So, what I really was here for was searching for the traces of the revolution. Entering my hotel I smelled the scent of fire as well as when first heading for Tahrir. In the lobby of the hotel some windows are crashed, near the egyptian museum the building of the ruling party was burnt. After a bit, I did not smell the agone fires anymore - habituation works...
What I see and hear instead is the proudness of most Egyptians. At Tahrir the do not only sell t-shirts that say "I love Egypt" but also lots of theses badges that remind of the start of the revolution.

At Tahrir I also found a single remaining leaflet showing the wishes of the angry demonstrators.

If I did not know better I would have thought: "Well Egypt is a third world country, it is normal that the streets are broken, even downtown."

 

 But I know better. These are the traces of the fierce battles between the demonstrators and their counterparts paid by the regime. A friend of mine spent his nights at Tahrir and told me how they removed the pavers, crashed them and prepared this way for the attacks they knew would happen. We all know the pictures of the people of Tahrir who tried to protect themselves. To walk where formerly the street was neat if not tidy feels weird, especially because you find broken spots all around the square and in the neigbouring streets and know you are walking a battlefield.

I came also across a very touching gesture: All around Tahrir people had hung little plastic baskets at lampposts and other pickets to say "We wil keep our country clean - now and for the rest of time." Rubbish very often just lies at the ground because the is no convenient number of dustbins all around. And although my best fried in Egypt told me: "Well people did this but I do not think that keeping the streets clean is our business." I think the little coloured buckets are not only a try to keep the streets clean but are clear political claim.

I miss my old cat so badly.
I know I should not get a new cat now since my life will be too unstable for some more time to take this responsibility.
I kind of freak out everytime I see a cat - especially the stray ones in the streets of Cairo, sick and dirty as they are.
I can hardly resist the wish to feed and pet them.

But I did not.
And I did not bring one home.
Not even this little sweety.

Although I really wanted to...

when you are a friend of mine you know already what comes next. I love nature, I love green, I love plants, I love animals, I cannot live without any of them, I love to take pictures of them.

And since this was never meant to be a political blog I feel free to show you the green banks of the river Nile in the middle of Cairo. I found these plant shops at the isle Manial/Roda.

I do not know what kind of bird it is but its blue feathers were shining like jewelry in the sun.

And that's what it looks like when you cross the bridge back to downtown:

I could not resist, I had to go to Khan Khalili again. It is a tourist trap of course but in the same time it is the best place to get lost, be overwhelmed and part of arabic culture. Besides I went there with a German guy I met in the hotel and since it was his first time in Egypt I could kind of advise him not to tap in every trap that came along the way ;)

Some pictures from the part where the golden stuff is made and sold. Since this is the only part of the bazaar where the streets are this narrow I understand the architecture as a quiet simple but very effective safety concept.

spices of course

the guys who do the waterpipes (Shisha) - I always thought all the Shishas in Egypt come from China, but obviously at least some of them are Egyptian and handmade...

A walked the ancient quarter for hours when I came first here. This time we only strolled around a bit and had a coffee. Seeing these big new pipes for gas was ambivalent. On one side I consider it a progress that the state invests in the quarter and tries to keep up with the needs of the people. On the other side it looked like this building lot is not very well thought through and blocks the street and entrances since a long time already.
 

did I ever mention that I love to fly? I know that it is everything but a sustainable way of travelling but still, I like the feeling and the view:

I will be traveling again!

Just a very, very brief visit in Egypt but nevertheless I'm moving and can explore the "new Egypt" my egyptian friends promised.

So, very soon there will be some new pics, some new words and still the plan to do my research by the end of the year. We will see ;)

Start: March, 22nd

Time is running so fast, I almost forgot to blog about it. So friends, don’t worry, I am fine.

I am a teacher finally. I do not believe in signs, but I love the fact that my first class is Iraqi. The DAAD and the TU Dortmund cooperate with Iraqi universities and I am the lucky one who takes care of eleven young men and women and makes them understand and speak my mother tongue. They are amazing! Very willing to learn, curious and always ready for a joke. We laugh a lot while we work together.

And luckily we also have the possibility to visit different places in the region to make them understand why Germany is the country it is. Examples: brewery museum, fairground hall , concert house, Anne Frank comprehensive school, Dortmunder U, disposal site.

Besides I am still working for the radio station and read and write and read and write and talk and r…. for my PhD. So I never feel bored but still have the time to do things I can not earn money with. I recently got a new idea about my future plans that will change my daily business a lot but it is too early to talk about it. So stay tuned :)

P.S. something sad: My cat, brave Leroy passed away. We lived together for 13 years. He was sick but the vet said it would be okay with the help of one tablet a day. In the end everything happened very fast and now I often feel strange sitting at my desk and wondering for the split of a second where he sits or sleeps.

Friends of mine moved and live now in a beautiful flat with a tiny garden. While they went to Italy I had the keys to work sitting in their winter garden and take care of flat and post box.

During these two weeks the plums got ripe, so tried to preserve fruits for the first time of my live. The cook books of my mother, older then I am, told me what to do and how.

I confess that I underestimated the quantity of plums so after having preserved about five kilos alone I asked my boyfriend, who is an excellent cook, to help me. I had experimented with vanilla, chocolate and rum. Together we made one sweet and one hot plum jam. The last one is with curry, garlic, green pepper, mustard and other stuff and tastes absolutely gorgeous. Needs to be done next year again!

Six days relaxation. Although the weather was a little bad tempered. We had storm, rain, a soaking tent, dog roses, some sun and a good time.

About the reactor that lies hidden in the dunes I read only later.

What I really love about Germany?

Walking home, alone, in the middle of the night ... and nobody cares or wonders.

I went with my language buddy to see Heliopolis, which is still called "New Egypt" although it is already 100 years old. And it appears a bit odd to see next to gross tower blocks typical for modern architecture these beautiful buildings that where meant to create an atmosphere of relaxed richness and a new way of life. I'll show only the old ones ;)

We almost got trouble when I took this picture from the other side of the street because we were standing in front of the presidential palace that is used to host foreign VIP such as presidents and monarchs and the military guard did not like us to stand in front of the wall for more then two minutes...

The Baron Palace is under construction at the moment so we could not enter, but the mix of architectural styles was impressive even from the distance. If I ever will have the possibility I would love to see it from the inside too!

Heliopolis is located about 20 minutes from Downtown and I could tell just by walking around that it is the area of the upper middle class - even the cats look cleaner... Another thing that stood out was the number of unveiled women. Still I saw mainly women with hijab but obviously many Christian Egyptians live there. So here are some churches - again, we almost got trouble, because one of the guards did not wanted me to take a pic...

Today I made it to Khan Khalili, the famous suq in the old islamic quarter. Last time I strolled only through the streets of the residential area and visited the mosques. This time we went there for shopping, but I spare you the details of our bargain experiments. Let's say, we got some reduction... Besides we strolled around a little and of course ended up in a mosque again - it was quiet, cool and just wonderful.

 The oldest coffeeshop of the khan, Fishawi, may be famous, but it does not really break with the hustle and bustle of the suq. It is cramped with tourists taking pictures (just like me...), cats slinking around, a few locals watching the scene with ironic looks and every minute another hawker passes your table, offering everything, books, carpets, toys, necklaces, everything! And all-around there is the noise. Still, it's fun and worth to see.

and finally: a cup of coffee, tea and water.

So after all the wonderful pictures from Downtown Cairo don't let yourself be mislead, because not all of the buildings of the Belle Epoque are renovated like the first one.

And actually modern Egypt looks completely different. Some pictures I took on my way to school.

A freshly painted school.

Everywhere you walk by you will find water reservoirs the locals use to drink from. You do not have to pay for it. I did not try because I did not want to run the risk of getting sick, but a egyptian friend assured me that this water is cold and very refreshing because the vessels are made of clay.

My school. The first time I came here I almost missed it because I did not expect it to be in a normal dwelling.