opera

No picture this time, you'll have to use your imagination. We decided to check out the Cairo Opera last night. They were showing Puccini's Turandot. Turandot was originally a classic Persian tale, made into an opera by Puccini in 1926. The story takes place in China, but of course the characters sing in Italian. The troupe, though, was the Chinese National Opera. So a Persian story being sung by Chinese actors playing Chinese parts in Italian in Egypt. The orchestra was mostly Chinese, but they borrowed some local Egyptian musicians, too. The handbill was in two versions: Chinese/English and Arabic/English, but the subtitles were exclusively in English.

The costumes and dance numbers were especially good, maybe because they transcend language.

The experience was wholly enjoyable. The opera house is beautiful - the whole building is white marble. There is a dress code requiring men to wear jacket and tie (and thank goodness there was also a tie lending system on premises). The tickets are very affordable, so we can gamble about how good the performance will be.

miscelany I

This time some disjointed images.

This is Carefour, the French-owned box store here in Cairo, a 15 min cab ride from home. Yes, we have access to retail junk of all stripes. Giant bags of snack-sized Snickers? We got 'em. In one stop we got an electric heater for the winter, Egyptian cotton sheets, a giant bottle of olive oil, potting soil, bulk spices, and frozen treats.

This is for the bike fans: I swear this was the only patch kit available. No sandpaper piece, but lots and lots of patches. Lots and lots. We've only needed one so far, but with the shape of the roads I expect we'll need more.

You're all probably used to this view from our dining room by now. Pyramids, I don't need to remind you, are on the right. This is about as close as we get to rain. Not wet, but nice all the same. The weather now is pleasant, cool enough for long sleeves at night, and even generally during the day. No sweaters or jackets yet. There was some rain in different parts of our neighborhood. We didn't see it, but friends report that there were mud waterfalls cascading off the valley walls in our favorite Thursday hiking spot (Wadi Degla). There was also about a five minute shower during the week. If you were outside, you got soaked. If you were inside, you didn't even know anything happened.

One last shot of Norway:

Rachel is standing around the corner from where my tiny apartment was, on one of many many streets forbidden to motor vehicles. While it's now cool in Cairo, wool coats are still a long way off here.

Norway part 2: Fjords

What is a fjord, really, you ask? It's in between a bay and a river. This fjord that we rode this ferry down looked much like the Hudson river, and I kept having to tell myself that it was salt water. We are drinking hot chocolate to help stay a little warmer as the chill air blew through our meager layers from Cairo.



On the way up the fjord, we were treated to brilliant fall colors. It was like fireworks compared to the constant brown of Cairo.


Trolls are very popular in Norway. Not the trolls themselves perhaps, but their imagery. Yes, trolls are generally depicted with tails eating wild mushrooms.


Though it is only the start of October, the train on the way back to Bergen passed over a snowy plain.

The hypnotizing fjord, close up. We really only believed that it was salt water after seeing a fleet of starfish.

We stayed one night in a cabin with a little deck right over the fjord. One can't help but feel romantic in a setting like this.

Norway part 1: Bergen

And now for something completely different: Bergen, Norway. Bergen is the opposite of Cairo: it rains at least a bit every day. It's cold, clean, green, efficient and quiet. Some of this has to do with being in Norway, and some with having only about 2% as many people as Cairo. This is looking down on the city from a viewing platform at the top of the trolley. We walked up a public trail that was filled with locals getting some exercise, and then rode down the funicular.

Bergen has lots of bikes, despite the fact that nothing seems far enough to justify not walking, and parking is as artistic as it is practical.

This is the reason I was in Bergen: Rex Sean O'Fahey, the world foremost expert on Zubayr Pasha. At least for now. He is warm and amazingly helpful.


Bergen has great cobblestone sidewalks in interesting patterns, though this one takes the cake. The houses, especially at night when lit from within, look warm and inviting - almost fairy tale like.

Because of the huge amount of rain, the hills around the city are full of waterfalls. This was taken on our hike beyond the platform above.

pyramid picnic

On a rare clear day, the pyramids from our window beckoned, so we packed a picnic and caught a cab.



The Sphinx proudly greeted us, along with the throngs of tourists.



CUNY Graduate Center represent, yo.



We said our goodbyes along with the 50 busloads of international tourists, dressed entirely inappropriately for the streets of Cairo. Hell, they were dressed inappropriately for the streets of New York.