was such a rush to be flying in a balloon, but it was a great ride and lasted at least an hour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JGxgCRxk9Q/TbNXNvUbtDI/AAAAAAAACUE/sZ8wE6sGy0Y/s1600/DSCF8528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JGxgCRxk9Q/TbNXNvUbtDI/AAAAAAAACUE/sZ8wE6sGy0Y/s320/DSCF8528.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> When we first hit the ground, Cameron, monkey that he is, hopped out of the basket. But the ground crew person told us 'no' so we scooped him back up into the basket. It turned out the balloon went up another foot or to and landed a few feet away. The ground crew got to work immediately getting things ready for our departure. We stayed in the balloon basket while they readied things for collapsing the balloon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KDcskGr1t1s/TbNYKQkF4kI/AAAAAAAACUI/1JWUC-kIZV0/s1600/DSCF8529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KDcskGr1t1s/TbNYKQkF4kI/AAAAAAAACUI/1JWUC-kIZV0/s320/DSCF8529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0raU7xQyXRE/TbNZJ-ULLsI/AAAAAAAACUM/GTAzHWSCRTI/s1600/DSCF8530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0raU7xQyXRE/TbNZJ-ULLsI/AAAAAAAACUM/GTAzHWSCRTI/s320/DSCF8530.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IPnNxLTBF_c/TbNaFZ1WedI/AAAAAAAACUQ/cdGseSXxI8Y/s1600/DSCF8539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IPnNxLTBF_c/TbNaFZ1WedI/AAAAAAAACUQ/cdGseSXxI8Y/s320/DSCF8539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OJ5b-auPuAk/TbNbAz9pu_I/AAAAAAAACUY/bxQSaQkYoHQ/s1600/DSCF8543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OJ5b-auPuAk/TbNbAz9pu_I/AAAAAAAACUY/bxQSaQkYoHQ/s320/DSCF8543.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSpbU1hwF1Q/TbNcAgSC1PI/AAAAAAAACUc/yaCP1VUndmk/s1600/DSCF8549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSpbU1hwF1Q/TbNcAgSC1PI/AAAAAAAACUc/yaCP1VUndmk/s320/DSCF8549.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usLuT3RWGPU/TbNc6nWGGWI/AAAAAAAACUg/Z44WrV-q2w8/s1600/DSCF8554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-usLuT3RWGPU/TbNc6nWGGWI/AAAAAAAACUg/Z44WrV-q2w8/s320/DSCF8554.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1u08kgXH8k/TbNd2EDNkoI/AAAAAAAACUk/JMu4MFXjx0A/s1600/DSCF8534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1u08kgXH8k/TbNd2EDNkoI/AAAAAAAACUk/JMu4MFXjx0A/s320/DSCF8534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> The basket of the balloon was as big as a narrow room. It took many men to get it loaded on to the truck.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2PgGQBGx9eo/TbPQktcttsI/AAAAAAAACUs/GbqqaZubvEE/s1600/DSCF8556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2PgGQBGx9eo/TbPQktcttsI/AAAAAAAACUs/GbqqaZubvEE/s320/DSCF8556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I really liked these hokey certificates they gave us which included my favorite Egyptian bird, the hoopoe.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--yvYa3fZyuE/TbPRAACL-SI/AAAAAAAACUw/sdB9U2-e5CU/s1600/DSCF8560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--yvYa3fZyuE/TbPRAACL-SI/AAAAAAAACUw/sdB9U2-e5CU/s320/DSCF8560.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the pilot of the balloon with Cameron.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlJp4KNkZqE/TbPSonxwrLI/AAAAAAAACU0/6vaweEPP0ks/s1600/DSCF8561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BlJp4KNkZqE/TbPSonxwrLI/AAAAAAAACU0/6vaweEPP0ks/s320/DSCF8561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3dKCgj2zao/TbPUfiREbnI/AAAAAAAACVA/WC2DGb3SbN0/s1600/DSCF8565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3dKCgj2zao/TbPUfiREbnI/AAAAAAAACVA/WC2DGb3SbN0/s320/DSCF8565.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> Here we all are with our certificates.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-entLnrTbow8/TbPTiqtqEOI/AAAAAAAACU4/95zfypT8fdw/s1600/DSCF8564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-entLnrTbow8/TbPTiqtqEOI/AAAAAAAACU4/95zfypT8fdw/s320/DSCF8564.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Cameron wanted to see up close how the balloon was packed up into the sack.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqwCAstDNZ4/TbPVbTCieUI/AAAAAAAACVE/qgfxNGM0_N4/s1600/DSCF8566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqwCAstDNZ4/TbPVbTCieUI/AAAAAAAACVE/qgfxNGM0_N4/s320/DSCF8566.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> We learned that the label of the sack said Cameron's name all over it! We told the ground crew this and they scooped him up and put him on top for a photo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMmW16eGdjk/TbPWYMkFXbI/AAAAAAAACVI/f7thhOwksh4/s1600/DSCF8567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMmW16eGdjk/TbPWYMkFXbI/AAAAAAAACVI/f7thhOwksh4/s320/DSCF8567.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Db-RmVyGmY/TbPXWqco_JI/AAAAAAAACVM/42A1oM6cSLw/s1600/DSCF8568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Db-RmVyGmY/TbPXWqco_JI/AAAAAAAACVM/42A1oM6cSLw/s320/DSCF8568.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Here they are loading getting ready to load the basket on to the flat bed truck.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pZqxugbOz3M/TbPYQlRLrEI/AAAAAAAACVU/ZgU3IIGXYvo/s1600/DSCF8569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pZqxugbOz3M/TbPYQlRLrEI/AAAAAAAACVU/ZgU3IIGXYvo/s320/DSCF8569.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the van after dropping us off. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hDNA6nJkZ4o/TbPZIh3MzxI/AAAAAAAACVY/fSo5x3nuDV0/s1600/DSCF8574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hDNA6nJkZ4o/TbPZIh3MzxI/AAAAAAAACVY/fSo5x3nuDV0/s320/DSCF8574.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While we were on the van, I interviewed the pilot of our balloon and learned a lot about what it takes to become a pilot and what logistics are involved in planning each flight. Here's the interview:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fim8ByrxyCs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the link to this interview: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fim8ByrxyCs" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fim8ByrxyCs</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And now for some logistics if you would like to do a balloon ride with this company. The company is called Hod-Hod Soliman, address: Omar Ali Street, Television Street, Luxor, Egyupt, tel/fax: (002-095) 2271116, email: hodhodoffice@yahoo.co.uk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The cost can vary depending on the season and number of tourists. Our tour agency on the boat said it was 750 Egyptian pounds per person, including children, but we ended up booking a package deal through the hotel at 11:30pm the night before for about one third of this. I assume we were able to get this rate because it was the night before and the balloon wasn't filled yet and there are still few tourists here so there are discounts that won't be available when tourism is back in full swing. I think the normal rate from the Oasis Hotel is about about 450 Egyptian pounds per person. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The company did a very professional evaluation survey at the end of the tour and were very courteous throughout. All in all, this was an amazing experience. If you're planning to visit Egypt, I recommend you add it to your itinerary! Here's a link to a website that has a lot more information:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.addictedtotravel.com/travel-specialists/hod-hod-soliman-balloon-adventures">http://www.addictedtotravel.com/travel-specialists/hod-hod-soliman-balloon-adventures</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The one small thing I would mention is that if you want to be in a balloon that goes directly over the Valley of the Kings and the temples, you might want to talk to the pilots of the balloons before hand to find out which ones are going that direction. I saw a few balloons went in that direction and a few, like ours, went over the Nile. I loved crossing the Nile so that was fine with me, but if you have your heart set on flying over the other sites, you could clarify this in advance. If you'd like to see more videos of our balloon ride, I'm uploading them now to post later on this blog.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-90128719924863776962011-04-23T02:17:00.000+02:002011-04-23T02:17:25.215+02:00April 22, 2011 Protest in Cairo's Tahrir SquareI was in Tahrir Square today during the regular Friday protest. There were several thousand people there, but there was still single or double lane traffic going by with a line of military soldiers in red berets forming a line between the protesters and the traffic to keep order. The soldiers did not seem to have any problem with the protesters holding their protest. Everything was peaceful and there were enthusiastic speakers. <br />
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In speaking with one person about what the current demands are for the protesters he said one is to release the political prisoners who are still detained and another is to put Mubarak and his sons on trial. Mubarak's two sons were detained a couple weeks ago for investigation and Mubarak himself has been under detention by means of a police guard at the door of his hospital room.<br />
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Here are photos of Friday's protest. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZLNz8J-uDk/TbH1vy8vNDI/AAAAAAAACOE/JIq3sWZscAA/s1600/DSCF8757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TZLNz8J-uDk/TbH1vy8vNDI/AAAAAAAACOE/JIq3sWZscAA/s320/DSCF8757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRRm_3DN1Sk/TbH2tJXJPPI/AAAAAAAACOI/lwWVCxG-MRQ/s1600/DSCF8756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MRRm_3DN1Sk/TbH2tJXJPPI/AAAAAAAACOI/lwWVCxG-MRQ/s320/DSCF8756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1X79FXrPnOo/TbH3nsynR9I/AAAAAAAACOM/3VRpFTE0P6A/s1600/DSCF8755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1X79FXrPnOo/TbH3nsynR9I/AAAAAAAACOM/3VRpFTE0P6A/s320/DSCF8755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wb-VFQSIWtU/TbH4ncPL0yI/AAAAAAAACOU/39wPLma1aC0/s1600/DSCF8759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wb-VFQSIWtU/TbH4ncPL0yI/AAAAAAAACOU/39wPLma1aC0/s320/DSCF8759.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here's a video from yesterday's protest:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DyzpSug8NbI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>This video can also be viewed at this link: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzpSug8NbI" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzpSug8NbI</a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ocOT6-OMN0/TbH5jJspgHI/AAAAAAAACOY/qSoxk2SvhTc/s1600/DSCF8767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ocOT6-OMN0/TbH5jJspgHI/AAAAAAAACOY/qSoxk2SvhTc/s320/DSCF8767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ofd2Eqsyeyw/TbH6aj-JRKI/AAAAAAAACOc/JEgE-WFDh-Y/s1600/DSCF8766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ofd2Eqsyeyw/TbH6aj-JRKI/AAAAAAAACOc/JEgE-WFDh-Y/s320/DSCF8766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IKb1Rgey18c/TbH7WP4sBhI/AAAAAAAACOg/tmenvdnM-QM/s1600/DSCF8779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IKb1Rgey18c/TbH7WP4sBhI/AAAAAAAACOg/tmenvdnM-QM/s320/DSCF8779.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Here's another short video from yesterday:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AmyWeF0YTPc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here's the link for this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyWeF0YTPc" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyWeF0YTPc</a></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCMGvT00bPQ/TbH8RaW3n3I/AAAAAAAACOo/EiF9GMOMhVs/s1600/DSCF8783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oCMGvT00bPQ/TbH8RaW3n3I/AAAAAAAACOo/EiF9GMOMhVs/s320/DSCF8783.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDSu6mYP0Gs/TbH9Ojeb7jI/AAAAAAAACOs/j_kN7R7aEhE/s1600/DSCF8781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zDSu6mYP0Gs/TbH9Ojeb7jI/AAAAAAAACOs/j_kN7R7aEhE/s320/DSCF8781.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-55xx45rxBx8/TbIM2zvKBlI/AAAAAAAACP4/eIB_iJlb5dg/s1600/DSCF8801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-55xx45rxBx8/TbIM2zvKBlI/AAAAAAAACP4/eIB_iJlb5dg/s320/DSCF8801.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-72884078960125273222011-04-22T13:57:00.000+02:002011-04-22T13:57:48.007+02:00Hanging Church, Sofitel Gezirah visit, and a great time with cousins!It's been a very busy week and I'm just now at a place where I have internet to catch up on things. We had a wonderful visit with cousins Chris, Jerry and little Jonathan, then we left on the night train from Cairo to Aswan, then went down the Nile on a 3 night cruise, visited the Valley of the Kings and magnificent temples, and topped everything off with an incredible balloon balloon ride past the Valley of the Kings and crossing the Nile. I'll be posting about all these events one by one. For now, here are some shots from our great visit with our travelling cousins!<br />
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Chris and Jerry stayed at the Sofitel Gezirah right on the Nile. It was beautiful and peaceful. I joined them for dinner their first night here.<br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wi8Xkj7zEUg/Ta1lxU59vQI/AAAAAAAACKw/GIQPBLBi6UE/s1600/DSCF7228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wi8Xkj7zEUg/Ta1lxU59vQI/AAAAAAAACKw/GIQPBLBi6UE/s320/DSCF7228.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the hotel walkway running alongside the Nile leading to the restaurant.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aA8Xk-KhqYo/Ta1m4ESQF3I/AAAAAAAACK0/aRvGDk05wgM/s1600/DSCF7230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aA8Xk-KhqYo/Ta1m4ESQF3I/AAAAAAAACK0/aRvGDk05wgM/s320/DSCF7230.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The hummus with fresh cooked pita bread was wonderful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9JBfU5L-VU/Ta1p8QyJY_I/AAAAAAAACLI/lbitwMHY2aQ/s1600/DSCF7347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9JBfU5L-VU/Ta1p8QyJY_I/AAAAAAAACLI/lbitwMHY2aQ/s320/DSCF7347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The second night of Chris, Jerry and Jonathan's visit, Cameron and I joined them at their hotel for dinner.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V1FhqgB7b7M/Ta1o5igjPII/AAAAAAAACLE/e9Ru8rG4CDk/s1600/DSCF7344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V1FhqgB7b7M/Ta1o5igjPII/AAAAAAAACLE/e9Ru8rG4CDk/s320/DSCF7344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There were musicians for dinner and musicians in the lobby of the hotel. It was very elegant. This really is a prime tourist spot and there are still relatively few tourists here so it's a great time to visit without crowds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iFs7Rz1jaGk/Ta1rBz-LGvI/AAAAAAAACLM/8TdDve2Sb3c/s1600/DSCF7340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iFs7Rz1jaGk/Ta1rBz-LGvI/AAAAAAAACLM/8TdDve2Sb3c/s320/DSCF7340.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I like this photo of Chris and little Jonathan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wDbzF94GIdI/Ta1n3oOI5II/AAAAAAAACLA/Ww_pSX2-7iI/s1600/DSCF7348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wDbzF94GIdI/Ta1n3oOI5II/AAAAAAAACLA/Ww_pSX2-7iI/s320/DSCF7348.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here we all are at the Egyptian Museum. No cameras were allowed inside so we just have a few outdoor shots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iBntsH4WYw/Ta1zKJ-anyI/AAAAAAAACL0/iXm6OfKqp-0/s1600/DSCF7232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9iBntsH4WYw/Ta1zKJ-anyI/AAAAAAAACL0/iXm6OfKqp-0/s320/DSCF7232.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QeZDdXtODZQ/Ta10LDY496I/AAAAAAAACL8/DpDUxhswxuU/s1600/DSCF7235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QeZDdXtODZQ/Ta10LDY496I/AAAAAAAACL8/DpDUxhswxuU/s320/DSCF7235.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next to the Egyptian Museum is the shell of the recently burned headquarters of the National Democratic Headquarters, former President Mubarak's party. The high court in Egypt recently ordered last week that the National Democratic Party be disbanded and all their property and assets handed over to the government because of corruption during the Mubarak years. Here's a link to article about this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20110416-mubaraks-political-party-disbanded">http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20110416-mubaraks-political-party-disbanded</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5cKw0ugOpR0/Ta11ORDT9-I/AAAAAAAACMA/H17CRGLijsY/s1600/DSCF7234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5cKw0ugOpR0/Ta11ORDT9-I/AAAAAAAACMA/H17CRGLijsY/s320/DSCF7234.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next stop was Coptic Cairo. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZNZgbrBaNw/Ta13KhTvXWI/AAAAAAAACMI/LFg6GUsnLUY/s1600/DSCF7238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZNZgbrBaNw/Ta13KhTvXWI/AAAAAAAACMI/LFg6GUsnLUY/s320/DSCF7238.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0JsfiCAGEcg/Ta12LamtB9I/AAAAAAAACME/PtBxA5XTStw/s1600/DSCF7239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0JsfiCAGEcg/Ta12LamtB9I/AAAAAAAACME/PtBxA5XTStw/s320/DSCF7239.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cameron and Jonathan had a fun time fooling around in the back of the van.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJj1yhOPqkE/TbFfUsjjswI/AAAAAAAACM8/GHC-OK8kX0Q/s1600/DSCF7287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RJj1yhOPqkE/TbFfUsjjswI/AAAAAAAACM8/GHC-OK8kX0Q/s320/DSCF7287.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Here we are at the Hanging Church. We had a wonderful guide, Gamal, who was a former inspector of national monuments for Egypt.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-014gTofEogI/TbFfvSLFXBI/AAAAAAAACNA/j1QjZzLWTr8/s1600/DSCF7266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-014gTofEogI/TbFfvSLFXBI/AAAAAAAACNA/j1QjZzLWTr8/s320/DSCF7266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZsXY41q9Mk/TbFgKf8L80I/AAAAAAAACNE/WKyG-81sICM/s1600/DSCF7278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZsXY41q9Mk/TbFgKf8L80I/AAAAAAAACNE/WKyG-81sICM/s320/DSCF7278.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5IBMTe2-Pk/TbFglPBcVfI/AAAAAAAACNI/l-iemm-LFOg/s1600/DSCF7252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5IBMTe2-Pk/TbFglPBcVfI/AAAAAAAACNI/l-iemm-LFOg/s320/DSCF7252.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> The details of the wall inside the Hanging Church were amazing. These inlaid wood pieces fit tightly together without any nails.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Vuaw042dW0/TbFhAbgUBsI/AAAAAAAACNQ/FNuiNsaR1CI/s1600/DSCF7263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Vuaw042dW0/TbFhAbgUBsI/AAAAAAAACNQ/FNuiNsaR1CI/s320/DSCF7263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This photo is next to the Coptic Museum. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xooxA9BN1oo/TbFhbfD9kpI/AAAAAAAACNU/uxV8vHksumk/s1600/DSCF7245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xooxA9BN1oo/TbFhbfD9kpI/AAAAAAAACNU/uxV8vHksumk/s320/DSCF7245.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Here we are entering the top portion of the Hanging Church.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gJiPR_cVq2Y/TbFh1rmgSKI/AAAAAAAACNY/hnR2rqmVFI8/s1600/DSCF7254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gJiPR_cVq2Y/TbFh1rmgSKI/AAAAAAAACNY/hnR2rqmVFI8/s320/DSCF7254.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWfnnj2h66I/TbFiQlhD_QI/AAAAAAAACNc/43Br7WHyKME/s1600/DSCF7247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWfnnj2h66I/TbFiQlhD_QI/AAAAAAAACNc/43Br7WHyKME/s320/DSCF7247.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> Cameron and Jonathan are leaving the top part of the Hanging Church, entering a lovely courtyard.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y82UYQKYXIY/TbFjG8JdTqI/AAAAAAAACNo/bRKAPZIEbgw/s1600/DSCF7251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y82UYQKYXIY/TbFjG8JdTqI/AAAAAAAACNo/bRKAPZIEbgw/s320/DSCF7251.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8bYbOlQsBc/TbFjhgw7VrI/AAAAAAAACNs/B59MQwRzTm4/s1600/DSCF7249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N8bYbOlQsBc/TbFjhgw7VrI/AAAAAAAACNs/B59MQwRzTm4/s320/DSCF7249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This is inside the Hanging Church. Gamal is pointing out how the eyes of the painting Jonathan is looking at seem to follow the viewer whether standing to the right or left.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LD8w1eFWzZE/TbFj8EbLOEI/AAAAAAAACNw/HYIxEojxccc/s1600/DSCF7272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LD8w1eFWzZE/TbFj8EbLOEI/AAAAAAAACNw/HYIxEojxccc/s320/DSCF7272.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Chris and Jonathan leaving Coptic Cairo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K1cAYfGP3hI/TbFkXFQ_MyI/AAAAAAAACN4/fJQfiSUffqs/s1600/DSCF7236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K1cAYfGP3hI/TbFkXFQ_MyI/AAAAAAAACN4/fJQfiSUffqs/s320/DSCF7236.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back at the hotel, our wild cousin Chris said how much she enjoyed jumping on beds when she was a kid... so did the boys!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--erik2mL-R4/Ta1uMV7iczI/AAAAAAAACLc/-cw_3hFLi4I/s1600/DSCF7322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--erik2mL-R4/Ta1uMV7iczI/AAAAAAAACLc/-cw_3hFLi4I/s320/DSCF7322.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fOHsKCXvJs0/Ta1tK0WbnYI/AAAAAAAACLY/eZ5dAN9pFcs/s1600/DSCF7323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fOHsKCXvJs0/Ta1tK0WbnYI/AAAAAAAACLY/eZ5dAN9pFcs/s320/DSCF7323.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We all enjoyed the headet pool overlooking the Nile at Chris and Jerry's hotel. Cameron and Jonathan enjoyed climbing on Jerry in the pool, chanting "Daddy's for dinner!" Jerry was very good-natured about being a human jungle gym.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A46kUEmdfqM/Ta1vMR6XE3I/AAAAAAAACLg/6UsIDejomts/s1600/DSCF7332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A46kUEmdfqM/Ta1vMR6XE3I/AAAAAAAACLg/6UsIDejomts/s320/DSCF7332.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Chris is shivering a little as I took this photo because the air was surprising cool for Egypt when coming out of the heated pool.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jcBvzNkTV9s/Ta1wLr5k9XI/AAAAAAAACLo/JWMac6IWW9k/s1600/DSCF7334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jcBvzNkTV9s/Ta1wLr5k9XI/AAAAAAAACLo/JWMac6IWW9k/s320/DSCF7334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We're headed to dinner in this photo. Jonathan likes to dress up and 'look smart'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0Nfvs3MCHM/Ta1xKDVb5tI/AAAAAAAACLs/hLaTa5YaCbo/s1600/DSCF7336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0Nfvs3MCHM/Ta1xKDVb5tI/AAAAAAAACLs/hLaTa5YaCbo/s320/DSCF7336.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have a few videos to post another time but they will take some time to upload.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-15739618287751551912011-04-10T00:15:00.002+02:002011-04-10T01:27:50.293+02:00Violence, Again, in Tahrir Square, night of Friday, April 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I've heard reports that one person is dead and 49 are injured (though the newspaper reports say 79 wounded). I talked to tourists whose hotels were around the square and they reported hearing gun shots for a couple hours during the night and many sirons of ambulances. Here is an article in the Egyptian Gazette describing the event. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16988&title=Protesters%20barricade%20selves%20in%20Cairo">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16988&title=Protesters%20barricade%20selves%20in%20Cairo</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">I've heard that the military arrived at Tahrir Square in large numbers around 2-3am. I was in the square earlier that night, around 6pm, and everything was peaceful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Here is an AlJazeera news report with videos of the events:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Cobject%20width=%22565%22%20height=%22340%22%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22movie%22%20value=%22http://www.youtube.com/v/dmE_Ds68oyg&fs=1&showinfo=1&rel=1%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22allowFullScreen%22%20value=%22true%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22allowscriptaccess%22%20value=%22always%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cembed%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/v/dmE_Ds68oyg&fs=1&showinfo=1&rel=1%22%20type=%22application/x-shockwave-flash%22%20allowscriptaccess=%22always%22%20allowfullscreen=%22true%22%20width=%22565%22%20height=%22340%22%3E%3C/embed%3E%3C/object%3E"><object height="340" width="565"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dmE_Ds68oyg&fs=1&showinfo=1&rel=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dmE_Ds68oyg&fs=1&showinfo=1&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="565" height="340"></embed></object></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This video is also available at this link: <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/video/">http://english.aljazeera.net/video/</a> With the heading, "Clashes Erupt Around Cairo's Tahrir Square"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">In other news, the verdict for the blogger put on trial for comments made about the military on his blog has been postponed. Here is an article about this case:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5isDWWoRxwUzcu5zRG9LA52NutHCg?docId=CNG.923b2cd5041443c093c66218d623c411.aa1">http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5isDWWoRxwUzcu5zRG9LA52NutHCg?docId=CNG.923b2cd5041443c093c66218d623c411.aa1</a></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-29264818813072619062011-04-09T00:59:00.000+02:002011-04-09T00:59:56.727+02:00Cairo's Tahrir Square,April 8, 2011: Friday of Purification and AccountabilityTahrir Square was full again today. I was on the metro at mid-day and saw people coming on the metro car from the Square. They reported there were a million people in the square. Each Friday since the revolution there has been a protest in the Square with a different theme each time. Today's protest was called the Friday of Purification and Accountability, with the main demand being to have former president Mubarak stand trial and those who were in power with him also be held accountable and out of office.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/4/8/1302274227286/aerial-shot-of-tahrir-squ-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/4/8/1302274227286/aerial-shot-of-tahrir-squ-007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Photo from the Guardian.co.uk website. Caption there reads: <br />
Tahrir Square protesters called on the field marshall to meet the demands of the people. <br />
Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Here's an article about the protest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/08/protesters-return-tahrir-square">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/08/protesters-return-tahrir-square</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a short video of the crowd:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lults4gags0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lults4gags0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lults4gags0</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nmVg3uGvLuk/TZ-HVb4kzMI/AAAAAAAACKY/BIViBtTUKTE/s1600/DSCF6713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nmVg3uGvLuk/TZ-HVb4kzMI/AAAAAAAACKY/BIViBtTUKTE/s400/DSCF6713.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hz3OTsicu0/TZ9wu30iYFI/AAAAAAAACIQ/9p9C3UJ_47w/s1600/DSCF6820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8hz3OTsicu0/TZ9wu30iYFI/AAAAAAAACIQ/9p9C3UJ_47w/s320/DSCF6820.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B0jvAerGjzQ/TZ-K9-9gsJI/AAAAAAAACKs/2VMp-vI_HzI/s1600/DSCF6718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B0jvAerGjzQ/TZ-K9-9gsJI/AAAAAAAACKs/2VMp-vI_HzI/s320/DSCF6718.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A4WfF1HJNIE/TZ9xsuqMqOI/AAAAAAAACIU/s5x2B3F2dxA/s1600/DSCF6812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A4WfF1HJNIE/TZ9xsuqMqOI/AAAAAAAACIU/s5x2B3F2dxA/s400/DSCF6812.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> I was told the sign in the above photo says he would like to be fishing in Sharm El Sheikh too! (That's where former President Mubarak is now. Sharm El Sheikh is known as big resort area on the sea.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_8m99uN50/TZ9ysYcR_QI/AAAAAAAACIY/fgDup-lt1x8/s1600/DSCF6807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5V_8m99uN50/TZ9ysYcR_QI/AAAAAAAACIY/fgDup-lt1x8/s320/DSCF6807.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHYf9fpigWo/TZ9zqs9cZUI/AAAAAAAACIk/YMK7JDErV4g/s1600/DSCF6800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHYf9fpigWo/TZ9zqs9cZUI/AAAAAAAACIk/YMK7JDErV4g/s320/DSCF6800.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> The photo of the flyer discuss demands from the people standing in a row holding the flyer. They would like there to be a civilian council, rather than the armed forces, in charge of the transition. They would like the civilian council to oversee the developing of the new constitution with presidential elections coming only after the new constitution is in place; they suggest 2 years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QuLuBKq9FD4/TZ90op1oQbI/AAAAAAAACIo/vGP-zxWkiSc/s1600/DSCF6798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QuLuBKq9FD4/TZ90op1oQbI/AAAAAAAACIo/vGP-zxWkiSc/s320/DSCF6798.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCrP9aGDrVc/TZ91hQI7gpI/AAAAAAAACIs/X3TJDyV9_ns/s1600/DSCF6794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sCrP9aGDrVc/TZ91hQI7gpI/AAAAAAAACIs/X3TJDyV9_ns/s400/DSCF6794.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V0k06zwShDg/TZ92fWig2yI/AAAAAAAACI0/A7zvVATxWKs/s1600/DSCF6780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V0k06zwShDg/TZ92fWig2yI/AAAAAAAACI0/A7zvVATxWKs/s320/DSCF6780.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9O8M4jkkJS8/TZ93Z365oBI/AAAAAAAACI8/-GtvRUVEF2s/s1600/DSCF6772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9O8M4jkkJS8/TZ93Z365oBI/AAAAAAAACI8/-GtvRUVEF2s/s320/DSCF6772.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pV2906H1a20/TZ97FapvFjI/AAAAAAAACJQ/js08F-EOBRs/s1600/DSCF6749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pV2906H1a20/TZ97FapvFjI/AAAAAAAACJQ/js08F-EOBRs/s320/DSCF6749.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A military helicopter was circling the square on a regular basis when I was there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gH2W3dWcqMs/TZ96J0B44QI/AAAAAAAACJI/PL-ejo2ZPEo/s1600/DSCF6754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gH2W3dWcqMs/TZ96J0B44QI/AAAAAAAACJI/PL-ejo2ZPEo/s320/DSCF6754.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> This protester was anxious for me to take a photo of his shirt that says Egypt Moving Forward.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8aPx-yirZk/TZ95NjLzV6I/AAAAAAAACJE/kXRfRC4Eme8/s1600/DSCF6761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8aPx-yirZk/TZ95NjLzV6I/AAAAAAAACJE/kXRfRC4Eme8/s320/DSCF6761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zXMhnHOuiwM/TZ94U6QVjfI/AAAAAAAACJA/ofOrm2V62n8/s1600/DSCF6765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zXMhnHOuiwM/TZ94U6QVjfI/AAAAAAAACJA/ofOrm2V62n8/s320/DSCF6765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7PQHw9W0Kt0/TZ9-vIn2smI/AAAAAAAACJk/OFYssesJTcY/s1600/DSCF6694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7PQHw9W0Kt0/TZ9-vIn2smI/AAAAAAAACJk/OFYssesJTcY/s320/DSCF6694.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-oDhgAESK8/TZ99vq1pTkI/AAAAAAAACJc/MQ-EF1eVOMo/s1600/DSCF6688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-oDhgAESK8/TZ99vq1pTkI/AAAAAAAACJc/MQ-EF1eVOMo/s320/DSCF6688.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wUiDGLDBfuQ/TZ986KbRxhI/AAAAAAAACJY/A9LmhU56-A4/s1600/DSCF6685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wUiDGLDBfuQ/TZ986KbRxhI/AAAAAAAACJY/A9LmhU56-A4/s320/DSCF6685.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-23456082875582187862011-04-07T18:57:00.004+02:002011-04-08T01:04:47.233+02:00Human Rights Watch report about Egyptian blogger<h6 class="node-subtitle" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em;">Below is a report posted recently on the Human Rights Watch's website about a blogger being criminally charged in Egypt. Here is the link to this report: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/egypt-drop-charges-against-blogger-critical-military?print">http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/egypt-drop-charges-against-blogger-critical-military?print</a></span></h6><h6 class="node-subtitle" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em;">_________________________________________</h6><h6 class="node-subtitle" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; padding-bottom: 0em; padding-left: 0em; padding-right: 0em; padding-top: 0em;">Latest Unlawful Trial of Civilian Before Military Court</h6><div class="info" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.15in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.15in;"><div class="meta date">April 5, 2011</div></div><div class="content filter-text" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="node-body"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">(New York) - Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces should drop all charges against a blogger for his internet posts critical of the military, Human Rights Watch said today.<em></em></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;"></div>On April 6, 2011, a military tribunal is expected to deliver the verdict in the case against Maikel Nabil, who faces up to three years in prison on charges of "insulting the military."<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">"It's pretty stunning in Egypt's supposed new era of rights to see the military government prosecuting someone in a military court for writing about the military," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This trial sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Egypt is trying to transition away from the abuses of the Mubarak era."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">Nabil, a 25-year-old activist who blogs at <u>"</u><a href="http://www.maikelnabil.com/2011/03/army-and-people-wasnt-ever-one-hand.html" style="color: black;">Son of Ra,'</a>" has campaigned for an end to forced conscription and most recently criticized the army in a series of blog posts, including one entitled, "The Army and the People [Were Never] One Hand." His criticism of the military has become the subject of the case against him, in addition to comments published on his personal Facebook page.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">On March 28 at 5 p.m., five military officers went to Nabil's home in the Ein Shams district of Cairo and arrested him with a warrant from the military prosecutor. His brother, Mark Nabil, told Human Rights Watch that Maikel called his family the next day, told them that he had spent the night at Military Intelligence offices, and asked them to send a lawyer for his interrogation the following day.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">The military prosecutor charged him with "insulting the military establishment," under article 184 of the penal code, and with "spreading false information," a violation of article 102 bis. These provisions carry sentences that include a fine of up to 5000 EGP (US$840) and imprisonment in prison.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">In a military court session on April 4, a military intelligence officer presented the evidence against Nabil, which one of his defense lawyers, Maged Hanna, told Human Rights Watch consisted of a CD with details of Nabil's blog postings and commentary on Facebook over recent months.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">Another defense lawyer, Ali Atef, told Human Rights Watch that the prosecutor's indictment lists a series of comments on Nabil's Facebook page in which he criticized Defense Minister Mohamed Husein Tantawi and the army for their abuses against protesters, blamed the army for Egypt's security problems, and criticized the army for conducting forced virginity tests on female detainees. The blog posts referred to by the prosecutor included posts in which Nabil called for an end to forced military conscription and was critical of the treatment he experienced during his time in the army as a conscript.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">The right to freedom of expression, including writing that criticizes the military, is protected under international human rights agreements to which Egypt is a party, Human Rights Watch said. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in article 9 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in article 19 obligate Egypt to protect free expression. Under international law, restrictions on freedom of expression must be strictly limited to meet a legitimate aim.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">This is the third time a blogger has been brought before a military court in Egypt. In February 2009, the military arrested <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/03/01/egypt-free-blogger-military-court-trial" style="color: black; text-decoration: underline;">Ahmad Mostafa</a>, a student and member of the April 6 protest movement, for his blog post "Scandal in the Military Academy," in which he alleged corruption in the military academy. The military charged him with "the publication of information considered a secret of the armed forces, spreading false information with the goal of causing harm and insulting officials." The court ultimately acquitted him. In November 2010, a military court sentenced another blogger, Ahmad Bassiouni, to six months in prison for having "broadcast military secrets via the internet."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">Human Rights Watch strongly opposes any trials of civilians before military courts, the proceedings of which do not protect due process rights. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, has said that military courts "should not, in any circumstances whatsoever, have jurisdiction over civilians."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">The military has brought hundreds of civilians before military trials since it formally took over the government from Hosni Mubarak on February 13. Those arrested and tried before military courts include a number of peaceful protesters whom the military beat and tortured on <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/11/egypt-end-torture-military-trials-civilians" style="color: black; text-decoration: underline;">March 9</a> and other occasions. Over 150 protesters remain imprisoned in Tora and Wadi Gedid prisons after being convicted by military tribunals. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em; margin-top: 0em;">"The Supreme Military Council, in its caretaker role, is supposed to protect and uphold the rights of Egyptians to express themselves, however critical their views may be," Whitson said. "The Egyptian army should understand that it is no more immune from criticism than former President Mubarak."</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-61143568668721125432011-04-05T01:03:00.000+02:002011-04-05T01:03:53.536+02:00Voices from Tahrir Square April 1, 2011Here are several videos I took in Cairo's Tahrir Square last Friday, April 1, of Egyptians discussing why they are continuing to protest.<br />
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This first video shows you the crowd in the square.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7RsgWZOe9_8/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7RsgWZOe9_8?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7RsgWZOe9_8?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSWdafP8-LM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This video is at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWdafP8-LM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWdafP8-LM</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/g9bmVw_eswo/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9bmVw_eswo?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g9bmVw_eswo?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This video is available at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9bmVw_eswo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9bmVw_eswo</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oIi_bFcC0Sw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oIi_bFcC0Sw?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oIi_bFcC0Sw?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This video is at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIi_bFcC0Sw&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIi_bFcC0Sw&feature=related</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-144125576650820232011-04-04T09:58:00.003+02:002011-04-04T10:21:51.005+02:00First thunder storm & apologies after Soccer Match violenceIt rained yesterday. This may seem uneventful to people back home, but here, it rarely rains (-- this is about the 4th time in the 8 months we've been here). It rained for hour with poor visibility on the roads causing large traffic jams. There is flooding with the rains since there's no where for the rain to go in many places. I walked Cameron to school today and at first thought we were late because the playground was almost empty. They line up to go inside at 8:30am or so, and it was 8:31am, so I thought the children had already gone inside. But when we got inside, his classroom was almost empty too. Everyone was late because of the rain, the traffic jams, and the muddy walking situation. Here are some photos of the street that Cameron's school is on. We don't have a car here so we walk him back and forth to school every day. When I take him, he rides his scooter, but scootering was a little tricky this morning.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FXMMGBz3c-s/TZluca_FCtI/AAAAAAAACH4/Lco_AD79Y3o/s1600/DSCF6673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FXMMGBz3c-s/TZluca_FCtI/AAAAAAAACH4/Lco_AD79Y3o/s400/DSCF6673.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3GzAnuhhJOo/TZlu71JyrAI/AAAAAAAACH8/SIQfwuJdn9c/s1600/DSCF6671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3GzAnuhhJOo/TZlu71JyrAI/AAAAAAAACH8/SIQfwuJdn9c/s400/DSCF6671.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div><div>I saw that the same storm that hit Cairo also caused a lot more damage in other parts of Africa. Here's an article about Ghana where the heavy storm with high winds destroyed 150 homes, schools and other buildings, leaving 800 people homeless. <a href="http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=206238">http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=206238</a></div><div><br />
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</div><div>In other news, I've been watching the aftermath of the riot that broke out at the soccer match between Tunisia and Egyptian. Here's a YouTube clip I found that shows the chaos:</div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22640%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/UO-cDeTC1gI?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UO-cDeTC1gI?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO-cDeTC1gI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO-cDeTC1gI</a></div><div>You might want to watch the video right on YouTube since some of the comments that follow it are really interesting, reflecting on the violence the people from both these countries experienced during their recent revolutions and how there is still an element of 'thugs' that exist in each country and sometimes show their faces in unpredictable ways. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Meanwhile, the Egyptian Prime Minister has made a formal apology to Tunisia. Here's a link to tat story:</div><div><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16772&title=Egypt%20apologises%20to%20Tunisia%20for%20'thuggery'">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16772&title=Egypt%20apologises%20to%20Tunisia%20for%20'thuggery'</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The article also discusses how Egyptian people have started a Facebook page to apologize to Tunisia. The page already has 21,000 members. This is another fascinating face of Egypt. There is a strong desire of people in the community to try to make things right. I saw it after the revolution in several ways. The Giza pyramids people who charged camels and horses into the square to attack protesters during the revolution later invited the public to a party to apologize. The security forces who shot tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters later demonstrated in the street saying they were sorry, that they were just following orders from a bad leader of the Ministry of the Interior, and chanting "The people and the police are one." And then I also saw regular Egyptian citizens bringing beautiful bouquets of flowers to the police to thank them for protecting neighborhoods during the revolution and to try to begin a new relationship with the police. (If you want to read more about this, here's a link to the prior blog post that has that story at the end:</div><div><a href="http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/police-protests-in-cairo-and-ministry.html">http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/police-protests-in-cairo-and-ministry.html</a></div><div><br />
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</div><div>On a different topic, I was interested to see that the Armed Forces have fired several top television news anchors after numerous protests about the bias coverage by the state television station. </div><div>Here's an article about this: <a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16770&title=Egypt%20sacks%20bosses%20in%20state%20TV%20and%20radio">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16770&title=Egypt%20sacks%20bosses%20in%20state%20TV%20and%20radio</a></div><div><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16770&title=Egypt%20sacks%20bosses%20in%20state%20TV%20and%20radio"></a> This comes one week after a demonstration of thousands of Egyptians at the State Television building. Here's what one Egyptian woman had to say at that protest. She discusses how State TV was telling 'lies,lies,lies' during and after the revolution. Her take on the revolution is that "everything will be ok because we stay in the streets."</div><div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/8IM_cKmMtkw?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8IM_cKmMtkw?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's a link to the blog entry with other videos I took at that demonstration. <a href="http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/state-television-in-egypt.html">http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/state-television-in-egypt.html</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>While there are many parts of the revolution that have not yet happened, I am pretty amazed sometimes about how there can be a large protest one day with a specific demand (e.g., that the prime minister resign, that the Security Forces be disbanded or that the leadership of state television be fired), and then it happens within the week. In the U.S., things are much more deeply entrenched; one almost never sees such immediate results from protests. It makes me realize more how the opportunities for change here in Egypt right now are tremendous. The situation is still so fluid, with great potential to make progress on issues in ways that would not have been possible two months before and perhaps will not be possible 6 months from now. It is a critical time.</div><div><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-31632189042218538822011-04-03T02:33:00.001+02:002011-04-03T02:47:48.958+02:00AUC Tahrir Booksale & a couple nice bookstores in Maadi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jeff, Cameron and I went to the Tahrir Book Fair at the downtown campus of American University in Cairo (AUC) today. It was a fun event with many bookstore vendors, people selling crafts and bands playing. There was even a section with booths for embassies. I noticed the U.S. Embassy had a booth with publications on display.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a link to an announcement about the Book Fair. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.aucegypt.edu/news/Pages/NewsDetails.aspx?eid=642">http://www.aucegypt.edu/news/Pages/NewsDetails.aspx?eid=642</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">(The information at this link says the Fair ends today, Sunday, but we heard the event had been extended by one day, ending Monday instead.)</div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AUC's downtown campus, viewed from outside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EccEU1Ikkko/TZeV3ZV95-I/AAAAAAAACGA/enjuEI5xbpE/s1600/DSCF6666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EccEU1Ikkko/TZeV3ZV95-I/AAAAAAAACGA/enjuEI5xbpE/s320/DSCF6666.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yki2TkZr4NM/TZeWz21OcqI/AAAAAAAACGE/X1Pkr_rx9uM/s1600/DSCF6663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yki2TkZr4NM/TZeWz21OcqI/AAAAAAAACGE/X1Pkr_rx9uM/s320/DSCF6663.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rtTbHKI6444/TZeXyAg5tRI/AAAAAAAACGI/8Lmh5CRssgk/s1600/DSCF6665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rtTbHKI6444/TZeXyAg5tRI/AAAAAAAACGI/8Lmh5CRssgk/s400/DSCF6665.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering the campus. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a short video of part of the fair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jBLehiVcpfs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBLehiVcpfs" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBLehiVcpfs</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm guessing there were about 20 different booksellers at the fair selling new and used books.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcpRWD6s1Vw/TZeZnoUp4rI/AAAAAAAACGY/Wk0e2USYnSg/s1600/DSCF6654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcpRWD6s1Vw/TZeZnoUp4rI/AAAAAAAACGY/Wk0e2USYnSg/s320/DSCF6654.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aN2jPunfLCs/TZeai02JEiI/AAAAAAAACGc/IFFBIo8He4Y/s1600/DSCF6657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aN2jPunfLCs/TZeai02JEiI/AAAAAAAACGc/IFFBIo8He4Y/s320/DSCF6657.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P5fktc-8PHM/TZebdzUKr-I/AAAAAAAACGg/OOCH8WX20LU/s1600/DSCF6649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P5fktc-8PHM/TZebdzUKr-I/AAAAAAAACGg/OOCH8WX20LU/s400/DSCF6649.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pdg12zlRttA/TZedYqYT7GI/AAAAAAAACGw/Ef2U0RMb-Cw/s1600/DSCF6640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pdg12zlRttA/TZedYqYT7GI/AAAAAAAACGw/Ef2U0RMb-Cw/s400/DSCF6640.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are a few of the tables selling art and jewelry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>A couple of our favorite bookstores from Maadi had tables at the book fair. One bookstore with mainly new books is the Book Spot on Road 9, a couple blocks down from the Greco Cafe and on the opposite side of the street. If you're considering visiting the Book Spot, you might want to go on a Tuesday since most Tuesdays they offer 10% off all books. <br />
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A second store we like a lot is a little used bookstore set back from the road not far from the Sadayek Maadi metro station, also on Road 9 (on the opposite side of the street from the metro). Below is a photo of the owner of that bookstore with his family; a photo of his table of books is below this. If anyone would like to visit his bookstore or find a book through him, his mobile number is (002) 019 77 45 933, email: 05092002@gmail.com.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--7FQsIAjKTs/TZeeU3wp-WI/AAAAAAAACG0/OyW74VTrt7s/s1600/DSCF6629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--7FQsIAjKTs/TZeeU3wp-WI/AAAAAAAACG0/OyW74VTrt7s/s400/DSCF6629.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBAvtzX4hI8/TZefKjsBw4I/AAAAAAAACG8/_gbsw7Ubu74/s1600/DSCF6612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBAvtzX4hI8/TZefKjsBw4I/AAAAAAAACG8/_gbsw7Ubu74/s320/DSCF6612.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3KHG2M9PwLU/TZeevbNRq1I/AAAAAAAACG4/AONJD-TFaxQ/s1600/DSCF6617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3KHG2M9PwLU/TZeevbNRq1I/AAAAAAAACG4/AONJD-TFaxQ/s320/DSCF6617.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fOGvh0cytA/TZeflD_eqvI/AAAAAAAACHI/GUlPtgJ1ikE/s1600/DSCF6613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_fOGvh0cytA/TZeflD_eqvI/AAAAAAAACHI/GUlPtgJ1ikE/s320/DSCF6613.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1ua2hzIuTY/TZegAOrnsnI/AAAAAAAACHM/B8ZgXBGnAHc/s1600/DSCF6616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1ua2hzIuTY/TZegAOrnsnI/AAAAAAAACHM/B8ZgXBGnAHc/s400/DSCF6616.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IrRR1pEH_LE/TZegbc3m_1I/AAAAAAAACHQ/QdGTzhK3C_I/s1600/DSCF6602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IrRR1pEH_LE/TZegbc3m_1I/AAAAAAAACHQ/QdGTzhK3C_I/s400/DSCF6602.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quiet corner of AUC's downtown campus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There are bargain books for sale tucked away behind the main part of the fair in an area called the AUC Press Pavilion, (see photo below).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IAnwxN8N3c/TZeg2OFG7KI/AAAAAAAACHU/zdT-kIqu9To/s1600/DSCF6597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IAnwxN8N3c/TZeg2OFG7KI/AAAAAAAACHU/zdT-kIqu9To/s400/DSCF6597.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Jeff and I have been quite impressed with AUC's bookstores. They have a great selection and the staff are very helpful. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e-Lfnbwlx6w/TZehQ8d0LcI/AAAAAAAACHc/miTYNugFnmA/s1600/DSCF6589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e-Lfnbwlx6w/TZehQ8d0LcI/AAAAAAAACHc/miTYNugFnmA/s400/DSCF6589.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Cameron enjoyed the children's story-telling time at the AUC bookstore today. I enjoyed it too. The story teller was a woman reading the book she wrote and had published, a book about the old Alexandria lighthouse, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QMl4cAV9AOg/TZehrkQJZgI/AAAAAAAACHg/oXiuVkxHsso/s1600/DSCF6579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QMl4cAV9AOg/TZehrkQJZgI/AAAAAAAACHg/oXiuVkxHsso/s320/DSCF6579.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Here's the cover of the book.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PB8j17Ekq0Q/TZeiGFPOAuI/AAAAAAAACHk/wrDeqxBCCOw/s1600/DSCF6583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PB8j17Ekq0Q/TZeiGFPOAuI/AAAAAAAACHk/wrDeqxBCCOw/s320/DSCF6583.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Here's a lovely illustration from the book. The details about the lighthouse were well-researched to be historically accurate. The light of the lighthouse was from a bonfire built on stone at the top. This building really was an architectural wonder. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TiK3k52FtN0/TZenNY4qNTI/AAAAAAAACHw/XwT8uhZDShI/s1600/DSCF6581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TiK3k52FtN0/TZenNY4qNTI/AAAAAAAACHw/XwT8uhZDShI/s320/DSCF6581.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Here's a page from the book with some interesting details about the lighthouse. (You can click on the photo to make it larger.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LqgbgdKi59I/TZeul4prgiI/AAAAAAAACH0/LLMjzjCAxSQ/s1600/DSCF6587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LqgbgdKi59I/TZeul4prgiI/AAAAAAAACH0/LLMjzjCAxSQ/s400/DSCF6587.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
If anyone reading this blog in Cairo is interested in going to the Tahrir Book Fair, you have today and tomorrow to get there, 10am-6pm. The entrance to the campus is about 100 yards from the Sadat Metro station, across from the McDonald's on that side street leading to Tahrir Square. <br />
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Here's a link to a newspaper article about the Book Fair: <a href="http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/382692">http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/382692</a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">As it reports, an ID is required to enter the AUC campus, but the Book Fair is open to the public so anyone can go. Admission is free.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-32758410840185312182011-04-02T02:05:00.000+02:002011-04-02T02:05:28.687+02:00April 1 Protest in Tahrir Square<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I went to Tahrir Square today. I'm guessing there were about 10,000-20,000 people there. Everything was peaceful. I interviewed several protesters and will be uploading the videos in the next few days. Several of the protesters said they were there because they want the people from the Mubarak regime out of the leadership positions in the government. They named several ministers who were appointed by Mubarak who are still in the cabinet. They also said they want the whole Mubarak family put on trial. Other demands include ending the State of Emergency and freeing the political prisoners.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEJef_55Fk4/TZZeg7KlOsI/AAAAAAAACF0/ke_Ukfqw4mI/s1600/DSCF6427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEJef_55Fk4/TZZeg7KlOsI/AAAAAAAACF0/ke_Ukfqw4mI/s400/DSCF6427.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jXWQsErnAlI/TZZat2S-kgI/AAAAAAAACFc/6_ZMYPYyGjk/s1600/DSCF6461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jXWQsErnAlI/TZZat2S-kgI/AAAAAAAACFc/6_ZMYPYyGjk/s320/DSCF6461.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aPAmf3U5Y1U/TZZcpof88dI/AAAAAAAACFs/9vZUP5ZG1oU/s1600/DSCF6440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aPAmf3U5Y1U/TZZcpof88dI/AAAAAAAACFs/9vZUP5ZG1oU/s400/DSCF6440.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ2V-RlkgAw/TZZWne6LVaI/AAAAAAAACFI/HvTmbsWqcm8/s1600/BLOG6558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ2V-RlkgAw/TZZWne6LVaI/AAAAAAAACFI/HvTmbsWqcm8/s400/BLOG6558.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WeAVDK0wCUo/TZZbncatSSI/AAAAAAAACFg/OiLK2HVD_PA/s1600/DSCF6452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WeAVDK0wCUo/TZZbncatSSI/AAAAAAAACFg/OiLK2HVD_PA/s400/DSCF6452.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On a different note, a strange thing happened in our neighborhood of Cairo, Maadi. There was a small earthquake. I didn't feel anything in Tahrir Square, but Jeff and everyone else I talked to in Maadi felt their buildings shake for a few seconds. It turned out that there was an earthquake in Greece registering 6.9 on the Richter scale. I was surprised that an earthquake in Greece would cause a mini earthquake here, but someone pointed out that Greece is only about 250 miles away from Alexandria, Egypt (-- the second largest city in Egypt which is about a 2 hour train ride from Cairo). There was no damage here, it just surprised people a bit. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-41587556900755899842011-04-01T03:27:00.000+02:002011-04-01T03:27:56.054+02:00The Interim Constitution and more videos from Referendum Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In reviewing my YouTube videos and thanks to a comment from one Egyptian who reminded me I hadn't yet posted the video I took of them, I discovered there were a few videos from the day of the referendum on the constitutional amendments (March 19) that I hadn't yet posted. They are at the end of this posting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Other news updates:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* The military announced the new interim constitution on Wednesday, though I haven't yet seen an English version of it. The newspapers reported that about 80% of the interim constitution is from the old Egyptian constitution that was suspended when the military came to power, plus the most recent amendments that passed by a 77% vote in the recent referendum. There were some other changes made too for the Interim Constitution, but I haven't yet seen an analysis of what changes were neither from the old constitution nor the newly passed amendments. (I've heard some ask the question as to why there was a referendum on amendments to the constitution at all if changes could just be made by means of the Armed Forces' constitutional decree.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* The stock exchange reopened here about a week ago, after being closed for almost two months. It had closed at the end of January when the revolution started after it had fallen by 16%. When it reopened, it fell by almost 10% in the first hour or two, resulting in the government suspending trading for a short time, then reopening later that same day. A drop was expected because of many corruption charges pending against former ministers and issues related to the political transition of the past 2 months.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* The U.S. Embassy has reopened and resumed all operations and the State Department is allowing diplomats to come back. Here's an article about that:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16647&title=Evacuated%20US%20diplomats%20return%20to%20Egypt">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16647&title=Evacuated%20US%20diplomats%20return%20to%20Egypt</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* Political activists and bloggers have called for another million person march tomorrow (Friday) to protest unfulfilled demands. Here's an article about this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16668&title=Egyptian%20million%20march%20planned%20on%20Friday">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16668&title=Egyptian%20million%20march%20planned%20on%20Friday</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* The above article reports, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 15px;">"The first session of the national dialogue is expected today in the Cabinet headquarters under the title 'Towards a New Social Decade'," the Cabinet said in a statement yesterday."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 15px;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 15px;">* The military has announced that presidential elections will be in November. Parliamentary elections had been announced already for September.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Now, here are the videos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yoi_TrtLEpM/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yoi_TrtLEpM?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yoi_TrtLEpM?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yoi_TrtLEpM" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yoi_TrtLEpM</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/8hfv9HvIIow?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8hfv9HvIIow?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></a><br />
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This video is available at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hfv9HvIIow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hfv9HvIIow</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/GSSWvcac_9I?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GSSWvcac_9I?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></a><br />
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This link is available at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSWvcac_9I">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSWvcac_9I</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-81366959673125800532011-03-28T23:55:00.001+02:002011-03-28T23:57:03.042+02:00State Television in Egypt<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wfPqr1X8cDc/TZDbFuBwKyI/AAAAAAAACCI/n-3XlDMvAyw/s1600/DSCF6343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wfPqr1X8cDc/TZDbFuBwKyI/AAAAAAAACCI/n-3XlDMvAyw/s400/DSCF6343.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State television building in Cairo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have finally been able to upload the video interviews I took at the protest last Friday, March 25, 2011, in front of the State Television Station in Cairo. The woman in this video happened to have been a TV broadcaster for State TV a couple years ago.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FAOm48P4dJ8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>This is the link for this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOm48P4dJ8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOm48P4dJ8</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8IM_cKmMtkw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8IM_cKmMtkw?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8IM_cKmMtkw?f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Here is the link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IM_cKmMtkw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IM_cKmMtkw</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YpNpuT7nGR4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>This video is available at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNpuT7nGR4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNpuT7nGR4</a><br />
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Here are some more photos of this protest.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0Onl-DvCHs/TZDbipGJqNI/AAAAAAAACCM/FKEOyC2D-YM/s1600/DSCF6304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0Onl-DvCHs/TZDbipGJqNI/AAAAAAAACCM/FKEOyC2D-YM/s320/DSCF6304.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hhkJBUz0u5A/TZDejRMM9aI/AAAAAAAACCo/OZr0OE9xIoQ/s1600/DSCF6326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hhkJBUz0u5A/TZDejRMM9aI/AAAAAAAACCo/OZr0OE9xIoQ/s320/DSCF6326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0Kdl3wVL-Q/TZDdk4mmFWI/AAAAAAAACCg/kqNC7ybcVmU/s1600/DSCF6317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_0Kdl3wVL-Q/TZDdk4mmFWI/AAAAAAAACCg/kqNC7ybcVmU/s400/DSCF6317.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was surprised to see the military soldiers wearing helmets, like the riot police wore when there were violent clashes with protesters. I also saw a number of soldiers wearing bright red helmets. From what I saw, this protest was completely peaceful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf4aA_B5lvw/TZDeItVkRLI/AAAAAAAACCk/OXxsz_HCFKk/s1600/DSCF6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf4aA_B5lvw/TZDeItVkRLI/AAAAAAAACCk/OXxsz_HCFKk/s320/DSCF6335.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McJSHrjZ5RU/TZDb_rtpjlI/AAAAAAAACCQ/NAbI3uaOE18/s1600/DSCF6302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McJSHrjZ5RU/TZDb_rtpjlI/AAAAAAAACCQ/NAbI3uaOE18/s320/DSCF6302.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7MCZzZwNNo/TZDfD6pn1OI/AAAAAAAACCw/gguMfribQcM/s1600/DSCF6312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7MCZzZwNNo/TZDfD6pn1OI/AAAAAAAACCw/gguMfribQcM/s320/DSCF6312.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a link to the first blog entry I did about that protest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/protest-at-cairos-state-television.html">http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/protest-at-cairos-state-television.html</a></div><br />
During the revolution, the contrast between the state television network and other networks was pointed out occasionally by the AlJazeera station. They showed clips of what was being shown on State Television or somethings showed a split screen of the mass protests shown on AlJazeera and other international stations as compared to what was being shown on state television. I took some pictures these split screens being shown by AlJazeera. The following shots were from February 5, day 12 of the 18 day revolution.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rhgTY_rQxbE/TZDia8nBWxI/AAAAAAAACC0/wjcdu4AMGr8/s1600/DSCF3381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rhgTY_rQxbE/TZDia8nBWxI/AAAAAAAACC0/wjcdu4AMGr8/s400/DSCF3381.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gTX-Nc_PBRg/TZDj9LvF3dI/AAAAAAAACC8/59xkb9pIru4/s1600/DSCF3316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gTX-Nc_PBRg/TZDj9LvF3dI/AAAAAAAACC8/59xkb9pIru4/s400/DSCF3316.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HE_YSnmlRx8/TZDkcXzWUSI/AAAAAAAACDE/rHDUAKjzItk/s1600/DSCF3314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HE_YSnmlRx8/TZDkcXzWUSI/AAAAAAAACDE/rHDUAKjzItk/s400/DSCF3314.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCA5OK80sRY/TZDjbBM2VFI/AAAAAAAACC4/C_khdwMunQU/s1600/DSCF3332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lCA5OK80sRY/TZDjbBM2VFI/AAAAAAAACC4/C_khdwMunQU/s400/DSCF3332.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pC27RnfvYYs/TZDk5_zDCaI/AAAAAAAACDI/KO9dmdsGc5g/s1600/DSCF3324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pC27RnfvYYs/TZDk5_zDCaI/AAAAAAAACDI/KO9dmdsGc5g/s400/DSCF3324.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is an article from <i>Time </i>online discussing the coverage of the revolution (or lack of) by Egypt's state television. <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2046510,00.html">http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2046510,00.html</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During the revolution, the government blocked the Arabic station of AlJazeera so most Egyptians had no access to what I was watching on the English AlJazeera station. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was interesting that AlJazeera reported at the end of the revolution that State Television was, for the first time, showing photos of Tahrir Square full of protesters. Here's a screen shot I took then.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b5rRp0_WXxc/TZDlh11sG0I/AAAAAAAACDM/5httz7WVy10/s1600/DSCF3334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b5rRp0_WXxc/TZDlh11sG0I/AAAAAAAACDM/5httz7WVy10/s400/DSCF3334.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-50280283515851807992011-03-28T13:12:00.002+02:002011-03-28T13:15:13.076+02:00Egypt, Libya, & AlJazeera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Egypt's foreign minister has said that Egypt will take no action with regard to Libya other than trying to assist the Egyptians who had been living in Libya and are now coming back into Egypt. Here is a link to an article about this: <a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16453&title='Egypt%20to%20stay%20out%20of%20Libya%20conflict'">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16453&title='Egypt%20to%20stay%20out%20of%20Libya%20conflict'</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But there are many efforts by groups and individuals in Egypt trying to assist the Libyan people. Our church said they had two trucks going with food and medical supplies about to go to Libya. A Libyan friend of ours whose son goes to school with our son said there are places all around Cairo collecting supplies to send to Libya. Our neighbor said he was planning to travel with one of the groups taking medical supplies to Libya. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Plus there are many nongovernmental organizations going to the border to help the tens of thousands of refugees that are pouring out of Libya. Here is video of one of my classmates, Ellen, who just got back from the Libyan border. Unfortunately the lighting isn't great because I spoke to her at night after our evening class.</div><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/1GifB-Ba_lc?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1GifB-Ba_lc?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></a><br />
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This video can be viewed at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GifB-Ba_lc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GifB-Ba_lc</a><br />
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Meanwhile, in Libya, the fighting continues with this video from AlJazeera discussing how the rebels struggle with inferior weapons and little training.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22640%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/LJj1AKa11r8?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LJj1AKa11r8?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></a><br />
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Our Libyan friend in Cairo told me that in towns near Tripoli, Quadaffi soldiers were deciding who to target by asking children in school which of their parents watch AlJazeera at home. Throughout the Egyptian revolution and the rest of the protests happening around the Middle East, AlJazeera has been courageously covering these stories, even when their crews are detained, their office burned and two of their crew killed (one in Cairo and one in Libya). Here's a link to a story about their office in Cairo getting set on fire:<br />
<a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/04/aljazeeras-cairo-office-torched-violence-journalists-escalates/">http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/04/aljazeeras-cairo-office-torched-violence-journalists-escalates/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-88747766393196146162011-03-27T01:57:00.002+02:002011-03-27T02:01:45.592+02:00The colorful New Egypt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Part of the New Egypt means taking pride in how Egypt looks and instilling this pride in children. One group is painting a beautiful wall mural in one community in Cairo. The organizers are a group of young people in their 20's with art degrees: some art teachers, some graphic designers, some looking for work in the arts. They got paint and the painting supplies from a local store that donated them. Then they teamed up with some people who live in a housing project behind the wall and the children from those apartment buildings did much of the painting of the mural. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The children loved the project. Here are some photos and videos with the kids and the beautiful wall.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UOR8cUI6Qg0/TYnF2G_3mTI/AAAAAAAACBI/TA77YRlHmKE/s400/DSCF5730.JPG" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hkLJEpru62U/TYnJk14BpeI/AAAAAAAACBg/MderHJM-73g/s1600/DSCF5736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hkLJEpru62U/TYnJk14BpeI/AAAAAAAACBg/MderHJM-73g/s400/DSCF5736.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vRV4Hhuuyqw/TYnCowWdSWI/AAAAAAAACA0/RU8M2-A8l58/s1600/DSCF5745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vRV4Hhuuyqw/TYnCowWdSWI/AAAAAAAACA0/RU8M2-A8l58/s400/DSCF5745.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OFc1VcsnrZ8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This video is found at this link: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFc1VcsnrZ8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFc1VcsnrZ8</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gju8gl9UpaM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
Here's a link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gju8gl9UpaM" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gju8gl9UpaM</a></span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">My son wanted to try painting too so one of the kids handed him a roller and he joined in.</div><div><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-knZ-ahJcvlA/TYnE6av44yI/AAAAAAAACBE/92g0_05EQII/s1600/DSCF5733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-knZ-ahJcvlA/TYnE6av44yI/AAAAAAAACBE/92g0_05EQII/s320/DSCF5733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X2meNWgeV-s/TYnECsm6DaI/AAAAAAAACA8/hW0BI2dgoHE/s1600/DSCF5734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X2meNWgeV-s/TYnECsm6DaI/AAAAAAAACA8/hW0BI2dgoHE/s320/DSCF5734.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a photo of all the adult artists organizing this project.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ASaz6aZCRfo/TYnDJAq6l_I/AAAAAAAACA4/PJKMTc3qEmY/s1600/DSCF5741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ASaz6aZCRfo/TYnDJAq6l_I/AAAAAAAACA4/PJKMTc3qEmY/s400/DSCF5741.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's a video introducing some of the people in the above photo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UaJFP0q3dX4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;">This video is available at this link: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaJFP0q3dX4" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaJFP0q3dX4</a></span><br />
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Here's another video interview I did with one of the painting organizers a week before:<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/QZc65D3WsK0?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QZc65D3WsK0?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></a><br />
Here's a link to this video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZc65D3WsK0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZc65D3WsK0</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">A video of another women organizing this painting, Nesma, is found at an earlier blog entry at this link:</div><a href="http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/painting-and-shredding.html">http://rotaryincairo.blogspot.com/2011/03/painting-and-shredding.html</a><br />
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Here are some photos of the almost completed mural:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yfLO9qteuRk/TYnHCjrZK-I/AAAAAAAACBQ/z8WTLMXy8vY/s1600/DSCF5726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yfLO9qteuRk/TYnHCjrZK-I/AAAAAAAACBQ/z8WTLMXy8vY/s400/DSCF5726.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This next photo shows the wall and the housing project behind the wall where many of the children working on the mural live.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-74FIe6pNaeg/TYnHfqBWU4I/AAAAAAAACBY/aG4L60MAOdI/s1600/DSCF5724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-74FIe6pNaeg/TYnHfqBWU4I/AAAAAAAACBY/aG4L60MAOdI/s400/DSCF5724.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q5mzu0H4X8s/TYnH72VIVGI/AAAAAAAACBc/LD7ouzoCdrg/s1600/DSCF5722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q5mzu0H4X8s/TYnH72VIVGI/AAAAAAAACBc/LD7ouzoCdrg/s400/DSCF5722.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thank you to all the artists organizing this project and all the children who helped with painting! You have done a beautiful thing!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-34242238581977878552011-03-26T01:12:00.003+02:002011-03-26T01:22:14.447+02:00Protest at Cairo's State Television building, March 25, 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VXllWrLv-JA/TY0aUdkg8eI/AAAAAAAACBk/J_Oil_8DHso/s1600/DSCF6293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VXllWrLv-JA/TY0aUdkg8eI/AAAAAAAACBk/J_Oil_8DHso/s400/DSCF6293.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I went to Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday, Friday, March 25, to see what the weekly Friday afternoon protest was like. It was a smaller crowd than usual when I got there in the late afternoon. I saw one group of protesters with flags chanting and marching out of the Square. I heard they went to the State Television Network building to a rally there. I went there and found one or two thousand protesters. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Protesters were demanding a change in the leadership of State Television since they believe State Television has been bias before and during the revolution and continues to be so post-Mubarak. Other protesters were objecting to a proposed law that is currently being considered by the military that would criminalize protesting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below are some photos and a video I took at the protest. I’m working on uploading other videos of interviews I did while I was at the protest and will post them once I'm able to upload them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Here’s a link to an article discussing three different protests in Cairo yesterday.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16493&title=Egyptian%20protesters%20push%20for%20more%20political%20reforms">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16493&title=Egyptian%20protesters%20push%20for%20more%20political%20reforms</a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gAB7NeuWW9U/TY0bNNXFQkI/AAAAAAAACBs/AE4SOjpG6ro/s1600/DSCF6309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gAB7NeuWW9U/TY0bNNXFQkI/AAAAAAAACBs/AE4SOjpG6ro/s320/DSCF6309.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3_cn4TGW05Q/TY0bRvmwIQI/AAAAAAAACBw/e7F3BtsF4RA/s1600/BLOG6348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3_cn4TGW05Q/TY0bRvmwIQI/AAAAAAAACBw/e7F3BtsF4RA/s320/BLOG6348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-icpiqTXcHSU/TY0c3SAbauI/AAAAAAAACB4/CfBUOM40rvk/s1600/DSCF6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-icpiqTXcHSU/TY0c3SAbauI/AAAAAAAACB4/CfBUOM40rvk/s400/DSCF6335.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SbjE9VSoYVU/TY0b7QSU12I/AAAAAAAACB0/K3oVEy_BjmA/s1600/DSCF6304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SbjE9VSoYVU/TY0b7QSU12I/AAAAAAAACB0/K3oVEy_BjmA/s400/DSCF6304.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tYd9akBusqs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Here is the link to this video: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYd9akBusqs" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0033cc; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_new">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYd9akBusqs</a></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-92HFIuG36bk/TY0eav6bbGI/AAAAAAAACCE/MqfVb6nJuNE/s1600/DSCF6341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-92HFIuG36bk/TY0eav6bbGI/AAAAAAAACCE/MqfVb6nJuNE/s320/DSCF6341.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8975588003994678134.post-63390017048094131822011-03-24T14:45:00.001+02:002011-03-24T23:42:04.782+02:00Police Protests in Cairo and Ministry of Interior on Fire, again<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/259246/thumbs/r-EGYPT-INTERIOR-MINISTRY-large570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/259246/thumbs/r-EGYPT-INTERIOR-MINISTRY-large570.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Diaa Hadid, printed in the <i>Huffington Post. </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fire at the Ministry of the Interior</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ministry of the Interior building was on fire again on Tuesday (March 22). One article speculated that the fire was started either by the police protesters rallying outside the building or people on the inside who perhaps wanted to destroy evidence of police misconduct or corruption. Here is a link to an article about this story:</span></div><div><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/egypt-interior-ministry-fire_n_839028.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/egypt-interior-ministry-fire_n_839028.html</span></a><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But one source yesterday said that the Ministry's report to the Cabinet, which the Cabinet seems to have adopted as fact, said the fire was caused by electrical problems. Here's an article on this:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/egypt-ministry-fire-caused-by-electrical-problems-cabinet-says.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/egypt-ministry-fire-caused-by-electrical-problems-cabinet-says.html</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since Mubarak resigned, there have been periodic reports about former ministers being investigated on charges of corruption and having travel bans imposed against them so they could not leave the country. The latest development, Tuesday, was that criminal charges had been brought by Egypt's public prosecutor against the former Information Minister and the former Finance Minister regarding misuse of public funds for using $6 million in state funds to fund election campaigns between 1981-2010. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On March 8, 47 police officers were arrested based on allegations that they had destroyed documents of police misconduct. Here is a link to an article about this: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.inewsone.com/2011/03/08/egypt-arrests-47-police-officers-in-document-destruction-case/33824">http://www.inewsone.com/2011/03/08/egypt-arrests-47-police-officers-in-document-destruction-case/33824</a> </span> There was also a fire on March 2 at the Central Auditing office which would be one location where documents on officials' corruption would be found. </span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This latest fire started on the middle floors of Ministry of the Interior, a 6 story building. Reports were that protesters were prevented from entering the building so would seem unlikely that a fire started several floors up because of the protesters. </span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Police Protests and Strikes</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The police protesting were demanding higher wages (i.e., $200 per month which would be a significant increase) and health care benefits. There have been numerous police protests here since Mubarak resigned, sometimes for high wages, sometimes to say sorry to Egyptians for the conduct of shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters during the revolution, and sometimes to demand information about what happened to the hundreds of their colleagues who were missing after the revolution and couldn't be reached by cell phone by their families. Here's a photo of one police officer I talked to at an earlier protest who told me right after the revolution there were as many as 2,000 missing police officers who were no longer reporting to work and whose whereabouts were unknown. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TWh0NsqfahM/TVm8qVn6aXI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/o2PeotMJ93U/s1600/DSCF4803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TWh0NsqfahM/TVm8qVn6aXI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/o2PeotMJ93U/s320/DSCF4803.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a strike of 500 Cairo Airport police earlier this month for higher wages. Here is a link to an article about that: </span><a href="http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/362441">http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/362441</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">On the topic of strikes, yesterday's <i>Egyptian Gazette</i> Reuters’ article entitled “Egyptian Cabinet Approves Law on Strikes” discusses how the Cabinet proposed a law to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that would criminalize strikes</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> imposing prison sentences and/or</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">fines as high as 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($84,060) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">as penalties</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">for strikers and those inciting strikes. The military adopted this new law. They get the power to adopt this law because of the emergency law, which the military had promised to lift when they took power in mid-February (without specifying when that lifting would occur). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> Here's the link to this article if you'd like to read more:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16437&title=Egypt%20cabinet%20approves%20law%20on%20strikes">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16437&title=Egypt%20cabinet%20approves%20law%20on%20strikes</a></span></div><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discussion of the role of the police</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The role of the police in Egypt has been extremely controversial for many reasons. During the revolution, I heard that 16 police stations were burned on one particular day at approximately the same time, implying it was part of an organized plan.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many members of the public dislike the police because of the regularity with which detainees are beaten and tortured, sometimes resulting in death as in the case of Khaled Said which sparked the revolution. Here's a link about his story: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/02/110217_outlook_egypt_protests_khaled_said.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2011/02/110217_outlook_egypt_protests_khaled_said.shtml</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One human rights attorney described the role of the police in an interview I did with him when the revolution was happening. I posted this interview in February, but if you didn't see it then, here it is again: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ciframe%20title=%22YouTube%20video%20player%22%20width=%22480%22%20height=%22390%22%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/embed/FCjoZSUASz4?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3E%3C/iframe%3E"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FCjoZSUASz4?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This video is available at this link:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCjoZSUASz4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCjoZSUASz4</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a month after the revolution, there were three or four tanks guarding the police station in our neighborhood, about 3 blocks from our flat. One night we heard gunshots, which I later heard was an attack on the police station; the tanks appeared after that. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SoXjcugOISs/TYm0kBKwBaI/AAAAAAAACAk/nRzs3rN55t0/s1600/DSCF2405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SoXjcugOISs/TYm0kBKwBaI/AAAAAAAACAk/nRzs3rN55t0/s320/DSCF2405.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; color: black; line-height: 18px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ff0BjwquYCI/TYm0GlPAsJI/AAAAAAAACAg/tzBNXC3V_Ug/s1600/DSCF2403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ff0BjwquYCI/TYm0GlPAsJI/AAAAAAAACAg/tzBNXC3V_Ug/s320/DSCF2403.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">The tanks left about a week ago, when it was announced that the security forces were being dissolved.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A strange and interesting thing happened around the same time the tanks disappeared. I was walking home from the metro after my night class, around 9pm, and I saw about 10-15 men of varying ages standing in the road near the police station holding large, beautiful floral arrangements. They all had the protester necklaces around their necks. I asked them what they were doing and one of them who spoke English said they were going to present the police with the flowers. One of them handed me the single carnation in the photo below.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FAHHSNlsIuY/TYm1ZrZguOI/AAAAAAAACAw/pAyUbPD0pfI/s1600/DSCF5809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FAHHSNlsIuY/TYm1ZrZguOI/AAAAAAAACAw/pAyUbPD0pfI/s320/DSCF5809.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They presented the flowers to the police and there was about a half hour of talking as we all sat and stood in a half circle around the desk of the captain or other high-ranking officer whose office we were in. I couldn't understand that conversation since it was in Arabic, but the tone was respectful and sometimes friendly with people laughing. After a while the head officer said something asking about who I was. I heard him say something about Ingleezi, meaning English, then people looked my way and one of the protesters came to ask me who I was and what I was doing there. I explained that I was a student and I lived in the area and that one of their group had invited me to come in with them when they were presenting the flowers, so I did. The group then resumed talking with the police and the meeting soon ended on a cordial, friendly note. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left and the protesters shook hands with various officers who lined the hallway when we were leaving. The protesters presented carnations like the one they'd given me to various officers in the hallway. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a very kind event and I think everyone involved appreciated it. I was still amazed at the whole situation. I talked to some of the protesters more outside about what they hoped would come of this meeting. One of the protesters explained that before this, the public didn't even enter police stations; they're generally seen as off limits. But they wanted lines of communication between the police and the public to be more open. They also said they wanted to thank the police for helping to protect their neighborhood during the revolution, noting that there was little damage in this community compared to some other parts of Cairo. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked one of the younger protesters (--- most were middle-aged men, some professors, some businessmen), about whether there might be some protesters who would not want flowers to be brought to the police station. He said that all the protesters would approve. I asked him about the issue of police torture, a concern that has been raised by protesters, journalists and human rights groups. He said, "No, no, no... we are all Egyptians." Then they got into a car, I thanked them for letting me join their event, and they drove away. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe that was not the right setting for me to have asked that question of the nice man who had included me in their thoughtful, remarkable event. I do appreciate and marvel at how segments of Egyptian society are taking it upon themselves to heal the divisions that exist. There is something very poignant about bringing beautiful bouquets of flowers to the police... something that would never happen in the U.S. But at the same time this kind and altruistic gesture exists alongside the fact that torture is still continuing here. Here is a link to an article from yesterday's Egyptian Gazette discussing the recent torturing of female protesters: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16426&title=AI%20urges%20probe%20on%20'virginity%20tests'%20in%20Egypt">http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16426&title=AI%20urges%20probe%20on%20'virginity%20tests'%20in%20Egypt</a></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><br />
</div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><a href="http://213.158.162.45/~egyptian/index.php?action=news&id=16426&title=AI%20urges%20probe%20on%20'virginity%20tests'%20in%20Egypt"></a>On the positive side (and their are many positives, including the wonderful flower-presentation just described), there seems to be greater freedom of the press. That this article about Amnesty International was printed in the local paper and that I am allowed to write these comments in my blog without repercussions, is certainly a positive thing.<br />
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</span></span></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0