President Sadat's grave at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

***Thursday, 20Apr06***
Mohamed told me that there was a memorial to President Sadat just a few blocks from the office. I decided to walk there during lunch one day and walked a long block following Mohamed's directions but couldn't find it. As it turned out, like many people who drive every where, Mohamed underestimated the distance. I made another attempt and walked a lot further and found the memorial. It was underneath a foour-sided structure that was remeniscent of a payramid without being a copy of one. The structure had Arabic text all over it in a rectangular script that seemed just right for the angular character of the memorial.

The pyramidal monument to President Sadat, the man who made peace with Israel.

*** Friday, 21Apr06 ***
I had a croissant at the hotel cafe for breakfast. Their croissants are superb and, at about $1.30 after tax and tip, they are the only good buy in the hotel.

I walked south along the Nile Corniche and crossed over the first bridge to the Island of Roda and then along the main channel intending to walk to the famous Nilometer which for centuries measured the flooding of the Nile -- at least until the Aswan High Dam created Lake Nasser and ended the annual flooding.

Unfortunately there is some kind of facility there with a sign saying "no entry and no photography". I don't know what was there but if I had to guess I would say it was a wastewater treatment plant but there is so little you can see it is anybody's guess. Later I looked it on Google Earth and it looked like a waste water treatment plant with three trickling filters -- but don't tell the government I know!

I tried to find a way past whatever it was but couldn't. As I turned back, a friendly elderly woman pointed where I couldn't go and said, "Nilometer". I pointed at my legs and pretended to walk but she shook her head "No." I let my shoulders drop in sadness and she consulted an old man near her and then said, "Taxi." Guessing, I said, "Awa [water] taxi?" and she nodded. Of course I had no real idea where I could get a boat so that was a trip for another day.

I walked North back toward the nearest bridge to the Giza side of the river, crossed it and headed north toward the Zoo which I had intended to visit. I realized that my walk was taking a lot longer than I estimated so I put off the Zoo visit and kept heading north on Giza street and then West on El Tahrir Street for about 1.5 miles and then turned North to Mossadak Street and walked along it until I found Gazaly Street where the Zambian Embassy is located. To my surprise it was open -- sort of. There was a woman using a memory typewriter who seemed to function as a receptionist and she gave me visa forms that I will return on Wednesday after the two-day holiday on Monday and Tuesday.

I walked back to El Tahrir and hailed a cab who wanted either ten or 55 pounds for a trip to the Semiramis. I offered five, which he declined, so I said No and walked away. He called me back and I got the ride for five pounds. Once back I went down to the pool and got some sun -- and rest for my legs: three hours of steady walking really slows me down.

*** Saturday, 22Apr06 ***
I went to the Cafe in the lobby and was surprised that it served on Sunday at about half the price of the crowded but all-you-can-eat restaurant at the other end of the lobby but then I don't want to eat all that much so it worked very well for me.

The air looked really unhealthy today. The sky was a flat gray and if you looked any distance the air was opaque; the further you looked the more opaque the air got. Not a very pleasant thought so I stopped looking. Stopping breathing is more difficult.

I was walking toward the Citadel (east and a little south of the hotel) before 10 A.M. It was nice to walk through a part of Cairo I hadn't seen before. On the way I saw something very disturbing. As I walked along the sidewalk I saw a woman wearing a blue headscarf extend her hands and lean forward while lowering herself. At the same time a car shot out of a hidden driveway between us. Then I saw something the size of a large doll who was on the bumper of the car and falling under the car body as it moved. Then I realized that the large doll was a child that had run ahead of its mother and been run over by the car. I couldn't believe what I had seen! And I was only about ten yard away! I had never seen the like of it before.

The car stopped with the child beneath it and the mother pulled the child out and cradled it to her chest and wailed and WAILED AND WAILED. People gathered in seconds and a crowd developed. I was able to get a look over the shoulders of the onlookers and saw the face of the child. She had a few scratches and looked mostly normal but very confused. I suspect that the child had been lucky enough to be run over at low speed between the tires and possibly had little permanent damage. Still it was shocking to see.

I eventually arrived at the Citadel and chose to walk to the left for want of a better idea. I saw people going up some steps into a building so I followed them. Someone at the door realized I was looking for the entrance to the Citadel so he took me to the door and pointed back the way I had come and indicated I should take another left as well.

And so I did. Ultimately I found the entrance on the opposite side of the Citadel -- a good twenty-minute walk in the increasing hot sun. Then I had to walk up a hill in the sun. But I got there and entered the Citadel but made the decision to take a cab home when I left.
My guidebook says that the original citadel was constructed with the labor of captured Crusaders under sultan Salah al-Din (yes, THE Saladin!) in the twelfth century.

The Citadel is the largest in the Islamic world and served as a home for the governors of Egypt and a military bastion for the control of region. The walls are certainly impressive enough and I would hate to be in an army running uphill to get to them.

The Alabaster Mosque

Inside the Citadel are some museums (I noticed the Police Museum and the Military Museum) but I passed them by for this trip and concentrated on the two most significantly positioned mosques. The most impressive was the 1830 mosque of of Muhammad 'Ali (called the Alabaster Mosque because of the white marble used on its facade) with its huge square courtyard and the mosque of Sulayman Pasha (1528), also with an impressive courtyard.

*** Sunday, 23Apr06 ***
Orthodox Easter.
Paul and I had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe which turned out to be a real bust. I ordered a hamburger and the waitress immediately said, "well done" but I suggested "medium well" but I don't thing she got it. What can you say about a hamburger joint that thinks the only way to prepare a 'burger is well done?

The Hard Rock Cafe's stock in trade is a good American hamburger but not this one. If you get a chance to go there -- don't. The hamburger could not even be described as mediocre.

Worshipers entering a mosque in the Citidel.

Paul and I had a disagreement with management over the interpretation of "happy hour" which ended at 8 P.M. We ordered a beer each just after 7 P.M. and got two rounds. We ordered another round at 7:50 P.M. and got a beer got one beer apiece. When we asked for our second beer (it was, after all, a two-for-one happy hour), we were told Happy Hour was over but we argued that we had ordered before the end of Happy Hour and deserved another round. An unhappy argument that, combined with the at-best mediocre quality of the food, made us resolve to never return.

Embarrassingly, it seems that my big problem with email went away when I rebooted my Mac. I did change a number in the IP address and maybe that was the key change but I am not sure.

*** Monday, 24Apr06 ***
Today is a holiday (the celebration of Pharaonic Spring) so the Ministry is closed and I chose to work in my hotel room. I went downstairs at about 8:50 to buy the Herald-Tribune. The hotel magazine shop was closed so I asked a cafe waiter when it would open and he said, "Maybe 9:30." Maybe! That says something about schedules.

All,

Tonight CNN broadcast the news that there had been three simultaneous bombings in Dahab in Egypt's Sinai peninsula -- at least 100 miles from Cairo. This is not welcome news but it is worth remembering that there are no safe places anywhere; there are only places of relative unsafety. We all remember a terrorist bombing in Kansas City and a series of assassinations around Washington, DC. Just being in Egypt does not put one at high risk.

Still, it is impossible to deny that there is risk and one must take rational steps to minimize that risk. In my case, my hotel has a high level of security: cars are checked for bombs underneath the body by a mirror and a heavy steel gate must be pulled aside to allow vehicles entrance to the approach to the main entrance. Once in the hotel everyone must pass through a metal detector where packages are inspected. I judge the security precautions as significantly better than window dressing -- but there is no possibility of perfection in matters of security.

In summary, don't worry more about me more than I worry about myself. But let us all pay attention to developments.

Joe

From the State Dept web site:

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Egypt has a low crime rate but has suffered a series of terrorist attacks in or near tourist sites in late 2004 and in 2005 [and now in 2006]. Americans should be especially vigilant in crowded tourist areas, remain aware of their personal security, and be alert to their surroundings. [How do you do this?] A heavy security presence is apparent to travelers throughout the country. [very much so in Cairo]. Americans are encouraged to contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for the most up-to-date security information. [That at least is a practical thing.] It is best to drink bottled water or water that has been boiled and filtered. Well-known brands of bottled beverages are generally considered to be safe.

*** Tuesday, 25Apr06 ***
Another holiday, this time celebrating the return of the Sainai Peninsula after the peace with Israel.

I am sending the Courier to about 250 people drawn from an old list so there are a number of bounces. The problem is I can't figure out what I am being told. "User unknown" is clear but what does "mailbox unavailable" mean?

How should I interpret "Sorry, I couldn't find any host named aol.com"? And what of "67.19.87.21 does not like recipient"? Has email become a personality thing?

"Recipient address rejected: 5.1.1" sounds like a fit of pique from a person rather than a message from a computer system.

"This account has been disabled or discontinued" might be a temporary condition. Should I keep trying?

What does "Relay access denied" mean? And "Relaying denied. IP name possibly forged" seems positively insulting.

"Sorry, I wasn't able to establish an SMTP connection" is at least polite but it is vague about whether the condition is permanent.

"Sorry, I couldn't find any host named nwu.edu" seems unlikely since it is Northwestern University.

"Sorry, I couldn't find a mail exchanger or IP address" is possible but I don't know what a mail exchanger is.

At least "Account Inactive" suggests some hope for the future.
"User unknown in virtual alias table" seems like gobbledygook.

Which of these represent definite permanent failures? Only time will tell.