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Spooky Night at the Museum

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How did you celebrate Halloween in your part of the world? With monsters, ghouls, and mummies?  Did you say mummies?  For me, in Cairo, there was only place to be on Halloween - with mummies of dead kings and queens at The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities at Tahrir Square (which actually is a traffic circle). Enter this museum after dark, and you may feel a little spooked out anyway, Halloween or not.  Statues of every conceivable shape and size, with dust of a thousand years, gaze into space.  I walked around with a knowledgeable tour guide as she informed me of the different dynasties (32) and pharaohs (about 500) who ruled Egypt.  The Pharaonic dynasties continued till Alexander the great began his rule in 332 BC. Ancient Egyptians enjoyed life, and most certainly enjoyed death! The museum has piles and piles of mummies! Some in the coffins, some out of the coffins.  Some covered with masks, others coyly revealing an unwrapped foot or an ancient visage.  The c
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Measuring the waters of Nahr El Nil

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The Nilometer         Descend down the steps of the Nilometer, and you're penetrating  layers of  history. As the name suggests, the Nilometer was used to measure the floodwaters of the river.  Now, no longer in use, it is the oldest monument in Cairo that survives in its original form. Carefully, gingerly, I place my feet on the worn stone of this architectural marvel. I reach the base, and gaze into the flood gates, now empty and dry, no longer functional.  But just a few years ago, they determined seasonal changes, water levels, harvest predictions and tax amounts.  That's almost everything that affected the lives of ancient Egyptians - water, food, money and the weather.  The Architect - notice the compass in his hand The marvelous graduated Corinthian column       Designed by Abu’l ‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathir al-Farqhani, a native of Farghana, West Turkestan, the Nilometer is an elegant combination of art and science.  As in any
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Cairo

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Sabah El Khair from the City of a Thousand Minarets!  I am in Al Qahira , a noisy, bustling, historic city along the banks of the timeless Nahr Al Nil . Hanaa Soudan, my Egyptian sister, has helped me find just the right apartment, located in the very heart of it all. I can gaze down busy streets, elegant buildings, cars winding their way around, people hurrying to work, or merely standing under a shady tree to chat and smoke.  A gas station is right below with a great view of cars being serviced. It serves as an important landmark for me as I weave my way through Kasr El Nil, Bab El Louk, Mohamed Mazloom Streets .  A car dealership and a restaurant take turns to share the space. While new cars line up in the daytime, the restaurant claims the street in the evenings with Cairenes relaxing together with food, drinks and shisha .  Even a TV is wheeled outside for additional entertainment! Egyptian Arabic is the lingua franca, and I realize my first assignment as a
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